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In 1988 author Roald Dahl penned an open letter urging parents to have their children vaccinated against measles.
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Roald Dahl’s open letter was penned in 1988 but it is still frequently used as a vaccination encouragement tool by medical campaign groups such as the Encephalitis Society and the Oxford Vaccine Group.
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true
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Politics Quotes, children's books, children's health, parenting
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In January 2015 an open letter attributed to author Roald Dahl (best known for the classic children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) titled “Measles: A Dangerous Illness” was widely circulated online due to a then-current measles outbreak that had prompted renewed debate over the importance of childhood vaccinations. It urged parents in no uncertain terms to ensure their children were immunized against that contagion. Example: With so much debate around the seeming return of Measles — in part spurred by those who were not vaccinated, and putting more at risk, many friends have reminded me of this statement about the impact of Measles on childrens literature author Roald Dahl, who lost his daughter in 1962. Did he penned this letter? Dahl indeed penned that letter back in 1988 for the Sandwell Health Authority in Britain shortly after a controversial measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) was introduced to the UK. Because much of the public was worried about the new vaccine, Dahl provided a personal account about the death of his 7-year-old daughter Olivia from measles in 1962 to persuade parents to get their children vaccinated: Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything. “Are you feeling all right?” I asked her. “I feel all sleepy,” she said. In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead. The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four [sic] years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her. On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it. It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk. In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out. Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year. Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another. At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die. LET THAT SINK IN. Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles. So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised? They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million to one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation. So what on earth are you worrying about? It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised. The ideal time to have it done is at 13 months, but it is never too late. All school-children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible. Incidentally, I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was ‘James and the Giant Peach’. That was when she was still alive. The second was ‘The BFG’, dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children. Dahl was a proponent of immunization, but he rarely spoke about his daughter’s death. He wrote the following heartbreaking account of taking his daughter into hospital after she had collapsed at home: Awful drive. Lorries kept holding us up on narrow roads. Got to hospital. Ambulance went to wrong entrance. Backed out. Arrived. Young doctor in charge. Mervyn and he gave her 3mg sodium amatol. I sat in hall. Smoked. Felt frozen. A small single bar electric fire on wall. An old man in next room. Woman doctor went to phone. She was trying urgently to locate another doctor. He arrived. I went in. Olivia lying quietly. Still unconscious. She has an even chance, doctor said. They had tapped her spine. Not meningitis. It’s encephalitis. Mervyn left in my car. I stayed. Pat arrived and went in to see Olivia. Kissed her. Spoke to her. Still unconscious. I went in. I said, “Olivia Olivia.” She raised her head slightly off pillow. Sister said don’t. I went out. We drank whiskey. I told doctor to consult experts. Call anyone. He called a man in Oxford. I listened. Instructions were given. Not much could be done. I first said I would stay on. Then I said I’d go back with Pat. Went. Arrived home. Called Philip Evans. He called hospital. Called me back. “Shall I come?” “Yes please.” I said I’d tell hospital he was coming. I called. Doc thought I was Evans. He said I’m afraid she’s worse. I got in the car. Got to hospital. Walked in. Two doctors advanced on me from waiting room. How is she? I’m afraid it’s too late. I went into her room. Sheet was over her. Doctor said to nurse go out. Leave him alone. I kissed her. She was warm. I went out. “She is warm.” I said to doctors in hall, “Why is she so warm?” “Of course,” he said. I left. In a 1997 article published in People magazine, Dahl’s wife, Patricia Neal, wrote Olivia’s death in 1962 had practically driven the author insane: Roald came back from the hospital and he cried. Oh, he cried. He had seen her dead. I unfortunately never did. My sisters-in-law talked me out of it. I wish they hadn’t. I stayed up that first night just looking out the window. Your love is dead, and the sun still comes up. It’s just so sad. I was the strong one at that point. I don’t want to brag about myself, but I’ve never seen anything like it. Roald really almost went crazy. I held everything together. I cooked all day and went on. Of course 34 years ago anything like a survivors’ support group was virtually unheard of. You had to pull yourself together. I loved Olivia, loved her, but my God, I had two more children. I had to go on. Over the years, I found that talking about Olivia helped immeasurably. Roald — who died in 1990 — couldn’t say a word. It was locked inside him.
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31716
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President Trump refused to give federal support to California due to state's sanctuary cities.
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He added that the California National Guard put out a notification to all 23,000 soldiers and airmen to be ready to deploy if needed.
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false
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Junk News, donald trump, sacramento dispatch, sanctuary cities
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Nearly 200,000 people were told to evacuate from counties in Northern California in February 2017, due to a damaged emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the nation: The threat of imminent collapse of the Oroville Dam emergency spillway eased Sunday night, hours after authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 180,000 downstream residents upon discovering damage to the structure. But there is still serious concern about the condition of the auxiliary spillway, and it’s unclear when residents will be able to return to their homes. With a storm expected to arrive Wednesday, the state Department of Water Resources needs to make room for the water that will be flowing in. The agency aims to drain about 1.2 million acre feet of water from the reservoir over the next day or so. The capacity of the reservoir, California’s second-largest, is about 35 million feet. Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency to beef up the state’s response to the evacuations and dam threat. Shortly after news about the damaged dam broke, the Sacramento Dispatch web site published an article reporting that President Trump had refused to provide federal aid to California, due to the existence of sanctuary cities within the state: A high ranking unnamed source, who spoke with the Dispatch on the condition of anonymity, has confirmed that President Trump has denied the request on grounds that California, and the city of Sacramento in particular, have failed to enforce federal immigration laws and have threatened to succeed from the Union. The source is quoted as saying: “The President has no incentive in helping the state of California. The state harbors more illegal immigrants than any other state and has multiple sanctuary cities that violate federal laws. The state very publicly supported Hillary Clinton throughout the election and the President views the state as being responsible for his loss in the popular vote, something he has had trouble with accepting. They have also recently threatened to leave the Union through their #CalExit campaign, and the President sees this as an opportunity to let them deal with the consequences of their exit. There is a sickness within the liberals in this country that they are not willing to address. Until they understand what ails them can they hope to find the cure. This is a step in the right direction in finding the #CureForWellness. “ The Sacramento Dispatch did not point to any official statement released by the Trump administration, instead basing their article on a quote from a single unnamed source. As of this writing, no legitimate publications have reported that President Trump refused to provide federal aid to California, nor does information about the alleged refusal appear on FEMA’s news releases page. Although the Sacramento Dispatch web site mimics that of real newspapers and does not identify itself as fake news, the site has a track record for publishing hoaxes (e.g., reporting that the American Medical Association had classified “Trump Depression Disorder” as a new disease). The Sacramento Dispatch web site appears to be part of a new network of fake news sites that masquerade as the online outlets of big-city newspapers. Other entries in this fake news network include the Houston Leader and the Salt Lake City Guardian web sites, all of whom use nearly identical web formats, share verbatim site descriptions, and republish one another’s articles in an attempt to legitimize their fake news stories: (The curious use of the #CureForWellness hashtag in the article in question has led some readers to surmise that this network of fake news sites is tied to the release of the psychological horror thriller film A Cure for Wellness.) Although President Trump has not refused to provide federal aid to California, he also hasn’t yet approved Governor Brown’s request for it. Governor Brown requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration on 10 February 2017, but as of this writing President Trump has not responded to it: Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for the state to bolster ongoing state and local recovery efforts following January storms that caused flooding, mudslides, erosion, power outages and damage to critical infrastructure across California. Governor Brown also issued an executive order today that adds the counties of Amador, Mono and Riverside to the 49 counties already included in the emergency proclamation issued last month due to January storms. The order also authorizes state funding through the California Disaster Assistance Act for 34 counties impacted by the storms and directs the California Department of Transportation to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program for Amador and Riverside counties. It should be noted that Brown’s request for aid was made prior to issuance of the evacuation order. On 12 February 2017, Brown issued an emergency order to bolster the state’s response to the crisis: Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued an emergency order tonight to bolster the state’s response to the situation at the Oroville Dam’s auxiliary spillway and support subsequent local evacuations. “I’ve been in close contact with emergency personnel managing the situation in Oroville throughout the weekend and it’s clear the circumstances are complex and rapidly changing,” said Governor Brown. “I want to thank local and state law enforcement for leading evacuation efforts and doing their part to keep residents safe. The state is directing all necessary personnel and resources to deal with this very serious situation.” The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has activated the State Operations Center in Mather, California to its highest level and is coordinating with personnel at the Incident Command Post in Oroville, California and with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address all emergency management, evacuation and mutual aid needs. The state’s National Guard has already been dispatched to provide emergency assistance: A California National Guard official says they will provide eight helicopters to assist with emergency spillway reconstruction at the nation’s tallest dam located about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco. Adjunct General David S. Baldwin said at a news conference that the helicopters will also be available for search and rescue near the Oroville Dam.
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4105
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Congo tracing contacts of first Ebola case in eastern city.
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After feeling sick for several days the pastor boarded a bus to eastern Congo’s largest city. Only upon arrival at his destination did anyone suspect he had the highly deadly and infectious Ebola virus.
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true
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AP Top News, Health, General News, Africa, Epidemics, Infectious diseases, Ebola virus, International News
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During his trip to Goma, the 46-year-old preacher managed to pass through three health checkpoints aimed at stopping those who are sick with Ebola and contagious. Now health authorities along his route are trying to hunt down all those he may have been in contact with after the man became Goma’s first confirmed Ebola case on Sunday. It’s a crucial task to contain the spread of Ebola in Goma, home to more than 2 million people and the largest city to confirm a case of the disease since the epidemic here began nearly a year ago. “It’s the door of this region to the rest of the world,” said Dr. Harouna Djingarey, infectious disease program manager for the World Health Organization’s regional office in eastern Congo. “From here you can fly to everywhere in the world. If we don’t have the control over the contacts, some high-risk contacts may fly, take a plane and go somewhere.” Health experts have long feared that the disease responsible for killing nearly 1,700 people since August would eventually make its way to Goma. The city is an important transit point for the region and beyond and a bustling trade hub drawing travelers from throughout Congo’s east. Speaking at a U.N. meeting in Geneva on the outbreak, Congo’s minister of health, Dr. Oly Ilunga, called the spread of Ebola to Goma “a warning.” The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the development was so worrying that he was reconvening the agency’s emergency committee as soon as possible “to assess the threat of this development.” The committee has been convened three times in the past to decide whether or not the epidemic warrants being declared a global emergency; it has declined every time to do so. WHO’s Dr. Michael Ryan, who is directing the agency’s Ebola response, said the meeting would be held this week. Ryan said 30 contacts in the Goma case had already been vaccinated and the remaining 30 would be vaccinated on Tuesday. Congo’s health ministry sought to reassure people that the situation was under control, though some already were on edge after learning about the sick pastor. “God help us if Ebola is now in Goma,” said Baudouine Rudahigwa, 30, who immediately feared the case could prompt restrictions against her and fellow residents. “My children are now on alert that they can’t greet or play with others. They are washing their hands all the time.” The health ministry said the pastor, who has not been identified, had preached at seven churches during his evangelical trip to Butembo, one of the towns hardest hit by Ebola in Congo. Last Tuesday the preacher fell ill and was seen at home by a nurse before he began his bus trip to Goma. Somehow he was able to evade detection during the roadside health checkpoints, when all travelers get off the bus, wash their hands and have their temperature taken. “During the checks, he did not seem to show signs of the disease. In addition, at each checkpoint he wrote different names and surnames on the lists of travelers, probably indicating his desire to hide his identity and state of health,” the ministry said. Upon arrival in Goma he sought medical treatment and health workers immediately suspected he had Ebola, which was later confirmed by a lab test. He was transferred back to Butembo on Monday in accordance with a decision by Congo’s Ministry of Health, according to Doctors Without Borders, which runs the Ebola clinic in Goma where he was diagnosed. Congolese health officials have been preparing for months for the possibility a case would emerge in Goma and as a result more than 3,000 frontline health workers already have been vaccinated. Neighboring Rwanda also has taken measures to stop the disease from spreading across its border. While the epidemic has become the second deadliest in history, its spread to neighboring African countries has been mostly contained. A family who fell ill while in Congo did cross the border into neighboring Uganda where two of them then died. However, no one they came into contact with fell ill during the 21-day incubation period after the exposure. The World Health Organization has said the risk of the outbreak spreading beyond Congo’s borders is low, though efforts to contain it have been compromised by people failing to comply with health authorities. Some who were considered high-risk contacts and urged not to travel have left the area, including a woman who made her way to within 70 kilometers (about 40 miles) of Congo’s border with South Sudan. WHO and partners have also said the response has been hampered by a lack of resources, repeatedly citing a $50 million gap in its Ebola containment plan. “Unless there’s a big scale-up in the (funding) response, we’re unlikely to be successful in getting to zero cases,” U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said. On Monday, Rory Stewart, Britain’s secretary of state for international development, announced the U.K. would donate another $63 million to help stop the outbreak. He also called for other G7 countries to increase their support, specifically Francophone countries. “I think this is genuinely an international concern and it would be great to see other countries stepping in,” he said, noting that Francophone knowledge of the region would be essential in combating ongoing community trust problems. Unlike the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people, health authorities now have access to an experimental yet highly effective vaccine. The vaccine initially was provided only to those at the highest risk of contracting the disease, though that has been widened to include others. The vaccine appears to have benefits for people who already have been exposed, reducing the fatality rate among those who develope the disease. However, fears and rumors have stopped some from accepting vaccination, including those who falsely believe the vaccine causes people to contract Ebola. ___ Associated Press writers Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro in Beni, Congo, and Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
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16338
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The CBO says if we raise the minimum wage the way Charlie (Crist) wants to do it, it would lose 500,000 jobs.
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Environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s discourse on climate change was overly pessimistic and demoralizing for young people, LVMH (LVMH.PA) boss Bernard Arnault said on Wednesday, as the group behind brands like Louis Vuitton raised its “green” goals.
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mixture
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Economy, Jobs, Workers, Florida, Rick Scott,
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LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury goods conglomerate, which like its peers is seeking to improve its environmental credentials and keep young consumers onside, said it was further cutting emissions and improving sourcing on materials like animal fur. But the group’s billionaire owner and CEO Bernard Arnault said he rejected what he called Thunberg’s doom-mongering. The 16-year-old Swedish campaigner berated world leaders and business executives at a United Nations climate summit in New York this week for failing to act more decisively on climate change, saying they had “stolen her dreams.” Her vision “has a demoralizing side to it for young people. She’s not proposing anyway, aside from criticism,” Arnault, 70, told journalists. “I prefer positive solutions that allow us to get towards a more optimistic position.” Fashion and textile groups are under pressure from consumers and environmentalists to try and reduce industry waste, including unsold clothing, and improve their manufacturing methods. Luxury companies turn out pricey products that are not mass produced, but they also face questions on everything from animal welfare to carbon emissions involved in exporting their wares around the world. Many LVMH fashion brands, which include Fendi, Christian Dior and Givenchy, make accessories such as handbags from exotic skins like python or crocodile. The group said it was bringing in a charter to ensure full traceability for all of its raw materials by 2025, which would allow it to track them back to precise farms in the case of farmed fur. Some rivals have dropped fur altogether, including France’s Chanel, Britain’s Burberry (BRBY.L) and Kering’s (PRTP.PA) Gucci. LVMH said it was on course to exceed its goal to cover 30% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020 and also on track to cut its CO2 emissions by 25% by the same time. The group was glaringly absent from an industry “fashion pact” launched under the auspices of Kering in August with broad targets to reduce emissions. Signatories included France’s Hermes (HRMS.PA) as well as lower end and sportswear groups like Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC) and Adidas (ADSGn.DE). Stella McCartney, a pioneer in vegan-friendly fashion and whose namesake brand is now part-owned by LVMH, also backed the agreement. Arnault said the deal did not make sense for LVMH - beyond clothing brands it also owns champagne labels like Moet & Chandon - and that its business model was a world away from that of fast fashion firms. “We prefer action to pacts,” Arnault said. Younger luxury consumers - including the “millenials” in their late 20s and mid-30s who are driving industry sales - are more readily influenced in their purchases by sustainability matters than their elders, a Boston Consulting Group survey this year showed. Kering said earlier this week that it would become fully carbon neutral by offsetting all greenhouse gases from 2018 within the group and across its supply chain.
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34994
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Qassem Soleimani commanded forces that killed five U.S. service members, including Capt. Brian S. Freeman, in an attack in Karbala, Iraq, in January 2007.
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This would certainly appear to lend credibility to the claim, in widely shared Facebook posts, that the forces that killed Freeman were commanded by Soleimani, though it seems more likely they were trained and commanded by others, as part of a broader strategy overseen and directed by Soleimani, on behalf of the Iranian government.
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unproven
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Military
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In January 2020, readers asked us about viral Facebook posts that offered a particularly poignant perspective in the U.S. on the U.S.-ordered assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite clandestine Quds Force. On Jan. 3, the following message was posted to Facebook: For those people who want to apologize to Iran for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, I present you with Army Captain Brian S. Freeman. Brian was a loving husband, father, Olympic caliber athlete and Army Civil Affairs team leader who actually cared about people regardless of who they were, where they came from, what God they worshipped, or their politics. 13 years ago this month, Cpt. Brian Freeman and his team of Civil Affairs soldiers were in Karbala, Iraq at a meeting to help improve the lives of the people of that province. During that meeting, a team under the command of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, stormed in, killing a number of Americans, and capturing Brian and several members of his team. The captured CA team members were handcuffed, driven away from the meeting and later executed. Once found, in spite of our best efforts, several medics, including myself, unsuccessfully attempted to save Brian. Captain Freeman is but one of the lives lost due to the evil of Qassem Soleimani. Qassem Soleimani was an evil person whose end, regardless of the politics surrounding it is a good thing. With that, anyone apologizing to Iran for Soleimani’s death is, I feel, pandering to an oppressive regime out of either ignorance, moral bankruptcy, or in a heartless attempt at self-promotion. Rest in Peace Brian. That message was promulgated even further when it was re-posted by another user. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, sufficient evidence and intelligence exists to conclude that the January 2007 attack in Karbala, Iraq, which killed five U.S. service members including Freeman, was one of several that was directed, planned, and funded by the Quds Force — an elite branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Soleimani was head of that force until his death on Jan. 2, 2020. So the key claim made in the Facebook posts shared so widely in January — that Soleimani, as senior leader of the Quds Force, was responsible for the death of Freeman — reflects the official position and conclusion of the U.S. government. However, both the Iranian government and Soleimani himself have denied any Quds Force involvement in attacks perpetrated against U.S. forces in Iraq at that time of Freeman’s death. We asked the Department of Defense (DOD) if it could provide evidence that would demonstrate the role of the Quds Force, and Soleimani in particular, in the planning or ordering of the attack, but we received no response. The claim that Soleimani was, at least in part, responsible for the death of Freeman and four others in the January 2007 attack appears quite plausible. However, evidence that would definitively demonstrate that responsibility is not publicly available, and as a result. If we obtain such evidence, we will update this fact check accordingly. Freeman was assigned to the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion and was attending meetings at the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, on Jan. 20, 2007. Around 5 p.m. local time that day, insurgents wearing U.S.-style military uniforms attacked the compound. Here’s how DOD described the attack, a week later: At about 5 p.m. that day, a convoy consisting of at least five sport utility vehicles entered the Karbala compound and about 12 armed militants attacked the American troops with rifle fire and hand grenades, officials said. One soldier was killed and three others wounded by a hand grenade thrown into the center’s main office. Other explosions within the compound destroyed three Humvees. The attackers withdrew with four captured U.S. soldiers and drove out of the Karbala province into the neighboring Babil province. Iraqi police began trailing the assailants after they drew suspicion at a checkpoint. Three soldiers were found dead and one fatally wounded, along with five abandoned vehicles, near the town of Mahawil. Two were found handcuffed together in the back of one of the vehicles. The other two were found nearby on the ground. One soldier was found alive but died en route to a nearby hospital. All suffered from gunshot wounds. Also recovered at the site were U.S. Army-type combat uniforms, boots, radios and a non-U.S. made rifle, officials said. The five U.S. service members listed as killed in the attack were: Due to the relative sophistication of the attack, U.S. military officials quickly suspected Iranian involvement in its planning. By July 2007, DOD had come to the conclusion that the Karbala attack was indeed one of several carried out against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq, which had been planned and directed by Iran, specifically by “senior leadership” of the Quds Force. At that time, Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force. Here’s how the Department of Defense described that Iranian involvement in a July 2007 statement: While al Qaeda in Iraq remains the main enemy in the country, coalition and Iraqi forces are increasingly targeting groups whose training, funding and supplies come from Iran, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner also said Iran is funding Hezbollah operatives in Iraq. Hezbollah is a Shiia extremist group based in Lebanon. The terror group has seats in the Lebanese parliament and operates as a shadow government for Shiia areas of that country. Iran trains, supplies and funds that group. Actions against these Iraqi groups have allowed coalition intelligence officials to piece together the Iranian connection to terrorism in Iraq. Bergner said that Iran’s Quds Force, a special branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups. … The groups operate throughout Iraq. They planned and executed a string of bombings, kidnappings, sectarian murders and more against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi forces and coalition personnel. They receive arms — including explosively formed penetrators, the most deadly form of improvised explosive device — and funding from Iran. They also have received planning, help and orders from Iran, Bergner said. Of greatest relevance to this fact check, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said two men prominently involved in the series of attacks, including the Karbala attack — Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali — had themselves not only acknowledged the role of the Quds Force in planning and funding the Karbala attack, but said Iran’s assistance was essential to its execution. One group leader was Azhar Dulaymi, whom coalition forces killed May 19. Bergner said the terrorist led the Jan. 20 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala that killed five U.S. soldiers. Dulaymi worked closely with Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali, two men with direct links to Iran. Coalition forces captured Daqduq on March 20. “He is Lebanese-born and has served for the past 24 years in Lebanese Hezbollah,” Bergner said. “He was in Iraq working as a surrogate for Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives involved with special groups.” Daqduq, a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon since 1983, served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah leader Sayyad Hassan Nazrullah. He also led Hezbollah operations in large areas of Lebanon, Bergner said. “In 2005, he was directed by senior Lebanese Hezbollah leadership to go to Iran and work with the Quds Force to train Iraqi extremists,” the general said. “In May 2006, he traveled to Tehran with Yussef Hashim, a fellow Lebanese Hezbollah and head of their operations in Iraq. There they met with the commander and deputy commander of the Iranian Quds Force special external operations.” Daqduq was ordered to Iraq to report on the training and operations of the Iraqi special groups. “In the year prior to his capture, Ali Musa Daqduq made four trips to Iraq,” Bergner said. “He monitored and reported on the training and arming of special groups in mortars and rockets, manufacturing and employment of improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping operations. Most significantly, he was tasked to organize the special groups in ways that mirrored how Hezbollah was organized in Lebanon.” Daqduq also helped the Quds Force in training Iraqis inside Iran. “Quds Force, along with Hezbollah instructors train approximately 20 to 60 Iraqis at a time, sending them back to Iraq organized into these special groups,” he said. “They are being taught how to use (explosively formed penetrators), mortars, rockets, as well as intelligence, sniper and kidnapping operations.” The Quds Force also supplies the groups with weapons and a funding stream of between $750,000 to $3 million a month. “Without this support, these special groups would be hard-pressed to conduct their operations in Iraq,” Bergner said. …Khazali was captured with Daqduq. He was in charge of these groups throughout Iraq since June 2006. He is an Iraqi who worked to develop the Iraqi groups into a network similar to Hezbollah. “It is important to point out that both Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali state that senior leadership within the Quds Force knew of and supported planning for the eventual Karbala attack that killed five coalition soldiers,” Bergner said. “Ali Musa Daqduq contends the Iraqi special groups could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds Force.” “Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali both confirm that Qayis Khazali authorized the operation and Azhar al Dulaymi, who we killed in an operation earlier this year, executed the operation.” All of this is counter to pledges Iran has made to the Iraqi government to respect territorial boundaries and work to ease violence inside Iraq, Bergner said. [Emphasis is added]. So the official position of the U.S. government has been that the Karbala attack which killed Freeman and four other service members was one of several attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq which were planned, coordinated, funded or directed by the Quds Force, and that two terrorists captured months later had themselves said “senior leadership” of the Quds Force (which can reasonably be understood to mean Soleimani) “knew of and supported planning” for the Karbala attack.
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11210
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You’d be thinner, but possibly sad
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"This is a very good story reporting on the results from a recent trial examining the impact of rimonabant, a cannibinoid receptor inhibitor, on obesity and cardioavscular disease. The story did a good job reporting on both the benefits of the drug in improving weight and cholesterol as well as the harms of increased numbers of people reporting anxiety and depression. The story included several quotes from physicians such as the drug is ""unlikely ever to be approved"" or that it was ""nothing but bad news and ""I think we need to get back to what really works – exercise and diet."" The story was well written and would enable a reader to appreciate the complexity of assessing the impact of a medication. It was clear, balanced and succinct – the rimonabant portion of the story running less than 600 words."
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true
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"The story did not mention the costs for this medication. The story provided information about the magnitude of benefit derived from the use of this drug. The story provided clear information about the harms (anxiety, depression and insomnia) associated with the medication studied. The story did a fairly complete job presenting the results of the study it was reporting on. It mentioned that there was recent buzz generated from a presentation at a meeting but that the study itself had been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Differing views from a number of clinicians on how the outcomes from the study should/would be interpreted were included in this story. The story included a quote from a cardiologist, ""I think we need to get back to what really works – exercise and diet."" There was no other mention of treatments besides the highlighted class of medications (cannabinoid receptor inhibitors). We’ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The story was clear that rimonabant is available in Europe (and therefore available online) but has not been approved for use in the US. The story accurately conveyed the status of this medication – i.e. it is available in Europe but has not been approved by the FDA. Did not appear to rely exclusively on a press release."
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4556
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Medicare drug plan finder can steer seniors to higher costs.
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Medicare’s revamped prescription plan finder can steer unwitting seniors to coverage that costs much more than they need to pay, according to people who help with sign-ups as well as program experts.
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true
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Seniors, AP Top News, Health, Seema Verma, Politics, Business, Medicare, General News
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Serving some 60 million Medicare recipients, the plan finder is the most commonly used tool on Medicare.gov and just got its first major update in a decade. The Trump administration has hailed the new version and Medicare Administrator Seema Verma says it will empower beneficiaries to take advantage of their coverage options. But as open enrollment goes into the home stretch Thanksgiving week, critics say the new tool can create confusion by obscuring out-of-pocket costs that seniors should factor into their decisions. “I want to make sure people are given the most accurate information and they’re making the best decision — because they are the ones stuck with it,” said Ann Kayrish, senior program manager for Medicare at the National Council on Aging, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for seniors and provides community services. Government programs mixing health care and technology have faced struggles. Despite billions spent to subsidize electronic medical records, getting different systems to communicate remains a challenge. The Obama administration’s launch of HealthCare.gov resulted in an embarrassing debacle when the website froze up the first day. The leading Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee said he’s hearing concerns from constituents and organizations that assist Medicare beneficiaries. Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said he will ask Medicare to grant seniors who’ve had problems a second chance to sign up, called a “special enrollment period.” “It’s obviously an effort that needs a lot more work to meet the legitimate expectations of seniors,” said Casey. “Especially when you launch something new, (it) can go awry. People steered in the wrong direction should get a measure of fairness.” The Medicare plan finder’s issue stems from a significant change the agency made for 2020. The plan with the lowest premium now gets automatically placed on top, with the monthly premium displayed in large font. Medicare’s previous plan finder automatically sorted plans by total cost, not just premiums. But premiums are only one piece of information. When out-of-pocket expenses such as copays are factored in, the plan with the lowest total annual cost is often not the first one shown by the plan finder. It takes extra work for a Medicare enrollee to discover that. “If they pick the plan based solely on the premium they are likely getting a plan that could cost them thousands more in a calendar year,” said Christina Reeg of the Ohio Department of Insurance. She heads a program that helps Medicare enrollees try to find the right plan. In a statement, Medicare said the monthly premium is a cost that consumers understand and will always be an important decision factor. But the agency also said total cost paid out-of-pocket is at least equally, if not more important, particularly for people who take prescription drugs — as do most seniors. Medicare said it’s testing ways to encourage consumers to look at total costs, such as a pop-up. The agency said it chose to prominently display premiums because user testing showed that’s what consumers are familiar with. The total annual cost is included, but in smaller font. That’s puzzling to Kayrish. The lowest premium “doesn’t necessarily translate to lowest cost over the year,” she explained. Consumers using the plan finder first enter their medications and dosages. To get it to find plans by lowest total annual cost, they must take a few more steps, said Kayrish. After the screen displays initial search results, consumers should look for the drop-down menu on the right of the screen. Next, she said, select the feature that lets you re-sort plans by “lowest drug + premium cost.” A reporter’s sample search on a list of six medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes returned 29 plans in the Washington, D.C., area, topped by a lowest-premium option for $13.20 a month. But after re-sorting for the lowest total cost, the best deal was a plan with a monthly premium of $25.80. When out-of-pocket expenses were factored in, the second plan cost about $5,800 less a year than the initial lowest-premium option the plan finder displayed. Costs can vary so much because plans have different coverage designs and they don’t pay the same prices to drugmakers. And Kayrish said there’s another issue: The new plan finder can return options that don’t cover all of a patient’s medications. If a low-premium plan has very high out-of-pocket costs, it’s a clue that some of your drugs may not be covered. Check plan details. Some academic experts compared the old and new versions of the Medicare plan finder and confirmed the problems flagged by hands-on users. Their review also found improvements. Among them: — Consumers can enter their Medicare number and the new plan finder automatically fills in all the medications the program paid for. (Consumer advocates recommend double-checking this list.) — The new tool can be used more easily on mobile devices and tablets. — The revamped plan finder allows consumers to compare across Part D drug plans and Medicare Advantage medical plans. “The new plan finder is in many ways improved, but it did take a meaningful step backward by not doing more to highlight its most useful output— the total cost estimate,” said Brian McGarry, an assistant professor at the University of Rochester in New York. He’s the lead author of a recent online article about the plan finder for Health Affairs. Seniors have until Dec. 7 to pick or switch “Part D” prescription drug plans or, if they’re seeking comprehensive medical care through a private insurer, a Medicare Advantage plan. Coverage takes effect Jan. 1.
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17208
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"Health insurance and medical costs ""are going down because of Obamacare."
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Schultz said health care costs are going down due to Obamacare. Government data show decreases in January for the price of health insurance and health services. However, those measures can bounce around and if Schultz had looked a few months further back, he would have seen even steeper declines, followed by later increases. Plus, a drop in a price index doesn’t always translate into a lower price for the customer. Most analysts judge health care costs not by prices but overall spending. By that measure, costs continue to rise, albeit slowly. The impact of the Affordable Care Act on containing the cost of health care remains largely unproven. Schultz had some accurate numbers on prices but he was too quick to treat those as changes in costs and the role of the Affordable Care Act is sketchy for the time being.
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false
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Elections, Health Care, PunditFact, Ed Schultz,
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"As the country heads into the 2014 election, Republicans are ratcheting up -- to the extent it’s possible -- their attacks on Obamacare. But MSNBC host Ed Schultz is urging Democrats to stand tall. ""Democrats need to embrace Obamacare. Don't be afraid to run on it in the midterms,"" Schultz exhorted. ""Don't pay attention to the predictions, pay attention to the results, pay attention to the numbers, explain that in a town hall meeting, and they will be cheering Democrats."" Schultz said the facts are clear. Four years after the program began, it is working. ""Health insurance costs and medical care costs fell sharply in January, ding, ding, ding,"" Schultz crowed. ""For the first time in decades, we finally have this: Health care costs are going down because of Obamacare."" The claim that the Affordable Care Act is reducing health costs been made before. It’s been a year since PolitiFact looked into it so it seemed time for an update. And since Schultz mentioned health insurance and medical costs, we can pull back the curtain a bit on how the government tracks these changes. As Schultz spoke, a large chart behind him showed the declines he was talking about. It showed that by a measure called the price index, insurance prices fell 0.4 percent in January and health services dropped 0.1 percent. Technically, the full name of this yardstick is the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, and the first thing to note is that a price index is not the same as the cost. We'll get into that in just a bit. Schultz got those numbers correct (they came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis), but the analysts we reached told us you have to be careful focusing on any single month. A broader picture of the insurance price index shows a much bigger decline about a year ago followed by a steep rise. In short, the index fluctuates -- sometimes wildly, said Jim Dolmas, a senior research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas who has written articles about price index measurement. ""Because these series do jump around, it’s a good idea to never put undue weight on any one month’s observation,"" Dolmas said. Here’s a look at what Dolmas is talking about. Source: Goldman Sachs and Commerce Department, via Washington Post As you can see, isolating any one month is problematic. But so is using the index to measure health care costs at all, we found. The health services index measures how much providers are paid, which includes what they get from patients and insurance companies. ""There are lots of pieces that go into the construction of these, and they don’t always match neatly with what consumers may see out-of-pocket,"" Dolmas told PunditFact. What other numbers show The fact is, determining the impact of Obamacare on health care costs is difficult, if not impossible, because enough data isn’t available. Some numbers, like the index, suggest a decrease. But others do not. Tim Dall, a health economist at the financial consulting firm IHS, pointed to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that adjusts for seasonal variations. The BLS figures show that overall medical inflation remained at a constant 0.2 percent for December, January and February. ""It’s a stretch to say that a blip in January shows that the Affordable Care Act is holding down costs,"" Dall said. ""It should drive down costs in the long term, (but) it will be years before we know the impact on health care use and cost."" Jack Rodgers, managing director of the Health Policy Economics Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a large accounting and financial consulting firm, confirmed that the price declines are real, but he said that doesn’t mean health costs have also gone down. ""Even if the price index reflects the appropriate average price, costs are probably growing,"" Rodgers said. ""Because more people are using services, and those who are using services are using more on average."" In fact, total monthly health care spending rose by 1.6 percent in January, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Does this mean that the Affordable Care Act has had no effect? No, but teasing out those impacts today has proven difficult. Analysts need to separate Obamacare from the other factors that have been working on the health care industry. The view among most researchers is that the sluggish economy has played the largest role. ""About three-quarters of the recent decline in health spending growth can be explained by changes in the broader economy,"" the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent Washington-based research group, concluded last year. One of the problems in the debate over the effect of the Affordable Care Act is that it takes a while for the data to appear. The latest report on health spending from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services describes what happened through 2012. It found that health care spending rose by 3.7 percent. On the plus side, that was the fourth year in a row that the growth rate stayed low and health care’s share of the economy dropped a hair to 17.2 percent. We should note that health care analysts think the new health care system could reduce costs in the long run. They credit Obamacare with moving hospitals and doctors away from frequent use of expensive specialists and toward a system that rewards improved outcomes at reduced costs. Smaller increases in Medicare payments to providers that are part of the law could be holding prices in check. But the consensus is that more durable proof of the law’s impact is yet to come. Our ruling Schultz said health care costs are going down due to Obamacare. Government data show decreases in January for the price of health insurance and health services. However, those measures can bounce around and if Schultz had looked a few months further back, he would have seen even steeper declines, followed by later increases. Plus, a drop in a price index doesn’t always translate into a lower price for the customer. Most analysts judge health care costs not by prices but overall spending. By that measure, costs continue to rise, albeit slowly. The impact of the Affordable Care Act on containing the cost of health care remains largely unproven. Schultz had some accurate numbers on prices but he was too quick to treat those as changes in costs and the role of the Affordable Care Act is sketchy for the time being."
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28260
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A widely shared meme in August 2019 showed the faces of known mass-shooting suspects in the U.S. in 2019.
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"What's true: The meme was a broadly accurate representation of the identities of known suspects in 2019 incidents in the U.S. that fell under one relatively broad definition of a ""mass shooting."" What's false: The meme did not accurately represent the profiles of suspects under several other definitions of a ""mass shooting."""
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mixture
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Crime
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In the aftermath of two back-to-back mass shootings in the United States in early August 2019, much debate turned to the demographic dimensions of such massacres, with some commentary pointing the finger at white men, in particular. In response to such observations, others pointed out the role of non-white assailants in gun violence in the U.S. One graphic in particular caught the attention of internet users. The meme was first posted on Aug. 5 to the /pol/ (“Politically Incorrect”) section of the website 4chan, which is notorious as a forum for far-right and white nationalist imagery, tropes and discussion threads. It was entitled “Mass Shooters 2019” and bore the sub-heading “Every person charged with or arrested for shooting 4+ people in a single incident.” Underneath that was a collage of 98 portrait photographs, many of them prison mugshots. A large portion of the individuals shown in the collage appeared to be non-white, prompting its further promulgation on other online forums, including the website of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. The meme prompted much racist and white supremacist commentary. A note under the collage read: “146 Mas [sic] shootings so far this year are unsolved. Of these, 16 suspects have been identified as black or Latino and 0 white. The remaining cases have no suspect description issued. Also, of the 146 unsolved [mass] shootings so far, 21 are in Chicago, 8 are in Baltimore, 7 are in Washington DC, and 6 are in Philadelphia. All of this is according to my personal research which consisted of googling every single incident on the wikipedia page for mass shootings and reading local news articles about them. If I’m wrong about something give me the up-to-date information.” This meme failed to take into account an essential piece of context in any discussion of mass shootings and those who perpetrate them: how you define a mass shooting. Different definitions, different lists No fixed, uniformly accepted definition exists of a mass shooting, as we have explained in the past: Historically, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defined what they call “active shooter incidents” as those that result in four or more people (not including the attacker) being shot dead in public through actions not related to terrorism, gang activity, or the commission of other crimes (such as robbery). Since 2013, the FBI has dropped that numerical threshold to incidents involving the deaths of three or more people. Everytown for Gun Control, a pro-gun-control non-profit that collects data on shootings, also defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are killed (not including the shooter) but includes shootings taking place in private homes, a circumstance the FBI omits from their methodology. Mother Jones magazine, in their mass shootings database, defines such shootings as “indiscriminate rampages in public places resulting in four or more victims killed by the attacker.” Stanford University’s now-defunct Mass Shootings in America project defined a mass shooting as one in which three or more people were shot (but not necessarily killed), excluding the attacker. Stanford’s definition excluded gang-, drug-, or organized crime-related shootings. The Mass Shooting Tracker, a crowd-sourced project, defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot, including the attacker. Of the major sources of data about mass shootings, the Gun Violence Archive has a relatively inclusive definition: “If four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not [including] the shooter, that incident is categorized as a mass shooting based purely on that numerical threshold.” This includes shootings in private places, incidents involving gang activity and armed robbery, shootouts, and non-fatal shootings. The August 2019 meme stated that its inclusion criteria were incidents in which four or more people were shot in a single incident. It did not specify any other criteria, such as whether the total number shot could include the perpetrator, whether it included incidents that took place in private dwellings, whether it included terrorism or gang-related shootings, and so on. However, the meme also said it had derived its list of incidents from those included in the Wikipedia entry for “List of mass shootings in the United States in 2019.” It’s clear that that list did include some gang-related shootings, some which took place in a private dwelling, and several incidents in which multiple people were shot but nobody died. Our relatively brief overview of the alleged shooters included in the August 2019 meme indicates that it was broadly fairly accurate. It contained a few errors, but was faithful overall to its own criteria. The primary problem with the chart was that it was based on a relatively broad definition of “mass shooting” which, while valid in and of itself, should not be confused with the much more narrow definition implicitly at work in many conversations about “mass shootings” — that is, incidents in which an attacker with no links to terrorism, criminal gangs, or organized crime goes out into a public area and fatally shoots multiple people. From a law enforcement and criminological point of view, defining a “mass shooting” in this relatively narrow way helps to establish clear parameters in terms of the nature and causes of such attacks, as well as the motivations of the attackers and any patterns in the identities of their victims. By contrast, gang-related shootings, for example, even if they cross a numerical threshold for victims, have relatively well-studied and straightforward causes and motivations, as well as a much more familiar victimology. Hence, agencies such as the FBI deliberately exclude them from their study of, and operations against, “active shooter incidents.” However, to some observers, especially those primarily focused on the role of guns in violent deaths in the U.S., it is of secondary importance whether a mass shooting was related to a drug feud or a white supremacist act of terrorism. What matters most to these observers is the role of a firearm in causing the deaths of multiple people in one incident. Another example of this is the Mass Shooting Tracker’s (relatively rare) insistence on including the death of a perpetrator among the total number of deaths in a mass shooting. The website’s reasoning is simple but powerful: “We include the shooter’s death because suicide matters …” Therefore, how you define a “mass shooting” can often depend on which underlying phenomenon or aspect of a mass shooting is of primary interest to you, and that definition can have a significant effect on the list of incidents on which your analysis focuses. How you define a mass shooting also indirectly has a bearing on the demographic make-up of victims and perpetrators. For example, we know that criminal gangs in the United States are disproportionately made up of Latino and African American members. Including gang-related shootings in your definition of mass shootings will, therefore, increase the proportion of such perpetrators and victims in your count. That should not be surprising or controversial. In fact, the full list of mass shootings (according to the broad definition used in the August 2019 meme), is likely to skew even more towards non-white perpetrators than the meme itself shows. This is because, as we explained in our examination of 2018 statistics for mass shootings, unsolved shootings often remain unsolved due to the dynamics inherent in gang conflict. If an analysis of gun violence and mass shootings is being done in good faith, that demographic breakdown will be an inadvertent byproduct of the decision to include gang violence in one’s definition. However, readers should also be on the lookout for those with a racist or white supremacist agenda deliberately tailoring the definition of a mass shooting so as to yield a list of perpetrators with a higher quotient of non-white individuals. So what are the demographics of perpetrators of mass shootings, if we examine only the more narrow definitions of that term — the elusive phenomenon whereby an assailant without any ties to gangs, terrorism or organized crime, picks up a firearm and shoots multiple people in a public setting? The most extensive and robust database of gun violence in the U.S. is arguably the Gun Violence Archive. We have used entries from that database and applied the FBI’s definition of “active shooter incident” in order to check the demographic make-up of the perpetrators of these much more narrowly defined attacks. The FBI defines an “active shooter incident” (akin to a mass shooting) as an incident in which a perpetrator shoots dead three or more people (not including the perpetrator) in a single incident in a public place, which is unrelated to terrorism, gangs, and doesn’t take place in the course of some other criminal activity (like a robbery or fight). By this definition, the Gun Violence Archive showed there were six such alleged incidents between Jan. 1 and Aug. 5, 2019: All six suspects were men, three were white, two were African-American, and the precise racial and ethnic identity of the sixth suspect was not clear.
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11379
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Abortion pill might help battle breast cancer
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The story notes that RU-486 (trade name mifepristone) is being studied as a treatment approach for the prevention of breast cancer in high-risk women, that is, those who carry the BRCA1 gene. The study of this drug is still in an early animal research phase, and due to potential long-term harms of RU-486, this treatment is definitely not for women at this time. The story discusses the study design of RU-486 in a small group of mice. The findings that treated mice (10 mice) did not develop tumors after a year compared to a placebo-treated and control group is interesting and promising, but years of further research are needed before testing could begin in humans. The story cites cancer specialists who emphasize this point. The warning that this treatment is a long way off, if appropriate at all, gives a much needed temperance to the findings of this study and to the overenthusiastic headline of this story. The story does provide a short list of currently available, evidence-based options to lower the risk of breast cancer in women with the BRCA1 gene. This is a very complete story, and it was written in less than 550 words.
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true
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The story does not note the cost of this potential treatment; however, this is not relevant for this piece as RU-486 is still in very early stages of animal testing and not an option for breast cancer prevention in any woman at this time. The story reports absolute numbers for the benefit of this drug in 10 of 14 mice treated with RU-486. The story notes that due to unknown harms of long-term use of RU-486, it is not recommended for as a breast cancer prevention drug at this time. The story discusses the study design and outcomes of RU-486 in a small group of mice. The findings that all of the mice in the control group developed tumors and none in the treated group did after a year is interesting and promising, but further research is still needed before testing could begin in humans. The story cites cancer specialists who emphasize this point. Despite the over-enthusiastic and misleading headline, the story does not engage in disease mongering, as the treatment and early research discussed is targeted at women with he BRCA1 gene. The story interviews a cancer researcher not affiliated with the study, as well as a physican affliated with the American Cancer Society. Both of these sources provide excellent perspective on the results of these early findings in a very small group of mice. The warning that this treatment is a long way off, if appropriate at all, gives a much needed temperance to the findings of this study and to this story. The story appropriately notes the funding sources for the study. The story gives a short list of available, evidence-based options to lower the risk of breast cancer in women with the BRCA1 gene. The story notes that these women are at significantly greater risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime. The story notes that RU-486 is still being tested in animals and would not be appropriate or available at this time for women at high genetic risk of developing cancer. The story notes that RU-486 (trade name mifepristone) as a treatment approach is still in an early animal research phase and definitely not for patients at this time– despite the over-enthusiastic headline. This story does not appear to rely on a press release due to the inclusion of 2 cancer specialist sources and other independent reporting.
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35236
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U.S. President Donald Trump tapped World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon as an adviser on reopening the U.S. economy.
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Included on that long list was Vince McMahon, CEO Of World Wrestling Entertainment, better known as WWE.
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true
|
Politics, COVID-19
|
In mid-April 2020, controversy consumed the Trump administration over the goal of “reopening the economy,” meaning restarting commerce and businesses forced to shut down during the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. In efforts to achieve this, U.S. President Donald Trump convened what he dubbed the “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups,” a consortium of leaders from various industries, such as transportation, retail, banking, and hospitality. The names of those leaders were made available via an April 14, 2020 announcement from the White House.
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35272
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The cause of country music star Joe Diffie's death was lung cancer.
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GRAMMY®-winning country music legend Joe Diffie passed away today, Sunday, March 29 from complications of coronavirus (COVID-19). His family requests privacy at this time.
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false
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Entertainment, COVID-19
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In March 2020, country music fans were saddened by the news that “Pickup Man” singer Joe Diffie had died from complications of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease. While fans of the singer mourned the loss, some social media users attempted to obfuscate the cause of Diffie’s death to further an unfounded claim that hospitals were inflating reported death counts from COVID-19 in order to increase funding. One such social media post racked up more than 100,000 shares within a week: Another person claimed that Diffie had actually died from lung cancer, not COVID-19: There is no truth to these claims. Country musician Joe Diffie did not die from lung cancer, and the hospital did not alter the cause of death. Diffie published a statement to his Facebook page on March 27, 2020, announcing that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19: A few days later, on March 29, his Facebook page was updated again with a statement announcing that he had died due to complications from the disease:
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4115
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State: Care center where 11 kids died can resume admissions.
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A New Jersey nursing home where 11 children died following a viral outbreak last year can now resume admitting pediatric ventilator patients.
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true
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New Jersey, Health, North America, Infectious diseases, Disease outbreaks
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A ban imposed by state health officials more than four months ago was lifted Wednesday. The decision came after they approved the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation’s plans to control infectious disease outbreaks. There are 62 children at the facility in Haskell, which is licensed to provide care to 92 ventilator-dependent children and 135 adults. A federal report stated the outbreak that occurred last year was made worse because those in charge didn’t plan for such an outbreak and didn’t react fast enough. The center strongly disputes the report and is appealing. One staff member and 36 children were ultimately diagnosed with a particularly severe strain of adenovirus.
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8347
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Under fire over virus, Japan's Abe may seek emergency declaration.
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Japan is set this week to revise a law allowing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency over the coronavirus if needed, as he takes heat for his handling of the outbreak ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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true
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Health News
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In perhaps his biggest test since returning to office in 2012, Japan’s longest-serving premier has been accused by critics of initial lack of leadership then over-abrupt steps like school closures that left parents and employers scrambling. Japan has more than 1,200 coronavirus cases including about 700 from a cruise ship, public broadcaster NHK said. Sixteen people have died, including seven from the liner. Among criticisms is that Abe’s government was too slow to curb visitors from China - a big source of revenue - after the outbreak originated there. In an opinion poll released by NHK on Monday, 43% said they approved of Abe’s handling of the outbreak, versus 41% who did not. Commentators have also said Japan lacks sufficient capacity to test for the virus, while failing to mobilize what capacity it has, leading to suspicions that the virus is spreading faster than data show. Vigorous testing programs in countries like South Korea have detected high numbers of infections. Speculation - denied by organizes - is swirling that the outbreak will scupper Japan’s dream of hosting the Tokyo Olympics, especially if a state of emergency is declared. “I want the Olympics to succeed more than anyone, but the negative factors are increasing,” Yoichi Masuzoe, a former Tokyo governor who was health minister during a 2009 influenza epidemic, told Reuters. In NHK’s opinion poll, 45% said the Tokyo Olympics cannot be held as planned, versus 40% who said they can. The government plans on Tuesday to submit to parliament a bill to revise a 2012 law, enacted after the 2009 epidemic, so it can be applied to the coronavirus if necessary. Parliament is expected to sign off on Friday. The 2012 law was enacted while Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party was in opposition. Officials have said it could not be applied to the coronavirus without changes, although opposition parties and other critics say reinterpreting it is enough. The law would let the prime minister declare a state of emergency if the disease poses a “grave danger” to lives and if its rapid spread could have a huge impact on the economy. The virus is already increasing Japan’s recession risk. Governors in hard-hit regions could then ask residents to stay inside, close public facilities, expropriate land and buildings for medical facilities and request or order emergency transport of goods. The state of emergency could last up to two years with a possible one year-extension. In the virus-hit northern island of Hokkaido, the governor declared a state of emergency late last month, although he acknowledged there was no legal basis to do so. Abe has already requested that schools nationwide close and large-scale events be pared back or canceled. “Abe could apply the law by re-interpreting it. He’s good at that,” said Masahiro Kami, head of the Medical Governance Research Institute and a critic of the government’s response. Abe’s government in 2014 controversially reinterpreted the post-war, pacifist constitution to let troops fight abroad. “He wants to appeal (to the public) because things are not going well,” Kami said. He added the most urgent issue was not further limits on public activities, but beefing up virus testing and early treatment of elderly and other high-risk patients. Abe has not made clear what exactly would trigger a state of emergency, repeating on Monday that the revision was to prepare for a “worst-case scenario”. “I suspect Abe doesn’t want to declare a state of emergency because it would be killing the Olympics himself,” said Koichi Nakano, political science professor at Sophia University.
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2282
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Beyond Fitbit: The quest to develop medical-grade wearables.
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A new wave of wearable computing devices that detect and monitor serious diseases is moving from the laboratory to the market, potentially transforming the treatment of conditions ranging from epilepsy to diabetes and creating business opportunities estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.
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true
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Health News
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Unlike popular fitness-tracking devices, such as Fitbit Inc’s Fitbit and Jawbone’s UP wristbands, these so-called medical-grade wearables require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - a rigorous regulatory hurdle that first-generation wearables sought to avoid. The FDA is preparing for the coming onslaught. Bakul Patel, FDA’s associate director for digital health, told Reuters the agency is reviewing applications for three new senior health scientist positions focused on digital health. Long criticized by some health-tech entrepreneurs as a barrier to innovation, the FDA is now seen as an important ally by companies eager to show that their devices can improve peoples’ health - and eager to get heath insurers to cover them. “Consumers, doctors, payers all want to know if a product provides a clinical benefit,” said Julie Papanek of the venture capital firm Canaan Partners, who invests in wearables startups. “Working with the FDA is the one way to get the ability to market that benefit.” Many would-be vendors of medical wearables are small startup companies, such as Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Empatica, which is developing a wristband designed to alert epilepsy patients and their caregivers of seizures in the hope of averting a dangerous post-seizure condition that can cause sudden, unexpected death. Like many emerging wearables companies, Empatica hopes that its core technology will also find uses far beyond one specific medical condition. Empatica founder Rosalind Picard, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and inventor, told Reuters the company has just started large clinical trials using its wristband device on individuals with depression. The behemoths of the tech and healthcare industries are also chasing medical wearables. Dr. Jessica Mega, a former Harvard cardiologist who is now chief medical officer at Alphabet Inc’s healthcare unit Verily, said at a recent digital health conference that the company plans to work closely with the FDA as it develops its own medical-grade devices. Soreon Research estimates the smart wearable healthcare market will grow from $2 billion in 2014 to more than $41 billion in 2020, with diabetes, sleep disorders, obesity and cardiovascular disease representing the biggest growth segments. To win acceptance, though, medical wearables companies will need to do much more than reliably collect data from sophisticated sensors. They will also need to develop the analytical capabilities to make sense of it all, and prove in extensive studies that they can improve patient health. “The sensors are fantastic overall for collecting data,” said Dr. Eric Topol, a digital health expert at the Scripps Translational Science Institute. It is the “data analytics and the clinical utility parts that most of the companies haven’t figured out yet.” Empatica’s experiences to date show the winding road that many digital health technologies follow before they arrive at an FDA-approved product. Besides tracking sleep, motion and heart rate, Picard’s device tracks physiological stress by measuring skin conductance - changes in electrical signals in the skin that correlate with the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn regulates the “fight or flight” stress response. The device was originally developed to detect stress in individuals with autism who have difficulty communicating their emotions. Picard became interested in epilepsy when a student in her lab borrowed a pair of the devices for his autistic brother, who had a grand mal seizure while wearing them. The event produced a surprising spike in electrodermal activity on one side of the body that set Picard on the path of seizure detection. Empatica raised $2 million last year in seed funding from angel investors, and more than $700,000 in an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for its first consumer device, called Embrace, which it hopes to start shipping early next year. The company is also seeking FDA approval for its E4 device, a research-grade version for use in clinical trials. Empatica will use that to help gather evidence for future medical claims. Papanek likes that strategy, saying: “You can use the clinical trial platform to help validate the hardware and software that powers both the consumer and the industrial versions of their product.” Picard ultimately hopes to develop a way to predict seizures based on patterns divined from data in her device, but that will take more study. For its first FDA application, Empatica wants to make a simple claim: that the device can reliably detect some types of epileptic seizures and send an alert to caregivers to check on them. Such alerts might help prevent sudden unexpected death in epilepsy or SUDEP, which kills 1 out of every 1,000 patients with epilepsy. If seizures are uncontrolled, the risk of SUDEP jumps to more than 1 in 150, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Death is typically preceded by seizure and most deaths occur when people are unattended. There are several other epilepsy sensors on the market, such as Smart Monitor’s SmartWatch, which detects repetitive shaking. Most are not covered by insurance because they are not FDA-approved, but that could soon change. Anoo Nathan, founder of Smart Monitor, said the company has done validation studies and is preparing for an FDA submission. “It’s definitely part of our roadmap,” she said. Dr. Tobias Loddenkemper of Harvard Medical School’s Boston Children’s Hospital, who owns part of the Empatica patent, tests several different types of sensors. He hopes to do large studies using different combinations of sensors and drugs to find out which offer the best results for individual patients. Loddenkemper said he is in talks with unnamed drug companies to devise systems that would use wearables and other data to manage patients with epilepsy. “If we can prove these devices and warning systems are keeping patients out of the intensive care unit,” he said, there is a chance that hospitals will pay for them. A key driver in the new wearables wave is the push for so-called value-based healthcare that is part of the Affordable Care Act. The law gives doctors and hospitals financial incentives for keeping large groups of patients healthy. Under the old fee-for-service model, hospitals got paid when patients were hospitalized, noted Jody Ranck, a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare consultant. “Now, you can lose money,” he said. Instead, healthcare providers are now eager to collect the data that can help keep people out of the hospital - especially those with chronic diseases. “These wearables are just tools to get the health data,” said Ranck. An avalanche of studies - many of them taking advantage of new data-gathering platforms such as Apple Inc’s HealthKit, Google’s Google Fit and Samsung’s SAMI - are under way on a number of chronic diseases, especially in the area of diabetes. “We’re going to see a lot of devices over the next couple of years for every chronic condition of mankind that are FDA-regulated because they all involve a treatment loop,” Scripps’ Topol said. Verily’s Mega, speaking at a Scripps digital health conference in October, said companies will need deep analytics to tease out known signals, like fluctuations in glucose levels or abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation. But machine learning technologies will also make it possible to discover “unknown signals,” such as the significance of skin conductance for a variety of conditions. “Maybe that’s a much earlier signal of a heart attack than we actually know. These unknown signals take additional analytics,” Mega said.
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41640
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The government will be putting more money into the NHS over the next five years, £394 million more a week.
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Spending increases announced for NHS England’s budget mean that £20.5 billion more will be spent on it in 2023/24 than in 2018/19. That’s £394 million more a week by 2023/24. This money doesn’t cover all health spending.
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true
|
health
|
No longer sending money to the EU means we will have money to spend on priorities like the NHS. There is no guaranteed extra money to pay for increased NHS funding from stopping our payments to the EU budget. Other costs associated with Brexit are expected to outweigh the savings. When the UK leaves the EU we won’t be sending vast amounts of money to the EU every year. Our net contribution to the EU budget is typically £9-10 billion a year. We will no longer contribute to it from 2021 onwards, but other costs and economic effects associated with leaving are expected to more than offset that saving. Claim 1 of 3
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10834
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Researchers at Philadelphia conference announce progress toward noninvasive colon cancer test
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The story suffers from a lack of independent voices and a lack of clear analysis of the data. There was little more than a nod to the potential harms done in over-screening. Detection of a marker for a disease is not the same as preventing a disease or preventing a death. The story says that “very few people avail themselves of [screening] colonoscopy – only about 20 percent.” That was one researcher’s estimate – someone with a vested financial interest in this research. But the fact is that the CDC BRFSS survey estimates that about 60% of US adults are up to date with screening, most with colonoscopy. That is a big difference from 20%, and one has to wonder why that was not double-checked. Still, there clearly are a lot of people being missed. How to improve those numbers is up for debate. Stories about new types of screening need to make clear comparisons between the success rates of colonoscopies now and the possible success rates of these emerging technologies.
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false
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Cancer,Screening
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This story states that “Though the cost has not been set, it could be as low as $300 per test.” But why take that cheerleading stance about how LOW it might be? And who says it may be that low? (A Reuters story attributed costs estimates to the company.) Who’s the source? Why not tell us that it could be AS HIGH AS $xxx per test? Nonethless, we give it a satisfactory score for giving some ballpark estimate. The story does quantify the potential benefits, but it doesn’t put this into the context of the performance of other existing colon cancer screening tests – including other stool tests. So the reader gets no sense of the scope of the potential benefit. No mention of potential harms. If “most people using the new test would have negative results” and more people are going to be likely to take a test that is non-invasive doesn’t that increase the chances of missed cancers? And, conversely, if more people are screened and more tumors are found doesn’t that increase the chances of unnecessary surgical interventions? The New York Times story, by comparison, addressed false positives. This is where the story falls down on the job. There is a lot of information packed into this story but not a lot of clarity. It presents the findings as “The Holy Grail” appearing to get close. But a significant limitation that is only indirectly noted is that initial accuracy studies in non-representative samples of cases and non-cases (like this study) usually overestimate performance. That is why they are planning another study. Health Day did a better job by including the quote from Dr. Durado Brooks of the American Cancer Society: “Showing that in a small group of samples is very different from demonstrating that in a population where only a small number of individuals are going to have polyps of that size. Then we will know if this is a big step forward.” WebMD quoted Brooks: “The performance may decrease considerably when the test is used in a large population of heatlhy individuals.” No disease mongering here. The story says, “The United States has about 150,000 new diagnoses and 50,000 colon cancer deaths each year. The disease kills about 40 percent who are diagnosed, reflecting the fact that most people do not undergo colonoscopy until they have symptoms such as bleeding – at which point the cancer may be advanced.” The story does not have a single source who is not connected to the technology or the company in some way. It also describes Johns Hopkins University researcher Bert Vogelstein this way. “He is not involved in Exact Science’s research, but the company licensed some of his technology from Hopkins for the test.” The New York Times was more straightforward and more informative. It said, “a cancer expert at Johns Hopkins University who is also an adviser to the company.” Conflicts of interest are noted throughout, but disclosure can’t beat independence for helping readers understand the importance of this research. The story did not compare the results to existing colon cancer screening tests or compare the results with those of another new test being developed by Epigenomics, as the New York Times did. The quote “Now, the gold standard for screening is a colonoscopy, which requires a colon clean-out only slightly less unpleasant than stomach flu, followed by threading a scope through the intestines under anesthesia” is misleading in three ways. First, colonoscopy is not the “gold standard.” It is simply one option. Two, the preparation for colonoscopy is not similar to stomach flu, at least for most people. And three, patients don’t receive “anesthesia” at least as defined in the way most people think about that word, “general anesthesia.” The story makes it clear that the test is not available currently. It says, “The DNA test is still experimental, hasn’t been validated under real-life conditions, and will take at least another year of development, he said.” The story talks about this being a “novel test” that screens for a “novel marker.” This appears to be true, but the story fails to discuss a competing screening test also in development. We think that the story should have included at least a mention of the other new test in development as the New York Times did. The story does not rely solely on a news release.
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3962
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Rabid kitten bites three people in Otter Tail County.
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State animal health officials say an Otter Tail County kitten who bit three people, including a young child, has tested positive for rabies.
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true
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Animals, Rabies, Health, Minnesota, Animal health
|
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says the kitten’s owner saw a skunk attacking the kitten on her farmhouse porch last month. She recalled seeing blood and bite marks on the kitten’s leg. The farm owner, her 4-year-old son and her pregnant sister were bitten by the kitten in early November. The kitten was then euthanized and submitted for rabies testing. Results that came earlier this week show the kitten was infected with the rabies virus. The Minnesota Department of Health investigated and has recommended a course of preventive action for five people who may have been exposed to the virus.
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4256
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US FDA clears ovarian cancer drug for hard-to-treat disease.
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U.S. health officials have approved a new option for some women battling ovarian cancer: a drug that targets a genetic mutation seen in a subset of hard-to-treat tumors.
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true
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Medication, Cancer, Health, Tumors, Ovarian cancer, Clovis Oncology Inc, Chemotherapy
|
The Food and Drug Administration cleared the drug, Rubraca, from Clovis Oncology Inc. for women in advanced stages of the disease who have already tried at least two chemotherapy drugs. The Clovis medication targets a mutation found in 15 to 20 percent of patients with ovarian cancer. Women with the variation, known as BRCA, face much higher risks of breast cancer and ovarian cancer compared with other women. The FDA also approved a companion test that screens for the mutation. About 1 percent of women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute. This year an estimated 14,240 women will die from the disease in the U.S. Currently, standard treatment includes surgery to try and remove tumors or chemotherapy. Rubraca is part of an emerging class of drugs that blocks an enzyme that helps cells — including those affected by cancer — repair themselves. Blocking this mechanism is thought to slow tumor growth. Biotech drugmaker Tesaro Inc. is expecting an FDA decision on a similar drug next year. “This approval gives Clovis the chance to build a market in this space before the approval of Tesaro’s niraparib,” stated Stifel analyst Thomas Shrader, in a note to investors. He has a “Buy” rating on Clovis. Shares of the Boulder, Colorado-based company rose $3.28, or 8.8 percent, to $40.48 in trading Monday. Shares of competitor Tesaro fell $4.19, or 3.2 percent, to $127.24. The FDA cleared the new drug under its accelerated approval pathway, reserved for medicines with promising results that must be confirmed by additional research. If the drug’s benefits do not pan out, the FDA has the option of removing it from the market. The agency said it cleared Rubraca based on studies of more than 100 women in which 54 percent of patients saw complete or partial shrinkage of their tumors. Typically that benefit lasted about nine months, the agency said in an online posting. Rubraca will carry a warning label about serious risks, including bone marrow problems and a form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia. Common side effects of the drug include nausea, fatigue, vomiting and low levels of red blood cells.
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21491
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Blogger Says Florida U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson are Socialists.
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You've heard it from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Democratic Socialists of America and the author of the commentary that inspired the blog activity: Just because you are a member of the Progressive Caucus does not mean you are a socialist. And none of the caucus members profess to be Socialists, including our Florida Democrats, Brown, Hastings and Wilson. The bloggers go too far in attacking them as socialists, a repeated label for liberals these days.
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false
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Patriotism, Florida, Bloggers,
|
"Word in the blogosphere is that scores of members of Congress are actually unabashed 'S' words. That'd be Socialists. Several bloggers have listed members of Congress by name under headlines like ""Why do Americans Keep Electing These Socialist Politicians to Congress??"" and ""Socialist Party of America Releases The Names of 70 Democrat Members of Congress Who Are Members Of Their Congress."" The list -- actually a roster of Congressional Progressive Caucus members (mostly) from Wikipedia -- includes Florida Democrats Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson. ""I'm sure if you asked random people on the street if we had open socialists in the U.S. Congress, they would say – well only Bernie Sanders (Senate). But the right answer is much, much worse,"" goes an Aug. 12, 2011 post from the website Sovereign Citizens United. On Aug. 17, 2011, citing a different caucus count, Texas radio host Dan Cofall wrote, ""The magic number '70' is the number of members of the 111th Congress who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). These are not just politicians who vote left of center; these are card-carrying members of ‘The Democratic Socialists of America’."" Our colleagues at PolitiFact Oregon vetted the bloggers' claim in this story, concentrating on Oregonian representatives. They pointed out that Cofall's figure is, for one, out of date because we have entered the 112th Congress. Several out-of-office House members from Florida were listed there. Still, his post targets many existing lawmakers. As our colleagues noted, the posts grabbed our attention for their blunt and far-reaching assertions. At PolitiFact Florida, we wanted to check out the claims that Brown, Hastings and Wilson are Socialists, or if it's a virtual Red Scare. Where did the list come from? Sovereign Citizens United connects the officials to socialism for their membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the largest caucus (75 members) within the House Democratic caucus. Founded in 1991, the group of lawmakers supports policies that advance economic justice, civil rights and liberties, global peace and environmental protection, among other causes on its website. We reached out to Sovereign Citizens United and heard back from a Montgomery, Penn., woman named Ruth Miller. Miller sent us several e-mails to back up her blog post. ""It is documented FACT that Socialist Bernie Sanders and Democratic Socialists of America created the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991 to further their socialist agenda in the US,"" she wrote. ""Any member of Congress who has joined this caucus expresses solidarity with socialism."" Miller sent us to a KeyWiki page about the caucus, which claims that the DSA has worked closely with the progressives and links to an old DSA Detroit group's web page. ""As a national organization, DSA joins with its allies in Congress' Progressive Caucus and in many other progressive organizations, fighting for the interests of the average citizen both in legislative struggles and in other campaigns to educate the public on progressive issues and to secure progressive access to the media."" Then Miller directed us to Henry Lamb, 73, who penned an undated commentary that inspired her blog post (she included an excerpt there). Lamb, founder of advocacy group Freedom 21 and retired chairman of Sovereignty International, said he wrote the essay to show ""how similar the organizations were at the time."" Lamb wrote: ""Socialism in America is alive, well, and growing. Aided by such influential Congressmen as John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Judicial Committee, David Bonior, the pit-bull-dog who successfully whipped Newt, Maxine Waters, the President's outspoken defender in the impeachment debates, and nearly 60 other Representatives, socialism is advancing in America behind the 'Progressive' label."" He goes on to pull excerpts from the Democratic Socialists of America website that explain what the group believes. In a hot pink sidebar, Lamb listed 56 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. It includes Brown and Hastings but not Wilson, as she was not yet elected to the House. There's also no analysis of the Progressive Caucus. His piece contains no date, and Lamb -- to whom we spoke -- could not find it in his online archives. So are they Socialists? Neither Brown nor Wilson's office responded to calls and e-mails for comment. A spokeswoman for Hastings e-mailed only to say he was not a member of the Progressive Caucus, which is true -- this year. News accounts show he has been a member in the past. Still, all three are serving as Democrats. All three list their political party affiliation as the Florida Democratic Party on their voter registration cards. Brad Bauman, executive director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said none of the group's members are Socialists. ""The members of Congress on our caucus are patriots who have chosen to serve,"" Bauman said, ""and to allege that they are not is just simply ridiculous."" Even the Democratic Socialists of America does not claim the caucus members. PolitiFact Oregon interviewed the party's past national director of 10 years, Frank Llewellyn, who called the list ""completely fraudulent."" More from PolitiFact Oregon: There is not one member of Congress who is a formal member of the DSA, Llewellyn said. In order to join, a person must fill out a form and pay dues. Even Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, is not a formal member of the DSA, Llewellyn said. The last member of Congress who was an actual card-carrying member, he said, was California Democratic Rep. Ron Dellums, who served 28 years in the House until leaving in 1998. In a separate interview with PolitiFact Georgia, Llewellyn said the DSA had nothing to do with the creation of the caucus and would ""prefer an alternative third party that supports its values."" He outlined a couple policy differences with the progressives in Congress. He said his organization wants larger cuts in military spending and federal income tax rates returned to pre-Reagan administration levels, when they were much higher for the rich. But what about Lamb, the man who wrote untold years ago that ""socialism is advancing in America behind the ""Progressive"" label""? He said it isn't wise to generalize. The name-calling reminds him of recent comments from Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., who said some of his tea party colleagues would like to see blacks ""hanging from a tree."" ""I think it would be equally silly for somebody to say that every member of the Progressive Caucus is a Socialist, even though you would have to share similar philosophies with socialist beliefs to sign up,"" Lamb said. ""That doesn't mean necessarily that you are a Socialist."" Our ruling You've heard it from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Democratic Socialists of America and the author of the commentary that inspired the blog activity: Just because you are a member of the Progressive Caucus does not mean you are a socialist. And none of the caucus members profess to be Socialists, including our Florida Democrats, Brown, Hastings and Wilson. The bloggers go too far in attacking them as socialists, a repeated label for liberals these days."
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22568
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"Scott Walker Says under his budget-repair bill, ""collective bargaining is fully intact."
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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his budget-repair bill would leave collective bargaining “fully intact”
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false
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Labor, State Budget, Wisconsin, Scott Walker,
|
"If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker isn’t trying to strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees, then why do workers keep pouring into Madison by the thousands to demonstrate against him? Many state, local government and public school employees -- including those represented by the largest state workers union -- have said they would be willing to pay more for pensions and health insurance, as called for in a budget-repair bill introduced by Walker. But the workers continue to protest provisions in the bill that would restrict most public employee unions to bargaining only over wages, and then only within caps. It’s the central issue in the protests, which have drawn national attention. And yet on the morning of Feb. 18, 2011 -- a day after Democratic state senators fled to Illinois to prevent a vote on the bill -- Walker made a startling declaration in a Milwaukee radio interview. At the turn of the 19th century, the Republican governor told conservative talk show host Charles Sykes, Wisconsin adopted the ""strongest civil service protections"" in the world. Walker then added: ""Those fully remain intact. Civil service does not get altered by the modest changes we’re talking about here. Collective bargaining is fully intact. You’ve got merit hiring, you’ve got just cause for termination and for discipline. All those things remain."" In the middle of that statement is the eyebrow-raising remark. Collective bargaining would remain ""fully intact""? We immediately asked Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie for evidence that would back up his boss’ statement. In the crush of activity in Madison, where the state Assembly took up the budget-repair bill as Walker did the interview, Werwie had not responded by publication time. But let’s take a look at what was said. In contending that collective bargaining would remain fully intact, Walker mixed civil service protections with collective bargaining rights. They are not the same. Civil service protections The protections are put into state law by the Legislature, or into a local ordinance by a city council, or village or town board, said public-sector employer attorney Andrew Phillips. He is general counsel for the Wisconsin Counties Association and his Mequon firm also represents municipalities and school districts. Currently, state employees are covered by civil service, but most local government employees don’t have it and no public school employees do, Phillips said. Phillips said civil service protections, among other things, specify employee rights to things such as vacation and overtime; prohibit termination for reasons other than just cause; and create procedures for employees to file grievances and to have those complaints heard. What they don’t provide, he said, is any right for employees to bargain with their employers over those issues and others. The terms are set by the employer. Collective bargaining rights Two sections of state law -- one for state workers and one for local government and public school employees -- give public employees the right in Wisconsin to collectively bargain. The law issues a mandate to both the employer (the government) and the collective bargaining unit (employees represented by a union). The two sides must ""meet and confer at reasonable times, in good faith, with the intention of reaching an agreement"" on wages, hours, fringe benefits and conditions of employment. In other words, the workers -- through their union -- have a say in those areas. They do not have such a say under civil service rules. So, what would change if Walker’s budget-repair bill is adopted by the Republican-controlled Legislature? With an amendment approved by the Joint Finance Committee, the bill would require local governments that don’t have a civil service system to establish one, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Alternatively, local governments could establish a grievance procedure that would, at minimum, address employee discipline and workplace safety, and provide for a grievance procedure for employee terminations. Let’s return to Walker’s statement that under his changes collective bargaining remains intact. To be sure, those rights would remain intact for the State Patrol and local police and fire department employees. They are exempt from any of the changes. As for the rest of state, local government and public school employees, Walker’s own Feb. 11, 2011 letter to employees about his plan cited ""various changes to limit collective bargaining"" to the rate of base pay. The letter also noted other changes, including limiting contracts to one year and requiring annual employee votes to retain unions. Moreover, the bill would repeal all bargaining rights for home health care workers, University of Wisconsin System faculty and academic staff, and employees of University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. Indeed, Walker also said in the interview with Sykes it was necessary to use his bill to strip collective bargaining rights because when it comes to money the state is broke. He added: ""What changes is the fact that no longer can our unions have a stranglehold -- not only on the state government but local government -- to force them to not alter benefit packages that are like a virus eating up our budget."" Where does that leave us? In arguing the changes would be modest, Walker cited the civil service system and said ""collective bargaining is fully in tact."" However, Walker himself has outlined how his budget-repair bill would limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Indeed, it’s that provision that provoked daily demonstrations at the state Capitol and national media attention. To now say now say collective bargaining would remain ""fully intact"" is not just false, it’s ridiculously false. And that means it is "
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15181
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The State of Texas is funding … women’s health services at historically high levels; they just increased their level another $50 million for the next two years.
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Anti-abortion leader says Texas funding women's health services at historically high levels
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true
|
Abortion, Health Care, State Budget, Women, Texas, Joe Pojman,
|
"At a Texas Capitol rally, an anti-abortion advocate suggested Texas has hit a record pace in funding women’s health. Video of the July 2015 rally shows Joe Pojman of the Texas Alliance for Life initially saluting Republican leaders for launching investigations in reaction to stealth videos showing Planned Parenthood employees talking rather casually about donations of fetal tissue. The videos had been circulated by the California-based Center for Medical Progress, which describes itself as a group of citizen-journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics. Next, Pojman told the crowd, to cheers and applause: ""I just wanted to emphasize, the state of Texas is doing its part... The state of Texas is funding … women’s health services at historically high levels; they just increased that level another $50 million for the next two years."" Pojman noted that none of the $50 million would go to Planned Parenthood. ""Texas takes care of our people and Planned Parenthood is not part of that picture,"" he said. Legislative cuts and changes, 2011-2013 Pojman’s declaration caught our attention in part because actions set in motion by the 2011 Legislature drove down family planning spending in the state budget by more than $70 million (from an existing two-year expenditure of $111 million) in 2012-13. Also in 2011, lawmakers voted to bar state family planning aid from going to health care providers affiliated with organizations that perform or promote abortions such as Planned Parenthood, whose clinics had been the Texas program’s biggest provider of contraceptive care and cancer screening, serving more than 40,000 women a year. Two years later, the state's ruling Republicans passed into law a bar on most abortions after 20 weeks of gestation and mandated facilities providing abortions meet tougher health and safety standards, a move under court challenge that has caused providers to predict a substantial reduction in clinics statewide. After the 2011 actions, the federal government moved to cut off what had been a 9-to-1 match of federal to state dollars paying to provide contraceptive care for women who otherwise would qualify for Medicaid if they were to become pregnant. State health officials said the affected initiative, launched in 2005, had saved the state money—$21.4 million in 2008, for instance—by reducing Medicaid-financed births. Federal aid accounted for $65 million of the money spent on the program in 2010-11. Reacting to the pending cutoff, then-Gov. Rick Perry announced state officials would assure such services were delivered through clinics not affiliated with abortion providers. The promised transition fully played out starting in 2013. So, given all this, could it be the state has set a record for expenditures on women’s health? Pojman’s backup cites state budgets We asked Pojman, executive director of the alliance, which says it opposes the advocacy and practice of abortion (except to preserve the pregnant woman’s life), how he reached his ""historically high"" conclusion. By email, Pojman responded with a chart, which he sourced to state budgets, indicating that nearly $285 million in state and federal funds budgeted by the 2015 Legislature for several women’s health efforts in 2016-17 would exceed such spending in each of the nine previous two-year state budgets, dating to 1998-99—with the previous record being $240.1 million for such programs in 2014-15. The previous low, per the chart, was $128.8 million in 2012-13. Pojman’s chart attributed the touted $50 million in fresh spending to a provision in the 2016-17 budget stating the money should ""increase access to women's health and family planning services."" In his email, Pojman told us that at the rally, he was referring to total legislatively appropriated state and federal funding, not per-person funding, on four programs providing family planning or female-specific health care such as breast and cervical cancer screenings. Conversely, he said, he wasn’t including funding for perinatal care, including childbirth. ""Planned Parenthood,"" he said, ""provides virtually no services for pregnant women, certainly not support for childbirth, except elective abortion."" Four state-overseen efforts In his email, Pojman said a February 2014 Texas Health and Human Services Commission presentation amounted to a good summary of how the state spends money on women’s health. From that, we pulled these thumbnails: The Texas Women’s Health Program was put in place by the state starting in 2013 to provide services previously available through the defunct, federally supported Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The successor program, serving women living at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, ""retains the same program objectives and client eligibility previously provided by WHP and has expanded program benefits to include treatment of certain sexually transmitted infections."" Services offered in annual appointments include pelvic examinations and STD, diabetes, HIV, cholesterol, blood pressure and breast and cervical cancer screenings plus Pap tests, a clinical breast exam, contraceptives and family planning counseling. Family planning services, available to women of childbearing age and men living at 250 percent of the poverty level or less, offering the tests offered in the women’s health program plus sterilizations. Expanded Primary Health Care, a new program, offered to women 18 and older living at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, covering the services offered in the other programs plus immunizations, mammograms, diagnostic services for women with abnormal breast or cervical cancer test results, cervical dysplasia treatment, individualized case management and option prenatal medical and dental services. Breast and Cervical Cancer Services, open to women living at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, with breast screenings for women aged 50 to 64 and cervical screenings for women aged 21 to 64. In addition to services covered by the Expanded Primary Health Care program, BCCS assists clients needing to apply to Medicaid’s Breast and Cervical Cancer program. In addition, a chart in the presentation included spending figures that mostly aligned with what Pojman had offered to us for fiscal 2010 through 2015--including the legislated decrease in 2012-13 and a rebound in spending budgeted for 2014-15 (which ran through August 2015):"
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37466
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A message that is packaged in the form of television detective Lieutenant Colombo raising questions about the documentation of aspects of the life of presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.
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"Columbo's ""Excuse Me Mr. Obama"""
|
mixture
|
Humorous, Politics
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"An internet author going by the nom du plume of “Uppity Woman” told TruthorFiction.com that she is the author of an article called “Ah…Sorry To Bother You Mr. Obama, Sir.” The original version was posted on her blog site as satire during the month of August 2008. Various versions with added lines were forwarded on the internet during the months leading toward the November 2008 election. Click here for Uppity Woman page. There isn’t any dispute that Barack Obama served in the Illinois legislature, attended schools like Occidental or Harvard, or that he was born or baptized, but during the 2008 presidential primary season there were questions that came up about the release of some of the actual records about his life, although not as many as this eRumor alleges. This forwarded email focuses on those issues but humorously presents them in the manner of the famous television character Lt. Colombo, played by actor Peter Falk. The Colombo character was a brilliant detective but was known for his frumpy and mild-mannered style of asking a series of questions that incriminated suspects before they realized where the questions were headed. Just for the record, and in case anyone suspected it, Peter Falk had nothing to do with this forwarded email and told TruthOrFiction.com that he was” irked that his Colombo character has been used to disseminate false innuendo about Barack Obama.” Let’s take the issues raised in the eRumor one at a time: Your Occidental College records Obama did graduate from Occidental College. We’re not aware of any controversy about a release of his college records. Your Columbia Thesis paperThere have been questions raised about why there seems to be little said about his Columbia years. According to an MSNBC report dated July 24, 2008 Obama could not provide any copies of the twenty five year old paper he wrote while a senior at Columbia University. Your Harvard College records We are not aware of any controversy over this but according to a Harvard Law School Alumni Association Obama did graduate from the Law School. Your Selective Service Registration We are not aware of any controversy over this. Your medical recordsThere was no concern about Senator Obama’s health but there was a controversy over Senator John McCain’s medical Records owing to health concerns from a recent treatment for skin cancer, his age and wounds received in Viet Nam. According to a May 22, 2008 CNN report, Senator John McCain allowed select members of the press to review over 1100 pages of his medical records and turned in a clean bill of health. The Los Angeles Times reported on May 30, 2008 that the Democratic Campaign released a doctor’s letter that Barack Obama was in “in excellent health”. The letter by his longtime physician stated that although the Senator had not had a physical for sixteen months he was physically ready to serve as president. The report did mention that he was struggling to quit smoking tobacco. Presidents with health problems have held office in the past. Franklin Delano Roosevelt sat in office for three presidential terms and saw this country through most of the second world war. FDR suffered from polio and was restricted to a wheelchair which was hidden from the press. Since the 1940’s, John F. Kennedy suffered from terrible back pain. In 1954 Kennedy’s back pain increase to where he was dependent on crutches. At that time he was a US Senator when doctors discovered that his fifth lumbar vertebra had collapsed. He under went spinal reconstructive surgery but slipped into a coma owing to a related urinary tract infection. The Senator eventually recovered, went on to be the 35th President of the United States but lived with back pain for the rest of his life. Your Illinois State Senate records and schedule Senator Obama’s records are public on his website along with his voting record. Your Law practice client listWe are not aware of any controversy over this. On April 6, 2008 the Los Angeles Times ran a story describing the Senator’s early legal career. Click here for the LA Times Story. A Certified Copy of your original Birth certificate and embossed, signed paper Certification of Live BirthMuch controversy has been raised if Barack Obama really is a natural born American. Click here for our findings. Your Harvard Law Review articles We are not aware of any controversy over this. Obama was the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review where he participated as an editor and one unsigned article has been attributed to him on the topic of abortion. Your University of Chicago scholarly articles Obama lectured at the Univeristy of Chicago from 1992 until 2004 when he became a Senator but we are not aware of any controversy about articles or any that were written. Your Record of baptism Although many questions have been raised about Obama’s Muslim heritage there have been no demands for proof of a record of baptism that we know of. Click here for more findings on Obama’s Christianity. updated 6/05/09"
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37589
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Before becoming president, Donald Trump criticized Barack Obama's administration for hiring someone with no medical professional experience to respond to a virus outbreak.
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Did Trump Call Obama’s Ebola Virus Response ‘a Total Joke’?
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true
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Fact Checks, Politics
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Shortly after United States President Donald Trump announced on February 26 2020 that he was naming Vice President Mike Pence to lead his administration’s response to the issue of novel coronavirus COVID-19, critics on social media pointed out yet another instance of Trump lashing out against his predecessor Barack Obama in similar circumstances.Trump claimed during a press conference that “the risk to the American people remains very low” in connection to the virus, once again contradicting officials from the Centers for Disease Control and the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who had warned lawmakers that an outbreak in the U.S. was inevitable.According to CNN, Trump was frustrated with HHS Secretary Alex Azar for reportedly not updating him enough regarding the virus, which as of February 26 2020 has infected 80,000 people in at least 37 countries. The virus, also known as COVID-19, has been blamed for 2,600 deaths worldwide.“Mike will be working with the professionals, doctors and everybody else that is working,” Trump said in naming Pence as his administration’s point person. “The team is brilliant. I spent a lot of time with the team the last couple weeks. But they are brilliant and we’re doing really well and Mike is going to be in charge and Mike will report back to me. But he has a certain talent for this.”However, he did not call Pence the administration’s coronavirus “czar.” Pence, a former radio talk show host, has no medical experience. During his tenure as governor of Indiana, Pence was criticized for his initial response to an HIV outbreak in the state in 2015, when he refused to take the advice of local and state health officials and allow for needle exchange programs to be implemented to stop the spread of the disease.In October 2014, though, Trump took issue when then-United States President Barack Obama named another non-medical professional in Ron Klain, who had served as chief of staff for Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, to lead his administration’s response to the burgeoning Ebola outbreak at the time. Klain was tasked to report to then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice and homeland security advisor Lisa Monaco.“Obama just appointed an Ebola Czar with zero experience in the medical area and zero experience in infectious disease control,” Trump wrote at the time on Twitter, adding, “A TOTAL JOKE!”Of the 57 documented COVID-19 infections affecting Americans, 40 of them are connected to a quarantined American Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Democratic lawmakers are reportedly set to request $8.5 billion in emergency funding to fight the disease.“We’ll spend whatever is appropriate,” Trump said before once again downplaying the outbreak. “Hopefully we won’t have to spend so much because we really think that we’ve done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum.”
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10382
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Debate surrounds new prostate-cancer treatment
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"This was an excellent, provocative exploration of some of the critical issues involving the tension between treatment options, payment responsibility, patient choice, and evidence on risks and benefits. There are a great number of uncertainties about prostate cancer itself, whether active treatment is called for and if so, which is the most appropriate choice for individual patients. Combining this with financial interests of those providing treatment adds another layer of difficulty in making good individual choices. While the article, overall, did a good job of shedding light on these tensions – it is unfortunate to end the piece with an anecdote that serves to disrupt the balance. Instead, a better ending take-home point might have been the physician’s quote that appears earlier: ""There’s a lot of politics involved in this. There’s a lot of self-interest. There’s a lot of greed.” Overall, though, high marks for a terrific enterprise piece that helps readers understand an important health policy and health care reform topic."
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true
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"The story provided information on the costs of various approaches to the treatment of prostate cancer and discussed varying policies on insurance coverage. The story noted something that rarely gets mentioned: ""a recent Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study, which found that no prostate-cancer treatment was superior to the others. The report also noted the lack of good comparative studies."" The story listed the side effects associated with prostate cancer treatments such as impotence, urinary and bowel problems, though it failed to indicate differences among the treatments for how often each occurs. Although the story focused on Cyberknife radiosurgery, there was actually no specific discussion about the short term side effects associated with this treatment other than to share one patient’s satisfaction with his experience and to indicate that number of treatment sessions was lower. We don’t think it’s adequate to accept at face value a comment from one physician about his experience with 70 to 80 patients over the last 18 months, reporting ""few side effects"" and not ""even a hint of a failure."" What WERE those side effects? Exactly how few? How did patients feel about them? And how do you measure success or failure in such a short time span? You can’t proclaim an absence of side effects as the results of the procedure are something men will live with the rest of their lives. This was the one glaring shortcoming of the story. The story mentioned that data about CyberKnife radiosurgery was very immature. Additionally- the story doesn’t challenge the Brady comment about CyberKnife vs IMRT outcomes being similar. This is misleading because patient selection for the two procedures could vary considerably and ""results"" is not defined. Also, the comment about the cornucopia of effective treatments is not supported by the evidence–the only high-quality data is for radical prostatectomy vs. watchful waiting. This story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Rather than worrying readers unnecessarily, this piece provided background that could help a reader understand the somewhat counter-intuitive idea that prostate cancer is treated more often than it needs to be. A number of sources of information were used for this article. The story mentioned a variety of treatment options, including active surveillance for prostate cancer The story indicated that insurance coverage for CyberKnife radiosurgery, one of the options available for the treatment of prostate cancer was not uniform – even within a defined geographical location. This obviously reflects on availability. The story was clear about the relative newcomer status of Cyberknife radiosurgery. Does not appear to rely on a press release."
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9761
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Pill may make pizza, pasta safe for gluten-free diners
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This Fox News story demonstrates anew that repeating a weak story does not strengthen it. The brief account reports that Canadian researchers have developed a “new pill” that may do for people with celiac disease (CD) what lactase enzyme tablets do for those with intolerance to lactose-rich dairy foods: make it easy and possible for them to enjoy foods they must currently avoid. The story claims that a pill composed of egg yolk-derived antibodies that prevent gluten protein absorption “may help” diners enjoy pizza and beer by popping it just before digging in. On the upside, the report does quote the pill’s developer cautioning that the “antibody supplement” won’t treat or cure celiac disease. On the more egregious downside, however, the story more or less presents the pill as a done deal, which it is not; and it offers not a word about the research underpinning the claim, which appears to be based on work done only in cell culture — not even rodents. There have been no clinical trials (which the story mentions in the last sentence), and the entire report seems to be rehash of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation story, which in turn was based on a vague news release issued by the University of Alberta. This is a negative three-fer: neither the news release nor the CBC story — and thus not the Fox News report — presented any scientific data to support the “news” or even mentioned the actual cell culture research paper published in the journal BMC Immunology. As one of our reviewers aptly noted, a “polluted health news stream” brought this story to readers and viewers — a poorly done news release recopied by CBC and re-re-copied by Fox. Celiac disease is not rare — afflicting by some estimates 1 in 140 to 1 in 300 people worldwide. But an entire industry of gluten-free products has grown up around the disorder, products embraced by millions who don’t have CD or who think they might, or who for other reasons are willing to stick to gluten-free or gluten-lite diet. Finding a way to help those with actual CD enjoy a more normal diet would indeed be a good thing, but one suspects that should a gluten-blocking supplement actually get to market, it would find a lot of non-CD users. So the need is there, the market is potentially large, but as with many other dietary supplements, usage may or may not be based on any real data demonstrating benefits for those who buy and swallow them. The Fox story does nothing to provide any such information.
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false
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celiac disease,Gluten
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The news release, the CBC story and the Fox News piece make no mention of the potential costs of the supplement. If the story is going to speculate that the pill may “make pizza, pasta safe” for those with CD, we think it should also offer a stab at what such a supplement might cost — even if it’s only a ballpark estimate. The Fox story says, “Patients would take …(the) pill five minutes before eating and have a one to two hour window of eating foods they typically avoid…” Not a single piece of data is offered to support that statement. There is no information in the Fox story, the CBC piece, or the U of Alberta news release about the expected degree of benefit or how anyone could possibly know how long they’d have to consume gluten-containing foods safely. No cautionary language deals with the potential harms of the supplements or the need for people with CD who might use the supplement to continue a gluten-free diet to avoid the anemia, bloating, fatigue, inflammation and intestinal damage of this auto-immune disease. The CBC story, at least, says “people with the disease must still adhere to a strict gluten-free diet.” Once again, neither the Fox story, nor the CBC story, nor even the University of Alberta news release that’s the basis for these stories makes any attempt to support claims of benefit with references to evidence. Perhaps that’s understandable, since the study that’s the basis for these claims was done in cell culture, not even a mouse model. The Fox News piece doesn’t “monger” but doesn’t offer any information at all about prevalence. In fact, there’s so little context about CD that we’re reluctant to award a Satisfactory. We’ll rule this Not Applicable. Fox does not appear to be making any attempt at serious health journalism here. No one except the researcher is quoted; no original reporting, or outside sourcing is included in the report. The story is basically a paraphrase of a CBC report that’s also seriously deficient. Conflict of interest issues are also murky. The study states the researchers have no conflicts to disclose, but the news release says the researchers have “partnered with IGY Inc. and Vetanda Group through an agreement with TEC Edmonton to bring the supplement to market.” Sounds like they may have a financial interest in the success of this venture. This was another lost opportunity to inject some reason into the discussion. The story clearly should have mentioned that people with CD can control their symptoms with special diets. The piece instead focuses entirely on the quality of life/social life issues that people with CD face (which are no doubt considerable) but it would have benefited from some mention of the alternatives to a “pill” that promises to allow the occasional gluten binge. We’ll award a Satisfactory here since it’s clear that this supplement is not on the market yet and has not been tested. However, we’d note that while the story says clinical trials are “expected to begin” in 2016, it does not mention whether animal studies have been done or will be, and doesn’t mention the companies that are involved. The story describes a “new pill” that allows gluten “to pass from the body without doing any damage.” We’ll grant that the approach being used here does seem to be “new,” but contrary to the story’s claim, it doesn’t appear that this pill has ever been tested in an actual human body — only in cell culture. Moreover, as the published research paper (but not the story) points out, there are a variety of other approaches being explored that might allow people with CD to eat gluten — many of which seem to be just as far or further along than the pill described here. The story seems to imply that the yolk-derived antibodies (which it never names) are the only possibility. There is no context offered. This criterion is meant to assess whether some original reporting was done. And in this case there was not. The story does not rely directly on a news release, but it’s basically a repost of a CBC story that is itself deficient in many ways. We’ll rule this Not Satisfactory.
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9525
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Cuddling Preemies Kangaroo Style Helps Into Adulthood
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This story reports on a 20-year follow-up study of low birth weight infants in Colombia who received continuous skin-to-skin contact with a caregiver as part of a practice known as kangaroo mother care (KMC). Researchers concluded that infants who had been randomized to receive KMC rather than staying in an incubator reaped long-lasting social and behavioral benefits such as lower mortality, lower school absenteeism and fewer behavior problems. This coverage describes both positive and negative findings of the 20-year outcomes, which were reported in the journal Pediatrics, but it doesn’t include quantified data or tap independent sources. It also misses important limitations, such as the difficulty of measuring the precise impact of a multi-faceted intervention after 20 years have gone by. It seems odd to label as an “intervention” something as natural as skin-to-skin contact between a mother and a baby, along with an emphasis on breastfeeding and early hospital discharge. KMC was developed in the 1970s in Bogatá, Colombia, partly in response to overtaxed neonatal care facilities. But its many demonstrated benefits — including lower mortality and infection rates, greater breastfeeding and stronger family bonding — have pushed those concepts into mainstream preemie care in countries of all income levels. The World Health Organization includes KMC in its guidelines to improve premature birth outcomes. Some 15 million babies are born too early every year, leading to nearly 1 million deaths in 2015, according to the World Health Organization. Survivors are prone to learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems. The vast majority of these at-risk infants are in developing countries where medical resources are limited. Despite some flaws, this study offers reassurance that premature babies who spend their early days with skin-to-skin will fare at least as well as adults as those who were in an incubator. Stories should not extrapolate beyond that.
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mixture
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premature babies
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The costs of this intervention or of the control, a neonatal minimal care unit in which infants remain in an incubator while they gain weight, aren’t mentioned. The story states that KMC babies were 39 percent more likely to live into adulthood, but doesn’t give absolute numbers to help readers judge the significance of this finding. The story also lists several other benefits without quantifying them (or even explaining what they mean in some cases), including that the babies “grew up with fewer social problems,” stayed in school longer and earned more as adults. It quotes a researcher saying they “had less aggressive drive and were less impulsive and hyperactive” compared to babies who stayed in an incubator.” There aren’t any obvious harms from this intervention, although the story does note the finding that children given standard incubator care had higher math and language scores in school even though IQ levels were similar in both groups. A 2012 Cochrane review of multiple studies found no negative outcomes associated with skin-to-skin contact for healthy newborns except for one study’s report of longer duration of breastfeeding in a control group. The story acknowledges KMC “didn’t work miracles. Children with cerebral palsy were equally likely to have symptoms whether they had the kangaroo care or not, and more than half the people in the entire group needed glasses.” But, the story should have made the point that it’s difficult to connect the dots between a single intervention and outcomes 20 years down the road. In an editorial accompanying the study, Lydia Furman, MD, of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, describes several complications with the findings. For one, she notes, KMC is a “bundled intervention” involving parental nurturing, breastfeeding, and skin-to-skin contact, making it difficult to discern which contributed to the outcomes. She writes: Second, it is difficult to quantify and qualify parent-associated and parent-delivered interventions because all parents are different. Third, we are a full 20 years out, and “life has happened,” so numerous potentially unmeasured contributions to each individual child’s life (and outcomes) have occurred. Furman notes that the study shows that KMC infants had some superior outcomes. “Yet the authors are pressed to explain the significantly higher math and language academic scores in the traditional care group. In other words, it is complicated.” The story accurately states that 20 million babies are born at a low birth weight every year, according to the World Health Organization. We did take issue with this speculative quote about the behavior of the babies in the skin-to-skin group, which was featured prominently in all caps in the NBC story: “THEY EXHIBITED LESS ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR, WHICH MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH SEPARATION FROM THE MOTHER AT BIRTH.” This borders on fear-mongering. For all mothers–but especially moms who have premature babies and/or complicated births–having a newborn is very stressful. The looming threat that antisocial behavior is a risk the mother is specifically responsible for in these fragile days and hours may compound the stress. The story lacked comment from independent sources. While there are some statements about KMC attributed to the World Health Organization, those statements don’t address the findings of this study. An independent source likely could have provided some context and important reassurances to parents who had premature babies but either weren’t offered kangaroo care or weren’t able to because of birth complications, which is a growing problem in the U.S. The purpose of the study was to compare the KMC approach with a neonatal intensive care. There are no other viable alternatives to infant care that we know of. The story notes that KMC requires parents to receive adequate support and follow-up. But we would have liked to see more information, such as how widely this approach is used to treat premature infants and what some of the barriers might be in high-income countries where incubator care has been the norm. For example, how many U.S. neonatal intensive care units incorporate skin-to-skin contact in their care? Which babies in intensive care don’t or can’t get this kind of care? From what we could find, what makes this study notable is that it’s the only 20-year follow-up for this kind of intervention. In an indirect way, the story touches upon this. The story does not appear to rely on a news release.
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29010
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One year of human time is the equivalent of seven years in a dog's age.
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Conventional wisdom holds that one year of human time is the equivalent of seven years in a dog's age.
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mixture
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Critter Country, Wild Inaccuracies
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When we human folk exchange information about each other, age is one of the most important pieces of data we pass along. Knowing someone’s age immediately allows us to infer a great deal of information about that person with a reasonable degree of certainty: Age not only tells us whether someone is a child, an adult, or an elderly person, but it allows us to place people into much finer gradations of categories — infant, toddler, child, adolescent, young adult, adult, middle-aged, elderly — from which we can deduce a good deal about their physical, psychological, and social statuses. We know a 4-year-old child should be walking, but a 6-month-old baby is unlikely to be capable of the feat. We understand a couple of 16-year-olds might well have a baby together, but an 8-year-old boy is generally too young to father one and a 58-year-old woman is usually too old to conceive one. We’re aware most 9-year-olds haven’t yet reached puberty, but a 39-year-old might well have started experiencing many of the infirmities of advanced age (e.g., lessened eyesight, loss of hearing, weight gain, persistent aches and pains). We grasp that a 29-year-old is in what we would term “the prime of life,” while an 89-year-old has well exceeded the average human lifespan. We can make pretty good guesses from a person’s age about whether he’s old enough to have finished his schooling, live away from his parents, be married, or hold an important professional position, or whether he’s too old to still be working or raising children of his own. And even those of us who still have most of our lives ahead of us know all this. When it comes to our pets, however, many of us are mystified how to relate their ages to ours. Sure, knowledgeable owners and breeders may be quite familiar with all the developmental stages of their chosen animals, but many of us casual pet owners can’t do much more than distinguish between “puppy,” “dog,” and “old dog.” At what age are kittens weaned from their mothers? What’s the average lifespan of a dog? When is a cat old enough to reproduce, and when is a dog too old to bear a litter? Is an 8-year-old dog in the prime of life, or is he closer to middle age? Lacking a good deal of observational experience, many of us simply don’t know. Since knowledge and experience take time and effort to acquire, we’ve developed simple shortcuts to help us answer these questions, such as the well-known formula for “dog years”: multiply your dog’s age by seven, and you’ll have his equivalent age in human terms. Although this formula might work roughly well for the middle years of a dog’s life, it’s too simplistic to accurately reflect a dog’s developmental status closer to either end of its lifespan. Using this calculation, for example, an 18-month-old dog would be at a developmental stage similar to a 10-year-old child’s, but while many 18-month-old dogs are fully grown and capable of reproducing, few 10-year-old children are. The “dog years” measurement tells us a 15-year-old dog is supposed to be the equivalent of a 105-year-old person, but (factoring out accidents and other unnatural causes of death) a much larger proportion of dogs live to the age of 15 than humans live to the age of 105. As well, age is more than just a chronological measurement of years lived; it’s also an expression of how our bodies have been affected by the passage of time. Different types of animals age at different rates, so we can’t employ a simple, direct, proportional relationship to correlate the ages of species as disparate as dogs and humans, especially since variable factors such as genetics, nutrition, and environment play an important role in the aging process. The bottom line is just as we wouldn’t raise a litter of puppies or kittens the same way we’d raise a baby, neither should we care for our pets based on how old we think they’d be if they were people. For those who would like a rough idea of how the ages of our canine and feline friends compare to ours (strictly for entertainment purposes), we present the following charts courtesy of ANTECH: However, smaller dog breeds tend to live longer on average than larger breeds, so no single chart can adequately represent all dogs with much accuracy. Therefore a better charting of equivalent ages is one based on the weight of the animal:
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2968
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Jet dumps fuel that lands on schoolkids near Los Angeles .
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An airliner with engine trouble dumped jet fuel that fell as a smelly mist on dozens of schoolchildren while the plane made an emergency return to Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.
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true
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Los Angeles, Health, General News, Business, AP Top News, U.S. News
|
The fuel, described by fire officials as a vapor, caused minor skin and lung irritation to 56 children and adults but nobody was taken to the hospital and the only decontamination required was soap and water, officials said. Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai reported an engine problem only minutes after takeoff. “Delta 89, heavy, we have engine compressor stalls on the right engine,” the pilot reported to air traffic control, according to a recording of the radio conversation. A stall, which can be caused by damage to a turbine, either from a malfunction or sometimes by a bird striking the engine, reduces the engine thrust. The pilot was asked whether he wanted to keep the aircraft over the ocean to dump fuel but declined, although it appears he may have changed his mind later about whether the plane could safely land weighing as much as it did. The fuel sprayed out of the plane in two lines and descended at midday in the city of Cudahy and nearby parts of Los Angeles County, about 13 miles (21 kilometers) east of the airport. The mist fell on five elementary schools, but all injuries were minor and there weren’t any evacuations, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Sky Cornell said. “That’s a great sign,” Cornell said. All the fuel evaporated very quickly and nothing flammable remained in the air or on the ground, he said. Diego Martinez, a sixth-grader at Park Avenue Elementary in Cuday, said he and his classmates were outside for physical education class when they saw the airplane flying low overhead. “It was very close,” he said. Shortly afterward, the air filled with the pungent odor of fuel. “It was very strong, the odor,” the 12-year-old said. Diego wasn’t doused but some of his friends complained that their skin was itching. Some teachers at Park Avenue had headaches from the smell, said Antonio Buenabad, area representative for the United Teachers Los Angeles union. “They were anxious to get home and shower because the stench was very strong,” he said of the teachers. Delta Air Lines said the aircraft landed safely after releasing fuel, “which was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight.” The FlightAware website’s flight track showed the jet took off over the ocean and made an immediate right turn toward land and circled back over Southern California to approach the airport from the east. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating. “There are special fuel-dumping procedures for aircraft operating into and out of any major U.S. airport,” the FAA said in a statement. “These procedures call for fuel to be dumped over designated unpopulated areas, typically at higher altitudes so the fuel atomizes and disperses before it reaches the ground.” However, pilots can deviate from the rules in an emergency for safety reasons, said Doug Moss, a retired airline captain and owner of AeroPacific Consulting, LLC, an aviation consulting firm based in Reno, Nevada. The pilot could have stayed over the ocean to dump his fuel but that could have taken a half-hour up to an hour, Moss said. Moss said when there is a compressor stall, the crew can’t determine how much damage was done internally to the engine. “The fan blades may have separated and cut into the fuel lines, leaving an uncontrollable fire as a future possibility,” Moss said. “He’s flying an airplane with a damaged engine that may be on fire,” Moss said. “So he has to make the decision: Do I spend the time to dump fuel or do I put this thing on the ground as soon as I can? You’re not going to kill anyone by dumping fuel.” “There’s no dereliction of duty. Everybody’s trying to do the best they can but it’s a fast-paced, dynamic ballgame and there’s not a lot of time to think ... lives are at stake,” Moss said. “He got it on the ground safely. Unfortunately, there was collateral damage. People got gas poured over them.” Cornell said 31 children and adults were affected by the fuel dump at Park Avenue school and another 12 at 93rd Street Elementary school. The rest of those affected were at other schools. ___ Associated Press reporters John Antczak and Christopher Weber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
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9994
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Surgery prevents breast cancers in high-risk women
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Somewhere in the news gathering and reporting arsenal of an international wire service, there needs to be a better effort on an important study than this. And lest anyone think that our standards are too high, impractical and unachievable, see our review of the competing AP story, which is a model for how this could/should have been reported – a five-star story.This story is not only the weakest of the ones we reviewed on a study of women with an elevated risk of cancer connected to mutations in their BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and the effects of preventive surgery, it is riddled with factual errors and mischaracterizations that more likely to confuse than inform readers.
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false
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The story does not mention the costs of testing, surveillance or treatment. Most of the references to benefits are vague, such as, “you can save the majority of women who would have died of breast cancer.” The story also does not make clear that the reduction in the risk of death was due entirely to removal of ovaries and that the researchers did not report that preventive mastectomy reduced the risk of death among these women. In addition, the factual errors in the description of cancer risks facing these women (described above) makes it impossible for readers to get an accurate understanding of the potential benefits of preventive surgery. The story mention psychological issues facing women who undergo mastectomy and early menopause that results from ovary removal, but the brief reference to harms and lack of important details understates the trauma, side effects and complications that preventive surgery causes women. There are also potential harms from the increased surveillance, for example, with ensuing biopsies. This story does not describe the study, its strengths or limitations, or how it compares to other research on this topic. It mistakenly states that 2,482 women in this study had preventive surgery, when actually that was the total number of women included in the analysis, most of whom did not have surgery. Because the story lead clearly notes that the study involved only women with BRCA1/2 genetic mutation and it also points out that 10 to 20 percent of breast and ovarian cancers are linked to BRCA1/2 mutations, it could be argued that the story meets this criterion. But then a potentially confusing reference to “women with a family history of cancer” may lead many readers to believe the findings may be relevant to that much larger population of women. Also, at the end of the story it calls breast cancer “the leading global cancer killer of women.” While technically accurate based on current statistics from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the description obscures the fact that in developed nations (where genetic testing is available) the overwhelming majority of women who develop breast cancer are successfully treated. Actually, this story dramatically understates the cancer risks facing women who carry BRCA1/2 mutation by confusing the lifetime risk of cancer with the relative risk compared to women who don’t have the mutation. For example, the story erroneously reports that women with the mutations have a “56 to 84 percent higher” risk of breast cancer… when in fact that is their lifetime risk… which is several times higher than the commonly used figure of a 12 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the general population. The story includes comments from an author of an editorial in the journal and one other expert who was not involved in the study. Although the story does not report financial or other information about the sources, the study was funded by a variety of grants from public agencies and foundations and neither the researchers nor the editorial writers reported any relevant financial disclosures. The story does not discuss the alternatives available to women. The story does not mention that the type and quality of genetic testing, genetic counseling, surgery and surveillance offered to women in this study may not be available to women in other settings. The story leaves out any mention of earlier research on this topic and does not point out that some women have been opting for preventive surgery for many years. Although several of the quotes in this story are taken from the journal articles, the reporter also interviewed at least one expert.
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1662
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U.S. anti-legalization group urges more access to marijuana research.
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A group opposed to pot legalization is unveiling proposals on Thursday for the U.S. government to ease restrictions on scientific research into marijuana’s potential as medicine, in a first step for an organization of its kind.
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true
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Health News
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The plan from Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is co-founded by former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, comes after three U.S. Senators this year introduced a bill that would require the federal government to recognize pot’s medical value and allow states to set their own medical cannabis policies. Kennedy will present his group’s plan on Thursday to officials in Washington, said Kevin Sabet, the group’s president and chief executive. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana, and voters in four states have gone further by approving the drug for recreational use by adults. But the drug remains illegal under federal law, which classifies pot as a dangerous narcotic with no current medical use. Drug policy reformers say the federal government’s strict rules on marijuana research have prevented needed studies in the United States. With its plan, Smart Approaches to Marijuana is calling for changes to some of those rules. “Let’s put research into the hands of legitimate scientists, not pot profiteers,” Sabet said. The group’s plan calls for the government to allow multiple entities to grow marijuana for research purposes beyond just the University of Mississippi, which has a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse as the sole provider of marijuana for federally sanctioned research. The group also is calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to eliminate a review process for marijuana research that critics say is burdensome. And the group says the Drug Enforcement Agency should eliminate certain regulatory requirements for research into cannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana seen as having a number of medical applications, and work with states to allow a pure CBD product to be distributed more broadly for research. This comes as the UK-based company GW Pharmaceuticals continues research on its CBD-based drug Epidiolex to treat pediatric epilepsy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved that research. Mark Kleiman, who was hired by Washington state to consult on its move to legalize marijuana, called Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s plan a good step. “I don’t think there’s any question that cannabinoids (constituents of marijuana) have medical utility, and we have to find out what that is,” Kleiman said.
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16749
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"Amid the ""crisis at our southern border,"" there are ""reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as … Ebola virus."
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"Gingrey said that amid the ""crisis at our southern border,"" there are ""reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as … Ebola virus."" We don’t dispute that the conditions for newly arrived migrant children pose public health challenges. But Gingrey went well beyond that when he invoked Ebola, a particularly scary and untreatable disease with high mortality rates. The reality is that Ebola has only been found in Africa -- and experts agree that, given how the disease develops, the likelihood of children from Central America bringing it to the U.S. border is almost nonexistent. But most importantly for our fact-check, Gingrey’s office was unable to point to solid evidence that that Ebola has arrived in Western Hemisphere, much less the U.S. border. To the contrary, the CDC and independent epidemiologists say there is zero evidence that these migrants are carrying the virus to the border."
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false
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Immigration, National, Ebola, Health Care, Public Health, Phil Gingrey,
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"As a surge of unaccompanied children from Central America was arriving on the United States’ southern border this month, Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., expressed concern about the impact they could have on public health. On July 7, 2014, Gingrey wrote a letter expressing these concerns to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are excerpts: ""As you know, the United States is currently experiencing a crisis at our southern border. The influx of families and unaccompanied children at the border poses many risks, including grave public health threats. ""As a physician for over 30 years, I am well aware of the dangers infectious diseases pose. In fact, infectious diseases remain in the top 10 causes of death in the United States. … Reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as swine flu, dengue fever, Ebola virus and tuberculosis are particularly concerning."" Health experts agree that when large numbers of people from countries with spotty health care systems make an arduous trek and then get corralled into crowded holding facilities, it can pose a health risk. But the introduction of Ebola, the feared viral disease of African origin that kills up to 90 percent of victims through organ failures and leaking blood and fluids? That would be terrifying. So is it true that amid the ""crisis at our southern border"" there are ""reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as … Ebola virus"" into the United States? After Gingrey’s letter became widely known, some commentators expressed disbelief that he had invoked Ebola, given that the disease is endemic to Africa, not Central America. On his July 17 show, Stephen Colbert mocked Gingrey, saying, ""That virus has never appeared outside of Africa, but Gingrey may have caught it from an illegal already, because I believe one of the symptoms is baseless fear leaking out of your ass."" When we checked with Gingrey’s office, however, spokesman Cameron Harley pointed us to a comment Gingrey made to NBC News’ Luke Russert that suggested he’s standing by the concerns he stated in the CDC letter. ""The border patrol gave us a list of the diseases that they’re concerned about, and Ebola was one of those,"" Gingrey told Russert. ""I can’t tell you specifically that there were any cases of Ebola, I don’t think there were, but of course tuberculosis, Chagas disease, many – smallpox, some of the infectious diseases of children, all of these are concerns."" So is there anything to the Ebola claim? Experts we asked issued a resounding ""No."" First, we checked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose job includes tracking outbreaks of serious infectious diseases. Spokesman Daniel J. DeNoon confirmed that the CDC has received no reports of a human Ebola infection anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, much less the U.S.-Mexico border. ""Ebola cases in humans have never been reported outside of Africa,"" DeNoon said. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, agreed. ""The congressman is misinformed,"" he said. ""There is no Ebola in the Western Hemisphere."" We also checked whether it was plausible for a child or adult entering the United States from Central America via Mexico to be infected with the Ebola virus. CDC scientists call it ""extremely unlikely,"" DeNoon said. Independent experts agreed. ""It’s very, very, highly unlikely if you are talking about someone from Central America who has not traveled to Africa,"" Thomas W. Geisbert, a microbiologist and immunologist specializing in Ebola at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Geisbert said there have been examples of travelers carrying similar exotic diseases by airplane to the United States -- for instance, a passenger infected with Marburg virus who arrived in Colorado a few years ago, and another who came to Minnesota infected with Lassa virus earlier this year. And it’s worth noting that there’s currently a major Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Through July 12, there were 964 Ebola virus cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, including 603 deaths, according to CNN. However, the profile of the jet-flying Ebola carrier doesn’t mesh with the types of people now flocking to the U.S. border. ""The incubation period is two to 21 days, so theoretically, an African could fly from an infected area, land in a Mexican airport, take a bus toward the border, hire a coyote to take him across and then ‘present’ with Ebola,"" said Thomas Fekete, section chief for infectious diseases at the Temple University School of Medicine. ""But this presupposes a suicidal person who also has the resources for this kind of travel."" Indeed, the prior, scattered examples of exotic and deadly diseases reaching the United States suggest that ""the likelihood of an illegal migrant getting infected and introducing the disease to the U.S. is probably less than that of a ‘legal’ traveler,"" said Daniel G. Bausch, head of the virology and emerging infections department at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No.6 in Lima, Peru. Another problem: If you had such an infection, the chances are good that you would die on the journey to the United States, said Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. ""You would be too sick to make it to the border by foot,"" he said. So where did these ""reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as ... Ebola virus"" come from? Initially, when we asked for documentation, Gingrey’s office sent us a number of links to articles. Some discussed the one government-confirmed case of swine flu among recently arrived children, as well reports of scabies and lice and concerns that conditions in the centers holding newly arrived children could promote the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis. Here are the three links Gingrey’s office sent us that mentioned Ebola directly: • A post at a site called The Common Sense Show. It discusses the potential arrival of Ebola-infected migrants as part of a ""coming series of pandemics"" that ""has some governmental agency fingerprints on this invasion. Smart money would say that the CIA is involved."" • An outspokenly anti-President Barack Obama opinion piece in the American Thinker, a Web publication that, in turn, sources its Ebola information to an article on prisonplanet.com, a site run by Alex Jones, a broadcaster who describes himself as a ""prominent figure of the 9/11 Truth Movement."" Citing the continuing surge of migrants at the border, the article closes with this: ""Obama is an enemy to the American people and seems determined to destroy us one way or another. The tyrant must be removed from office as soon as possible."" • An article in WND, formerly known as WorldNetDaily, which has gained attention for publishing articles skeptical of President Obama having been born in Hawaii. The WND article, like the other two, didn’t offer hard documentation of Ebola being found in the United States -- only suggestions that it could. ""Other diseases like dengue and Ebola virus also may be in this wave of illegals, since people are coming from Central and South America, the Middle East and West Africa,"" the WND article said. When we asked Harley, the spokesman for Gingrey, whether his office considered these three citations to be credible sources supporting the Ebola claim, he backtracked, saying, ""These websites were not our source. The source was communication with border agents and organizations that we work with on immigration regularly."" When we asked for further detail, we did not hear back, so we cannot vet these sources’ credibility. Our ruling Gingrey said that amid the ""crisis at our southern border,"" there are ""reports of illegal migrants carrying deadly diseases such as … Ebola virus."" We don’t dispute that the conditions for newly arrived migrant children pose public health challenges. But Gingrey went well beyond that when he invoked Ebola, a particularly scary and untreatable disease with high mortality rates. The reality is that Ebola has only been found in Africa -- and experts agree that, given how the disease develops, the likelihood of children from Central America bringing it to the U.S. border is almost nonexistent. But most importantly for our fact-check, Gingrey’s office was unable to point to solid evidence that that Ebola has arrived in Western Hemisphere, much less the U.S. border. To the contrary, the CDC and independent epidemiologists say there is zero evidence that these migrants are carrying the virus to the border."
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3587
|
More cases of dog disease confirmed in Iowa.
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Three additional cases of a dog disease that can be passes to humans have been linked to an Iowa breeder.
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true
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Brucellosis, Iowa, Health, General News, Pets, Dogs
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The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says three additional cases of canine brucellosis have been confirmed in dogs linked to a commercial breeding facility for small dogs in Marion County. Anyone who obtained dogs from the breeder Double G Kennels, which is also known as IowaPuppies.com, is encouraged to have their dogs tested. Of 200 small dogs sold during a sale at the kennel in May, nine have tested positive for the disease. Signs of the disease in a dog include infertility, spontaneous abortions and stillbirths. State health officials say symptoms for humans include fever, sweats, headache, joint pain and weakness. The department says the threat to most pet owners is very low.
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24272
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One-third of the economic stimulus package was tax cuts.
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Stewart claims that the stimulus bill is one-third tax cuts
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true
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National, Economy, Pundits, Stimulus, Taxes, Jon Stewart,
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"Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and Daily Show host Jon Stewart traded wisecracks -- and a few insults -- in O'Reilly's No Spin Zone on Feb. 3, 2010. O'Reilly told Stewart that it was frightening that the Daily Show host had been called ""an important cultural arbiter."" O'Reilly said that his audience is ""primarily stoner slackers who love Obama,"" but that ""a lot of people don't think you're smart."" Stewart shot back that O'Reilly was now the ""voice of sanity"" at Fox, which he likened to ""being the thinnest kid at fat camp."" At times, they got serious. One topic was Stewart's belief that Republicans seem intent on opposing everything President Barack Obama puts on the table -- even if he presents an opportunity to compromise. ""But the president won't give the GOP anything,"" O'Reilly said. Stewart pointed to Obama's stimulus plan as an example. The bill was opposed by Republicans even though it included tax cuts, which typically appeal to their small government sensibilities. ""[Obama] has given [Republicans] many different angles,"" Stewart said. ""For instance, even in the stimulus plan, a full third of that was tax cuts. ... Just like at the State of the Union when he said we cut taxes for 95 percent of middle-class Americans, and everybody clapped, and the Republicans just sat there like this. Tax cuts, that sounds vaguely familiar."" Is Stewart right that tax cuts account for a third of the stimulus plan? The stimulus bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is meant to create jobs and boost the economy. It cost $787 billion, including $499 billion to fund new roads, hire teachers and generally keep people employed, and about $288 billion in tax breaks to individuals and businesses. Among other things, the mix of tax cuts includes a refundable credit of up to $400 per individual and $800 for married couples; a temporary increase of the earned income tax credit for disadvantaged families; and an extension of a program that allows businesses to recover the costs of capital expenditures faster than usual. Simple math shows that Stewart is in the ballpark with his claim: $288 billion is a little more than 36 percent of the bill's overall cost. So, tax cuts -- at least the way they've been defined by the Obama administration -- make up for slightly more than one-third of the bill. But calculating the cost of the true tax cuts in the stimulus is a bit more complicated. In July 2009, we checked Obama's claim that, at the time, the stimulus had delivered $43 billion in tax breaks. According to the Treasury Department, about $8 billion of that figure came from extending a fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Originally, the AMT was targeted at very wealthy people, but over the years it spread to include some middle-income taxpayers as well. Congress passes yearly fixes to prevent those middle income taxpayers from having to pay the AMT. All told, the AMT fix in the stimulus will cost about $70 billion over 10 years, according to a bill summary published by the Senate Finance Committee. But many tax experts say the AMT fix should not be considered a tax cut. They say that, by extending the AMT fix every year, the government is basically maintaining the status quo. Back in July, we spoke with a number of tax experts about the issue who all agreed that including the fix as part of the stimulus ""tax cuts"" is a stretch. Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the free-market Cato Institute, explained it this way: ""AMT is something those people never expect to pay,"" he said. ""It's kind of like saying that, if I didn't rob you on the way home from work today, I gave you money."" The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, gave the AMT extension a D-minus in its Tax Stimulus Report Card because ""the provision would provide virtually no economic stimulus. Because the patch is perennially extended, it would have no effect on behavior in 2009. Almost 80 percent of the benefits would go to the richest 20 percent of households, who would be least likely to spend the additional funds and stimulate demand."" So, our tax experts are skeptical that the $70 billion AMT fix should be included in the stimulus bill's tax relief. That would bring down the cost of the tax cuts to about $218 billion. That means about 28 percent of the bill could be described as tax cuts, a little less than the one-third cited by Stewart. So we find Stewart's claim to be ."
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26393
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “has just been stripped of her emergency coronavirus powers by her state legislature.”
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Two bills passed in the Michigan Senate would limit the scope of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s authority to impose a state of emergency. As of April 29, neither bill had passed the state House of Representatives. And the governor has said she will veto any legislation that restricts executive power during the coronavirus pandemic. Whitmer’s stay-at-home order does not prohibit the sale of any particular product, as the Instagram post claims.
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false
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Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Instagram posts,
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"Social media posts are targeting some state governors after they extended stay-at-home orders in response to the novel coronavirus. An April 27 Instagram post includes a screenshot of a tweet that claims the Michigan Legislature stripped Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her emergency powers because of the actions she’s taken against COVID-19. The tweet, which was posted April 26, links to a story from Neon Nettle, a website that has published misinformation in the past. ""Michigan's Democrat governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has just been stripped of her emergency coronavirus powers by her state legislature after she abused that power with insane orders such as blocking sales of vegetable seeds and American flags, etc.,"" the post reads. The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook, which owns Instagram.) It has more than 4,700 likes. (Screenshot from Instagram) Whitmer has been the subject of several hoaxes about her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Michigan, where thousands protested the governor’s stay-at-home orders in mid-April. So we wanted to check out this Instagram post, too. Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature has moved to restrict Whitmer’s emergency powers. But the bills have only passed the Senate, and the governor has said she will veto any legislation that restricts executive power during the coronavirus crisis. Plus, Whitmer has not banned the sale of vegetables or American flags, as the post claims, though her orders have restricted the types of retail businesses and store departments that can stay open. Whitmer first declared a state of emergency March 10 and issued a stay-at-home order nearly two weeks later. On April 24, Whitmer signed an executive order to extend the stay-at-home restrictions through May 15, but loosened some provisions. Although the number of new COVID-19 cases has slightly decreased in Michigan, Whitmer’s aggressive actions against the coronavirus have attracted the ire of Republicans in her state and across the country who say they are unnecessarily strict and harm the economy. Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, has said the governor is turning Michigan into a ""police state."" Several businesses and groups have filed lawsuits challenging the orders. On April 16, Republicans in the state House of Representatives and Senate introduced bills that would repeal the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act, which gives the governor broad authority to declare a state of emergency in times of ""great public crisis."" Another pair of bills would amend the Emergency Management Act of 1976 to decrease the number of days the governor can declare an emergency from 28 to 14. The Senate versions of both pieces of legislation passed in roll call votes April 24. But, as of April 29, they had not yet passed the House, which is also Republican-controlled. Whitmer has said she will veto the measures. ""Of course, I will veto bills that they send over to limit the executive power. I've been very clear about that from day one,"" she said April 23. ""Those blatant power grabs are bad in good times and dangerous in times of crisis."" The Instagram post also errs in saying that Republicans targeted Whitmer’s emergency powers because she used them to issue orders ""blocking sales of vegetable seeds and American flags."" We rated two similar claims False — Whitmer’s executive orders do not ban the sale of any particular product. Since Michigan legislators have moved to limit the governor’s emergency powers, the Instagram post contains an element of truth. But Whitmer’s emergency powers have not yet been repealed, and she has said she will veto the legislation if and when it reaches her desk."
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9613
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Lung Cancer Trial Stopped After Jimmy Carter Drug Shrinks Tumors
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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter on stage during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This is a story about a lung cancer clinical trial for a drug known as Keytruda. As the story explains, Keytruda “worked at least as well if not better than the chemo, so the researchers have stopped the study to give everyone a chance to take” it. The thorny issue here is that the drug company involved, Merck, issued a a detail-free announcement about the results, putting reporters in a tough position because they had no details about the study, but were expected to explain the importance of the findings. Given this shortcoming, this NBC News story did many things right and packed a lot of information in, just as it did with its previous report on the same drug and its effect on melanoma. We would have liked to have seen at least one voice of caution in the piece, as so many of the quotes seemed a little over-the-top given what we know right now about the findings. And the story should have made clear that until we have information on actual patient response rates, we don’t really know how much this will change lung cancer treatment. Overall, though, this shows how you can capture the excitement in the scientific community around a new treatment while still providing important context. (We do want to note that the original headline, shown above, has since been edited by NBC to “Keytruda, the drug that helped Jimmy Carter, also protects against lung cancer.” That’s misleading, since it suggests that the drug prevents cancer when it’s established use is cancer treatment.) Lung cancer is a common malignancy and the number one cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Traditionally treatment includes surgery, radiation, and standard chemotherapy, but most patients who have lung cancer that is not very early stage will die of their disease.
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true
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jimmy carter,Keytruda
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The story notes the costs and puts the costs in perspective, too. It says, “Keytruda, approved October last year for lung cancer and in 2014 for melanoma, is pricey – costing about $150,000 a year for a course of treatment. It’s approved for use with a specific test for PD-L1 activity.” The story does not quantify the benefits. We recognize this would be difficult given that the details around the study have not been released, but we also think that, because the details have not been released, more caution should have been used. It’s unfortunate to see a statement like this, for example: “It helped patients live longer overall and helped them live longer without their tumors growing or spreading, Merck said.” This is an unchallenged statement with no numbers to back it up, and it’s not even attributed to a human. It’s attributed to a company. The story says about the whole class of drugs to which Keytruda belongs, “The new drugs are less toxic and more precise than standard chemotherapy. But they are not free of side-effects. Some are severe and can damage the lung, colon, liver, kidneys, hormone-producing glands and the brain, the FDA says.” The story says up high that, “Keytruda was being tested for the first time in 305 lung cancer patients who had not been treated at all yet.” It does not spell out that the study findings were not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but that is implicit in the fact that the findings were announced by the company as it was deciding to stop its clinical trial for the drug. Later in the story there is an important qualifier that we hope won’t be missed by readers busy tweeting about the “Jimmy Carter drug.” The story says, “This trial only included patients whose tumors cells made a lot of PD-L1. That is only a portion of people with lung cancer– 25 percent in one recent trial.” The story also could have added this important piece of context: When clinical trials are stopped early for benefit, the reported results tend to overestimate the positive effects of the intervention. There is no disease mongering in this story. Instead it says accurately that “Lung cancer is the top cancer killer in the U.S. It’s diagnosed in more than 220,000 people a year and it killed nearly 160,000 people last year, according to the National Cancer Institute.” There are multiple independent sources quoted in the story. However, all of the quotes in this story sound like this: “I suspect the findings were significant enough that this will be a practice-changing finding.” If there were numbers being released to back up a claim like that, we would be more comfortable with these kinds of quotes. Without more evidence, though, it gives readers the impression that the drug will have a massive impact. The story does talk about the alternatives to this drug, and the “so-called standard of care.” But it does not provide any numbers to back these comparisons up. There’s a dilemma here because Merck did not release the details of the study. We would have been happy, though, even if the story made mention of some of the comparison findings from other studies. The drug is approved for treatment in lung cancer, so there must have been previous trials that could be referenced. The story does establish availability, though it is confusing. It calls the drug “the Jimmy Carter drug” in the headline, leading readers right away to believe this is an available drug that the former president took. But then it provides a tidy summary of drug trials and why the halting of this particular trial matters, saying: “Cancer research goes forward in slow steps. In tests of new drugs, patients always get either the very best therapy already available, or the new drug. Often they get both. Usually, cancer drugs are only tested at first in patients who have tried everything else available and their cancer has come back, anyway. So it’s an important break for a company if its drug is the first one a patient gets and it works better than the so-called standard of care. The company now can ask the Food and Drug Administration if it will approve Keytruda to use as the first treatment a lung cancer patient tries.” The nuance there might be missed by readers. But we are giving the story a pass here because later, the story says more clearly that Keytruda was “approved October last year for lung cancer and in 2014 for melanoma.” The story establishes that this is the first trial in patients who have not been treated any other way for lung cancer, hence the excitement around these findings. The story is not not overly reliant on a news release.
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10936
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Elderly fare well in open-heart surgery, study finds
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This story failed to provide balance for a reader to understand the risks and benefits of this line of treatment, what other options are available, or the costs involved. Other than gaining the insight that the outcomes are better today than they were in 1989, the reader did not learn much beyond the fact that surgical treatment of coronary conditions may be an option for those in their 80s and 90s.
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false
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There was no discussion about the costs of the procedures discussed or whether there were additional costs associated with treating the older patient. The story mentioned an ever increasing percentage of patients that survived to leave the hospital. And it mentioned that 65% had no long term complications from the surgeries. However the story failed to provide insight about the length of time needed for these individuals to recover from the surgery or how successful the procedures were at relieving the symptoms that they were attempting to address. The story mentioned that those having these surgeries survived about the same length of time as similarly aged individuals who did not have heart disease. However from the information in this piece, it is difficult to have a sense of the quantitative benefit gained from the surgical intervention. The story made short shrift of harms that might be associated with the treatment. It mentioned that older patients want to decide for themselves whether to take the risk but then never detailed what risk was being alluded to. The story also mentioned that 65% of the patients had no long term complications, but again – there was no discussion about what complications were seen to affect 35% of patients studied. The story did not adequately describe the studies cited. The 12-year bypass data came from a single institution; the story should have pointed out that the generalizability of the results is not known. In addition, there is likely to be selection bias in that those chosen for surgery are likely to be more ‘hale and hearty’ and so the results apply to this group and not all older individuals. Lastly, although it mentioned that the individuals who had open heart surgery survived about as long as individuals who did not have heart disease – the real question is how did their survival compare to those who had similar conditions but did not have surgery. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story included comments from individuals involved in the study reported on. It failed to provide insight from experts who could comment objectively about the results of the study. The story opened with a disparaging remark about patients being sent home with pills to ease their symptoms. However – it is often the case that medical management of heart disease is a most effective treatment. Though the story painted an optimistic picture for the benefits that might be obtained by the elderly undergoing open heart surgery, the story failed to discuss what other treatment options might be available. The story sketched out the possibilities and potential merits for individuals in the 80’s and 90’s to undergo open heart surgery to repair valves and vessels. While these types of procedures are widely available, there was no discussion about whether all facilities admitted or were suited to handle older individuals for these sorts of procedures. The story reported on bypass outcomes over the 12 year period from 1989 – 2001. This implies that it took a long time to compile information of sufficient numbers of patients in order to report on the outcomes. This suggests that at least at the institution reporting these outcomes, it is not novel nor is it extremely common to conduct these types of surgery in this population. It is unclear as to how much the story relied on a press release.
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25650
|
“More cops have died from COVID this year than have been killed on patrol.”
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Two separate groups find that more law enforcement officers died from COVID-19 than all other causes, including gunfire and car accidents. Corrections officers are included in the tally.
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true
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National, Public Safety, Coronavirus, Joe Biden,
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"At the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump cast himself as a stalwart friend of police and an effective leader in the fight against COVID-19. In a speech in Pittsburgh, Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Trump was neither. ""Do you feel safer under Donald Trump?"" Biden asked Aug. 31. ""More cops have died from COVID this year than have been killed on patrol."" That stat raised eyebrows, and we checked to see if it was true. Biden didn’t say exactly what the best data show, but the comparison is largely accurate. Tallies of deaths by two national groups show that COVID-19 has killed more law enforcement officers than gunfire and other hazards of the job in 2020. The caveat to Biden’s claim is there is some statistical fuzziness regarding who is a cop and what it means to be on patrol. Roughly one-third of these tallies include corrections and detention center officers who work inside institutions where the virus can spread more readily. Some Customs and Border Protection field officers and other first responders are also included. While these occupations are counted as part of law enforcement, they might not come to mind as the cops that Biden referred to. The COVID-19 death toll is still the greatest single cause of death when those occupations are excluded. The National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund lists 101 dead officers from COVID-19 compared with 87 from anything else, including gunfire, car accidents or other causes. If it weren’t for COVID-19, officer deaths were on track to be lower this year than last. The National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund says on its website that before it adds an officer to its list of deaths due to the virus, ""substantive evidence will be required to show the death was more than likely due to the direct and proximate result of"" exposure in the line of duty. Another source, the Officer Down Memorial Page, shows 101 deaths from COVID-19 and 81 deaths from all other causes. Communications director Jessica Rushing said the count is updated daily. (The Fraternal Order of Police has tracked 208 deaths from COVID-19, but not fatalities from other causes. It notes that it doesn’t verify the COVID-19 deaths.) According to Rushing’s group, gunfire is the second most common cause of death. By a factor of three, COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for the broad group of officers. That has as much to do with the pattern of police fatalities as it does with the virus, said Rutgers criminologist Frank Edwards. Deaths in the line of duty due to any cause tend to average about eight each month. FBI data on deaths in the line of duty further back this point. The FBI numbers distinguish between accidental and felonious deaths of officers in the community. They show that in a typical month, criminal acts kill less than five officers a month. Excluding the corrections and detention officers, the toll from COVID-19 remains at about 70 in the Officer Down count — still double the loss of life due to gunfire, but not higher than the sum of other causes of death. Biden said that more cops have died from COVID-19 than while on patrol. COVID-19 by itself has killed more law enforcement officers than all other causes combined, according to two groups that track these numbers. No matter how we parsed the data — by excluding correctional and detention center officers, or by focusing on felonious deaths to officers that could be considered ""on patrol"" — COVID-19 posed the greatest single threat to officers’ lives."
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6353
|
Minnesota reports 1 case of hepatitis A linked to outbreak.
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Minnesota health officials say the state has reported its first case of hepatitis A linked to blackberries sold at Fresh Thyme grocery stores in September.
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true
|
Health, General News, Minnesota, Hepatitis
|
The Minnesota Department of Health said Wednesday the person was hospitalized and has since recovered. Health officials have warned consumers in 11 states against eating some berries bought from the Fresh Thyme chain. Officials have confirmed 14 cases of hepatitis A as part of the outbreak in Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Fresh Thyme has said it is cooperating with investigators to identify the source of the contamination. Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver and can cause mild, flu-like symptoms. Minnesota health officials are reminding consumers to avoid eating fresh, non-organic blackberries bought from Fresh Thyme between Sept. 9 and Sept. 30.
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3939
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California cannabis group wants tighter vaping-safety rules.
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An alliance of major legal marijuana businesses in California urged the state Monday to adopt tougher safety rules for ingredients and devices used in vaping and get tougher with illegal shops, amid an outbreak of a mysterious illness apparently linked to vaping.
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true
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Health, General News, Marijuana, Business, California, Gavin Newsom, Vaping, U.S. News
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The recommendations from the industry group — Legal Cannabis for Consumer Safety — come as health officials continue to investigate a wide range of products and chemicals that could be causing the illness that have sickened over 1,600 people nationwide. Most cases have involved products that contain the marijuana compound THC, typically obtained from illegal sources. In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, the group said it’s eager to heighten the safety of cannabis vaping while seeing more funds devoted to closing illegal pot shops that number in the thousands in California, home to the world’s largest legal pot market. Among its proposals, the group says regulations should expressly ban the use of additives, cutting agents and artificial flavoring known to be harmful in cannabis vaping products. The group also wants $10 million added to funds to close illegal retailers. It also recommended more stringent standards for heavy metal testing of vaping hardware — the devices that are used to turn concentrated cannabis oil into a vapor. “It is unacceptable that Californians face risks from unregulated and unsafe vapes. It is also critical that — like any other public health issue — we implement effective solutions that are based on data and facts, rather than fear, to address the root cause of these issues,” the group wrote. “As the stewards of this supply chain, we are eager to engage in efforts to further heighten the safety of cannabis vaping and mitigate the risks posed by the burgeoning illicit market,” the group, which also requested a meeting with Newsom, wrote. The group includes cannabis growers, manufacturers, retailers, testing labs and industry groups, including the California Cannabis Industry Association, vape manufacturer Loudpack, Flow Kana, which distributes cannabis products from small, outdoor farmers, and the online delivery marketplace Eaze. ___ Blood is a member of AP’s marijuana beat team. Follow the AP’s complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana
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A teenager died of a heart attack after masturbating 56 consecutive times.
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Did a Teenager Sexually Stimulate Himself 56 Times Straight Before Dying of a Heart Attack?
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false
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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In September 2019, a number of people tweeted an apparent news article headlined: “Teen Masturbated 56 Times Straight Before Dying of Heart Attack”:So the limit is 55.https://t.co/6dhCnh6tSj— Nathorix (@Nathorix) September 23, 2019That’s the limit Beat that https://t.co/uZizfreKhf— Nicholas Ybarra (@DjNinelives) September 23, 2019Sad thing is now they can't find clean socks to bury him inTeen Masturbated 56 Times Straight Before Dying of Heart Attack https://t.co/pPXX8ptOx6 via @huzlers— Mike Gaffney (@MikeGaffneyNOW) September 23, 2019The link spread on Facebook too:PORTLAND — Teenager allegedly masturbated a jaw-dropping 56 times non-stop before dying of a heart attack, in the proccess even breaking the world record and was awarded a world record certificate by a Guinness representative who later arrived at the home.Jerome Carpenter was found dead in his bedroom after apparently masturbating too much. It is speculated that Jerome was suffering from depression due to being “extremely lonely”. Jerome’s Mother called Portland police after discovering his corpse in his room. Jerome’s mother told Huzlers reporters “1 hour passed since I had called him down for lunch, Jerome was the kind of boy to steal food off your plate when you were not looking, i knew something was wrong when he didn’t come down to eat, he was a great kid” she finished as she began to cry.An image at the top of the page appeared to depict a body bag being removed from a residence. It was crawled in 2013, and originally accompanied a tabloid story about a tragic event in Detroit in March of that year. The image was repurposed for the story, one clue that there was no truth to the claim.Although the item was not dated, it was originally published in February 2015. The site on which it was published was Huzlers, whose “about” page notes its content is intended as satire:Huzlers is a Chicago based satirical news blog that focuses on celebrities, hip hop and urban entertainment. A number of their satirical stories have been mentioned by many established press organizations such as USA Today and BuzzFeed.We have debunked innumerable Huzlers pages in the past, including an iteration of the same story apparently swiped from a different satirical outlet in 2014.
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Brain scans predict which dyslexics will read
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Speaking of reading… this story misreads the description of who was in a study of dyslexia and what the researchers reported. Teenagers who had dyslexia are described as being unable to read at all. The story claims that brain scans were able to predict “which students would learn to read,” when what researchers actually reported was that the scans correlated with reading improvement. Good reading skills are fundamental to educational, social and financial success. Dyslexia is a type of reading disability characterized by difficulties in word recognition, spelling and decoding. Most studies suggest early intervention is important, but little is known about why some children respond better than others. This research suggests that brain scans can provide insight to underlying mechanisms of dyslexia and perhaps help track and refine interventions that could be tailored to individuals. But for readers to understand the value of this research, stories must accurately describe the problem and how it was studied.
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false
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Imaging studies
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There is no discussion of the cost of these brain scans, which is particularly troubling because sophisticated imaging of the brain and its function is an expensive diagnostic tool. Applying these sophisticated tests to all children with reading problems would incur massive costs. This story reports that the researcher “found children who had this unusual brain activity were more likely to have learned to read than other dyslexics.” That phrase is a complete misstatement of the changes in reading ability measured in this study. There is no discussion of harms. Even if MRI scans are unlikely to present any significant physical hazard, test results have consequences. The CNN story we also reviewed included a discussion of stigma or other negative effects. All stories about tests should consider what the effects of the resulting information may be. The story confuses reading improvement with the ability to read at all, thus giving readers a false picture of the study conclusions. This story does accurately describe the participants as teenagers, unlike other stories that left readers with the impression that the researchers studied much younger children who were just beginning to learn to read. We are not provided with any information about interventions that may or may not have occurred in the intervening 2 ½ years or anything about the children enrolled and possible important differences at baseline. This story confuses reading difficulties with an inability to read at all. The headline (Brain scans predict which dyslexics will read) is just plain wrong. The story reports that, “About one-fifth of people with severe dyslexia learn to read.” What the study authors actually wrote was, “Approximately one-fifth of individuals with developmental dyslexia manage to compensate for their underlying learning difficulties and develop adequate reading skills by the time they reach adulthood.” The journal news release simplified that line to “About 20% of dyslexic children acquire improved reading skills by the time they reach adulthood.” The story bungles the description of the people in the study and the severity of their reading problems. The only source other than the lead author is the director of the agency that helped fund this study. The story does note the relationship, but a truly independent source should have been included. The story does not discuss other ways of assessing reading ability or the potential for improvement among people with dyslexia. Functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor MRI are research tools not routinely available in community hospitals and not routinely used in clinical practice. The story does not provide any information on their availability. There is no reference to the background of other studies that have indicated possible links between brain function and reading ability in people who have dyslexia. All of the quotes used in this story appear to be taken from news releases issued by the National Institutes of Health and Stanford University. The story identifies some (but not all) of the quotes as coming from statements, but this reliance on on news releases is not acceptable. However, when considering the gross errors in how this story described the study, its participants and outcomes, you could say the story might have been better if it had relied on the releases even more. Stanford School of Medicine release:
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"Research demonstrated the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August 2020 served as a ""super-spreader event,"" generating an estimated $12 billion in healthcare costs and possibly causing upwards of 250,000 new cases."
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Was the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a Super-Spreader Event?
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unproven
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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"September 8 2020 marked approximately one month from the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, and it heralded purported news that the widely-attended gathering served as a “super-spreader event” during an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:A new study says more than 250,000 COVID-19 cases between Aug 2 and Sept 2 came from the Sturgis Rally. That's approx 19 percent of all U.S. cases added last month. The paper's authors also concluded that the rally resulted in $12.2B in public health costs https://t.co/RGVFrIQfd6 pic.twitter.com/ZcTOkDJQ8v— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 8, 2020The above tweet said:A new study says more than 250,000 COVID-19 cases between Aug 2 and Sept 2 [2020] came from the Sturgis Rally. That’s approx 19 percent of all U.S. cases added last month. The paper’s authors also concluded that the rally resulted in $12.2B in public health costsOther TweetsAs “Sturgis” trended on Twitter, many users shared commentary about a new, albeit unconfirmed, study:New analysis on Covid spread triggered by Sturgis event and implicated in the current epidemic in South Dakota. The estimates in this paper, if confirmed, would place Sturgis as the largest studied super spreading event in U.S. https://t.co/cNiTTs3Ilz— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 8, 2020We estimate that over 250,000 of the reported cases between August 2 and September 2 are due to the Sturgis Rally. Roughly 19 percent of the national cases during this timeframe. https://t.co/6tCCV6aXYf— Andrew Friedson (@FriedsonAndrew) September 6, 2020This is extraordinary. ""We conclude that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally generated public health costs of approximately $12.2 billion.”https://t.co/29WPMKoxrk https://t.co/WpSrx2TYTV— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) September 8, 20202 weeks after the Sturgis motorcycle rally, South Dakota has the highest positivity rate (20.9%) in the country.— Henry J. Kraven (@HenryJKraven) September 7, 2020Health economists estimate Sturgis resulted in 19% of new U.S. cases last month and cost $12 billion in medical care.Thomas Jefferson said Americans should be free to believe anything they want as long as “it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Covid denial does both. https://t.co/EXNCfp2rPH— Kurt Andersen (@KBAndersen) September 8, 2020Sturgis Motorcycle RallyThe event took place from August 6 to August 17 2020. A FAQ on the official page estimated a total attendance of more than 500,000 people between bikers, vendors, and others:Sturgis has approximately 6,700 residents, but it doesn’t know it’s considered a “small town” because each year during the Rally when the population nearly doubles that of the entire state, Sturgis steps up and manages one of the oldest and arguably the largest motorcycle gathering in the world. The community has had 78 years to get it right and is successful because of a combination of factors, number one – cooperation. The year-round planning process is facilitated by the Sturgis® Rally Department, a department of the City of Sturgis. However, all city departments to include Police, Fire, Water, Streets, Parks and Finance play a role in making certain the event is managed professionally and competently. Each year is a learning process and part of that process includes changing to meet the needs of the community and our 500,000 visitors and exhibitors, ensuring the event not only continues but continues to flourish.On July 24 2020, MotorcycleCruiser.com reported that the Sturgis rally was not one of myriad events canceled or postponed in 2020 because of the ongoing pandemic:We mentioned earlier [in 2020] that plenty of rally-related events outside the city of Sturgis had already said they were all in … that means some of the Rally’s biggest draws – big name bands (though not as big as in previous years), at least half a dozen types of races, custom shows, and more – are all still happening. Surrounding towns and communities are also wide open for business, with most hotels and campgrounds we’ve checked out ready to accept the influx of visitors. And the awesome roads in and around the Black Hills remain ripe and ready for two-wheel exploration, which has always been our favorite part of the Sturgis experience.But there are new realities to deal with. The pandemic ain’t going anywhere soon, so as with those other moto events, organizers have put new protocols in place to keep people safe. We’ll break those down here as well as offering up suggestions for getting the most out of Sturgis without spiking your anxiety levels. If you choose to go, there are ways to get out in the wind, see the sights, and have a ball. You just need to adapt to the situation; motorcyclists call it situational awareness, and there’s never been a better time to practice it.Masks, personal protective equipment (PPE), and protocols like social distancing were required of vendors, but merely requested of attendees — the bulk of those in attendance:The City Council also says it will request that rally-goers be respectful by practicing social distancing and taking personal responsibility by following CDC guidelines. Enhanced safety and sanitization protocols will be carried out for rally-goers in the downtown area.Vendors will be required to wear personal protective equipment (the city will provide it if they don’t have any) and asked to abide by state and federal protocols related to COVID-19. Parking will still happen on Main Street, but plaza seating and open-container alcohol won’t be allowed. The city has also said that If COVID-19 numbers spike at any time before or during the rally, the mayor can cancel all events immediately.On August 10 2020, the Billings Gazette reported that 60 percent of residents voted against holding the Sturgis rally in 2020, but the City Council forged ahead and held it anyway. City manager Daniel Ainslie said of the decision:“There are people throughout America who have been locked up for months and months … So we kept hearing from people saying it doesn’t matter, they are coming to Sturgis. So with that, ultimately the council decided that it was really vital for the community to be prepared for the additional people that we’re going to end up having.”According to Fox News in an article from August 7 2020, only “a handful” of rally-goers wore face masks, and “Republican Gov. Kristi Noem [had] taken a largely hands-off approach to the pandemic, avoiding a mask mandate and preaching personal responsibility”:The rally could become the largest gathering since the pandemic began. Organizers were expecting 250,000 people from all over the country to make at the 10-day event. Many bikers were defiant over the restrictions that have altered daily life for most Americans.“Screw COVID,” read the design on one T-shirt being sold. “I went to Sturgis.”For Arizona resident Stephen Sample, 66, who rode his bike to the event, the gathering is a break from the mostly homebound routine of the past several months.“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be cooped up all my life either,” he said.Some of the crowd at Sturgis is composed of retirees and people in the age range deemed most at risk to suffer complications from the virus. South Dakota has had an upward trend in COVID-19 cases but the seven-day average was still only around 84 per day.On August 9 2020, one of the Sturgis headlines, Smash Mouth, made headlines for mocking concerns about the event’s potential to exacerbate the pandemic:Smash Mouth’s concert on [August 9 2020] in front of a packed crowd at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota drew widespread outrage.Despite the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of bikers poured into the small city of Sturgis on [August 7 2020] for the start of the annual motorcycle rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the 10-day rally, making it one of the largest events to take place during the pandemic … Videos and photos posted to social media showed many in the large crowd seemingly flouting social distancing guidelines Sunday night [August 9 2020]. Most attendees did not appear to be wearing masks.Event organizers said signs would be posted at all entry points and gathering areas reminding guests to remain socially distant, encouraging the use of face coverings and explaining recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Masks are required for entry and it is recommended they be kept on, according to organizers.Frontman Steve Harwell told the crowd, “We’re all here together tonight. F— that COVID s—,” one video shows.Initial Aftermath of the Sturgis Motorcycle RallySocial media users and news outlets broadly speculated that the rally would lead to a major uptick in cases, among attendees as well as those with whom they came in contact after attending the gathering.On August 18 2020, Business Insider reported that cell phone location data was being used to map who visited the event, speculating how far infections acquired at the Sturgis Rally might spread:As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the US, hundreds of thousands of bikers traveled to a massive annual rally [in August 2020] in Sturgis, South Dakota, where public-health officials have not implemented a lockdown or required people to wear masks. […]Data aggregated by the location-data firm X-Mode Social showed tens of thousands of mobile devices arrived in Sturgis in the first week of August [2020], excluding devices that were already active in the area in the months before the rally. In a video published on Twitter, the data-visualization group Tectonix GEO mapped the movement of phones across the US that were present at the rally.The firm demonstrated its extrapolated data purportedly gathered from cell phone movement:As one of the largest public gatherings since the start of COVID-19, #Sturgis2020 has drawn plenty of media attention. So what does the data say about the real footprint the event may have on our country? We took a look with the help of @xmodesocial and @SafeGraph. Check it out: pic.twitter.com/jALZqRNRBS— Tectonix GEO (@TectonixGEO) August 17, 2020An August 26 2020 CNN piece linked 70 cases to the rally, far fewer than the quarter of a million figure later reported. On September 8 2020, the Grand Forks Herald published an article about preliminary research into the aftermath of the rally in Sturgis:The Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota should be linked to 266,796 of COVID-19 cases reported nationwide between Aug. 2 and Sept. 2 [2020], the researchers said, and should be considered a virus superspreader event, or a situation where a few people spread the disease to a much larger number of people. […]SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota could be considered a super-spreader event for COVID-19 and should be linked to about 267,000 cases nationwide at a cost of $12.2 billion, researchers say in a recently released paper.The researchers from San Diego State University’s Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies published a preliminary version of the paper [in early September 2020] with the IZA – Institute for Labor Economics. The paper, which has not been peer-reviewed, is based on anonymized cellphone location tracking data and is the first known research to estimate the COVID-19 case spread and public health cost of the rally in Sturgis, S.D.The 10-day motorcycle rally, which ended Aug. 16 [2020], is associated with both local and national surges in COVID-19 cases, particularly in those counties with the highest participation percentage the researchers found.“We … conclude that local and nationwide contagion from this event was substantial,” the researchers said.That reporting referenced the use of cell phone data indicating that 19 percent of attendees lived in South Dakota or bordering states, and 72 percent came in from the rest of the United States, “with heavy attendance from Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Washington and Wyoming.”However, the news site also noted that public health officials in the state of South Dakota disputed the findings:But South Dakota health officials cast doubt [after publication] on the researchers’ work.“The results do not align with what we know of the impacts of the rally among attendees in the state of South Dakota,” said Dr. Joshua Clayton, state epidemiologist, pointing to the 124 known South Dakota cases linked to the Sturgis rally.Clayton said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering calling for states to submit data on all known COVID-19 cases linked to the Sturgis rally.IZA Research on the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as a ‘Super-Spreader Event’Numbers bandied around on social media and in the news on September 8 2020 originated with IZA, “a nonprofit research institute and the leading international network in labor economics, comprising more than 1,600 scholars from around the world,” and were derived by researchers at San Diego State University’s Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies.A September 2020 paper (“IZA DP No. 13670: The Contagion Externality of a Superspreading Event: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and COVID-19”) was summarized in an abstract on IZA.org as follows, stating that researchers used “anonymized cell phone data” for their extrapolations:Large in-person gatherings without social distancing and with individuals who have traveled outside the local area are classified as the “highest risk” for COVID-19 spread by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between August 7 and August 16, 2020, nearly 500,000 motorcycle enthusiasts converged on Sturgis, South Dakota for its annual motorcycle rally. Large crowds, coupled with minimal mask-wearing and social distancing by attendees, raised concerns that this event could serve as a COVID-19 “super-spreader.” This study is the first to explore the impact of this event on social distancing and the spread of COVID-19. First, using anonymized cell phone data from SafeGraph, Inc. we document that (i) smartphone pings from non-residents, and (ii) foot traffic at restaurants and bars, retail establishments, entertainment venues, hotels and campgrounds each rose substantially in the census block groups hosting Sturgis rally events. Stay-at-home behavior among local residents, as measured by median hours spent at home, fell. Second, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a synthetic control approach, we show that by September 2 [2020], a month following the onset of the Rally, COVID-19 cases increased by approximately 6 to 7 cases per 1,000 population in its home county of Meade. Finally, difference-in-differences (dose response) estimates show that following the Sturgis event, counties that contributed the highest inflows of rally attendees experienced a 7.0 to 12.5 percent increase in COVID-19 cases relative to counties that did not contribute inflows. Descriptive evidence suggests these effects may be muted in states with stricter mitigation policies (i.e., restrictions on bar/restaurant openings, mask-wearing mandates). We conclude that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally generated public health costs of approximately $12.2 billion.IZA.org provided access to a longer paper [PDF]; in its “Introduction” section, researchers explained that “though large gathering restrictions have become ubiquitous … there is little empirical evidence on the contagion dangers of large events with ‘super-spreader’ potential, and that “most evidence in support of gathering restrictions has centered around theoretical models of the spread of disease.” They continued, explaining their selection of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as an atypically large, poorly managed outlier during the 2020 pandemic:In this study we examine the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a 10-day event with dozens of concerts, live performances, races, and bike shows that drew over 460,000 individuals to a city with a population of approximately 7,000 located in a county with a population of approximately 26,000. COVID-19 mitigation efforts at the Sturgis Rally were largely left to the “personal responsibility” of attendees, and post-opening day media reports suggest that social distancing and mask-wearing were quite rare in Sturgis.The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally represents a situation where many of the “worst case scenarios” for superspreading occurred simultaneously: the event was prolonged, included individuals packed closely together, involved a large out-of-town population (a population that was orders of magnitude larger than the local population), and had low compliance with recommended infection countermeasures such as the use of masks. The only large factors working to prevent the spread of infection was the outdoor venue, and low population density in the state of South Dakota.Researchers further explained their methodology, including how the $12 billion in healthcare costs figure was derived:Then, using a dose response difference-in-differences model, we find that counties that contributed the highest inflows of Sturgis attendees saw COVID-19 cases rise by 10.7 percent following the Sturgis event relative to counties without any detected attendees. Descriptive evidence suggests some evidence of variation in local COVID-19 spread depending on the stringency of local contagion mitigation policies. We conclude that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally generated substantial public health costs, which we calculate to reach at least $12.2 billion using the statistical value of a COVID-19 case estimated by Kniesner and Sullivan (2020). While we note that this estimate captures the full costs of infections due to the Sturgis rally — and is an overestimate of the externality cost because this number includes COVID-19 infections to individuals who attended the rally (and may have internalized private health risks) — we nonetheless conclude that local and nationwide contagion from this event was substantial.Researchers also noted that in sporadic large gatherings which occurred in the summer of 2020, an effect was observed in which populations local to any given event often engaged in mitigating behavior, “dampening” the potential spread of the virus to offset an influx of non-residents. In Sturgis, they indicated their findings “suggest that in contrast to prior large gatherings that have been studied (i.e., Tulsa and BLM protests … the local resident population appeared to participate in the events,” which they contend “raises the possibility that the local population may be at risk for COVID-19 spread, especially if mitigating strategies (i.e., mask-wearing, interacting closely with only household members, avoiding crowds) were not undertaken.”Regarding localized increases in infection rates and accounting for an incubation period, researchers said:Specifically, after August 16th [2020], we find that COVID-19 cases increase by 2.83 to 3.54 cases per 1,000 population in Meade County relative to its synthetic control. By September 2 [2020], approximately three weeks following the Sturgis event, we find that COVID-19 cases are 6 to 7 cases higher per 1,000 population in Meade County, a 100 to 200 percent increase in cases. This translates to between 177 to 195 more total cases in the County, by the end of the analysis period, as a result of the rally. […]We next turn to an exploration of whether the impact of the Sturgis event extended nationally. That is, we answer the question: did the Motorcycle Rally turn into a super-spreader event?In the next portion of the paper, researched delved into the 72 percent of attendees who traveled to Sturgis from outside South Dakota or bordering states:Our findings in column (1) shows that the highest relative inflow counties to Sturgis (outside of the state of South Dakota), which were comprised of counties representing states nationwide, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming — saw a 10.7 percent increase in COVID-19 cases more than three weeks following the opening of the Sturgis Rally, and about two weeks following the close of the events. Over the same time window, we find that the second highest inflow counties also experienced about a 12.5 percent increase in COVID-19 cases following the events.Researchers then explained that attendees from states with stronger mitigation policies such as mask mandates may not have gone on to spread the novel pathogen as efficiently as those returning to states with fewer or no policies in place. In the “Conclusion” section, they touched upon the numbers widely referenced in social media posts about the paper:We are further able to document national spread due to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, although that spread also appears to have been successfully mitigated by states with strict infection mitigation policies. In counties with the largest relative inflow to the event, the per 1,000 case rate increased by 10.7 percent after 24 days following the onset of Sturgis Pre-Rally Events. Multiplying the percent case increases for the high, moderate-high and moderate inflow counties by each county’s respective pre-rally cumulative COVID-19 cases and aggregating, yields a total of 263,708 additional cases in these locations due to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Adding the number of new cases due to the Rally in South Dakota estimated by synthetic control (3.6 per 1,000 population, scaled by the South Dakota population of approximately 858,000) brings the total number of cases to 266,796 or 19 percent of 1.4 million new cases of COVID-19 in the United States between August 2nd 2020 and September 2nd 2020.Immediately thereafter, researchers provided the accounting behind the “$12 billion in healthcare” costs figure:If we conservatively assume that all of these cases were non-fatal, then these cases represent a cost of over $12.2 billion, based on the statistical cost of a COVID-19 case of $46,000 estimated by Kniesner and Sullivan (2020). This is enough to have paid each of the estimated 462,182 rally attendees $26,553.64 not to attend. This is by no means an accurate accounting of the true externality cost of the event, as it counts those who attended and were infected as part of the externality when their costs are likely internalized.CriticismOn September 8 2020, South Dakota Gov. Noem addressed the virally popular research, describing it as “fiction” and “grossly misleading”:A statement from Noem’s office calls the study “grossly misleading.”“This report isn’t science; it’s fiction. Under the guise of academic research, this report is nothing short of an attack on those who exercised their personal freedom to attend Sturgis,” Noem said.She goes on to criticize the media for reporting on “this non-peer reviewed model, built on incredibly faulty assumptions that do not reflect the actual facts and data here in South Dakota.”A Rapid City Journal article included additional comment from South Dakota public health officials about the paper:South Dakota Department of Health officials said [on September 7 2020] that they had seen the study, but that they would dispute several data points, such as the projection of hundreds of thousands of cases and the basis of using cell phone data to track the spread of COVID-19.State epidemiologist Joshua Clayton said it’s important to note that the study is a “white paper” study and hasn’t been peer-reviewed, and that it doesn’t account for “an already increasing trend of cases” in South Dakota and the timing of schools and colleges reopening.“The results do not align with what we know for the impacts of the rally among attendees in the state,” Clayton said.State health secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon said [on September 8 2020] that she would caution reporters against “putting too much stock into models” and pointed to earlier estimates by the state that as many as 600,000 South Dakotans would get COVID-19.However, reporting about comments by state officials was not clear about how well they understood of the use of cell phone data to track infections:“We’ve got more people that are becoming sick with COVID-19 from a source that we can’t identify, so I think that’s where it gets problematic to just attribute things like cell phone data” as the source of infections, Malsam-Rysdon said.Both Malsam-Rysdon and Clayton said they knew cell phone pings from residents of other states and foot traffic increased during the rally, but that they haven’t seen cell phone traffic as a “proven link” to COVID-19 infections or spread.Clayton said he’s not familiar with the cell phone data source used in the study and what the limitations are for that data.Officials also appeared to be focused more on localized infection rates, rather than extrapolations based on the 72 percent of out-of-town attendees spreading event-acquired cases after they returned home. When pressed on local rates of infection, officials also did not have precise figures:State epidemiologist Joshua Clayton did not have data on how many of those students or staff have recovered from COVID-19.When asked if there’s specific hot spots or outbreaks in schools or colleges that the public should know about, Clayton said cases are reported “across the board” and “virtually among all campuses.”A featured article by the same news organization published on September 3 2020 — prior to the IZA paper — was headlined, “South Dakota is nation’s top hot spot for COVID-19; 2,143 test positive in last week.” According to that story, South Dakota had become the state with the highest per capita surge in the nation, and that “Iowa and North Dakota follow[ed] the state in hot spot rankings.”That story further reported that 118 South Dakotans had contracted COVID-19 “as a result of attending the Sturgis motorcycle rally.”Did the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Really Generate $12 Billion in Healthcare Costs and Cause More Than 250,000 New Cases?On September 8 2020, a number of viral social media posts claimed that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally led to over a quarter of a million new cases of COVID-19 (266,796), and generated more than $12 billion in healthcare costs — enough to have paid each of the rally’s estimated 462,182 visitors $26,553.64 not to attend. Those figures were based on extrapolations by researchers at San Diego State University’s Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies and published in a preliminary paper on IZA.org. Although the figures were eye-catching and drove home the risks of a widely-attended, poorly-managed event during the pandemic, they were not yet validated or verified. Since the scope of infection and healthcare costs had yet to be determined (as the researchers themselves said)."
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In October 2014, Donald Trump tweeted that U.S. President Barack Obama should resign because a doctor who had treated Ebola patients in Guinea returned to the U.S.
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Overall, eleven people were treated for Ebola in the United States during the 2014-2016 epidemic. On September 30, 2014, CDC confirmed the first travel-associated case of EVD diagnosed in the United States in a man who traveled from West Africa to Dallas, Texas. The patient (the index case) died on October 8, 2014. Two healthcare workers who cared for him in Dallas tested positive for EVD. Both recovered.
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true
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Politics
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More than one critic of U.S. President Donald Trump has observed that Trump seemingly “has a tweet for everything.” That is, whatever the situation today might be, one can find an old Trump tweet about it (or something similar) — and more often than not that tweet will be a criticism of how someone else dealt with that situation. One such example was highlighted in the spring of 2020, while the U.S. was dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic: The background to the Trump tweet from October 2014 featured above was the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa that began in 2014. As the outbreak worsened and Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) spread to countries outside West Africa in August 2014, the Obama administration had to formulate policy for protecting the U.S. against it. Trump (then a private citizen) began tweeting that August, and more frequently and insistently throughout September and October, that the U.S. should ban flights from the affected West African countries. Well into October, however, Democrats in Congress and in the Obama administration still differed over the merits and practicality of implementing a West African travel ban: Worried about the political fallout from the Ebola outbreak, vulnerable Senate Democrats are declaring their support for a U.S. travel ban from the afflicted countries in West Africa. In multiple cases, the Democrats are shifting from their earlier positions on the question, despite arguments from senior U.S. medical officials and the White House that stiff restrictions would only make it harder to prevent an infected person from entering the country … Some lawmakers have also stumbled over the meaning of a travel ban. There are currently no direct flights to the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea — the three West African nations where the Ebola outbreak is occurring — so any restrictions would have to be enforced at connecting airports in Europe. Traveler screenings have already been implemented at five U.S. airports, but they likely would have to be continued anyway to catch passengers who fly to Europe, but do not immediately transfer to a U.S.-bound flight. With that in mind, as The New York Times noted, GOP leaders have subtly shifted their focus from an outright travel ban to demanding tighter airport screenings and the creation of “no-fly” lists to make sure people who have been exposed to Ebola do not board flights. At that time, the Obama administration did not implement a full travel ban but rather implemented travel restrictions that forced passengers originating from affected West African countries to enter the U.S. through one of five airports with screening procedures in place. Dr. Craig Spencer, who had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea treating Ebola patients, completed his work there on Oct. 12, 2014, before the U.S. travel restrictions were put in place. Spencer then returned to the U.S. from Guinea, traveling through Europe and arriving in New York on Oct. 17, but several days later he fell ill, was hospitalized, and became the first person in New York City to test positive for the Ebola virus. When it was learned that the night before his hospitalization Spencer had traveled on a subway, visited a bowling alley, and then taken a taxi home, health officials began searching for anyone who might have come into contact with him. Spencer was the “doctor who so recklessly flew into New York from West Africa” referenced in Trump’s tweet: If this doctor, who so recklessly flew into New York from West Africa,has Ebola,then Obama should apologize to the American people & resign! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2014 Several months after those events, Spencer published a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine, in which (in the words of Vox) he blamed “the media (and self-serving politicians) for stirring fear and hate [and] unnecessarily vilifying returning humanitarians like himself despite the fact that we know from science it would have been almost impossible for him to transmit the virus.” That letter read (in part): While treating patients with Ebola in Guinea, I kept a journal to record my perceived level of risk of being infected with the deadly virus. A friend who’d volunteered previously had told me that such a journal comforted him when he looked back and saw no serious breach of protocol or significant exposure. On a spreadsheet delineating three levels of risk — minimal, moderate, and high — I’d been able to check off minimal risk every day after caring for patients. Yet on October 23, 2014, I entered Bellevue Hospital as New York City’s first Ebola patient. Though I didn’t know it then — I had no television and was too weak to read the news — during the first few days of my hospitalization, I was being vilified in the media even as my liver was failing and my fiancée was quarantined in our apartment. One day, I ate only a cup of fruit — and held it down for less than an hour. I lost 20 lb, was febrile for 2 weeks, and struggled to the bathroom up to a dozen times a day. The morning of my hospitalization, I woke up knowing something was wrong. I felt different than I had since my return — I was more tired, warm, breathing fast. When I took my temperature and called to report that it was elevated, in some bizarre way I felt almost relieved. Although my worst fear had been realized, having the disease briefly seemed easier than constantly fearing it. My activities before I was hospitalized were widely reported and highly criticized. People feared riding the subway or going bowling because of me. The whole country soon knew where I like to walk, eat, and unwind. People excoriated me for going out in the city when I was symptomatic, but I hadn’t been symptomatic — just sad. I was labeled a fraud, a hipster, and a hero. The truth is I am none of those things. I’m just someone who answered a call for help and was lucky enough to survive. After my diagnosis, the media and politicians could have educated the public about Ebola. Instead, they spent hours retracing my steps through New York and debating whether Ebola can be transmitted through a bowling ball. Little attention was devoted to the fact that the science of disease transmission and the experience in previous Ebola outbreaks suggested that it was nearly impossible for me to have transmitted the virus before I had a fever. The media sold hype with flashy headlines — “Ebola: `The ISIS of Biological Agents?’”; “Nurses in safety gear got Ebola, why wouldn’t you?”; “Ebola in the air? A nightmare that could happen”1-3 — and fabricated stories about my personal life and the threat I posed to public health, abdicating their responsibility for informing public opinion and influencing public policy. Meanwhile, politicians, caught up in the election season, took advantage of the panic to try to appear presidential instead of supporting a sound, science-based public health response. We all lose when we allow irrational fear, fueled in part by prime-time ratings and political expediency, to supersede pragmatic public health preparedness. The Occupy Democrats meme reproduced above is correct in noting that the overall impact of the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak on the U.S. was a total of 11 confirmed cases and two deaths:
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34675
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Police have cracked a "housebreakers" code by which cars or homes are marked with white Xs or other symbols for later crimes.
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In January 2016, BBC News reported that the previously mysterious signs associated with the so-called “Da Pinci Code” were actually related to planned utility work.
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unproven
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Crime
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The following warning concerning a mysterious white “X” subtly marked onto at least two vehicles in Texas was circulated online in May 2015. However, the theme of secret codes used by bands of outsiders for a range of purposes (typically criminal ones) is not new to modern lore and far predates the unusual markings spotted in Texas. Example: I posted this yesterday on another page and I have been asked by a friend to post on my personal page so others could share it. This is my daughters truck and this white X was marked on her truck while at the Conroe Walmart yesterday (5-25-15). I have asked several LEO’s as well as searched on it myself and no one seems to have any answers however several other people have posted the same white X on the same spot on the vehicle! Similar tales (each quite popular) have involved hidden markings bestowed upon the vehicles of gun shop customers and the homes of dog owners, presumably to target their owners for later acts of burglary or other untoward dealings. The seemingly mysterious ‘X’ markings on vehicles have simple explanations, ones that have nothing to do with criminal intentions: they’re put there by manufacturers, vendors, used car dealers, auction houses, car washes, or auto repair facilities, and can indicate anything from which services or repairs a vehicle owner has requested to what types of work has already been performed on a vehicle. In short, they’re guides to assist those who fix, sell, and clean cars, not “come get me” signals to car thieves. In any case, auto theft is overwhelmingly a crime of opportunity; hardly anyone but steal-to-order car thieves is going to bother with casing and marking cars for later boosting. Just before the warning about X marks on cars popped up in Texas in May 2015, several British tabloids reported upon a supposed housebreakers’ code discovered via a tweet (and Facebook post) published by a police department in the UK: So groundbreaking was this April 2015 revelation by the Lanarkshire Police that the British press appeared to have suffered grave amnesia on the matter of new burgling innovations. Both the BBC and the Guardian had cracked the mysterious “Da Pinchi Code” way back in 2009, and the Telegraph only got wind of the burgeoning threat of chalk symbols four years later, in 2013. Like many claims of their ilk, what the housebreaker’s code warnings rest upon is claimants who believe they were targeted as potential victims due solely to unexplained markings found on the outside of their homes (or near their property, or on their vehicles) even though no evidence demonstrated any ensuing attempt was mde to burgle or rob them. These rumors typically lack any demonstrable connection between a belief in the presumed purposed of the markings and the actual intent of the persons responsible for them, or any details as to how police could have conclusively determined that symbol X was linked to the commission of crime Y. Nearly all property crime is predicated upon the desire to enrich oneself or one’s interests with minimal effort, and an element missing from the belief that thieves pre-mark homes to rob is one that fails to sufficiently explain where the added value in such a proposition lies. It’s possible to burgle a home without first essaying a legend detailing its contents and the temperament of its occupants, an unpleasant reality of day-to-day life that plays out with unfortunate frequency. As mentioned in one of our articles about a similar legend, gangs of criminals working together can simply jot down the addresses of their targets and share them by a variety of means; there is no benefit or advantage to risking exposure and foul-ups by physically marking homes: Targeting homes for illicit purposes by marking them with some exterior symbol is unnecessarily inefficient: it requires time and effort to visit homes and mark them, it risks exposure from onlookers who might notice and call attention to the activity and discover its purpose, and it risks mistakes over a shaky dependence on markings that are too easily removed (accidentally or purposely) by residents or eradicated by weather, or overlooked by those supposed to be finding them afterwards. Yet all of these vagaries can be easily avoided in one simple way: just jotting down the addresses of the homes of interest. There’s no good reason for bad guys to mark a home with some form of symbol as a method for being able to find and return to it later when they could more easily and safely accomplish the same thing simply by recording its address. The marking of homes to identify them as targets for future activity makes sense only if the markings and the follow-up activity are being performed by different groups who are prevented by time and distance from communicating with each other between those two steps. But in today’s world, where information such as an address list can be communicated almost instantaneously by e-mail or text message, and anyone with a cell phone can be reached virtually anywhere at any time, there are no such barriers. Such markings might be practical if the group creating them were doing so for the benefit of persons unknown to them (as in the case of so-called hobo signs), but that scenario makes little sense within a premise of organized criminal activity: crooks have little motivation to expend effort identifying prime targets for the benefit of other crooks unknown to them. The scant few incidents of this alleged form of crime described in UK media reports generally comprised folks simply reporting their impressions that they’d been targeted: In one case, an elderly couple in Devon were inundated by a large number of dodgy tradesmen calling at their home over a period of five years. A subsequent investigation found that a rogue builder who had previously worked at the property and overcharged the couple by £4,000 had left a pattern of blocks code to tip off other cowboy traders that the owners were a vulnerable target. The article included no information about who discovered this shibboleth and identified its meaning, nor did the elderly couple describe enduring a break-in at their home — the pair were simply targeted by an unspecified number of annoying door-to-door salesmen over a period of years, an unpleasant experienced shared by many residents living in unmarked homes. While it’s possible the “pattern of blocks” could have been meant to signal other shady dealers of an easy mark, simple shoddy worksmanship is a much more likely explanation. Postscript:
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Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof is actually a former child star and crisis actor named John Christian Graas.
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Visual evidence presented to bolster the theory that Dylann Roof was child actor John Christian Graas was extremely weak, consisting largely of cherry-picked images showing Roof’s child-like haircut contrasted with that of an actual child. But the details of Roof’s childhood (which differ substantially from those of the much-older John Christian Graas) are far more more compelling evidence against the “crisis actor” theory than shaky picture comparisons are evidence for it.
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false
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Politics Conspiracy Theories, crisis actors, dylann roof, john christian glaas
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In December 2016, 22-year-old Dylann Roof was convicted on 33 federal hate crimes counts related to the June 2015 Charleston church shooting that left nine people dead. The news of his conviction revived a June 2015 conspiracy theory that the Roof was not who he was claimed to be, but rather was a former child star and crisis actor named John Christian Graas. A constellation of “crisis actor” rumors widely entered mainstream conspiracy theory after the Sandy Hook school shootings of 2012. Shortly after news of that earlier massacre broke, multiple persons connected to the tragedy (typically family members of dead victims) were accused of being crisis actors (i.e., professional actors supposedly engaged by government agencies and the news media to deceive the public about the reality of allegedly staged (also known as “false flag”) events, hired to convincingly portray persons in the throes of trauma and suffering). After Sandy Hook, iterations of the “crisis actor” claim were attached by online conspiracy buffs to virtually every subsequent mass shooting event, with numerous truthers attempting to “out” these potential “plants” by matching them up with images of persons who had no connection to those events. The Charleston church massacre took place on 17 June 2015, and in less than a week conspiracy theorists were asserting that accused shooter Dylann Roof was actually John Christian Graas, a former child actor who had appeared in several films and episodes of numerous television series (and who, according to the Internet Movie Database, enlisted as a U.S. Marine in 2010). One early version of the rumor held: There’s been tons of speculation in regards to the Charleston shooting rampage. Was this another False Flag to distract and terrorize the masses? What would be gained from such an event? In this video you are about to watch, you will see hard core evidence that the shooter is really 33 year old John Christian Graas, Hollywood child actor and US Marine aviator as of 2010 and on US Marine register as of 2013. The associated video clip documented only that Graas and Dylann Roof bore a passing resemblance to one another, its “hardcore evidence” hinging on facial similarities between Roof at the time of his 2015 arrest and Graas as a young boy in the early 1990s: (We could find no post-childhood photographs of Graas to use in a more relevant comparison.) Central to the conspiracy theory was Roof’s “bowl” haircut, atypical for a man his age (21 at the time of his arrest) but common for a young boy such as Graas was during his acting career. Roof and the younger Graas both had a similar lip shape, but their noses were not similar, and while Roof appeared to have light green or blue eyes, photographs of Graas looked to depict a boy with dark hazel or brown eyes. (That latter discrepancy was typically shaded by contrasting color photographs of Graas with black-and-white images of Roof.) The shape of Grass and Roof’s eyes also visibly differed. Another glaring hole in the conspiracy involved the respective ages and histories of the two men. While Roof was 21 in the photographs used as a comparison, Graas was at least 33 when the rumors that he was acting the part of shooter “Dylann Roof” first circulated. Roof was not born until April 1994, when Graas was already at the height of his childhood acting career: Graas continued to work steadily through at least 1999, around the time Roof would have been entering kindergarten, and was reported as having enlisted in the Marines in 2010. Roof’s early life was thoroughly investigated after the shooting and documented an individual who had been on the grid during that period of time (not a persona that had suddenly been “created” around the time of the Charleston shooting). In profiles published after the shooting, references to Roof were found in 2008 court papers (related to a parent’s divorce) that appeared alongside descriptions of his school records. Childhood friends also placed Roof in the school system and attested to relationships with him years earlier: When Roof reconnected with his childhood friend [Joey] Meek [in May 2015], something in him had changed … they lost contact [around 2011], Meek said. When Roof contacted him, Meek said he welcomed his childhood friend into his home. But Roof was not the same friend Meek had known from their childhood. Roof always had been quiet, Meek said, but this time he was different. “I was trying to just treat him like he was the same friend and treat him like he was the same person,” Meek said in an interview with The State newspaper last week. “But people can change in that short time, and I just didn’t see it” while it was happening. Meek was one of the first to call law enforcement June 18 [2015] after he saw the surveillance images released of Roof before his capture. Family members also provided accounts of Roof’s early and later life to news outlets, many describing his alarmingly rapid transition from a young man with black friends to someone absorbed by white nationalist sentiments: The people who know Dylann Storm Roof — the people who watched his progression from a sweet child to a disturbed man — are struggling with guilt. [T]alk to his friends and family, and a portrait emerges of a troubled and confused 21-year-old, often drunk and occasionally threatening as he alternated between partying with black friends and spouting white power slogans to white friends. Court documents and nearly two dozen interviews show Roof’s early childhood was troubled and confused as well, as he grew up in an unstable, broken home amid allegations of marital abuse and infidelity. As a 4-year-old, “He was so sweet and bright,” recalls Patricia Hastings, who was once his step-grandmother. Seventeen years later, she is among many who are trying to figure out what happened to Dylann Roof … There is little dispute his childhood was difficult … In an affidavit filed in her 2009 divorce, [Roof’s former stepmother Paige Hastings/Mann] said she became a surrogate mother to the children: “I raised [Roof’s father’s] kids from a very young age, took them to all of their activities.” [Former step-grandmother] Patricia Hastings said her daughter loved Dylann and Amber “unconditionally as her own.” She said [biological mother] Amy Roof would leave them in Paige’s care with little notice, even though Paige had her own new baby, their half-sister Morgan. Paige cut Dylann’s hair in the bowl cut he still wears; she took Amber to college orientation because “both parents were unavailable,” Paige’s friend Leslie McArver wrote in an affidavit. As he grew, Dylann exhibited obsessive compulsive behavior, Hastings said. He would obsess over germs, and insisted on having his hair cut in that same style, Hastings said … After Paige filed for divorce, Franklin Roof hired a private investigator to shadow her, revealing she was having an affair, according to the court documents … The divorce was granted in 2009. Hastings recalls that her daughter told her she felt guilty leaving Dylann. Roof began having trouble in school. He failed the ninth grade twice, then dropped out for good in 2010. According to Patricia Hastings, recounting [2015] conversations with her daughter, Roof was quieter than he used to be; he looked distant, lost. He was no longer the sweet blond kid she helped raise for nearly a decade. As she was getting ready to leave, Roof, not one for affection, hugged her tight. “It was like he was saying goodbye,” Hastings said … The next time Mann saw him, it was on television as the man accused of the killings. Roof’s former schools and his school records and acquaintances were also examined and reported on in mid-2015: [N]othing in the records, and nothing in his friends’ memories, offer a clear explanation to the question haunting South Carolina and the nation: How did the silent young man with no record of violence in his past come to be accused of killing nine people who had gathered to pray? “When he opened up, you could tell something was wrong at home. He wasn’t at peace,” said Taliaferro Robinson-Heyward, who attended middle school with Mr. Roof. “It wasn’t like he was a mean person, but you could tell he had a darkness to his life.” The Lexington School District, where Mr. Roof attended fourth, eighth and ninth grades, described him as a “very transient student.” “I remember him as somewhat shy, and that he never penetrated into the ‘in’ crowd,” said Ted Wachter, the retired principal of Rosewood Elementary School, where Mr. Roof attended fifth grade. Mr. Robinson-Heyward, who is black, said he saw little evidence of bigotry in the young Dylann. “To me, in the seventh grade, he saw black just as he saw white, you know,” said Mr. Robinson-Heyward … Another childhood friend, Caleb Brown, recalled a class assignment that required students to go home and ask about their heritage … With a child’s inquisitiveness, Mr. Roof asked his mixed-race friend, who had darker skin and curly hair, about his background and learned that Mr. Brown’s father was black. “That didn’t change his behavior toward me,” Mr. Brown said in an interview. The boys became friends at the behest of their mothers, having sleepovers, skateboarding and playing Nascar racing video games. Mr. Brown recalled Mr. Roof’s mother being welcoming and tolerant of all of races. “He wasn’t the most popular kid, but he wasn’t upset about that,” Mr. Brown said … Several of Mr. Roof’s friends said he often complained that his father put him to work landscaping. Even in his youth, Mr. Roof began to exhibit a greater interest in smoking grass than cutting it. At 13, [in approximately 2007] his mother caught him spending $50 he had earned landscaping on marijuana, Ms. Konzny said … family turmoil took place at about the time Mr. Roof was entering ninth grade in Lexington. School records show he repeated the grade, completing the last three months of his second stint of ninth grade back in Columbia, in 2010.
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9739
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For Alzheimer's patients, resveratrol brings new hope
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Resveratrol is an antioxidant compound found in grapes and red wine. Like a competing Time story, this CNN piece overreaches in its description of a randomized controlled trial of resveratrol’s effects on biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. It suggests that resveratrol “may actually have benefit in slowing progression of this disease,” which goes beyond anything that this small safety-focused study could tell us. But after that early misstep (and a sensational headline that touts “new hope”), the story recovers to highlight the need for additional work before it can be determined whether resveratrol may be beneficial. And in that respect it goes well beyond the Time coverage. All in all, the story does a nice job of balancing the promise of the work while keeping readers grounded in the reality that we are a long way from finding a new tool to fight Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s affects more than 5 million people in the United States, and that number is expected to double over the next 35 years. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. And while the number of patients diagnosed is great, the number of people affected is even greater. It is difficult for loved ones to watch a friend or family member lose his or her sense of self, to say nothing of the financial and emotional burden that comes with increased responsibilities for taking care of Alzheimer’s patients as the condition advances. New tools and treatments that can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s are important and worth covering. But it is also important to present the limitations of new studies, so as to avoid giving a false impression of the findings to doctors, patients and their loved ones.
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true
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resveratrol
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The story does not address cost at all. But as with the competing Time coverage, we’ll rule this Not Applicable since the story clearly indicates that the supplements studied are not on the market. The key finding of the study is that high doses of resveratrol can have an effect on the production of amyloid-beta40, a biomarker that declines in spinal fluid as Alzheimer’s disease advances. The story describes these effects, but doesn’t provide specifics. Similarly, the story mentions that some patients “had slight improvements in their ability to carry out a daily task,” but — again — doesn’t give readers any way to quantify what “slight improvements” means (more on this under “Quality of Evidence”). Another problem is the statement that resveratrol “may actually have benefit in slowing progression of this disease,” which is not consistent with the findings of the journal article. In fact, the journal article specifically states that “The altered biomarker trajectories must be interpreted with caution. Although they suggest CNS effects, they do not indicate benefit.” While we have to rate the story Not Satisfactory for those concerns, the story does a good job of noting that the real goal of the study was to determine whether high doses of resveratrol are safe, so that more research can be done. That’s an important point, and one worth making. Similarly, the story makes clear that: “The study was not big enough to answer some important questions, such as whether patients taking resveratrol actually had lower levels of amyloid-beta plaques in their brain, and most importantly, whether they experienced less decline in their mental faculties.” That’s crucial, and the story is clear on the point. The story specifically discusses the safety of resveratrol, noting that the one concern researchers found was that there appeared to be a slight weight loss (two pounds) in patients taking resveratrol over the course of the one-year study, compared to a one pound weight gain in patients taking placebo. This is significant because weight loss can be a problem for Alzheimer’s patients. The story could also have addressed the concerns raised in some quarters that resveratrol may affect blood clotting, which would be important information for patients taking blood thinners. The story does note that size of the study, and the maximum dosage that patients received. But, more importantly, the story repeatedly stresses that a great deal of additional work needs to be done in order to determine whether resveratrol could affect Alzheimer’s, and — if so — how it might fit into treatment plans. That said, there was one point where the story could have been much better. The story mentions the “slight improvement” in patients’ ability to do daily tasks. But the story does not mention that the study included five tests that measured patient’s mental processes — and found slight improvements in only one of them. There was no difference between the resveratrol group and the placebo group on the other four tests. No disease mongering here. The story includes input from two outside sources who provided important insight into the work. The story is much stronger thanks to the input of these two sources, who addressed the novelty of the work, the need for additional research, and how resveratrol could potentially become part of a multifaceted treatment regimen. The story doesn’t mention who funded the research (NIH), which would have been good. And while the story doesn’t mention that several study authors had ties to pharmaceutical companies, it’s not clear that those companies have any ties to the research. So the overall rating here is Satisfactory, although we did notice the spokesperson from the Alzheimer’s Association mentioned that the currently available cholinseterase inhibitors slow progression of disease, which they do not — they treat symptoms in a minority of patients for a short period of time. He also opined that eventually the likelihood is that treatment will take a combination of several drugs (and lifestyle measures). Both lines are consistent with the huge amount of pharma money pumped in to the Alzheimer’s Association. Similarly, the other source apparently holds a patent on the use of a grape seed extract to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons — an interest that could impact his views on this similar approach. The story mentions both drugs used in Alzheimer’s treatment and lifestyle factors — such as diet and exercise — that may help slow mental decline in Alzheimer’s patients. However, we thought one of the comments from Dr. Turner on this subject was confusing and not backed by evidence. One glass of red wine a day could help those with mild Alzheimer’s, “but no more than that,” Turner said. The study addresses this specifically: “Even if concentrated forms of resveratrol pills like the kind used in this study were available, it’s too soon to recommend going out and getting some just yet.” The story notes that this is “the first study in people with Alzheimer’s” — which clearly sets the study apart from earlier research. That said, there have been many other studies on resveratrol and Alzheimer’s using animal models, and a quick paragraph on what those other studies have told us would have been both interesting and useful. This went well beyond any news release on the work.
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7792
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Uganda confirms first Ebola case during current outbreak, a Congolese child: WHO.
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Uganda has confirmed its first case of Ebola during the current outbreak, a 5-year-old Congolese child who is receiving care after arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
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true
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Health News
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“This is the first confirmed case in Uganda during the Ebola outbreak on-going in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the WHO said in a statement. The affected child had entered Uganda on June 9 through Bwera Border post. His family sought medical care at Kagando hospital and the child was transferred to Bwera Ebola Treatment Unit for management, the WHO said. “The confirmation was made today by the Uganda Virus Institute (UVRI) ...contacts are being monitored,” WHO said. The boy was accompanied by his Ugandan father and Congolese mother, who had had returned to Congo to nurse her father before he died of Ebola, Uganda’s Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng told a news conference. The family returned to Uganda with four other family members of Congolese origin, Aceng said. All the other Congolese family members are in isolation at Bwera Hospital. Two of them have already developed symptoms similar to those of Ebola and samples have been removed from them, Aceng said. Results of tests are expected Wednesday. Eight more contacts are being followed up, Aceng said. Aceng said the family entered Uganda on June 10, not 9. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear and neither the WHO nor the government was reachable for clarification. Since the epidemic began in August in eastern Congo, the Congo health ministry said on Monday that it had recorded 2,062 cases, including 1,390 deaths. Neighboring Uganda has suffered regular outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg over the years, both high-fatality viral hemorrhagic fevers. Health facilities to treat the diseases are relatively robust. A donor-supported laboratory in Entebbe, a lakeside town south of the capital Kampala, means Uganda typically confirms outbreaks much faster than many of its neighbors. Preparing for possible cases of Ebola, Uganda has vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers, disease monitoring has been intensified, special treatment units set up and health workers have been trained to recognize symptoms of the disease, WHO said. Uganda’s worst Ebola outbreak was in 2000 when 425 people were infected. More than half of them died.
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31783
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"There is a faceless, semi-human monster called Slenderman who stands eight feet tall, has tentacles for arms, stalks and eats small children, and communicates telepathically with his human servants, called ""proxies."
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We’re not in a position to judge to what extent, if any, the Slenderman materials viewed by Payton Leutner’s accused attackers may have “exerted an influence” on their behavior. We would point out, however, that reports of such incidents have been very few and far between since the character was created in 2009. Perhaps, as Kitta says, folklore isn’t always benign, but we should be wary when it’s blamed for the bad things people do.
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false
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Horrors, creepypasta, slenderman, Supernatural Tales
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On 31 May 2014, three 12-year-old girls embarked on a “birdwatching” expedition in a wooded area near their homes in Waukesha, Wisconsin that ended in one of them being stabbed 19 times and left for dead. Seriously injured, the victim managed to crawl to a nearby road, where she was found and taken to a hospital. She told police her friends had attacked her. The other two girls were arrested and charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The attack weapon was found among their belongings. They admitted to planning and executing the crime. Under interrogation, they claimed they did it to appease a supernatural being called Slenderman (aka Slender Man), who was described in a Newsweek article as “an evil character who lives only on the Internet,” but in whom the accused attackers said they fervently believed: According to the criminal complaint obtained by Newsweek, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, both 12, discovered Slender Man on Creepypasta Wiki, a website dedicated to Internet horror stories (its tagline: “Proudly hosting 12,151 of your worst nightmares since 2010”). They believed he was real. In early 2014, Geyser and Weier decided to become what they called “proxies” of Slender Man, thereby proving their dedication to him and his existence to skeptics. To do so, they’d have to kill someone. Although months in the planning, their mission did not succeed. The victim, Payton Leutner, recovered, though she still lives in fear for her life, her mother says. The accused were tried as adults and pleaded guilty to the attack but argued in court they weren’t responsible for their actions due to mental illness. In December 2017, Weier was sentenced to 25 years in a psychiatric institution. Geyser has yet to face sentencing. The incident was cast as a cautionary tale for parents by Waukesha police chief Russell Jack, who cited it as a consequence of allowing children unsupervised access to the Internet: Keeping children safe is more challenging than in years past. The Internet has changed the way we live. It is full of information and wonderful sites that teach and entertain. The Internet can also be full of dark and wicked things. But although it’s true there are “dark and wicked things” to be found on the Internet (as in life, generally), and children’s use of the Internet ought indeed to be supervised, to suggest that the Slenderman materials viewed by the accused are “wicked,” in any deeper sense than, say, a Stephen King novel is “wicked,” is to misunderstand them. The Slenderman “mythos,” as the accumulated stories, images, and commentary related to the character have come to be called, is a blend of fiction and folklore. It’s a crowd-sourced horror story that hearkens back to boogeyman tales of old. The first time the name “Slender Man” appeared anywhere in print or on screen was on the entertainment web site SomethingAwful.com on 10 June 2009. Someone started a thread in a discussion forum, essentially a Photoshop contest, entitled “Create Paranormal Images.” Among the early entries was one posted under the pseudonym “Victor Surge” (later identified as member Eric Knudsen), consisting of an old photograph manipulated to depict a tall, faceless human-like figure with tentacle-like arms lurking in the shadows near a children’s playground: One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986. The effect was understated, yet creepy. Inspired by the example, others contributed photos and backstory expanding on Surge’s themes, and piecemeal construction of the Slenderman mythos, a collaborative project from the start, was underway. As Surge himself suggested, it was also, from the start, a patchwork of cultural influences: Where did you get the source for Slender Man? Or was he done from a scratch? The Slender Man as an idea was made-up off the top of my head, although the concept is based on a number of things that scare me. The name I thought up on the fly when I wrote that first bit. The asset I used for a couple of the pictures was the creepy tall guy from Phantasm, which sadly I have not seen, and the others various guys in suits. All of the things that aren’t the torso and legs, like the tentacles and Slender Man’s face, were painted from scratch however. By the time middle-schoolers Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier encountered the Slenderman character years later, the mythos had grown considerably and was being archived on fan sites like Creepypasta Wiki (creepypasta” being an Internet slang term for user-created horror stories and images). It’s where, for example, the girls would have read that Slenderman uses fear to control people’s minds, and then kills them: He is described as wearing a black suit strikingly similar to the visage of the notorious Men In Black, and as the name suggests, appears very thin and able to stretch his limbs and torso to inhuman lengths in order to induce fear and ensnare his prey. Once his arms are outstretched, his victims are put into something of a hypnotized state, where they are utterly helpless to stop themselves from walking into them. He is also able to create tendrils from his fingers and back that he uses to walk on in a similar fashion to Doctor Octopus. The superhuman stretching ability could also be seen as a similarity between himself and Mr. Fantastic. Whether he absorbs, kills, or merely takes his victims to an undisclosed location or dimension is also unknown as there are never any bodies or evidence left behind in his wake to deduce a definite conclusion. It’s also where they would have learned what a Slenderman “proxy” is: Proxy (plural: Proxies) is the term given to those who serve The Slender Man. The theory behind the name is that Proxies are entities or people who are under the influence or control of the Slender Man (or the same force that influences Slender Man), and act based on its wants and needs — hence, Proxies serve as an in-between (i.e. a proxy) for Slender Man. And it’s where they would have been introduced to “evidence” that Slenderman sightings date back to the 16th-century in Germany, where woodcuts documenting reports of a murderous so-called “Tall Man” (Der Großmann) with a spear-like arm and superfluous legs were allegedly found: According to legend, he was a fairy who lived in the Black Forest. Bad children who crept into the woods at night would be relentlessly chased by Der Großmann, who wouldn’t leave them be until he either caught them or they were forced to tell their parents of their wrongdoing. Like other items purporting to constitute visual proof of Slenderman’s existence, however, the woodcut is merely a doctored version of a Hans Holbein print (circa 1497, below right) depicting a knight in armor “pierced by Death’s lance”: It’s hard not to admire the creativity that went into Slenderman. It’s equally hard — at least, from our point of view — to subscribe to the view that it was done for a malevolent purpose or represents a “dark and wicked” side of the Internet. It’s more accurate to characterize it as an ad hoc communal art project, or, if you’re a folklorist and your bailiwick includes studying the spontaneous generation of stories, an updated, Internet-savvy instance of the age-old process of legend creation. American folklorist Andrea Kitta expressed just this view in a January 2017 interview with the web site inews.co.uk: The internet is certainly helping to spread modern urban myths wider and faster than before. Kitta argues, however, that they are more or less exactly like traditional folklore. “The only difference in some cases is that people may include a picture with the story, which adds to its believability. “But all of these forms of folklore share many similarities. They tend to be set in the local or historic past, they are believable, and they contain variation.” Folklorists see such tales as imbued with deeper social meanings. Shira Chess, author of Folklore, Horror Stories and the Slender Man (2014), explored these in comments to The Washington Post: “We tell ourselves stories because we (humans) are storytelling animals,” she wrote in an e-mail. “And, to that end, horror stories take on a specific significance and importance because they function metaphorically — the horror stories that are the best are often metaphors for other issues that affect our lives on both cultural and personal levels.” Slender Man, Chess says, is a metaphor for “helplessness, power differentials, and anonymous forces.” He’s an infinitely morphable stand-in for things we can neither understand nor control, universal fears that can drive people to great lengths — even, it would appear, very scary, cold-blooded lengths. Chess seems to be saying it’s the feeling of helplessness and fear underlying them, not horror stories themselves, that can drive people to “cold-blooded lengths.” Andrea Kitta isn’t so sure: Kitta believes that urban legends are sometimes wrongly blamed for shocking events. However, she also suggests it is possible they can exert an influence too. “Sometimes people use folklore as a scapegoat, perhaps most famously in the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. “But we would be remiss to assume that folklore is safe or benign.”
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40589
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There are several different versions of emails warning against taking medications that contain phenylpropanolamine, which is popular in cold and decongestant products as well as some weight loss products. Some of the emails list the over-the-counter products that contain phenylpropanolamine. It also urges you to call the product manufacturers to get a refund.
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Popular substance in cold medications pulled from the shelves
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mixture
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Medical, Warnings
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"According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA), all firms that use phenylpropanolamine in their products are being asked to voluntarily discontinue them. The suggestion from the eRumor that there are refunds on the products is a hoax. Phenylpropanolamine is commonly used in prescription and over-the-counter nasal decongestants and weight control products. The FDA action was in response to a study by researchers at Yale University that found an increased risk of stroke in people who were using products with phenylpropanolamine in them. The FDA says the chance of stroke is small and was found to have mostly affected women, but because of the seriousness of stroke and the difficulty in predicting who could be at risk, it was best to ask for the manufacturers to voluntarily remove it. One of the problems in the wake of the FDA request is that some emails circulating on the Internet and that list particular products from particular companies give the impression that the company should be blamed for a defective product, a misunderstanding that the drug manufacturers are worried about. They want the public to know that they are voluntarily removing phenylpropanolamine from their products. Some versions of the story say phenylpropanolamine is also harmful to children, but that was not a conclusion of the Yale study. The FDA posted a notice on their website saying that they are “aware of emails circulating widely that list many products allegedly containing PPA. These emails, however, generally contain dated and inaccurate information and should be ignored.” Click for FDA notice updated 01/18/09 A version of the eRumor that has appeared on the Internet: All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are being recalled. You may want to try calling the 800 number listed on most drug boxes and inquire about a REFUND. Please read this CAREFULLY. Also, please pass this on to everyone you know. STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative Medicine. The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine: Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant Acutrim Plus Dietary Supplements Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control Alka-Seltzer Plus Children’s Cold Medicine Effervescent Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange) Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent Alka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder BC Sinus Cold Powder Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief Day & Night Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules Contac 12 Hour Caplets Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus Dexatrim Caffeine Free Dexatrim Extended Duration Dexatrim Gelcaps Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels Dimetapp DM Cold & Cough Elixir Dimetapp Elixir Dimetapp 4 Hour Liquid Gels Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops Permathene Mega-16 Robitussin CF Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion Triaminic DM Cough Rel! ief Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough . I just found out and called the 800# on the container for Triaminic and they informed me that they are voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in children: Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink) 3D Cold & Cough Berry 3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D Expectorant They are asking you to call them at 800-548-3708 with the lot number on the box so they can send you postage for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF! DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST so people are informed. They can then pass it along to their families. To confirm these findings please take time to check the following: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/ PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR CHILDREN IN CASE THEY GIVE IT TO THEIR CHILDREN OR TO FRIENDS WHO HAVE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN Comments"
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20419
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More than half of the births in Texas are paid for by Medicaid.
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Democratic legislators say more than half of Texas births funded by Medicaid
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true
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Children, Medicaid, Texas, Elliott Naishtat,
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"In an op-ed column questioning the exclusion of Planned Parenthood clinics from a women’s contraception program, Austin members of the Texas House say the result would be more government-funded births. ""More than half of the births in Texas are paid for by Medicaid and, without this (women’s) program, that percentage will undoubtedly increase,"" says the column posted on the Austin American-Statesman’s website on March 5, 2012. The Medicaid Women’s Health Program, which has a goal of reducing Medicaid-funded births, has not been eliminated, though its federal ties are in transition. Specifically, the Statesman op-ed article, by Democratic Reps. Elliott Naishtat, Dawnna Dukes, Eddie Rodriguez, Mark Strama and Donna Howard, objects to a move by the state’s Republican leaders to remove Planned Parenthood clinics as providers in the 5-year-old program, which has annually offered contraception and cancer screenings to tens of thousands of low-income women. After the state action, the federal government announced that it was phasing out its aid to the Texas program. Gov. Rick Perry replied that state funds would be found to make up for the loss. While none of the barred clinics provided abortions, state leaders said they were rightly enforcing a state law against state aid reaching any clinic with a connection to Planned Parenthood, which has other clinics that do provide abortions. We can’t judge the Democrats’ prediction that more births will need to be paid for by Medicaid because of these turns. For this article, we wondered if indeed more than half of Texas births are currently covered by Medicaid, the government insurance program that mostly serves low-income mothers and children. Naishtat’s legislative director, Nancy Walker, passed along a January 2011 Texas Health and Human Services Commission presentation, ""Medicaid and Healthy Babies,"" stating that more than 55 percent of Texas births are paid for by Medicaid. ""Medicaid is the primary public coverage program providing prenatal and perinatal care in Texas, and is the primary payor of all Texas births,"" the presentation says. ""Texas spends over $2.2 billion per year in birth and delivery related services."" In 2001, Medicaid covered 47.5 percent of all Texas births, according to a chart in the presentation. The Medicaid-funded share of births escalated to 56.5 percent in 2006, 56.3 percent in 2007 and 55.4 percent in 2008. By email, commission spokesman Geoffrey Wool confirmed the cited figures, adding that in 2010, 56.9 percent of Texas births -- or 220,899 out of 388,447 total births -- were covered by Medicaid, at an average cost of $11,600. He provided a commission chart showing the share of births funded by Medicaid for each state fiscal year from 2004 through 2010. Wool said the state’s share of the $2.2 billion annually paid by Medicaid for Texas births and related services is about $900 million."
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9005
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Clinical Trial Offers Natural Eczema Treatment, Using Good Bacteria to Fight the Bad
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The news release highlights a new clinical trial using a twice daily lotion containing what we’re told is “good bacteria” used to fight “bad bacteria” in order to restore the “natural microbial balance” of patients with eczema, or atopic dermatitis. The premise of this research is that introducing “good bacteria” might decrease the population of Staphlococcus aureus — a bacterium that’s part of the normal flora of our skin and respiratory tract, and speculated to play a role in making eczema worse. But as with many treatments based on the microbiome, the benefits are touted with language that — although it sounds reasonable and appealing — is not backed by existing research. In fact, here there is no research. The sponsors are still recruiting volunteers for the trial. That should have been made more clear. The news release does explain why a less toxic alternative might have advantages over existing therapies such as antibiotics and corticosteroids. Eczema is a very common skin disorder that is notoriously difficult to treat. Finding an effective and non-toxic treatment alternative would be a boon to both patients and those who might develop such a treatment. But it’s important to note that the cause of eczema is unknown; it’s thought to be triggered by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. That’s why treatment is focused on minimizing possible triggers and symptoms. It’s also a disease that can repeatedly flare up and significantly compromise people’s quality of life. A non-toxic therapy — as this approach promises to be — could have a major impact on the lives of these people, some of whom are quite incapacitated by this disease. Promising them a long-term solution based on very preliminary, unpublished results is unwarranted. It is very unlikely that one approach, such as altering the microbiome, will yield results for a majority of eczema sufferers.
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false
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eczema,microbiome,National Jewish Health
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This lotion is still in clinical trials. Pricing is most likely unavailable. We’re told the lotion contains “beneficial bacteria to fight harmful bacteria,” and the lead investigator is quoted as saying that this will “help the skin gain back it’s natural balance and create that barrier needed to keep it healthy.” But we’re given no data from the trials to support this. We’re also not given any context regarding what good bacteria, natural balance, or “that barrier” are. The only example of a “bad” bacteria mentioned is Staphylococcus aureus. The news release informs us that Staph. aureus makes eczema worse. Previous studies have shown that high levels of Staph. aureus do correlate with increasing severity of eczema. The lead investigator suggests that applying the lotion twice a day will “eliminate all staph aureus.” But there’s no evidence included to show that this lotion actually improves the eczema. It should have been acknowledged that staph aureas colonization might be associated with eczema severity and not a cause of it. For example, if people with more severe eczema scratch more, they are more likely to colonize themselves with bacteria they pick up in the environment around them. This does not indicate that reducing the staph will result in improvement of the underlying disorder. No potential harms from using the lotion are mentioned. Could there be allergic reactions? If the lotion does, indeed, reduce the amount of Staph. aureus on the skin, are there consequences to that? Or consequences to changing the skin’s microbial balance in general? Also, many eczema patients are acutely aware that their skin is not just fragile, but also may have open sores; should a bacterial lotion be applied to broken skin? And does this put them at risk of a bacterial infection that can spread? It’s mentioned that “there is more research to be done” but it’s unclear whether any people have thus far been tested. The release also alludes to a future safety trial and a larger study “to see if the benefits of bacterial cream can truly provide a permanent solution for eczema patients.” This is a far cry from the claims that this cream “restores the natural balance of healthy skin,” and has the potential to be “a long-term solution.” There’s no indication that any preliminary results have been peer-reviewed, published, or presented at medical conferences. We’re only given the anecdote of one woman, but nothing about her response to the treatment. The news release is clearly jumping to describing a new treatment that sounds beneficial without any evidence at all. No disease mongering. Atopic dermatitis is very common and difficult to treat. Funding sources for this clinical trial are not mentioned. Potential conflicts of interest are also not addressed and this could be relevant since a quick check of the lead author on Dollars for Docs reveals multiple sources of industry funding in the past. The article does well in mentioning two alternative treatments for eczema that can often prove problematic: antibiotics and corticosteroids. There are a host of other treatment options as listed here. The release suggests the benefit of the cream was already proven and hints that the treatment would be available soon. It would have been helpful to note for readers something like, “because this lotion is in clinical trials, it is not currently available on the market; furthermore the preliminary results have not been published or peer-reviewed.” There are a number of probiotic creams for sale, according to a quick search of Amazon. What is different about the one being tested? The release doesn’t rely on sensational terms so we’ll give it a Satisfactory. The unwarranted claims, such as alluding to a possible “long-term solution” for eczema without providing any evidence, are addressed under other criteria.
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17932
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Soy ... el único official estatal quién es un hombre de negocios.
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"Dewhurst said he’s ""el único official estatal quién es un hombre de negocios,"" which his camp would translate as ""the only statewide elected official who is a businessman."" This claim falls down without going beyond the five executive offices that his spokesman said Dewhurst was referring to. Past that, the claim is incorrect in a commonsensical way, if one accepts, as we do, that legislators are elected state officials as well. Dozens of legislators are in business. Dewhurst isn’t ""único"" in this regard."
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false
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Candidate Biography, Texas, David Dewhurst,
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"As a businessman, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst claimed in an Aug. 19, 2013, interview, he knows how to keep Texas’ job growth going. ""Soy un hombre de negocios, el único official estatal quién es un hombre de negocios,"" he said on the Houston Univision 45 show ""Conexión Texas"" – ""I am a businessman, the only state official who is a businessman."" Dewhurst, whose fluency in Spanish dates to his 1970-74 Central Intelligence Agency posting in Bolivia, phrased the same claim in a tighter way in another part of the interview, saying he is the only state elected official who is a businessman: ""Yo soy el único hombre de negocios eligido estatal."" Currently running to keep his job as lieutenant governor, a post he’s held since 2003, Dewhurst makes a similar statement on his campaign website, saying he’s ""the only businessman elected to statewide office."" D magazine quoted Dewhurst in a June 23, 2011, blog post, as saying, ""Out of 29 elected state officials, I’m the only traditional businessman."" Dewhurst built a multimillion-dollar fortune as an energy entrepreneur and investor in Houston after his service in the Air Force and CIA. According to Spanish-English dictionaries and consultation with our colleagues at the Austin American-Statesman’s weekly Spanish newspaper, ¡Ahora Sí!, the adjective ""estatal"" would translate simply as ""state."" By email, Dewhurst campaign spokesman Travis Considine told us that a June 29, 2013, quotation in a Dallas Morning News news blog post represented what Dewhurst ""typically says in English"": ""I’m the only traditional businessperson elected statewide."" In the ""Conexión"" interview, Considine told us, Dewhurst was referring to Gov. Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Comptroller Susan Combs, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, whose occupations Considine said were, respectively, rancher, lawyer, rancher, retired military and rancher. The Texas secretary of state’s office lists 27 statewide elected positions, and the Texas Legislature has 31 senators and 150 representatives, who are members of state government and make state law even though they are elected from regions rather than statewide. We pulled together information on Texas officials’ occupations from news stories, biographies on state websites and interviews with officeholders’ aides. A full list of sources is at right. Texas’ top statewide offices Among the five executive statewide elected officials Considine named, Staples describes himself as a ""former rancher and businessman"" on his campaign website. Staples, retired Marine Lt. Col. Patterson and state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, a radio host and station owner, are each challenging Dewhurst for the 2014 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Staples’ campaign manager, Cody McGregor, told us by phone that Staples started and owned a real estate firm from 1986 until 2007, was part owner of a plant nursery and started and ran a cattle-raising operation. Before entering public service, Perry farmed cotton and wheat, raised cattle and served in the Air Force, according to news stories from the Austin American-Statesman archives and NPR. Spokespeople told us by email that Abbott is a lawyer and Combs was a lawyer and rancher. All statewide offices in Texas Among the 27 state officials elected statewide, we spotted an accountant and an investment banker. That group includes the officials above plus the Texas Railroad Commission’s three members, the Texas Supreme Court’s nine justices and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ nine judges. Members of those courts are lawyers and judges, as required by state law -- specifically, each must have 10 years’ experience as a practicing lawyer or judge. Railroad Commission chairman Barry Smitherman, a candidate for attorney general, was an investment banker and briefly a prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s office, according to a June 26, 2013, Texas Tribune news story. His colleagues are Christi Craddick, described in her biographical entry on the commission’s website and Statesman stories as an oil and gas lawyer and former advisor to her father, then-House Speaker Tom Craddick; and David Porter, an accountant whose biographical entry says he ""built a successful small business around his CPA practice."" Adding in Texas’ two U.S. senators, federal officials elected statewide, would bump the number up to 29, matching Dewhurst’s 2011 statement. Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are lawyers. State legislators The Senate’s official guide to senators and the House Chief Clerk’s Office list of representatives’ biographical data give business as an occupation for dozens of members of the current (83rd) Legislature. Others are listed more specifically as owning companies, restaurants, agencies or firms. Here, too, ""lawyer"" is a common occupation, but there are also engineers, contractors, educators, insurance agents, ranchers and doctors. Our ruling Dewhurst said he’s ""el único official estatal quién es un hombre de negocios,"" which his camp would translate as ""the only statewide elected official who is a businessman."" This claim falls down without going beyond the five executive offices that his spokesman said Dewhurst was referring to. Past that, the claim is incorrect in a commonsensical way, if one accepts, as we do, that legislators are elected state officials as well. Dozens of legislators are in business. Dewhurst isn’t ""único"" in this regard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ – The statement is not accurate."
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10891
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New Drug Spray May Help Premature Ejaculation
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"There was a lot we liked about this story. Appropriate caveats. Even the headline said ""may help"" instead of hyping results. Lots of detail on the evidence. Maybe WebMD is starting to listen to us? The story ended with this note which we had not seen before on a WebMD story: This study was presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the ""peer review"" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal. We applaud this addition."
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true
|
"The story explains that ""No price has been set."" We give it credit for thinking about cost and addressing it – even if the answer is uncertain at this point. 70 percent of the stories we review fail to adequately address costs. The ""ejaculatory control scale"" wasn’t explained very well. But the numbers were there. Again, this was the most complete story of the three reviewed in discussing side effects: ""A total of 6.1% of the men and 6.7% of their partners suffered at least one side effect. In men, the most frequent side effect was loss of erection; it occurred at least once in 3.1% of men. In the partners, the most frequent side effect was burning in the vulvovaginal area; 5% of women reported it at least once."" The story gave a great deal of detail about how the study was done – most of the three stories we reviewed. It also included this italicized note at the end: We had not seen that before on a WebMD story and we applaud it. WebMD, are you listening to us? The story includes the important caveat – ""Not all men with premature ejaculation suffer to the same degree as the men in the study"" – although did they really need to use the term ""suffer""??? It did not question the oft-cited statistic that ""Up to 30% of men suffer some degree of premature ejaculation"" as the Wall Street Journal did, but we’ll give it a satisfactory grade on this nonetheless because of the caveat above. One researcher’s financial links to the drug company were disclosed. One independent expert was interviewed. The story didn’t provide the context on other research in this area that the Wall Street Journal story provided: The story explains that ""The drug is so new that the company has yet to give it a name under which it will be marketed…. the company is preparing to apply for FDA approval based on the results of the new research."" It’s clear from the story that the drug ""contains two common painkillers"" and that ""this is the first time a drug is being rigorously tested for men with really serious premature ejaculation problems."" It’s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release."
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35285
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U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted in 2014 that governors were making a mistake by backing off Ebola quarantines.
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It should also be noted that the quarantines in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak were much different than the quarantines put in place during the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. In 2014, no state-wide “shelter-in-place” orders existed. Rather, a handful of states required people who had come in contact with someone infected with Ebola to quarantine for 21 days.
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true
|
Politics, COVID-19
|
In March 2020, cities across the United States started to implement various orders to “shelter in place,” “stay at home,” or “self-quarantine” in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus that emerged in 2019. While these measures appeared to work in helping to “flattening the curve” of cases, they also caused a dramatic economic downturn and caused millions of people to lose their jobs. In mid-April 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House started working on a plan to “re-open America.” Around the same time, cities such as Lansing, Michigan, started to see small, anti-quarantine protests that Trump gave verbal support to on his social media account, tweeting “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege.” As Trump worked toward easing social distancing measures and re-starting the economy — a decision that worried many health experts — an old tweet started to recirculate on social media that supposedly showed him criticizing governors for relaxing quarantine rules during the Ebola outbreak in 2014: This is a genuine tweet from Trump. It is still available on his Twitter timeline here. An archived version of this tweet can be seen here. Trump’s old tweets are frequently shared on social media along with the message “There’s a tweet for everything,” a phrase meant to encapsulate the idea that for every current Trump statement there is an equal and opposite statement of his from another time. While many of the “there’s-a-tweet-for-everything” messages point to genuine and seemingly contradictory tweets from the president’s past, we’ve also encountered quite a few fake tweets supposedly sent from Trump.
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10737
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Good energy for bad: Reiki, a Japanese practice of clearing away negative energy, is finding acceptance in U.S. medicine
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Reiki, the Japanese practice of “energy healing” is one of many complementary or alternative medical services now available at select health centers in the U.S. This story describes the use of Reiki therapy for several diseases and conditions. Although the story attempts to describe the evidence to support reiki therapy, ultimately it fails to provide the reader with balanced information on what reiki can or can’t do. Although the story describes the benefits of treatment in two studies, the story fails to provide adequate information on the nature of the benefits. For example, the story states that “more than 75% reported increased energy” and “those receiving Reiki took fewer pain medications.” Neither statement provides adequate information on the benefits. How much energy? How many fewer medications? Also, because the story does not explain the design of these studies, the reader does not know how much of this benefit may be due to placebo effect. The story didn’t discuss the limitations of small studies (22 patients in one) or of studies that rely on patients’ self-reporting of improvement. Although the story mentions several trials, the reader is not provided with enough information to evaluate the strength of the available evidence. How were the studies designed? What were the outcomes measured? How long was the follow up? The story mentions that Reiki is available at a handful of institutions, but this is insufficient information on availability. How many Reiki practitioners are there around the country, and in what types of settings? Are they licensed or certified? If so, by whom? If not, what does that mean? A major concern with many alternative practices is that providers have minimal training yet still are paid quite a sum of money to “practice” their art, regardless of whether it is proven effective.
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mixture
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The story does describe the cost of treatment for one patient – about $500 for two months of sessions. But the story could have explained whether this is representative of usual Reiki costs. It did mention that the profiled patient’s charges weren’t covered by insurance. Is this the norm? Although the story does describe the benefits of treatment in two studies, the story fails to provide adequate information on the nature of the benefits. For example, the story states that “more than 75% reported increased energy” and ” those receiving Reiki took fewer pain medications.” Neither of these statements provides adequate information on the benefits. How much energy? How many fewer medications? Also, because the story does not explain the design of these studies, the reader does not know how much of this benefit may be due to placebo effect. The story does not mention harms. One harm may be that patients would delay seeing their physician for a problem, resulting in a late diagnosis. Although the story mentions several trials, the reader is not provided with enough information to evaluate the strength of the available evidence. How were the studies designed? What were the outcomes measured? How long was the follow up? In discussing one study in people with AIDS, the story said “Of those who received Reiki, more than 75 percent reported increased energy, compared with no change in the control group.” There was no discussion of the limitations of such self-reporting. The story also mentioned a study of the effects of Reiki on patients who were having abdominal hysterectomies – a study of 22 patients – without any discussion of the limitations of such a small study. The story discusses Reiki being used for several conditions, and doesn’t focus on any one, so disease mongering is not applicable in this case. The story quotes three Reiki practitioners. The story should have quoted other practitioners or reseachers who could provide additional perspectives. Nonetheless, we give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The story does not give any context about alternatives to Reiki for any of the conditions for which it is being used. For the claims that Reiki can “heal broken bones,” the story does mention bone stimulators and spinal fusion surgery, but does not give any context for or perspectives about these alternatives. The story mentions that Reiki is available at a handful of institutions, but this is insufficient information on availability. How many Reiki practitioners are there around the country, and in what types of settings? Are they licensed or certified? If so, by whom? If not, what does that mean? The story adequately describes how reiki was developed in Japan and has gained acceptance in the U.S. Because the story used sources from several different institutions, it does not appear to have relied solely or largely on a news release.
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5184
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Evers’ official: Ex-Planned Parenthood VP has no legal say.
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Gov. Tony Evers’ pick to lead the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Wednesday defended naming a former vice president at Planned Parenthood as a top deputy, saying she won’t have any involvement in lawsuits challenging the state’s abortion laws.
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true
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Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood, Health, Lawsuits, Abortion, Confirmation hearings
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Secretary-designee Andrea Palm was asked about the pick of Nicole Safar during a confirmation hearing before the state Senate’s health committee. Palm has drawn heat from anti-abortion groups and conservative Republican senators for selecting Safar, a longtime Planned Parenthood lobbyist, to be her assistant deputy secretary. “Nicole Safar was absolutely my first choice and ... I am glad she accepted my offer to come on board at DHS,” Palm told the senators. “She does not, however, have any sort of legal role at the department.” Committee member Republican Sen. Andre Jacque told Palm he was concerned that Safar could “undermine the state’s defense” in a lawsuit filed last month by Planned Parenthood seeking repeal of laws making it more difficult for women to get abortions. Planned Parenthood wants to repeal laws requiring that only doctors, not qualified advanced practice nurses, perform abortions; women seeking medicine that causes abortions see the same doctor on two separate visits; and doctors be physically present when dispensing abortion-causing drugs. Safar, an attorney, supervised Planned Parenthood’s legal team and oversaw two successful lawsuits challenging state laws limiting access to abortions, according to her online biography on the Department of Health Services website. Safar did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Jacque and fellow Republican Sen. Duey Stroebel also raised concerns about Evers proposing to make Planned Parenthood eligible for federal funds and a women’s health block grant. Former Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled Legislature blocked Planned Parenthood from getting the money. Federal law prohibits the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman, so any federal money for Planned Parenthood would be for similar services as the state grant. “Wisconsin residents deserve a Department of Health Services focused on delivery quality services to our residents, not one waging an ideological battle on behalf of left-wing special interest groups like Planned Parenthood,” Stroebel said in a statement. Evers is proposing allocating about $387,000 to the women’s health block grant, which gives money to public health departments and private organizations that offer cancer screenings, STI prevention, testing and treatment, as well as prenatal counseling. Palm, when asked by Jacque if she had recommended funding for Planned Parenthood, said the broader issue is about addressing gaps in coverage for women’s health and making sure they are treated holistically. “We’ve all been concerned about women falling through the cracks,” she said. No senator has said they will vote against confirming Palm to lead the agency that has a $12 billion annual budget and oversees Wisconsin’s Badger Care Plus Medicaid program, SeniorCare and a host of other public benefits programs. “Obviously I have concerns,” Jacque said after the hearing. He would not say how he intends to vote. Wisconsin Right to Life executive director Heather Weininger urged the committee to reject Palm’s appointment, citing concerns over her hiring Safar and the possibility of Planned Parenthood receiving taxpayer funding. Health committee chairman Sen. Patrick Testin, a Republican from Stevens Point, said after the hearing that he saw no reason why Palm wouldn’t be confirmed. The committee will vote later on whether to recommend her confirmation to the full Senate, which Republicans control 19-14. ___ Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP
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8809
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China says Baxter holding up heparin investigation.
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Chinese officials said on Tuesday a Chinese-made blood thinner was not to blame for fatalities linked to the product, and accused U.S. drugmaker Baxter International Inc of obstructing the investigation into the cause of the problem.
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true
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Health News
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A tear rolls down the face of Leroy Hubley as he listens during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on heparin imports from China on Capitol Hill in Washington April 29, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Young Baxter has recalled batches of the drug heparin that were found to be tainted with a similar but cheaper chemical that U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials say may have killed some 81 patients and caused allergic reactions in others. But China says the chemical, hypersulfated chondroitin sulfate, is not to blame. “Apart from the U.S. and Germany, more than 10 other countries using heparin products containing the ‘heparin-like substance’ have not reported adverse reactions,” China’s State Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. Reactions had also occurred in some batches of heparin products that did not contain the substance, it said. But Jin Shaohong, of China’s National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, did not address the issue of how the chemical came to be present in the batches of heparin when he gave a news conference on Tuesday. Heparin is used in kidney dialysis and various procedures to prevent blood clots and is made from pig intestines often collected from small, often unregulated farms in China. Baxter’s heparin recall was the latest in a string of problems with Chinese-made products that have highlighted oversight gaps and corruption in China’s food and drug regulators. It has also caused worries in the United States over how its drugmakers oversee foreign manufacturing sites. China’s regulator said Baxter was not cooperating with Chinese authorities in investigating the root of the problem. “Baxter failed to provide necessary cooperation in the process of the investigation, which is not conducive to further identifying the reasons for the adverse reactions to heparin,” it said. Baxter denied the charge. Baxter had also destroyed some samples of the drug and production records that China considered key to investigating the cause of the problems, Jin said. “I was very surprised,” said Jin. “This is extremely regrettable.” A company spokeswoman said that was not the case. “So far, Baxter has agreed to provide samples to the State Food and Drug Administration in respect to their requests,” said Xing Rongwang, associate director of communications for Baxter in China. “We have been cooperating with all parties involved in the heparin situation,” she said by telephone. But the case has raised questions over both the oversight of foreign plants manufacturing products for U.S. drugmakers and the nature of China’s ability to monitor pharmaceuticals. China says the supplier, Changzhou SPL Co Ltd., is a holding of the U.S.’s Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC, which should bear responsibility for the plant. It also says Changzhou was not registered with China’s State Food and Drug Administration because of a loophole in which the company is considered a chemical-maker, rather than a maker of pharmaceutical products. But U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla has said Chinese regulators must strengthen oversight to ensure they have authority over both makers of active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as makers of bulk chemicals which may be used in pharmaceuticals.
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3737
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55 ‘probable’ Legionnaires’ cases tied to Atlanta hotel.
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The Georgia Department of Public Health says it’s probable there are 55 more cases in the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak linked to the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel.
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true
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Georgia, General News, Legionnaires disease, Pneumonia, Atlanta, Disease outbreaks, Public health
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News outlets report the agency hadn’t confirmed the cases in the lab Monday but the people involved have illnesses consistent with Legionnaires’ disease, such as pneumonia. There are 11 confirmed cases but health officials can’t be sure the hotel is the source until testing is complete. The Sheraton Atlanta shut down voluntarily about two weeks ago after three guests tested positive for the disease. The hotel will remain close until August 11, depending on test results. Legionnaire’s disease is a type of pneumonia caused by inhaling the water-borne bacteria Legionella. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, and coughing. The investigation is ongoing. No deaths have been reported.
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35503
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered thousands of COVID-19 patients to be sent to nursing homes, while the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship sent to New York to help treat patients, sat empty and unused.
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What's true: Due to a March 25, 2020, New York state directive, recovering COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals and sent to nursing homes. USNS Comfort, a hospital ship, was sent to New York City that month to aid the city's hospitals, but the ship's resources were underused. What's false: USNS Comfort was not empty and completely unused. After three weeks, it had treated 179 patients. The underutilization of the ship, however, cannot be blamed solely on Cuomo but on a combination of bureaucratic and military restrictions, as well as the use of the Javits Center as a temporary hospital.
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mixture
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Politics, COVID-19
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A meme about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was making the rounds in May 2020 that criticized his management of COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic patients in New York and the resources at his disposal. The meme said, “While the USNS Comfort sat in New York empty and unused, Andrew Cuomo mandated nursing homes to take COVID patients.” The reality is a bit more complicated. While Cuomo did indeed direct that COVID-19 patients be sent to nursing homes to help ease the burden on hospitals, the underutilization of the USNS Comfort was due to a wide range of factors. On March 25, Cuomo and the state New York Health Department directed that recovering COVID-19 patients be discharged from hospitals and sent to nursing homes. At least 4,500 patients were sent to “already vulnerable” nursing homes, according to data compiled by The Associated Press (AP). Many blamed the controversial order for more than 5,800 deaths in nursing and adult care facilities in New York, more than in any other state. That order, from the office of New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, came amid a “scramble to provide more hospital beds.” The order said: There is an urgent need to expand hospital capacity in New York State to be able to meet the demand for patients with COVID-19 requiring acute care. As a result, this directive is being issued to clarify expectations for nursing homes (NHs) receiving residents returning from hospitalization and for NHs accepting new admissions. The plan, according to AP, quickly came under attack: “It was the single dumbest decision anyone could make if they wanted to kill people,” Daniel Arbeeny said of the directive, which prompted him to pull his 88-year-old father out of a Brooklyn nursing home where more than 50 people have died. His father later died of COVID-19 at home. “This isn’t rocket science,” Arbeeny said. “We knew the most vulnerable — the elderly and compromised — are in nursing homes and rehab centers.” On May 10, Cuomo reversed the order, saying now only patients who tested negative for the virus could be released to nursing homes. He continued to defend the decision, arguing he was following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines. He also said: “Any nursing home could just say, ‘I can’t handle a COVID person in my facility,’” he said, although the March 25 order didn’t specify how homes could refuse, saying that ”no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the (nursing home) solely based” on confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Meanwhile, at the end of March, according to The New York Times, the USNS Comfort was sent to New York City to aid hospitals overburdened with COVID-19 patients by taking on non-coronavirus cases. U.S. President Donald Trump himself oversaw the ship’s departure from Norfolk, Virginia. But on April 2, the 1,000-bed facility only had 20 patients. A combination of military protocols and bureaucratic hurdles prevented the ship from accepting many patients, frustrating many hospital leaders. The New York Times report outlined the hurdles that restricted patient intake in early April: On top of its strict rules preventing people infected with the virus from coming on board, the Navy is also refusing to treat a host of other conditions. Guidelines disseminated to hospitals included a list of 49 medical conditions that would exclude a patient from admittance to the ship. Ambulances cannot take patients directly to the Comfort; they must first deliver patients to a city hospital for a lengthy evaluation — including a test for the virus — and then pick them up again for transport to the ship. At the same time, according to the Times, the number of non-COVID-19 patients in New York City hospitals had dropped: … there is not a high volume of noncoronavirus patients. Because most New Yorkers have isolated themselves in their homes, there are fewer injuries from car accidents, gun shots and construction accidents that would require an emergency room visit. Michael Dowling, head of New York’s largest hospital system, expressed his frustration over the hurdles getting patients to the hospital ship: Ultimately, Mr. Dowling and others said, if the Comfort refuses to take Covid patients, there are few patients to send. And given the pernicious spread of the disease in New York City, where nearly 50,000 were infected as of Thursday, dividing patients into those who have it and those who do not is pointless, he said. The solution, he and others said, was to open the Comfort to patients with Covid-19. “It’s pretty ridiculous,” he said. “If you’re not going to help us with the people we need help with, what’s the purpose?” On April 6, Cuomo asked Trump for permission to treat coronavirus patients on the ship. Trump agreed, and the Navy reconfigured the ship into a 500-bed hospital so it could space out patients to avoid spreading the disease. But on that same day, a crew member tested positive for the disease, even after the crew had been ordered to quarantine for two weeks before their departure for New York. The number of infected grew to four in the following weeks. By April 21, the ship had treated only 179 patients, not even close to its capacity.
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7456
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Iowa gym owner is cited for defying coronavirus order.
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The owner of a Cedar Rapids business who was violating Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order that limits the number of customers in gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has been cited with a misdemeanor.
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true
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Iowa, Health, General News, Kim Reynolds, Cedar Rapids, Virus Outbreak, Public health
|
Jason Bailey, owner of Custom Fitness, was issued the misdemeanor citation Tuesday after police observed several people working out inside the gym, KCRG reported. Reynolds’ public health emergency order limits gyms in Linn and 21 other counties to one customer at a time, and only by appointment. Bailey acknowledged to police and to KCRG that he was ignoring the proclamation so he could fulfill contracts he had with his customers. Bailey was given a warning on Friday and the citation was issued after police received complaints, including from business owners who were complying with the order. Bailey has court appearance scheduled for June 25. He could be fined up to $625.
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12871
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Idaho mother sentenced to prison after multiple citations for breastfeeding in public.
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Idaho woman was not sentenced to prison for breastfeeding her child
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false
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Fake news, PunditFact, TheSeattleTribune.com,
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"A fabricated story that says an Idaho mother was imprisoned for breastfeeding her child continues to be persistently shared online, despite being completely made up. ""Idaho mother sentenced to prison after multiple citations for breastfeeding in public,"" reads the headline on a Sept. 3, 2016, post on TheSeattleTribune.com, which sometimes is shared with an AssociatedMediaCoverage.com url. Even though the story is months old, it continues to be shared widely on Facebook, which flagged it as part of its efforts to combat fake news. The story — which again, is not true — says that 32-year-old Heather Watson of Baker County, Idaho, was sentenced to seven years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender for breastfeeding her 6-month-old daughter in public. The post said Watson had received six citations for indecent exposure before landing in prison. There is no outward indication the story is fake, but several clues should tip off readers this is a work of fiction. There are no other news reports of this incident, beyond blog posts from incensed mothers. There also is no record of a Heather Watson at the Idaho Department of Correction offender search. (We doubt the story is about the British tennis player of the same name.) The main photo used on the story is from a 2014 post on a Flickr account, with a chyron added to make it look like a screen grab from TV news. The inset mug is of a woman arrested in Maricopa County, Ariz., in 2016. Another giveaway is the location mentioned in the story: There is no Baker County in Idaho. There’s further reference to a location called Wiser, Idaho, but the town is spelled Weiser, and it’s in Washington County. There’s also a phone number given as a way to contact the judge in the case at the fictional Baker County Department of Justice. When called, the phone number identifies itself as a voicemail service for the controversial Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. The story likely keys off Idaho’s distinction as being the only state without a law specifically defending breastfeeding in public (although there is a law excusing nursing mothers from jury duty). The post links to a MoveOn.org petition supporting a new law, and there is a graphic illustrating where in the United States it is legal to breastfeed in public, taken from a 2014 Huffington Post article. Many Idahoans support a new law protecting mothers from being kicked out of businesses or charged with public indecency. The state reportedly has a higher rate of breastfeeding mothers than any other state. In 2016, Miss Idaho America Christi Van Ravenhorst teamed up with a group called the Idaho Breastfeeding Law Coalition to push for a bill, and mothers staged a ""nurse-in"" on the steps of the state Capitol. The headline on this post, meanwhile, continues to draw the ire of breastfeeding supporters with its fake details.
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26294
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Bill Gates worked to end livestock production, and is pushing lab grown meat.
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Gates has invested at different times in several companies making meat replacement products, including Memphis Meats, which grows meat from living cells in a lab. We found no evidence that Gates has worked specifically to end livestock production. Gates has said livestock are critical to fighting poverty. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed grants toward helping farmers get more out of their livestock.
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mixture
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Environment, Agriculture, Food, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the target of yet another widespread Facebook post, this time for his support of efforts to create climate-friendly meat replacements. ""Bill Gates worked to end livestock production, and is pushing lab grown meat,"" said a May 4 Facebook post. The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) In this case, the post is accurate in one way and misleading in another. Gates has invested in numerous companies working to make meat substitutes using plant-based ingredients and, in some cases, laboratory technology. But we found no evidence that Gates has worked to wipe out livestock production. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. News reports from the last several years indicate that Gates has at different times invested in start-ups focused on developing artificial or plant-based alternatives to meat, such as Nature’s Fynd, Hampton Creek, Memphis Meats, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Impossible Foods, for example, makes burger patties that use soy and potatoes for protein. The patties get their flavor from heme, an iron-rich molecule found in meat and plants that sparked some controversy but was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the Washington Post, the company’s heme ""is made by taking the DNA from the roots of soy plants, inserting it into genetically engineered yeast and then fermenting that yeast."" Other companies are even more lab-oriented. Memphis Meats uses biotechnology to grow meat in what its website describes as a four-to-six-week process that involves ""sourcing high-quality cells from animals"" and ""cultivat(ing) the cells into meat."" ""Gates has indeed invested in several non-animal alt-protein companies, including Memphis Meats, which grows real meat from animal cells,"" said Paul Shapiro, author of ""Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World."" In an October interview with Bloomberg News, Gates celebrated Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat for their plant-based meat substitutes. He said he had invested in both and that their products will contribute to a ""dramatic reduction in methane emissions, animal cruelty, manure management and the pressure that meat consumption puts on land use."" He’s made similar points on his personal blog, GatesNotes, writing in one post that a rising population requires more food and that farming livestock can take a toll on the environment and require increased deforestation to make room for the animals. Livestock are responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ""Raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact,"" Gates wrote in a 2013 blog post. ""Put simply, there’s no way to produce enough meat for (a future population of) 9 billion people. Yet we can’t ask everyone to become vegetarians."" ""That’s why we need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources,"" he said. We found no proof that Gates has worked to end livestock production completely. ""He's never said his goal is to end livestock production, and he actually funds some projects to boost livestock-rearing in developing countries,"" Shapiro said. Shapiro cited the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s agricultural development efforts and a news article detailing $40 million the foundation put toward research and projects to breed cows that produce more milk. ""If you care about the poor, you should care about agriculture, and if you care about agriculture, you care about livestock,"" Gates said in 2018, according to Reuters. ""What that means in this context is helping poor farmers get as much as possible out of their animals."" The foundation has also paid out a number of related grants, according to its website, such as a nearly $8 million grant to the International Livestock Research Institute in November to help ""advocate for investment in livestock development globally,"" among other things. We searched Google and the Nexis database and found no credible reports showing Gates has worked to end livestock production or said he would like to do so. On the contrary, Gates wrote in his blog that if he were living in extreme poverty, he would raise chickens. In another post, he said that despite the implications on the climate, ""We can’t simply get rid of soil — or stop growing crops, using fertilizer, and raising livestock."" A Facebook post said ""Bill Gates worked to end livestock production, and is pushing lab grown meat."" Gates has invested at different times in several companies working to make meat replacements. Some of those companies are using biotechnology to grow their products in labs. But we found no evidence that he has tried to get rid of all livestock production. Based on the information available."
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35318
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"U.S. President Donald Trump implied the Obama administration left behind ""bad,"" ""broken,"" and ""obsolete"" COVID-19 diagnostic tests."
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GOVERNOR MURPHY: I did the quick turnaround.
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true
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Politics, COVID-19
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On April 30, 2020, social media users and news outlets noted that U.S. President Donald Trump had blamed his predecessor former President Barack Obama for leaving the Trump administration with faulty COVID-19 diagnostic tests, even though the ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic is the result of a virus not discovered until 2019. At the time the new coronavirus was first detected in the winter of 2019, Obama had been out of office for just under three years. The timeline prompted some to ask whether Trump had really blamed Obama for leaving him faulty tests for a disease that did not yet exist. After COVID-19 was first detected in the U.S., something of a scandal broke out surrounding the failure to provide and coordinate widespread testing for the virus. This failure was the result of, as The New York Times reported, “technical flaws, regulatory hurdles, business-as-usual bureaucracies and lack of leadership at multiple levels.” Notably, diagnostic tests first sent out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were flawed. Fast forward to the end of April. During a White House meeting between Trump and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, CNN Reporter Jim Acosta asked Trump, “Is it fair for the voters to take into consideration your handling of the pandemic when they assess whether to reelect you in the fall?” Trump responded to this question with a mixture of praise for the response of his own administration and blame for the previous administration for failures, something he has done before. According to a White House transcript of the exchange, here is what Trump stated in regards to faulty tests: THE PRESIDENT: And you have to understand: When we took over, the cupboards were bare. And the thing that — frankly, it’s not as tough as the ventilator situation. We’re the king of ventilators. But what we have done is — on testing, we’re doing numbers the likes of which nobody has ever seen before. And I told you, the President of South Korea, President Moon, called me to congratulate me on testing. And we did more tests than any other country anywhere in the world. And I think they told me yesterday a number — if you add up the rest of the world, we’ve done more testing. And it’s a higher quality test. So I think we’ve done a — I think the whole team, federal government — we built hospitals for you and others. GOVERNOR MURPHY: You bet. THE PRESIDENT: We built medical centers. And I’m talking about thousands and thousands of beds. Many, many medical centers. We had — as you know, we had the governor of Florida and the governor of Louisiana over the last two days. They could not have been — and one was a Democrat, and this gentleman happens to be a proud Democrat. They could not have been more supportive of the effort of the federal government. And I’ll tell you, Jim — Jim ACOSTA: But aren’t you seeing massive lines for food? THE PRESIDENT: Let me just tell you, we have — we started off with empty cupboards. The last administration left us nothing. We started off with bad, broken tests and obsolete tests. What we’ve come up with, between the Abbott Laboratories, where you have the five-minute test. Did they test you today? GOVERNOR MURPHY: They did test me. THE PRESIDENT: Good. Now I feel better. (Laughter.) GOVERNOR MURPHY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m negative. THE PRESIDENT: You did the five-minute — the Abbott test.
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9360
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Controversial researcher’s diabetes vaccine causes improvement in small study
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This story from STAT met most of our criteria in describing the results of a study that examined how two doses of the generic bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine, used for nearly a century against tuberculosis, affected blood sugar levels Type 1 diabetics. We were especially glad to see the results given in absolute numbers and that it emphasized how small the study was. However, we did want to note that we think the story didn’t provide enough evidence to back the researcher’s claim that her research hasn’t been given much attention because she is pursuing a “low-tech” diabetes treatment with little potential for generating profit. This may well be true, but we should have heard from more sources other than the researcher and received more historical context to support the claim. We also urge caution around the use of “controversial” to describe medical science. Note: We also reviewed a news release on this research, which focuses on a larger group of 52 patients who haven’t been followed as long as the 9 subjects reported on here. According to the American Diabetes Association, about 1.25 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas stops producing insulin. Scientists do not know what causes Type 1 diabetes, and management of the disease requires monitoring blood sugar levels at least six times daily, along with careful monitoring of diet and exercise. However, maintaining the right insulin level is tricky, even with the implanted glucose monitors and insulin pumps commonly used among Type 1 diabetics. Complications include damage to the heart and blood vessels, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and feet, potentially leading to kidney failure, amputations and even death. A 2016 Business Insider story estimated that managing the disease can cost Type 1 diabetics more than $1,000 a month. A low-cost, safe intervention such as a well-established vaccine would be a big improvement, but news stories must be careful to convey that this research is still experimental.
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true
|
type 1 diabetes
|
The story notes that the BCG vaccine costs less than $1 per dose, though it remains to be seen if the cost will remain the same if it’s approved for diabetes. The story does acknowledge that treatment with the BCG vaccine did not eliminate the study patients’ need for insulin. Wisely, the story quantifies reduction in absolute terms: “In the vaccinated patients, A1c levels fell from an average of 7.36 before the first dose to 6.18 after five years, holding almost steady at 6.65 in the eighth year. In patients receiving a sham injection, levels showed almost no change from their initial levels of 7.10: 7.07 in the fifth year and 7.22 in the eighth.” The story also explains exactly how much the drop in hemoglobin A1c was (9-16%) and how that compared to the levels in patients receiving the placebo injections and to normal A1c levels. The story also noted that a 10% drop in A1c levels reduces the likelihood of complications such as stroke and heart attack by a third. In addition, the story explained that the patients treated with the BCG vaccine now need one-third less insulin than they did before the treatment, “reducing their risk of hypoglycemia, in which insulin lowers blood sugar to dangerously low levels.” One relatively minor shortcoming is that the story did not explain that the reduction in hemoglobin A1c levels didn’t occur until the third year after the vaccinations had been given. The story notes that the BCG vaccine, an attenuated form of Mycobacterium bovis that has been used to treat tuberculosis for nearly 100 years, is considered extremely safe. There are some rare side effects of the BCG vaccine (as for any medicine), so the article could have mentioned this, though. The story notes in the headline that it’s a small study and explains that the study involved only nine patients. However, it also notes that these patients were followed up for five to eight years and that there was a placebo control group (of three patients). It also notes that 111 additional patients have received the vaccine more recently, though the study’s follow-up data did not include this larger group. There is no disease-mongering in the story. The original journal article on which this story was based includes the researchers’ declaration that they had no conflict of interest. The story includes two sources who were not involved in the research, although one of these sources, a researcher from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, cannot be considered fully independent, because the quote appears to have been copied from a Massachusetts General Hospital news release about the study (see news release criterion, below). The story also noted that two diabetes research centers and “several university diabetes centers all declined to speak about Faustman’s results.” This hints at the “controversy” noted in the headline, around the possibility of conflicts of interest that can occur when pharma-supported researchers/advocacy groups criticize this type of research. But the story didn’t explore this sufficiently to prove the researcher’s claim that funders aren’t interested because it has low profit potential, as noted in the summary. The only alternative is insulin, and the story makes clear that even with the vaccine, patients still need to take it, but in smaller doses. The story does not explicitly address the issue of when, if ever, patients might have access to the BCG vaccine as a treatment for Type 1 diabetes. However, it does state that the treatment is being tested in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 150 patients with Type 1 diabetes. The story also notes that one barrier to further development of BCG as a diabetes treatment is that it would appear to have little commercial value, meaning that drug manufacturers aren’t interested in it. The story notes that generic BCG vaccine has been used for nearly 100 years to treat tuberculosis and that it has been studied in other countries worldwide for its effects on diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. One of the quotes included from a researcher not involved in the study does appear to have been taken from a Massachusetts General Hospital news release, and that is not noted in the story. We also reviewed the news release. If that connection had been disclosed, this would have been satisfactory.
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31180
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Automobile components emit dangerous levels of cancer-causing benzene fumes.
|
Contrary to online scarelore, automobile components do not emit dangerous levels of cancer-causing benzene fumes.
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false
|
Medical Do You Know the Danger of Turning on the A/C After Starting the Engine?, benzene, Toxin Du Jour
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A commonly circulated online item about the dangers of benzene supposedly emitted by automobile components has been widely misunderstood: Do not turn on A/C immediately as soon as you enter the car! Please open the windows after you enter your car and do not turn ON the air-conditioning immediately. According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emits Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen- take note of the heated plastic Smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage. Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft.. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level … and the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins. It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is very difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff. Many readers have come away from viewing this piece with the impression that it warns drivers not to use their cars’ air conditioning because the A/C system itself is producing benzene, but what the article actually cautions against is the practice of turning on the air conditioning immediately upon entering an automobile. Motorists should instead, it says, roll down their windows in order to allow accumulated benzene fumes (allegedly emitted by other components, such as dashboards and upholstery) to vent from the car first before re-closing the windows and turning on the A/C. How much truth is there to this warning? Some evidence suggests an association between exposure to benzene and an excess risk of leukemia, as noted by the American Cancer Society (ACS): A considerable number of human studies provide evidence linking benzene and cancer. Initially, increased risks of leukemia, chiefly AML, were reported among workers with high levels of benzene exposure in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries. More recently, studies have focused on workers with relatively lower exposure. The human data are supported by animal studies. There is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of benzene in experimental animals. Key animal studies support the finding of an excess risk of leukemia in humans from exposure to benzene by inhalation and ingestion. The details of these studies have been reviewed and found to support the association between benzene and cancer. But do automobiles really produce potentially cancer-causing levels of benzene? No studies have yet documented that claim to be true. A 2001 study of commuter exposure (in both cars and buses) in Korean urban areas found some relationship between automobile use and exposure to benzene, but its observations differed from the warning quoted above in some significant areas: A 2007 German study on “Toxicity of Parked Motor Vehicle Indoor Air” which specifically tested the health effects of emissions from one new and one three-year-old vehicle exposed to “parked in sunshine” conditions found “no apparent health hazard of parked motor vehicle indoor air”: Buters and his colleagues first collected molecules from the air inside a new car and a three-year-old vehicle of the same brand placed under 14,000 watts of light, where temperatures reached up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. They next exposed these compounds to human, mouse and hamster cells grown in lab dishes. These are commonly used to test toxicity. New car smell does not appear to be toxic, the scientists found. Air from the new car did cause a slight aggravation of the immune response that could affect people with allergies, but the same was not seen with the older vehicle. (The German study also found the total amount of volatile organic compounds in a new car to be one-tenth the level claimed in the e-mail for benzene alone.) The ACS similarly noted of this warning that: We found no published studies that confirm the claims of this e-mail. Benzene levels that exceed recommendations for chronic workplace exposure have been observed in some moving cars, but these levels seem unlikely in properly maintained cars. The e-mail did get one thing right, though: Upon returning to a closed car on warm days, you should optimally open the windows for a minute or so rather than leaving them closed and immediately turning on the air conditioning. The reason has nothing to do with benzene levels, however; rather, it’s because when a car is parked in the sun with its windows rolled up, that condition can create a greenhouse effect which causes the interior of the vehicle to warm up to a temperature considerably higher than that of the outside air. Opening the windows for a few moments allows for the exchange of hot air from inside the vehicle with cooler air outside, speeding up the process of cooling off the car more than air conditioning alone would.
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29899
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Adam Schiff used taxpayer money to silence a man who accused him of sexual harassment.
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Schiff, who now controls one of the Congressional committees overseeing an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, is the frequent target of conspiracy theorists. In February 2018, a false rumor claimed that Schiff’s sister was married to billionaire philanthropist George Soros’s son, but Schiff has no sister. Soros, who is Jewish, is also the frequent target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.
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false
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Junk News
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In early February 2019, social media trolls attempted to spread a claim that “congressional sources” had confirmed Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) “used taxpayer money” to cover up a sexual-harassment accusation: 🚨BREAKING: According to congressional sources Representative Adam Schiff used tax payer money to reach a sexual harassment settlement with a 19 year old male in 2013. Congress has a ‘hush fund’ & WE THE PEOPLE demand the users be revealed. RELEASE THE NAMES @realDonaldTrump! pic.twitter.com/AtnlVFUAQo — 🚨The FBI Witch Hunt is coordinating with CNN!🚨 (@therealcornett) February 8, 2019 It’s unclear where the rumor started, but on Twitter it was sometimes shared in association with a clearly bogus article from the junk news site TheNetSpies.com. That site is filled with obviously false information, and its “About” page states that “If you like our reporting, kick up your feet, partake of your favorite intoxicant(s) and stay a while. If not, go ask your mommy to come down to the basement and nurse her 33 year old wuss.” On 11 February 2018, TheNetSpies.com published an article for which they alleged to have interviewed Los Angeles Times former Assistant Managing Editor Christina Bellantoni (which TheNetSpies misspelled as “Kristina Bellatori”). Bellatoni, they asserted, told the tale of a hapless (but non-existent) man named Will Bottom, who claimed to be in an abusive relationship with Schiff, his “gay lover.” To illustrate this supposedly abusive relationship, the article repurposed an image of Taj Patterson, a Brooklyn, New York, man who suffered a serious eye injury after he was attacked and beaten in 2013. The real Christina Bellantoni never spoke to anyone from TheNetSpies and took to Twitter to make it clear the story was falsified: Thanks for flagging. This is some very seriously fake news. Clue No. 1: A website you’ve never heard of citing an LAT story that doesn’t exist. https://t.co/FMUsft3ilx — Christina Bellantoni (@cbellantoni) December 18, 2018 This isn’t the only unfounded rumor to dog Schiff, who became chair of the House Intelligence Committee when Democrats won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections.
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9476
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Blood Test Finds Cancer Before Symptoms Start
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This NBC News story reports on a new approach to a blood test that might reveal early-stage cancers by detecting altered DNA floating in the bloodstream. Researchers reported an impressive success rate in finding markers that indicate cancer, although the test still needs refinement. For that reason, we think it was too early for the story to say the test can detect cancer “before symptoms start,” as so far it has mostly only been tested among people with confirmed cancer. But the story does a good job mentioning the considerable costs of required genetic testing, and touches on potential conflicts of interest among the researchers. It outlines some of the potential risks as well as the benefits of the proposed test, and adequately explains that it is not yet ready for prime time. One area that could have been stronger is conveying the reality that early detection does not guarantee a longer, healthier, cancer-free life, a point we raise frequently. Cancer screening (by definition, in asymptomatic patients) is complex and costly. It requires fairly complex tracking by physicians and practices, and for patients to undergo often unpleasant procedures. Because we screen for many cancers in healthy adults after a certain age, and some of those screenings require specialty involvement (colonoscopy by gastroenterology, mammogram readings by radiology) this testing adds up. A single blood test that can detect early-stage cancers (many of them at once) would be a big improvement in cancer screening. But care must be taken by journalists not to rush ahead of the science. This story kept a cautious tone.
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true
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blood tests,cancer
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This story gets a satisfactory in this category by including, “The genetic sequencing is also expensive right now – on the order of several thousand dollars for the 30,000 repeats the team did. But costs are coming down steadily, he said.” The story says, “They identified 62 percent of the patients with stage I cancer – four out of eight colon cancer patients, and 90 percent of colon cancer patients with stage II, III or IV disease. They got a positive in 45 percent of the lung cancer patients with stage I disease, 67 percent of ovarian cancer patients with stage I disease and 67 percent of breast cancer patients with stage I disease.” This is a good start and we’ll rate it Satisfactory, but one very important thing to make clear with this type of research: It used samples where cancer was already confirmed to exist–which is different from testing only on samples where it’s not known if there is any cancer present. That could affect the accuracy. The story is dealing with a proposed new blood test for early-stage cancer, so it would require a blood draw. While the risks of problems with that is small, the larger risk is from false positives or false negatives from the test. The story says, “There were no false positives in 44 people who did not have cancer, they said.” It also points our that the test didn’t detect the cancer in all cases, giving readers a reasonable expectation of risk of harms from wrong results. Ideally the story would have included comments from a researcher not involved with the study about the sensitivity and specificity of such tests (factors that determine false-positive and false-negative rates), and how they would perform in a larger population. The other risk here is overdiagnosis–finding cancers that don’t need to be treated. This story does a good job of reporting the results without exaggeration. It reports the positive results but also cautions that they need to be better before this proposed test could be used widely. It mentions that larger trials are needed to confirm the results and improve the methodology. It was a retrospective study of blood samples from both normal people and persons with cancer, rather than a study using animal models. No disease-mongering here. The story does include a quote from a National Cancer Institute researcher who wasn’t part of the study team, and it also acknowledges that the lead researcher has patented the technology behind the test and is the principal of a company doing genetic screening. The story includes the following: “Several different liquid biopsies are already on the market, used to help track whether cancer treatments are working. But there’s nothing yet that can detect cancer in someone who has not yet been diagnosed.” It also includes the following: “Currently, colon cancer can be detected very early with colonoscopies, and even stopped before pre-cancerous growths get out of control. But colonoscopies are uncomfortable and carry a small risk of injury. “Mammograms can detect early breast cancer, Pap smears can detect cervical cancer or pre-cancerous changes and a type of specialized chest x-ray called a spiral CT can detect lung cancer. There’s a debate over the usefulness of screening for prostate cancer but blood tests and physical exams can indicate some men at high risk.” This is sufficient to list early methods to find cancer, but the story could have also mentioned that early screening or testing doesn’t always equate to saving lives, just more medical care. We just covered this issue as it relates to lung cancer, “Imbalanced ‘Saved by the Scan’ campaign neglects big concerns over lung cancer screening.“ It’s clear that the potential use of this technology as a cancer-screening tool is some time off in the future, if its usefulness is further proven. Based on the story, readers should understand that this isn’t a tool currently available. The idea here is for a blood test that could detect early stage cancers, based on mutations in DNA found circulating in the blood. That’s certainly novel enough for a story. It was also clear there are some other similar tests in development or possibly ready but not FDA approved. There’s no indication that this story relied on a news release.
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40070
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These are forwarded photos of a matador who got gored in the throat in a bullfight. The photos are quite gruesome and show the bull’s horn penetrating the matador’s throat and exiting his mouth.
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Photos of a Bullfighter Who Got Gored Through the Throat by a Bull
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true
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Animals, Miscellaneous
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The photos are real and the bullfighter is Spanish matador, Julio Aparicio, who according London’s Telegraph news service, narrowly escaped death by the skin of his teeth after he was horrifically gored in a Madrid bullfight by a half-ton bull on May 21, 2010. The Telegraph said that Aparicio, 41, was carrying out a pass with his red cape when he lost his footing and stumbled in the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid, Spain. The charging bull managed to tear one of its horns into the matador’s throat, pierced all the way through his jaw and emerged through the bullfighter’s mouth. The matador was immediately treated in the bullring’s medical ward by a team of on staff surgeons. Once stabilized he was transferred to the October 12 Hospital in Madrid where doctors worked for 6 hours to perform emergency reconstruction of the bullfighter’s jaw, tongue and roof of his mouth. The matador spent the weekend in grave condition and the hospital released a statement, after moving him from the intensive care ward, that “Mr Aparicio’s condition was ‘evolving favorably’ and that his prognosis was ‘less serious’.” Click for Telegraph Story. Updated 07/26/10 Comments
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38917
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Many people have questioned whether ads for a weight loss supplement called Garcinia Cambogia are real.
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Weight Loss Claims About Garcinia Cambogia
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false
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Health / Medical
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There’s no proof that Garcinia cambogia can help you lose weight without diet and exercise, so this one is fiction. Garcinia cambogia is a fruit that grows in Southeast Asia. Dietary supplement companies regularly claim that it’s an appetite suppressant that also prevents the body from making fat. So, supposedly, the supplement can help you lose weight without diet or exercise. Garcinia cambogia got a major boost in November 2013 by “The Dr. Oz Show.” Dr. Oz said, “Thanks to brand new scientific research, I can tell you about a revolutionary fat buster. It’s called Garcinia cambogia.” As Dr. Oz delivered that intro, the words “No Exercise. No Diet. No Effort.” appeared on the screen behind him. Dr. Oz then interviewed a woman who said she lost 10 pounds thanks to Garcinia cambogia. But claims that Garcinia cambogia being a “miracle” dietary supplement have been disputed ever since. A 1998 study found that Garcinia cambogia didn’t help people lose weight. But a follow up analysis of numerous studies on any possible weight loss benefits concluded in 2013 that the supplement’s dietary benefits “remain to be proven.” A number of dietary supplement producers used the 2013 analysis to market Garcinia cambogia as a miracle supplement that could help people lose weight without diet or exercise — but those claims are unproven. A congressional panel later grilled Dr. Oz about his endorsement of unproven dietary supplements, and about his endorsement of Garcinia cambogia in particular, CNN reports: Oz testified Tuesday that he could not be held responsible for what certain companies say online about the products. He said he’s toned down some of his language and will publish a list of products he thinks really can help people lose weight. “To not have the conversation about supplements at all however would be a disservice to the viewer,” Oz said in a prepared statement after the hearing. “In addition to exercising an abundance of caution in discussing promising research and products in the future, I look forward to working with all those present today in finding a way to deal with the problems of weight loss scams.” The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate weight loss supplements. Under current law, companies selling these products do not need FDA approval before marketing them to the public. It’s important to note that the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements. That means companies don’t have to back up claims about “miracle” weight loss supplements like Garcina cambogia. And, right now, there’s no proof that Garcinia cambogia has any affect on weight loss at all. Comments
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17887
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Up to half of all Americans have a pre-existing condition.
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"Obama said up to half of all Americans have a pre-existing condition. A government study put the range at 19 percent to 50 percent. Most other studies suggest the percentage is less than 50 percent. The president relied on the highest estimate but qualified his claim by saying ""up to"" which is technically accurate."
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true
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National, Health Care, Barack Obama,
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"The Obama administration is trying to rebut critics who have labeled Obamacare one of the most destructive laws in the nation’s history. At an event in Maryland on Sept. 26, 2013, President Barack Obama highlighted the program’s benefits. High on his list was the new rule about pre-existing conditions, health problems that insurance companies use to deny coverage to would-be new customers. Under the Affordable Care Act, no insurer will be allowed to turn someone down due to a pre-existing condition. This, Obama said, will make a big difference. ""Up to half of all Americans have a pre-existing condition,"" he told the crowd in Maryland. A reader found this confusing and asked us, ""So that meant 150 million people could not have insurance?"" The answer is ""no"" and here we’ll explain why and rate the accuracy of the president’s claim. We looked into a very similar statement not too long ago. A problem with your health versus a problem with the insurance company When Obama said as many as half of all Americans have a pre-existing condition, he was describing the number of people who have heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, mental illness or any of a number of other maladies. It was a statement about the prevalence of those illnesses across the population. If you already have insurance and develop one of these problems, generally, your insurance company will pay for treatment. But if you show up in the individual insurance market wanting to buy coverage, and you already have one of these diseases, generally speaking, you would be out of luck. In the view of the insurance company, you would have a pre-existing condition and they would not pay to treat it. Or they might charge you a much higher premium. Since about 85 percent of Americans already have insurance, many through large group plans, this would not be a concern. But for those who don’t, it matters. The Affordable Care Act provision is aimed at those people. By the way, the law has had this protection for children since it was passed in 2010. As of Jan. 1, 2014, the rule extends to adults. Getting back to the reader’s confusion, while half of all Americans might have one of these illnesses, most of them don’t bump up against the insurance companies’ restrictions. Obama was talking about the benefit to the smaller group for whom this would be a problem. Now, let’s consider whether in fact, up to half of all Americans have one of these health problems. Pre-existing is in the eye of the insurer There are a range of estimates for the number of people with health issues that would put them at risk of running afoul of an insurance company. One reason is that insurers have different lists of conditions that raise a red flag. Similarly, researchers can take a conservative approach and use a short list or be more expansive with a longer one. White House staff pointed us to an analysis from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That study used a short list of diseases and a longer one, with both lists based on the policies of private and public insurance programs. The report found a range of 19 percent to 50 percent of all Americans with health conditions that could disqualify them for coverage or lead to higher premiums. The president reflected that range when he said ""up to half of all Americans."" There are other studies that generally mirror the Health and Humans Services findings, although they focus on adults. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, examined five studies on the prevalence of pre-existing conditions. The lowest estimate counted just eight diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. That study came up with about 36 million people between 19 and 64 who have one of those health issues. Another study used a list of 60 conditions and arrived at 60 million who might be vulnerable to denial of coverage. The GAO itself used medical survey data and reached a high-end estimate of 122 million. As percentages, this translates into a low-end estimate of 20 percent of American adults potentially at risk, 66 percent on the high end. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, notes that projections of the scope of the problem can miss the mark. The administration expected about 375,000 people would enroll in a special insurance program for those who had been denied coverage but as of January 2013, only about 107,000 had. That said, many factors apart from health could have affected enrollments. Our ruling Obama said up to half of all Americans have a pre-existing condition. A government study put the range at 19 percent to 50 percent. Most other studies suggest the percentage is less than 50 percent. The president relied on the highest estimate but qualified his claim by saying ""up to"" which is technically accurate."
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8199
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U.S. hospitals, patients cancel elective surgery as coronavirus spreads.
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U.S. hospitals, anticipating a need for beds as more people are diagnosed with coronavirus, are postponing elective surgeries, while some patients, leery of going to a hospital, are canceling appointments themselves. Several hospitals in the hard-hit Seattle area, including EvergreenHealth, have suspended elective procedures like knee replacements for the next 30 days. Emergency surgeries like appendectomies or a broken wrist that needs surgery will continue.
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true
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Health News
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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said he would sign an executive order to postpone all elective surgeries at New York City hospitals so doctors and nurses can focus on treating patients infected with the virus. The goal is to free up hospital beds so the healthcare system does not become overwhelmed during a potential influx of coronavirus cases, while at the same time limiting exposure of healthy individuals to the infectious disease. The American Hospital Association, however, warned of a need to balance the requirements of caring for coronavirus patients while providing vital services to others who need care. “Many patients, such as those with cancer or a need for cardiac surgery, will not be able to postpone medical interventions,” the trade group said on Sunday in a letter to U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that hospital elective procedures, surgeries and non-urgent outpatient visits be postponed once the virus has started to spread through a community. Shares of hospital operators Tenet Healthcare Corp and HCA Healthcare both fell 19 percent on Monday, Tenet closing at $14.98 and HCA ending at $84.45. The American College of Surgeons, an influential medical association, recommended on Friday that hospitals, health systems and surgeons “minimize, postpone, or cancel elective operations” until it becomes clear whether the health care infrastructure can support the expected spike in critical patient care needs. The latest CDC statistics show 3,487 coronavirus cases, including 68 deaths. So far, the Seattle area and New York City have seen the most cases. New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Monday said it was postponing all elective surgeries and procedures until further notice. The system of 10 New York area hospitals said urgent and emergency surgeries would continue. Tenet, which operates 65 surgical hospitals in 14 states, said it was closely monitoring CDC guidance. Tenet has not given a blanket directive to postpone elective surgeries, but said its physicians are evaluating all non-urgent elective procedures on a case-by-case basis. “We are continuing to provide emergent and urgent life-saving procedures and diagnostics as scheduled,” Tenet said in an emailed statement. “Our ambulatory surgery centers will continue to support hospitals in managing this crisis.” Some Americans are making the call to reschedule a procedure or operation on their own, to protect themselves against being exposed to the virus in a healthcare facility. Los Angeles-area resident Richard Aidem, 64, said he canceled a hospital colonoscopy scheduled for later this month due to concerns about the virus. “I had a heart transplant. That means I have a weak immune system,” he said. “It would be worse for me than the average person. My anti-rejection meds would interfere with my body fighting off the disease.” Aidem has another surgery scheduled in mid-April to repair a rotator cuff, but that is set for an outpatient surgery center. “It’s not the hospital, so I don’t think people who are sick are going to be going there,” he said. “I don’t plan on canceling that unless they do.” The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, which represents outpatient surgery centers, on Monday said its members can continue to provide safe surgical care for patients whose conditions cannot wait until hospitals return to normal operations. These include procedures such as orthopedic or spinal surgery that, if delayed, would result in continued pain and debility for the patient, said spokeswoman Kay Tucker. Experts estimate that about 80 percent of people infected with the virus, SARS-CoV-2, will have only mild symptoms. The CDC recommends that these patients remain at home, isolating themselves as much as possible. About half of the remaining 20 percent of infected individuals are likely to develop serious symptoms from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus, with the most severe cases requiring hospitalization. The elderly and people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, are most at risk.
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4691
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Western State art studio provides therapeutic asylum.
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Windows stained with sheer smears of purple, gold, green and cerulean capture sunlight that shines in on an unexpected floor at Western State Hospital.
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true
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Hopkinsville, Health, Painting, Ceramics
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Positive mantras and murals are painted on nearly every inch of white wall that outlines the wide-open space that makes up the art studio for patients at the mental health facility. “The patients ask if they can do something on the wall, and I say ‘go for it’ — as long as they don’t cover up anybody else’s creation,” said Ashley Mason, therapeutic program assistant and director of the art studio at the hospital. Mason and her colleague, Beth Tillman, organize activities in the studio, which houses a variety of art projects for clients to try. There’s leather-stamping, ceramic molding, two weaving looms, pottery wheels, painting, drawing, coloring, wood crafting and more. As Mason moves throughout the room, she recalls who made what and where they wanted to display it when they finished. “They can make whatever they want up here, but they can’t take it back to the unit,” she said. “I have to put it in their personal belongings so when they get discharged they can have it.” In some instances, Mason remembers how a patient felt while making their creation. Some open up to her about memories they have, difficult experiences or familial scenes they paint. “When I see people draw something as simple as a house and a tree, I’ll ask them about it and they’ll just start talking,” she said. “Sometimes it goes sideways where they start talking about bad experiences with family members or friends, but I let them talk about it. That’s what they’re here for, to feel better, and things like that can help people get stuff out.” Joe Stone, director of therapeutic activities, said the art studio is one form of therapy they offer to patients along with recreational and occupational therapy. Stone hired Mason almost five years ago, a few months after they decided to re-purpose the empty space. “It’s one of the biggest spaces for the patients to express themselves,” Stone said. “I think it lifts their spirits because it’s the brightest, probably happiest place in the hospital.” Tupperware bowls hold collections of colorful beads waiting to be strung into bracelets. Ash-white ceramic statues line shelves facing cupboards holding palettes of glaze. Making ceramic art happens to be most of the patients’ favorite pastime, Mason mentioned. “Me and Beth made these little tiles and put the numbers on them so they know which (glaze) to pick from the shelf,” she said. “These are the most popular ones, the ones with the speckles. Once it melts in the kiln, it creates the pattern on the tile.” Mason, herself, has always been interested in art as both a hobby and a career. Before working at Western State, she worked on activities with the elderly at the Friendship House. “I’ve always enjoyed art,” she said. “In school, I focused on ceramics, so it’s good that that’s what the patients like because that’s what I’m the best at.” Mason received the Customer Service Award for the second quarter of 2018 at Western State and was recognized in the hospital’s newsletter. Comments from patients and their families during the Customer Perception survey said Mason was “friendly, caring and has a helpful attitude.” Stone said it’s evident to everyone that Mason loves her job. “She brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “It rubs off on the patients, and they benefit all the more.” No patients were present for interviews due to HIPAA laws, but their markings were evidence that they spend a lot of time inside this oasis. “People will come up here and say it’s so nice because it’s so different from the rest of the hospital,” Mason said. “We’ll turn the music on and some people will just come and ask if they can just sit and listen to the music.” Patients can also sit with Mason’s other two helpers, Anna and Arturo, certified therapy dogs Mason adopted from the Christian County Animal Shelter. She got them registered as therapy dogs for emotional support. “I did that specifically for here (Western State) . they are probably the most underpaid yet best employees in the entire hospital,” Mason said, laughing. “They are paid with bacon strips by a lot of staff members.” During Halloween, she dresses up the pups and takes them around the hospital to visit. “I think they are just as much therapy dogs for the staff as they are for the patients,” she said. Mason described Arturo as more energetic — he wants to sit on your lap and give you kisses. Anna is more laid back — like Eeyore — and wants the people to come to her. “We had a guy who didn’t want to come up here and do art; he wanted to come up here and hang out with the dogs,” she said. “He literally would sit down on the floor and Anna would lay with him and he’d just pet her, and that was fine with me.” Mason said her thought behind art for therapy is simple: “whether it be ceramics or painting, it really doesn’t matter. It’s whatever the individual is drawn to and it’s relaxing . Sometimes you might get them to paint or draw something that gets them really happy or sad, and then you can talk to them about it. Anybody can do art therapy — not to belittle people with art therapy degrees — but just talking to someone is a form of therapy. “I love my job,” she continued. “A lot of people can’t say that, but anytime I can teach someone something they didn’t know, it’s nice, especially with art. This is one of the areas where you can be free — the doors are still locked and they are supervised, but they have their own space to create.” ___ Information from: Kentucky New Era, http://www.kentuckynewera.com
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10006
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Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging
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"This story provided information on a very interesting topic: how to better assign medications to people with hypertension to maximize the treatment benefit and avoid medication-induced increases in blood pressure. The story tried to encapsulate insights from several studies and experts in the field about whether measurement of renin levels could really be useful in this regard. It presented examples of how renin levels might be used by clinicians when prescribing blood pressure medications to patients. The story ultimately failed to explore the issues that would make use of renin measurement problematic. In addition, the story did readers a disservice by casting diuretics as being ""old and cheap,"" given that these are well-studied and proven medications that have had a tremendous impact on long-term clinical outcomes for patients with hypertension. Optimizing medications to treat hypertension would be a boon to a huge patient population. In addition, people often take multiple medications to manage hypertension, and if the number of pills needed could be reduced or improved for at least some patients, this too would be useful."
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mixture
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There was no discussion of costs, which is unfortunate. One editorial in the journal containing the study mentioned that the $20 per sample analysis would be less than the cost of a year’s treatment even using the cheapest generic triple combination of drugs. Other than to suggest that the use of the test could better assign medication for people with hypertension, the story did not provide an estimate for the number of people who would receive better tailored treatment or what the net result would be. One way to have addressed this would have been to explain how many heart attacks per 100 people with hypertension might be averted through better testing. The story did not provide any indication about the downsides associated with testing. Since the experts do not agree, then readers can conclude that some clinicians would prefer to stick with the “trial and error” method. However readers were not informed as to how often the test incorrectly categorizes people. The story tried to convey that there is some disagreement among experts in the field about whether renin level testing has any application for decisions about the class of medication to chose when treating hypertension. However, other providing quotes from some of authors and experts, the story failed to provide readers with insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the studies reported on. The story did not exactly engage in disease-mongering by indicating that the use of the wrong drug can trigger a jump in blood pressure, but it did poorly explain the phenomenon. Blood pressure can rise as the result of an ACE inhibitor triggering a narrowing of the blood vessels to the kidneys, but this is not common. Similarly, the story could have done a better job of providing some context for understanding some of the data. Instead of simply stating that 8% of individuals might see a 10 point increase in blood pressure when given a certain type of drug, it would have been more useful to provide readers with some idea about what that change in blood pressure could mean in terms of heart attack or stroke risk.
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560
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Trump to meet with vaping industry as he mulls tighter regulation.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will be meeting with vaping industry representatives as his administration considers tightening e-cigarette regulations amid a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related injuries and deaths.
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true
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Health News
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“Will be meeting with representatives of the Vaping industry, together with medical professionals and individual state representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the Vaping and E-cigarette dilemma. Children’s health & safety, together with jobs, will be a focus!” he wrote on Twitter. Trump did not give a time for the meeting or offer any other details. He said on Friday that his administration would come out with “an important position” on vaping this week. On Thursday, the CDC reported there have been 2,051 confirmed and probable U.S. lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of e-cigarettes, or vaping products. Nearly 85 percent of lung injury patients in the nationwide outbreak have reported using products containing THC, the component of marijuana that gets people high. In the CDC analysis, THC was detected in 23 of 28 patient samples of lung cells, including from three patients who said they did not use THC products. Nicotine was detected in 16 of 26 patient samples. U.S. public health officials have recommended that people avoid using e-cigarettes that contain THC or any products that come from illicit sources. The Trump administration in September said the Food and Drug Administration was working on a “guidance document” that would lead to a ban of all e-cigarette flavors, aside from tobacco flavoring. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that once the guidance was finalized, enforcement actions would begin to remove the products from store shelves. In his remarks on Friday, Trump indicated that a flavor ban was still under consideration, but that other actions were as well, including raising the age limit for e-cigarette purchases. Asked if Juul Labs Inc, which dominates the U.S. e-cigarette market, would participate in the discussions, a Juul spokesperson said the company was not lobbying on the issue. “We are continuing to refrain from lobbying the administration on its draft flavor guidance while we take significant actions to combat underage use and convert adult smokers,” the spokesperson said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s tweet.
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9682
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Study finds new potential treatment for jet lag
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This CNN story reports on a study of flashing light therapy as a method to improve the body’s ability to respond to jet lag. While it was an admittedly brief study with few participants, there was sufficient detail to suggest that the flashing light might be more beneficial compared to continuous light as a countermeasure for jet lag. But the story doesn’t do much to evaluate the qualify of evidence on offer here. Including at least one outside expert as a source, as a competing Reuters story did, and mention of other techniques that have undergone research to counter jet lag (melatonin, caffeine), would have been helpful. Jet lag is a significant concern for many people who have to travel distances that span multiple time zones, where their ability to work effectively is compromised as the body struggles to adjust to a new time zone. This means a simple, but effective light therapy session could bring much-needed relief to those who have to travel but also, possibly to those who do shift work and are frequently forced into combat against the body’s natural circadian rhythms. People who work in demanding jobs where alertness and quick adaptability to changing sleep schedules are required (airline pilots, doctors, nurses, ambulance attendants, truck drivers, etc.) may benefit from such a therapy.
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mixture
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jet lag,light therapy
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Costs are not discussed. How much would a device that emits a flashing light that delivers a camera-like flash every ten or so seconds cost? It could be a little or a lot, depending on the purchaser. The competing Reuters story at least suggested that this device would require complicated new technology that one can presume might be costly. Details on the benefits are minimal but we do get a sense that two different groups of volunteers were tested with different light exposures (continuous vs. intermittent flashing) and those with the intermittent flashing light had “two hours of change in circadian timing, compared with 36 minutes for those exposed to continuous light.” Changes in “circadian timing” is not explained. There were no harms expressed in the article, nor was the word ‘harm’ mentioned in the published study. This is where an outside expert may have shined some light. As an expert quoted in a Reuters article stated, “Mistiming light therapy can make jet lag worse.” It is impossible to tell from the article how sound the study was. In fact, the study, although preliminary, was a randomized, controlled trial which raises the level of evidence for the findings. This was not mentioned. The article doesn’t point out until the last sentence that “There’s still more testing to be done before the technique is available to the public.” There is no obvious disease mongering here and jet lag is a common problem with likely serious consequences for some professions. No outside expert was asked to comment and cast a critical eye on the quality of the evidence and the soundness of the study. Jet lag has been studied with other therapies, most notably with caffeine and melatonin. Neither of these other therapies are mentioned in the context of describing this study. Cochrane systematic reviews on jet lag therapies can be found here and here. This report doesn’t suggest any comparison between the light therapy and these other therapies. The story mentions that the light therapy wasn’t ready for prime time yet. The article notes that the current study builds on the team’s previous “proof-of-principle” research that suggested exposure to light at night speeds up time zone adjustment. The latest study found short light flashes had an advantage over continuous light exposure. There is no misleading representation as to the technique’s novelty. Despite its reliance on one source, it doesn’t appear as if the article is overly indebted to a PR news release. The article contains quotes from the study co-author that are different than those found in the release.
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32378
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"Mutation Response Vehicle"" vehicles spotted near Longwood, Florida, are related to outbreaks of the Zika virus."
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Two videos (neither of which is embeddable) explain that the Mutation Response Vehicles were created for use at the Burning Man festival and have nothing to do with any potential disease outbreaks or public health agencies.
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false
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Fauxtography, automobiles, black rock city, burning man
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On 15 August 2016 Facebook user Joe Amos shared photographs of automobiles labeled “Mutation Response Vehicle” (MRV), purportedly spotted by a friend of his near Longwood, Florida: Amos appeared to be simply perplexed by the unusual trucks, but the photographs were quickly noticed by conspiracy forums and inspired YouTube videos questioning their origins: We contacted police in Longwood to ask whether they were aware of the Mutation Response Vehicles, but a traffic officer told us he hadn’t heard the rumors (nor spotted the vehicles) although he was “on the road all day,” and a police sergeant was similarly unfamiliar with the claim. However, a YouTube commenter quickly located the source of the trucks. Pathogen Trackers offered some explanation (alongside images of the same vehicles) that wasn’t easily parsed by the general public, but the site made reference to Burning Man’s Black Rock City and described a purpose consistent with participation in that annual desert festival: During the day our massive, customized MRV units serve as a needed landmark and a graphic art exhibition for the passers by. At night, they illuminate fully to again help weary travelers find their way home. Even our well-lit, Chilled Hydration Station and 50′ Pathogen Tacking Antenna serve as beacons on the corners our camp. Another benefit of the MRV and MSV fleet is there ability to support and keep self-contained many of the camps necessities such as on-site water tanks, power generation, walk-in refrigeration, and sufficient transport capability to haul-out all of our gear and waste in a single convoy. This commitment to operating a self-sufficient camp is a key component in our ability to support our neighbors camps and help feed the members of our larger community. Using our Playa Reconnaissance Vehicle (a/k/a Art Car) we are able to scour the desert and help those in need make there way across the scorched earth. We also provide transportation among the countless art projects and also return with others to the safety of our camp.
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12995
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"The Russians ""tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through."
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"Trump said the Russians ""tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through."" While Russians were able to get into the email accounts of some Republican individuals and state-level Republican organizations, they did not break into the Republican National Committee’s current system, according to the director of the FBI. Russians did access email domains associated with the RNC that were no longer in use, but the information was outdated and wasn’t released. Additionally, it’s not completely clear why hackers were unable to get into the current RNC. The gist of Trump’s claim is correct, but it’s important to keep in mind that Russian hackers did access some Republican data, including the outdated RNC account. "
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true
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National, Foreign Policy, Technology, Donald Trump,
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"After months of discounting Russian involvement in the election, President-elect Donald Trump admitted that Russia was behind the campaign hacks and document leaks. ""As far as hacking, I think it was Russia,"" he said at a Jan. 11 press conference from Trump Tower in New York, his first press conference in several months. Government intelligence agents have concluded that Russia tried to influence the presidential election in a way that favored Trump over Hillary Clinton. A leading reason for this conclusion is that Russian actors tried to access accounts belonging to both Democrats and Republicans through cyber intrusion, but they only widely disseminated significant information stolen from the Democrats. At his press conference, Trump said the Democrats could have done a better job protecting themselves, like the Republicans did. The Russians ""tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through,"" Trump said. Over the past few weeks, there has been some confusion about whether the RNC had been infiltrated in a manner similar to the DNC. So we decided to put Trump’s claim on the Truth-O-Meter. In a Kremlin-directed campaign, online con artists stole, then leaked, emails from Clinton campaign Chair John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee. The emails ended up being posted on WikiLeaks and other online sources. The leaks caused many headaches for the Clinton campaign and led to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation. It’s clear that Russian hackers did infiltrate some Republicans and affiliated groups. The website DC Leaks published about 200 emails related to Republican Party business, as well as the emails of former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on CNN that Russian actors compromised his campaign emails. But the claim that the RNC specifically was not hacked is significant because the organization is the core of the national Republican Party structure. The New York Times reported Dec. 9 that the Russians did hack the RNC’s computer systems. But the Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 16 that the RNC hacking attempt was unsuccessful. Both reports were based on anonymous sources. Two government reports about the Russian election interference — published Dec. 29 and Jan. 6 — don’t provide any clarity. The more extensive Jan. 6 report says only: ""Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign."" FBI Director James Comey offered the most definitive statements recently, in a Jan. 10 hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He explained that the Russian hackers had accessed state-level Republican organizations and candidates, as well as outdated email domains associated with the RNC, but not the active RNC or the Trump campaign. ""There was evidence that there was hacking directed at state level organizations, state level campaigns and the RNC, but old domains of the RNC,"" Comey said. ""That is, email domains that they were no longer using, and the information was harvested from there, but it was old stuff. None of that was released. We did not develop any evidence that the Trump campaign or the current RNC was successfully hacked."" He added that the methods used to attack the RNC and DNC systems were similar. The Russian actors used a technique called phishing, meaning the cyber intruders sent emails designed to trick the recipient into clicking a link and giving over his or her email password. But Comey said the Russian attackers ""got far deeper and wider into"" the DNC, though he couldn’t say why they didn’t get into the current RNC system. Trump and other Republican leaders say that the hackers were unable to get into the RNC because of the organization’s superior cyber defenses. While this is a plausible claim, we are unable to independently corroborate it. The RNC pointed us to the December Wall Street Journal article mentioned previously, which reported that ""intruders failed to get past security defenses on the RNC’s computer networks."" Additionally, the cyber intruders were much less aggressive in their attempts to penetrate the RNC than they were in their attacks against the DNC. This article is based on unnamed sources said to be close to the RNC and the intelligence investigation. The DNC, in contrast, did not have the most-advanced programs for detecting suspicious email traffic installed, and the organization was slow to respond to the FBI’s warning that it had been hacked, reported the New York Times, in an article based on interviews with several on-the-record sources. Our ruling Trump said the Russians ""tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through."" While Russians were able to get into the email accounts of some Republican individuals and state-level Republican organizations, they did not break into the Republican National Committee’s current system, according to the director of the FBI. Russians did access email domains associated with the RNC that were no longer in use, but the information was outdated and wasn’t released. Additionally, it’s not completely clear why hackers were unable to get into the current RNC. The gist of Trump’s claim is correct, but it’s important to keep in mind that Russian hackers did access some Republican data, including the outdated RNC account."
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3113
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Doctor’s report calls 77-year-old Biden ‘healthy, vigorous’.
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Joe Biden is “healthy, vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,” according to a doctor’s report released Tuesday by the 77-year-old former vice president.
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true
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Medication, Michael Bloomberg, Health, General News, Joe Biden, Election 2020
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Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who has been Biden’s primary care physician since 2009, writes in a three-page note that the Democratic presidential candidate is in overall good shape — he’s trim, exercises and keeps his cholesterol at healthy levels with the use of a statin medication. Since 2003, Biden has had episodes of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that’s potentially serious but treatable. His doctor now describes the atrial fibrillation as “persistent.” O’Connor cited a list of tests that show the candidate’s heart is functioning normally and his only needed care is a blood thinner to prevent the most worrisome risk, blood clots or stroke. Another Democratic candidate, Michael Bloomberg, has the same kind of irregular heartbeat, according to records released last week. Biden had a brush with death in 1988, requiring surgery to repair two brain aneurysms -- weak bulges in arteries, one of them leaking. Biden has never had a recurrence, his doctor said, citing a specific test in 2014 that examined his arteries. O’Connor’s letter cited only a few other minor ailments. Biden takes medications, as needed, for seasonal allergies and occasional reflux, or heartburn. He has had several small, non-melanoma skin cancers removed over the years. Preventive screenings, including colonoscopies, show no signs of trouble. “Overall he’s in good health,” said Dr. Mary McLaughlin, director of cardiovascular health and wellness at Mount Sinai Heart in New York, who reviewed Biden’s information. She noted that he has good blood pressure without needing medication, unusual for his age, and that he exercises five days a week. “I would say that someone with well-controlled atrial fibrillation on a blood thinner definitely can perform the duties of a stressful job,” McLaughlin added. But she questioned why the records don’t mention a cardiac stress test, which would eliminate any questions about heart function. Biden is the third Democratic presidential candidate to release his medical records. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 70, released a doctor’s note earlier this month that said she is in “excellent health.” A letter from Bloomberg’s physician said the 77-year-old New York billionaire was in “outstanding health.” Bernie Sanders, the oldest candidate in the field at 78 years old, said that he’d release his records “probably by the end of the year.” He suffered a heart attack in October that took him off the campaign trail for a few days. Biden, Sanders and Bloomberg would be the oldest president in history if elected. Republican Donald Trump, now 73, was the oldest newly inaugurated first-term president. He has been criticized for releasing only cursory details on his health while running for the White House. But he has also mocked Biden, suggesting age has slowed his potential Democratic rival. Biden’s age has been a lingering shadow on his candidacy, even with other septuagenarians in the race. In one summer debate, Juli á n Castro suggested, wrongly, that Biden had forgotten details of his own health care proposal. Castro, now 45, denied he was taking a shot at Biden’s age, though that’s how it was widely interpreted. Earlier this month in Iowa, a voter who said he was 83 told the candidate he is too old to serve as president. Biden challenged the man to a push-up contest and an IQ test. None of the recent releases of candidates’ health information has mentioned screenings for memory problems, and whether they’re needed or useful – or even what kind is appropriate -- in high-functioning adults is an unsettled medical question.When he brings up the matter himself, Biden acknowledges his advancing age but argues that it comes with the “wisdom” and “experience” to manage the hyperpartisan nature of Capitol Hill and calm the international turbulence of Trump’s presidency. The former vice president does have longevity in his family. His father lived to be 86. His mother lived to age 92. Warren, Sanders and Biden have all showcased their physical activity during the campaign, with Warren frequently jogging to the podium at events and Sanders playing softball with staff. A Pew Research Center poll from May found that about half of Democrats said it would be best for a president to be in their 50s. A quarter said it would be best for a president to be in their 40s, and 16% preferred a president in their 60s. Just 3% said someone in their 70s would be best — and 6% said the same of a president in their 30s. ___ Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report.
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2794
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Over 600 passengers and crew fall ill on Royal Caribbean cruise.
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The number of passengers and crew who fell ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship climbed to more than 600 on Monday, many vomiting and using biohazard bags for anything they touch.
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true
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Health News
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The updated sick count aboard the Explorer of the Seas, which cut short its Caribbean cruise and was expected to dock in New Jersey on Wednesday, is more than double the 300 originally thought to have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Among those sick with vomiting and diarrhea were some of the onboard entertainers, which caused shows to be canceled, passengers said. “I started with upset stomach and vomiting, and that lasted all night and into the morning,” passenger Joseph Angelillo told CNN in a telephone interview. Another ill passenger, Arnee Dodd of Connecticut, wrote on Twitter: “I’ve been sick and quarantined... Everything I touch goes in a biohazard bag.” Altogether, 595 passengers and 50 crew members fell ill aboard the ship, said CDC spokeswoman Bernadette Burden. The ship was carrying 3,050 passengers and a crew of 1,165. The ship departed Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 21 and will cut its planned 10-day cruise short by two days, returning to its home port on Wednesday, the cruise company said. “Disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement issued on Sunday. The CDC said Monday the cause of the sickness was unknown but that an environmental safety officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on Sunday in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to determine the cause of the outbreak and the proper response. Stool samples were gathered and sent to a CDC lab to determine what type of pathogen is to blame, Burden said. “We likely will have a determination or identification of the pathogen later this week,” she said. “Our team will be remaining on board the duration of the voyage.” The ship’s crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures and collected specimens from those who reported feeling ill following the outbreak, the CDC said. “After consultation between our medical team and representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly,” Royal Caribbean said in the statement. The cruise line said it believes the illnesses are consistent with norovirus, a highly contagious virus spread from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the CDC.
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3070
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Justice Dept. rolls out new program to combat gun violence.
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Attorney General William Barr announced a new initiative Wednesday that would better enforce the U.S. gun background check system, coordinate state and federal gun cases and ensure prosecutors quickly update databases to show when a defendant can’t possess a firearm because of mental health issues.
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true
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AP Top News, Mental health, Health, General News, Violence, Crime, Impeachments, Tennessee, William Barr, Gun politics, Gun violence, U.S. News, Memphis, Donald Trump
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The push, known as Project Guardian, was unveiled at a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee, alongside officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, on the same day public impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump began in Washington. As part of the program, U.S. prosecutors will coordinate with state and local law enforcement officials to consider potential federal charges when a suspect is arrested for weapons possession, is believed to have used a gun to commit a violent crime or drug-trafficking offense or is suspected of being a violent gang member. “Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America,” Barr said in a statement. The program “will strengthen our efforts to reduce gun violence by allowing the federal government and our state and local partners to better target offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally,” Barr said. During the news conference, Barr said discussions about any new legislation tied to the project have been sidetracked due to the impeachment process on Capitol Hill. He said Congress has been asked for more resources, including more ATF agents and U.S. marshals. “We are going forward with all the operational steps that we can take that do not require legislative action,” Barr said. The initiative requires agents in charge of ATF offices across the country to either create new guidelines or review the protocols already in place to bring federal charges against people who lie in order to obtain a gun from a firearms dealer. Prosecutors will particularly focus on offenders who have violent backgrounds, are gang members or who have faced domestic violence charges. U.S. attorney’s offices would also be required to quickly input information about people who can’t own guns for mental health reason into federal databases. The attorney general is also encouraging U.S. attorneys across the country to adopt programs that could help disrupt potential threats and consider recommending court-ordered mental health treatment, in some cases, for defendants found to be ineligible to own firearms for mental health reasons. The federal government has come under scrutiny in recent years for failing to prevent some mass shooters from buying guns because of lapses in the background check system. In 2018, there were more than 26 million background checks conducted and fewer than 100,000 people failed. The vast majority were for a criminal conviction and just over 6,000 were rejected for a mental health issue. Federal law defines nine categories that would prohibit someone from being legally allowed to own or possess a firearm. They include being convicted of any felony charge or a misdemeanor domestic violence, being subject to a restraining order or active warrants, being dishonorably discharged from the military, being addicted to drugs, renouncing your U.S. citizenship or being in the country illegally or being involuntarily committed to a mental health institution or being found by a court to be “a mental defective.” A man who killed nine black parishioners at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 2015, was able to buy his gun even though he has admitted to possessing drugs and a gunman who killed 26 people at a church in Texas was able to pass a background check because the Air Force had failed to report his criminal history to the FBI, which maintains the background check database. A gunman who went on a rampage in West Texas in September, killing seven people, illustrated that even those who are barred from owning guns can skirt the law. That gunman had obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that blocked him from getting a gun in 2014 due to a “mental health issue,” a law enforcement official told The Associated Press at the time. Barr said background checks would be enforced “with a vengeance.” The new program will also help enhance ATF’s crime gun intelligence efforts, which the agency uses to identify and target criminals and identify where they get their guns. Agents will work alongside prosecutors to “cut the pipeline of crime guns from those violent individuals who seek to terrorize our communities,” said Regina Lombardo, ATF’s acting deputy director. Barr noted that Memphis has about five times the national average rate of violent crime. Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said violent crime in the Mississippi River city is way too high. ___ Balsamo reported from Washington.
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35088
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"Amid a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, Italians reported seeing wildlife such as swans and dolphins ""returning"" to newly tranquil waterways, ports, and canals."
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What's true: Dolphins and swans were indeed spotted in some of Italy's waterways after the nationwide lockdown was imposed. What's false: Dolphins and swans swimming in Italy's waterways were not necessarily new phenomena related to reduced human activity during the COVID-19 lockdown.
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mixture
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Viral Phenomena, COVID-19
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Outside of Asia, Italy has been hardest hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. But in March 2020, as the country continued to deal with rising death tolls and a national lockdown, many found relief in posting images of wildlife on social media. Perhaps eager for good news, some shared the images and news stories with commentary saying the nationwide lockdown had resulted in unprecedented clear and tranquil waters in Italy, leading to a return of wildlife such as dolphins and swans to places like the now-uncrowded Venetian canals. Readers asked Snopes if this news was too good to be true. The answer is yes and no, as we will explain below. Here are some examples of social media posts: Venice hasn't seen clear canal water in a very long time. Dolphins showing up too. Nature just hit the reset button on us pic.twitter.com/RzqOq8ftCj — Gianluca De Santis (@b8taFPS) March 17, 2020 The dolphins shown in the video, it turns out, were not swimming in the iconic canals of Venice, but off the coast of Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. Dolphin sightings in that area are not a new phenomenon, as a 2017 video demonstrates.
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10356
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Study: Older diabetes drugs safe to use
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The story reports that several types of blood sugar lowering drugs have similar benefits, despite dramatic differences in cost among the various drug types. The story met many of our review criteria, including availability, cost, type of evidence, and benefits. It would have been better if more details about the impact of these drugs on cardiovascular endpoints, like heart attack, could have been included in addition to impact on blood sugar. One area that could have been improved was harms of treatment. Since the story’s headline claims older drugs are safe, there should have been some data to support this in the story. As it was, only patterns of side effects were reported for various drugs, which doesn’t tell the reader how often these might occur or how serious these might be. Another area that could have been improved was treatment alternatives. Although perhaps not the focus of the study, lifestyle efforts to lower blood sugar are another important treatment step that is not mentioned.
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true
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"The story does mention costs of some, but not all, drugs. Importantly, though, it does compare costs of both a high-cost drug (Avandia) and a low-cost drug (metformin), which provides readers an idea of the price difference that’s at issue here. However the cost estimate of $100 a year for metformin is probably lower than what most consumers can actually get access to. The article does report that most diabetes medications studied reduced blood sugar (A1C) by about 1%, which is an absolute benefit. Importantly, the article points out that since this reduction applied to most drugs tested, there wasn’t a real benefit to choosing newer, more costly drugs. The story does mention some harms of various drugs, which are named followed by a relative description that these occur more than with other drugs. Side effects mentioned included increases in cholesterol, weight gain, low blood sugar, diarrhea or digestive problems, and heart failure. However, given that the headline of the story claims these drugs are safe, some data supporting that these are safe should have been included. Readers aren’t provided with actual numbers of people experiencing or an indication of how serious these might be. In addition, an extremely rare side effect of metformin, lactic acidosis, is given as much attention and weight as low blood sugar for sulfonylureas. Yet the article does attempt to give readers a relative idea of which ones have which pattern of side effects and notes that all medicines have side effects and that people with diabetes should pick the medication with the side effect profile that matters most to them. The story does describe the type of study that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality commissioned, namely a review, which is not a randomized clinical trial in and of itself, but another type of evidence which can be robust. It also describes that the researchers reviewed 200 studies and obtained both published and non-published data for analysis. The article would have been strengthened if it had emphasized a bit more that there is very limited clinical trial data that actually compares each of these medications to each other and that most of the studies incorporated were of inadequate size of duration to measure many of the outcomes that are of the greatest interest to patients and clinicians, such as myocardial infarctions and strokes. No obvious disease-mongering. The story does mention diabetes risk factors and provides a measure of how many people are affected by this condition. Multiple sources are used, both in opposition to and in support of the findings. The story describes multiple oral medications to lower blood sugar and additionally mentions insulin, although not in detail. What isn’t mentioned is lifestyle changes to lower blood sugar as a treatment alternative or adjunct. Specifically the role of diet, exercise, and weight loss, three of the mainstays of treatment for diabetes, were not mentioned. The story mentions that a study compared ""older"" drugs, some of which have come out 50 years ago, to ""newer"" drugs which have come out in the past 10 years. The article states the study compares ""older"" and ""newer"" drugs. It is true, most of the medications that are categorized as ""new"" are more than 5 years old. At the same time, only once these medications are used in large numbers of persons in the population do we get an accurate impression of the real benefits and harms. Multiple sources are used, so does not appear to rely on press release."
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8245
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UK will have antibody tests ready in days, official says.
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Britain will have test kits available within days to be sent to households to establish whether people have contracted the new coronavirus and developed immunity, a health official said on Wednesday.
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true
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Health News
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Sharon Peacock, interim director of the National Infection Service, said that millions of the antibody tests had been ordered, and depending on their exact form, some might be able to be administered without leaving home. The tests are designed to establish whether people have previously been infected with coronavirus, as opposed to antigen tests which show if someone has the virus as they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. “These are brand new products. We have to be clear they work as they are claimed to do,” she told lawmakers. “Once they have been tested, and that will happen this week, once the bulk of tests arrive, they will be distributed into the community,” she said, adding that the they could be delivered via Amazon. “Testing the test is a small matter, and I would anticipate that it would be done by the end of this week.” She said there were various different models, and some might might require people to go to a high street chemist. Peacock said she thought any charge for the tests would be minimal and though she declined to say they would be available by next week, she confirmed that they would be ready in days rather than weeks or months. Health minister Matt Hancock said on Tuesday the government had bought 3.5 million of the tests.
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10394
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Doctor plans novel treatment for autism
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"This article is clearly directed at the local Pittsburgh area audience where the experimental ""clean room"" approach was developed. It describes a proposal to raise funds and research dollars mounting into the millions to conduct experiments without describing the key elements of how this program might yield any useful information, e.g. will there be control environments that lack certain ""clean"" properties? The article provided almost no scientifically or medically-based information about autism spectrum disorder, its symptoms, and treatments. Serious and careful research shows that other, perhaps more traditional approaches can improve function. It overestimates the stage and potential benefits of the proposed treatment while providing no information about potential risks and adverse effects to the child and families. Overall, this article is lacking in key factual information and runs the risk of promoting false hope of ""wiping autistic symptoms away."" The story relies too heavily on the perspective of the lead investigator without seeking other expert opinions to minimize bias. It also does not provide any information that would direct the interested reader, who might be painfully affected by the disorders, toward factual resources. We suggest the following resources for the interested reader: from the National Institute of Health (NIH) http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/autism.htm and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/"
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false
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"This article does report costs estimated to design the clean room, $500,000, and that a minimum of $1 million dollars annually will be needed to support operating expenses. Cost of the experimental approach were not reported and may not be available at this time because the project is still in the planning stage; however, it is estimated the operational costs will support the experimental approach for only four to six experimental subjects per year. This article did not present the details of any specific benefits, only speculation regarding potential benefits on the part of the project’s lead pediatrician. What evidence of benefit is there to warrant the million-dollar-plus investment? The article doesn’t discuss the very real risks of the proposed experiment and does not seek out any disinterested expert resource. A hallmark of autism spectrum disorders is problematic social interaction. One can speculate that transfer of affected children out of the home and into a hospital ""clean-room"" runs counter to the effort to improve socialization that is a current, mainstream treatment for the disorders. This article acknowledges that the proposed ""clean room"" experiment is an untested theory described as a ""Hail Mary"" pass approach that has only appeared on the Internet, not in the scientific literature. Yet it devotes 1,700 words to what it describes as a ""fringe movement"". It could have come right out and stated – in a few words – that there isn’t good evidence to support this approach at this time. Or, since it cited work done by a Virginia researcher, it could have included some of that data, if there are any. This article fails to mention that ""autism"" is a misnomer and that the correct term is ""autism spectrum disorders"". This disorder ranges from the severely disabling to less severe syndromes, such as Asberger’s syndrome. Readers should be wary about ""Hail Mary"" stories when the subject is a disorder for which no clear cure now exists, and which can be so very painful and heart-breaking for sufferers and their families. By stating that ""autism"" is ""skyrocketing,"" the story engages in disease mongering by using emotional terms with vague meanings. The main source of information for this article was the project’s lead pediatrician. No other experts or expert opinions were included to provide balance to the story or to minimize potential bias. This omission is particularly egregious in an article about a disorder that can be so heartbreakingly severe and recalcitrant, and about untested theory. The devotion of millions of dollars to a ""fringe"" therapy may mean these dollars are diverted away from compassionate, scientifically based care. This article gives brief mention (one sentence) to traditional treatments including educational, physical, speech, and behavioral therapies. There is no mention of psychotropic medications which are also commonly used. The pollutant-free ""clean room"" experiment, designed to attempt to detoxify the bodies of young patients with autism, is in the conceptual and fund-raising stages, which have yet to be completed. This article does not indicate that the experimental protocol will not likely be implemented in the near future and that it will not be available to autistic children who are not enrolled in the research study. The proposed ""clean room"" experiment for autism described in this article is new. However, this novelty should be viewed with caution as the treatment does not appear to be based in sound scientific theory. It is not clear if the story relied largely on a news release, but it is clear that the story is dominated by the perspective of only the lead investigator."
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3555
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A spoonful less sugar, tad more fat: US diets still lacking.
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Americans’ diets are a little less sweet and a little crunchier but there’s still too much sugar, white bread and artery-clogging fat, a study suggests.
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true
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Nutrition, AP Top News, Health, General News, Lifestyle, Obesity, U.S. News, Healthy eating
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Overall, the authors estimated there was a modest improvement over 16 years on the government’s healthy eating index, from estimated scores of 56 to 58. That’s hardly cause for celebration — 100 is the top score. Diets are still too heavy on foods that can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other prevalent U.S. health problems, said co-author Fang Fang Zhang, a nutrition researcher at Tufts University near Boston. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The results are from an analysis of U.S. government health surveys from 1999 to 2016 involving nearly 44,000 adults. “Despite observed improvements,” the authors wrote, “important dietary challenges” remain. Among them: Getting Americans to cut down on snack foods, hot dogs, fatty beef, butter and other foods containing saturated fats. The study found these unhealthy fats increased from 11.5% to almost 12% of daily calories, above the recommended 10% limit. And while the biggest change was a small drop in added sugars, from about 16% to roughly 14%, that’s still too high. The government says less than 10% of daily calories should come from added sugars. Researchers think fewer sweetened sodas contributed to the decline, but Zhang noted added sugars are often found in foods that don’t even seem sweet, including some yogurts and tomato sauce. Fruits, nuts, oatmeal and other whole grains are among the types of foods adults ate slightly more of. Still, each of those contributed to less than 5% of daily calories in 2016, the study found. Salt intake dipped slightly and a small decline in fruit juice contributed to a drop in low-quality carbs. But these still amount to 42% of daily calories, including many likely from highly processed white bread and other refined grains, Zhang said. The study is based on in-person health surveys conducted every two years that ask adults to recall what foods they ate in the previous 24 hours. Starting in 2003, adults were asked that question twice several days apart. The study lists food groups rather than individual foods; for example “whole grains,” not oatmeal, and “refined grains,” not white bread but Zhang said those two foods are among the most common grains in the U.S. diet. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend a “healthy eating pattern” to reduce chances of developing chronic disease. The focus should be on nutrient-dense foods including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products; plus varied proteins sources including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs nuts and seeds, the recommendations say. During the study years, U.S. diabetes rates almost doubled, to more than 7%; obesity rates increased during many of those years, with about 70% of U.S. adults now overweight or obese. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death. Besides continued public health efforts, “Cooperation from the food industry” is key, a journal editorial said, including by reducing sugar, salt and saturated fats in foods. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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5392
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With new category, Oscars are now a popularity contest.
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Not since Faye Dunaway shouted “La La Land!” has an Oscar announcement caused quite as much chaos as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decision to create a new Academy Awards category for “outstanding achievement in popular film.”
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true
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Academy Awards, Entertainment, Movies, North America, Science, Faye Dunaway, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Rob Lowe
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The film academy’s surprise announcement Wednesday proved remarkably unpopular, at least among film critics and some academy members. Actor Rob Lowe, a longtime academy member, pronounced the Oscars dead, “survived by sequels, tent-poles and vertical integration.” The other new changes were met with a mix of praise and grumbling. Many applauded the dramatic move up the calendar to February 9 in 2020. (Awards season has become a nearly four-month slog with many repeat winners.) Perhaps inevitable was the move to shrink the broadcast to three hours and remove some categories from the live telecast. But the introduction of a “popular film” category, beginning with the upcoming Feb. 24 ceremony to be televised by ABC, raised a lot of questions. Here’s an attempt to answer a few of them. WHY IS THE ACADEMY DOING THIS? Low ratings. This year’s nearly four-hour-long Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, was watched by 26.5 million people, an almost 20 percent drop from the year before and well below the days of 40 million-plus viewership. Some 43.7 million watched in 2014 when “12 Years a Slave” won best picture, but each year since has seen declines. That’s troubling news for the academy, which depends on broadcast revenue for most of its budget, and ABC, which owns broadcast rights for the Oscars through 2028. But whether that broadcast is cause for desperation is debatable. The Academy Awards still rank as easily the biggest non-football broadcast of the year, and ratings for everything, including the Super Bowl, is declining in the increasingly fractured media landscape. The Grammys, for comparison, dropped 24 percent, with 19.8 million. WHOSE DECISION WAS THIS? The measures were approved by the academy’s 54-member board of governors. Its roughly 7,000 members were not consulted, and many of them said they considered a “popular film” category a pandering move for a 91-year-old institution. Adam McKay, who won best screenplay in 2016 for “The Big Short” and whose upcoming Dick Cheney film is expected to be in the mix this year, joked on Twitter that the Oscars will also have new categories for “best knife throw” and “hottest female alien.” But the academy’s decision was also influenced by the demands of its broadcasting partner, ABC, which has pressured Oscar producers to make the telecast more broadly appealing. (Kimmel’s show deliberately steered clear of politics, largely.) Representatives for the network and for the academy declined to comment for this article. HAVE HIT FILMS NOT BEEN NOMINATED? This year’s Oscars actually included a number of major box-office success including best-picture nominees “Get Out” and “Dunkirk,” animated feature winner “Coco,” cinematography winner “Blade Runner 2049,” and other nominees like “Beauty and the Beast,” ″Baby Driver” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” If anything, the academy has shown increasing willingness to nominate genre movies, from horror (“Get Out”) to sci-fi (“Arrival,” ″Gravity”). “Logan” this year became the first superhero movie nominated for a major award, scoring an adapted screenplay nod. Some, though, had hoped “Wonder Woman” would have landed something. BUT HAVEN’T BEST PICTURE WINNERS BEEN SMALL? Yes, this is true. No best-picture winner since 2012′s “Argo” has cleared $100 million in domestic box office. Independent films have won ten of the last 11 best-picture Oscars, including wins for “Moonlight,” ″Spotlight,” ″Birdman” and “The Artist.” This year’s winner, “The Shape of Water,” was no slouch, though, with $63.9 million in domestic ticket sales and almost $200 million worldwide — an undeniably large haul for a movie featuring sex with a fish man. Still, this has been a concern for the Academy Awards since Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” was snubbed in the category, triggering the 2009 expansion from five nominees to 10 (later changed to up to 10 nominees by preferential ballot). The expansion helped make room, in the years to come, for blockbusters like “Up,” ″Inception” and “The Martian.” But it did little to stem the stronghold smaller films have on best picture. For that, Hollywood can only blame itself. The major studios years ago gave up on making much beyond global tentpoles. Perhaps not coincidentally, the market-leader in tentpoles, Disney (with three $1 billion releases just this year) owns ABC and could potentially dominate a “popular film” category. WHAT’S A POPULAR FILM, ANYWAY? Most perplexing of all may be the academy’s definition of a “popular” film. It said the details were still being worked out, but that the academy “supports broad-based consideration of excellence in all films.” So how does one measure popularity? In ticket sales? “Solo: A Star Wars Story” made $213 million in North America, but few cared much for it. Do overseas sales count? Would a traditional Oscar nominee like “La La Land” ($446 million worldwide) have been a “popular” film? And how would a box-office threshold work for late December releases just opening at the time of nominations? Should the winner also be chosen purely on a basis of highest box-office gross? WILL ANYONE WANT ONE OF THESE? Never underestimate how much people want an Oscar, any Oscar. But it seems certain that a “popular film” Oscar will not be looked upon like a “real” Oscar, but rather a kind of MTV Awards-ish half-Oscar. For many, it reeks of patronizing, of ghettoizing “popular” from “art” in a popular art form. Even in today’s blockbuster-driven Hollywood, many believe both can still coexist. And the year has already offered up an especially good example of just that: Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther.” The acclaimed Disney film was already seen a best picture contender; now, some fear it will be relegated to the “popular film” corner. The movie business tried this once before: The very first Academy Awards gave an award for artistic achievement (to F.W. Murnau’s “Sunrise”) and for “outstanding production” (William Wellman’s “Wings”). Both, it’s worth noting, remain masterpieces. But the dichotomy was done away with the next year. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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9279
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Discovery promises new treatments to thwart colon cancer
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The release focuses on a recent study published in Cell, which finds that a protein called AIM2 may play a significant role in preventing or slowing the progression of colorectal cancer in mice. Specifically, the release says researchers found that AIM2 inhibits the proliferation of intestinal stem cells — slowing the progression of cancer. According to the release, the study also found that AIM2 also contributes to healthy populations of “good” bacteria in the gut, which can help protect against colon cancer. However, the release offers little information to support the headline, which says “discovery promises new treatments to thwart colon cancer” — at least for cancers in human patients. News releases should inform, not tease. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 132,000 people in the United States will likely be diagnosed with colon or rectum cancer in 2015 — and an estimated 49,700 people will die from the disease this year. Any one of those patients, as well as family and friends, would be thrilled by the headline and lead paragraphs of this release, only to be crushed by the late revelation that the study involved only mice with induced cancers, not people with real disease. What’s more, the release completely fails to tell readers that the study design only showed what goes wrong when the AIM2 protein is hobbled, which is not at all like testing whether treatments that boost AIM2 can make things better.
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false
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mice studies,St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
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The release does not address cost at all. This is not surprising, given that this is an early study, in an animal model, which identifies the role of a particular protein in preventing and, possibly, slowing the progression of colorectal cancer. However, the release explicitly discusses specific therapeutic possibilities, such as interferon therapy to increase AIM2 activity and transferring healthy bacteria into colorectal cancer patients. If you’re going to discuss possible treatment options (even in general terms), it’s worth mentioning what they may cost (even in general terms). The release is overrun with general statements and specificity is mostly missing.The release says that AIM2 suppresses “abnormal expansion of intestinal stem cell populations,” but it doesn’t quantify what that means. How much more proliferation of these stem cell populations was there in mice that had a “malfunction of AIM2”? And how does stem cell proliferation translate to cancer growth? Similarly, the release noted that when “normal” mice and AIM2-deficient mice had the opportunity to exchange gut bacteria, “scientists found a striking reduction in colon tumors in the AIM2-deficient mice and an increase in tumors in the normal mice.” But it doesn’t give readers any numbers that tell us how different those tumor numbers were or what that meant in terms of survival rate. Also, importantly, the release does not make clear how much can be inferred about the behavior of AIM2 in humans from the behavior of AIM2 in mice. What level of uncertainty is there? What are “good bacteria” and how are they transferred to experimental mice? How would that happen in humans? The release speaks of AIM2 findings and suggests possible meanings but fails to provide conclusive evidence to support the researchers’ conjecture. This work is so far removed from clinical use in human subjects that it may be difficult to adequately assess potential risks for human patients. However, as noted above, the release does mention interferon treatment and transferring “good” bacteria populations into human patients. Every treatment carries some risks, and those are worth discussing. The human digestive system is awash in colonies of different bacteria, all striving to maintain dominance in their environment. An imbalance between these different strains can cause a host of intestinal problems ranging from simple discomfort to life-threatening conditions. The release’s cavalier mention of possibly transferring “good bacteria” does readers an injustice by ignoring risks. While fecal transplants have shown some success in early research, they do carry substantial risks, and while some colon cancer patients may be willing to accept that risk, the release should at least mention that it exists. The release seriously mischaracterizes the research. The first mention that the study was done on mice, not men, is buried deep in the release. Readers are also misled about the design and results of the study. The researchers revealed details about how hobbling an immune system protein, AIM2, shortened the lives of mice with colorectal cancer. But the release (perhaps encouraged by a few suggestive comments in the research article) pushes the hope that boosting AIM2 would fight cancer, something that was not even studied. The release doesn’t give readers much quantitative information about the study. How many animals were involved? How many time points were assessed? In short, how much data did the researchers have in order to reach these findings? It’s not clear. Colorectal cancer is a serious problem and more effective treatments are needed. The release did a fine job of explaining that AIM2 mutations were often associated with colorectal cancers, while still distinguishing those mutations from the cancer itself. The release identifies the primary funding sources as the National Institutes of Health and ALSAC (though readers have to do their own searches to learn that ALSAC stands for the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities). However, the release fails to mention that Genentech supplied the Aim2-deficient mice. And neither the release nor the original article in Cell tell readers whether or not there are any financial or other ties between the researchers and Genentech… or whether any of the researchers hold any patent or royalty rights that are relevant to this work. We’ll give the benefit of the doubt since we did not see any evidence of conflicts of interest, although we would encourage all news releases to make a clear statement regarding the presence or absence of such conflicts. Readers should not be left in the dark to guess about potential conflicts. The release does not address any other treatments for colorectal cancer, nor does it mention screening or any of the steps that people can take to lower the risk of developing colorectal cancer — such as changes in diet or exercise. Since much of the release addresses the role of AIM2 in preventing cancer, this is problematic. The release quotes one story author on this point: “‘We have only scratched the surface of the role of AIM2 in controlling stem cell proliferation and the maintenance of a healthy gut microbiota,’ Kanneganti said. ‘How exactly AIM2 does both of these functions is an exciting research area to pursue. '” Unfortunately, that’s the last paragraph of the release. And the first seven paragraphs talk about research as if it were done in a human model. It’s not until the eighth paragraph that we learn the study was done using mice. In short, this work is far, far removed from any potential clinical intervention for cancer patients. That should be said explicitly somewhere in the text, and the fact that the work was done in an animal model should have been made clear at the very top. The release basically reports on findings about one protein that plays a role in immunity and therefore, may have some significance in the progress of colon cancer. But the release couches all its information in the context of that disease, lending support that may be unwarranted to their hypothesis. While we’re concerned about this characterization, the release does make clear that this work fits into a larger body of work on the role of AIM2 in the immune system and the role of gut bacteria in protecting against colorectal cancer. So we’ll award a Satisfactory on that basis. However, it would have been great to get a little more information — for example, on how this fits into other recent work indicating that the gut microbiome could be used to screen for colorectal cancer or pre-cancerous polyps. This release is unsatisfactory for two reasons. First, the headline is wildly misleading. Cancer patients expecting to read about new treatments will be brought up short, because the findings here (however promising) are still only findings from an animal model. It’s not clear when or if there will even be the clinical studies that can reveal whether or not treatments based on boosting AIM2 have any benefits. (Remember, this study only looked at the problems that follow impairment of AIM2.) Second, the release waits until the eighth paragraph (the second page, if you were to print it out) to tell readers that the work was done in an animal model. That’s a crucial piece of information, and should have been made clear in the headline and lead.
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26677
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“Some states are only getting 50 tests per day, and the Utah Jazz got 58.”
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After Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the state of Oklahoma administered tests to 58 people in a matter of hours. A spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Department of Health said it was the first incident where that many people met the criteria for testing in such a short timespan. It’s hard to say how many tests are available and how many have been run, but one tally shows some states testing fewer than 50 people per day as of March 12.
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true
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Public Health, Pundits, Sports, PunditFact, Coronavirus, Michael Dougherty,
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"The novel coronavirus reached the NBA this week, with Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive in Oklahoma City moments before the Jazz were set to tip off against the Thunder. The development led the NBA to suspend its season. The Jazz said in a statement that after diagnostic tests were administered to team players, staff and traveling beat reporters, only one of the reported 58 people tested in connection with Gobert — guard Donovan Mitchell, who confirmed his positive test on Instagram — was found to be carrying COVID-19. The Jazz’s quick access to 58 coronavirus tests seemed at odds with the fact that the United States has lagged behind other countries where testing has been more widespread. ""Some states are only getting 50 tests per day, and the Utah Jazz got 58?"" said Michael Dougherty, a senior writer for the National Review, in a March 12 tweet. Some states are only getting 50 tests per day, and the Utah Jazz got 58? If tests are going to remain scarce, how they're distributed will be a subject not just of controversy, but of fury and reprisal. https://t.co/Eip3nNOOXR We wondered how the Jazz team personnel got their hands on COVID-19 tests in a matter of hours, and what kind of access states have had to testing by comparison. We found that Dougherty’s claim lined up with the information that’s available, despite some murkiness around the number of tests that have been conducted across the country. After a sprinting medical staffer alerted referees to Gobert’s confirmed infection minutes before the game was supposed to start, the state of Oklahoma quickly completed tests for 58 people close to the organization who had come in contact with Gobert. The results for those 58 people came back within nine to 10 hours, said Andy Larsen, a Jazz beat writer for the Salt Lake Tribune who was tested for having been in recent contact with Gobert. The process was fast, with medical professionals taking throat and sinus swabs from the team personnel at the arena, Larsen said. ""It really only does take like two minutes,"" he said. The specimens were then shipped to Oklahoma’s public health lab, where they were tested overnight using test kits provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Jaime Dukes, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Dukes told us the Oklahoma lab has been running tests since March 6, and that the lab has completed roughly 150 tests since then, including the tests on the Jazz personnel. That means many of the tests in Oklahoma were completed in one night. Dukes said that’s because Oklahoma has been following the CDC’s case-definition requirements, which currently say that clinicians should use judgment to decide if a symptomatic patient should be tested. Clinicians are supposed to prioritize people with serious symptoms, people who are older or have underlying medical conditions, and people who had close contact with a confirmed or suspected coronavirus patient or recently traveled to an affected area, according to the CDC. ""That honestly was the first incident we’ve had where 58 people at one time needed to be tested,"" Dukes said. ""We’ve been meeting the demand, but we are being very clear about our criteria for testing."" NBA spokesman Tim Frank said Oklahoma health officials directed the Jazz testing without intervention from the NBA, and that there was ""nothing we did to accelerate it."" But state epidemiologist Laurence Burnsed, speaking at a March 12 press conference, said the NBA has ""policies in place"" that helped Gobert get tested quickly. NBA team trainers regularly monitor players for illness and work with local physicians when needed, Burnsed said. According to the Associated Press, a number of other NBA franchises are having employees self-quarantine or get tested after coming into contact with Gobert and Mitchell in recent weeks. It’s hard to precisely say how many tests the U.S. has administered, in part because the CDC has outsourced some responsibility to states as well as private, academic and commercial labs. There’s no centralized database tracking everything. Testing in the U.S. was slowed from the get-go by flaws with the government’s early test kits and barriers that have been relaxed but still limit who can get tested. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said March 7 that public health labs have the ability to test a total of 75,000 people. He also said 1.1 million tests had been shipped to private labs, with another roughly 1 million on the way and still more to come from other academic and commercial labs. The U.S. took another step toward increasing its capabilities on March 13 when it gave over $1 million to two companies to develop new, one-hour tests. It’s not clear that those capabilities are being met, however. According to a tracker from the American Enterprise Institute, the different labs running tests throughout the U.S. should have been capable of cumulatively testing more than 25,000 per day, at least as of March 13. (Dougherty is also a visiting fellow at AEI.) Updated to reflect #coronavirus testing lab capacity at Assurance Scientific Labs and increased capacity in CA public health labs, Stanford, and NorthShore University HealthSystems pic.twitter.com/mEZgrkHbUF Plus, the number of tests isn’t the same as the number of people who have been tested. Not everyone seeking a coronavirus test can get one. Even sick people have been denied. As of March 12, the CDC’s website said it had tested roughly 3,903 specimens in CDC labs, plus about 9,721 in public health labs across the U.S.’s various states. Those numbers, while incomplete, pale in comparison with countries like South Korea, which ramped up testing weeks ago by setting up drive-thru screening clinics. ""Widespread testing was a key component of China and South Korea's response strategy,"" said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. ""Both countries have made significant progress in controlling their outbreaks."" The U.S. pace has been more sluggish. Dougherty told us his claim could be traced to early March reports from the Atlantic and Buzzfeed News, which said public health labs in states such as Hawaii and Arkansas were capable at the time of running fewer than 50 tests per day. Dougherty also cited a recent report from Yahoo News, which relied on state and federal data from the COVID Tracking Project, a project of the Atlantic run by reporters and data scientists. The project tracks the numbers presented on state government websites to provide a more accurate overall testing count. (While the CDC website highlights the number of specimens tested, the COVID Tracking Project tracks the number of people.) The Yahoo News article noted that the COVID Tracking Project counted 2,728 people tested by states and the District of Columbia on March 10, for an average of less than 55 per state. Some states tested fewer than 50 that day, according to the project’s tally. The project reported that 2,219 people were tested by states on March 11, or roughly 43 people per state. Our daily 4pm ET update is out. The topline number is not good: ~10000 people tested, according to our state-level data, which cannot track all negative tests. That's a smaller day-over-day increase than yesterday.The ramp is not happening fast enough. https://t.co/Zc39AZVRge pic.twitter.com/2UfGBYOifc Dougherty said ""some states are only getting 50 tests per day, and the Utah Jazz got 58."" Oklahoma public health officials quickly completed tests on 58 people who had had recent contact with Gobert, the Jazz’s center, after he tested positive for COVID-19. It’s not clear how many tests each state is running per day. But Dougherty’s claim that ""some states are only getting 50 tests per day"" lines up with what had been reported at the time the claim was made."
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4570
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Michigan regulatory board halts state’s drinking water rules.
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A Michigan regulatory oversight board staffed with business and industry representatives selected by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has temporarily paused state drinking water standards that would limit allowable levels of certain toxic industrial chemicals.
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true
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Environment, Michigan, General News, Rick Snyder, Lansing
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The Environmental Rules Review Committee voted Thursday to wait two weeks before deciding on whether to delay or approve draft maximum contaminant levels for several compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively called PFAS, MLive.com reported. The substances, widely used in firefighting foam, nonstick cookware and other products, have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they persist so long in the environment. Studies have found potential links between high levels in the body of one form of the contaminants and a range of illnesses, including kidney cancer, increased cholesterol levels and problems in pregnancies. The panel was one of two created last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature. It was the focus of an early showdown between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP lawmakers, who overrode her effort to eliminate the panels while restructuring the former Department of Environmental Quality in February. Opponents have labeled the bodies “polluter panels” due to the industry’s representation within their ranks. One has oversight on all rulemaking for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE; the other on authorizing decisions. The PFAS standards are the first significant regulations the 12-member rules committee, mainly comprised of multi-year Snyder appointees, has considered. The panel’s PFAS discussions happened Thursday in Lansing, a month after EGLE’s internal PFAS advisory board advanced draft rules to Whitmer’s office. She approved the rules Oct. 11 after directing the development of PFAS standards earlier this year. The state wants the water standards in place by summer. When the committee reconvenes Nov. 14, it could choose to intervene and further review the proposed standards or allow the process to proceed unhindered. Any dispute ultimately goes to the governor and the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rulemaking. Whitmer’s office said they hope the committee will approve the draft rules at that meeting to avoid further delays. The proposed Michigan drinking water rules come amid a budding awareness of and response to PFAS pollution nationwide. Multiple states, including New York , New Hampshire, Vermont and California are in the process of establishing similar state-level standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency typically develops the drinking water standards before the states adopt them, but the EPA isn’t moving quickly enough on deciding whether to regulate the chemicals to satisfy several states, including Michigan. In 2018, Michigan tested about 1,380 public water systems and 460 schools, daycares and Head Start centers using well water. That testing found PFAS chemicals at some level in public drinking water serving nearly 1.5 million people around the state. ___ Information from: The Grand Rapids Press:MLive.com, http://www.mlive.com
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36088
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In the early 1900s, sideshow operator Dr. Martin Couney intervened for premature babies in a way that medical care at the time did not.
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Did a Coney Island Sideshow Save Hundreds of Premature Babies in the Early 1900s?
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true
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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On October 15 2019, a Facebook post with images relayed a purported history of neonatology and the role of a man named Dr. Martin Couney, who created a sideshow of tiny infants as a way of covering the costs of saving premature babies:Black-and-white images of a man, nurses, and small babies appeared alongside text that claimed in part that “thousands of premature infants” survived solely due to a “Coney Island entertainment sideshow”:At the time premature babies were considered genetically inferior, and were simply left to fend for themselves and ultimately die.Dr Martin Couney offered desperate parents a pioneering solution that was as expensive as it was experimental – and came up with a very unusual way of covering the costs … Couney created and ran incubator-baby exhibits on the island from 1903 to the early 1940s.Behind the gaudy facade, premature babies were fighting for their lives, attended by a team of medical professionals.To see them, punters paid 25 cents.The public funding paid for the expensive care, which cost about $15 a day in 1903 (the equivalent of $405 today) per incubator.Couney was in the lifesaving business, and he took it seriously. The exhibit was immaculate. When new children arrived, dropped off by panicked parents who knew Couney could help them where hospitals could not, they were immediately bathed, rubbed with alcohol and swaddled tight, then “placed in an incubator kept at 96 or so degrees, depending on the patient. Every two hours, those who could suckle were carried upstairs on a tiny elevator and fed by breast by wet nurses who lived in the building. The rest [were fed by] a funneled spoon. The smallest baby Couney handled is reported to have weighed a pound and a half.His nurses all wore starched white uniforms and the facility was always spotlessly clean.An early advocate of breast feeding, if he caught his wet nurses smoking or drinking they were sacked on the spot. He even employed a cook to make healthy meals for them.The incubators themselves were a medical miracle, 40 years ahead of what was being developed in America at that time. […]Today, one in 10 babies born in the United States is premature, but their chance of survival is vastly improved—thanks to Couney and the carnival babies.According to the text, Couney tried repeatedly to share his purported developments with hospitals of the time, but he was rebuffed. The poster linked to a New York Post book review as a source, and credited another Facebook user for the text. That article was published in July 2018 with the headline, “Fake doctor saved thousands of infants and changed medical history.” It read in part:What little is known about Martin Couney is that he was born in Prussia in 1869 as Michael Cohn and changed his name after immigrating to New York at 18.He does not appear to have had any medical credentials, and while he often claimed to be a protege of the world-renowned French doctor Pierre-Constant Budin, who popularized incubators in Europe, there is no evidence for this claim.What is true is that whatever his motive, he spent 40 years as the only medical hope for parents of babies born too early in New York City and beyond. [Author Dawn] Raffel estimates he saved between 6,500 and 7,000 lives.Incubators were invented in Europe in the late 19th century, the evolution of innovations from Russia, Germany and France. Couney claimed that in 1896, Budin, an actual pioneer in the field, sent him to display incubators at the Great Industrial Exhibition of Berlin. Rather than stand next to empty machines, Couney, referring to the displays as “child hatchery,” said he realized how much more effective it would be if they housed actual babies being saved for the public to see.Citing the book, the paper added:A reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, in a story headlined “Strangest Place on Earth for Human Tots to be Fed, Nursed and Cared For,” wrote that the idea of “haranguing the passing throng in an effort to divert its shekels for a spectacle so serious, not to say sacred, strikes one as questionable, almost repellent.” But by the end of the piece, the author’s impression had turned positive, praising the care the children received.In August 2016, author Claire Prentice wrote a piece for Smithsonian.com about Couney, noting of her research into his credentials that his career had always been controversial:Many in the medical professional viewed the “incubator doctor” with suspicion, others with outright hostility. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children had repeatedly accused Couney of exploiting the babies and endangering their lives by putting them on show.None of the complaints was sustained, and by the 1930s, Couney was finally being taken seriously as a medical pioneer. Couney’s professional collaboration with Hess marked a key stage in his habilitation.But while doing research for my radio documentary Life Under Glass, which is being broadcast on NPR stations around the country this August, and my book, Miracle at Coney Island, I made an incredible discovery about a man who has a claim to have changed the course of American neonatal medicine.Couney never actually qualified as a medical doctor … In the 1910 U.S. census, Couney listed his career as, “surgical instruments.” Though Couney claimed to be the inventor of an incubator, I have been unable to find any evidence that he registered an incubator patent in the U.S. More likely Couney was a technician. Yet by 1930 he was describing himself in the census as a “physician.”Prentice reported that Couney claimed to have saved around 6,500 premature babies facing nearly certain death at the time his sideshow act was in operation. Although she said that there was no real way of validating those claims, Prentice added that “pediatricians today acknowledge that the team of doctors and nurses which Couney assembled was highly skilled, ensuring the babies got the best care available in America at that time”:For this reason, Dr. Lawrence Gartner, pediatrician and professor emeritus at the University of Chicago believes Couney was an important figure in American medical history.“I wouldn’t dismiss Martin Couney at all,” says Gartner. “Martin Couney was well-respected by the medical community at that time. His operation was highly respected and well-known to physicians.”Prentice’s work was also profiled in a May 2016 BBC article, which featured some of Couney’s “graduates” and emphasized the detail of his operation — clinically sterile environments, starched white uniforms, and so on. That coverage noted that Couney wasn’t entirely averse to the “show” aspect of being a sideshow:Yet Couney was not averse to adopting a few showman’s tactics himself. He instructed the nurses to dress the babies in clothes several sizes too large to emphasize how small they were. A big bow tied around the middle of their swaddling clothes further added to the effect.A common thread in histories of medicine and premature infants was an historical lack of available technology to “save” them until relatively recent decades, and a broader notion that such neonates were “destined” to die because they were genetically “inferior.” (That belief has not been abandoned entirely, albeit with broader ranges.) A University of Pennsylvania Nursing history page corroborated some of this, mentioning Couney:At the turn of the twentieth century, a baby born prematurely (before thirty-eight to forty weeks gestation) had dismal prospects for survival. Except for a few scattered pockets of medical interest, the knowledge, expertise, and technology necessary to help these infants was not available. “Preemies” who survived more than a day or two were often labeled “weaklings” or “congenitally debilitated” implying an inherent frailty that did not bode for their future. Survival of these tiny infants depended on many factors, chief of which were the degree of prematurity and the infant’s weight at birth.French physicians introduced the closed infant incubator in the 1880s in response to governmental mandates to decrease the overall dismal French infant mortality rate. (Politicians feared the lack of sufficient soldiers for future wars). In Europe, displays of premature infants in their incubators began appearing in the late nineteenth century at national fairs and exhibitions. Dr. Martin Couney brought the shows to the United States in the late 1890s, and they continued until the 1940s. The small size of the infants, their placement in a machine similar to those used on farms for poultry incubation, and the encouragement of carnival style barkers stimulated the interest of the fair-going public.As the page indicated, the sideshow aspect engaged a public unaware of advances in preventing infant mortality. But those connotations also dissuaded the physicians of the time from embracing developing newer protocols, and doctors sometimes became misinformed about the novel life-saving measures:While entertaining, the incubator exhibit’s identification as a side show and location among midway entertainment spectacles initially prevented mainstream physicians from embracing incubators as substantive progress. Their faulty design also posed serious problems. Over- or underheated incubators caused potentially fatal errors. Many physicians, relying on anecdotal rather than statistical evidence, dismissed the incubator as ineffective and even dangerous. Some hospitals provided care for preemies using other means of providing warmth, including open incubators and more traditional methods such as warm bricks in cradles and rooms heated to ninety degrees or more.Not long after Couney’s work gained public attention, formal medicine also began to take notice:Through observation and clinical studies, physicians began to understand that premature infants needed individual attention and care. The addition of oxygen as a treatment for the respiratory distress prevalent in premature infants sealed the need for an individual approach to climate control.Many elements of Couney’s story remained constant in profiles of his life’s work and the effects it had on underserved parents and communities of the time. In 2015, PBS reported:Couney never charged parents for the care he provided, which also included rotating shifts of doctors and nurses looking after the babies. According to historian Jeffrey Baker, Couney’s exhibits “offered a standard of technological care not matched in any hospital of the time.”… Was Couney an evangelist or a showman? Medical historian Jeffrey Baker calls this “the essential question about Couney. I suspect he had a bit of both in him.” (For example, Couney was known to occasionally dress his preemies in overly-large baby clothes to emphasize how tiny they were. )For his part, Couney bristled at the idea that just because his work was on Coney Island, it wasn’t in the interest of childrens’ health. “All my life I have been making propaganda for the proper care of preemies, who in other times were allowed to die,” he told The New Yorker’s A.J. Liebling in 1939.Liebling’s 1939 New Yorker profile of Couney, published while neonatology was still nascent in medicine, contrasted Couney’s then-current efforts with public perception and provided background about the acclaim Couney received from medical authorities of that time:Nothing makes Dr. Couney angrier than the imputation that because he charges admission to his exhibit of babies, he is merely a showman. “All my life I have been making propaganda for the proper care of preemies, who in other times were allowed to die,” he says. “Everything I do is strict ethical.” This is the twenty-second exposition in which the Doctor has participated. He has always preferred to speak of his concessions as “institutions,” and often has had to scold the lecturers he hires to guide visitors through his concession for failing to do their work solemnly. Dr. Couney has written a sober, factual speech for them, but every now and then they inject what he calls smart-aleck wisecracks …Brother physicians take Dr. Couney more seriously than do the laymen who pay their two-bit pieces to gawk at his protégés. Doctors understand the technical difficulties of reconstructing, in the outside world, an environment equivalent to the mother’s womb. The incubators provide only a small part of the environment. “What is an incubator?” Dr. Couney sometimes demands rhetorically, and answers himself by saying, “A peanut roaster.” The physician’s vigilance and experience are more important than any incubator to the survival of a premature baby. Dr. Couney has handled at least four times as many of these babies as any other man in America. Dr. Julius Hays Hess of Chicago, the leading American academic authority on premature infants, probably ranks next in experience. As a young man he learned much from Dr. Couney (a debt which he goes out of his way to acknowledge), and he has been directing a premature-infant station in the Sarah Morris Hospital in Chicago since 1922. Dr. Couney has never even had a competitor at expositions or amusement parks. He has never taken a cent from the parents of a child under his care. The quarters paid at the gate maintain his establishment. It is evident, however, that through the years many more quarters have come in than have gone out, and Dr. Couney is not ashamed of that. During his lifetime he has earned more than the average general practitioner, but on the other hand decidedly less than a fashionable surgeon or internist.In August 1979, nearly three decades after Couney’s 1950 death [PDF], Pediatrics published an editorial by William Silverman about his impact on neonatology. In 1997, Silverman and several doctors submitted a letter to the editor of that journal, casting doubt on Couney’s influence and the originality of his ideas:Seventeen years ago, one of us [Silverman] reported the odd story of Martin Couney, the “incubator doctor,” who exhibited premature infants in side shows for 50 years beginning in 1896 at the “Berliner Gewerbe Ausstellung,” a trade fair. Couney claimed that Pierre Budin of Paris, the famous pioneer in premature infant care, sent him (Couney) to the Berlin exposition to exhibit a newly modified convection-ventilated incubator. A caveat was noted in the 1979 article in Pediatrics: “… the search has taken 28 years (so far), and some loose ends remain.” Sure enough, a short time after publication, Couney’s account began to unravel. Felix Marx, a reader in Bonn, Germany, saw the article and wrote to call attention to a relevant piece in a popular British magazine published in 1896. The profusely illustrated magazine article reported that Alexandre Lion of Nice invented a forced-air ventilated incubator in 1891, and exhibited premature infants to the public in “infant charities” in his city and in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Lyons. The British story discredited Couney’s claim of priority in the bizarre activity; and this “adjustment” to the story was duly reported to the readers of Pediatrics in a letter to the editor.Now additional clouds of doubt have been cast over the story. Leonore Ballowitz of Berlin, shortly before her untimely death in 1994, searched through the public archives in her city. She found the name of Lion, but was unable to find any mention of Couney.By all accounts, Couney’s legacy and his life-saving slideshow is polarizing. Many modern histories have focused on his credentials, and critiques published in journals have queried whether credit for the development of technology is accurately attributed to him.Fairly recent books about Martin Couney and his work seemed to focus on the effects of his “preemie sideshow” on the public versus the more analytical and semantic perspective adopted by academics. Researchers have said that Couney was most likely not a credentialed doctor, a claim that was corroborated by census data submitted by Couney himself. Although he may not have personally developed the technology used in the treatment of preemies, he described himself as a “propagandist” for them, and by all accounts saved thousands of lives — at no cost to parents. While modern doctors have viewed Couney with a critical eye, doctors of his day lauded his efforts as well as his ability to share his knowledge and advocate for neonates. Couney was quoted as saying that his “work [was] done” when modern medicine and hospitals began adopting the techniques he popularized.
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14562
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"In Ohio, more than half the providers of safe and legal abortion have had to shut down"" since Gov. John Kasich took office in 2011."
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"Richards said that ""more than half the providers of safe and legal abortion have had to shut down."" PolitiFact confirmed that since 2011, seven abortion providers have closed and an eighth stopped performing surgical abortions. That’s half of the previous 16 providers in the state -- not more than half. Also, four of the eight providers closed for reasons associated with provisions in HB 59, which Kasich signed. But that law hasn’t been directly tied to the other four abortion providers’ decisions to shut down."
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mixture
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Abortion, Ohio, Cecile Richards,
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"Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, told a crowd of women in Los Angeles how she really feels about the idea of Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, winning the presidential election: ""It would be a complete and utter disaster."" She continued, ""Gov. Kasich has come off as a moderate, only by comparison to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, but it’s really important to know in Ohio, more than half the providers of safe and legal abortion have had to shut down. He signed 17 separate bills to restrict reproductive access in the state."" We looked more closely to find out how many of Ohio’s abortion providers had closed, and whether it could be attributed to Kasich’s leadership. Ohio’s chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America has been keeping tabs on clinic closings and openings. They say that since 2011, Kasich’s first year in office, eight of the 16 surgical abortion clinics have closed or stopped performing abortions. A new provider in Akron opened in the summer of 2015, bringing the total number of functioning surgical abortion clinics in the state to nine. PolitiFact Ohio confirmed NARAL’s tally of closings in Ohio, in chronological order: February 2011, the Mahoning Valley Women’s Center, Youngstown June 2012, Capital Care Network, Columbus April 2013, Capital Care Network, Akron October 2013, Center for Choice, Toledo October 2013, Cleveland Center for Women’s Health June 2014, Cleveland Surgi-Center August 2014, Complete Healthcare for Women, Columbus August 2014, Women’s Medical Center of Cincinnati They key legislation that caused at least four of the clinics to close was passed in Ohio’s 2013 budget (HB 59). Kasich signed into law regulations that equate to a Catch-22 for abortion providers. HB 59 requires all ambulatory surgical facilities to have a transfer agreement with a local hospital to admit patients in case of emergency. At the same time, the law prohibits public hospitals from entering into transfer agreements with abortion providers. H.B. 59, 130th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ohio 2013) In 2013, the New York Times wrote about Ohio’s changing climate for women’s reproductive rights. ""Ohio has become a laboratory for what anti-abortion leaders call the incremental strategy — passing a web of rules designed to push the hazy boundaries of Supreme Court guidelines without flagrantly violating them."" Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, put it more succinctly last year, when the Columbus Dispatch quoted him as saying, ""The goal is to end abortion."" The transfer agreement legislation shut down Toledo’s Center for Choice; the center was unable to get a transfer agreement from a private hospital after legislation outlawed their agreement with the public University of Toledo Medical Center. Today, their phone number forwards calls to a clinic in Michigan, the next-closest location for women seeking surgical abortions in the area. Likewise, the Women’s Medical Center of Cincinnati was denied an exception to their transfer agreement from the Ohio Health Department and went to court to fight the decision in Hamilton County. The center lost in court and closed in August 2014. A representative at Cleveland’s Surgi-Center told PolitiFact that when their location’s lease was up in July 2014, they had to move, which meant applying for a new ambulatory surgical center license through the Ohio Department of Health. ""Knowing all the problems other clinics were having,"" the Surgi-Center stopped performing abortions. They still provide reproductive health services like STD screening and birth control. The Cleveland Center for Women’s Health closed in 2013 and relocated to Detroit, Mich., where there are fewer regulations for clinics that do abortions. The other four shuttered abortion providers closed for reasons that are not as directly tied to state regulations. The Mahoning Valley center in Youngstown closed as a business decision, according to NARAL. The Capital Care Network location in Akron closed after state inspectors identified safety violations that temporarily halted services, and the provider opted to close rather than correct the issues. In Columbus, Capital Care merged with Founders’ Women’s Health, another abortion provider. Finally, according to NARAL, the doctors with Complete Healthcare for Women, who still provide complete women’s health care services other than surgical abortions, never gave an explanation for why they stopped performing the procedures after 2014. Our ruling Richards said that ""more than half the providers of safe and legal abortion have had to shut down."" PolitiFact confirmed that since 2011, seven abortion providers have closed and an eighth stopped performing surgical abortions. That’s half of the previous 16 providers in the state -- not more than half. Also, four of the eight providers closed for reasons associated with provisions in HB 59, which Kasich signed. But that law hasn’t been directly tied to the other four abortion providers’ decisions to shut down."
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35244
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Time magazine covers from 2006 and 2017 highlighted articles warning about global warming and a pandemic.
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Across China, the virus that could spark the next pandemic is already circulating. It’s a bird flu called H7N9, and true to its name, it mostly infects poultry. Lately, however, it’s started jumping from chickens to humans more readily — bad news, because the virus is a killer. During a recent spike, 88% of people infected got pneumonia, three-quarters ended up in intensive care with severe respiratory problems, and 41% died.
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true
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Fauxtography
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Every crisis brings out the “I-told-you-so” contingent, the Cassandras who maintain after the fact that a realized danger was perfectly predictable (and therefore preventable). Unsurprisingly, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic of early 2020, a popular social media post displayed covers of Time magazine issues bearing prominent warnings about global warming and pandemic — from 2006 and 2017, respectively: These images of Time covers are real and correctly dated. The first, from the April 3, 2006, issue, bore headline banners about a “SPECIAL REPORT: GLOBAL WARMING” which implored us to “BE WORRIED. BE VERY WORRIED”: Polar Ice Caps Are Melting Faster Than Ever … More And More Land Is Being Devastated By Drought … Rising Waters Are Drowning Low-Lying Communities … The climate is crashing, and global warming is to blame. Why the crisis hit so soon — and what we can do about it Global warming is already disrupting the biological world, pushing many species to the brink of extinction and turning others into runaway pests. But the worst is yet to come. The second cover, from the May 15, 2017, issue, featured a large box proclaiming “WARNING: WE ARE NOT READY FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC” advertising a feature story on the subject of “The World Is Not Ready for the Next Pandemic” which opened as follows: On a hyperconnected planet rife with hyperinfectious diseases, experts warn we aren’t ready to keep America — and the world — safe from the next pandemic
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31810
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Cone-shaped skulls found in Latin America are of alien, not human, origin.
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We found no credible academic sources or publications corroborating the claim that DNA taken from the skulls found at Paracas was not human in origin or abnormal enough to warrant further study. The practice of purposely elongating skulls is well known to anthropologists, and while academics may debate the motivation certain societies had for doing it, there is no scientific debate over whether those societies were human.
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false
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Viral Phenomena, aliens, brian foerster, rationalwiki
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A story has been circulating around alien and UFO conspiracy web sites since 2014, alluding that DNA tests done on cone-shaped skulls found in the Paracas region of Peru show they are of extraterrestrial origin. The strange appearance of the skulls coupled with the outlandish claim continues to give the story legs, and it continues to make the rounds as of mid-January 2017: The director of the Paracas Museum of History sent five samples of the Paracas skulls to undergo genetic testing, and the results were mesmerizing. The samples which consisted of hair, skin teeth and some fragments of cranial bones gave incredible details that have fueled the mystery surrounding these anomalous skulls. The genetic laboratory to where the samples were sent was not informed of the origin of the skulls in order to avoid ‘influenced results.’ Interestingly, the mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from the mother, showed mutations that were unknown to any man, primate or animal found on planet Earth. The mutations present in the samples of the Paracas skulls suggest that researchers were dealing with a completely new ‘human-like being,’ very different from Homo sapiens, Neanderthals or Denisovans. The announcement in 2014 that the skulls had non-human DNA was originally promoted by Brien Foerster, a figure known for pseudoscience. As RationalWiki notes: Foerster has little in the way of relevant scientific qualifications but runs a tour company and was a regular on the very unscientific History Channel show Ancient Aliens, the museum is a private company owned by a man with no scientific qualifications, not an academic institution, and the results were announced not in a peer reviewed journal but on Facebook. Suspiciously, the geneticist who supposedly conducted the tests refused to own up and his or her identity was kept secret by Foerster. The elongated shape of the skulls is most likely due to a practice known to anthropologists called “artificial cranial deformation.” This has been practiced in a number of cultures from a wide variety of geographies, going back millennia: Experts speculate that the widespread tradition could stem from a host of motivations, not the least beauty. The latest hypothesis to join the list, however, is the belief that skull shaping could have been a boon for survival to some who practiced it, as proposed by Marta Alfonso-Durruty, an anthropologist at Kansas State University, and colleagues in a new research paper published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. The team examined 60 skulls from a group of hunter-gatherers that lived in Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego 2,000 years ago, Hogenboom writes. Thirty percent of the skulls showed signs of intentional deformation, the first evidence that people in Patagonia practiced such modification, which could have become widespread because, like tribal tattoos or team jerseys, it promoted group cohesion. Unlike clothing, however, body modification permanently differentiates in-group members from outsiders. In Patagonia however, the hunter gatherers with modified skulls lived in more diffuse groups, created by the need to move from place to place in search off food in a resource-scarce region. Building relationships with individuals to gain access to certain areas would have been valuable. Modified skulls could have served that purpose, signaling a trusted, connected person. The Paracas skulls are on display at the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History in Lima, Peru, and were first discovered in the 1920s by Peruvian archaeologist, Julio Tello. They are an apparent source of interest to paranormalists who search for signs of extraterrestrial or Biblical phenomena. Some web sites put forward the claim that the skulls belong to nephilim, Biblical creatures that, according to Genesis, were the offspring of gods and human women. This is not the first time a discovery of human remains with elongated skulls sparked the hopes of UFO enthusiasts. A 2015 discovery of a prehistoric woman in Russia, at a site known as Arkaim or “Russia’s Stonehenge,” with a similar deformity also created a buzz: Some believe that the skull’s high forehead is characteristic of the so-called “alien grey” often depicted as large-eyed and large-foreheaded beings in sci-fi films and even hoaxes. Archaeologists, though, are not convinced of the alien theory, saying that the bones belonged to a human who lived about 2,000 years ago. The scientists who shared photos of the discovery said that the body was likely from the second or third century after Christ. They also have a good explanation for the conehead skull. Archaeologists claim that the remains belonged to a woman from a 4,000 BC settlement, and the shape of the skull can be attributed to a tradition of the tribe that she belonged to. While both English and Spanish-language web sites have published pages of credulous stories about Foerster’s “discovery,” the Spanish-language skeptics blog Marcianitas Verdes notes: The Paracas culture was one of the ancient Andean villages that practiced skeletal modification. They wrapped their babies’ heads with rope, cloths and wooden boards in order to lengthen their skulls. This was done for spiritual or religious reasons, and scholars believe that it was an effort to look more like their deities. The web site delves into what may have caused the vague genetic abnormality supposedly found by Foerster’s investigation: At best it is not conclusive. DNA was identified as human, but with abnormalities; Anomalies that could be caused by any number of contaminants or defects in the process. It could be that this DNA actually provides unusual results, but the only thing that can be said about it at this point is that it requires more study. The sensational launch of unconfirmed and unverifiable information like this on a radio show is not worthy of the attention this story is receiving.
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11480
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New Blood Thinner Beats Plavix When Paired With Low-Dose Aspirin
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We feel several facets of the study should have been given more attention. Most notably, the drugmaker funded it. Given the ongoing FDA review, we think that’s pretty important. But read our full review for our questions about how the story covered (or didn’t cover) the evidence, benefits and cost issues at play. The path to approval of an investigational drug usually has many twists and turns. Brilinta is no exception. The pivotal trial for this platelet inhibitor was completed and based on the positive findings, the advisory board that reviewed the data voted to recommend approval. But there was an interesting sidebar. Brilinta did not work as well in preventing events in people with acute coronary syndrome as did a potential competitor, Plavix in the United States sites for the trial. Astra Zeneca wanted to know why. This latest report is a follow up examination of the original trial and the authors concluded that Brilinta and low dose aspirin worked a bit better that Plavix and aspirin. Patients treated with higher doses did not do as well.
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mixture
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HealthDay
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No discussion of costs. Ticagrelor isn’t available in the US. But its cost – where available elsewhere – could have been cited. Cost will certainly be an issue if it’s approved because its competitor, clopidogrel, will soon be available in the US as a generic drug. We have a few suggestions here. Most importantly, we think the take-home message of the study was too oversimplified. The headline claims that Brilinta “Beats Plavix When Paired With Low-Dose Aspirin.” In fact, this study was a geographic analysis to explain why Brilinta wasn’t better than Plavix in the US, unlike in other countries, and the lead conclusion was: “The regional interaction could arise from chance alone.” Next, it says that the aspirin dose was “a possible explanation.” In fact, since last year the dose of aspirin has been suggested as a possible explanation for the regional differences in Brilinta’s effects, and that hypothesis has generated controversy. This new study is important to raise our antennae and spur new research, but it wasn’t designed to prove the effect of aspirin. Of course, the article’s take-home message is the same one that many in the field (including the FDA) may derive from this study. The aspirin finding is most relevant to current practice, both for the use of ticagrelor globally now and perhaps soon in the US. It’s also valuable for thinking about aspirin in this setting in general. However, we think the context should not be boiled off from the message.
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35322
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The 1969 Woodstock music festival occurred during a pandemic as lethal as COVID-19.
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What's true: The Woodstock music festival took place in August 1969. The H3N2 influenza pandemic lasted between the winter of 1968 and the early months of 1970. What's false: The 1968 pandemic does not compare to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of lethality. Also, Woodstock did not take place during one of the Pandemic's seasonal peaks, but in the summer of 1969 when there was practically no reported H3N2 flu activity in the United States.
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mixture
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Medical, COVID-19
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In the winter of 1968, the H3N2 virus, also referred to as the “Hong Kong flu,” spread widely in the United States. Over the next 18 months, the pandemic killed an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. and 1 million worldwide, yet daily life, more or less, proceeded as if it were business as usual. There were no statewide lockdowns or mandatory mask requirements, and large public events, such as the Woodstock music festival, took place as scheduled. So what changed? Why did the U.S. operate under one set of guidelines during a pandemic in the 1960s only to implement much stricter rules during a pandemic in 2020? That’s the thrust of an article published by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) on May 1, 2020, under the headline “Woodstock Occurred in the Middle of a Pandemic.” Although the headline of this article is factually accurate (Woodstock took place in August 1969), the argument that government officials should be approaching all future pandemics the same way they did during the 1960s is flawed for several reasons. Let’s start with the basics. The world has seen a number of plagues and pandemics in its history, from the bubonic plague in the 1300s, which killed an estimated 200 million people, to smallpox, which killed an estimated 300 million people throughout the 20th century. Although these diseases may all have the same end result (sickness and death), they also vary in variety of ways, such as their lethality and incubation periods. Medicine, too, improves, and some diseases are more quickly met with treatments and vaccines than others. The bubonic plague, for example, still exists but can be easily treated with antibiotics. Every pandemic has unique challenges, yet the premise of the AIER article is based largely on the idea that the pandemic in the 1960s and the pandemic today involved two practically interchangeable diseases. After noting that the population in the U.S. was smaller in the 1960s (200 million compared to 330 million), the article states that “in terms of lethality, [H3N2] was as deadly and scary as COVID-19 if not more so.” But that really isn’t the case. While the 1968 flu was classified as a pandemic, this outbreak wasn’t as deadly as previous pandemics, such as the 1918 flu. Dr. David Morens, a senior scientific adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described the 1968 pandemic as “wimpy” compared to previous pandemics and noted that the total number of deaths wasn’t much different than the amount of deaths seen during an average flu season. Morens told us: The number of deaths caused by that pandemic in the first two years, 1968 and 1969, weren’t much higher than the average seasonal flu. So, it really was kind of a pandemic that was such a wimpy pandemic it didn’t make much of a blip on the radar screen. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Public Health that examined seasonal flu trends supports Morens’ assertion. This study found that the 1957 pandemic and the 1968 pandemic did “not stand out as exceptional outliers, nor were these pandemics visually discernible from non-pandemics in seasonal or monthly influenza mortality graphs.” While this flu analogy has been poorly used to describe COVID-19, it is an apt description for the H3N2 virus which, quite literally, continues to circulate as a variety of the seasonal flu. The H3N2 virus followed a seasonal flu pattern after its initial outbreak in 1968. Generally speaking, this means that the disease peaks during the winter months before waning in the summer. Here’s a chart from a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases showing the seasonal spread of H3N2. We added a red “X” to this chart to show when Woodstock occurred:Woodstock took place in the summer of 1969 when there were practically no reported cases of H3N2 in the U.S. The majority of U.S. deaths happened several months prior to this festival, and the second wave of this pandemic didn’t hit until a few months after. COVID-19 is not expected to follow a similar seasonal pattern. Although researchers are not entirely sure how the changing seasons will impact the spread of COVID-19, evidence exists that COVID-19 can spread in warmer climates. Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, wrote: The short answer is that while we may expect modest declines in the contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2 in warmer, wetter weather and perhaps with the closing of schools in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, it is not reasonable to expect these declines alone to slow transmission enough to make a big dent. The H3N2 virus proved to be less deadly than previous pandemics in part because it emerged approximately 10 years after the world dealt with a similar virus, H2N2, also called the “Asian flu.” As these two diseases both contained the N2 neuraminidase, populations that survived H2N2 had already built up immunity to the H3N2 virus. Morens told us: “In 1968, the US population had partial immunity. Because the 1968 virus was H3N2 and the 1957 virus was H2N2 so the whole population had a degree of protection related to the N2 neuraminidase. So the brakes were on this pandemic before it even appeared and we knew that early on.” A vaccine for this disease was also quickly developed (although it was not widely available) just a few months after the initial outbreak. On the other hand, there are no “specific treatments for COVID-19” and a vaccine is still months, if not years, away as of this writing. One of the arguments made in the AIER article is that the 1968 pandemic resulted in the deaths of 100,000 people, yet daily life, more or less, proceeded as normal. By comparison, the author argues, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed fewer people (as of this writing), yet has resulted in a major disruption of American life. When we take a closer look at these figures, however, we see that they aren’t truly comparable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 100,000 people died in the U.S. during the H3N2 pandemic, with the majority of deaths occurring during the first wave in 1968. This figure accounts for pandemic-related deaths over the span of approximately 18 months. Comparatively speaking, COVID-19 has so far resulted in more than 80,000 deaths over an approximate 4-month span. Morens told us: “It’s not comparable. It’s not comparable in a lot of ways but particularly in its mortality. It’s also not comparable in the effects of what would happen if you just let it go.” Of course, when we compare the death tolls from the 1968 pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, we also have to factor in the impact of social distancing and shelter-in place policies. While the 1968 pandemic saw some social distancing measures (more on that below), these guidelines were nowhere near as stringent as the policies put in place today. Generally speaking, H3N2 was allowed to spread unabated. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, on the other hand, the U.S. economy was basically shut down to slow the spread of the disease. But even with these extreme measures in place, COVID-19 resulted in more than 80,000 deaths during its first few months. If these social distancing measures were not put in place (i.e., if Woodstock-like festivals were allowed to go on as planned), it’s reasonable to assume that the death toll would be much higher. In fact, in April 2020, after some states started to relax their shelter-in place guidelines and allowed businesses to reopen, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington revised its death toll estimate for the beginning of August from 60,000 to 135,000: The institute wrote that the revisions reflected “rising mobility in most U.S. states as well as the easing of social distancing measures expected in 31 states by May 11, indicating that growing contacts among people will promote transmission of the coronavirus.” While the social-distancing measures implemented in 1968 were a far cry from the policies enacted 2020, it’s not accurate to say that “nothing closed” and “schools stayed open,” as the AIER article stated. We found several newspaper clippings from 1968 noting that schools, businesses, and even political ceremonies were impacted by H3N2: Fri, Dec. 13, 1968 – 9 · The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com A Getty Images photograph from December 1968 shows a nurse at Cleveland’s Grace Hospital in front of a sign announcing the temporary restriction of all visitors during the pandemic:
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7134
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Talk show host Williams taking time off for health reasons.
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Daytime talk show host Wendy Williams says she’s taking three weeks off on doctor’s orders.
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true
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Hyperthyroidism, Health, Entertainment, North America, Wendy Williams, Talk shows
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Williams says that her doctor told her to take the break to deal with her Graves’ Disease and hyperthyroidism. Reruns will air in her absence. Williams told her audience Wednesday that she’s been feeling like there are birds flying around her head, like a cartoon, and discussed other symptoms. She urged women in her audience not to neglect their health and to get regular check-ups. The talk show host is 53 and recently lost 50 pounds.
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4036
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Toxic lead removed from Paris schools after Notre Dame fire.
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Workers in full protective gear began Thursday to decontaminate some Paris schools tested with unsafe levels of lead following the blaze at the Notre Dame Cathedral, as part of efforts to protect children from risks of lead poisoning.
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true
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Lead poisoning, Paris, General News, Travel, Health, Fires, Travel, Poisoning, Europe
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Paris authorities ordered last month a deep clean and removal of hazardous substances at schools near the cathedral, which was seriously damaged in the April 15 blaze that sent tons of toxic lead from the metal roof into the air. The decontamination work is expected to be completed before children return to school in September. At Saint Benoit nursery and primary school, a few hundred meters away from Notre Dame, workers donning masks and white protective suits sprayed an adhesive product on the playground floor to keep the lead particles fixed on the surfacing before removing the first layer of the playground. They were planning to fully renovate it by the end of the month. Mickael Prestavoine, director of industrial operations at Seche Urgences Interventions, said a decision was made last week to “excavate the schoolyard” after local authorities conducted multiple tests that found lead on the surface material. Paris’ regional health agency recommended in June blood tests for children under 7 and pregnant women who live near Notre Dame as they are especially vulnerable to health problems from lead poisoning and exposure. Earlier this week, the agency said a young boy needs medical monitoring because tests showed that he was at risk of lead poisoning. Sixteen others were deemed to be just short of being “at risk” and will also be monitored as a precaution, out of a total of 162 children who have been tested for lead in Paris. Lead removal work at the cathedral itself is set to resume next week with stricter safety procedures after authorities suspended it last month under pressure from labor inspectors concerned about health risks for workers. Levels of lead remain exceptionally high at some spots inside the cathedral, in the plaza outside and on adjacent roads. Those areas have been closed to the public since April 15. However, no dangerous levels have been registered in other nearby streets, where tourists and residents continue to gather and souvenir shops and restaurants have reopened.
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35784
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U.S. President Donald Trump has been the target of multiple accusations that he raped children aged 13 and younger, and he paid at least $35 million to settle most of those claims.
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"What's true: A woman using the pseudonym ""Katie Johnson"" has twice filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein accusing them of having sexually abused her when she was 13 years old, but those lawsuits were dismissed or withdrawn. What's false: No evidence supports the claim that Trump has paid upwards of $35 million to silence accusations that he raped several children ranging in age from 10 to 13."
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false
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Politics
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Since January 2019, claims have circulated online that U.S. President Donald Trump has had to deal with multiple accusations that he raped children aged 13 and younger, paying out at least $35 million to settle most of those claims and ensure the silence of his victims: This meme contains one nugget of truth: A woman using the pseudonym “Katie Johnson” has twice filed a civil lawsuit accusing Trump and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein of having sexually abused her at parties held at the Manhattan homes of Epstein and Trump in 1994, when she was just 13 years old. However, her first complaint was dismissed by the court and the second was voluntarily withdrawn by Johnson, so the case is not “pending,” and no evidence has ever been offered in court to support Johnson’s allegations. Aside from that, everything else included in the meme appears to be nothing but sensationalistic fabrications. Information about the six entries listed after Johnson in this meme — children ranging from ages 10 to 13 who were supposedly raped by Trump but paid off by Trump’s “fixer” to remain silent — all stem from a single source: a Jan. 14-15, 2019, post from the Wayne Madsen Report (WMR), a blog published by a notorious conspiracy monger who has been described as an “Utterly deranged nutter with a mind unclouded by facts, evidence, or reason, who at least lets his bigotry shine through rather clearly in his ravings about world politics”: Here are a few of Wayne Madsen’s greatest scoops: Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik was an Israeli agent who murdered 69 people on behalf of his handlers in Tel Aviv. The attacks of 9/11 were masterminded in Israel and Washington, D.C., as a “false flag” operation. The 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole was also a “false flag” operation, executed by — you guessed it! — the Israelis. When not mumbling about the perfidious Jews, Madsen is enlightening readers on President Obama’s gay past (he wore “clear nail polish” and was a habitué of Chicago bathhouses), speculating that a “White House S&M ring order[ed] special videos from Abu Ghraib,” and reporting that President Bush’s “feces and urine are classified top secret” and “captured” from special toilets and “flown back from Europe.” The key passage from the referenced WMR article is the following: Donald Trump continues to lash out at his former lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, as the February 7 public testimony by Cohen before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), draws nearer. Cohen said he wants to “give a full and credible account of the events that have transpired.” While Cohen will avoid certain subjects still under investigation by Department of Justice special counsel Robert Mueller, he may provide some insight into the types of embarrassing things he “fixed” for Trump, before they ended up in scandalous court trials. This may include Cohen assisting Trump in paying off victims of Trump’s sexual assaults over the years. The cases go way beyond those widely reported in the mainstream press, WMR reports. They also go beyond cases that involve women and adults. They indicate Trump has a disturbing taste for children: In addition to Stephanie Clifford, aka porn actress “Stormy Daniels,” and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Cohen reportedly helped settle a number of rape cases involving Trump. WMR received a list from a reputable Republican source of these settlement claims, all of which involve male and female minors: (1) Michael Parker, 10-years old, oral rape, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, 1992. Trump paid his parents a $3 million settlement. (2) Kelly Feuer, 12-years old, $1 million settlement paid in 1989, allegations of forced intercourse, Trump Tower, NY, NY. (3) Charles Bacon, 11-years old, $3 million, allegations of oral and anal intercourse, 1994, Trump Tower, NY, NY. (4) Rebecca Conway, 13-years old, intercourse and oral sex. Trump Vineyard Estates, Charlottesville, VA, 2012, $5 million settlement. (5) Maria Olivera, 12-years old. Her family was paid $16 million to settle allegations of forcible intercourse occurring in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, 1993. (6) Kevin Noll, 11-years old, anal rape, Trump Tower, NY, NY. 1998. Settlement details unknown. This recounting presents a common, highly implausible trope used in the promulgation of wild conspiracy theories for which evidence is completely lacking: the unidentified (and therefore unverifiable) source who is in unique possession of secret information of monumental importance, but who does nothing with that information other than “leak” it to a marginal, disreputable website. Or, as the Encyclopedia of American Loons sarcastically observed, “Madsen knows a remarkable number of unidentified people who just happen to overhear or be told extremely secret information.” (Madsen had not yet responded to our request for comment at publication time.)
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18363
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"The IRS is ""going to be in charge of our health care."
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"Bachmann said the IRS is ""going to be in charge of our health care."" The IRS does play a number of key roles under the health care law, but it’s wrong to say it would ""be in charge"" of any American’s health care. The IRS won’t oversee interactions between doctors and patients, nor will it play any more of a role than confirming that exchange purchasers qualify for subsidies. Even within the government, HHS plays a much bigger role."
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false
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National, Health Care, Taxes, Michele Bachmann,
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"Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. is one of a number of Republican lawmakers who have recently sought to link the two longtime targets of conservatives -- the Internal Revenue Service and President Barack Obama’s health care law. In a May 15, 2013, interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Bachmann invoked an inspector general’s report critical of the IRS’ scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. She said, ""So now we find out these people are making decisions based on our politics and beliefs, and they're going to be in charge of our health care. There's a huge national database that's being created right now. Your health care, my health care, all the Fox viewers’ health care, their personal, intimate, most close to the vest secrets will be in that database, and the IRS is in charge of that database? So the IRS will have the ability potentially -- will they? -- to deny health care, to deny access, to delay health care? This is serious! Based upon our political beliefs? That's why we have to repeal Obamacare. And I still think it's possible."" We’ll be looking at a few claims from this exchange. In this item, we’ll look at whether there’s support for her claim that the IRS is ""going to be in charge of our health care."" The IRS has a number of roles in implementing the health care law -- the agency has posted a list that includes everything from levying additional payroll taxes on certain high-income Americans to taxation of medical devices and brand-name drugs. Its best known role, beginning in 2014, is to confirm that a taxpayer has health insurance and to assess a financial penalty if they do not. (The penalties start at $95 per adult in 2013 and rise to $695 per adult in 2016.) In another fact-check, we discussed another key role for the IRS -- approving subsidies for Americans seeking insurance on the newly created health exchanges. To do this, the IRS will need to check its databases to make sure an applicant is eligible to receive subsidies. But while we noted that any technical failures in carrying out this task could be problematic, it would be a huge stretch to say that this power puts the IRS ""in charge of our health care."" For one thing, most Americans will not see any dramatic change in how they obtain insurance, since the law leaves in place the existing system of health coverage provided by employers. In fact, in 2010, we chose the claim that the law amounts to a ""government takeover of health care"" as our Lie of the Year. To claim that one portion of the government -- the IRS -- is going to run health care is even more far-fetched. The IRS will have nothing to do with the nuts-and-bolts provision of health care to Americans. Even among federal agencies, the law puts far more responsibility in the hands of the Department of Health and Human Services. The department’s Web page on the health care law says that ""HHS is responsible for implementing many of the health reform changes included in the Affordable Care Act,"" including ""significant roles"" for an alphabet soup of HHS offices, including the Administration on Aging, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Indian Health Service, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The duties of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the health care law is expansive enough to fill a 5-foot by 10-foot chart, according to an op-ed by Mike Leavitt, who held the office under President George W. Bush. ""It puts more power than is prudent in the hands of one person,"" Leavitt wrote. Dan Kotman, a spokesman for Bachmann, explained her comment by saying that ""the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare only meets the constitutionality standard as a tax, and the entity in the United States that enforces tax policy is the IRS. If you don’t comply with Obamacare’s individual mandate, you will be answering to the IRS. That is clearly the context she’s talking within because she had just said, ‘The IRS, Greta, is the chief enforcer of Obamacare.’"" But several health policy experts agreed that’s not the same as the IRS being ""in charge of our health care."" William McBride, an economist with the business-backed Tax Foundation, said the IRS has been tasked with ""a tremendous amount"" and that the agency is in ""uncharted territory,"" but he added that he doubts the IRS ""will effectively control much of anything related to health care."" Other health policy specialists were even more blunt. ""Not accurate,"" said Gail Wilensky, who headed Medicare and Medicaid under President George H.W. Bush and who is now a health policy consultant. It’s a ""ludicrous statement,"" said Jonathan Oberlander, professor of social medicine and health policy and management at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Our ruling Bachmann said the IRS is ""going to be in charge of our health care."" The IRS does play a number of key roles under the health care law, but it’s wrong to say it would ""be in charge"" of any American’s health care. The IRS won’t oversee interactions between doctors and patients, nor will it play any more of a role than confirming that exchange purchasers qualify for subsidies. Even within the government, HHS plays a much bigger role."
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