diff --git "a/task16_healthfact_classification.json" "b/task16_healthfact_classification.json" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/task16_healthfact_classification.json" @@ -0,0 +1,1596 @@ +{ + "Contributors": [ + "Vansh Patel" + ], + "Source": [ + "HealthFact" + ], + "URL": [ + "https://huggingface.co/datasets/health_fact" + ], + "Categories": [ + "Fact Verification" + ], + "Reasoning": [ + "Textual Entailment -> Deductive Reasoning" + ], + "Definition": [ + "Given a paragraph and a claim, classify it this way: If the claim contradicts the evidence present in the paragraph, classify the claim as '0'. If the claim has multiple supporting *AND* contradicting evidences, classify the claim as '1'. If the claim has supporting evidence and the paragraph is in overall favor of the claim, then classify the claim as '2'." + ], + "Input_language": [ + "English" + ], + "Output_language": [ + "English" + ], + "Instruction_language": [ + "English" + ], + "Domains": [ + "Medical Knowledge" + ], + "Positive Examples": [ + { + "input": "Paragraph: While the financial costs of screening mammography&!1-positive recalls&biopsies were not included in the study,readers would benefit from being reminded that recall mammography&biopsies increase patient financial costs.This article leads with valuable information for all women over age 40 by stating \u201cGetting screening mammograms every two years instead of annually reduces the chance of a!1 alarm,a new study shows.\u201d Unfortunately the writer doesn\u2019t quantify or elaborate adequately on that reduction.Instead,the writer later focuses on how women undergoing screening mammography shouldn\u2019t be anxious if they experience a recall because over half of women who have screening mammograms for 10 years will be recalled.Readers would have been better served if the writer had emphasized the significant reduction in both recall mammograms&!1-positive biopsies in women who are screened every two years rather than annually.Part of the continuing controversy over screening mammography focuses on annual versus biennial screening.Because this study showed a significant reduction in the percentage of those recalled&needing biopsies among women who are screened every other year,with no statistically significant increase in late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer,the article should have emphasized those important findings.The piece states that the researchers noted that \u201c\u2026!1 positive recalls may cause inconvenience&anxiety and biopsies can cause pain and scarring.\u201d This article fails to include several important facts about the study.1)This is a prospective cohort study of women screened between 1994-2006.2)Most of the mammograms were film rather than digital.3)Few women underwent screening for the entire 10 year period.4)Screening mammography recall rates are influenced by the skill of the radiologists who read the mammograms.There was no disease mongering.No independent experts were quoted.The story did an adequate job comparing \u2013 at a very high level \u2013 annual screening versus biennial screening.Screening mammography is widely available throughout the United States.The study did not examine a new procedure.There\u2019s no evidence that the story relied solely on a news release. \nClaim: Annual Mammograms May Have More False-Positives", + "output": "1", + "explanation": "This article reports on the results of a study of nearly 170,0 women who had screening mammograms beginning between age 40-59.The study found that over ten years of screening mammograms,over half of the women will experience a!1-positive recall for additional mammography.In addition,7%-9%of the women will have a biopsy for a suspicious lump which is not cancerous.Both of those percentages decrease if the woman is screened every other year rather than every year.Even with biennial mammography,41%of women will experience a recall over 10 years of mammography.The study\u2019s Principal Investigator emphasized that \u201cin most cases,a recall doesn\u2019t mean you have cancer.\u201d She hoped this knowledge would reduce the anxiety of women who are recalled.The story never explained the size of the decrease in the number of!1 positives between annual(61.3%) and biennial screening(41.6%).Our first two reviewers were a researcher who specializes in health decisions and a breast cancer survivor trained in evidence by the Natiional Breast Cancer Coalition\u2019s Project LEAD.This study is valuable because it helps to quantify and compare the harms of annual and biennial screening,specifically the number of!1 positives and the number of unnecessary biopsies.Prior to this study,estimates of!1 positive screening mammography rates varied widely.The critical question is whether you can do less frequent screening,subject women to fewer harms and get similar results in terms of detection of \u201cearly stage\u201d cancer.This study\u2019s data seems to suggest that answer is yes." + }, + { + "input": "Paragraph: The news release quotes lead researcher Robert Meier,MD,saying previous studies have shown SBRT to be \u201ca cost-effective and faster alternative to IMRT\u201d but does not provide any detail as to the specific costs of either procedure. In fact,the difference is substantial. A 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examined Medicare claims data showed a mean treatment cost of $13,645 for SBRT versus $21,023 for IMRT. And a 2012 study in the Journal of Oncology Practice concluded that SRBT has \u201cgreat potential cost savings\u201d for the health care system,with an average cost of $22,152 versus $35,431 for IMRT. One could also consider the cost of side effects as well as need for future treatments. The news release gives a lot of data. It states that 97 percent of patients were free from prostate cancer progression after five years,exceeding a historical control of 93 percent. It also says that fewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal,reproductive,and urinary systems,and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity. However,the news release does not attempt to say how these rates compare with other treatment options,which would help readers put the data in perspective. There are important caveats left out in the description of findings that are discussed under the evidence criterion. The news release states that between half and two-thirds of patients experienced low,\u201cusually temporary\u201d rates of toxicities. It also notes that \u201cfewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal,reproductive,and urinary systems,and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity.\u201d A few more details here would be helpful. For example,how many patients experienced a decline in urinary or sexual function,and for what period of time? And what are other potential risks of radiation therapy? The real question is how do these harms compare to other treatments? That was not assessed in this study. The news release gives some details to help readers understand how the study was conducted. However,it neglects to include several key points. First,the patients enrolled are from a very low risk population in terms of measuring benefit. The statement that these results compare favorably to historical controls at 5 years misses the point that the risk of death for this patient population isn\u2019t seen until 10-15 years at the earliest. Second,without a contemporaneous comparison group,it should be stated that these results are subject to misinterpretation \u2014 both in terms of benefits,which are likely to be equally good with almost any other treatment (and some would argue active surveillance without treatment),and harms. Finally,it isn\u2019t clear who this population represents. If these are younger men in their 50s and 60s,side effects are important but the long- term efficacy (beyond 5 years) is critical. If the men are over 70,one can argue whether they needed to treat the low risk group at all. In summary,this is a case series with no contemporaneous comparison group among a population with low risk prostate cancer where 5 year follow-up is inadequate to say that the treatment was successful in preventing progressive disease. The release could have included some cautions that the lead researcher discussed in a published paper in 2015. For example,he states that more radiation effects on adjacent organs might be observed after longer follow-up,and \u201cfirm conclusions about the efficacy and toxicity of SBRT relative to more conventional approaches await scrutiny by prospective randomized trials.\u201d The news release does not commit mongering. However,as noted above,the patients enrolled in the trial were a very low risk population and one could argue that some of these patients may not have needed treatment at all. The news release does not say how the study was funded or whether any of the investigators have conflicts of interest. In papers on the topic published in 2015,the researchers declared no conflicts of interest. Some of the men in the study had a low-risk form of prostate cancer,which might have made them eligible for active surveillance rather than surgery. That option is not discussed in the news release. As mentioned in the quantifying benefits section,the news release does mention that this type of radiotherapy was compared with standard radiotherapy,although it was not directly studied. The news release states that patients in the trial were treated at 21 academic,regional,and community medical centers,which suggests that SRBT is widely available. The release claims novelty with this statement:\u201cOur study is the first to contribute multi-center data that support the use of SBRT as front-line therapy for men with prostate cancer.\u201d But it also states that SRBT for prostate cancer has been studied at other institutions,and that the procedure has become a standard of care for some lung cancer cases. It does not claim that this is a novel procedure. The news release does not contain any unjustifiable or sensational language. But as noted above,the favorable results in terms of benefit are not surprising and attributing them to the treatment could be viewed as unjustified. \nClaim: SBRT Offers Prostate Cancer Patients High Cancer Control and Low Toxicity in Fewer Treatments", + "output": "1", + "explanation": "This news release describes five-year outcomes for 309 men with early-stage prostate cancer who received stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT),which delivers targeted doses of radiation cheaper and faster than the prevailing radiation therapy treatment for prostate cancer. The study measured the rates of severe injury to surrounding tissues and disease-free survival. The news release said it\u2019s the first large,multi- institutional study of this technology in prostate cancer with long-term follow-up,involving patients at 21 community,regional,and academic hospitals across the U.S. The release does a good job of quantifying the evidence but could have helped readers better understand the implications of the data by giving cost and safety comparisons with other radiation treatment,and by discussing limitations related to using a historical control group (rather than a contemporaneous control group) which introduces potential for bias. The release is based on a study presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual conference. The study abstract can be found on page 4 of this document. Prostate cancer is a commonly diagnosed condition in men that is associated with aging. Many patients don\u2019t realize that prostate cancer is not a uniformly fatal disease. For men with low risk disease,active surveillance without treatment is a viable option. Even for men with higher risk disease where treatment is warranted,one needs to follow patients for 10-15 years to identify a survival benefit from treatment. This is useful context to keep in mind when examining this new study of patients with low and intermediate risk prostate cancer. The results present a rosy picture of SBRT,in terms of both benefits and harms. However,without a contemporaneous control group,such as those receiving intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or even active surveillance,one cannot be sure that these favorable results are due to the treatment itself or the patients who were selected for treatment. Comparing results of individuals who are likely to live a long time with their disease to those treated at some point in the past is rife with problems and such studies,called case series,are deemed to be low on the ladder of scientific rigor. Even the low rate of complications,while very reassuring,still would benefit from a comparison to patients treated with other forms of radiation at the same time period." + } + ], + "Negative Examples": [ + { + "input": "Paragraph: The story does discuss costs,but the framing is problematic. The story,based on a conversation with one source,the study\u2019s lead investigator,says,\u201cIt\u2019s difficult at this point to predict costs. However,he expects costs will not approach those for Provenge,the pricey treatment vaccine for prostate cancer approved by the FDA in 2010. Provenge costs $93,0 for the one-month,three- dose treatment. Medicare covers it.\u201d This tells readers that,no matter what the drug costs,Medicare likely will cover it. We appreciate the effort to bring cost information into the story,but this type of information is misleading. The story does explain that only one patient remains cancer free following the study. It then details how for most of the patients cancer continued to progress after 2 months. It says that the median overall survival in both the breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients was less than 16 months. But the story is framed in such a way to highlight the one potentially positive outcome of the study and to downplay the negative. We read more sooner about the one patient who may have responded well to the vaccine than we do about the 25 other patients who did not. The story mentions side effects in a satisfactory way. Technically,the story provides readers with much of the information they would need to assess the validity of the study,but it comes out in bits and pieces. For example,we only find out near the end of the story that \u201cThe woman,who remains disease-free,had a previous treatment with a different treatment vaccine. \u2018That might have primed her immune system,\u2019 Gulley speculates. She also had only one regimen of chemotherapy,perhaps keeping her immune system stronger.\u201d This casts much doubt on the study\u2019s design,and it would have been nice to have seen some outside expertise brought in to either discuss those design problems or to torpedo the story altogether. Again,the story deserves high marks for being very specific in the lead and throughout the story. It says,that the vaccine is \u201cfor breast and ovarian cancer that has spread to other parts of the body\u201d in the lead and later details the particular circumstances of the study cohort. It says,\u201cThe patients had already undergone a variety of treatments but the cancer was progressing. Twenty one of the 26 had undergone three or more chemotherapy regimens.\u201d This is the root of the story\u2019s main shortcoming. Almost all of the information in the story comes from one source:Dr. James Gulley,who oversaw the study. Gulley is quite enthusiastic about this vaccine,despite the evidence,and the story needed more perspectives to put this vaccine into a broader context. At the very end,there are a few comments from Dr. Vincent K. Tuohy,who also is working on a breast cancer vaccine. Because of his competing research,he seems to have a conflict,but even putting that aside,his comments were not used to their best effect. There was no comparison in the story to existing alternatives. The median survival,for example,is presented without the context of how long these patients might have lived had they been undergoing standard chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We give high marks to the story for saying right in the lead that the findings are from \u201ca preliminary study in 26 patients.\u201d That tells readers both that the findings need to be interpreted with caution and that the treatment is not available to most people. The concept of vaccines for breast/ovarian cancer is indeed novel,and the story acknowledges that other vaccines are being studied. The story does not rely on a news release. \nClaim: Study: Vaccine for Breast, Ovarian Cancer Has Potential", + "output": "0", + "explanation": "While the story does many things well,the overall framing of the story is that the vaccine \u201cshows promise,\u201d when the evidence actually points in the other direction.Because only one patient in the study remains cancer free and because that patient may very well have benefited from an earlier cancer vaccine and other complicating factors,we question the decision to write this story in the first place.Right now,there more than 10,0 cancer-related clinical trials recruiting patients.Cancer has foiled scientists repeatedly with treatments that initially seemed promising in the laboratory or in a very small group of people and later proved unworkable on a larger scale.It\u2019s a difficult task \u2014 but a crucial one \u2014 for reporters to ask tough questions of the evidence and a wide range of sources before deciding whether one of these thousands of experimental treatment options merits coverage. This shows that the claim is True and the output is incorrect." + } + ], + "Instances": [ + { + "id": "task1366-00ff2256fce54aefb72a28612ce62df4", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Hillary Clinton is in the political crosshairs as the author of a new book alleges improper financial ties between her public and personal life. At issue in conservative author Peter Schweizer\u2019s forthcoming book Clinton Cash are donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Foundation during the four years she served as secretary of state. George Stephanopoulos used an interview with Schweizer on ABC This Week to point out what other nonpartisan journalists have found: There is no \"\"smoking gun\"\" showing that donations to the foundation influenced her foreign policy decisions. Still, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the donations are \"\"clearly illegal\"\" under federal law. In his view, a donation by a foreign government to the Clinton Foundation while Clinton was secretary of state is the same as money sent directly to her, he said, even though she did not join the foundation\u2019s board until she left her post. \"\"The Constitution of the United States says you cannot take money from foreign governments without explicit permission of the Congress. They wrote that in there because they knew the danger of corrupting our system by foreign money is enormous,\"\" Gingrich said. \"\"You had a sitting secretary of state whose husband radically increased his speech fees, you have a whole series of dots on the wall now where people gave millions of dollars \u2014 oh, by the way, they happen to get taken care of by the State Department.\"\" He continued, \"\"My point is they took money from foreign governments while she was secretary of State. That is clearly illegal.\"\" PunditFact wanted to know if a criminal case against Clinton is that open and shut. Is what happened \"\"clearly illegal\"\"? A spokesman for the Clinton Foundation certainly disagreed, calling Gingrich\u2019s accusation \"\"a baseless leap\"\" because Clinton was not part of her husband\u2019s foundation while serving as a senator or secretary of state. We did not hear from Gingrich by our deadline. Foundation basics Former President Clinton started the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2001, the year after Hillary Clinton won her first term as a New York senator. The foundation works with non-governmental organizations, the private sector and governments around the world on health, anti-poverty, HIV/AIDS and climate change initiatives. Spokesman Craig Minassian said it\u2019s reasonable for the foundation to accept money from foreign governments because of the global scope of its programs, and the donations are usually in the form of tailored grants for specific missions. Hillary Clinton was not part of her husband\u2019s foundation while she was a senator or\u00a0secretary of state. Her appointment to the latter post required Senate confirmation and came with an agreement between the White House and Clinton Foundation that the foundation would be more transparent about its donors. According to the 2008 memorandum of understanding, the foundation would release information behind new donations and could continue to collect donations from countries with which it had existing relationships or running grant programs. If countries with existing contributions significantly stepped up their contributions, or if a new foreign government wanted to donate, the State Department would have to approve. Clinton took an active role in fundraising when she left the State Department and the foundation became the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013. But she left the board when she announced her run for the presidency in April 2015. The Emoluments Clause So how does Gingrich come up with the claim that Clinton Foundation donations are \"\"clearly illegal\"\" and unconstitutional? The answer is something known as the Emoluments Clause. A few conservative websites have made similar arguments in recent days, including the Federalist blog. The Emoluments Clause, found in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, reads in part: \"\"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.\"\" The framers came up with this clause to prevent the government and leaders from granting or receiving titles of nobility and to keep leaders free of external influence. (An emolument, per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is \"\"the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites.\"\") Lest you think the law is no longer relevant, the Pentagon ethics office in 2013 warned employees the \"\"little known provision\"\" applies to all federal employees and military retirees. There\u2019s no mention of spouses in the memo. J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Africa Center, said interpretation of the clause has evolved since its adoption at the Constitutional Convention, when the primary concern was about overseas diplomats not seeking gifts from foreign powers they were dealing with. The Defense Department memo, in his view, goes beyond what the framers envisioned for the part of the memo dealing with gifts. \"\"I think that, aside from the unambiguous parts, the burden would be on those invoking the clause to show actual causality that would be in violation of the clause,\"\" Pham said. Expert discussion We asked seven different constitutional law experts on whether the Clinton Foundation foreign donations were \"\"clearly illegal\"\" and a violation of the Emoluments Clause. We did not reach a consensus with their responses, though a majority thought the layers of separation between the foundation and Hillary Clinton work against Gingrich. The American system often distinguishes between public officers and private foundations, \"\"even if real life tends to blur some of those distinctions,\"\" said American University law professor Steve Vladeck. Vladeck added that the Emoluments Clause has never been enforced. \"\"I very much doubt that the first case in its history would be because a foreign government made charitable donations to a private foundation controlled by a government employee\u2019s relative,\"\" he said. \"\"Gingrich may think that giving money to the Clinton Foundation and giving money to then-Secretary Clinton are the same thing. Unfortunately for him, for purposes of federal regulations, statutes, and the Constitution, they\u2019re formally \u2014 and, thus, legally \u2014 distinct.\"\" Robert Delahunty, a University of St. Thomas constitutional law professor who worked in the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel from 1989 to 2003, also called Gingrich\u2019s link between Clinton and the foreign governments\u2019 gifts to the Clinton Foundation as \"\"implausible, and in any case I don\u2019t think we have the facts to support it.\"\" \"\"The truth is that we establish corporate bodies like the Clinton Foundation because the law endows these entities with a separate and distinct legal personhood,\"\" Delahunty said. John Harrison, University of Virginia law professor and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel from 1990 to 1993, pointed to the Foreign Gifts Act, 5 U.S.C. 7432, which sets rules for how the Emoluments Clause should work in practice. The statute spells out the minimal value for acceptable gifts, and says it applies to spouses of the individuals covered, but \"\"it doesn\u2019t say anything about receipt of foreign gifts by other entities such as the Clinton Foundation.\"\" \"\"I don\u2019t know whether there\u2019s any other provision of federal law that would treat a foreign gift to the foundation as having made to either of the Clintons personally,\"\" Harrison said, who added that agencies have their own supplemental rules for this section, and he did not know if the State Department addressed this. Other experts on the libertarian side of the scale thought Gingrich was more right in his assertion. Clinton violates the clause because of its intentionally broad phrasing about gifts of \"\"any kind whatever,\"\" which would cover indirect gifts via the foundation, said Dave Kopel, a constitutional law professor at Denver University and research director at the libertarian Independence Institute. Kopel also brought up bribery statutes, which would require that a gift had some influence in Clinton\u2019s decision while secretary of state. Delahunty thought Kopel\u2019s reasoning would have \"\"strange consequences,\"\" such as whether a state-owned airline flying Bill Clinton to a conference of former heads of state counted\u00a0as a gift to Hillary Clinton. Our ruling Gingrich said the Clinton Foundation \"\"took money from from foreign governments while (Hillary Clinton) was secretary of state. It is clearly illegal. \u2026 The Constitution says you can\u2019t take this stuff.\"\" A clause in the Constitution does prohibit U.S. officials such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from receiving gifts, or emoluments, from foreign governments. But the gifts in this case were donations from foreign governments that went to the Clinton Foundation, not Hillary Clinton. She was not part of the foundation her husband founded while she was secretary of state. Does that violate the Constitution? Some libertarian-minded constitutional law experts say it very well could. Others are skeptical. What\u2019s clear is there is room for ambiguity, and the donations are anything but \"\"clearly illegal.\"\" The reality is this a hazy part of U.S. constitutional\u00a0law. Claim: \"The money the Clinton Foundation took from from foreign governments while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state \"\"is clearly illegal. \u2026 The Constitution says you can\u2019t take this stuff.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b4801a384ac5403ebaec896bd9da8402", + "input": "Paragraph: While the financial costs of screening mammography & false-positive recalls & biopsies were not included in the study, readers would benefit from being reminded that recall mammography & biopsies increase patient financial costs. This article leads with valuable information for all women over age 40 by stating \u201cGetting screening mammograms every two years instead of annually reduces the chance of a false alarm, a new study shows.\u201d\u00a0 Unfortunately the writer doesn\u2019t quantify or elaborate adequately on that reduction. Instead, the writer later focuses on how women undergoing screening mammography shouldn\u2019t be anxious if they experience a recall because over half of women who have screening mammograms for 10 years will be recalled. Readers would have been better served if the writer had emphasized the significant reduction in both recall mammograms & false-positive biopsies in women who are screened every two years rather than annually. Part of the continuing controversy\u00a0over screening mammography\u00a0focuses on\u00a0annual versus biennial screening. Because this\u00a0study showed a significant reduction in the percentage of those recalled & needing biopsies among women who are screened\u00a0every other year, with no\u00a0statistically significant increase in late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer, the article should\u00a0have emphasized those important findings. The piece states that the researchers noted that \u201c\u2026false positive recalls may cause inconvenience & anxiety and biopsies can cause pain and scarring.\u201d This article fails to include several important facts about the study. 1) This is a prospective cohort study of women screened between 1994-2006. 2) Most of the mammograms were film rather than digital. 3) Few women underwent screening for the entire 10 year period. 4) Screening mammography recall rates are influenced by the skill of the radiologists who read the mammograms. There was no disease mongering. No independent experts were quoted. The story did an adequate job comparing \u2013 at a very high level \u2013 annual screening versus biennial screening. Screening mammography is widely available throughout the United States. The study did not examine a new procedure. There\u2019s no evidence that the story relied solely on a news release. Claim: Annual Mammograms May Have More False-Positives", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3dbc8f5e9f5c43d4a9161cd9b1195df5", + "input": "Paragraph: The news release quotes lead researcher Robert Meier, MD, saying previous studies have shown SBRT to be \u201ca cost-effective and faster alternative to IMRT\u201d but does not provide any detail as to the specific costs of either procedure. In fact, the difference is substantial. A 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examined Medicare claims data showed a mean treatment cost of $13,645 for SBRT versus $21,023 for IMRT. And a 2012 study in the Journal of Oncology Practice concluded that SRBT has \u201cgreat potential cost savings\u201d for the health care system, with an average cost of $22,152 versus $35,431 for IMRT. One could also consider the cost of side effects as well as need for future treatments. The news release gives a lot of data. It states that 97 percent of patients were free from prostate cancer progression after five years, exceeding a historical control of 93 percent. It also says that fewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems, and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity. However, the news release does not attempt to say how these rates compare with other treatment options, which would help readers put the data in perspective. There are important caveats left out in the description of findings that are discussed under the evidence criterion. The news release states that between half and two-thirds of patients experienced low, \u201cusually temporary\u201d rates of toxicities. It also notes that \u201cfewer than 2 percent of patients experienced severe toxicities in their gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems, and no patients reported life-threatening or fatal toxicity.\u201d A few more details here would be helpful. For example, how many patients experienced a decline in urinary or sexual function, and for what period of time? And what are other potential risks of radiation therapy? The real question is how do these harms compare to other treatments? That was not assessed in this study. The news release gives some details to help readers understand how the study was conducted. However, it neglects to include several key points. First, the patients enrolled are from a very low risk population in terms of measuring benefit. The statement that these results compare favorably to historical controls at 5 years misses the point that the risk of death for this patient population isn\u2019t seen until 10-15 years at the earliest. Second, without a contemporaneous comparison group, it should be stated that these results are subject to misinterpretation \u2014 both in terms of benefits, which are likely to be equally good with almost any other treatment (and some would argue active surveillance without treatment), and harms. Finally, it isn\u2019t clear who this population represents. If these are younger men in their 50s and 60s, side effects are important but the long-term efficacy (beyond 5 years) is critical. If the men are over 70, one can argue whether they needed to treat the low risk group at all. In summary, this is a case series with no contemporaneous comparison group among a population with low risk prostate cancer where 5 year follow-up is inadequate to say that the treatment was successful in preventing progressive disease. The release could have included some cautions that the lead researcher discussed in a published paper in 2015. For example, he states that more radiation effects on adjacent organs might be observed after longer follow-up, and \u201cfirm conclusions about the efficacy and toxicity of SBRT relative to more conventional approaches await scrutiny by prospective randomized trials.\u201d The news release does not commit mongering. However, as noted above, the patients enrolled in the trial were a very low risk population and one could argue that some of these patients may not have needed treatment at all. The news release does not say how the study was funded or whether any of the investigators have conflicts of interest. In papers on the topic published in 2015, the researchers declared no conflicts of interest. Some of the men in the study had a low-risk form of prostate cancer, which might have made them eligible for active surveillance rather than surgery. That option is not discussed in the news release. As mentioned in the quantifying benefits section, the news release does mention that this type of radiotherapy was compared with standard radiotherapy, although it was not directly studied. The news release states that patients in the trial were treated at 21 academic, regional, and community medical centers, which suggests that SRBT is widely available. The release claims novelty with this statement: \u201cOur study is the first to contribute multi-center data that support the use of SBRT as front-line therapy for men with prostate cancer.\u201d But it also states that SRBT for prostate cancer has been studied at other institutions, and that the procedure has become a standard of care for some lung cancer cases. It does not claim that this is a novel procedure. The news release does not contain any unjustifiable or sensational language. But as noted above, the favorable results in terms of benefit are not surprising and attributing them to the treatment could be viewed as unjustified. Claim: SBRT Offers Prostate Cancer Patients High Cancer Control and Low Toxicity in Fewer Treatments", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-1e03f1a49997432b82656065f31ec38c", + "input": "Paragraph: The story does discuss costs, but the framing is problematic. The story, based on a conversation with one source, the study\u2019s lead investigator, says, \u201cIt\u2019s difficult at this point to predict costs. However, he expects costs will not approach those for Provenge, the pricey treatment vaccine for prostate cancer approved by the FDA in 2010. Provenge costs $93,000 for the one-month, three-dose treatment. Medicare covers it.\u201d This tells readers that, no matter what the drug costs, Medicare likely will cover it. We appreciate the effort to bring cost information into the story, but this type of information is misleading. The story does explain that only one patient remains cancer free following the study. It then details how for most of the patients cancer continued to progress after 2 months. It says that the median overall survival in both the breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients was less than 16 months. But the story is framed in such a way to highlight the one potentially positive outcome of the study and to downplay the negative. We read more sooner about the one patient who may have responded well to the vaccine than we do about the 25 other patients who did not. The story mentions side effects in a satisfactory way. Technically, the story provides readers with much of the information they would need to assess the validity of the study, but it comes out in bits and pieces. For example, we only find out near the end of the story that \u201cThe woman, who remains disease-free, had a previous treatment with a different treatment vaccine. \u2018That might have primed her immune system,\u2019 Gulley speculates. She also had only one regimen of chemotherapy, perhaps keeping her immune system stronger.\u201d This casts much doubt on the study\u2019s design, and it would have been nice to have seen some outside expertise brought in to either discuss those design problems or to torpedo the story altogether. Again, the story deserves high marks for being very specific in the lead and throughout the story. It says, that the vaccine is \u201cfor breast and ovarian cancer that has spread to other parts of the body\u201d in the lead and later details the particular circumstances of the study cohort. It says, \u201cThe patients had already undergone a variety of treatments but the cancer was progressing. Twenty one of the 26 had undergone three or more chemotherapy regimens.\u201d This is the root of the story\u2019s main shortcoming. Almost all of the information in the story comes from one source: Dr. James\u00a0Gulley, who oversaw the study. Gulley is quite enthusiastic about this vaccine, despite the evidence, and the story needed more perspectives to put this vaccine into a broader context. At the very end, there are a few comments from Dr. Vincent K. Tuohy, who also is working on a breast cancer vaccine. Because of his competing research, he seems to have a conflict, but even putting that aside, his comments were not used to their best effect. There was no comparison in the story to existing alternatives. The median survival, for example, is presented without the context of how long these patients might have lived had they been undergoing standard chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We give high marks to the story for saying right in the lead that the findings are from \u201ca preliminary study in 26 patients.\u201d That tells readers both that the findings need to be interpreted with caution and that the treatment is not available to most people. The concept of vaccines for breast/ovarian cancer is indeed novel, and the story acknowledges that other vaccines are being studied. The story does not rely on a news release. Claim: Study: Vaccine for Breast, Ovarian Cancer Has Potential", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-17080b5239774d0e89da72f44282dfa9", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Although the story didn\u2019t cite the cost of appendectomy \u2013 emergency or urgent surgery \u2013 and we wish it had, we nonetheless will give it a satisfactory score because it at least cited what the editorial writer wrote, \"\"A secondary benefit is the savings to the hospital generated by minimizing staff and anesthesiologist presence late in the evening and during the wee hours of the morning.\"\" As with our harms score above, although the story didn\u2019t give absolute numbers, in this case we think it was sufficient for it to report that \"\"The scientists found no significant difference among the groups in the patients\u2019 condition 30 days after surgery or in the length of their operation or hospital stay.\"\" Although the story didn\u2019t give absolute numbers, in this case we think it was sufficient for it to report that \"\"The scientists found no significant difference among the groups in the patients\u2019 condition 30 days after surgery or in the length of their operation or hospital stay.\"\" Despite running less than 300 words, this story did an adequate job in explaining the quality of the evidence, including pointing out limitations. No disease-mongering here. The story meets the bare minimum requirement for this criterion in that it at least cited what an editorial stated. The focus of the story was on a study comparing emergency appendectomy with surgery done up to 12 hours later or beyond. This is the whole focus of the story \u2013 and one we applaud \u2013 when it begins:\u00a0 \"\"Appendectomy is the most common emergency surgery in the world, but it doesn\u2019t have to be.\"\" There were no claims made about the novelty of this research, and we may have wished for a bit more context on this. Nonetheless, the potential for guiding future care decisions was made clear. Not applicable. Given that the story only pulled excerpts from the journal article and the accompanying editorial, and didn\u2019t include any fresh quotes from interviews, we can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which it may have been influenced by a news release.\" Claim: Some appendicitis cases may not require \u2019emergency\u2019 surgery", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-64cba1e31d1c40f68f86b73bafc449b7", + "input": "Paragraph: Antibody tests show whether whether people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and developed immunity - potentially allowing them to return to their places of work. The British government has provisionally ordered 17.5 million of them, but health minister Matt Hancock has said some of those already being trialled work poorly, and that one test even missed three out of four cases. Brigette Bard, chief executive of the diagnostics firm BioSure, said that her firm\u2019s at-home test could not get as far as a formal trial as she had received no details of the approval criteria. \u201cHow they fail tests when there is no specification, I literally have no idea. We have been begging to be told what to do. We have a test ready to submit,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to get our test approved, and they\u2019re not giving us an option of how to get it approved.\u201d BioSure has been producing an at-home HIV test since 2015, and Bard met Prime Minister Boris Johnson in March to discuss her COVID-19 test. At-home tests, in this case of blood obtained by pricking a finger, are designed to be read by the person taking the test, whereas others need results to be read in a lab. Bard said laboratory trials were producing good data, but that the firm needed to know what size and scope of trial and what accuracy level would be accepted by regulators. Doris-Ann Williams, chief executive of the British In Vitro Diagnostic Association, said that clarity would be coming soon. \u201cThere will be specifications released for tests this week by MHRA (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) which will help companies understand the technical performance expected for their kits,\u201d she said in an email. The MHRA itself said it was developing the specifications but declined to give a timeline. Once criteria were established, Bard said the trials would take one or two weeks, and then BioSure could begin production, subject to approval, with the aim of making 1 million tests a month. \u201cIf our test fails the validation, then it\u2019s not fit to go to market,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to go through whatever validation they want us to go through.\u201d Claim: Britain to reveal trial criteria for coronavirus antibody tests.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-6a2fbb9798694653ba4e63f8c7b15fe6", + "input": "Paragraph: The story did not provide cost estimates for either approach; the story did mention that the through-the-wrist approach was associated with shorter hospital stays (and therefore reduced costs.) There was no discussion in the story about whether there are different costs associated with the procedure itself. The story explained that the through-the-wrist approach was associated with lower risk of bleeding and shorter hospitalizations but should have included a caveat explanation about the strength of research and that the results of the study reported on require follow-up investigation. The story mentioned risk of bleeding at the site of catheter insertion as a possible harm of treatment which was greater for those who had a the catheter inserted in the leg. To its credit, the story provided absolute risk information, i.e. pointing out the 60% reduction in bleeding was the difference between 2 and 1% of patients having this complication. The story did not mention whether there were any particular side effects or harms associated with catheter insertion at the wrist. The story explained that the study was an analysis of information contained within a national registry. But it should have explained that this is the weakest type of study from which to draw a clinical conclusion (such as this procedure is safer or as safe as the alternative). Thus the statement in the story \u2018both methods were equally effective\u2019 should have been more tentative. The underlying weakness of the study, that it is not a controlled trial, may mean that the patients who had the wrist approach had something else about them that helped to reduce risk and that the researchers may not have been able to take into consideration. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story included interview material from one clinician who was not associated with the study reported on. The quality of the piece would have been improved if it had included input from physicians who might have explained some of the reasons why not all interventional cardiologists use the wrist approach. The story did an adequate job of reporting about a recent study comparing two approaches to angioplasty. The story indicated that the angioplasty using access through the wrist as opposed to a leg, was used much less frequently.vThe story explained that extra training is required in order to use this procedure and many doctors are not trained in this technique. This would contribute to the procedure\u2019s limited availability. The story did a good job of explaining that neither of the two approaches compared were new and that the point of the study was to determine how the two sites compare in terms of their use. The story does not appear to rely exclusively on a press release. Claim: Angioplasty through the wrist backed by new study", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c3c17dfed9154cb1adb35b19eaeb3f0e", + "input": "Paragraph: As part of President Barack Obama\u2019s healthcare reform law, the efforts center around more than 360 accountable care organizations (ACOs), which are networks of doctors, hospitals and other providers specially organized to help move Medicare away from traditional fee-for-service medicine. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said preliminary data show that the ACOs produced $380 million in savings vis-a-vis traditional Medicare in 2012 by giving doctors and other healthcare providers the incentive to focus on improved outcomes for patients instead of fees from tests and services. Medicare, the $575 billion government healthcare system for 51 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries, faces growing financial pressures as a result of America\u2019s aging population. A mainstay, the trust fund that pays for hospitalization, is expected to be exhausted in 2026. Deficit hawks view Medicare as a future driver of the federal debt and have called for major systemic reforms. But the Obama administration has pursued gradual changes including the reform of care delivery systems. So-called fee-for-service medicine is widely viewed as a cause of rising healthcare costs, because it calls for paying healthcare providers for tests and services that are sometimes unnecessary. Obamacare seeks to tackle costs by exploring ACOs and other new healthcare business models intended to find savings that do not jeopardize care. A main goal is to generate savings large enough to be shared between Medicare and providers. But some experts are skeptical, saying significant cost reductions could be hard to maintain over time. But CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, runs two different ACO programs. In its largest, 54 of 114 ACO networks achieved lower than expected expenditures. But only 29 saw savings big enough to share with providers. All told, the program produced $128 million in net savings for Medicare\u2019s trust funds. \u201cOverall, the ACO program\u2019s a net saver to the Medicare program,\u201d CMS principal deputy administrator Jon Blum told reporters in a conference call. \u201cIt\u2019s giving us great confidence that this is the right course for the Medicare program and we are confident that it will continue to show quality improvement and cost savings.\u201d Officials said the ACOs also achieved a wide range of quality goals. But CMS released no quality statistics. Thursday\u2019s government release drew some cautious optimism from the healthcare industry. \u201cToday\u2019s report reflects important steps. More work is needed to modernize our antiquated Medicare payment system and base payment on evidence-based quality measures and proven patient outcomes,\u201d said Dr. John Noseworthy, chief executive of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which is not part of the government\u2019s program. \u201cAs results of the team-based care models are analyzed, those most effective in driving down health care costs without compromising safety and quality should become part of the healthcare system,\u201d he said. Claim: U.S. says results encouraging for healthcare delivery reforms.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-0cbaf5451fe14132bb1029093d621be4", + "input": "Paragraph: The lawsuit brought by Terry Leavitt in Alameda Superior Court in Oakland is the first of over a dozen J&J talc cases scheduled for trial in 2019. The company is facing some 11,700 lawsuits over the safety of talc in its products. Leavitt\u2019s lawyer, Joseph Satterley, accused J&J in his opening statement of knowingly selling a dangerous product, according to an online broadcast by Courtroom View Network. \u201cThe evidence will show that J&J knew about the asbestos risk and they continued to sell the product, giving consumers no opportunity to protect themselves,\u201d he said. A lawyer for co-defendant Imerys Talc America, a unit of French Imerys SA (IMTP.PA), told the jury the evidence would show there is no asbestos in its talc and that Leavitt\u2019s disease was not caused by its product. A lawyer for J&J will make his opening remarks on Tuesday. \u201cOur talc is safe and does not contain asbestos. For decades, Johnson & Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder has repeatedly been tested and been found not to contain asbestos,\u201d the company said in response to a request for comment on Monday. J&J and Imerys have argued in court that decades of studies have shown their products to be safe and asbestos-free. Leavitt\u2019s is the first talc case to go to trial since Reuters on Dec. 14 published a special report detailing internal J&J documents showing talc in the company\u2019s raw and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos from the 1970s into the early 2000s. The report prompted a stock selloff on fears of J&J\u2019s liability. Shares on Monday closed at $127.01, 14 percent below their Dec. 13 value. While earlier talc lawsuits alleged talc itself causes ovarian cancer, plaintiffs\u2019 lawyers have more recently focused on arguing that asbestos contamination in talc caused mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Leavitt\u2019s case is being tried by the same team of lawyers, including Satterley, who in April 2018 won a $117 million award by a New Jersey jury for a man who blamed his mesothelioma on J&J\u2019s cosmetic talc. That verdict is under appeal. In 11 cases so far alleging asbestos contamination in talc, three resulted in wins for plaintiffs, awarding damages as high as $4.69 billion in a July 2018 multi-plaintiff ovarian cancer verdict. J&J won three other cases and another five ended in hung juries. J&J has appealed all of the plaintiff verdicts, and the company said it is confident the verdicts would be overturned on appeal. Leavitt was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017. She was born in the Philippines and claims she was exposed to J&J cosmetic talc that originated from South Korea mines during the first two years of her life before her parents moved back to the United States in 1968, Satterley said on Monday. He said testing of Asian talc samples from the 1960s and 1970s by his own expert would show Korean-mined talc tested positive for asbestos fibers, as has talc from U.S. sources. J&J in court filings in the Leavitt case said that fibers found in the Korean talc or any of its other cosmetic talc could not be classified as asbestos and referred to them as non-asbestos forms that its experts say are harmless. Geologically, some asbestos can occur as \u201cnon-asbestiform\u201d rocks. Both forms often occur together and in talc deposits. The company in its Monday statement did not specifically address the allegations surrounding the South Korean mine. Claim: Latest trial in J&J talc litigations gets under way in California.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-86a73fa31b6c4e03a5f43c3e913af965", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The story does not note the cost of a typical statin regimen, Zetia or the combination treatment, Vytorin. This is an important oversight as many people who are prescribed these medications take them for life. The story does mention that these new drugs \"\"raked in 5 billion dollars last year\"\". The failure of the combination product to be better than simvastatin alone has significant financial implications. Simvastatin (the generic name for Merck\u2019s Zocor) is available for about $1.25 a day. Vytorin costs about $3.35 a day. Most clinicians assumed that the combined product was an advantage if you could not get a patient to an LDL goal with just the statin alone or side effects with the simvastatin prevented an adequate dose. The price for the combination is less than the cost of the components. The story provides no quantitative data and no information on the number needed to treat to show benefit (i.e. prevention of a heart attack or stroke through lowered LDLs) in one patient with the newer medications, with traditional statins or with combination treatment. The story says that there are no real dangers to continuing the drugs Zetia and Vytorin based on the lower drop-out rate and reported side effects in the study. The comments from both parties cast an extraordinarily negative shadow on the study drug and on the company sponsors. Without an appropriate description of the study design, the results cannot be fairly discussed to the public. While the primary endpoint was not obtained with the combination, it did lower LDL and inflammatory markers in excess of that achieved with simvastatin alone. Suggesting the drug did not \"\"work\"\" is a bit of a mis-statement. The story encourages patients to keep taking these drugs. The story also does not mention the potential harm of taking statins long-term, especially in high does. Some of these harms are very rare, however, they include: muscle pain and kidney or liver problems. The story provides no real discussion of the data presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting and published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. And the story didn\u2019t assess the quality of the evidence. The study followed people (average age mid-40s) who had an inherited condition (called familial hypercholesterolemia) that is associated with very high cholesterol levels and greatly increased risk of early coronary artery disease. Many of them had been taking statins and other cholesterol-lowering medicines for years. All were randomly assigned to take either a statin (simvastatin, trade name Zocor) alone or a statin combined with another cholesterol-lowering medication, ezetimibe. The study was designed to find out if the combination of the two drugs could slow the growth of plaque in carotid arteries supplying the brain more than the statin alone. Plaque in these arteries is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. The two drugs together were more effective at lowering cholesterol than simvastatin alone, but adding ezetimibe did not change plaque measurements in the carotid arteries. The story does mention that lowering cholesterol may have other benefits, but we are not sure how those translate to fewer cardiovascular events or increased survival from these events. No overt disease-mongering. There are no interviews with the study authors or with practicing clinicians. The story reported on data presented at a recent American College of Cardiology Meeting, so there were several thousand cardiologists and other specialists available who could have been interviewed for clinical perspective on the results of this study. There was also no mention of the two accompanying editorials in the NEJM. The editorial by Brown and Tayor nicely identifies the issues related to the study and helps put the results into perspective. Unfortunately, this editorial was ignored by both parties involved in the story. Stating that taking more statins is the answer is incomplete at best. Lifestyle changes along with other drugs may be options as well. Interestingly however, this study raises questions about the simple notion that lowering total cholesterol, and LDL are important to lowering cardiovascular risk. People who are not able to lower their cholesterol enough with statins alone (or cannot tolerate the dose of statins needed to lower it) may wish to discuss with their doctor whether other medications (i.e., rather than ezetimibe) may be appropriate. These include niacin, fibrates, and bile acid resins. When added to statins, they can effectively lower cardiovascular risk. It\u2019s clear from the story that the drugs in question are still available to patients, though they should not be considered first-line therapy. The story focuses on new information that there is little to no benefit of newer cholestrol-lowering medications on the prevention of arterial plaque, which translate to little benefit for prevention of heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular-related death. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release. No researcher or cardiologist is interviewed. Quantified data from the American College of Cardiology presentation or from the New England Journal of Medicine article are not directly cited.\" Claim: Poor test results for heart drugs", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a4d4955cd89f4019876175bbd053aac6", + "input": "Paragraph: On 18 March 2016, an image of an opossum was uploaded to Imgur with overlaid text reading as follows: Given the frequently absurd nature of \u201camazing facts\u201d memes, many viewers were rightly skeptical of the claim attached to that photograph. The image provided no citations to substantiate the information it presented, and the notion that opossums were a possible tool in the epidemiological battle against Lyme disease seemed implausible to some. As it turned out, there is at least some truth to the opossum-as-tick-slayer rumors. On 18 April 2014, the Cary Institute of\u00a0Ecosystem Studies and NewsTimes published an article that focused on the role of opossums in the spread of Lyme disease with respect to their role in the ecosystem: [N]ow ecologists have learned something else about opossums. They\u2019re a sort of magnet when it comes to riding the world of black-legged ticks, which spread Lyme disease. \u201cDon\u2019t hit opossums if they\u2019ve playing dead in the road,\u201d said Richard Ostfeld, of the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. Ostfeld is forest ecologist and an expert on the environmental elements of infectious diseases like Lyme disease. Several years ago, scientists \u2026\u00a0tested six species \u2014 white-footed mice, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums and veerys and catbirds \u2014 by capturing and caging them, and then exposing each test subject to 100 ticks\u00a0\u2026\u00a0[O]f the six, the opossums were remarkably good at getting rid of the ticks \u2014 much more so that any of the others. [A]mong other opossum traits, there is this: They groom themselves fastidiously, like cats. If they find a tick, they lick it off and swallow it\u00a0\u2026\u00a0Extrapolating from their findings, Ostfeld said, the team estimated that in one season, an opossum can kill about 5,000 ticks \u2026 Some ticks end up getting their blood meal from the possum. But more than 90 percent of them ended up being groomed away and swallowed. \u201cThey\u2019re net destroyers of ticks,\u201d Ostfeld said. Ostfeld had previously discouraged disruption of opossum populations for this reason. In July 2012, he said\u00a0in a podcast: Because many ticks try to feed on opossums and few of them survive the experience. Opossums are extraordinarily good groomers it turns out \u2014 we never would have thought that ahead of time \u2014 but they kill the vast majority \u2014 more than 95% percent of the ticks that try to feed on them. So these opossums are walking around the forest floor, hoovering up ticks right and left, killing over 90% of these things, and so they are really protecting our health. Ostfeld was also named as one author of a September\u00a02009 study in\u00a0Proceedings of the Royal Society which examined animal kingdom hosts \u201cas\u00a0ecological traps for the vector of Lyme disease\u201d and asserted that: By subjecting field-caught hosts to parasitism by larval blacklegged ticks, we found that some host species (e.g. opossums, squirrels) that are abundantly parasitized in nature kill 83\u201396% of the ticks that attempt to attach and feed, while other species are more permissive of tick feeding. [T]he vast majority (96.5%) of larval ticks that encounter an opossum and attempt to feed are apparently consumed. Working backwards, [we calculate that] during any given week in the larval activity peak, each opossum must host more than 5500 larval ticks to produce 199 that successfully feed. By this logic, during the larval peak, each mouse encounters approximately 50 larval ticks per week, almost half of which feed to repletion and become nymphs. As far as \u201camazing facts\u201d images go, the opossum/Lyme disease one was very well researched, with numbers that matched up with what ecologists have learned about opossums, deer ticks, and the spread of Lyme disease in recent years (although those studies surmised opossums kill approximately 5,000 ticks per season, not per week). Claim: Opossums kill thousands of ticks each week, inhibiting the spread of Lyme Disease to humans.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-39752b26328d43c6afbcb0e685064f4c", + "input": "Paragraph: Those candidates include Lauren Underwood, a 31-year-old registered nurse from Illinois and part of the Democrats\u2019 master plan to regain control of the House. While Underwood is no fan of President Donald Trump, she said her No. 1 concern \u2014 and the top concern of the voters she hopes to will send her to Washington \u2014 is access to health care. Attacking the Republican president hard just isn\u2019t necessarily a winning play in Illinois\u2019 14th congressional district, said Underwood, who served as an adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services under Democratic President Barack Obama. \u201cI don\u2019t talk about him that much. He has a higher approval rating than my congressman does, so we talk about our congressman,\u201d said Underwood, who\u2019s hoping to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren in a district that narrowly backed Trump two years ago. Other Democrats aiming to flip House seats say they\u2019re also trying to zero in on policy more than the president. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has its hopes pinned on 50-plus candidates looking to upend enough seats \u2014 23 \u2014 to wrest control of the chamber from the GOP for the first time in eight years. Republicans have their own plan to retain control, but Democrats are banking they have more than just both momentum and history on their side. U.S. Rep. Denny Heck is helping lead the effort to flip the House. The Washington Democrat said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee can assist candidates with a range of tasks \u2014 from tapping into a national donor base to aiding with the basic mechanics of building a campaign. But he warned that trash-talking Trump will get a candidate only so far. \u201cWhat candidates ought to be doing is talking about that crowded freeway that they need to get additional funds to widen or additional funds to provide mass transit for, or that lake that is becoming polluted and they need the EPA to step up,\u201d Heck said. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is also on the \u201cRed to Blue\u201d list. Mucarsel-Powell, who came from Ecuador as an immigrant with her mother, said Florida\u2019s 26th Congressional District \u2014 the state\u2019s southernmost district \u2014 is one of the most vulnerable for Republicans in the country. She pointed to a 16-point win by Hillary Clinton there in 2016. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo. While Mucarsel-Powell doesn\u2019t shy away from talking about Trump, she says she\u2019s more focused on the struggles of local residents. \u201cThey don\u2019t have access to health care. They don\u2019t have good quality education,\u201d she said, adding that tens of thousands depend on the Obama 2010 health care law that Republicans have worked to undo. Talk of a Democratic blue wave is overblown, according to Matt Gorman, communication director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He said the committee \u2014 which has its own \u201cYoung Guns\u201d program \u2014 is raising impressive sums and has battle-tested incumbents who know they\u2019re going to be targets. Gorman said the NRCC is also urging candidates to run on local issues and not focus on the latest headlines on cable new or Twitter. He said polling shows the party is in better shape than many assume. \u201cThis is going to be a fight and certainly we\u2019re going to work like we\u2019re 10 points down as we do every day, but for the bedwetters out there who are claiming that all hope is loss I would encourage them to actually look at the data,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s simple math.\u201d Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark, who is also heading up the DCCC\u2019s \u201cRed to Blue\u201d initiative, said many candidates she\u2019s been working with are more eager to dig into what\u2019s on the minds of voters than taking swipes at Trump. \u201cThey\u2019re not concerned with talking about Donald Trump as much as they are about talking about how people in their communities want their children to have job opportunities in the communities that they grew up in,\u201d Clark said. While defeating Trump may galvanize the Democratic faithful, the party is still fumbling for a wider unifying message, according to Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor and former political media consultant. And Democrats may have trouble finding issues, local or not, for voters to latch onto in November. \u201cThe problem is that unemployment is low, economic confidence is relatively high, so to tell people you\u2019ve never had it so bad when compared to eight years ago they\u2019ve got it pretty good, that\u2019s sort of also a tough road to hoe,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Democrats may have history on the side. The question is A, will they blow it? And B, is Trump such an anomaly that history is being rewritten?\u201d Roxane Pirayesh, a 32-year-old from Sacramento, California, who works for an education nonprofit, said in the end, the pitch from Democrats has to be more than just an anti-Trump drumbeat \u2014 and she\u2019s not sure everyone\u2019s gotten the message. \u201cI think that\u2019s probably the biggest flaw coming out of the Democratic Party,\u201d she said. Claim: Democrats hoping to flip House not just trash-talking Trump.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-adc3f5cdf95541e399730533b6536004", + "input": "Paragraph: In September 2019 a Facebook user shared the following screenshots\u00a0(archived here)\u00a0of a since-deleted tweet, depicting three hoodies (Virginia Tech, Columbine, and Sandy Hook) and a comment \u2014 \u201cOk, this is a NEED\u201d:A link to the original tweet returned an error message, indicating that the September 13 2019 tweet had been deleted. In remaining tweets, the user explained their originally expressed interest in the items:I don\u2019t see how this would be supporting mass shootings or anything. I definitely feel for those effected \ud83e\udd15of course I know that [the students were victims of mass shootings in schools]. It\u2019s posed to be \u201cshedding light on gun violence in America\u201d. I think it\u2019s pretty creativeScreenshots circulating in September 2019 did not illustrate the first controversy over a fashion statement involving school shootings. In September 2015, Urban Outfitters created a viral outcry after briefly retailing a Kent State hoodie designed to appear stained with blood:Urban Outfitters is in hot water after selling a faux-vintage Kent State sweatshirt that featured what looked like fake blood stains. To many, the piece appears to be a reference to the May 4, 1970 shootings at the college, in which four unarmed students were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest.The tweet appeared to show three of four hoodies modeled by streetwear brand Bstroy in September 16 2019 Instagram posts, among several less controversial items in a recently-introduced Spring 2020 collection. Four schools referenced in four separate items were Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Columbine, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas:Bstroy Season 5 SS20 SAMSARA. Photography : @nateshuls @kusumadjaja Casting: @aamo_castingA post shared by Bstroy (@bstroy.us) on Sep 15, 2019 at 10:58am PDTBstroy Season 5 SS20 SAMSARA. Photography : @nateshuls @kusumadjaja Casting: @aamo_castingA post shared by Bstroy (@bstroy.us) on Sep 15, 2019 at 10:58am PDTBstroy Season 5 SS20 SAMSARA. Photography : @nateshuls @kusumadjaja Casting: @aamo_castingA post shared by Bstroy (@bstroy.us) on Sep 15, 2019 at 10:59am PDTBstroy Season 5 SS20 SAMSARA. Photography : @nateshuls @kusumadjaja Casting: @aamo_castingA post shared by Bstroy (@bstroy.us) on Sep 15, 2019 at 11:00am PDTHoodies with artificial bullet holes are not an entirely new concept. In season two of Netflix\u2019s\u00a0Luke Cage, fictional fans of the bulletproof protagonist began\u00a0wearing\u00a0Carhartt sweatshirts riddled with fabricated bullet holes as a tribute to Cage. Cage, in turn, laments their \u201ccosplay.\u201dOn September 11 2019, the\u00a0New York Times\u00a0Style column\u00a0profiled\u00a0Bstroy, but the hoodies did not appear to have been discussed. A New York-based fashion consultant tweeted about the school shooting hoodies, objecting to them:Putting bullet holes in school sweaters isn\u2019t shining light on an issue. It\u2019s being provocative for the sake of being provocative. And that\u2019s not very provocative. It\u2019s not artistic. It lacks refinement. It lacks intelligence. It lacks design skill. It is lazy at best. pic.twitter.com/ADCXaCFcdQ\u2014 B/G (@bibbygregory) September 14, 2019Each post identified the pieces as belonging to Season 5, Spring/Summer 2020, and were simply labeled \u201cSAMSARA.\u201d Bstroy founder Brick Owens shared an image of a statement on Instagram, reading:Sometimes life can be painfully ironic. Like the irony of dying violently in a place you considered to be a safe, controlled environment, like school. We are reminded all the time of life\u2019s fragility, shortness, and unpredictability yet we are also reminded of its infinite potential. it is this push and pull that creates the circular motion that is the cycle of life. Nirvana is the goal we hope to reach through meditation and healthy practices that counter our destructive habits. Samsara is the cycle we must transcend to reach Nirvana.As the posts indicated and @brickowens reiterated, samsara is a Buddhist/Hindu concept holding that humanity is bound to a grueling and painful cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Enlightenment, or nirvana, represents an escape from the tiresome cycle of samsara.The hoodies\u00a0shown on Instagram appeared to be authentic, appearing at a Bstroy SS 2020 fashion show in September 2019. The origin of the images shared in the since-deleted tweet was unclear, since they did not match the Instagram runway images. The sweatshirts were real in concept, but they were created by a small brand and unlikely to be available widely even if produced in larger number. One of Bstroy\u2019s two designers published a statement obliquely referencing the four sweatshirts (Virginia Tech, Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas), and their purported inspiration in the mystical concepts of samsara and nirvana. Claim: Hoodies riddled with faux bullet holes bearing the names of schools involved in massacres (including Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas) are available for purchase.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-41aebec5fb1d404399411a57199d6659", + "input": "Paragraph: There\u00a0is no discussion of cost in this story. According to the National Cancer Institute, genetic testing for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars and insurance does not always provide coverage. The story provides information regarding the relative and absolute risks associated with developing\u00a0breast\u00a0and ovarian cancer in patients with and without\u00a0a mutation in the\u00a0BRCA1 gene. For additional perspective, it would have been useful for the reader to know how many breast cancers are associated with\u00a0BRCA gene\u00a0mutations in the general population. While the story underscores how BRCA testing can lead to preventive measures to reduce the risk of developing cancer, it only mentions prophylactic surgery and not the less invasive options. There\u00a0is no discussion of the emotional or social ramifications associated with receiving genetic testing results. Even receiving a negative result could lead to feelings of guilt, especially if other family members have tested positive. The story also fails to mention that undergoing prophylactic surgery to remove the ovaries, uterus and breast tissue can have serious effects on a woman\u2019s health and quality of life. This story does not include a discussion regarding sensitivity or specificity of BRCA testing. The reliability of these tests, including information on false negative and false positive results, would be beneficial. Without providing a clear discussion on what\u00a0constitutes a strong family history of breast and ovarian cancer, readers who are not necessarily candidates for genetic testing may incur undue worry. It would have also been useful for the reader to know that only a very small number of breast cancers are associated with\u00a0BRCA gene\u00a0mutations. This story only provides commentary from one patient. Perspective from a genetic counselor and/or oncologist would have added value to this story, as would interviews with women who received a negative result and those who received a positive result, but dealt with the information differently. This story only discusses prophylactic surgery as an option for patients who test positive for mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Increased cancer surveillance, risk reduction behaviors, and chemoprevention should have also been presented as options. Genetic counseling services are not widely available in some geographic areas; however, this\u00a0is not mentioned in the story. The story does not suggest that genetic testing for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is a novel test; however, information on how long it has been available would have been useful. There does not appear to be a press release associated with this story. Claim: Cancer Activist Sounds Alarm For Early Testing For Genetic Marker", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-aa0d6e75d90947ad8fa000fc41c2ef6b", + "input": "Paragraph: \"President Donald Trump took a swipe at former President Barack Obama as he renewed his pledge to tackle the opioid epidemic, which claims the lives of tens of thousands of people a year. Trump said that opioid overdose deaths have nearly quadrupled since 1999, speaking after a briefing on the issue. But while deaths soared, Trump said overall drug prosecutions declined in recent years -- a trend Trump vowed to reverse. \"\"We're going to be bringing them up and bringing them up rapidly,\"\" he said Aug. 8. \"\"At the end of 2016, there were 23 percent fewer than in 2011. So they looked at this scourge, and they let it go by, and we're not letting it go by.\"\" We found that Trump is correct that federal drug prosecutions declined from 2011 to 2016 under Obama, but he lacks evidence to prove that\u2019s the culprit for the opioid overdose crisis. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the record. The Justice Department filed drug charges against 24,638 defendants in 2016, down 23 percent from 2011, according to the Pew Research Center, which analyzed federal data. The data reflects felonies and some serious misdemeanors. But that\u2019s overall drug prosecutions, not just prosecutions related to opioids. And it only includes federal prosecutions -- the vast majority of criminal prosecutions are in state courts. We found that the drop was due to some of the specific actions the Obama administration took to stop the prosecution of low-level offenders. Pew noted that in 2013, then-Attorney General Eric Holder directed federal prosecutors to ensure that each case they brought served \"\"a substantial federal interest.\"\" Holder mandated that certain low-level nonviolent drug offenders, with no ties to gangs or cartels, would no longer face mandatory minimum sentences. He called for more treatment and alternatives to prison. Also in 2013, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memorandum to federal attorneys related to prioritizing marijuana prosecutions. He directed attorneys to focus on cartels or other criminal organizations and the use of violence to distribute the drug. Federal marijuana prosecutions fell to 5,158 in 2016, down 39 percent from five years earlier, Pew found. Trump implied that lack of prosecutions likely led to a worsening of the opioid crisis. But experts we contacted had a different view. \"\"No serious analyst would argue that federal prosecutions have consequences for opioid overdoses,\"\" said University of Maryland criminology professor Peter Reuter. \"\"The drivers of that increase are the arrival of fentanyl, since about 2012, and the overprescription of opioids before it. There has been some decline in heroin retail prices. But no prior effort against high-level distributors and traffickers has ever had sustained success at the retail level.\"\" Some drug experts including Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, have criticized Obama for taking too long to address the crisis, but not because of a lack of prosecutions. \"\"Obama deserves blame for neglecting the epidemic and failing to ensure a coordinated federal response,\"\" Kolodny said. \"\"I can think of several areas where it's fair to criticize him. The decline in federal drug prosecutions is not one of them.\"\" Trump has a point that the Obama administration was slow to respond to the opioid crisis, said Jon Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon professor and expert on drug policy. \"\"Anyone looking at the basic death stats knew we had a problem by 2000,\"\" Caulkins said. \"\"So this is a national disgrace, and Obama was in power for eight of the more recent years, and if \u2018the buck stops on the president\u2019s desk\u2019 then it\u2019s fair to put some blame there.\"\" A September 2016 report from the Obama administration\u2019s Justice Department found that prosecutors could help combat the epidemic by prioritizing prosecution of heroin distributors and of medical professionals who improperly prescribe opioids. The report also stated that federal prosecution had \"\"lagged,\"\" and more prosecutors were needed. The report noted, however, that investigations \"\"can be difficult when the victim is deceased and the source of the drugs is not immediately obvious.\"\" Trump said \"\"at the end of 2016, there were 23 percent fewer federal prosecutions than in 2011, so (prosecutors) looked at this surge and they let it go by.\"\" Trump made the statement in the context of rising opioid overdose deaths. An analysis of data shows that federal drug charges overall declined 23 percent between 2011 and 2016. But that data doesn\u2019t tell us anything about opioid cases specifically. Where Trump misses the mark is his suggestion that the drop in prosecutions is to blame for the opioid epidemic, which started before Obama\u2019s tenure and then grew worse during his presidency. Obama could have done more earlier to address the epidemic, experts said, but there is no evidence that his strategy on federal drug prosecutions led to a spike in opioid overdose deaths.\" Claim: At the end of 2016, there were 23 percent fewer federal prosecutions than in 2011, so (prosecutors) looked at this scourge (opioid deaths) and they let it go by.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-66081f85c3c144668f94b8d03f91cfc6", + "input": "Paragraph: On 31 January 2018, an Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a retreat struck a garbage truck that was on the tracks at 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Virginia, killing one person. The tragic loss of life did not give even brief pause, however, to conspiracy trolls who made it their latest fodder. Although there is no evidence the collision was anything more than a horrific accident, disreputable web sites like TheGatewayPundit.com,\u00a0YourNewsWire and InfoWars.com\u00a0latched on, reporting with no evidence that the incident was the result of a nefarious \u201cDeep State\u201d plot to either scare Republicans into falling in line or assassinate them, depending on which crank web site or social media feed one happened to be looking at. For example, InfoWars asked: Was [sic] the safety signals for the train carrying GOP leaders outside Charlottesville, Va., hacked to ensure the train would crash \u2013 or was the incident completely accidental? Was the Deep State trying to send a message to globalist Republicans to get back in line \u2013 to jump off the Trump train \u2013 after the president\u2019s unifying message during the State of the Union? Of course, the train crash might have been a complete accident, but nevertheless here\u2019s some of the weird circumstances surrounding it so far. This is demonstrably false, as WVIR reporter Matt Talhelm, who was at the scene reported, the arms of the crossing guard appeared functional and were down when the accident occurred: Now that the #train has pulled away headed to #Charlottesville @Amtrak station, I can confirm the track crossing IS signalized with the arms DOWN. pic.twitter.com/9Ghrp6LZSM \u2014 Matt Talhelm (@MattTalhelm) January 31, 2018 YourNewsWire tried to link the accident to a raging controversy over a memo containing classified information compiled by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) about surveillance. Republicans, including U.S. President Donald Trump, are clashing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation over making the memo public. (Trump, and since his election increasingly Republicans, have placed themselves at odds with the U.S. intelligence community.) YourNewsWire reported: The timing could not be more auspicious. Trump aide\u2019s [sic] have been warning that the Deep State could attempt a False Flag this week, as they desperately try to distract from the release of the FISA Abuse memo. Less than twelve hours after President Trump was caught on a hot mic telling a colleague that the memo would \u201c100%\u201d be released, the Deep State killing machine whirred into life and attempted to cause mass carnage on the Amtrak rails. Remarkably, these sites claimed to have this highly sensitive trove of (conflicting, unsourced, unattributed) information hours before the lead investigative agency on the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board, had made any public comments about the collision. Disreputable sites and conspiratorial social media users alike pushed the idea that the\u00a0Deep State, a pejorative term for an alleged amorphous amalgam of U.S. intelligence agencies and illuminati operatives, plotted against Republican members of Congress in the wake of a relatively uneventful State of the Union address delivered by President Trump one day earlier. They claimed that U.S. spies and secret power brokers feared the address would rally the country behind Trump. Worth noting: None of the GOP members of Congress on the train were seriously hurt. According to witnesses, including lawmakers who were on board the train headed to a retreat in West Virginia, the train hit a garbage truck that was on the tracks. Images posted to social media show the damaged locomotive on the tracks and the obliterated remains of the truck. BREAKING: White House: 1 death and 1 serious injury after crash involving a train with GOP lawmakers and a truck, but \u201cthere are no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staff.\u201dhttps://t.co/l1iAPNzniZ pic.twitter.com/Jj7VNVFrIa \u2014 NBC News (@NBCNews) January 31, 2018 Although the identity of the deceased person has not been released, Rep. Marshall Rogers (R-Kansas), who is a medical doctor, got out of the train and performed CPR on the garbage truck driver, according to posts written by his wife Laina on his official Twitter feed. The University of Virginia Health System reported that six people had been transported to UVA Medical Center, one in critical condition. Per a statement sent out by Amtrak, accidents at grade-level rail crossings are common: This is an opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of exercising caution around railroad rights-of-way. Amtrak continues to work closely with Operation Lifesaver to communicate the dangers of grade crossings. Each year, about 2,000 people are killed or injured in grade crossing and trespassing incidents nationwide. Although the exact cause of the accident isn\u2019t known, there\u2019s no evidence to support claims being made by notoriously unreliable web sites that there was any foul play, let alone a massive Deep State conspiracy to harm Republican legislators. These sites have misled readers numerous times before. Their modus operandi appears to involve seizing on the early moments of American tragedies to publish unvetted claims and outright lies during the time when real journalists are still working to report and verify facts. In the past YourNewsWire, for instance, posted a viral story that falsely reported that a second gunman had opened fire on a music festival crowd during the 1 October 2017 mass shooting. Gateway Pundit named the wrong person as the Las Vegas shooter. InfoWars helped spread false information about the identity of a man accused of starting recent California wildfires. Claim: The train carrying GOP members of Congress to a West Virginia retreat crashed due to a Deep State plot.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-acf37a5f1bed49d2a3a6f60a966e114a", + "input": "Paragraph: CES is allowing space for sex tech companies as a one-year trial. At the show, such companies were scattered throughout the health and wellness section, near startups pitching fitness trackers and infrared saunas. Lora DiCarlo, a startup that pushed for changes after organizers revoked its award, showed off its Os\u00e9 robotic \u201cpersonal massager.\u201d It\u2019s one of a dozen companies at the show focused on vibrators, lube dispensers and other sex tech products. Founders of these startups say their products are about empowerment and wellness for women, something they say has often been overlooked in tech. The historically male-dominated tech trade show has received criticism in past years for having an all-male lineup of speakers and for previously allowing scantily clad \u201cbooth babes,\u201d fostering a \u201cboys\u2019 club\u201d reputation. Besides allowing sex tech, CES organizers brought in an official \u201cequality partner,\u201d The Female Quotient, to help ensure gender diversity. The Female Quotient, which trains companies in equality practices, will hold a conference for women during the four-day show, which opened Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s been a process,\u201d said Gary Shapiro, the head of the Consumer Technology Association, which puts on CES. It\u2019s been a longer process for many sex tech companies to convince investors that they are part of a growing trend that has enough customers. Much of the push has come from the startups\u2019 female founders and from younger consumers who talk more openly about sexuality. As with other technologies, some exhibitors including Lora DiCarlo had prominent booths at CES, while others such as the wearable vibrator company Crave were tucked away. Crave\u2019s exhibit included a camper with a \u201cBuild-a-Vibe-Workshop,\u201d where attendees could get an engraved vibrator to wear around their neck. Sex tech has existed in some form for decades. But the gates really began to open in 2016, said Andrea Barrica, founder of sex education site O.school. That year, several other \u201cfem tech\u201d companies made progress in areas such as menstruation and menopause. Those paved the way for sex tech to grow and get investors interested. \u201cLarger institutions are starting to take note, all the way from VC firms to large Fortune 100 companies,\u201d said Barrica, who recently published the book \u201cSextech Revolution: The Future of Sexual Wellness.\u201d Large institutions like CES had no choice but to look at sex tech, she said. The journey hasn\u2019t been easy. Sex tech founders, many of them women, recount being turned down by dozens of investors. They faced decency arguments and entrenched corporate standards that equated them with porn. But investors are becoming more receptive, said Cindy Gallop, a former advertising executive turned sex tech entrepreneur and founder of the website MakeLoveNotPorn. \u201cIt\u2019s entirely because of our refusal to allow the business world to put us down,\u201d she said. Founders insist that their devices \u2014 ranging from vibrators to lube dispensers to accessories \u2014 have effects outside the bedroom. \u201cSexual health and wellness is health and wellness,\u201d said Lora DiCarlo, CEO and founder of the company of the same name. \u201cIt does way more than just pleasure. It\u2019s immediately connected to stress relief, to better sleep, to empowerment and confidence.\u201d DiCarlo\u2019s $290 Os\u00e9 device has gotten $3 million worth of advance sales, bolstered in part by the attention it received after CES organizers overturned a decision by an independent panel of judges to give the vibrator a prestigious Innovation Honoree Award in the robotics and drone category. The organizers, CTA, told the company it reserved the right to rescind awards for devices deemed \u201cimmoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA\u2019s image.\u201d DiCarlo and other female founders pushed back for banning them but allowing humanoid sex robots meant to serve men the previous year. Following criticism, CES organizers ultimately reinstated the award and apologized. A few months later, the show announced policy changes such as a dress code to prevent skimpy outfits and new \u201cInnovation for All\u201d sessions with senior diversity officials. Os\u00e9 began shipping to customers this month. DiCarlo said the company is planning to introduce new devices, including less expensive options. Sex tech companies still face major barriers to growth. Polly Rodriguez, CEO of sexual wellness company Unbound, said the company is profitable and customers are more open about buying products than they once were. But she said she still faces roadblocks advertising on social media, and many traditional investors snub the company. \u201cThings are better, but there\u2019s just still this genuine fear of female sexuality more broadly within the institutional side of technology,\u201d she said. And while Gallop offered to speak at CES, conference organizers declined, saying sex tech was not a part of its conference programming. ___ AP Business Writer Joseph Pisani contributed to this report. ___ AP\u2019s CES coverage: https://apnews.com/Consumerelectronics Claim: Sex tech from women-led startups pops up at CES gadget show.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ed7d627de4bc46dda8801e92a169e056", + "input": "Paragraph: In April 2016, the web site MetaSpoon published a blog\u00a0post\u00a0(titled: \u201cHe Pours Boiling Water On An Apple From The Grocery Store. Watch What Appears On The Skin\u2026 GROSS!\u201d) which held that the wax used to preserve fruits are riddled with pesticides: Apples are so healthy and delicious, it really is no wonder that they\u2019re such a popular snack. All you have to do is give them a quick wash and pack them, right? After watching this video, maybe not. Apparently, many producers will coat their apples with wax to help preserve the fruit. This is particularly true for apples found at grocery stores. Some experts say that wax is harmless, as it\u2019s not digested by our system. But others argue that the real danger lies in the pesticide residue that the wax may have trapped in. Next time you buy apples, it might be worth finding out just how much wax coating there is. Want to get rid of the wax? Try scrubbing your apples in a bath of warm water, lemon juice, and baking soda! The post\u00a0linked to\u00a0a January 2016 YouTube video, during which a person uses boiling water to remove the wax from apples. That person claimed waxed apples cause cancer: Be Careful when eating apples. Please don\u2019t eat the skin of the apples because it\u2019s coated with wax. Check before you eat many of the fruits. Wax is being used for preservation purposes and cold storage. You might be surprised especially apples from USA and other parts are more than one year old, though it would look fresh. Becox wax is coated, preventing bacteria to enter. So it does not get dry. Please Eat Apples after removing the wax. In the clip, the individual gave no information to substantiate the claim. He also noted that the apples \u201cchanged color\u201d when exposed to boiling water, a procedure familiar\u00a0to many\u00a0viewers, and which is most commonly described as \u201ccooking.\u201d (Apples are\u00a0not the only fruits that darken in color when exposed to direct and sustained heat.) The clip\u2019s initial fallacy hinged on the implication that wax on apples was a little-known secret. However, according to\u00a0the\u00a0Food and Drug Administration, waxed produce is\u00a0widely, openly available and safe [PDF]: Many vegetables and fruits make their own natural waxy coating. After harvest, fresh produce may be washed to clean off dirt and soil \u2014 but such washing also removes the natural wax. Therefore, waxes are applied to some produce to replace the natural waxes that are lost. Wax coatings help retain moisture to maintain quality from farm to table \u2026 Waxes also help inhibit mold growth, protect produce from bruising, prevent other physical damage and disease, and enhance appearance[.] The Produce Marketing Association (an international trade group) reiterated the FDA\u2019s explanation of waxed apples and other produce items. The PMA also explained that the substances used are always\u00a0subject to strict FDA scrutiny, and are safe to eat even when whitened due to exposure to extreme temperatures. That document outlined guidelines for use of wax on produce in general: Many fresh fruits and vegetables make their own natural waxy coating to help retain moisture. Extensive washing at the packinghouse removes this natural wax, so waxes are applied to some produce items to replace the natural ones that are lost. Each piece of waxed produce only has a drop or two of wax. Waxes may be mixed with water or other wetting agents to ensure they are applied thinly and evenly. Waxes help retain the fruit\u2019s or vegetable\u2019s moisture during shipping and marketing. Waxes also help to inhibit mold growth, to protect fruits and vegetables from bruising, to prevent other physical damage and disease, and to enhance appearance. By protecting against moisture loss, wax coatings help fresh fruits and vegetables maintain wholesomeness and freshness. Waxing does not improve the quality of any inferior fruit or vegetables; rather, waxing \u2014 along with proper handling \u2014 contributes to maintaining a healthful product \u2026 Commodities that may have coatings applied include apples, avocados, bell peppers, cantaloupes, cucumbers, eggplants, grapefruits, lemons, limes, melons, oranges, parsnips, passion fruit, peaches, pineapples, pumpkins, rutabagas, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, and yucca. However, they are not always waxed. Waxes by themselves do not control decay; rather, they may be combined with some chemicals to prevent the growth of mold. The safety and use of these substances are strictly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Coatings used on fruits and vegetables must meet the food additive regulations of the FDA. Extensive research by governmental and scientific authorities has shown that approved waxes are safe to eat. Waxes are indigestible, which means they go through the body without breaking down or being absorbed. FDA requires wax labeling for fresh fruits and vegetables that have been treated with postharvest wax or resin coatings. Consumers will see signs in produce departments that read: \u201cCoated with food-grade vegetable-, petroleum-, beeswax-, and/or shellac-based wax or resin, to maintain freshness\u201d followed by a list of the commodity (-ies) coated with these waxes or resins). In today\u2019s marketplace, none of these coatings is animal-based, and they all come from natural sources. Packaged fresh fruits and vegetables that have information on the label (such as the product name, weight or brand) must also be labeled for wax or resin coatings by the packer, repacker, or shipper. The topic also was addressed by food safety experts at Best Food Facts. According to their\u00a0analysis, not only do apples often produce their own wax (dependent on crop variables), but that an apple\u2019s natural wax contained a component that inhibits (not encourages) cancer cell growth: Remember, apples are alive even after they are picked and will continue to live, provided they have the sufficient resources and an acceptable environment. The waxy coating produced by the apple and found on its skin protects it. The waxy coating can appear milky sometimes, but if you rub it gently, you can actually get it to it shine. The natural wax on the fruit of the apple contains about fifty individual components belonging to at least half a dozen chemical groups. The major cyclic component of apple fruit wax is called ursolic acid and is highly water-repellent. Research has shown that ursolic acid is capable of inhibiting various types of cancer cells and can serve as a starting material for synthesis of more potent bioactive compounds such as antitumor agents. Apples weren\u2019t always coated with additional wax, as they often are\u00a0harvested with a natural coating of wax. However, all wax used on apples is\u00a0subject to FDA guidelines for food safe additives, and none of the \u201cwaxed apples cause cancer\u201d claims we found included\u00a0a single known carcinogen commonly used in the process. Waxing apples is\u00a0widely deemed both a safe and often natural occurrence, and the use of wax to coat apples is neither a secret nor credible health risk. While there are some credible concerns about harmful pesticides caught in the wax used to coat apples and other fruits and vegetables, there are easy ways to avoid or minimize the risk of ingesting them. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, a collaborative effort between Oregon State University and the Environmental Protection Agency, most pesticide residues can be removed by rinsing fruits with water or scrubbing them with a soft brush. More information about what pesticides are in the food supply and how to avoid them can be found in this March 2015\u00a0report. However, the\u00a0overall risks of pesticide residue are quite low, even with conventionally grown produce, and since the Food Quality Protection Act was passed in 1996, very tightly regulated in the United States. However,\u00a0wax on an apple is not a visual representation of trapped pesticides, nor is it an indication that any chemicals or toxic substances are present. Claim: Waxed apples cause cancer.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3db8116e09ef4beeafd1f30cecc0572b", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on July 2 on charges she lured girls to be sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein. According to official autopsy results, Epstein killed himself last year in a New York jail cell where he was being held on federal sex trafficking charges, though conspiracy theories allege he was murdered because he had damaging information about powerful people. An image of what looks like a BBC article that\u2019s being shared on Facebook suggests that Maxwell will meet a similar end. \"\"Ghislaine Maxwell moved to intensive care as coronavirus symptoms worsen,\"\" the headline says above an image of Maxwell. The article appears under the BBC\u2019s \"\"England\"\" tab. But the dateline is in the future: July 11, 2020. \"\"Death by executing oh I mean COVID-19 (MY BAD),\"\" one account commented on the Facebook post. \"\"The sheep will believe the virus cover up.\"\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) This headline does not appear on the BBC\u2019s website. Searching for it more broadly online, we found only a fact-check ruling that the image is a forgery. The wording of the headline is similar to the one on an April 7 BBC story about Britain\u2019s prime minister: \"\"Coronavirus: Boris Johnson moved to intensive care as symptoms worsen.\"\" Johnson, who was sickened by COVID-19, has since recovered. A story about Maxwell wouldn\u2019t appear in the BBC\u2019s England section because, though she is a British socialite, she was arrested in Bradford, N.H., and indicted in the United States. The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the charges against Maxwell. When the BBC reported on the charges, the story appeared in its \"\"US & Canada\"\" section. On July 3, a self-described satire site posted a story claiming Maxwell had tested positive for COVID-19 in a New Hampshire jail. We found no credible reports that Maxwell has tested positive for the disease.\" Claim: Viral image Says BBC prematurely reported \u201cGhislaine Maxwell moved to intensive care as coronavirus symptoms worsen.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-10b538b9794c45f981896f6bfc5da09a", + "input": "Paragraph: Extinction Rebellion, which uses civil disobedience to highlight the risks posed by climate change and the accelerating loss of plant and animal species, is midway through a new two-week wave of actions in cities around the world. Activists thronged the financial heart of London on Monday, unfurling banners, addressing passersby by megaphone or blocking streets around locations including BlackRock, the Bank of England, Bank of China and Barclays. At BlackRock, volunteers glued themselves to the doors while others staged a mock dinner party with rolled-up banknotes on their plates. Police said they arrested more than 90 people. The arrestees included Rabbi Jeffrey Newman of the Finchley Reform Synagogue, who was arrested near the Bank of England praying, singing and wearing a prayer shawl for the first day of the Jewish festival Sukkot, Extinction Rebellion said. \u201cThe City of London is a preeminent nexus of power in the global system that is killing our world,\u201d said Carolina Rosa, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. BlackRock declined to comment. Police later ordered a halt to all assembly linked to Extinction Rebellion in London. At Trafalgar Square in the heart of the city, where demonstrators have pitched camp for the past week amid fountains at the base of Nelson\u2019s Column, protesters began removing tents. Police made no immediate move to shut down another main protest camp in the district of Vauxhall. \u201cOfficers have begun the process of clearing Trafalgar Square and getting things back to normal,\u201d said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor. Extinction Rebellion said it had left Trafalgar Square but would continue actions in London and cities around the world. \u201cThe Climate and Ecological Emergency isn\u2019t going away and we remain resolute in facing it. We urge the Government and the authorities to join us in doing the same,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cThis is bigger than all of us.\u201d Extinction Rebellion wants to cause enough disruption to force governments to rapidly cut carbon emissions and reverse the collapse of ecosystems to avert the worst of the devastation scientists project if business as usual continues. Critics say the group is proposing what amounts to the overthrow of capitalism without any clear idea of what would follow, and that the world needs fossil fuels. Extinction Rebellion said that more than 1,400 people had been arrested in London since it launched its latest actions a week ago. A similar number has in total been arrested in 20 cities in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. While activists have long targeted fossil fuel companies, a growing global climate protest movement is increasingly scrutinizing the role fund managers, banks and insurance companies play in enabling oil and gas extraction. Emily Grossman, a British science broadcaster who has a PhD in molecular biology, who joined the protest outside BlackRock, said that financing fossil fuel projects was undermining the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming. \u201cThis is criminal damage that they are doing to our lives and to the lives of our children and it has to stop,\u201d said Grossman, who was later led away by police. Major oil companies have approved $50 billion of projects since last year that run contrary to the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to an analysis published last month by financial think-tank Carbon Tracker. Fossil fuel companies say they need to invest in new projects to meet future demand for energy, particularly in fast-growing regions such as Asia. Climate protesters want to pressure index fund firms such as BlackRock because the sector, which now controls half the U.S. stock mutual fund market, has enormous power to influence companies in which they invest trillions of dollars. The leading U.S. index fund firms, BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street Corp, rarely use that clout, a Reuters analysis of their shareholder-voting records found this month. Claim: John Faso took money from fossil fuel companies as they tried to take your land by eminent domain for a fracked gas pipeline.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2e86c69238db4b5da0a2f7e79204c3aa", + "input": "Paragraph: Officials discovered that there were 182 intravenous drug users who were affected in Lowell and Lawrence between 2015 and 2019, The Boston Globe reported. The number of cases dropped after the summer of 2018 after a campaign to increase access to treatment. There were six new cases diagnosed in Boston in December 2018 before a similar campaign was launched, and cases dropped down until fall of 2019. \u201cWe do seem to see a growing number of very, very vulnerable people with substance use disorder, with injection drug use, in great need for care,\u201d said Dr. Jennifer K. Brody, director of HIV services at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. The state has increased the number of needle exchanges from five in 2015 to 33, in an attempt to provide clean injection supplies and training, the paper reported. Infections among people who inject drugs declined 91% between 2000 and 2014. \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is the need for much more aggressive street outreach,\u201d said Carl Sciortino, vice president of government relations for Fenway Health. Claim: Officials alert health care providers of HIV surge.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-0757368fae3742b7847fef685d6538a6", + "input": "Paragraph: On 18 September 2017, the satirical web site As American As Apple Pie\u00a0reported that actor Alec Baldwin had been arrested at the 2017 Emmy Awards for threatening President Donald Trump:\u00a0 The Secret Service was forced to remove Alec Baldwin from the Emmys in Los Angeles Sunday night after he threatened to \u201cuse his influence to get close to Trump and then slit his throat.\u201d Baldwin, whose mic was still hot in the sound booth at the time, put up quite a fight: \u201cMr Baldwin doesn\u2019t reaslize [sic] the severity of this situation. He voiced a credible threat to the President of the United States. There are consequences for that.\u201d Baldwin is being held for questioning at the federal holding facility at Los Alamada\u00a0del Ray. We will update this developing\u00a0story as more information is available. Alec Baldwin did attend the Emmy Awards on 17 September 2017, and won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Trump on Saturday Night Live. However, he did not make any threat against the President and was not arrested. As American As Apple Pie is a satirical, fake news web site which publishes exclusively fake content, and alludes to its own unreliability in this tongue-in-cheek disclaimer: When no one can trust the lying fake news liberal media anymore because they hate us and guns and Harley Davidson and meat and OUR president, As American as Apple Pie is here to be your beacon of something you can kinda rely on sometimes, but not really. God Bless America and Amen. Claim: The United States Secret Service arrested Alec Baldwin for threatening President Donald Trump at the 2017 Emmy Awards.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8fa0b5948d2a49a59646644c95491dbf", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The Walmart chain of retail stores and the Monsanto agrochemical/agricultural biotechnology corporation are two of America\u2019s largest companies, and they\u2019re also two of the businesses mostly frequently invoked in public criticism as supposed exemplars of corporate greed, putting profits and growth far ahead of concern for their employees, suppliers, and customers. Due to this public perception, politicians (especially those in the Democratic or populist camps) risk sowing disaffection among their supporters should they evince any significant business ties (whether it be employment, investment, or campaign donations) to such companies. Hence a recent point of criticism about Democratic presidential candidate has been that she does (or did) sit on the board of directors of both Walmart and Monsanto. It is true that thirty years ago Hillary Clinton began a six-year tenure as a member of Walmart\u2019s board of director, an aspect of her past that Ms. Clinton has largely avoided mentioning on the campaign trail: In 1986, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, had a problem. He was under growing pressure from shareholders \u2014 and his wife, Helen \u2014 to appoint a woman to the company\u2019s 15-member board of directors. So Mr. Walton turned to a young lawyer who just happened to be married to the governor of Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is based: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton\u2019s six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart, the nation\u2019s largest company, remains a little known chapter in her closely scrutinized career. And it is little known for a reason. Mrs. Clinton rarely, if ever, discusses it, leaving her board membership out of her speeches and off her campaign Web site. Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart\u2019s only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business. On other topics, like Wal-Mart\u2019s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said. Her years on the Wal-Mart board, from 1986 to 1992, gave her an unusual tutorial in the ways of American business \u2014 a credential that could serve as an antidote to Republican efforts to portray her as an enemy of free markets and an advocate for big government. But that education came via a company that the Democratic Party &mdashl and its major ally, organized labor \u2014 has held up as a model of what is wrong with American business, with both groups accusing it of offering unaffordable health insurance and mistreating its workers. However, since at least October 2014 rumors have claimed that Hillary Clinton once sat (or currently sits) on the board of directors of agribusiness giant Monsanto as well, despite the lack of any evidence documenting such a connection. The repetition of those rumors increased as the primary elections of the 2016 presidential campaign drew nearer: // Hillary Clinton (not sure if she still is) was a board member for Monsanto, no wonder she is pushing GMO foods. Dig\u2026 Posted by Wendy Allan on\u00a0Sunday, February 7, 2016 // If you sat on the board of Wal-Mart and Monsanto as well as your husband being responsible for the repealing the Glass Steagall act, then you just might be a friend of Wall Street. Posted by Eric Williams on\u00a0Friday, February 5, 2016 As evidenced in the examples embedded above, many of those repeating the claim about Hillary Clinton on social media didn\u2019t appear to be familiar with its detail, and dates of Clinton\u2019s purported tenure on Monsanto\u2019s board were never (or rarely) included in iterations of the rumor. Oftentimes social media users who debunked the rumor attributed it to supporters of Bernie Sanders, though we were unable to specifically pin the claim to any source linked with Sanders\u2019 campaign (especially given that versions of it appeared on Twitter in 2012 and 2013, well before either candidate entered the 2016 presidential fray). Nonetheless, many shares of the rumor on social media indeed originated with individuals asserting that Sanders was the preferable candidate for lacking the big business ties that Clinton (supposedly) had courted: // She is on the board of Monsanto. Why don\u2019t they bring that up each time her face is shown? Posted by Craig Appel on\u00a0Friday, February 5, 2016 That said, there are some indirect connections between Hillary Clinton and Monsanto that might have inspired such rumors. The Rose Law Firm for whom Hillary Clinton worked in Arkansas from 1977 through the 1980s reportedly handled some business for Monsanto, but we found no evidence that HIllary Clinton herself was involved in such work. She has also spoken supportively of the biotech industry in general (not Monsanto specifically), as she did at the 2014 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) conference in San Diego: Speaking at the BIO 2014 convention in San Diego, Clinton told a luncheon audience that she understood biotech companies face extreme risks in developing new health care products. State support, along with a \u201cnational framework\u201d including provisions to help patients who can\u2019t afford biotech therapies, are part of a rational policy, said Clinton. [Clinton] was interviewed by Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. BIO is holding the convention in San Diego for the first time since 2008. Clinton also endorsed the use of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs in agriculture to improve crops, such as by engineering them for drought resistance. She suggested the biotech industry stress these characteristics instead of focusing on the term GMOs. On GMOs, Clinton said the biotech industry \u201cshould continue to try to make the case to those who are skeptical that they may not know what they are eating already, because the question of genetically modified foods or hybrids has gone on for many many years, and there is a big gap between what the facts are and what the perceptions are.\u201d \u201cIf you talk about drought-resistant seeds, and I have promoted those all over Africa, by definition they have been engineered to be drought-resistant,\u201d Clinton said. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of them. Maybe somebody can get their harvest done and not starve, and maybe have something left over to sell.\u201d The Monsanto Company is also listed among the entities who have donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by former President Bill Clinton to \u201cstrengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.\u201d Additionally, some sources have posited that the rumor arose from a connection between the Clinton campaign and Jerry Crawford, an Iowa lawyer and Democratic party leader. Crawford worked on Hillary Clinton\u00b4s 2016 campaign in Iowa and is often described as a \u201cMonsanto lobbyist\u201d: The only tie Clinton\u2019s campaign has to the biotech company is campaign adviser Jerry Crawford, who was brought on to help her win Iowa. If you are a presidential candidate, and you want to win in Iowa, you hire lobbyist Jerry Crawford who has a lot of political clout in the state. According to Opensecrets.org, his lobbying firm has represented Monsanto, as well as the Humane Society. This shouldn\u2019t be a surprise, considering the fact that Iowa is a major state for agriculture, and a number of seed companies do business with farmers there. Crawford was profiled as a Clinton asset in Iowa in early 2015, but he began working on her Iowa campaign back in 2014. Crawford was also named as Midwest co-chair of the 2008 Clinton campaign [PDF]. It\u2019s possible that Crawford\u2019s lobbying connections\u00a0were conflated with Hillary Clinton\u2019s, and/or that Clinton\u2019s tenure on Walmart\u2019s board of directors led to a\u00a0franken-rumor that she also served on the board of Monsanto.\" Claim: Hillary Clinton is (or was) a member of Monsanto's board of directors.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-6e40c2bd18f7417e81df889215deecdf", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Rhode Island has issued a controversial vaccination requirement designed to fight HPV, or human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer. The requirement, ordered by the Rhode Island Department of Health, took effect Aug. 1. It has drawn fire from a group of critics that included the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, which calls itself a \"\"free enterprise think tank.\"\" The new policy calls for the vaccination of \u00a0all \u00a0seventh grade boys and girls before the start of school. The requirement does not apply to students whose doctors cite a medical problem; or to students whose parents object for religious reasons. And the health department defines religious reasons very liberally. Before a series of public information meetings on the vaccination requirement, the Center for Freedom and Prosperity posted this statement on its website: \"\"Rhode Island will become just the second state to mandate the vaccine \u2026 and the only state to do so by regulatory fiat, without public debate, and without consideration from the elected representatives of the people.\"\" We telephoned Mike Stenhouse, the center\u2019s founder and chief executive officer, and asked him for his sources. We didn\u2019t get anything from him right away. So we did our own research and found that Virginia is the only other state to require students to receive immunization for HPV. Virginia\u2019s vaccination requirement, which is only for sixth-grade girls, took effect in 2008 following an act of the legislature. Rhode Island\u2019s policy is the product of a regulatory process that began in 2013 under the leadership of Michael Fine, then the state\u2019s director of the Department of Health. In both states, HPV vaccination policies use the word \"\"required\"\" and both have opt-out provisions. In Virginia, \u00a0parents have \"\"sole discretion\"\" on whether their children receive the vaccination. Stenhouse labels the policies in Virginia and Rhode Island as mandates. But Jason L. Schwartz, an assistant professor at the Yale University School of Public Health, says you can\u2019t call policies with such liberal exemptions mandates. The breadth of Rhode Island\u2019s opt-out provisions may not have been clear to the \u00a0public \u2014 or to Stenhouse \u2014 before a public meeting Aug. 5. That\u2019s when Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the new director of the Department of Health, told parents that their philosophical objections would qualify for the religious exemption spelled out in the regulations. But what about the center\u2019s claim that Rhode Island imposed the requirement by \"\"regulatory fiat, without public debate, and without consideration from the elected representatives of the people\"\"? And, as the center says later in its policy statement, was the health department\u2019s decision an example of \"\"regulatory despotism\"\" that \"\"bypasses the traditional democratic process\"\"? While it\u2019s true that the General Assembly did not pass a law for the HPV vaccination, existing Rhode Island law gives the health director the power to adopt regulations to protect public health. And, of course, the health director is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the governor. Further, control of health-care policy by the executive branch is common in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, makes decisions affecting the health welfare of the country without first getting an act of Congress. \"\"To say it\u2019s anti-democratic would be a misunderstanding of how we structure our government in the United States,\"\" says Schwartz, the Yale professor, who co-authored a recent article about state vaccination requirements for the Journal of the American Medical Association. Also it\u2019s not as if the state adopted the regulation in a back room somewhere \u2014 even though Stenhouse\u2019s organization on July 30 described the news of the requirement as a \"\"stunning revelation.\"\" On Dec. 2, 2013, Fine, the former health director, filed a notice of public hearing for Jan. 16, 2014, and also solicited written statements on the issue. In response to criticism, the department delayed the beginning of the program from Aug. 1, 2014, to Aug. 1, 2015, according to a form for the regulation that was filed with the Office of Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea. The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union registered its ardent opposition to the proposed regulation at the hearing and in written comments. On Jan. 27, 2014, the ACLU called on the health department to reconsider the proposal. The ACLU also criticized the requirement on Facebook. That\u2019s seems like debate to us. We tried to get Stenhouse to explain what the center meant by the phrase \"\"regulatory fiat.\"\" He declined. Instead, he sent us a written statement in which he said the center \"\"stands by its statement\"\" and he challenged PolitiFact\u2019s fairness and objectivity. Our ruling The center says \"\"Rhode Island will become just the second state to mandate the vaccine \u2026 and the only state to do so by regulatory fiat, without public debate, and without consideration from the elected representatives of the people.\"\" The center, in its statement, got two things right and two things wrong. It was right about Rhode Island being the second state and it was right that the requirement was not adopted by \"\"the elected representatives of the people.\"\" It was wrong when it said the vaccination requirement was imposed \"\"by fiat\"\" and \"\"without public debate.\"\" In 2014, the ACLU sharply criticized the vaccine requirement at the public hearing and debated the proposal in social media and on its website. As for acting by fiat, the regulation was put in place through a process established by law. And comments at a public hearing influenced that process, leading to a decision by the director of health to delay execution of the policy for one year. More recently, the new health director told the public that philosophical objections were enough to qualify for the religious exemption. In other words, parents can pretty much say whatever they want to get exemptions for their children. For those reasons, (If you have a claim you\u2019d like\u00a0PolitiFact Rhode Island\u00a0to check, email us at [email\u00a0protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)\" Claim: Rhode Island will become just the second state to mandate the vaccine \u2026 and the only state to do so by regulatory fiat, without public debate, and without consideration from the elected representatives of the people.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2e3ff1d8c9ab4058893edfba0f7689af", + "input": "Paragraph: The story attempted to discuss cost by citing the difference in price\u00a0between shoulder surgery ($13,000) and the PRP treatment ($1,000, in this case for two injections). This is sufficient enough for a Satisfactory rating, but barely. While this does give readers some idea of the possible cost difference in treatments, there is no assurance that the charges in the author\u2019s case are typical for those for the general\u00a0public. It is simply one single data point which is fairly useless to the public. And, since there is no evidence of benefit or how many shots one might require, cost could be all over the place. The story gives no information on quantified benefits measured in PRP research, and instead focuses only on the author\u2019s experience. The only mention of potential harms in the story comes in this statement:\u00a0 \u201cThe American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons \u2014 which says PRP \u2018holds great promise\u2019 \u2014 describes the risk as minimal.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s not\u00a0acceptable given that there is no explanation of what those risks might be. Readers are\u00a0left\u00a0clueless when it comes to questions of potential harms. Simply put, the discussion on the quality of evidence here is at best minimal, just the experience of one patient who happens to be a writer for the Washington Post. The story does cite a \u201crecent pilot study\u201d from a Canadian clinic of just seven rotator cuff injury patients who underwent PRP therapy. It said the study \u201cshowed tissue healing in five of seven patients . . . as well as improvements in their pain and function.\u201d\u00a0 But the story offers no information on how much healing or what degree of pain reduction or function, information readers need to consider a new therapeutic approach. There is no discussion of the growing body of evidence that has yet to show PRP actually improves clinical results. High-quality research, including a Cochrane systematic review, shows no benefit from injecting PRP. As Cochrane\u2019s review noted: \u201cThe quality of the evidence is very low, partly because most trials used flawed methods that mean their results may not be reliable\u2026.In terms of individual conditions, we were able to pool results from six studies and found no differences in long-term function between\u00a0those who received PRT during rotator cuff surgery and those who did not.\u201d When it comes to shoulder injuries like rotator cuff tears, the story does not disease monger. However, the author\u2019s claim that a vaccination injection resulted in the shoulder tear was an unusual claim, and one that we\u2019re dubious of. Along with quotes from\u00a0the author\u2019s physician (who\u00a0has already posted the story\u00a0on his website)\u00a0there are quotes from\u00a0a researcher who was involved in one small clinical trial on PRP. The inclusion of the researcher just barely squeaks by as sufficient to earn a Satisfactory rating here. However, the story would have been much stronger had the author interviewed an expert who disagrees with these two sources, which wouldn\u2019t be hard to find given the Cochrane review and other systematic reviews that cast a less rosy glow on PRP. The story is basically touting a possible new therapy as an alternative to traditional rotator cuff surgery, but it does a poor job of comparing them in an evidence-based manner. The story explains that platelets are removed from a patient\u2019s blood using a centrifuge, equipment readily available in most practices. It makes the point of advising readers to seek out practitioners who do the procedure frequently. The story suggests that the PRP procedure is becoming more available. The story does not make it clear that\u00a0PRP is not a new treatment, and that has been studied for many years now, including in rotator cuff tears. This story does not rely on a news release. Claim: I\u2019ll never go through shoulder surgery again, so here\u2019s what I did", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e43d39b5175842c0a54ddab6e11e4193", + "input": "Paragraph: As the CostCo retail chain prepared to implement new requirements for shoppers, a message of support for the policy gained traction among Facebook users.The post is based around a photograph of a sign informing shoppers that members will be required to wear face coverings when shopping at CostCo warehouses starting on Monday, May 4 2020.\u201cMembers without face coverings will not be permitted inside the warehouse,\u201d the sign reads:At least one iteration of the lengthy post, attributed to Cherrie Vierra Lonkar, has been shared nearly 1,000 times on the platform. She wrote:Ask yourself why you, a retail shopper deserve a handout from Costco. I mean you\u2019ve eaten $5000 worth of free samples there in your lifetime anyway. \ufffcWe are asking many of our healthcare workers to wear bandanas and t-shirts as masks. You aren\u2019t above it. There are school children all over this country who are sewing masks to give away. If a 7 year old can be a decent person and choose to make the world a little more comfortable or safe, then so can you.This isn\u2019t a Burger King drive-through, and no we can\u2019t have it our way. This disease, infection, pandemic, whatever you wanna call it, doesn\u2019t give a shit about you or me. Doesn\u2019t give a shit about black, white, short, tall, age, gender. It\u2019s not our battle to dictate\ufffc.The bottom line is, don\u2019t be a dick. Just put a mask on your self centered, mouth breathing face and let the greeter see the smile in our eyes as we head off to buy our cases of bottled water, pool floats, 10 pound bags of Cheetos, bulk items and cheap premixed margaritas. You\u2019ll be fine.However another version, presented as an extended quote without attribution, has been shared more than 4,500 times since being posted on April 29, 2020.CostCo president Craig Jelinek confirmed the new rule in a letter to members posted on the company\u2019s website, saying:Costco employees are required to wear face coverings, and now we are asking that Costco members do so too. We know some members may find this inconvenient or objectionable, but under the circumstances we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience. This is not simply a matter of personal choice; a face covering protects not just the wearer, but others too.In short, we believe this is the right thing to do under the current circumstances. Although some may disagree with this policy or question its effectiveness, we\u2019re choosing to err on the side of safety in our shopping environments. Costco has continued to operate during this crisis as an essential business in all of our communities, and our employees are on the front lines. As part of a community, we believe this simple act of safety and courtesy is one that Costco members and employees can undertake together.However, the requirement does not extend to children under the age of 2 or to anyone who cannot wear a mask or face covering for medical reasons.Several states and retail chains have shifted safety policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with some opting to walk back laws banning the use of non-reusable shopping bags.Comments Claim: CostCo stores will require shoppers to wear masks beginning on May 4, 2020.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4fec2d80f00f46b8b0aa3cc34bb1263a", + "input": "Paragraph: The movements of Brazilians have been completely restricted in fewer than two dozen cities scattered across the vast nation of 211 million \u2014 even though Brazil\u2019s death toll stands at more than 12,000, Latin America\u2019s highest. While public health experts are demanding bolder action, most governors and mayors have not imposed mandatory stay-at-home orders. Their apparent reluctance comes amid Bolsonaro\u2019s relentless message for Brazilians to defy regional and local public health efforts to stop the virus\u2019 spread. Stricter lockdowns are needed because Brazilian doctors are now being forced to choose who lives and dies and triage situations could generate social unrest if they increase, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil\u2019s non-profit Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials. \u201cWe need to avoid a total disaster,\u201d he said. Lago said mandatory lockdowns across much of the country would help: \u201cIt is late in terms of avoiding hospital collapse, but certainly it isn\u2019t too late to avoid a bigger catastrophe.\u201d Brazil had more than 177,000 confirmed cases on Tuesday, with the actual figure believed to be much higher because of limited testing. Many intensive care hospital units are full and cemeteries are increasingly overwhelmed with bodies. Bolsonaro, who called the virus a \u201clittle flu,\u201d has insisted for more than a month that governors are stoking economic carnage with voluntary quarantine recommendations and urges Brazilians to go about their everyday. He reiterated criticism of governors Tuesday for ignoring his decree that gyms, barbershops and beauty salons should be treated as essential services. Amid Bolsonaro\u2019s rejection of coronavirus danger, most of the country\u2019s 27 governors have criticized his stances but none have imposed mandatory statewide lockdown measures recommended by experts. Instead, the governors have either applied selective lockdowns in cities or deferred to mayors to make those decisions. Governors had been hoping the virus would not spread in Brazil\u2019s warm climate, but their response is also a reflection of Brazil\u2019s political landscape because the governors depend on mayors to endorse re-election campaigns. Many worry that imposing mandatory lockdowns could hurt local leaders in this year\u2019s municipal election, decreasing support for incumbent governors in their 2022 campaigns, said Thiago de Arag\u00e3o, director of strategy of the Arko Advice political consultancy. But as the death toll rose from less than 7,000 to more than 10,000 last week, local authorities began adopting stricter anti-virus measures. The riverside community of Tefe in the Amazon region was among the first, with a lockdown decree specifying criminal charges for residents leaving home except for visits to hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets. The mayor imposed it because only about half of Tefe\u2019s 60,000 residents complied with an earlier recommendation by the governor of Amazonas state to take virus precautions. Those who did not comply \u201cthink they\u2019re immortal, that they won\u2019t get it,\u201d Tefe Mayor Normando Bessa de S\u00e1 said on Facebook. Over the next three days, the governors of the northern and northeastern states of Maranhao, Para and Ceara decreed lockdowns for their capital cities as intensive-care units filled with COVID-19 patients. Despite the new lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo still don\u2019t have mandatory stay-at-home-orders at the state or city level \u2014 even though they are the hardest hit places in Brazil. Lockdowns \u201cshould have been imposed at least three weeks ago, when the epidemic was already increasing, but not at this speed that it is now,\u201d said Margareth Dalcolmo, a respiratory physician and researcher with the widely respected Oswaldo Cruz Foundation biological research group. \u201cI gave that recommendation more than once,\u201d said Dalcolmo, among the experts on a COVID-19 panel that advises Rio\u2019s governor. Rio Gov. Wilson Witzel has decreed non-binding quarantine recommendations and commerce restrictions through the end of May. He pledged to make police available so the state\u2019s 92 mayors can enact lockdowns, instead of imposing them himself. In another example of Brazil\u2019s scattershot local lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella on Monday prohibited non-residents from entering 11 neighborhoods and ordered the closure of all businesses except supermarkets and pharmacies in the teeming slums called favelas. \u201cPeople still haven\u2019t perceived the need to avoid gatherings, stay home,\u201d Crivella complained. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms including fever and cough. The risk of death is greater for the elderly and people with other health problems. The cities of Niteroi and Sao Goncalo near Rio on Monday authorized fines and criminal charges for violating stay-at-home orders. Niteroi police took the temperatures of those entering the city, and put a man and his two dogs inside a police van after he allegedly refused to show documents to justify being out of his home. In Sao Paulo state, Gov. Jo\u00e3o Doria last month urged but did not require residents to self-quarantine while shutting down schools and most businesses. Nearly 70% of the state\u2019s 44 million people initially complied, but that dropped below 50% in recent weeks, according to cellphone carrier data provided by the state. Doria, a presidential hopeful, saw his popularity increase as he challenged Bolsonaro. But police stopped enforcing his recommendations after Bolsonaro criticized the handcuffing and detention of a middle-aged woman exercising in a park who resisted removal. With noncompliance rising, Doria said last week that \u201cif we need to step up to a lockdown, we will not hesitate.\u201d Sao Paulo\u2019s mayor this week limited vehicles circulating in the city to 50% of the normal flow. Television images showed long lines of people entering crammed buses with standing room only in clear violation of social distancing guidelines. Public health analysts from the Imperial College London, whose COVID-19 research has guided global policymakers, last week called Brazil\u2019s anti-virus efforts \u201cpartially successful.\u201d \u201cIn the absence of the introduction of further control measures that will more strongly curb transmission, Brazil faces the prospect of an epidemic that will continue to grow exponentially,\u201d they wrote. ___ Savarese reported from Sao Paulo Claim: Brazil cities lurch to lockdowns amid virus crisis red flags.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4653376fe8004f6992b41d1e530741a0", + "input": "Paragraph: \"No discussion of costs \u2013 a recurring and significant oversight. The claims of \"\"100% accuracy\"\" and that \"\"The investigators found that after just one laser treatment, misfiring ceased in 84 percent of the treated veins, and 90 percent remained inactive three months after treatment\"\" aren\u2019t put into any meaningful context about what difference this made in patient outcomes. Of course, what can you possibly say about outcomes after just three months? Which is exactly the point of raising this issue at all. No discussion of harms. No discussion of the limitations of drawing conclusions from a study of just 27 people. No explanation of whether destroying misfiring cells with \"\"100% accuracy\"\" actually makes a difference in people\u2019s lives and outcomes. No overt disease mongering. However, to say that \"\"about 2.2 million Americans currently live with an irregular heartbeat condition, known as atrial fibrillation\"\" in the same breath as describing a study of just 27 people may imply that this very small study has immediate ramifications for all 2.2 million. And it does not. Barely satisfactory. There\u2019s actually no interview \u2013 only a rehash of what was published in a journal, restated from a news release. No independent source cited. Again, the comparison of the \"\"new approach\"\" with existing approaches is superficial and unhelpful. And there was no comparison of performance or outcomes data. Terribly incomplete on this point. It is never made clear whether the device and approach are still experimental or already in clinical use. The word \"\"new\"\" was used five times in the short story. Yet the real novelty of this approach is only scantily and insufficiently described \u2013 especially if the implication is that this has relevance for 2.2 million Americans. The story admits it\u2019s based on an American Heart Association news release. There\u2019s no sign of any independent reporting or vetting.\" Claim: Laser Used to Blast Away Cells Causing Irregular Heartbeat", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2a8f73edc1c44997b33c81bd604fa308", + "input": "Paragraph: Prime Minister Igor Matovic, whose team took office this past weekend, said the government would seek in coming days to double testing capacity to as many as 4,000 daily tests. Since the first coronavirus infections surfaced in the central European state of 5.5 million people earlier this month, only around 300 people have been tested daily, he said, and \u201cthat is well below our needs\u201d to help detect and isolate cases. Slovakia has reported 226 positive cases out of a total of 4,751 tests so far. The first two patients recovered this week. Neighbouring Czech Republic, with 10.7 million people, has tested 26,698 and reported 1,775 cases as of Thursday. There have been far fewer diagnoses of coronavirus in central Europe so far than in bigger western neighbours like Germany. But the region\u2019s economies have been hard hit due to shutdowns of borders, most shops and restaurants, and an increasing number of business idling or limiting factory output. Slovakia\u2019s parliament approved legislation on Wednesday allowing public health authorities to use data from telecommunications operators to ensure people quarantined due to coronavirus exposure remain isolated. Claim: Slovakia's new government to sharply ramp up coronavirus testing.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8646c9bc471e43f88b9ec54f01a9ce99", + "input": "Paragraph: \"If the current coronavirus were really the same as the common cold, why would it be causing some people to die, stock markets to reel and stadiums to go empty? And yet, claims likening coronavirus to the common cold persist, including in a Facebook post that says: \"\"The coronavirus: The Democrats are using it to promote fear. The Chinese are using it to control protestors. And all along it\u2019s simply the common cold.\"\" Gesundheit, but we've been here before. The 2019 coronavirus belongs to a family of viruses that includes the common cold, but the two are not the same. This Facebook post is wrong. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease, officially known as COVID-19, in Wuhan, China, in December, we\u2019ve fact-checked several claims that aim to downplay the severity of the virus and to blame the media, politicians or pharmaceutical companies for drawing attention to it. One such claim came from conservative radio talk show host and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Rush Limbaugh, who said the coronavirus is the common cold. Our rating was . As we reported: There are seven types of coronaviruses that can infect humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of those viruses, which are named for their crown-like structure, can cause colds. Most strains of the coronavirus are relatively mild and take the form of respiratory diseases such as the common cold. But more serious strains have emerged over the last two decades, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which spread across the globe in 2003. According to the CDC, the 2019 coronavirus is a \"\"beta coronavirus\"\" similar to SARS and the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, which was first identified in 2012. All three viruses have their origins in bats, and all three can induce symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath \u2014 similar to some common colds. More severe cases can cause pneumonia, kidney failure and death, according to the World Health Organization. A CDC fact-sheet describing common human coronaviruses said most people contract some type of coronavirus during their lives and that the more common strains \"\"usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory-tract illnesses, like the common cold.\"\" But the same fact sheet also knocked down the idea that the 2019 coronavirus was the exact same as the more common strains. \"\"This information applies to common human coronaviruses and should not be confused with Coronavirus Disease-2019,\"\" it said. The majority of viruses that cause the common cold are rhinoviruses, according to the CDC. Cases range from mild to moderate in severity, and many adults get two or three colds per year. Children are more likely to get them. In contrast, cases of the coronavirus have ranged from mild to severe, including illness resulting in death. Older people and those with preexisting medical conditions are more likely to suffer complications from COVID-19, while children are not. The virus has an estimated 3.4% mortality rate. In short, the 2019 coronavirus is a novel strain that was unknown before December 2019. It is different and can be much more dangerous than the common cold. Despite the differences, prevention for both the 2019 coronavirus and the common cold are relatively similar: wash your hands, avoid touching your face and stay away from people who are sick.\" Claim: The coronavirus is \u201csimply the common cold.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-43d8326c199b4ed89cb7830fe86ecee3", + "input": "Paragraph: The story never mentions costs. Quantitative estimate is provided in relative frame only. The lead author of the study says that 1 to 9% of the plaque was gone, but we have no context for these numbers, nor do we know if this is clinically meaningful. No harms or side effects are mentioned. Although there is mention of a trial, so little information is provided that the viewer cannot evaluate the strength of the evidence. There is no obvious disease mongering. Only a single source, the lead author of the study, is quoted. Although there is mention of diet and exercise, there is no mention of the advantages/disadvantages of high-dose Crestor by comparison. There was also no mention of current practice \u2013 use of regular doses of statins. There is no explanation of the availability of Crestor. Is it FDA approved? Is it on the market? The story can\u2019t assume that everyone knows. The story does not explain if the drug is new, old, investigational, or already approved. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release. But only the lead author is interviewed. Claim: Encouraging news about reversing heart disease", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-329850cef1204a2fbd04761863d32598", + "input": "Paragraph: Microwave ovens are a favorite bugaboo of the natural health set, and\u00a0claims that they were once banned in various countries, including the Soviet Union, are repeated uncritically on numerous natural health websites espousing their purported dangers. For example, a 24 August 2016 article published on the conspiracy-obsessed website Natural News\u00a0stated: The electromagnetic field (EMF) produced by common household microwaves is something Russia has taken seriously in the past. After conducting thorough research into the health effects of microwave EMFs, Russia determined in 1976 that microwaves were dangerous to their people. In that year, Russia banned the devices to protect their citizenry. Most (but not all) websites ambiguously state that the ban was\u00a0lifted sometime during or before perestroika, in an effort to warm relations between the two countries. From a purely historical standpoint, this is a dubious narrative at best. However, there is some historical precedent for the purported relationship between microwaves and the Soviet Union. For at least fifteen\u00a0years prior to 1976, the Soviets had literally been beaming microwave radiation at the American embassy in Moscow in an effort (by their own account) to prevent the United States from electronically eavesdropping \u2014 a fact made public that year, in a 28 February 1976 New York Times report: At least the main outlines of what might be called the Case of the Moscow Microwaves have finally emerged. For at least fifteen years the United States Embassy in Moscow has been systematically irradiated by microwaves generated in equipment installed nearby by Soviet intelligence agencies. The objectives of this bombardment presumably were to eavesdrop on conversations in the embassy and to attempt jamming of electronic monitoring equipment installed in and on the embassy. The United States State Department knew about this irradiation and protested from time to time, but the facts were kept secret from both the American public and most of the people in the embassy complex. This public acknowledgement spurred American research into the biological effects of low dose microwave radiation, and later led to an agreement between the Soviets and Americans to reduce the amount of microwave radiation to which the the embassy was exposed. Coverage of this event brought American concerns about microwave radiation to the forefront for the first time, spawning myriad articles and discussions at the time about a lack of research regarding its safety. The notion that a Russian ban on microwaves would go unreported in major United States newspapers during a time that\u00a0the Soviets were downplaying the risk of their own intentionally beamed microwave radiation is unlikely, given the perceived hypocrisy it would have engendered. Further, there were in fact a number of different microwaves available in the USSR during this supposed ban. Though they were unaffordable to the average Russian at the time \u2014 the first Soviet manufactured microwaves hit the scene in the 1970s. According to an\u00a0article in the 16 August 2016 issue of Russia\u2019s version of Popular Mechanics\u00a0about this very myth, at least twenty-three different models were manufactured during this time period. This one, from 1981 (smack dab in the time period of the purported ban), is described by that article\u2019s author as \u201cfamous\u201d: The origin of this myth, however, lies over 5000 miles away from Moscow in America\u2019s Pacific Northwest \u2014 Portland, Oregon. Every claim made regarding a Russian ban on microwaves stems from an article published in the first (and as far as we can tell, the only) issue of a mysterious publication\u00a0called the \u201cJournal of Natural Science.\u201d While the article\u00a0from the \u201cApril-June 1998 issue\u201d lists myriad claims about the dangers of microwave radiation, it is published without a single citation. That article also\u00a0incorrectly asserts that the Nazis invented the microwave oven, and both the Soviets and Americans got their hands on the details after the war for further research: These documents and the experimental microwave equipment was transferred to the U.S. War Department, and classified for reference and scientific investigation. The Soviet Union also retrieved some of the devices, and proceeded to undertake experimentation on a separate basis. The Russians have been the most diligent in their research on the biological effects of microwave ovens, and have outlawed their use, and have also issued an international warning concerning the possible biological and environmental damage that can be caused by the use of this similar-frequency electronic apparatus. The author of this article is listed as \u201cWilliam P. Kopp,\u201d whose biography is included at the end of the article: The original of this forensic research document is to be found in the Archives of the Atlantis Rising Educational Center in Portland, Oregon. The author William Kopp worked there from 1977 to 1979. Already twenty years ago Kopp gathered all documents known so far concerning the scientific proofs about microwaves\u2019 harmful effects on humans. By doing this he got in the way of a powerful lobby and was forced later on to even change his name and to disappear. While it is hard to verify the authenticity of an unsourced document written by someone who claims to have changed his name to disappear from the dangerous microwave lobby, it is possible to ascertain what (at least in the late 1970s)\u00a0the \u201cAtlantis Rising Educational Center\u201d was all about. Based on a classified ad placed in a January 1979 issue of the magazine Yoga Journal, it appears that this center was an alternative health bookstore selling herbal supplements: The allegation of a Soviet ban on microwave ovens may well have stayed within the walls of the Atlantis Rising Educational Center if not for the misleading promotion of this remarkably questionable document. Perhaps most notably, the claim was repeated by the natural health evangelist Joseph Mercola who parroted the claim almost word for word on his\u00a0web site, citing this Atlantis Rising \u201cstudy\u201d: The Nazis are credited with inventing the first microwave-cooking device to provide mobile food support to their troops during their invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. These first microwave ovens were experimental. After the war, the US War Department was assigned the task of researching the safety of microwave ovens. But it was the Russians who really took the bull by the horns. After the war, the Russians had retrieved some of these microwave ovens and conducted thorough research on their biological effects. Alarmed by what they learned, the Russians banned microwave ovens in 1976, later lifting the ban during Perestroika. Claim: Microwave ovens were banned in the USSR in 1976 to protect its citizens from harmful health effects.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e4b8b4fcb4ea43628fab4ecffa735886", + "input": "Paragraph: On Thursday, the United States laid out its objectives for a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain, seeking to entirely eliminate or reduce barriers for U.S. agricultural products and streamline regulatory differences. Opponents of Brexit have argued that such a U.S. accord would open up Britain\u2019s markets to the likes of chlorine-treated chicken and genetically modified crops, while ministers have said the government would not lower food standards to win trade deals. \u201cYou have been presented with a false choice: either stick to EU directives, or find yourselves flooded with American food of the lowest quality,\u201d Ambassador Woody Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. \u201cInflammatory and misleading terms like \u2018chlorinated chicken\u2019 and \u2018hormone beef\u2019 are deployed to cast American farming in the worst possible light. It is time the myths are called out for what they really are: a smear campaign from people with their own protectionist agenda.\u201d Johnson said American farmers were using all scientific and technological tools to help meet the challenges of a growing global population and the resulting health and environmental pressures that brought. \u201cIt is not sustainable for the whole world to follow the EU\u2019s \u2018Museum of Agriculture\u2019 approach. We have to look to the future of farming, not just the past,\u201d he said. Johnson said washing chicken was a \u201cpublic safety no-brainer\u201d and using growth hormones for cattle allowed more meat to be produced at a lower cost to the consumer and environment while being completely safe to eat. \u201cThe fact is that farmers in America have the same priorities as farmers in Britain\u201d, he said. \u201cIt would be a genuine missed opportunity to buy into the idea that the EU\u2019s traditionalist approach to agriculture is Britain\u2019s only option for a quality and efficient agriculture sector moving forward.\u201d In a separate story on Saturday, the Telegraph reported that Britain would follow all EU food and farming regulations for nine months should it exit the bloc without having secured a withdrawal deal to protect British farming. The newspaper said the move sent a signal that the United Kingdom wanted to stay aligned with European and not U.S. agricultural standards. Claim: Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain all died with white Bic lighters in their pockets.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-52b73c43b8bb4f0ca7f4b845b48e36c1", + "input": "Paragraph: \"A supporter of basing student access to bathrooms and locker rooms on gender identity at birth declared that as things stand, Austin's schools teach children to choose their genders. Spicewood attorney Glenna Hodge, testifying before the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee, said parents should recognize that without a protective law, their children can\u2019t count on privacy. Hodge went on: \"\"We also know that schools in Austin Independent School District are teaching children as young as 4 years old that their gender is fluid\u2013that they\u2019re not a boy or a girl and they can choose whichever gender they want.\"\" Asked for examples of schools doing so, Hodge told the panel in July 2017 that Austin\u2019s Kiker and Odom elementary schools trained teachers with \"\"Welcoming Schools\"\" materials devised by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. That campaign says it focuses on achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. In each training, Hodge testified, teachers were told to tell children that gender identity is fluid. We asked Hodge how she reached her conclusion about what students are taught. By phone, she said 24 of the Austin district\u2019s 85 elementary schools undertook the training, which she described as clearing the way for students to be taught gender-fluid lessons. \"\"What are the teachers supposed to do with the training? What\u2019s the point if not to affirm transgenderism?\"\" Hodge said. A 2017 web post Hodge pointed us to a January 2017 web post by the Southern Baptist Texan, a religious publication. The post, \"\"Trojan Horse: Austin \u2018anti-bullying\u2019 program pushes progressive views on gender, sexual identity,\"\" says the Welcoming Students material \"\"is taught to students as young as 4 years old\"\" and \"\"affirms same-sex marriage and parenting, gay and lesbian relationships, and transgenderism.\"\" In one module of the teacher training, the post says, \"\"teachers are asked to answer questions about their preconceived ideas about gender (i.e. gender bias). The lesson states, \u2018By embracing the richness of the gender spectrum, teachers and other adults can help broaden children\u2019s understandings of gender in order to help every child feel seen and recognized.\u2019\"\" The post goes on: \"\"By Module 5, children are told they can choose their gender identity even if that identity conflicts with biological reality. Questioning the child\u2019s choice of gender is not an option for teachers or students,\"\" the post says. A teacher\u2019s recollection Hodge also put us in touch with Caryl Ayala, who described herself by phone as a former Odom pre-kindergarten teacher where, she said, the Welcoming Schools training took place in 2015-16. She said she had no recording or notes taken during the training but pointed us to a Concerned Parents of Austin website presenting what appeared to be part of the training presentation. According to one training module, \"\"What is Gender?,\"\" presenters were to get teachers to \"\"recognize that gender expression is a social construct, without meaning other than the meaning we have given it.\"\" School district responses Seeking a full grasp on what teachers were taught and what students are told, we queried the Austin district. By email, a spokeswoman, Tiffany Young, initially conveyed a statement from Peter Price, district director of social and emotional learning, stating that in the 2014-15 through 2016-17 school years, 24 elementary campuses requested and received Welcoming Schools \"\"professional development,\"\" which Price described as a \"\"training for teachers to provide safe, supportive, inclusive environments for students and their families and to create a conversation among adults on campus to examine our language and practices.\"\" In each instance, Price, said, a letter was sent home at the start of the school year and parents were invited to attend a module. Young emailed us an undated letter to parents stating the training focuses on embracing family diversity, ending bullying and avoiding \"\"gender stereotyping and accepting diverse gender identities.\"\" From the parent letter: \"\"Pressure to conform to specific gender roles can limit a child\u2019s development by limiting experiences and expectations. We believe it is important to allow all students to reach their full potential and to feel safe expressing their individuality.\"\" So, are students taught that gender is fluid? In a follow-up statement, Price said \"\"one of the biggest misconceptions about our Welcoming Schools training for teachers is that they turn around after the training and present a curriculum/lessons to students about LGTBQ topics. That does not happen. The training is for adults, so they can be better prepared to welcome all students to our schools and to ensure all students feel safe and valued. There is no curriculum or lessons for the students.\"\" We later connected with Lisa Goodnow, the district\u2019s executive director for academic and social emotional learning, who said by phone that children in pre-kindergarten are taught about health and safety issues, not gender identity. Human sexuality gets taken up in middle and high school, Goodnow said. Goodnow emailed us a document showing topics addressed in the district\u2019s human sexuality curriculum from kindergarten through fifth grade. Human sexuality gets mentioned in third grade, the document says, with puberty discussed in fifth grade; there\u2019s no direct mention of gender identity in the document. When we asked Young about Austin schools doing the Welcoming Schools training in 2017-18, she replied that no schools were doing so but the district was \"\"looking into creating its own training program in the future for teachers and is taking the next year to develop it.\"\" Documentation At our inquiry, the district also gave access to hundreds of pages of emails and other documents from recent years about the Welcoming Schools trainings and gender-related topics. We didn\u2019t spot material suggesting teachers were telling students that gender is fluid. But documents did show interest among teachers and other staff in helping students come to terms with gender identity issues. Among the documents: --A 2015 paper, \"\"Beyond the Gender Binary: A Group for Teens,\"\" suggesting middle and high schools could provide opportunities for students to explore \"\"the many facets of gender identity and increase feelings of well-being in trans youth.\"\" --A 2015 email from Superintendent Paul Cruz to principals and staff sharing changes in policy adopted by the school board to protect gender identity and expression. The email said: \"\"Gender identity refers to a person\u2019s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as male, female or another gender. Gender expression refers to the external manifestation of a person\u2019s gender identity, which or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.\"\" Cruz\u2019s email further said he hoped to see the Welcoming Schools curriculum extended to all campuses. --A 2016 email from a district official to another sharing a CNN story on what it means to be \"\"gender-fluid.\"\" --A Welcoming Schools packet about using books in grades one through three to look at gender stereotyping. --A list of \"\"gender identity\"\" books for students including picture books for students starting in pre-k. \"\"Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy,\"\" the list says, follows Tulip \"\"as he deals with the birthday wishes of all the nine-year-olds in North America. Tulip receives a wish from a child known as David to live as Daniela. He doesn\u2019t know how to help, so he seeks the wise counsel of the Wish Fairy Captain.\"\" Another listed book: \"\"All I Want to Be is Me,\"\" is described as giving voice \"\"to the feelings of children who don\u2019t fit gender stereotypes, and who just want to be free to be themselves. Includes children who are fluid in their gender identity, as well as those that feel their body doesn\u2019t match who they really are,\"\" the summary says. Human Rights Campaign We also heard back from the Human Rights Campaign about its training materials. By email, spokeswoman Sarah McBride provided responses from Johanna Eager, director of Welcoming Schools, who said: \"\"We do not say that gender is a choice, but in workshops with educators, Welcoming Schools does reference the research and data which demonstrate that children begin to understand their gender identity as early as the age of four.\"\" We looked over the foundation\u2019s suggested Welcoming Schools lesson plans, noticing that none focus on children in pre-kindergarten and the lesson plan on \"\"understanding transgender children\"\" contains no language saying children should be told gender identity is fluid though there\u2019s reference to gender as a spectrum. That particular lesson plan, intended for teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade, lists among goals the expansion of \"\"students\u2019 perception and understanding of gender\"\" and also understanding \"\"what it means to be transgender using developmentally appropriate language for younger students.\"\" The plan also calls for students to read and discuss a nonfiction story, \"\"I Am Jazz,\"\" and it says students \"\"will learn new vocabulary words related to gender.\"\" From the publisher\u2019s summary of the story: \"\"From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.\"\" The lesson plan says teachers should understand before reading the book to students \"\"that gender is a spectrum, not a binary, and that we all express ourselves in many different ways along that spectrum. Each child is an individual with their own unique expression of who they are in the world,\"\" the plan says. Definitions offered with the lesson plan include: \"\"GENDER IDENTITY: How you feel \u2014 male, female, neither or both. This can be different from the anatomy that you were born with (sex assigned at birth).\"\" \"\"TRANSGENDER/TRANS: When your gender identity (how you feel) is different than how your body is (your anatomy). When a person with a boy body feels like a girl inside their heart and brain. Or, when a person with a girl body feels like a boy inside their heart and brain. \"\" \"\"GENDER BINARY: The idea that there are two distinct and opposite genders \u2014 male and female / boy and girl. This idea is limiting and doesn\u2019t allow for the many ways that children and adults express themselves.\"\" We followed up with Young, who noted by email that the Austin district didn\u2019t adopt the Welcoming Schools curriculum for classroom instruction. Further, she said: \"\"We are not aware of any elementary school teachers who are teaching gender fluidity.\"\" Our ruling Hodge said: \"\"Schools in Austin Independent School District are teaching children as young as 4 years old that their gender is fluid \u2013 that they\u2019re not a boy or a girl and they can choose whichever gender they want.\"\" Hodge didn\u2019t deliver proof of Austin students including toddlers getting told that gender is fluid nor did we confirm such instruction. It\u2019s clear otherwise that the district has put energy into teachers understanding that each child comes to terms with gender identity among developmental issues. Teacher training materials include a lesson plan describing gender identity varying along a spectrum. \u2013 The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.\" Claim: Schools in Austin Independent School District are teaching children as young as 4 years old that their gender is fluid \u2013 that they\u2019re not a boy or a girl and they can choose whichever gender they want.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d5efaa746dd94411882e14f1e82649c3", + "input": "Paragraph: As the search continues for the final two missing bodies from Monday\u2019s deadly eruption, Law knows it will be challenging for his business, Kahu Helicopters. Some of his seven staff, including three pilots, could lose their jobs. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be greatly affected, we\u2019re anticipating probably damn near shutting the doors. It\u2019s going to be devastating, we\u2019ve been operating that part of our business for years,\u201d he said. Law is not alone worrying about his future in Whakatane, a picturesque town of 35,000 of the shore of the Bay of Plenty that is the main access point to the volcanic island. Anne Tolley, the local member of parliament, said the town was shattered by the disaster and its thoughts were with the victims, but hoped that tours would one day restart. \u201cIt is iconic and it is certainly is the centerpiece of the town\u2019s tourism. We also have fantastic beaches and walks and the kiwi, but Whakaari, you will have seen all the signs, we are the gateway to Whakaari,\u201d Tolley told Reuters, using the M\u0101ori name for the volcano. Daily tours had taken more than 10,000 visitors every year to privately owned island 50km (30 miles) off the coast. Tours to the island were part of Whakatane\u2019s history, and operators had been gearing up for the peak Christmas holiday season before Monday\u2019s disaster, Tolley said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult coming at probably the busiest time of year for them. It will be devastating.\u201d On Monday, the 48-year-old Law had quickly organized three other pilots to fly out to the island, where they picked up 10 badly burned people and flew them back to Whakatane\u2019s hospital. Law and his team tried to fly back to the island to recover the bodies of those they knew had died, but were \u201ctremendously disappointed\u201d to be stopped by police. After initially being sidelined from police operations, by mid-week Law was sharing his knowledge of the volcano\u2019s terrain and environment with the military squad that on Friday retrieved six of the eight bodies left behind. On the weekend, the search continued for the remaining bodies. \u201cAt the end of the day people on the ground generally know and it is important\u2026 to weave into the plan the effort of the local people,\u201d Law told Reuters. Shock had ripped through Whakatane at the eruption, with the local hospital overwhelmed as dozens of seriously injured people were delivered from the island. Whakatane\u2019s tourism sector had been growing strongly with the unique marine volcano at its heart, but with the prospect that people may be reluctant to visit the island even if it is reopened, immediate prospects will be challenging. As the recovery mission on Friday played out, Boz Te Moana, 24, and Michael Mika, 28, waited to support their community gathered in the indigenous M\u0101ori marae, or meeting ground. The two, who had traveled from their homes further up the Whakatane River, hoped in time tours to the waters around the island would be allowed again but tourists should not step foot on it again, out of respect for the dead, they said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the mamae or the hurt will ever change, but the environment, it\u2019s up to the town itself to move forward from here in the most positive way,\u201d said Te Moana, using the M\u0101ori word for pain. Claim: Spiriva as good as Serevent in asthma study", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-50d2f4e1968b405bae2bedc9a10bde34", + "input": "Paragraph: State health officials say the rating system will primarily use data from three sources: insurance claims, provider surveys, and consumer experience surveys. The information will be made publicly available to those searching for high-quality addiction treatment, as well as to public and private payers, states, and referral sources. The system is being developed by the national nonprofit organization Shatterproof . The rating system will examine evidence-based specialty addiction treatment providers including residential, outpatient, and intensive outpatient programs that are licensed, certified or approved by states to provide treatment for substance use disorder. If the pilot program is successful, the rating system will be launched nationwide. Claim: Massachusetts to help test addiction treatment rating system.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4d047ed158384dc79cbe1a5dadbf5fb4", + "input": "Paragraph: Parts of this rumor are true, but they have been twisted into a false narrative. Tidbits from various reports have been used to make a number of claims about John Kerry\u2019s ties to Iranian nuclear negotiators. These reports\u00a0argue that Kerry should have recused himself from nuclear talks with Iran because of conflicts of interest. Let\u2019s take a look at claims\u00a0that have frequently appeared: John Kerry\u2019s Daughter Married an Iranian John Kerry\u2019s daughter married a man of Iranian descent, but he was born and raised in America. Dr. Vanessa Bradford Kerry married Dr. Brian Vala Nahed in 2009. The couple met as resident doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Vanessa was practicing internal medicine there, and Nahed was practicing neurological surgery, according to a New York Times wedding announcement: The bridegroom graduated magna cum laude from the\u00a0University of California, Los Angeles, and received his\u00a0medical degree cum laude from Yale. His father, a\u00a0pulmonologist and sleep medicine and critical-care\u00a0physician, is the chief of staff at Holy Cross Hospital in\u00a0Mission Hills, Calif. He also runs a private practice\u00a0there, which is managed by the bridegroom\u2019s mother. Nahed\u00a0was born in New York, according to his Mass General bio. John Kerry Concealed His Son-in-Law\u2019s Iranian Bloodlines This one is mostly fiction. John Kerry acknowledged his family\u2019s connection to Iran in a statement that was released on the Iranian New Year in March 2013: It\u2019s a privilege to join President Obama in sending warm\u00a0wishes for health and prosperity to the people of Iran and all\u00a0those who celebrate Nowruz around the world. As you gather with your loved ones around the Sofreh Haft-Seen, we are proud to note that many Americans will join you\u00a0in celebrating Nowruz. This year, we are once again reminded\u00a0of the outstanding contributions of Iranian-Americans and\u00a0Iranian students here in the United States, which reflect the\u00a0rich history of your culture. I am proud of the Iranian-Americans in my own family, and grateful for how they have\u00a0enriched my life. Kerry made the admission after a website operated by the Iranian government reported that his son-in-law was an Iranian-American and had still relatives in Iran. The report was published as Kerry faced a Senate confirmation hearing to become secretary of state, so it wasn\u2019t a \u201csecret.\u201d Kenneth Timmerman, president of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, described the timing of Kerry\u2019s statement in a column that appeared in the Daily Caller: Was the Iranian publication itself a subtle form\u00a0of blackmail, aimed at letting Kerry know that\u00a0the regime is fully aware of his son-in-law\u2019s\u00a0extended family in Iran? The Islamic Republic\u00a0systematically puts pressure on family\u00a0members of prominent Iranian-Americans (for\u00a0example, individuals who work at the Persian\u00a0service of Voice of America), to make sure that\u00a0they do not engage in hostile statements or\u00a0activities against the Tehran regime. Certainly, Secretary Kerry has long favored a\u00a0U.S. rapprochement with the Islamic Republic. He has repeatedly appeared with groups such\u00a0as the American Iranian Council (AIC), and has\u00a0taken money from Iranian-Americans for his\u00a0political campaigns,\u00a0including at least one\u00a0illegal donation\u00a0from an Iranian woman who\u00a0did not have a green card. So he didn\u2019t need\u00a0to have an Iranian-American family member to\u00a0believe that the United States should forge\u00a0direct relations with the Islamic Republic or\u00a0ease U.S. pressure on the regime. Kerry may have figured that by revealing the\u00a0family tie himself he could diffuse the situation,\u00a0and make it more difficult for the regime to put\u00a0pressure on his son-in-law\u2019s family. Of course,\u00a0that\u2019s assuming Kerry in fact plans to do\u00a0anything that angers the regime. Besides, the New York Times ran a wedding announcement in 2009 that quoted Kerry, so it wouldn\u2019t have been a very well guarded secret. The Son of an Iranian Foreign Minister Was the Best Man in John Kerry\u2019s Daughter\u2019s Wedding-Reported as Fiction! There\u2019s no proof that this one is true. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was one of the principal negotiators in nuclear talks with the U.S. The rumor that Zarif\u2019s son was the best man in Kerry\u2019s daughter\u2019s wedding started with a post on Allen B. West\u2019s website in July 2015: Secretary Kerry and Zarif first met over a\u00a0decade ago at a dinner party hosted by\u00a0George Soros at his Manhattan penthouse. What a surprise. I have to say, connecting the\u00a0dots gets more and more frightening. But it gets even worse. Guess who was the\u00a0best man at the 2009 wedding between\u00a0Kerry\u2019s daughter Vanessa and Behrouz Vala\u00a0Nahed? Javad Zarif\u2019s son. The story doesn\u2019t cite a source, but Vanessa Kerry Nahed quickly shot the rumor down. She tweeted that her husband didn\u2019t have a best man because they didn\u2019t have a bridal party at their wedding. An Iranian news agency called the report a\u00a0\u201cnews fabrication\u201d and said Zarif\u2019s son wasn\u2019t at the wedding. According to the report: Officials at the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday\u00a0strongly rejected some US media reports alleging that\u00a0Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif\u2019s son had\u00a0attended the wedding ceremony of Vanessa Kerry, the\u00a0daughter of US Secretary of State John Kerry. The foreign ministry\u2019s denial came after several American\u00a0websites claimed in the last few days that Zarif\u2019s son, Mehdi\u00a0Zarif, had not only attended the wedding party of Dr.\u00a0Vanessa Bradford Kerry and her Iranian American husband\u00a0doctor Brian Vala Nahed, but also been Vala Nahed\u2019s best\u00a0man. The report seems to have appeared on the US media not to\u00a0hurt the Iranian foreign minister, but to damage Kerry\u2019s credit\u00a0and reputation as the Republicans and the Israeli lobbies\u00a0have started massive propaganda to torpedo a recent\u00a0nuclear deal struck between the six world powers and Iran. Only the powerful Israeli lobby group, AIPAC, has declared a\u00a020 million dollar fund for the purpose. And the Vanessa-Brian story only seems to be the beginning. It is true, however, that Kerry has a personal relationship with\u00a0Zarif that predates\u00a0the nuclear talks. The diplomats\u2019 relationship was reported in a 2012 book by author Hooman Majd. Claim: Secretary of State John Kerry\u2019s daughter married an Iranian man with connections to an Iranian foreign minister who participated in nuclear negotiations. ", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-329915c16bf4412cae96cb7e71762101", + "input": "Paragraph: The United Nations calls climate change the \u201cdefining issue of our time\u201d and is hosting a New York summit on it next week. But reformers within say in the letter addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that it needs more radical change to get its own house in order. \u201cOur commitments need to be more ambitious and at least as concrete as those of the UN Member States and non-party stakeholders attending the UN Climate Action Summit,\u201d said the letter, signed by at least 1,950 employees. It was organized by a group called Young UN, an internal network committed to ensuring the organization embodies the principles it stands for. \u201cAs Greta Thunberg just sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and young people across the world continue to strike every Friday, let us look at our own impact and take bold steps to address the climate emergency,\u201d the letter said, referring to the Swedish teenager who has inspired global climate strikes. The United Nations emitted 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, according to its own data which includes both the 44,000 secretariat staff present in more than 60 countries as well as tens of thousands of interns, contractors and peacekeeping troops deployed worldwide. That equates to a carbon footprint larger than several of its member states, including Malta and Liberia, according to statistics from the Global Carbon Atlas for 2017. Among 10 issues identified by Young UN are travel allowances, which the letter said needed to be cut or scrapped \u201cin order to disincentivize travel by UN employees and UN meeting participants motivated by financial gain\u201d. Allowances, or per diems as they are known internally, are intended to cover travel costs including food and accommodation, and can exceed $400 a day for some locations such as New York, according to the International Civil Service Commission website. The letter also suggested that staff should be rewarded for downgrading from business class, where a spacious seat generates several times the emissions of an economy class ticket. Travel accounts for nearly half the United Nations\u2019 emissions, its data show. Last year, under pressure from member states, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme, Erik Solheim, stepped down amid criticism of his travels. Other reforms recommended in the letter include a complete divestment of the more than $60 billion U.N. pension fund from fossil fuels and creating offices run entirely on renewable energy. Young UN did not respond to requests for comment. Guterres is seeking to combat climate change from within in order to boost sustainability. \u201cThe Secretary-General welcomes the initiative of Young UN on climate action in the UN system,\u201d Guterres\u2019 office said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. \u201cThe Secretary-General is committed to lead by example and calls for transformative action to address the climate crisis, including on the part of the UN system and Secretariat itself,\u201d it continued. The employees\u2019 letter welcomed Guterres\u2019 internal strategy but said it \u201cmisses the urgency of the crisis we are facing\u201d. The United Nations has also launched a \u201cGreening the Blue\u201d initiative which measures the U.N. system\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions, waste disposal, fresh-water use, and environmental management. According to its latest report issued on Friday, 55 of its entities, or 95 percent, including the Secretariat, were climate neutral in 2018, against just over a third the previous year. But the letter raises doubts about U.N. offset mechanisms, a method that works through purchases of U.N.-certified carbon credits from approved green projects and is widely used by organizations and businesses to tout their green credentials. This echoes criticism from NGOs about the contribution of offsets to sustainable development. Isabella Marras, Sustainable UN Coordinator, whose team produces the Greening the Blue report and was a signatory to the letter, said she saw scope for the United Nations to give even greater attention to environmental considerations. \u201cWhat we are missing is the aggressive integration of environmental issues into our programs like the UN has done for women,\u201d she told Reuters. But she stressed some of the pragmatic challenges in regions where environmental standards are less strong than in Western countries. Marie-Claire Graf, a 23-year-old Swiss climate activist visiting the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva, said the number of U.N. vehicles in vast carparks overlooking the lake and mountains was surprising. \u201cThe UN is doing some amazing things on environment but I am shocked by so many SUVs and the amount of travel,\u201d said Graf, who was selected along with 100 young climate leaders to attend the U.N. Youth Climate Summit on 21 September. \u201cThe UN needs to lead on this transformation.\u201d Claim: U.N. urged by own staff to look at its climate footprint.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2228a92dc9094c94815e2108046f47ea", + "input": "Paragraph: Frates is fighting back from a summer health scare that landed him in the hospital while still trying to be a public face of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a degenerative disease that destroys nerve cells, impairs physical functions and so far has no cure. The former Boston College baseball star, who can no longer speak or move, spent most of July in the hospital battling pneumonia and other infections. In July, a tweet erroneously reporting his demise led to worldwide headlines. Frates wryly countered by posting a short video of himself lying in a hospital bed with Pearl Jam\u2019s \u201cAlive\u201d playing in the background. Using a computer system that lets him type out words through eye movements, Frates has been tweeting about his progress to his nearly 30,000 followers, along with regular musings about his family and friends, living with ALS and Boston sports. \u201clots of down days as you can imagine with als, sometimes you don\u2019t feel human,\u201d he tweeted Sept. 23. \u201cToday I am definitely feeling sorry for myself, sukxx. but I will bounce back. Eff! you als.. Friggin a hole! !\u201d In the weeks since his July health scare, the 32-year-old has re-emerged to accept honors and accolades across his home state of Massachusetts. Last month, he joined Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Red Sox officials and the Boston College baseball team on the steps of City Hall to declare Sept. 5 \u201cPete Frates Day\u201d in Boston. And former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and other Boston sports legends feted Frates at Fenway Park to mark the release of a new book on his life, \u201cThe Ice Bucket Challenge: Pete Frates and the Fight Against ALS.\u201d Half the proceeds benefit Frates and his family. Frates\u2019 wife, Julie, said it\u2019s been a difficult and busy few months, but she couldn\u2019t persuade her husband to slow things down even if she wanted to. \u201cHe\u2019s the one pushing to be out there,\u201d she said. \u201cWe take all the lead from him.\u201d The ice bucket challenge had been around for almost a year to benefit various causes. But Frates is credited with helping focus it on ALS specifically and taking it global using his wide network of supporters as an established ALS advocate. The challenge raised roughly $220 million in 2014, of which $115 million went to the ALS Association. A sequel campaign the next summer raised just over $1 million, according to the association. The ALS Association says it has committed more than $89 million of the 2014 windfall to research. \u201cNew, exciting research is just starting to pan out, and that\u2019s drawing new talent to ALS research, and a lot of companies are now interested in ALS,\u201d said Dr. Nazem Atassi, a Massachusetts General Hospital neurologist whose ALS research benefited from ice bucket challenge money. \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect environment for drug discovery.\u201d Among the most promising developments to come out of research funded by the challenge has been the identification of at least four genes that contribute to the disease, a critical step toward developing new treatments, said Kevin Eggan, a professor at Harvard University who specializes in ALS. Another development that gives the Frates family hope is Radicava, a drug approved in May by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following testimony from the Frates and other advocates. It\u2019s the first new treatment approved specifically for ALS in 22 years. Frates\u2019 mother, Nancy, said they\u2019re applying to get her son on the drug, even though it\u2019s not clear how it might help, given his advanced condition. The medication, which was developed in Japan without funding from the ice bucket challenge, has been shown to slow the disease in recently diagnosed patients. \u201cYou just want it to stop,\u201d Nancy said. \u201cYou want someone to say this disease is not tearing through your loved one\u2019s body anymore.\u201d ALS is still finding new ways to attack Frates, said his father, John, a city councilor in Beverly who quit his financial services job to help care for his son after he was diagnosed in 2012. Frates\u2019 bladder stopped working last year, requiring his urine now to be drained with a catheter every three hours, John Frates said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing he\u2019s tolerating all of it. It just shows the courage, will and determination he has to be with us,\u201d Frates\u2019 father said. \u201cHe\u2019s as incapacitated as a human being can be. That\u2019s his quality of life.\u201d ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/philip%20marcelo Claim: ALS patient behind ice bucket challenge: I will bounce back.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a69988bcc2f9417fbe57de89d216cbf3", + "input": "Paragraph: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker administered oaths to the 40-member Senate and 160-member House in ceremonies signaling the start of the 191st term for one of America\u2019s oldest legislative bodies. Formally known as the General Court, the Legislature traces its roots to the Colonial era. The first order of business in each chamber \u2014 both firmly controlled by Democrats \u2014 was the re-election of presiding officers. Rep. Robert DeLeo, of Winthrop, already the longest-serving House speaker in the state\u2019s history having first taken the gavel in 2009, returned for another two-year term. Ashland Democrat Karen Spilka will serve her first full term as Senate president after first assuming the post in July. Speaking in the ornate Senate chamber, which reopened Wednesday for the first time in more than 18 months following a $20 million renovation, Spilka called for several \u201cbold\u201d initiatives in response to what she said were demands from Massachusetts residents to move beyond \u201csmall ideas and incremental change.\u201d Spilka said her priorities would include legislation to better control health care spending by reining in the high cost of prescription drugs and redistribute state education funding to better serve children who live in poorer school districts. Recalling the untreated psychological trauma her father suffered as a result of his military service, the Senate leader also appealed for a broad expansion of mental health services throughout the state. \u201cWe simply cannot end the epidemic of addiction or solve the problems of chronic homelessness and unemployment, child abuse and neglect, veteran and first responder PTSD, childhood bullying, or repeated incarceration, without first addressing the underlying issue of mental health,\u201d said Spilka. While not specifically calling for tax increases, Spilka said the state would need to \u201ccapture new revenues\u201d to support new and existing programs. Spilka, a liberal Democrat, was widely expected to stake out a progressive agenda that could meet resistance in the House, which is also controlled by Democrats but is seen as more conservative than the Senate. Baker, a moderate Republican who remains opposed to any broad-based tax hikes, could also prove a stumbling block. In brief comments following his re-election on Wednesday, DeLeo declared that \u201cno one\u2019s rights will be infringed upon in Massachusetts,\u201d an apparent swipe at the policies of President Donald Trump and other Republicans in Washington. DeLeo generally waits until a few weeks into a new session before outlining his legislative priorities. Sen. Bruce Tarr, of Gloucester, and Rep. Brad Jones, of North Reading, will again serve as the minority leaders in their respective chambers. There are 32 Republicans in the House and only six in the Senate, with the GOP having lost a handful of legislative seats in the November election. Claim: State Senate leader outlines agenda as lawmakers sworn in.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3f044e3d61d4488285d82f609d3603b2", + "input": "Paragraph: The article does not mention the cost of hormone therapy or compare its cost against that of other therapies. Since the story suggests that treatment might be helpful in younger women with severe hot flashes, cost is relevant. The article suggests that hormone therapy might help younger women control hot flashes. But the primary subject of both the Newsweek story and the new research is harms of therapy, not benefits, so we consider this criterion not applicable in this case. The Newsweek story summarizes the previously published analyses of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative trials, which found that women who received hormone therapy had a slightly higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, and breast cancer than women who received placebo. It reports new data on the harms of hormone therapy in women who have hot flashes and night sweats. However, the story does not report the frequency of these potential harms, making it difficult for readers to judge their risks. Some readers with bad hot flashes and night sweats might think the risks of heart attack and death are too small to worry about, others might not. (See \u201cComments\u201d below.) The article fails to alert the reader to the provisional quality of the new findings. As the researchers note in their published manuscript, the current subgroup and secondary analyses are \u201cexploratory\u201d and \u201cnot statistically significant.\u201d In other words, they represent very interesting hypotheses for further exploration. The also demonstrate how little we know about menopausal symptoms and their management. The news story says only that the analyses \u201chad some technical issues.\u201d According to the story, hot flashes might be \u201cdangerous\u201d because they might predict heart disease. Thus, the article adds another normal feature of aging (postmenopausal hot flashes) to the list of experiences that are not only distressing and uncomfortable but also apparently perilous to a woman\u2019s health. Unfortunately, the article fails to note that none of the research findings are statistically significant. Hot flashes might be important, or they might not. The article cites the lead author of the new study, who is also the head of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative. But a second source not associated with the research might have added a valuable and different perspective, perhaps pointing out that the evidence is weak and does not warrant action by women or their health care providers. The story mentions one option to hormone therapy for managing difficult symptoms of menopause\u2014doing nothing. The current evidence suggests there are few other good options. But there are several strategies for preventing and treating heart disease and stroke, including exercise and diet, as well as monitoring risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. The story does not mention availability, but most readers affected by hot flashes will be familiar with hormone therapy. The article accurately suggests that hormone therapy is not a new treatment. The story did not appear to rely solely or largely on a news release. Claim: Menopause: A flash of concern", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a258b1cd812241afa9821d5e95f42197", + "input": "Paragraph: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the subject of increased scrutiny and rhetorical attacks from the right in January 2019, after she declared she was in the running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Against that background, a viral meme re-emerged on social media that attributed an eye-catching viewpoint on abortion to the Massachusetts senator: \u201c\u2018Having an abortion is no different than someone having their tonsils removed.\u2019 \u2014 Liberal Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren. Yes, she really said this and is really this damn crazy and stupid.\u201d In reality, Warren did not make these remarks. On 24 July 2018, an opinion column she wrote was published in Marie Claire magazine, one speculating that the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice would create a conservative-leaning majority on the court that could bring a reversal of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision: \u201cThe threat of overturning Roe v. Wade is also serious. When abortions are illegal, women don\u2019t stop getting them \u2014 they just risk their lives to do it. Today, thanks to Roe, getting an abortion is safer than getting your tonsils out. Before Roe v. Wade, many women turned to back-alley butchers to end their pregnancies.\u201d In September 2018, the pro-life website LifeNews published an article that created a misleading impression of what Warren had actually said under the headline \u201cElizabeth Warren Compares Abortion to \u2018Getting Your Tonsils Out. '\u201d That article went on to state that \u201cA pro-abortion Democrat from Massachusetts, Warren even likened the killing of an unborn baby in an abortion to getting tonsils removed.\u201d In January 2019, the right-leaning NewsTarget website went even further in misrepresenting Warren\u2019s actual remarks, with an article that carried the headline \u201cSenator Elizabeth Warren likens an abortion to getting your TONSILS YANKED, because population control freaks think human babies in the womb are just worthless tissue.\u201d Actually, Warren was making a very different point. Her column linked to a Time magazine article about a 2015 study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. The lead author of that study, Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, told Time that the rate of complications observed after abortion procedures was lower than that seen after wisdom tooth removals and tonsillectomies. That\u2019s a point Upadhyay has made elsewhere in support of the comparative safety of abortion procedures, and in opposition to laws restricting access to abortion or imposing stricter requirements before a woman can undergo the procedure. In an op-ed published by USA Today on 21 January 2019, Dr. Upadhyay wrote: \u201cAdvocates of these [restrictive] laws usually use the misconception that abortion is unsafe to make arguments in favor of admitting privileges requirements and other abortion restrictions. In reality, less than one-third of 1 percent of abortions result in a major complication. Abortion is safer than wisdom tooth extraction and tonsillectomy, so it\u2019s clear that these laws aren\u2019t actually about protecting patients. Indeed, my research shows these policies have no observable effects on patient safety.\u201d So when Warren wrote that \u201cgetting an abortion is safer than getting your tonsils out,\u201d she was making a point about the relative safety of the procedure as part of a broader argument in defense of Roe v. Wade. Claim: \"Sen. Elizabeth Warren once said: \"\"Having\u00a0an abortion is no different than someone having their tonsils removed.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-47042faa7e034924a4fc5449d31b5fbb", + "input": "Paragraph: \"An Instagram post making a political point about abortion in the United States muffs the landing by claiming that no one has died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. \"\"Death toll in America,\"\" the March 1 post says. \"\"Coronavirus 0, abortion 63,000,000.\"\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Though any count of abortions in the United States can\u2019t be precise, the abortion number seems to be a reasonable estimate. (Read our 2012 fact-check for details.) But for COVID-19, the post is simply wrong. As of March 3, there have been nine deaths from COVID-19 in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported six deaths on their website while the Seattle Times reported three more deaths that afternoon. The victims were all in Washington state. Of course, the Instagram post was published on March 1. But the first death was reported on Feb. 29. Officials announced four more deaths on March 2.\" Claim: Instagram posts Says no one has died from the coronavirus in the United States.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-dcfa4e9d41924e2b9f529b96729694c6", + "input": "Paragraph: \"It starts like a joke \u2014 Gov. Rick Scott walks into a Gainesville Starbucks \u2014 but one patron wasn\u2019t laughing. In town on April 5, 2016, to tour the recently opened factory and headquarters for biopharmaceutical company Nanotherapeutics, Scott stopped in to the coffee chain for a cup. Cara Jennings, a former Lake Worth city commissioner, saw Scott and ripped into him from her seat. Among other grievances, she accused him of denying her health care coverage with his policies. \"\"In fact, you cut Medicaid so I couldn\u2019t get Obamacare,\"\" Jennings shouted on April 5, 2016. \"\"You are an a------! You don\u2019t care about working people. You don\u2019t care about working people. You should be ashamed to show your face around here.\"\" When Scott countered that the state had created a million jobs since the recession, she said no one cared (read our fact-check on those jobs numbers). She then criticized his March signing of a bill denying funding for women\u2019s health care clinics that performed abortions (read our check about that issue). We tried to reach Jennings by phone, text, email and even Facebook, but we didn\u2019t hear back from her, so we don\u2019t really know the specifics of her situation. That makes it difficult to gauge whether she was able to benefit from the health care law. But we can look at whether Scott cut Medicaid, the joint state and federal program to provide health insurance for the very poor, in a way that could have denied people health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. It\u2019s not so much that he cut anything, but more that he hasn\u2019t consistently supported expanding the program. That has indeed left hundreds of thousands of Floridians without coverage. The expansion debate Jennings told ABC Action News in Tampa after the incident that she is a single mother who worked part-time. That provides clues that she may fall into what is known as the Medicaid coverage gap. To understand why, let\u2019s review how the Affordable Care Act is linked to Medicaid. The law originally wanted to cover uninsured people two different ways. One was to subsidize people who needed help buying insurance through state marketplaces or HealthCare.gov. The second was to expand Medicaid to cover a higher number of poorer people. Normally, to be eligible for Medicaid, your annual income has to be 44 percent of the federal poverty level (100 percent is currently $11,880 for an individual and $24,300 for a family of four). The plan was to extend that eligibility to all adults up to 138 percent of the poverty level. Technically the calculation under the law is 133 percent, but a 5 percent deduction is added on top of that. But Medicaid expansion ended up being optional after a 2012 Supreme Court ruling saying it could not be forced upon states. Currently 19 states, including Florida, have chosen not to grow the program. Recent estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 948,000 uninsured adults in Florida would be covered by an expansion. This has led to plenty of debate among lawmakers, including a meltdown during the 2015 Florida legislative session over how to cover more lower-income residents. The Senate was open to a limited expansion, while the House opposed it altogether. But now the math really starts to get tricky. If a state doesn\u2019t expand Medicaid, people who make 100 to 400 percent of the poverty level can get marketplace subsidies to buy private insurance. Because of the way the law was written, that leaves people making between 44 and 100 percent of the poverty level out in the cold, without assistance. Those people don\u2019t qualify for Medicaid, and can\u2019t get subsidies to buy insurance. That\u2019s the so-called coverage gap. According to Kaiser, there are 567,000 people under that umbrella in the Sunshine State. Chances are good that a single mother working part time could fit into that definition. Scott, a former hospital chain executive best known for resigning amid controversy over his company defrauding Medicare, has had a spotty history with Medicaid. He initially opposed expanding the program under Obamacare, then supported it during his re-election campaign, then went back to opposing it. While the Legislature is the body that would have to approve an expansion, Scott\u2019s opinion affects the debate. (Scott\u2019s office did not respond to our questions about Medicaid.) He has argued with Washington over the federal government ending payments for low-income hospital patients, leaving the Legislature to use state money to plug holes in the program the last two years. Scott has also asked lawmakers to eliminate automatic increases to Medicaid hospital rates. He\u2019s also overseen the state\u2019s controversial transition to managed care, in which private companies took over Medicaid policies as a cost-cutting measure. Florida CHAIN, a consumer health advocacy group, told us managed care organizations had actually seen a boost in funding. And there\u2019s the aforementioned abortion bill Scott signed on March 25. That bill prevents state and Medicaid money from going to clinics that perform elective abortions, including Planned Parenthood affiliates. But these are specific issues not necessarily related to getting access to broad health care coverage under Obamacare. While many Floridians remain uninsured without Medicaid expansion, we found no evidence of an outright cut, as Jennings said. Our ruling The activist at Starbucks said Rick Scott \"\"cut Medicaid\"\" so people can't \"\"get Obamacare.\"\" Her point-blank accusation that Scott cut the program doesn\u2019t fit. But through Scott\u2019s inaction and the Florida House's resistance to expansion,\u00a0many Floridians are not benefitting from either subsidies to buy private insurance or an expanded Medicaid. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details.\" Claim: \"Rick Scott's Starbucks heckler Says Rick Scott \"\"cut Medicaid\"\" so people can't \"\"get Obamacare.\"", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-de9f7411d7e14a74afd5530b653eea40", + "input": "Paragraph: Doctors in India have been successful in treating coronavirus with a combination of drugs (Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine) and are going to suggest the same medicine globally. India\u2019s ministry of health has advised that the anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Retonovir, are used in some groups of Covid-19 patients. But it is unclear how successful this treatment has been. The other two drugs from the claim are not mentioned in their guidance. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus. Researchers in the Netherlands have released research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, on an antibody against the new coronavirus. A 103 year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from Covid-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China This has been widely reported in the media. Apple has reopened all 42 China stores. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Apple announced that it had reopened all 42 stores in mainland China after a closure of almost six weeks. Cleveland Clinic developed a Covid-19 test that gives results in hours, not days. The number of new cases in South Korea is declining. Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe. Whilst it is true that an older population has contributed to a high number of deaths in Italy, it may not be the sole reason. Scientists in Israel are likely to announce the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Scientists in Israel and elsewhere are working on developing a vaccination to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but it won\u2019t be ready for the public for over a year. Three Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered and are able to return to everyday life. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland confirmed that three residents who previously had the virus no longer tested positive. A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid-19 research. At least one group of Canadian scientists has recently announced some progress in understanding Covid-19. A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore. Tulsa County's first positive Covid-19 case has recovered. This individual has had two negative tests, which is the indicator of recovery. Correct, this patient has recovered according to official Tulsa County sources. Two negative tests is one of three official indicators of recovery among people with Covid-19 (who showed symptoms). All seven patients who were getting treated for Covid-19 at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi have recovered. There is a news story reporting that seven patients in this hospital in New Delhi had recovered. However, these were not the only Covid-19 patients in the city. Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid -19 can treat others infected by Covid-19. This is being used as a treatment in some countries, but clinical trials have not yet proved that this is effective. Claim 1 of 15 Claim: Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-1814a8baf1874719851bc2fa46771b86", + "input": "Paragraph: Many of China\u2019s usually teeming cities have almost become ghost towns during the past two weeks as Communist Party rulers ordered virtual lockdowns, canceled flights, closed factories and shut schools. Even on Monday, a large number of workplaces and schools will remain closed and many white-collar employees will work from home. The scale of the potential hit to an economy that has been the engine of global growth in recent years has taken a toll on financial markets, as shares slumped and investors switched into safe-havens such as gold, bonds and the Japanese yen. China\u2019s ambassador to Britain described the newly identified virus as \u201cthe enemy of mankind\u201d in a BBC interview on Sunday, but added it \u201cis controllable, is preventable, is curable\u201d. \u201cAt this moment is very difficult to predict when we are going to have an inflection point,\u201d Liu Xiaoming said. \u201cWe certainly hope it will come soon, but the isolation and quarantine measures have been very effective.\u201d China\u2019s cabinet said it would coordinate with transport authorities to ensure the smooth return to work of employees in key industries such as food and medicines. The State Council\u2019s special coronavirus group also said workers should return in \u201cbatches\u201d, rather than all at once, in order to reduce infection risks. China\u2019s National Health Commission recorded another 89 deaths on Saturday, pushing the total well above the 774 who died from SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2002/2003. GRAPHIC: Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS - here Total confirmed coronavirus cases in China stood at 37,198, commission data showed. New infections recorded the first drop below 3,000 cases Feb. 2, at 2,656 cases. Of those, 2,147 cases were in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. The virus has also spread to at least 27 countries and territories, according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting more than 330 people. Two deaths have been reported outside mainland China - both of Chinese nationals. The latest patients outside China include a group of British nationals staying in a mountain village in Haute-Savoie in the Alps, French health officials said, raising fears of further infections at a busy period in the ski season. A British man who contracted the virus while attending a conference in Singapore may have infected seven other people when he stopped off at a chalet in the French village on his way home, health experts said. Those infected include a British man diagnosed in Spain and a Briton found to have the disease in the UK, both of whom appeared to have been part of the chalet group. GRAPHIC: Tracking the novel coronavirus - here As millions of Chinese prepared to go back to work, the public dismay and mistrust of official numbers was evident on Weibo, China\u2019s equivalent of Twitter. \u201cWhat\u2019s even more frustrating is that these are only the \u2018official\u2019 data,\u201d said one user. \u201cWe all know we can\u2019t purchase masks anywhere, why are we still going back to work?\u201d said a second. \u201cMore than 20,000 doctors and nurses around the country have been sent to Hubei, but why are the numbers still rising?\u201d asked a third. Authorities had told businesses to tack up to 10 extra days on to holidays that had been due to finish at the end of January and some restrictions continued. Gaming giant Tencent Holdings said it had asked staff to continue working from home until Feb. 21. Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, will keep schools shut until March 1, the People\u2019s Daily newspaper said. Several provinces have shut schools until the end of February. The local government in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, meanwhile, denied a report in the Nikkei business daily that it had blocked a plan by Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Co to resume production in China from Monday. The company would restart once inspections were completed, it said. Among the latest deaths, 81 were in Hubei. An American hospitalized in the provincial capital Wuhan, where the outbreak began, became the first confirmed non-Chinese victim. Joseph Eisenberg, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, said it was too early to say whether the epidemic was peaking. \u201cEven if reported cases might be peaking, we don\u2019t know what is happening with unreported cases,\u201d he said. Major cities and capitals announced new travel restrictions as concern over the spread of the virus increased. Chinese-ruled Hong Kong introduced a two-week quarantine on Saturday for all people arriving from the mainland, or who have been there during the previous 14 days. Malaysia expanded its ban on visitors from China. France issued a new travel advisory for its citizens, saying it did not recommend traveling to China unless there was an \u201cimperative\u201d reason. Italy asked children traveling from China to stay away from school for two weeks voluntarily. Princess Cruises, operator of the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan, said a further six people had tested positive, bringing the total cases aboard to 70. (This story corrects to remove in paragraph 23 reference to 53-year-old geneticist who died, citing Washington Post, after newspaper said it incorrectly identified the name and age of a U.S. citizen who died.) Claim: 'Enemy of mankind': Coronavirus deaths top SARS as China returns to work.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-789137e9a8a548558f392ddfee3502c8", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Univision journalist Jorge Ramos said President Donald Trump\u2019s promised border wall is built on a false premise. Ramos appeared on Fox News on May 12 and told Tucker Carlson that there is \"\"no invasion\"\" of immigrants coming illegally. Ramos said the number of immigrants in the country illegally has been stable, at\u00a0about 11 million, over the past half decade, and more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the United States (which we have rated True). \"\"You know, whatever we\u2019re doing at the border somehow is working. Some of the safest communities in the United States are along the border,\"\" Ramos said. \"\"So, I don't think a wall is really going to help.\"\" Studies show immigrants are less likely to commit crime than the native-born population, though the Trump administration often backs its tough stance against illegal immigration with claims that immigrants bring a wave of crime and threaten public safety. We wanted to know if the border region has some of the country\u2019s safest communities, as Ramos claimed. FBI data shows they have lower violent crime rates than other places (though the FBI has cautioned against making safety comparisons), and some local crime statistics show drops in crime in recent years. One possible explanation: Border towns have a heavier presence of federal and local law enforcement. The U.S.-Mexico region includes the four U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and six Mexican states. Some estimates pin the population in the border region (from both Mexico and the United States) at more than 15 million people, as of 2015. Many of the residents live on one side of the border and work on the other, with likely 1 million legal border crossings daily. Ramos has a point that these communities tend to be safe. The most common kinds of crime are those that ail other poor communities, such as drinking and driving, and domestic violence, said Tony Payan, a fellow and director of the Mexico Center at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. \"\"The murder rates, however, are indeed very low,\"\" Payan said. He said it\u2019s very difficult to tell exactly why those communities don\u2019t have high levels of crime, but would not disregard as a deterrent the heavy presence of law enforcement. \"\"But it may also have to do with other issues like the crime levels among migrants,\"\" Payan said. \"\"It is well known, contrary to what Mr. Trump may say, that crime among migrant communities is lower than that among natives. And those communities tend to have very high migrant communities and foreign-born populations.\"\" When we asked Ramos about his comment, he pointed to reports in the Huffington Post and the Texas Tribune. The April 2015 Huffington Post report quotes former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner David Aguilar at a 2015 Border Security Expo event. Aguilar reportedly said that border communities are safer than the interior of each of the border states \u2014 as well as Washington, D.C. \u2014 and \"\"violent crime is lesser along the border than it is in the interior.\"\" Robert Harris, then a commander heading a joint task force for the Department of Homeland Security, told the Huffington Post that violence on the Mexican side of the border did not reach the United States sector because criminal groups were less organized in the United States. The February 2016 Texas Tribune analysis offered some support for Ramos\u2019 statement. The Tribune article said that based on state and federal data, violent crime rates in many border cities either remained the same or dropped between 2009 and 2014 -- setting them apart from larger cities in the state. In Houston, for instance, the violent crime rate was at 991 crimes for every 100,000 residents, according to data from the FBI\u2019s Uniform Crime Reporting program. The border cities of Laredo, El Paso, Edinburg and Brownsville recorded fewer than 400 crimes for every 100,000 residents, the Tribune said. It\u2019s important to keep in mind that the FBI has warned against using its data to rank and compare the safety of communities, because such comparisons may neglect unique factors in each locale. CQ Press years ago ceased using the words \"\"safest\"\" and \"\"dangerous\"\" in its annual rankings of cities with the lowest and highest crime rate. Our colleagues at PolitiFact Texas considered the FBI\u2019s cautionary note in a past fact-check of a claim that El Paso is the safest city in Texas and in the United States. PolitiFact Texas rated that claim Half True, because it was based on CQ Press\u2019 past lists and related news stories that labeled El Paso the safest. Also, the rankings did not factor in every Texas burg and did not account for differences in population density, PolitiFact Texas found. (PolitiFact Texas analyzed crime in Texas in another fact-check in 2014, rating Half True a claim about less crime in the Rio Grande Valley than in other major Texas cities.) In its report, the Tribune also noted that border communities have a large presence of local and federal law enforcement officers. Ponce Trevi\u00f1o, Webb County Jail commander, told the news organization: \"\"You've got to understand, we're a border city so we have a lot of local law enforcement. You have Laredo (Police Department). You have Webb County Sheriff's Office. You've got the constables. Then you have the federal government here. You've got customs. You've got border patrol. You've got ICE. You have a big influx of law enforcement and there's officer presence, so that makes the crime rate a lot lower.\"\" In 2011, the Austin American-Statesman analyzed all 14 counties sharing a border with Mexico and two dozen border cities. It found that between 2006 and 2010, violent crime on the U.S. side fell 3.3 percent. The combined number of murders in the 14 counties also dropped, from 97 in 2006 to 73 in 2010, according to the newspaper. The newspaper said its data analysis did not paint a picture of \"\"out-of-control chaos\"\" at the border, although some areas did see a rise in crime. \"\"Violent crime increased in seven border counties, although those tended to be among the region's least populated, so a small number of incidents can have an outsize effect on rates,\"\" the Statesman reported. \"\"Aggravated assaults, in particular, spiked in Starr County and the city of El Paso, the latter long held up as a paragon of border safety.\"\" While violent crime overall decreased in the border, it \"\"badly trailed\"\" the more than 12 percent statewide decrease in that same timeframe, the newspaper found. Ramos said, \"\"Some of the safest communities in the United States are along the border.\"\" Violent crime rates in some border communities are lower than in other parts of the United States, according to FBI data. The FBI has warned against using its crime rates to rank communities\u2019 safety because doing so overlooks other factors. Yet, local law enforcement officials have said crime is low in their border communities, and heavy federal and local law enforcement presence may be deterring crime in border communities.\" Claim: Some of the safest communities in the United States are along the border.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-970dadc183a449c383e01ff5421496d4", + "input": "Paragraph: There is also the revival of the humble foam roller, which experts say, like old-time push-ups, squats and planks, has never been more popular. Anita Golden, fitness manager at a Crunch gym in New York City, said she\u2019ll be giving clients a foam roller called the GRID. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had foam rollers in the club but now more people are using them as a way to ease post-workout muscles, prevent injuries and exercise the core,\u201d Golden said. When it comes to big-ticket items, Colleen Logan of Icon Health and Fitness, which manufactures a number of fitness brands, said the treadmill remains the most popular gift. \u201cTreadmills continue to lead the industry in terms of home fitness purchases,\u201d said Logan. They account for about 57 percent of fitness purchases, while elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles are a distant second and third place at about 8 percent each. The average home treadmill costs about $700, said Logan, but the technology revolution has transformed even this stalwart at the high end. The ultimate splurge, at $4,000, she said, is the Boston Marathon Treadmill, which allows users to adjust speed in 1/10 of a mile per hour increments without touching the console. It also lets users run a virtual Boston Marathon. For people on a smaller budget, there is the iFit app that lets the iPhone capture a favorite vacation run or bike ride in Hawaii, store it in data centers all over the world which collectively are referred to as the \u201ccloud,\u201d and download it to an iFit-enabled treadmill at home. \u201cYou\u2019ll view the exact route and experience the same terrain again,\u201d Logan explained. Devices, gadgets and apps proliferate as tech-savvy fitness becomes more accessible, according to Jessica Matthews of the American Council on Exercise (ACE). \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in on-body monitoring devices as ways to motivate and track progress,\u201d she said. \u201cThey run the gamut from basic devices to track hours, steps, and caloric expenditure to full-body tracking.\u201d Nike+ Sportsband has a series of small lights on the wrist band that change from red to green as the runner nears his goal, while the BodyMedia FIT Armband tracks everything from the number of calories burned to the quality and quantity of sleep. ACE also studied fitness DVDs released for the holidays. \u201cWe evaluated them for quality of instruction, safety, effectiveness and design of workout,\u201d Matthews said. Among the best were \u201cAmy Dixon\u2019s Breathless Body Vol.2: The Edge.\u201d Matthews called it a challenging cardio workout best suited to those on your list with \u201can established base of fitness.\u201d \u201cJessica Smith\u2019s 10 Pounds Down Better Body Blast\u201d also got a thumbs up for its well-rounded routine and clarity of instruction. For people seeking a mind-body approach, Matthews praised \u201cSTOTT Pilates Intense Body Blast: Pilates Interval Training: Level I,\u201d which she said is accessible for someone new to fitness. \u201cThey do a great job queuing movements and creating flow,\u201d she said. Richard Cotton of the American College of Sports Medicine suggests giving the fitness novice the gift of a personal trainer. \u201cThe best is human assistance,\u201d he said. \u201cAnother way is a beginner group exercise class.\u201d He also suggests a gift certificate for shoes at a running store equipped with a treadmill. \u201cYou need shoes that fit your gait,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople should always get their gait analyzed.\u201d Golden likes to cite the law of reciprocity to the personal trainers she manages. \u201cI always tell them to get their clients something,\u201d she said. And what does the personal trainer want for Christmas? \u201cI like the roller, or a new jump rope,\u201d she said. \u201cFitness people aren\u2019t hard to please. Get me a new yoga mat and I\u2019m happy.\u201d Claim: Holiday fitness gifts trend from high-tech to basic.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-fd7bd2d7200140cab409697fc247108d", + "input": "Paragraph: The appellate court ruling puts a hold on the ban that was announced by New York state\u2019s Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo last month in response to widespread growing concern about the rising use of e-cigarettes among teens and a nationwide spate of lung illnesses. The ban, which was due to start on Friday, will remain on ice until at least Oct. 18 when the Supreme Court in Albany is scheduled to hear the case brought by industry trade group Vapor Technology Association arguing for a preliminary injunction on the ban. \u201cWe are very pleased with the New York State Appellate Division\u2019s decision, which acknowledges the strength of our claims about the State\u2019s executive overreach, and which preserves the ability of hundreds of small businesses to remain open and continue to serve their adult customers,\u201d Tony Abboud, executive director of the association said in an emailed statement. New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said he remained confident the ban would eventually be enforced. \u201cMake no mistake: this is a public health emergency that demands immediate action to help ensure the wellbeing of our children, and we\u2019re confident that once the court hears our argument they will agree,\u201d Zucker said in a statement. A handful of states have imposed or are eyeing similar bans as the crisis grows and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people stop using vaping products. Governors in Michigan and Rhode Island have announced sales restrictions, while Massachusetts imposed an outright ban for four months while it examined potential new regulations. Ohio\u2019s state governor this week urged lawmakers to pass a ban. U.S. health officials earlier on Thursday reported 18 deaths due to a mysterious lung illness linked to e-cigarettes and other vaping products and said the number of confirmed and probable cases of the condition now exceeds 1,000. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also on Thursday ordered several e-cigarette companies, including Juul Labs Inc and Nu Mark, to turn over sales and advertising data, in the first sign of a likely probe of their marketing practices. Tobacco giant Altria Group Inc owns Nu Mark and has a 35% stake in Juul. Abboud noted that New York state lawmakers had already raised the minimum age for the purchase of vapor products from 18 to 21 from November and imposed a tax increase. He said the lobby group was ready to work with officials \u201cto achieve the twin goals of restricting youth vaping, which already is illegal, and preserving flavored alternatives for adults desperately trying to quit smoking.\u201d The New York state Department of Health had pledged to provide retailers with a two-week grace period before conducting site visits to enforce the ban on all flavored e-cigarettes besides tobacco and menthol. Claim: The message claims that the singer Shakira was a guest on MTV and during a segment of live telephone calls refused to speak to an Israeli caller.\u00a0 She is quoted as having said that she\u2019d rather have pigs listening to her music than Israelis.\u00a0 The eRumor encourages a boycott of Shakira\u2019s music. ", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-166e9eb6874b4d9db059be38772a5c78", + "input": "Paragraph: \"A post about COVID-19 is being shared in a new format on Facebook. In an audio message that a reader sent us on March 23, a woman with a British accent lists 10 ways that people can avoid being infected with the coronavirus. The message claims to be based on research from Chinese scientists. \"\"It was sent to me by a colleague who has a friend that works at Dr. Negrin, which is the main hospital on our island,\"\" says the woman on the audio message. \"\"It\u2019s obviously in Spanish, so I\u2019m just going to read it and translate it for you.\"\" University Hospital of Gran Canaria Dr. Negrin is located in the city of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, one of Spain\u2019s Canary Islands. The island chain\u2019s tourism industry has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here\u2019s some of the questionable medical advice in the audio message that caught our eye: If some of those claims sound familiar, it\u2019s because many of them have been circulating on social media in some form since January, when the World Health Organization addressed a slew of COVID-19 rumors on Twitter. We\u2019ve also debunked several bogus coronavirus prevention and treatment methods. But this audio message was new to us, so we decided to check out each of the five claims. All of them either lack evidence or have been debunked by public health officials. While health experts recommend drinking water regularly to stay healthy, there is no evidence that sipping some every 20 minutes can help prevent coronavirus infection. The primary way the virus spreads is through close contact with infected people and respiratory droplets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When someone with the coronavirus coughs or sneezes, their germs land on surfaces around them. The virus then infects people who touch those surfaces and then their eyes, nose or mouth. So to prevent contracting the coronavirus, the CDC advises people to avoid touching their face as much as possible. Other ways to prevent infection include washing your hands with soap and water, covering your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and regularly sanitizing the surfaces in your home or at your workstation. As of now, there is no specific treatment for the virus. In a tweet published Feb. 7, the WHO said it does not advise people to drink water as a way to avoid coronavirus infection. While air-drying your clothes may save you some money on your electricity bill, there is no evidence it will kill the coronavirus. We\u2019ve rated similar claims . There is ample evidence that viruses, including human coronaviruses, don\u2019t like heat. Influenza, for example, thrives in dry, cold weather, which is one reason the flu season typically spans from fall to spring. And high-intensity UV light can kill viruses. Here are 4 real ways to protect yourself But that doesn\u2019t mean sun exposure kills the coronavirus. Experts told us natural sunlight doesn\u2019t provide the UV intensity needed to kill the virus, and the WHO says on its website that COVID-19 can be transmitted in all climates, \"\"including areas with hot and humid weather.\"\" Neither the WHO nor the CDC lists sunlight exposure as a method to kill the coronavirus. In fact, the WHO has debunked the claim, saying \"\"there is no evidence that sunlight kills the new coronavirus.\"\" Public health officials say washing your hands is one of the primary ways to prevent COVID-19 infection. But if you\u2019re healthy and in self-isolation, there is probably little reason to lather up so frequently. The CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at a time \u2014\u00a0\"\"especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.\"\" On its website, UNICEF lists a few more examples of when people should wash their hands: \"\"after touching surfaces outside the home, including money; before, during and after caring for a sick person; and before and after eating.\"\" So if you\u2019re doing any of those things every 20 minutes, you may want to wash your hands. This claim is baseless. As we\u2019ve covered before, there is evidence that human coronaviruses don\u2019t like heat. But just as there\u2019s no scientific proof that hot things prevent COVID-19, there\u2019s no proof that cold things make you more susceptible. This claim is similar to one made in a fake UNICEF handout that circulated on Facebook in early March. It said people should \"\"stay away from ice cream and eating cold\"\" to avoid contracting COVID-19. In a statement, UNICEF debunked that claim. On its website, the WHO did, too. \"\"There is no scientific evidence that eating hygienically made frozen food and ice-cream spreads the new coronavirus,\"\" the organization says. There\u2019s no evidence to support this. An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine on March 17 tested how long the coronavirus, formally called SARS-CoV-2, lived on five different surfaces: aerosols, plastic, stainless steel, copper and cardboard. \"\"SARS-CoV-2 remained viable in aerosols throughout the duration of our experiment (3 hours),\"\" the authors wrote. \"\"SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on copper and cardboard.\"\" On cardboard, they could not detect any after 24 hours. The coronavirus lives the longest on plastic and stainless steel \u2014 up to three days. That\u2019s far from nine days, as the audio message claimed. And while the journal article hasn\u2019t been peer-reviewed, its findings are similar to those of other researchers. An article published in the Journal of Hospital Infection in March reviewed what other scientists have found about the surface viability of various coronaviruses that infect humans, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which are both similar to COVID-19. The authors wrote that scientists found some of these viruses could live for up to five days on steel, and eight hours on aluminum. Another study they cited found a SARS virus strain remaining viable for up to five days on an unspecified metal. The article did find that one strain of SARS could live for up to nine days on plastic surfaces. But two other strains of the virus remained viable for only five days or less, and MERS could live for only up to 48 hours at a certain temperature. More recently, a March 23 report from the CDC said novel coronavirus RNA was found on surfaces on the Diamond Princess cruise ship 17 days after passengers disembarked. That finding raised questions about whether the coronavirus can last longer on some surfaces than previously thought, but researchers have noted that viral RNA doesn\u2019t necessarily mean live virus was present. A chain audio message on Facebook Messenger lists 10 ways to prevent infection from COVID-19. We fact-checked five and found them inaccurate. First, there is no evidence that sipping water every 20 minutes can help prevent coronavirus infection. There is also no evidence that exposing your clothing to the sun will kill the coronavirus. Health officials recommend that people avoid touching their face and wash their hands for at least 20 seconds at a time \u2014\u00a0 not every 20 minutes, as the message claims. There\u2019s also no evidence that consuming cold things makes you more susceptible to the virus. Finally, while the science is far from settled, there\u2019s no proof that the coronavirus can live for up to nine days on metallic surfaces. The best available evidence suggests that it can remain viable on stainless steel for up to three days. If you receive a chain message that you want us to fact-check, send a screenshot to [email\u00a0protected] or forward it to us on Facebook.\" Claim: An audio message lists five ways people can prevent the novel coronavirus.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e3b7a761861f4813989f41ec3a0e1024", + "input": "Paragraph: The residents at the Weiss nursing home in eastern France want to chat face to face, to play board games, to share meals. And so each gave a vial of blood to be tested for the coronavirus, as did each staff member \u2014 about 580 tests in all. The goal: to identify who must be isolated and who will be allowed the freedom to leave their rooms. \u201cWe spend all our days between those four walls \u2014 that\u2019s it, we are not allowed to go out. We don\u2019t even have the right to go out in the hallway,\u201d said Henry Bohn, a 69-year-old who suffered a stroke that has left him in a wheelchair. \u201cThey bring us breakfast, lunch and dinner here in the room. Luckily, we have the sun these days and it helps, but we do miss the essential things.\u201d An Associated Press photographer spent two days chronicling the virus testing at three of the 10 nursing homes in France\u2019s Haut-Rhin region, where comprehensive testing was ordered by local authorities. The site in Ammerschwir poses particular problems with its small rooms and long corridors, and residents with often-severe cognitive difficulties. \u201cIt is hard for them to remember the rules that we give them. When we put masks on them, they hardly keep them on, and they need to socialize and leave their rooms,\u201d said Sylvie Ghiringhelli, the head nurse. Some patients wander out anyway, clustering in hallways or taking seats in the common room before they can be led gently back. The elderly make up a disproportional share of coronavirus victims globally, and that is especially true in nursing homes, which have seen a horrific number of deaths around the world. In France, nursing home deaths account for more than a third of the country\u2019s total 17,000 coronavirus victims \u2014 figures the government now documents meticulously after weeks of pressure. Infections have swept through the country\u2019s 7,000 residences for the elderly, with more than 15,000 confirmed cases among patients and 8,900 among staff between March 1 and April 14. And nowhere has it been deadlier than in France\u2019s east, near the border with Germany, where the outbreak began at an evangelical gathering in the city of Mulhouse. Overall mortality in the Haut-Rhin was up 143% from March 1 to April 6, according to government figures. Restricting residents to their rooms can take a different kind of toll. \u201cThe confinement stopped all the communal meals in the dining room, stopped every form of social life,\u201d Ghiringhelli said. \u201cThere are no more activities, no more visits. Our residents bear the consequences.\u201d Marie Louise Kopp\u2019s room is filled with souvenirs \u2014 photos, china cats, octagonal paintings \u2014 to help jog a 79-year-old memory that waxes and wanes. \u201cMy son was coming to visit me and some family, but now nobody can,\u201d she said, an untouched newspaper on her lap. \u201cEveryone stays at home with this crisis.\u201d France\u2019s health minister, Olivier V\u00e9ran, said family visits would again be permitted beginning Monday, at a resident\u2019s request and as long as the nursing home staff can organize a system of ensure protection against the virus. \u201cThere will not be physical contact but there can be visual contact, and that can provide solace,\u201d V\u00e9ran said Sunday. It\u2019s not clear how quickly visitors will be allowed again in Ammerschwir, but the nursing home staff hope testing everybody will enable most residents to at least leave their rooms without fear of infection. Results are expected next week and the local administration and nursing home directors will then meet to discuss the next steps. Elsewhere, France has locked down nursing homes after two positive tests and simply assumed that anyone with symptoms was infected. \u201cThe testing will perhaps allow us to partially resume life, communal meals and activities in small groups,\u201d Ghiringhelli said. \u201cAnd to mend the social ties.\u201d ___ Lori Hinnant reported from Paris. ___ Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak Claim: Mass virus test in nursing home seeks to combat loneliness.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-976f972a62c8419fbd1daeb93ecd48f3", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Lies, truth, honesty: Anytime campaign literature shows up peppered with these words, we perk up. So it was when a reader, Randall Horton, passed along a recent mailer from state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, which opens: \"\"Honesty matters, especially in politics.\"\" The Truth-O-Meter kicked in at Bohac's reference to Annie's List, a Texas group dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women. His leaflet calls the group \"\"a liberal special-interest group who supports third-trimester abortion on demand.\"\" Is that so? Some background: Annie's List was founded in 2003, its website says. According to Robert Jones, its political director, the group was modeled on the nationally established EMILY's List, which describes itself as \"\"dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office.\"\" EMILY is an acronym: Early Money Is Like Yeast. And, as Bohac's mailer says, Annie's List backs Bohac's Democratic challenger, Kendra Yarbrough Camarena. Through Sept. 23, state records show, Camarena had received about $77,000 from Annie's List, accounting for about 26 percent percent of her contributions since March 2009. UPDATE, 10:45 a.m. Oct. 21, 2010: After we published this article, a Bohac campaign consultant, Bryan Eppstein, pointed to information backing up another Bohac claim that Annie's List has contributed more than $100,000 to Camarena's cause. His figure takes into account both the group's direct contributions to Camarena's campaign, which we tallied for our original article, and indirect contributions that to date have been reported only by Annie's List; these include expenditures for pro-Camarena direct mail, campaign staff and software. Also, the reader who forwarded Bohac's mailer gave us permission to include his name in this article. How to regulate late-term abortions has proved to be a simmering national issue. In 2003, Congress passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act outlawing a procedure known medically as \"\"intact dilation and extraction.\"\" The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the law, which had been challenged by physicians and abortion-rights activists who said the procedure is often the safest to use late in a pregnancy because it \"\"minimizes the chances of injury to the uterus,\"\" according to an April 2007 recap by The New York Times. When does a pregnancy become \"\"late-term\"\"? Elizabeth Nash \u2014 a public policy expert at the Guttmacher Institute, which studies and advocates on issues related to reproductive health \u2014 told us that the term \"\"is more of a political or layperson term\"\" and that \"\"people have all sorts of ideas about its definition.\"\" Generally speaking, she said, any point past the 18th week of pregnancy, counting from the last menstrual period, could be considered \"\"late term.\"\" The third trimester is typically thought to begin at the 28-week mark. Late-term abortions are rare. Nationally, according to the Guttmacher Institute, 1.5 percent of U.S. abortions in 2006 occurred at the 21st week or later. According to the most recent data available from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 13 out of 81,591 Texas abortions (about 0.02 percent) in 2008 occurred in the 25th week or later. When we asked Bohac's campaign officials for evidence that Annie's List supports third-trimester abortion \"\"on demand,\"\" it referred us to his political consultant, Keats Norfleet. Norfleet told us that Annie's List only supports \"\"pro-choice, progressive Democratic women candidates who favor late-term abortions.\"\" Norfleet sent us several news articles describing Annie's List as backing Democratic women candidates who are \"\"pro-choice,\"\" though none explicitly mentions third-trimester or late-term abortions. We wondered if Annie's List had clearly stated its position on third-trimester abortions anywhere. The group's website says it wants to elect more women who are \"\"pro-choice\"\" and who favor \"\"reproductive rights,\"\" without mention of third-trimester abortions. In an e-mail, Jones said Annie's List doesn't advocate specific stands on issues. \"\"We don't advocate for late-term procedures 'on demand,' \"\" Jones said. \"\"We simply provide resources to progressive Democratic women candidates to help them get elected. And one of the many tenets of what we consider to be progressive is to be pro-choice.\"\" Generally, Jones said, the group backs Democratic women who \"\"support things like funding for sexual assault and domestic violence prevention, fully funded public schools, clear air and water, access to quality health care, and a woman\u2019s right to choose.\"\" As for a candidate's position on third-trimester abortions, Jones said: \"\"If there was a bill in Texas to ban so-called partial-birth or late-term abortions, we wouldn't kick a woman off our list just because she supported it\"\" as long as she also supported an exclusion for the health and safety of the woman. Jones told us that the group assumes that a candidate's \"\"pro-choice\"\" position means that she's aligned with the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade and subsequent case law. That ruling established a constitutional right to an abortion before viability, the time at which a fetus can survive outside a woman's body. According to a report issued this month by the Guttmacher Institute, the court held in Roe that \"\"a woman\u2019s right to an abortion is not absolute and that states could restrict or ban abortions after fetal viability, provided their policies meet certain requirements,\"\" including an exception to protect the life of the woman. Since then, other Supreme Court rulings have affirmed states' rights to approve further restrictions. Texas has two laws restricting third-trimester abortions \u2014 one enacted in 1987 and the other in 2005. According to an Austin American-Statesman report, the 2005 law \u2014 attached as an amendment to a proposal maintaining the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, now the Texas Medical Board \u2014 made it so that serious risk \"\"to a woman's mental and physical health would no longer be a reason for an abortion in the last few months of pregnancy. An abortion could still be performed to prevent her death, but otherwise could not be performed unless she is diagnosed with a significant likelihood of suffering imminent severe, irreversible brain damage or paralysis. In addition, a fetus' abnormalities, other than severe, irreversible brain damage, would no longer be an acceptable factor.\"\" Mindful that Annie's List is supportive of pro-choice Democratic women but doesn't spell out a position on third-trimester abortions, we looked at what \"\"pro-choice\"\" means to others who work on abortion-related issues. Nash called that \"\"a toughie,\"\" adding that \"\"sometimes organizations still support a legislator if they vote for a 'partial-birth' abortion ban but are otherwise supportive of abortion rights and work to increase access to family planning and other reproductive health services.\"\" Sara Cleveland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, told us that the group defines \"\"pro-choice\"\" as \"\"the original vision of Roe v. Wade,\"\" under which \"\"states are permitted to ban abortion in the third trimester as long as there are exceptions to the ban for cases of a woman\u2019s life or health endangerment.\"\" But Joe Pojman, executive director of an anti-abortion group, Texas Alliance for Life, said he would define \"\"pro-choice\"\" based on the positions taken by groups that use the term to describe themselves. He used NARAL Pro-Choice Texas as an example, saying correctly that it opposed the 2005 third-trimester measure as well as parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions. Pojman said Annie's List backs candidates who support \"\"abortions rights without limits,\"\" singling out state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, who voted against the 2005 amendment increasing restrictions on third-trimester abortions as well as the final version of the bill containing the ban. We took a closer look at the vote on that amendment, which passed 118-16. We determined that Reps. Alma Allen of Houston and Yvonne Gonzales Toureilles of Alice, both backed this year by Annie's List, voted for the amendment, while Rep. Veronica Gonzales of McAllen, also supported by the group, voted against the amendment. So how about truth, lies and honesty? It's true that Annie's List backs \"\"pro-choice\"\" Democratic women. And Bohac's politically potent statement rests on the assumption that \"\"pro-choice\"\" means \"\"supports third-trimester abortion on demand.\"\" That's a premise that he fails to back up. Annie's List makes no bones about being comfortable with candidates who oppose further restrictions on late-term abortions. Then again, this year it\u2019s backing two House candidates who voted for more limits. Honestly? Bohac's sweeping, unsupported statement is .\" Claim: Dwayne Bohac Says the Annie's List political group supports third-trimester abortions on demand.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d717c7a0ce1a4216b0afe6384759efab", + "input": "Paragraph: There is no mention of costs for the surgical implants or any of the other treatment methods. Whether insurers are likely to cover such treatments and whether they cover current treatment approaches would have been helpful information as well. The cost of medical devices needs to be considered for a host of reasons. A similar technology (vagal nerve stimulation) costs about $20,000 and could have been used as a useful example. No data on benefits are given for the \u201cundisputed best treatment, called CPAP. \u201d Regarding the new devices, because they are in early studies, any suggestion of benefit must be made carefully. While a number of provisos were included in the story, the single patient anecdote and the \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking for is actually cure\u201d quote from one of the investigators provide the reader with an imbalanced perspective. There is no mention of potential harms. This is troubling because the devices described would require a surgery. To be eligible for one of the devices, a person would need to undergo some fairly extensive testing, much of which is rather unpleasant, including\u00a0having \u201ca tube snaked down the airway\u201d to see whether their sleep apnea \u00a0is being caused by a qualifying condition. The device is surgically implanted in the chest with wires run up the neck and into the base of the tongue. Once implanted the device now needs to be programmed to deliver the stimulation at the right time. There is a potential for nerve damage with long term use and the devices (as we have learned from the recent recall of heart defibrillator leads) are not infallible. There is no attempt to evaluate the quality of the evidence. We are given one anecdote of a man presumably enrolled in a clinical trial, but we don\u2019t learn how much research has been done \u2013 only that a \u201ckey study\u201d of 100 people is planned. There is also no evaluation of the evidence for \u201ctoday\u2019s undisputed best treatment, called CPAP\u201d \u2013 only estimates of how many people won\u2019t or can\u2019t use it. This lead made us stop in our tracks. \u201cLoud snoring may do more than irritate your spouse: It can signal sleep apnea, depriving you of enough zzzz\u2019s to trigger a car crash, even a heart attack.\u201d Car crashes and heart attacks? This sounds like a national emergency. The story goes on to say, \u201cMore than 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, according to the National Institutes of Health\u2026.Yet going untreated is more dangerous than just feeling tired. Sleep apnea stresses the body in ways that increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and diabetes. More immediately, severe apnea increases the chance of a car crash sevenfold. Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that pilots, truck drivers and other commercial transportation operators start being screened for apnea, saying it has been a factor in incidents involving every mode of transit.\u201d\u00a0How many incidents? Is sleep apnea more dangerous than, say, texting while driving? Without any context, these facts serve only to scare, not to inform. There are many quotes in this story but none comes from an independent source. Meir Kryger, a sleep medicine specialist at Gaylord Hospital in Connecticut, is the most quoted and is receiving money from Inspire Medical Systems, a device maker, for clinical trials. Rik Krohn, a 67-year-old from suburban Minneapolis (where the company is based \u2013 how was he chosen?) is quoted as a sleep apnea sufferer who may have been helped by the Inspire device. We\u2019re not told what connection Dr. Rick Odland, Krohn\u2019s surgeon at Minneapolis\u2019 Hennepin County Medical Center, may have with the company. He is the co-founder of his own medical device company, Twin Star. There is apparently one independent perspective \u2013 a voice of caution relegated to the very end in a two sentence paraphrase. \u201cThese experiments are only now beginning, with a handful of implants performed so far\u2014and while it\u2019s an interesting concept, frustrated patients should try some proven steps first, cautions, Dr. Amy Atkeson of Columbia University Medical Center in New York. Her advice: Don\u2019t give up on CPAP without first seeing an experienced sleep technician to adjust humidity levels and take other steps that not every CPAP prescriber knows to try\u2014and if you\u2019re overweight or obese, apnea greatly improves with weight loss.\u201d The imbalance in the quotes provided, and the absence of any conflict of interest disclosure leads us to give an unsatisfactory score. The story does not do an adequate job comparing these devices to other treatments or to weight loss. The story ends with this brief statement:\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t give up on CPAP without first seeing an experienced sleep technician to adjust humidity levels and take other steps that not every CPAP prescriber knows to try\u2014and if you\u2019re overweight or obese, apnea greatly improves with weight loss.\u201d But, as noted, no data is given on CPAP\u2019s benefits \u2013 only discussion of what doesn\u2019t work with CPAP. And no data were given \u2013 only this one line \u2013 about the role of overweight, obesity, and weight loss in sleep apnea. The story provides a very good overview of the ongoing trials of the various companies\u2019 devices and notes an upcoming clinical trial. The story makes it clear that there are several devices in competition to be the dominant sleep apnea device. \u201cBy the end of January, Minneapolis-based Inspire Medical Systems plans to begin enrolling 100 apnea patients in a key study in the U.S. and Europe to see if so-called hypoglossal nerve stimulation really could work. Two competitors are developing similar implants: ImThera Medical of San Diego says it hopes to begin U.S. studies later next year, and Apnex Medical of St. Paul, Minn., has announced some small-scale testing.\u201d The story does not rely on a news release. Claim: Experiments test if implant can block sleep apnea", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d1c77cb73ab94427bf422609ea3a30d0", + "input": "Paragraph: Tokyo\u2019s metropolitan government has strongly urged people to stay at home as the city of nearly 14 million has seen an uptick in the number of cases in recent days. The number of cases with untraceable transmission routes had increased in recent days, Governor Yuriko Koike said in a livecast YouTube video on Sunday, adding it was worrying that there were a number of people who were infected at hospitals. The majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases over the weekend in Tokyo were of people under the age of 50, a member of Japan\u2019s health ministry taskforce for the virus said in the same livecast Sunday night, adding that many of them were in their 20s and 30s. Tokyo\u2019s metropolitan government has repeatedly called on residents in the densely populated city to avoid all unnecessary outings. Koike said in an earlier TV appearance that \u201clives were at stake\u201d. Global cases of the new coronavirus have shot past 1 million with more than 64,000 deaths. Japan, with some 3,000 cases and 73 deaths as of Friday, has so far been spared the kind of explosive surge seen in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. With the increase in cases in Tokyo, there have been growing calls from Tokyo\u2019s governor and groups representing medical professionals for the central government to call for a \u201cstate of emergency\u201d. Unlike in some countries, that would give the government limited enforcement power. Claim: Tokyo reports 143 new coronavirus cases, highest jump in one day: governor.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2df61a750f1047a09606bdb597e29105", + "input": "Paragraph: \"At the first Democratic debate of the 2016 presidential race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for supporting a 2005 law that shields the gun industry from certain lawsuits. Clinton voted against this law when she was a senator, and she has lambasted it several times on the campaign trail this month. \"\"Probably one of the most egregious, wrong, pieces of legislation that ever passed the Congress when it comes to this issue is to protect gun sellers and gun makers from liability,\"\" she said in Iowa Oct. 7. \"\"They are the only business in America that is wholly protected from any kind of liability. They can sell a gun to someone they know they shouldn't, and they won't be sued. There will be no consequences.\"\" Is Clinton right? Are gun makers and dealers \"\"wholly protected\"\" against any kind of lawsuit, and do no other industries have similar immunities? Short answer: No. The gun industry is susceptible to some lawsuits, and there are federal laws restricting liability for a number of other types of businesses. As support, Clinton\u2019s staff sent us a public health journal article that argues the gun industry\u2019s \"\"broad immunity\"\" against litigation inhibits safe manufacturing and distribution of firearms, though it does not directly address her claim. Exceptions The law at issue is the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush and seen as a victory for gun rights advocates. The purpose of the law is to protect gun dealers and manufacturers from lawsuits when their products are misused. For example, if a person buys a gun legally and then uses the gun to intentionally kill someone, the gun dealer and manufacturer cannot be held liable for the crime under the law. While opponents argue that the law stops some victims from having their day in court, supporters say the law protects gun dealers and manufacturers from frivolous and expensive legal proceedings. In any case, Clinton goes too far in saying the gun industry is \"\"wholly protected from any kind of liability.\"\" The law lists several situations that are not protected from liability. It does not protect gun dealers who transfer a gun knowing it would be used for criminal purposes, nor those who knowingly break state or federal law if the violation results in harm. Gun manufacturers can also be sued if the gun, when used properly, causes injury because the product is defective. \"\"The statement is incorrect insofar as it suggests that gun makers are totally free from liability,\"\" said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles who specializes in gun law. Some opponents of the law argue that the liability protection is so broad and ambiguous, and the exceptions so narrow, that some legitimate lawsuits won\u2019t have a chance to appear in court. But this is different from saying the gun industry is wholly immune to all lawsuits. Clinton also said the gun industry is the \"\"only\"\" business in America with this total liability protection. We know that it doesn\u2019t have total protection, but do other sectors have something similar? Not the only one The act \"\"is not the first federal law to grant a particular industry immunity from tort liability,\"\" said Timothy Lytton, a law professor at Georgia State University, who edited a book on gun industry litigation. Possibly the most analogous rule -- in that it protects a specific group of potential defendants from a specific liability theory -- is one that offers some immunity to online service providers, said John Goldberg, a law professor at Harvard University and an expert in tort law, in an email to PolitiFact. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act blocks victims of online defamation from suing service providers (like Comcast) and content providers (like YouTube) for failing to monitor or remove defamatory posts uploaded by customers. In a prior interview with NPR, Goldberg called the gun industry law particularly \"\"aggressive\"\" in terms of the liability protections granted. Most of the experts we surveyed also mentioned a vaccine manufacturer liability law passed in the 1980s. Under the law, victims of injuries that they say were caused by defective vaccines are not allowed to sue vaccine manufacturers. This differs from the gun legislation, however, because it established the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, through which alleged victims can make a claim and receive compensation. \"\"By contrast, (the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) simply prohibits certain kinds of tort claims against the gun industry without providing plaintiffs any alternative means of pursuing their claims,\"\" Lytton said. There\u2019s also some liability protection in the medical devices and airline industries, noted Walter Olson, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and expert in tort law. For example,the 1994 General Aviation Revitalization Act said small aircraft manufacturers cannot be sued for accidents involving aircraft more than 18 years old. \"\"It\u2019s not at all unique to the gun industry. It\u2019s a version (of liability law) Congress developed for an industry that was under very heavy attack,\"\" Olson said, referring to the slew of litigation against gun sellers and makers that prompted Congress to pass the law. Our ruling Clinton said the gun industry is \"\"the only business in America that is wholly protected from any kind of liability.\"\" Clinton is talking about a law that says the gun industry is protected from liability in certain instances, but the law also specifies several situations in which the gun industry is susceptible to lawsuits. Further, Congress has passed a number of laws that protect a variety of business sectors from lawsuits in certain situations, so the situation is not unique to the gun industry.\" Claim: \"The gun industry is\u00a0\"\"the only business in America that is wholly protected from any kind of liability.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-bc9f22e5038f4fe080ea53a3dd8e7107", + "input": "Paragraph: People are generally fascinated by examples of other animals engaging in human-like behavior \u2014 all the more so when that behavior involves animals seemingly outsmarting human beings. A case in point is a claim, reflected in the following meme, that a zoo-kept female panda deliberately mimicked the symptoms of pregnancy because she observed that other pregnant pandas in the zoo received special treatment: This claim originated with a 2014 report from the Chinese state-run press agency Xinhua, detailing how a planned live broadcast of the birth of panda cubs at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center had been canceled when it was discovered that the expectant mother-to-be was not actually pregnant. A quote from a panda expert cited in the report suggested that some \u201cclever pandas\u201d who experienced phantom pregnancies would deliberately continue to exhibit pregnancy symptoms afterwards in order to fool their keepers into providing them with special treatment: A celebrated giant panda was removed from a widely-anticipated live birth after it was discovered she was not actually pregnant. The panda Ai Hin, 6, was scheduled to star in the world\u2019s first live broadcast of the birth of panda cubs, but the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center told Xinhua that the panda had a \u201cphantom pregnancy.\u201d Phantom pregnancy is common among the endangered bears. Non-pregnant pandas can exhibit prenatal behaviors as a result of progestational hormone changes. But experts said sometimes the pandas, noticing the difference in treatment after exhibiting initial signs of pregnancy, may carry on with the pregnant behavior. \u201cAfter showing prenatal signs, the \u2018mothers-to-be\u2019 are moved into single rooms with air conditioning and around-the-clock care. They also receive more buns, fruits and bamboo, so some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life,\u201d said Wu Kongju, an expert at the Chengdu Base. But another panda expert quickly walked that claim back, asserting that the behavior was due to hormonal changes rather than purposeful trickery and had been observed in both captive and wild pandas: Claims that a six-year-old panda faked signs of pregnancy to receive better treatment from her conservation centre carers have been debunked by one of China\u2019s leading panda experts. State newswire Xinhua reported that Ai Hin may have deliberately demonstrated signs of pregnancy, including \u201creduced appetite, less mobility and a surge in progestational hormone\u201d. Pandas that staff believe to be expecting are given a single, air-conditioned room, as well as more buns, fruit and bamboo than non-pregnant pandas. \u201cSo some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life,\u201d Wu Kongju, an expert at the Chengdu research base of giant panda breeding, told Xinhua. But Zhang Heming, director of the China research and conservation centre for the giant panda told the Guardian that Ai Hin\u2019s behaviour was probably more of a hormonal issue than a deliberate ruse. \u201cThis phenomenon occurs in 10 to 20% of pandas,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter the mother panda is inseminated, if her health isn\u2019t so good, the pregnancy will terminate, but she\u2019ll still behave as if she\u2019s pregnant.\u201d He continued: \u201cThis phenomenon also happens to wild pandas, if they don\u2019t have enough bamboo to eat.\u201d Claim: A captive panda deliberately faked symptoms of pregnancy in order to obtain special treatment from her keepers. ", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-672c02cda3dd4ff5a6c56e85b7ff14d6", + "input": "Paragraph: Miami U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno rejected a motion by the South Florida Water Management District to end a decree signed in 1992. Among other things, the order sets thresholds for the amount of phosphorous in the Everglades, an ingredient in fertilizer from the vast sugar-growing regions to the north that promotes unhealthy plant growth in the sprawling marsh. Moreno said among his reasons for denying the water district\u2019s motion is that its governing board is being largely replaced by new Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made the environment a top priority. The judge also said it would require a full evidentiary hearing on complicated scientific and environmental issues to end the decree. \u201cThis is the right thing to do at this time,\u201d Moreno said at a hearing. \u201cThere\u2019s really no harm, is there?\u201d The order allows the water district to file the motion again in the future. The decree is not involved with other water problems that plagued Florida coasts last year, including red tide outbreaks and algae blooms. The water district and sugar growers say the decree is outdated, thwarts projects that would benefit the Everglades and has been superseded by subsequent state and federal laws that guarantee restoration would continue. The projects include vast reservoirs that cleanse water flowing south from sugar farms before it flows into the Everglades. \u201cTwenty-seven years is enough. It\u2019s enough because it\u2019s unnecessary,\u201d said water board attorney Brian Accardo. The U.S. government, environmental groups and the Miccosukee Indian tribe disagree, saying the decree is key to pursuing potential violations and ensuring the cleanup projects get built. They say it should remain in place until the Everglades has achieved an environmental balance close to its historical makeup. The Miccosukee reservation is in the Everglades. \u201cThe decree is essential to protect the Everglades,\u201d said Anna Upton, attorney for the Florida Audubon Society. \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet. We\u2019ve come a long way.\u201d The decree arose out of a 1988 lawsuit filed by the U.S. against the water district claiming high phosphorous discharges were threatening the long-term future of the Everglades. The state and water district contended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was equally responsible by moving polluted water into the area. In 1992, the consent decree was signed involving the federal and state entities, setting goals for reducing phosphorous as well as the levels of water at the right times needed to keep the ecosystem healthy. A key point in the settlement talks came with then-Gov. Lawton Chiles, a Democrat, showed up at a court hearing in 1991 and said: \u201cWe want to surrender. I want to find out who I can give my sword to.\u201d Florida Department of Environmental Protection attorney Charles DeMonaco said about $2 billion has been spent to date on Everglades projects, with another $1 billion in the pipeline over the next four years. He said the state would also like to see the consent decree end, but only when there is an agreement on how success would be measured. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to fight anyone. We want to end it,\u201d DeMonaco said. _____ Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt Claim: Judge won\u2019t end decades-old Everglades cleanup oversight.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2992e351335a4482a3f653e39a5170e0", + "input": "Paragraph: On March 9 2020, WJLA-TV reporter Sam Sweeney tweeted about a Washington, DC priest\u2019s purported positive coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnosis, adding that the clergy man led Communion services and shook hands with \u201cmore than 500\u201d churchgoers:BREAKING: A D.C. priest has Coronavirus. He offered communion and shook hands with more than 500 worshippers last week and on February 24th. All worshippers who visited the Christ Church in Georgetown must self-quarantine. Church is cancelled for the first time since the 1800's\u2014 Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) March 9, 2020According to Sweeney\u2019s tweet,\u00a0the exposure to COVID-19 occurred during services on March 1 and February 24 2020. Sweeney added that churchgoers who attended services on those dates at Christ Church in Georgetown were ordered to \u201cself-quarantine,\u201d and that services there had been canceled for the first time in more than a century.In a reply to a response to that tweet, Sweeney stated:This weekend. The priest who self identified himself in a letter to his congregation.\u2014 Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) March 9, 2020The Washington Post reported that the individual Sweeney referenced was Rev. Timothy Cole, the rector at Christ Church in Georgetown. In that article, the outlet indicated 550 congregants were potentially exposed to COVID-19 across multiple services on a single Sunday:A third case of coronavirus in Northern Virginia was announced [March 9 2020], shortly after D.C. officials urged hundreds of Christ Church, Georgetown attendees to self-quarantine because of their exposure to the Rev. Timothy Cole, the church rector, who is the city\u2019s first known coronavirus patient \u2026 Cole, who first became sick after returning from a Feb. 22 [2020] conference of Episcopal leaders in Louisville, tested positive for coronavirus Saturday and is quarantined at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in stable condition. [\u2026]Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced the self-quarantine recommendation at a news conference [on March 9 2020 in the] morning, as authorities try to contain the spread of the virus. It is the first broad self-quarantine order in the Washington region.Cole oversaw multiple services on March 1 [2020], attended by a total of 550 people, the church has said. He provided Communion at the 11:15 a.m. services. Church officials said he appeared healthy that day and had been regularly washing his hands. But he had been ill in late February [2020].There was no immediate estimate of how many people came into close contact with him on the other targeted days.Bowser emphasized self-quarantine was crucial to stop the virus from spreading, adding that officials recognized that \u201cthere will be hardships for many people not just in D.C., but in Maryland and Virginia\u201d due to the restriction. The newspaper also reported that Cole engaged in no recent international travel, visiting only the church conference in Kentucky on February 22 2020.CBS News obtained a copy of the email issued to parishioners about Cole\u2019s diagnosis:In an email to parishioners obtained by CBS News, Cole confirmed he has tested positive, and said services were suspended \u201cout of an abundance of caution for the most vulnerable among us.\u201d All services were canceled Sunday, the first time the church has closed since a fire in the 1800s, [Reverend Crystal] Hardin said.\u201cI can now confirm that I am the individual who tested positive for the Coronavirus,\u201d Cole wrote in his email. \u201cFirst, I want to assure you that I will be okay. I am receiving excellent care and am in good spirits under the circumstances. I will remain quarantined for the next 14 days as will the rest of my family.\u201dCBS further reported that public health officials assessed the exposure risk posed by Cole, concluding that visiting the church was sufficient to warrant quarantine:The D.C. Department of Health said in a statement that it has been in contact with the church and \u201cdetermined an individual\u2019s visitation to Christ Church Georgetown warrants precautionary measures.\u201d The department recommended \u201ca temporary pause of services\u201d and said it was \u201cconducting an intensive investigation to identify any exposures to COVID-19 that may have occurred at the church,\u201d referring to the virus.Anyone who visited the church under any circumstances or for any reason within a specific date range was affected by the self-quarantine. One outlet provided the\u00a0dates\u00a0as between February 28 2020 and March 3 2020; Bowser provided the longer range in a tweet:Visitors to Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on Feb 24th, and between Feb 28th and Mar 3rd could've been exposed to COVID-19, and DC Health recommends that anyone who visited on those dates isolate themselves at home for 14 days from the last time they visited the church.\u2014 Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 9, 2020In the March 9 2020 statement, DC Health clarified self-quarantine instructions:Through DC Health\u2019s investigation, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all visitors to Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on February 24th, and between February 28th and March 3rd could have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, and DC Health is recommending that anyone who visited Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on those dates isolate themselves at home for 14 days from the last time they visited the church. Isolating at home includes not going to work or school, and not attending any large or public gatherings, or using public transportation or ride-sharing. DC Health may also be reaching out to certain individuals who are more likely to have been exposed with further guidance.Additionally, any person who has visited Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on the dates mentioned above, should call DC Health if they develop symptoms, or if they have experienced symptoms of COVID-19 in the 14 days since they visited the church at (202) 576-1117 or call their healthcare providers. Symptoms of COVID-19 may include fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath. If you have any questions and are not symptomatic, you can also email DC Health are [email\u00a0protected]On the Church\u2019s official website, a link on the homepage led to a statement titled \u201cChurch Closure and Coronavirus,\u201d which began:Dear friends in Christ,Many of you have been asking for additional guidance in light of today\u2019s events. At 10:47 p.m., we received the following from DC Health. Please read it carefully and reach out to DC Health with your questions and concerns about their guidance.We will continue to send updates periodically, upon receipt of new information and as warranted. Let us hold one another in prayer and rest assured of God\u2019s presence and grace, which abounds\u2014always.Faithfully,The Clergy and Wardens of Christ Church, GeorgetownImmediately thereafter was the statement from DC Health, and under that, Cole\u2019s email to churchgoers:IMPORTANT UPDATE: CORONAVIRUS IN OUR COMMUNITY Sunday, March 8, 2020Dear friends in Christ,As you are now aware, we have suspended all services and meetings at Christ Church until further notice in response to a presumed positive case of Coronavirus in our community. As we said before, we did not make the decision to close our doors lightly, but out of an abundance of caution for the most vulnerable among us. There is no need to panic. Following sensible precautions provided by the CDC will go a long way towards insuring the good health of our community.I can now confirm that I am the individual who tested positive for the Coronavirus.First, I want to assure you that I will be okay. I am receiving excellent care and am in good spirits under the circumstances. I will remain quarantined for the next 14 days as will the rest of my family.Many of you will want to speak by phone or email; however, at this time, rest is what I need most, and it will be difficult for me to respond. Should you have any situations requiring pastoral care, please do contact the Reverend Mother Crystal Hardin or the Reverend Father John McDuffie. For matters concerning operations of the church, please contact one of the Wardens, Chad Thorley or Rusty Lindner.The obvious question at this point is what you should do. First, please read the information provided on the CDC\u2019s website, linked here. If we are given any firm advice by public health officials, we will pass it to the Christ Church community as soon as possible. In the meantime, we have been asked to let parishioners know that should you experience any symptoms, please contact your healthcare provider.Faithfully,Father TimThe Reverend Timothy A. R. Cole, RectorA tweet reporting a large-scale quarantine mandate and coronavirus (COVID-19) case at a Washington, DC church because of an infected clergyman was accurate. Public health officials said that visitors who went to the church between February 24 and March 3 2020 may have been exposed to COVID-19. Parishioners were instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days, beginning with the date of possible exposure. Claim: A Washington, DC clergyman tested positive for COVID-19, potentially exposing congregants.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-aeb2cdb0a8d845498484e99096bf60a7", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Texas Lt. Gov . Dan Patrick made such a dramatic claim about \"\"must-pass\"\" tax-rate legislation--$20,000 in savings for the average homeowner every year!--we launched a fact check. Patrick, during 17 minutes of remarks to Capitol reporters May 17, 2017, named Senate Bill 2, authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as one of two measures--along with the Senate-backed proposal barring local governments and school districts from letting transgender residents use bathrooms of choice--that must pass, in Patrick\u2019s view, for lawmakers to avoid one or more special sessions possibly called by Gov. Greg Abbott after the regular session that must end by midnight Memorial Day. Patrick, mindful the House then had yet to vote on SB 2, said the Senate-approved version of the measure \"\"would bring about the largest property tax reform in Texas history. It would bring local government spending under control, give the voters an automatic election on government spending, of anything over 5 percent, and,\"\" Patrick said, \"\"save the average homeowner in Texas $20,000 a year over the next 20 years or so.\"\" Patrick aide: He meant $20,000 cumulatively Is that correct? To our inquiry, Patrick spokesman Alejandro Garcia said by email that Patrick had intended to tout savings adding up to $20,000 over 20 years. He pointed out a Texas Tribune news story posted two days after Patrick spoke quoting an unnamed Patrick staffer saying the same. The Tribune story said Patrick\u00a0provided its reporter with\u00a0a sheet of figures\u00a0suggesting\u00a0$20,856 in cumulative savings to the average\u00a0homeowner, a conclusion\u00a0predicated on local tax-rate hikes running higher than usual. The story\u00a0quoted Dick Lavine, a tax analyst for the liberal Center for Public Policy Priorities, which opposes SB 2, saying: \"\"This calculation certainly does not portray what an \u2018average\u2019 homeowner could expect in any given year, to say nothing of experiencing these \u2018savings\u2019 every year for the next 20 years.\"\" Bettencourt offers backup We didn\u2019t draw any backup from Patrick. But Bettencourt replied to our inquiry by\u00a0offering a chart suggesting escalating savings for what he described as the owner of the median-valued Texas home based, he said, on research by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, which drew on data on home sales culled monthly by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University: SOURCE: Chart projecting homeowner savings from Senate-approved version of Senate Bill 2 (received by email from Lauri Saathoff, director of communications, state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, May 17, 2017) In phone messages, Bettencourt noted that the association\u2019s analysis suggests that over five recent years, through 2015, the owner of a median-valued home saw a nearly 34 percent escalation in property taxes paid to the local government entities targeted by SB 2, which averages out to increases of more than 6 percent a year. Those entities are cities, counties and special districts though not school districts. How the chart gets to a $22,761 cumulative savings in year 20 figure: It shows first-year savings under SB 2 for the median-value homeowner of $46, second-year property tax savings of $99 with annual savings exceeding $1,100 starting in year 12--and topping $2,100 a year starting in year 17. Each year\u2019s savings, the chart shows, reflects the difference between what the homeowner would face in local property taxes if all government units raised taxes 8 percent minus what the homeowner would face if the local government entities all raised taxes 5 percent. Under existing law, local governments may raise effective tax rates up to 8 percent without residents being able to petition for a rollback election. The \"\"effective rate\"\" refers to the rate needed for the governing unit to raise the same total amount of taxes from the same local properties as the unit garnered the year before. Under the Senate\u2019s version of SB 2, any of the affected entities could raise such taxes up to 5 percent with any additional bump automatically touching off a rollback election. Realistic tax-rate assumptions? We asked Bettencourt about the basis of the chart\u2019s assumption that local governments will every year across-the-board raise effective tax rates 5 percent and if it\u2019s realistic to compare that to an assumption that such governments would otherwise uniformly be driving up rates 8 percent every year. In phone messages, Bettencourt stressed the TTARA chart showing the recent average 6-percent-plus increases in property taxes charged the owner of a median-valued home. Separately, Dale Craymer of TTARA declined to comment. Bettencourt also gave \u00a0us an alternate savings projection premised on all government entities affected by SB 2 annually raising effective rates 6\u00a0percent (rather than 3\u00a0percent) without a change in law. Upshot: Cumulative \"\"savings\"\" to the median-value homeowner would exceed $17,000 in year 20, the second chart suggests. We asked Bettencourt about available data showing local governments had widely maximized tax rates every year of late. In writing, he replied that he\u2019d heard testimony along those lines from an Arlington and a Dallas official during pre-session hearings of the Bettencourt-chaired Texas Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform and Relief. Actual county, city tax rate changes Advocates for cities and counties say the senator\u2019s assumption--that local governments will always uniformly raise effective tax rates to the maximum level allowable without risking a rollback vote at the polls--doesn\u2019t reflect what Texas governments have been doing. By phone, Don Lee of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties, representing 38 member-counties home to most of the state\u2019s residents, said that from 2014 through 2016, the counties averaged 2.2 percent effective tax rate increases, falling far short of the 8 percent rate that would open the way to a rollback vote. Lee emailed us a spreadsheet indicating the member counties averaged effective tax rate increases of 3.1 percent in 2014; 3.2 percent in 2015; and 0.7 percent in 2016. We also queried the Texas Municipal League, which says it represents most of the state\u2019s cities, and whose legislative counsel, Bill Longley, emailed spreadsheets he described as based on effective city tax rates posted by the Texas state comptroller\u2019s office for a couple of recent years. The sheets show, Longley noted, that the \"\"vast majority of cities haven\u2019t been increasing their tax rates above the current 8 percent rollback rate.\"\" According to the sheets, in 2014 and 2015, respectively, about 21 percent of the state\u2019s cities adopted effective rates equal to or exceeding 8 percent. And, in keeping with SB 2\u2019s proposed 5 percent rollback rate, how many cities lately have escalated rates that much or more? According to the sheets, 38 percent (382 of 1,002 cities) in 2014 and 39 percent (376 of 963 cities) in 2015. \"\"In both cases,\"\" Longley wrote, \"\"more than 60 percent of cities were under a 5 percent rollback rate, if it had been in place.\"\" Texas A&M expert For an outside perspective, we asked Jim Gaines, chief economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, to appraise Bettencourt\u2019s analysis and chart. By phone, Gaines said TTARA presented an accurate figure on its spreadsheet for a median-valued Texas home. But Gaines called \"\"highly questionable\"\" the assumptions behind the dollar figures in Bettencourt\u2019s chart--both of local governments uniformly and annually driving up effective tax rates 8 percent without a change in law and of such governments under SB 2 all increasing rates 5 percent year after year. Counties, for instance, don\u2019t act identically, Gaines said. \"\"Each county is going to be unique,\"\" he said. Comptroller makes no homeowner savings estimate Next, we checked the fiscal note on the Senate-approved version of SB 2 that was public by the time Patrick spoke (a more recent version appeared May 19, 2017). The March 16, 2017, note, prepared by the advisory Legislative Budget Board staff, states up front that the financial effects of reducing the rollback rate can\u2019t be estimated. However, it also says, \"\"the table below is a hypothetical example of potential costs of the bill to counties, cities, and special districts\"\" based in part on assuming that no voters approve rates exceeding the 5 percent rollback rate and that future \"\"rate-setting practices would be similar to the rate-setting practices demonstrated in the available historical tax rate data.\"\" And in fiscal 2019, the first year of tax effects, cities, counties and special districts would lose nearly $199 million in revenue, the comptroller\u2019s office estimated, an indication of some taxpayer savings, it seemed to us. The \u00a0hypothetical shows additional costs to affected government entities in subsequent years. Does the hypothetical lost revenue, we wondered, mean the comptroller got a fix on how much homeowners and other property taxpayers might save? By phone, a spokeswoman for the comptroller\u2019s office, Lauren Willis, said the agency has not estimated particular savings for homeowners. Tim Wooten, a comptroller consultant who worked on the table, told us by phone that\u2019s because \"\"we can\u2019t predict what local taxing entities will do\"\" in setting rates or if voters indeed will reject all increases at the polls. We asked Wooten to unpack how he reached the hypothesized revenue losses. Wooten said he applied the SB 2 limits to 2015 tax rates set by the targeted entities, finding that in that year, 60 percent of cities and special districts and 70 percent of counties did not set rates high enough to touch off the rollback elections envisioned in SB 2. Wooten said too that a lot of the remaining government entities would have sustained small 2015 losses in revenue if SB 2 had been law then. Bettencourt stands by $20,000-plus figure Following up, we asked Bettencourt if most local entities covered by SB 2 don\u2019t reach existing or proposed rollback tax rates, aren\u2019t homeowner savings impossible to precisely forecast? \"\"Of course,\"\" Bettencourt said in writing, \"\"because we are dealing with future projections to a 20-year degree. However, downward pressure on property tax rates means tax rate reductions across the board in probability.\"\" When we said it looked to us like his projected homeowner savings were based on unrealistic assumptions about all the affected government entities maximizing tax rates every year, Bettencourt replied: \"\"Disagree strongly,\"\" urging us to revisit the spreadsheet he attributed to TTARA. Our ruling Patrick said legislation targeting local tax rate growth will result in the average Texas homeowner saving $20,000 a year over 20 years. That\u2019s an absurd amount. Even if we look at what Patrick purportedly meant to say \u2014 $20,000 over 20 years \u2014 we find major flaws in the assumptions underlying that calculation. To reach that amount, one must assume that every city, county and special taxing district will raise tax rates by 8 percent every year without this legislation in place and by 5 percent a year with it. Neither assumption is in line with recent history, making the total savings figure highly suspect, at best\u00a0a wild guess. ! PANTS ON FIRE \u2013 The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim. CORRECTION, 9:55 a.m., May 24, 2017: Thanks to a reader's nudge, we amended this story to correct our description of the second tax-rollback savings chart provided \u00a0by Bettencourt. This revision\u00a0did not affect our rating of the claim.\" Claim: \"Dan Patrick Says Texas tax legislation would \"\"save the average homeowner in Texas $20,000 a year over the next 20 years or so.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-62ea8332e01f49bd9ff8644593aa4656", + "input": "Paragraph: Anti-smoking groups hailed the ban, which restricts sale and consumption of flavored vaping products immediately and does the same for menthol cigarettes starting June 1, 2020. \u201cThe Massachusetts law is a major milestone in the fight to reverse the worsening e-cigarette epidemic and stop tobacco companies from targeting and addicting kids with flavored products,\u201d said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. But the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, which opposed the legislation, said it\u2019s exploring challenging the new law in court, or seeking other ways to change it. \u201cPublic health and safety has been dealt a blow by anti-tobacco crusaders exploiting a youth vaping crisis, and by lawmakers bypassing prudent policy-making,\u201d the group said in a statement. In recent months, Massachusetts and other states, including Michigan, Montana, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington, have temporarily banned or restricted the sale of vaping products. But Massachusetts is now the first with a broad, permanent ban in place on all flavored tobacco or nicotine vaping products, anti-smoking groups say. The new law specifically restricts sale of the products to licensed smoking bars such as cigar bars and hookah lounges, where they\u2019ll only be allowed to be consumed on-site. The restriction extends to menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco. It also places a 75% excise tax on nicotine vaping products, gives public health officials new authority to regulate the products and requires health insurers cover tobacco cessation counseling. Baker said he hopes other states adopt similar restrictions but argued that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are the only ones that can address the issue comprehensively for the nation. \u201cSometimes someone has to go first,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear there isn\u2019t going to be a federal policy on this anytime soon. So, in the absence of that, we had to act.\u201d President Donald Trump has promised for months to approve a national ban on most flavored e-cigarettes. But in recent weeks his administration has walked back that promise, cancelling a planned announcement of a ban in favor of private meetings with the vaping industry and medical professionals. Massachusetts\u2019 decision to extend the ban to menthols is unique. The mint flavor has typically been exempt from such restrictions because it\u2019s long been one of the most popular flavors. Menthols were omitted from legislation passed by the New York City Council on Tuesday after advocates, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, argued their inclusion could lead to harsh police enforcement in the black community. Studies have shown menthol cigarettes are consumed disproportionately by young people and minorities, and anti-tobacco groups and health experts have argued menthol has been marketed to African Americans. But there have been recent signs that reluctance to address menthols is waning. Boston health officials earlier this week prohibited the sale of menthols in convenience stores, and dozens of other communities in Massachusetts and California have taken steps to restrict menthols and other flavored cigarettes. State Attorney General Maura Healey and other supporters said that restricting menthols and other flavored tobacco products is critical because they\u2019ve contributed to growth in the traditional smoking market, which in turn prompted the creation of flavored vaping products targeted at youths. The American Cancer Society\u2019s Cancer Action Network said it hoped the new law sends a message to the industry. \u201cMore than 80% of teens who have ever used a tobacco product started with a flavored product, and the tobacco industry knows this,\u201d the organization said in an emailed statement. The legislation responds to growing concern about the health effects of vaping products, including deaths whose exact cause is still being investigated. Massachusetts health officials say there have been more than 200 suspected cases of vaping-related lung injury and three confirmed deaths in the state. In September, Baker declared a public health emergency and ordered a temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products \u2014 flavored and unflavored. Baker said Wednesday he\u2019ll lift that ban a few weeks early on Dec. 11, when state health officials are expected to roll out additional regulations. The Tobacco Merchants Association, an industry group, didn\u2019t respond to an email seeking comment. But the Vapor Technology Association, which has challenged Massachusetts\u2019 temporary vaping ban in state court, said a better strategy than the ban would be raising the age to purchase tobacco and nicotine vapor products to 21 and to impose stricter marketing standards on companies. \u201cA ban will drive people back to combustible cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., or lead to illegal sales with a new and larger black market,\u201d the organization said in a statement. __ Associated Press editor William J. Kole contributed to this report. Claim: No more menthol cigarettes: New ban on tobacco, vape flavors.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-9e3a89e58d204c73a3b4c4151e2d9fe1", + "input": "Paragraph: In mid-2017, an article published on the web site Women\u2019s News (WNews.world) gained notoriety among social media users, thanks to its outlandish claim that an Indonesian woman deceased for three years not only returned to life and walked among the living, but was actually photographed doing so:\u00a0 The text of the article makes reference to a \u201cspecial rite\u201d used by the locals to bring the corpse back to life: In Indonesia, in the town of Toraja, a woman leaves her grave after being dead for 3 years. Fortunately, this event was caught on camera and it\u2019s the evidence of how this woman was resurrected after that much time. There is no doubt that this is a frightening and surprising fact. They say that in order to bring her back to life, a special rite is performed in the place of the woman\u2019s tomb. The premise struck us as both preposterous and familiar, so we dug deeper and found many other versions, including one that was posted to the snopes.com message board in September 2010: We found an even older version posted on an Indonesian blog in November 2009. It included the writer\u2019s personal reminiscences around witnessing a \u201cwalking corpse\u201d in his or her youth (although the narrative suffers a bit due to machine translation): The story of a dead corpse has been around since time immemorial. Hundreds of years ago it was said that there was a civil war in Tana Toraja namely the Toraja West fought against the East Toraja people. In the battle the West Toraja was defeated because most of them were killed, but at the time of going home their entire corpse of the Toraja West was walking, while the East Toraja people though only a few were killed but they took the corpses of their dead brother, Then the war is considered a series. On the next offspring the Toraja people often bury their corpses by way of the corpse walking alone to the grave. The phenomenon of \u201cWalking bodies\u201d that I myself have witnessed directly. The incident occurred around the year 1992 (I\u2019m new grade 3 elementary). At that time in my village there was a man named Pongbarrak whose mother died. Such as Toraja custom the corpse is not directly buried but still has to go through a customary procession of burial (signs solo \u2018). At that time after bathing the dead body of the mother is placed in bed in a special room before it is inserted into the coffin. On the third night the whole family gathered to talk about how the funeral procession would take place. At that time I sat on the porch of the house understand the children so like to pace. But after the meeting is over (around 10 pm), suddenly there is a noise in the house where some mothers shout. Out of curiosity I tried to look into the house and the dead man was walking out of the room, just cash me and my friends screamed hysterically and ran down the stairs. I ran and got my dad hysterically scared. After that I was taken home by father and I do not know what happened next. Common to every variant we\u2019ve encountered are references to the Tana Toraja\u00a0region of South Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. (If you\u2019ve ever tasted any of the earthy, subtly spicy coffees imported from Sulawesi, odds are the beans were grown and hand-harvested in Tana Toraja.) Nor is it a coincidence that virtually every travel guide offering information about the remote location spotlights certain \u201cpeculiar,\u201d \u201ccomplex,\u201d and purportedly \u201cgruesome\u201d funerary practices found there (practices that are indeed so unusual and elaborate that entire books have been written about them and tourists flock to record them on their mobile devices). The more we learned about these traditions, the more we became convinced they were the inspiration for tales about Indonesia\u2019s so-called \u201cwalking dead.\u201d It\u2019s unclear precisely how long the Toraja people, who descended from Austronesian speakers living in central Sulawesi well before Europeans arrived in the 1500s, have inhabited the island. During the 1700s, the Toraja population was driven into the southern mountains (where the majority of them are still concentrated) by another ethnic subgroup, the Buginese. Although most Toraja now identify as Christian or Muslim, many still honor beliefs and customs handed down from their ancestors \u2014 beliefs and customs in which death takes center stage. Anthropologist Kelli Swazey described the Torajans\u2019 intimate, intricate relationship with the dead in a 2013 TED Talk entitled \u201cLife that Doesn\u2019t End with Death\u201c: In Tana Toraja, the most important social moments in people\u2019s lives, the focal points of social and cultural interaction are not weddings or births or even family dinners, but funerals. So these funerals are characterized by elaborate rituals that tie people in a system of reciprocal debt based on the amount of animals \u2014\u00a0pigs, chickens and, most importantly, water buffalo \u2014 that are sacrificed and distributed in the name of the deceased. So this cultural complex surrounding death, the ritual enactment of the end of life, has made death the most visible and remarkable aspect of Toraja\u2019s landscape. Lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, funeral ceremonies are a raucous affair, where commemorating someone who\u2019s died is not so much a private sadness but more of a publicly shared transition. And it\u2019s a transition that\u2019s just as much about the identity of the living as it is about remembrance of the dead. In Toraja society, Swazey explains, death is seen as a process \u2014 and a lengthy process, at that \u2014 rather than as a singular event: So where we see an unquestionable reality, death as an irrefutable biological condition, Torajans see the expired corporeal form as part of a larger social genesis. So again, the physical cessation of life is not the same as death. In fact, a member of society is only truly dead when the extended family can agree upon and marshal the resources necessary to hold a funeral ceremony that is considered appropriate in terms of resources for the status of the deceased. And this ceremony has to take place in front of the eyes of the whole community with everyone\u2019s participation\u2026. Until the funeral ceremony, which can be held years after a person\u2019s physical death, the deceased is referred to as \u201cto makala,\u201d a sick person, or \u201cto mama,\u201d a person who is asleep, and they continue to be a member of the household. They are symbolically fed and cared for, and the family at this time will begin a number of ritual injunctions, which communicates to the wider community around them that one of their members is undergoing the transition from this life into the afterlife known as Puya. So I know what some of you must be thinking right now. Is she really saying that these people live with the bodies of their dead relatives? And that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m saying. A National Geographic video shot in 2016 provides brief glimpses into Tana Toraja death and burial rites (warning: includes graphic scenes of animal sacrifice): Of particular interest with regard to the \u201cwalking dead\u201d tales we\u2019re investigating is the ma\u2019nene ceremony, in which the mummified corpses of dead family members are exhumed, washed, reclothed, and walked through the center of town, examples can be seen both in the latter half of the\u00a0National Geographic video above and this tourist video uploaded to YouTube in 2016: Bringing our investigation full circle, Loyola University anthropology professor Kathleen Adams, who spent two years in Tana Toraja observing the lives and culture of its people, confirmed in an interview with\u00a0Loyola Magazine\u00a0that the \u201cwalking dead\u201d stories represent a corrupted version of the truth: \u201cWhat started happening, as best as I can piece together, was migrants who had moved to Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia, who were often second-generation migrants, were coming back,\u201d Adams says. \u201cThe city folk would want a picture next to their deceased relatives, and the images started circulating on Facebook. Toraja became suddenly internationally associated with this idea of the \u2018walking dead\u2019 and zombies.\u201d That\u2019s not to say that concept is entirely foreign to the culture. \u201cTorajans also tell stories about corpses that walk on their own to their final resting place,\u201d Kelli Swazey told us via e-mail: Many Torajans relate that in the past, powerful ritual practitioners could make a corpse walk on its own. This practice is not done anymore, according to many Torajans, because it is a kind of magic that is not appropriate for modern Christians, and the majority of Torajans identify as Protestant Christians today. In addition, there are many stories of other kinds of revenants that the living encounter in Indonesia, so the circulation of these kinds of stories is quite common in the Indonesian media. So, folklore and media sensationalism notwithstanding, do the deceased really rise from their graves and walk in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi? Yes, but no \u2014\u00a0not literally. They do so only with the help of surviving family members, who continue to demonstrate their love and devotion long after the physical bodies of their loved ones have gone quiet. Claim: Indonesian villagers performed a rite that brought a dead woman back to life after three years in the grave.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c819a1bafdbe4037bfa7743aa7ca6437", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Del. Steve Landes says Gov. Terry McAuliffe\u2019s long-sought initiative to expand Medicaid in Virginia is financial quicksand. \"\"Do you support or oppose Medicaid expansion in Virginia?\"\" Landes, R-Augusta, asked constituents in a recent survey about issues. \"\"While expansion would enroll up to 400,000 currently uninsured Virginians in Medicaid, it could cost the Commonwealth of Virginia over $1 billion per year, forcing cuts to other key services like education, mental health and public safety.\"\" Landes is hardly the first Republican to sound the $1 billion-a-year alarm about the potential cost of expanding Medicaid. Others, including House Speaker Bill Howell, also have tossed around the number during the GOP\u2019s successful three-year effort to block expansion. Democrats say the state has a moral obligation to make Medicaid available to all low-income Virginians who are qualified - particularly because the federal government has agreed to pay for the vast majority of the expansion. Republicans counter that Medicaid already is unwieldy and that Uncle Sam, deeply in debt, can\u2019t be relied upon to pay his promised share. The issue is certain to re-emerge this winter when the General Assembly convenes for a 60-day session starting Jan. 13. So it\u2019s a good time to look into the accuracy of the $1 billion-a-year claim. Let\u2019s start with some background. The costs Under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, states have the choice of extending their Medicaid programs to people who earn 138 percent of the U.S. poverty level. The federal government pays all of the expansion costs through this federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and gradually will drop its future share to a standing 90 percent after 2019. To date, 31 states have decided to expand Medicaid. Virginia\u2019s Medicaid program is run by the state Department of Medical Assistance Services which, in September, issued annual cost estimates for Medicaid expansion through 2022. They show the expansion would cost a total of $800 million in fiscal 2017, with the state shouldering $32 million of that amount. In 2022, the cost would be $3.1 billion, with the state responsible for $325 million. But these gross figures don\u2019t take into account savings that DMAS says the state would realize by expanding Medicaid. For example, Virginia now covers all the costs of hospitalizing a state prisoner; under Medicaid expansion, the federal government would pay 90 percent of the bills. Virginia pays most of the costs for uninsured low-income residents who receive behavioral health treatment from community service boards; under Medicaid expansion, the federal government again would pay 90 percent of those bills. DMAS concluded that the savings would outweigh the costs of Medicaid expansion through 2020, when Virginia would see a $34 million net gain from joining the program. After that, there would be some - but not much - red ink. DMAS estimated that the bottom-line cost to expand would be $3 million in 2022. Landes\u2019 figure So how does Landes reach his estimate of a potential $1 billion-a-year cost to Virginia taxpayers? His calculation rests on the premise that the federal government, already over-committed, will renege on its legal promise to never pay less than 90 percent of expansion costs. \"\"If the federal government cut the expansion match rate back to 50/50, it would cost Virginia over $1 billion per year in the out years,\"\" Landes wrote to us in an email. He pointed out that the bottom-line price of expansion - combining Washington\u2019s share with the state\u2019s net cost - is estimated to exceed $2 billion a year starting in 2018. If the federal government tosses half of the expense back to Virginia that year or later, the state would be shackled with annual bills of at least $1 billion. Craig Markva, a spokesman for DMAS, told us the state has every reason to believe that won\u2019t happen. For one thing, legislation would be required to cut the federal contribution. Edwin Park, the vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, told us there\u2019s no movement afoot in Congress to take such an action. In 2012, the Obama administration proposed a budget-cutting measure that would have changed the formula for how much it pays for Medicaid patients, boosting the federal match for current enrollees and lowering the match for people who became newly insured under the law. But after the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that expansion was an option, not a mandate, the White House dropped that proposal, because it wanted to assure states the match would stay at 90 percent, Park said. It also should be noted that the Obama administration notified states in December 2012 that if they enrolled in expansion, they could drop out of the program at any time. That assurance was repeated in a March 20, 2014 letter that Cindy Mann, then the White House\u2019s top Medicaid official, wrote to Bill Hazel, Virginia\u2019s secretary of health. McAuliffe, a Democrat who has been pushing to broaden Medicaid, has proposed a state law that would require Virginia\u2019s withdrawal if Washington reduced support for expansion. Republicans have been skeptical the state could extricate itself from the expansion once it began. Our ruling Landes, in a constituent survey, said Medicaid expansion \"\"could cost the Commonwealth of Virginia over $1 billion per year.\"\" That contradicts the latest estimates on expansion. Virginia\u2019s gross cost in 2022 - the furthest out the projections go - would be $324 million. The net cost, after taking into account a variety of savings the expansion offers, would be $3.1 million. That\u2019s light years away from Landes\u2019 figure. Landes\u2019 estimate rests on the eye-popping supposition that the federal government could decide in the future to cut nearly half of its commitment to pay 90 percent of the costs for expansion, leaving states holding the bag. But this is pure speculation of his part. There\u2019s no effort in Congress now to cut the federal share at all, let alone by the proportion Landes suggests. There\u2019s a burden on Landes to prove his statement with facts, and he comes up short.\" Claim: \"Medicaid expansion \"\"could cost the Commonwealth of Virginia over $1 billion a year...\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a46b6d3990454354aaaa45cd02da8196", + "input": "Paragraph: Western wildfires have grown ever more lethal, a grim reality that\u2019s been driven by more housing developments sprawling into the most fire-prone grasslands and brushy canyons, experts say. Many of the ranchers and farmers who once managed those landscapes are gone, leaving neglected terrain that has grown thick with vegetation that can explode into flames when sparked. That\u2019s left communities ripe for tragedy as whipping winds and recurring drought that\u2019s characteristic of climate change stoke wildfires like the ones still raging in Northern and Southern California that have killed at least 51 people in recent days. Hundreds of thousands of people were told to leave their homes ahead of the blazes to get out of harm\u2019s way. Yet some experts say there\u2019s been an over-reliance on evacuation and too little attention paid to making communities safe, as well as not enough money for controlled burns and other preventive measures. Search crews found many victims inside their vehicles, or just next to them, overcome by flames, heat and smoke as they tried to flee. Survivors of the blaze that nearly obliterated the Northern California town of Paradise and nearby communities spoke of having just minutes to escape and narrow roads made impassable by flames and traffic jams. \u201cThere are ... so many ways that can go wrong, in the warning, the modes of getting the message out, the confusion ... the traffic jams,\u201d said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension program. As deadly urban wildfires become more common, officials should also consider establishing \u201clocal retreat zones, local safety zones\u201d in communities where residents can ride out the deadly firestorms if escape seems impossible, Moritz said. That could be a community center, built or retrofitted to better withstand wildfires, which can exceed 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving little trace of ordinary homes. Such fire protection measures in buildings can include sprinklers, fire- and heat-resistant walls and roofs, and barriers that keep sparks out of chimneys and other openings, according to the International Code Council, a nonprofit that helps develop building codes used widely in the United States. Creating more buffers \u2014 whether parks, golf courses or irrigated agriculture, like the vineyards that helped keep 2017 wildfires in California\u2019s wine country from spreading into even more towns \u2014 around new and old housing developments would help stave off wildfires threatening to overrun cities and towns. So would burying electric power lines, which can spark and fail in the high winds that drive many of California\u2019s fiercest fires, said Jon Keeley, a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in California. Sparks from electrical utility equipment are suspects in the Northern California wildfire that consumed Paradise, destroying some 7,700 homes, and other deadly blazes in the state. A proven method to prevent wildfires from getting out of control is the use of controlled burns. By intentionally lighting fires, property owners or land managers can remove dead and low-lying trees and brush \u2014 material that otherwise accumulates and can accelerate the growth of fires. In the mid-20th century, California ranchers burned hundreds of thousands of acres annually to manage their lands, said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council. That was phased out in the 1980s after California\u2019s fire management agency stepped in to take over the burns, and by the last decade, the amount of acreage being treated had dropped to less than 10,000 acres annually, Quinn-Davidson said. Former agricultural land that rings many towns in the state became overgrown, even as housing developments pushed deeper into those rural areas. That was the situation in the Northern California town of Redding leading up to a fire that began in July and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. It was blamed for eight deaths. \u201cYou get these growing cities pushing out \u2014 housing developments going right up into brush and wooded areas. One ignition on a bad day, and all that is threatened,\u201d Quinn-Davidson said. \u201cThese fires are tragic, and they\u2019re telling us this is urgent. We can\u2019t sit on our hands.\u201d The latest California fires have fueled debate over the reasons for ever-more deadly wildfires, with President Donald Trump claiming in a tweet Saturday that \u201cgross mismanagement of the forests\u201d was the sole reason the state\u2019s fires had become so \u201cmassive, deadly and costly.\u201d He also threatened to withhold federal payments to the state. However, most of California\u2019s deadly fires of recent years have been in grasslands and brushy chaparral, Keeley said. \u201cMost of the fires we\u2019ve been seeing in the last couple years that are the most destructive are not in the forest. Thinning isn\u2019t going to change anything,\u201d he said. Trump\u2019s assertion also ignored the huge federal land holdings in the state and brought a quick backlash, with the president of the California firefighters union describing it as a shameful attack on thousands of firefighters on the front lines. To ease tensions, the White House sent Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to tour fire-damaged areas and offer assistance to California Gov. Jerry Brown. In an interview prior to the two-day visit, which began Wednesday, Zinke struck a conciliatory tone and said federal officials share blame for not managing public forest and rangelands aggressively enough. \u201cWe need to work in unison to make sure we thin the forest, especially fire breaks, and make sure we have prescribed burns,\u201d Zinke told The Associated Press. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lack of management on Interior lands, on U.S. Forest Service lands and certainly with state lands.\u201d But it\u2019s California, not the Trump administration that is putting more money behind such efforts. In response to the deadly blazes of recent years, California lawmakers in September approved a measure that would provide $1 billion over five years for fire protection, including more controlled burns and projects to thin forests and brush land. By contrast, federal spending on hazardous fuels reduction has been flat in recent years, hovering just under $600 million, even as direct firefighting costs jumped to a record $2.9 billion last year. For 2019, the Forest Service has proposed a $3 million bump for its wildfire fuels program. At Interior, Zinke proposed a $29 million cut in fuel management spending. ___ Knickmeyer reported from Washington. ___ Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MatthewBrownAP Claim: As wildfires grow deadlier, officials search for solutions.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-171a79b5b60b48a1ad31730aae6572da", + "input": "Paragraph: \"As the national effort ramps up to beat back Ebola, the Obama administration has been taking heat. Critics say the president and top public health officials painted too rosy a picture of the country\u2019s state of readiness. As proof, they point to the infection of two Dallas health care workers who treated the first person to die of Ebola on U.S. soil. Conservative pundit George Will attacked what to him was the hubris in those early statements. \"\"The problem is the original assumption, said with great certitude if not certainty, was that you need to have direct contact, meaning with bodily fluids from someone because it\u2019s (Ebola) not airborne,\"\" Will said Oct. 19 on Fox News Sunday. \"\"There are doctors who are saying that in a sneeze or some cough, some of the airborne particles can be infectious.\"\" Will also said Ebola could survive on a dry surface \"\"for a number of days.\"\" Show host Chris Wallace cut Will off, asserting that Ebola does not spread like the flu, which does move from person to person when someone with the illness is out in public. When another guest challenged Will to cite his source, he ultimately referred to scientists at the University of Minnesota. Here, we\u2019re fact-checking Will\u2019s claim that scientists say a cough or sneeze can spread Ebola. From the context of the discussion, we understand that Will was talking about the risk to the general public. We reached out to Will and did not hear back but thanks to the rumor website Snopes, we have a pretty good idea where he got his information. In mid September, the University of Minnesota\u2019s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy posted a commentary from two University of Illinois professors. The commentary, co-written by Lisa Brosseau and Rachel Jones, argued that health care workers treating patients with Ebola should wear respirators. Face masks, they said, are not enough. We asked Brosseau if Will had correctly relayed her work. Brosseau said her views had nothing to do with Ebola spreading among the public at large. The focus was on health care workers treating people in the isolation wards. \"\"We were concerned about aerosols generated by infected patients in the most severe stage of the disease,\"\" Brosseau said. Will had mistakenly connected the pathway of infection in a hospital room with someone coughing or sneezing in public. As has been well documented, the first symptom of infection is a fever. As the virus multiplies in the body, vomiting and diarrhea set in. Brosseau had written that it is possible that for patients in that condition, tiny water particles from violent vomiting and diarrhea could get into the air and be inhaled. In a laboratory experiment, monkeys with hoods over their heads could acquire the Ebola virus, but Brosseau said that lab experiments should be put in context. \"\"We are not aware of any published data about the viability or infectiousness of the Ebola organism in aerosols in the real world,\"\" Brosseau told PunditFact. \"\"It appears unlikely that the public will be exposed to infectious aerosols because they are not likely to encounter infected people experiencing the severe symptoms.\"\" We found similar views in the Oxford Journal of Infectious Diseases, and summaries issued by the Centers for Disease Control , the World Health Organization and the New England Journal of Medicine. Adam Lauring, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Michigan, emphasized that Ebola is not a respiratory disease. Coughing and sneezing are not symptoms in the way that they are with the flu. Stephen Gire, a research scientist in the Sabeti Lab at Harvard University, said if someone with Ebola sneezed or coughed into your face when you were close to them, that could transmit the virus through droplets. But, \"\"It\u2019s important to note that this form of transmission does not constitute 'airborne,' \"\" Gire said. \"\"This is still a form of direct contact.\"\" \"\"If you were on a plane, and someone sneezed, you wouldn\u2019t be at risk of getting infected unless you were sneezed on directly within close quarters, and that cough or sneeze transferred droplets into mucosal membranes. This is very unlikely scenario, but not out of the realm of possibility. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I\u2019ve been sneezed on directly, and only one of those times was by someone I didn\u2019t know.\"\" One of the problems with the public debate over Ebola, Lauring said, is that science can\u2019t prove that something will never happen. On the other hand, he also said we ought to look at what has happened. \"\"If airborne transmission was an imminent concern, one would have to ask why no one in the United States has been infected except for two people who had close contact with the patient,\"\" Lauring said. \"\"Importantly, none of the people who were living with the patient prior to his second trip to thee Texas hospital have been infected.\"\" While we are not fact-checking Will\u2019s statement about infectious particles remaining alive for several days on a dry surface, Lauring said he knows of no evidence of that. Gire said it's theoretically possible under the right conditions, though it's highly unlikely. Our ruling Will said that some scientists say that Ebola can be transmitted in public by a sneeze or a cough. The source of that was a commentary about the risks to hospital workers treating people in advanced stages of the disease. One of the authors of that commentary said her work applied only to health care workers in those settings. The medical literature says sneezing and coughing are not part of the disease\u2019s typical symptoms, and experts we reached drew a bright line between what might happen in a hospital isolation ward and a person with early symptoms of Ebola before he or she is admitted. There is no evidence that Ebola has been transmitted in the general public through coughing or sneezing. Will took a medical commentary out of context. Update (Noon, Oct. 20): After we published this item, we heard from some folks who disagreed with our ruling. Read our response here.\" Claim: \"Some doctors say Ebola can be transmitted through the air by \"\"a sneeze or some cough.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-68ed79ec21b74c75a571306ee7fd0e9c", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Just before commemorating World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Fulton County\u2019s health department released some rare good news on its efforts against the disease. Citing a report from an independent program of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the press release said the number of people dying here from HIV-related diseases plunged 59 percent between 2004 and 2012. \"\"Fewer people are dying from HIV/AIDS in metro Atlanta, in part, due to our Integrated Care Service Delivery of services,\"\" Dr. David Holland, chief clinical officer of Fulton\u2019s Communicable Disease Prevention Branch, said in the release. Could this be the same department that had to give back between $7 and 8.7 million of $20 million in federal grant money because it didn\u2019t have enough programs to help stop the spread of HIV? And are deaths declining even though at least a quarter of all new HIV diagnoses in Atlanta are for people who have already developed AIDS? PolitiFact Georgia was skeptical. The numbers The 27th anniversary of World AIDS Day comes at a time when both the rate of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths are on a global decline. Effective antiretroviral drugs can control HIV and help those with the disease live longer lives. As of June, 15.8 million people were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Worldwide, that has pushed down new HIV infections, which have fallen by 35 percent since 2000, and deaths, which have fallen 42 percent since a peak in 2004. The 2015 report from NACCHO\u2019s Big Cities Health Coalition examines health data from the nation\u2019s 27 largest cities and counties, including a look at more local HIV and AIDS figures. According to the Big Cities Health Inventory report, released in late November, cities experienced new cases of HIV and HIV-related deaths in higher numbers compared with the rest of the country. But Atlanta (as reported by Fulton County\u2019s health department) and every other city except Detroit saw drops, some significant, in mortality rates since the last report. Atlanta had the fourth highest mortality rate of the cities, with 24.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2004, according to the report. In 2012, the last year data was available for a majority of the cities, the rate was 9.8 \u2013 a 59 percent drop just as Fulton touted in the press release. Data from Georgia\u2019s Department of Public Health back up those figures on the mortality rate and also provide the specific numbers of deaths. The number of people dying annually from HIV/AIDS in Fulton County dropped from 195 to 96 in those eight years, a 51 percent decline. Further bolstering Fulton\u2019s claim are figures showing continued drops in deaths for the past two years. By 2014, 80 people in Fulton had died from HIV or AIDS, a rate of 8 percent. That\u2019s a 59 percent decline by number or a 66.8 percent decrease in rate from the peak a decade ago. Statewide, HIV/AIDS deaths also declined during this period by 47 percent said Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Public Health. The state death rate from HIV/AIDS was 7.9 per 100,000 in 2004 and 4.2 in 2012, a 47 percent drop, she said. The context All of this is to say, Fulton is on target with its figures. Missing from the press release, though, was the context that Atlanta remains in the top 5 cities for HIV-related deaths (and top 3 for new infections). And, its 10 per 100,000 mortality rate is five times greater than the national average of 2. \"\"It\u2019s a big improvement but obviously some big improvements still need to be made,\"\" said Chrissie Juliano, director of the Big Cities Health Coalition. \"\"We know from other sources that challenges remain in Atlanta-Fulton County regarding HIV and AIDS.\"\" Fulton is making headway. It completed an internal audit in October that found mismanagement and bureaucratic delays cost it the nearly $9 million in federal money to fight HIV. It has since replaced the health department director and strengthened oversight of its grants. Patrick Sullivan, an epidemiologist at Emory University\u2019s Rollins School of Public Health, cautioned against reading too much into Atlanta\u2019s ranking in comparison to national mortality rates. He added that it would not be \"\"informative\"\" to directly compare Atlanta, or any city, to the overall U.S. rates on HIV mortality. \"\"HIV-related deaths are much higher in cities, because people living with HIV are more concentrated in cities,\"\" Sullivan said. \"\"The high HIV-related mortality rate reflects the high impact of HIV in Atlanta.\"\" Our ruling At a time when new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are down globally, Fulton County touted a report that showed its mortality rate dropped 59 percent from a peak in 2004. The report, and state data, back up the dramatic decline. While Atlanta remains in the top five cities in the nation for such deaths and still struggles with executing prevention programs, it also has seen the mortality rate drop since the report.\" Claim: The number of people in Atlanta dying from HIV and AIDS declined 59 percent between 2004 and 2012.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d9529cdfbec44730aba11ddc1464b383", + "input": "Paragraph: Stem cells, which differ\u00a0from\u00a0other types of cells in the human body in that they\u2019re capable of renewing themselves almost indefinitely and changing into more specialized cells with the potential to repair or replace specific tissues and organs, were discovered more than 100 years ago and, according to the National Institutes of Health, remain one of the most promising frontiers\u00a0of medical research: Given their unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer new potentials for treating diseases such as diabetes, and heart disease. However, much work remains to be done in the laboratory and the clinic to understand how to use these cells for cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is also referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine. There are two basic kinds of stem cells, embryonic and adult. The former can only harvested\u00a0from human embryos, while the latter are\u00a0found in a\u00a0variety of human\u00a0tissues\u00a0such as\u00a0bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, fat, and, since 2003, baby teeth. The scientists who discovered that the pulp of baby teeth is rich in stem cells also noted that\u00a0SHED (\u201cstem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth\u201d) have unique properties: They are long lived, grow rapidly in culture, and, with careful prompting in the laboratory, have the potential to induce the formation of specialized dentin, bone, and neuronal cells. If followup studies extend these initial findings, the scientists speculate they may have identified an important and easily accessible source of stem cells that possibly could be manipulated to repair damaged teeth, induce the regeneration of bone, and treat neural injury or disease. Another innovation in stem cell technology is\u00a0the implementation of stem cell banks \u2014\u00a0specifically, cord blood stem cell banks and dental stem cell\u00a0banks for\u00a0the purpose of enabling parents to cryopreserve and store their children\u2019s stem cells for use in reparative or regenerative medical treatments later in life. Any number of articles touting the use of such facilities are circulating online, including \u201cDoctors Are Urging Parents Everywhere to Keep Their Kids\u2019 Baby Teeth,\u201d which, despite its title, doesn\u2019t name or quote a single physician who actually recommends it. Nor is there any mention of the cost of these services. One such facility, called Store-A-Tooth, charges $1,749 up front plus $120 per year for storage. Another, The Tooth Bank, charges $475 plus $115 per year for storage. And there\u2019s StemSave, whose services cost $630 up front and $120 per year. There are others within approximately the same range. The main question facing\u00a0most parents, then, is\u00a0whether the potential benefits of preserving their kids\u2019\u00a0baby teeth justify the expense. The answer is possibly not. Research is ongoing and the future looks promising, but no one can predict when or to what degree those promises will be fulfilled. To date, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve the use of dental stem cells in any medical procedure. This\u00a0is what the California Dental Association had to\u00a0say\u00a0about dental stem cell banking in\u00a02013: Scientific study into cell-based therapies has identified tremendous potential for the use of stem cells to treat a number of diseases and disorders. As research has advanced, stem cell banking services, primarily umbilical cord blood banking, have sprung up around the country. More recently, researchers have discovered that stem cells harvested from deciduous teeth may be a source of tissue regeneration and repair. Like the marketing of umbilical cord banking to pregnant women, dental pulp stem cell tissue banks have begun to market to dentists and the public. Despite its exciting potential, experts agree it is premature to consider dental pulp stem cells as a source of cells for replacing or regenerating tissue. \u201cWhat we do know,\u201d \u00a0the CDA quotes Dr. Pamela Robey of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research as saying, \u201cis the cells from dental pulp in baby or wisdom teeth have the ability to make dentin and pulp and they might have the ability to make bone, but right now that\u2019s all we really know for sure \u2026 we can\u2019t say how useful for the future they\u2019ll be.\u201d Considering the uncertainties and the cost, then, parents would be well advised to seek the opinion of\u00a0a knowledgeable\u00a0medical professional and carefully weigh their decision before investing in a baby tooth bank account. Claim: Stem cells can be harvested from baby teeth, so it's a good idea to preserve them in private stem cell banks for future use in medical treatments.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-18c55f3fe30c43a3a58807120b6d3718", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Global health emergencies understandably stoke fear, panic and wild claims. Exaggerations about Ebola were PolitiFact\u2019s 2014 Lie of the Year. And now rumors about Zika, a virus linked to birth defects, are taking the Internet by storm. One of the claims goes something like this: Zika is caused by genetically modified mosquitoes, a testament to what happens when man tampers with nature or a purposefully manufactured weapon for population control. As Snopes and Discover have noted, this idea appears to have originated from a post published Jan. 25 to the subreddit r/conspiracy \u2014 our first red flag. But since then, the claim has been circulated by media outlets ranging from Infowars and Natural News to the Daily Mail, the Mirror, Russia Today and Fox News. One version can be found in a popular YouTube video entitled: \"\"Bioweapon! Zika virus is being spread by GMO mosquitos (sic) funded by Gates.\"\" The video explains that British biotechnology company Oxitec engineered genetically modified mosquitoes to fight the spread of dengue fever and other diseases with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Oxitec recently released these mosquitoes in Brazil, \"\"where we have this explosion of Zika,\"\" the video says. \"\"Writing\u2019s on the wall, folks.\"\" We wondered if there is any truth to the notion that Zika is being spread by transgenic mosquitoes. In a word, no. Epidemiologists told us the rumor is baseless. The mosquitoes in question wouldn\u2019t have been capable of starting the outbreak in 2015, and the geographic correlation offered doesn\u2019t hold up. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization said the organization has seen no evidence suggesting that Zika is linked to genetically modified mosquitoes. \"\"I don\u2019t know of any scientific evidence for this rumor, or any obvious way to do this that would be more efficient than natural transmission,\"\" said Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University. \"\"I cannot state more emphatically that I believe this theory to be absolutely untrue,\"\" said Anna Durbin, a professor of international health at Johns Hopkins University. Let\u2019s dissect this claim bit by bit. Not a new disease The claim\u2019s first problem is history. Zika didn\u2019t suddenly appear after genetically modified mosquitoes were released. The virus was first documented nearly seven decades ago in Uganda and has cropped up many times over the years. On April 18, 1947, researchers studying jungle yellow fever isolated the virus from mosquitoes and named it after the Zika Forest where it was found. Though Zika had never been seen before, \"\"it had probably lurked chronically in African monkeys, or some other native reservoir, for millennia,\"\" reports National Geographic. In the next half century, evidence of Zika was found in human fluids in a number of African and Asian countries, but only 14 cases of the human disease were documented. Zika was detected outside of the two continents for the first time in 2007. The small island nation of Yap saw 108 confirmed or probable cases of the disease. The second outbreak of Zika hit French Polynesia, another small island in the Pacific, in 2013. About 11 percent of the population (28,000 cases) were infected. In May 2015, Brazil reported the first cases of Zika infection along with a surge in infants born with microcephaly, a birth defect in which baby\u2019s head is abnormally small. There are now an estimated 440,000 to 1.3 million cases in the country and the disease has spread across Latin America. Incapable mosquitoes The claim\u2019s second problem is that genetically modified bugs couldn\u2019t have been responsible for the 2015 Zika outbreak. Many mosquito species in the Aedes genus (africanus, apicoargenteus, luteocephalus, vitattus, furcifer, albopictus, hensilli and polynesiensis) can transmit the Zika virus, but the main vector is Aedes aegypti. This particular mosquito, common in tropical areas around the world, also spreads yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya. To combat dengue fever, Oxitec engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to produce a lethal protein and self-destruct. Females, which bite, are destroyed in the lab while males, which don\u2019t bite and thus can\u2019t transmit diseases, are released into the wild. They mate with local, non-GM females and the self-destruct gene is passed onto offspring. Oxitec spokesman Matthew Warren told PolitiFact that the mosquitoes typically self-destruct within one to four days, and the gene disappears from the population about 12 weeks after the initial release. \"\"This means that offspring of the mosquito do not survive,\"\" said Durbin of Johns Hopkins. \"\"Therefore, the progeny of these mosquitoes, even if infected with Zika, would not survive to transmit Zika.\"\" Wrong location The claim\u2019s third problem is the geographic correlation, which besides not being the same thing as causation doesn\u2019t actually match up. The first Brazilian cases of Zika reported in May 2015 were in Cama\u00e7ari, a district in the northeastern state of Bahia that\u2019s hundreds of kilometers away from the Oxitec trial sites. The biotech firm released the genetically modified mosquitoes in Juazeiro, which is roughly 490 kilometers from Cama\u00e7ari, and in Jacobina, about 340 kilometers away. It\u2019s also very unlikely, if not impossible, that Zika-carrying Oxitec mosquitoes made their way to Cama\u00e7ari. For one, the typical Aedes aegypti mosquito can fly a maximum of 200 meters to 440 meters. For another, the trials took place months and years before the Cama\u00e7ari outbreak (between May 2011 and September 2012 in Juazeiro and in Jacobina between June 2013 and December 2014). So \"\"even if an Oxitec mosquito \u2018hitched a lift,\u2019 \"\" it would have died long before, Warren said. Beginning in April 2015, Oxitec did release mosquitoes in Piracicaba, in the southeastern state of S\u00e3o Paulo \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0about 2,000 kilometers from Cama\u00e7ari and 1,900 kilometers from the epicenter of the disease in Recife. According to the state\u2019s department of health, S\u00e3o Paulo has reported only 20 cases of microcephaly as of Jan. 20, 2016 (though there is some suspicion over the official tally) while Piracicaba itself has two confirmed and 12 suspected cases of Zika. Oxitec\u2019s true role in Zika\u2019s rapid spread Rather than spreading Zika, Oxitec mosquitoes could actually help fight the disease, as NPR, CNN, and the New York Times have noted. The self-destructing bugs have reduced virus-carrying mosquito populations in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands by 80 to 90 percent, according to studies commissioned by the company. (Critics say these results are exaggerated.) Experts said the current explosion of Zika in Brazil is more likely due to the lack of barriers, higher population density, increased mobility and novelty of the disease rather than mutant mosquitos. Whereas the disease was confined by the ocean and small populations in Yap and French Polynesia, Durbin pointed out, Zika could spread through a huge amount of territory and infect way more humans in Brazil. Immunity and resistance to the disease has been documented in Nigeria and Indonesia. But in the Americas, Zika is basically a \"\"virgin soil epidemic,\"\" said Morse of Columbia. (So were smallpox to Native American populations in the United States and yellow fever to European colonialists in West Africa.) \"\"I think it\u2019s extremely likely these introductions are inadvertent and not intentional because historically we\u2019ve seen this kind of thing happen many times,\"\" Morse said. One final note. The viral image focuses part of its criticism on the\u00a0Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation helped fund the genetically modified mosquito program. The foundation also is\u00a0helping support PolitiFact\u2019s efforts to fact-check claims about global health and development. Gates has\u00a0no input over what we fact-check\u00a0or the rulings we issue. An Internet rumor propagated in a YouTube video claims that the \"\"Zika virus is being spread by GMO mosquitos (sic).\"\" There\u2019s no evidence that this is true. The argument offered \u2014 where the Zika outbreak occurred matches up with where the transformed mosquitoes were released \u2014 doesn\u2019t hold up. What\u2019s more, the mosquitoes in question were specifically engineered to self-destruct before they can spread viruses. This claim is both inaccurate and ridiculous.\" Claim: Bioweapon! Zika virus is being spread by GMO mosquitos (sic)", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-08e5609746554842a14f36a348728b74", + "input": "Paragraph: \"A new ad by Freedom Partners -- a group that has served as a hub for funding by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch -- recently began airing ads against Democratic Senate candidates, targeting them for their support of President Barack Obama\u2019s health care law. The group had been little known until the Washington Post reported in January that Freedom Partners had \"\"raised $256 million from unknown sources, money that was then transferred to a\u00a0complex network of LLCs and political nonprofits that do not disclose their donors.\"\" By airing the new ads against Democratic Senate candidates, it appears that Freedom Partners is \"\"bringing in-house many of the functions it financed through other groups in the last campaign,\"\" the Post reported. One of the Freedom Partners ads attacks Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, who\u2019s running to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin. Braley will face one of several potential Republican candidates in a general election that independent observers consider competitive. Here\u2019s the full narration of the ad: \"\"No one likes it when politicians give special favors. Congressman Bruce Braley voted for Obamacare. The government spent millions of taxpayer dollars to promote it. Now, health insurance companies stand to make billions. And Bruce Braley? He takes tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry. For Iowans, it's canceled policies and higher costs. That's not right. Call Bruce Braley. Tell him: Stand with Iowa. Stop supporting Obamacare.\"\" There\u2019s a lot to chew on here, but we decided to narrow our focus to the claim that Braley took \"\"tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry\"\" and gave them \"\"special favors\"\" by voting for Obamacare. Did Braley take \"\"tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry\"\"? This claim reminded us of the scene from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in which Dr. Evil (Mike Meyers) threatens to unleash some horrible threat upon the earth unless he is paid -- pausing for dramatic effect -- \"\"one million dollars.\"\" His nonplussed advisers gently suggest that he raise the ransom amount, since in today\u2019s dollars, $1 million isn\u2019t really all that much. In Braley\u2019s case, yes -- he took \"\"tens of thousands\"\" from the insurance industry. But saying that misses a whole bunch of important context. Braley has accepted a total of $83,500 from individuals and PACs connected to the insurance industry since his first campaign for the House in the 2006 campaign cycle, according to data gleaned from the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent collector of campaign finance information. That includes $24,250 so far during the 2014 campaign cycle. In isolation, this may sound like a lot. But here\u2019s the context. First, this is money from the \"\"insurance\"\" sector, not necessarily the health insurance sector. Once you strip out car insurance companies, homeowner insurance companies, life insurance companies and the like, the amount is much less. We asked the Center for Responsive Politics to do the stripping for us. Here are the results: Over the last decade, Braley has received a total of $16,000 from health insurance political action committees: $8,500 from Humana, $3,000 from Delta Dental, $2,500 from VSP Holdings and $2,000 from AFLAC. He received an additional $4,500 from eight individual donors employed by a health insurance company, all but one donation smaller than $750. Altogether, this is $20,500 from health insurance sources -- less than a quarter of his take from insurers more generally, and about $2,000 for every year he\u2019s served in Congress. \"\"This is not a lot of money to influence a huge vote like that,\"\" said Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. If we are going to compare Braley to other Senate candidates on an apples-to-apples basis, it\u2019s only feasible to use the the Center for Responsive Politics\u2019 standard data for \"\"insurance\"\" companies. So how does Braley\u2019s insurance haul compare to that other lawmakers? Not very impressively. Among all Senate candidates running in 2014, Braley ranks 55th. Since there are just 36 Senate races this year, some of which feature minimal opposition to incumbents, that\u2019s pretty low indeed for a sitting House member in a competitive seat to rank 55th. And how big a share of Braley\u2019s warchest comes from this broader swath of the insurance industry? Not very big. The insurance industry ranks 19th on the list of biggest sector donors to Braley\u2019s campaigns over his entire career. For the 2014 cycle, insurance ranks 16th among all sectors donating to Braley. In all, insurance donations account for less than 1 percent of all the cash Braley has raised during his political career. (The industry that ranks No. 1 -- giving $4,084,645 over the course of Braley\u2019s career -- is \"\"lawyers and law firms.\"\" This connection recently caused a major embarrassment for Braley when he was caught on videotape jabbing Sen. Chuck Grassley, the popular Republican he\u2019s seeking to join in the Senate, as \"\"a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.\"\" Slate\u2019s John Dickerson joked that Braley\u2019s farm-state gaffe was so massive \"\"that the Environmental Protection Agency may seek to regulate it.\"\") Was it a special favor to the health insurance industry to vote for Obamacare? For one thing, it\u2019s not as simple as the ad says -- the insurance industry hardly loves every aspect of the law, so it\u2019s not clear that voting for it was an undiluted gift for the industry. \"\"In particular, the medical loss ratio that limits their profits and requires 80 cents on each dollar be spent on insurance recipients keeps their profits from soaring,\"\" Ornstein said. In addition, it strains logic to think that Braley would have turned from an opponent of the law, or even agnostic about it, to a supporter of it simply because of the desires of donors who collectively gave him a fraction of one percent of his total campaign warchest. It\u2019s not as if Braley had built his political career on being a foe of a health care overhaul. Like most Democrats, he supported policies to lower the number of uninsured Americans. During his first campaign for the House in 2006, \"\"Braley called for expanding health care for the uninsured,\"\" according to the 2008 edition of the Almanac of American Politics. And in September 2009, when the House health care bill was on its way to the floor, the Des Moines Register reported that Braley said that the often divisive town meetings about health care had only stiffened his resolve. \"\"You've been out there talking about your values for health care reform and, for some of us, it's made us more dedicated than ever to doing something meaningful about health care reform,\"\" Braley said, according to the newspaper. Combined, Braley\u2019s past promises and pressure from his party are likely to have outweighed any campaign donations from the industry, Ornstein said. The partisan pressure to toe the line on the health care bill was especially strong because it was the No. 1 legislative priority of a president from his own party, and the vote would be decided essentially along party lines. \"\"Political science scholars have spilled much ink and used countless hours of computer time linking these kinds of ordinary contributions to voting outcomes, and have come up with very little,\"\" said Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political scientist. A final point: If the ad considers donations from the insurance industry to be the linchpin of a politician\u2019s support for Obamacare, how can this explain the overall pattern of donations by the insurance industry? As it turns out, nine of the 13 Senate candidates who received the most money from the insurance industry in 2014 are Republicans, a list headed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who received $231,800. Yet despite the backing of the industry, none of these Republicans voted for Obamacare. And what about Braley\u2019s fellow Iowan, Grassley? Grassley -- who did not vote for Obamacare -- has received $318,202 from the insurance industry in the 2014 cycle, or about 13 times as much as Braley did over the same period. And the insurance industry\u2019s ranking among the industries donating to Grassley? It ranks first. Freedom Partners\u2019 argument A spokesman for Freedom Partners, James Davis, said just looking at the size of the donations misses the point. \"\"What's important to understand is that our ad isn't just about dollar amounts, it's about hypocrisy,\"\" Davis said. He pointed to an ad by the pro-Braley independent group Senate Majority PAC that said Braley wants to \"\"hold insurance companies accountable\"\" and \"\"knows we can\u2019t go back to letting insurance companies deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and kick people off their coverage when they get sick.\"\" (Both were policies outlawed by passage of Obamacare, and which would be at risk of re-emerging after an Obamacare repeal unless specifically protected.) \"\"The point we're making is: How can Rep. Braley claim he's standing up to health insurance companies, while at the same time taking their campaign donations and supporting Obamacare \u2013 a huge boon to the health insurance industry?\"\" Davis said. \"\"It's not about where he falls in the line of donations \u2013 it's about saying one thing and doing another.\"\" However, we don\u2019t think the use of the phrase \"\"special favors\"\" and \"\"friends in the health insurance industry\"\" suggests hypocrisy. Rather, it all but suggests that Braley is corrupt, pursuing damaging policies because he gains personally from interested parties. And on that score, the evidence is thin indeed. We asked Freedom Partners if they had any evidence of favors Braley had done for specific companies, but the group did not reply. Our ruling Freedom Partners\u2019 ad claims that Braley took \"\"tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry\"\" and gave them \"\"special favors\"\" by voting for Obamacare. Braley did take tens of thousands of dollars from the insurance industry, though from all types of insurers, not just health insurers. However, Braley, like most Democrats, had campaigned on expanding health coverage to the uninsured, and then, faced with a landmark and highly partisan vote, carried through on his stated intentions. It\u2019s ridiculous to suggest that donors who contributed less than 1 percent of his warchest weighed more heavily on his vote than his ideology, his past campaign promises and his partisan affiliation.\" Claim: \"Freedom Partners Says Bruce Braley took \"\"tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry\"\" and gave them \"\"special favors\"\" by voting for Obamacare.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5c78b06015054485a58436e5d6932205", + "input": "Paragraph: As much as we shampoo it, style it, cut it, and fret over it, hair continues to be a mystery to us. We speculate on its nature, especially its propensity for sprouting in our middle years in places we didn\u2019t want it to, even as it disappears from locations where we would much rather it had stayed put. We wonder if it continues to grow after we die. (It doesn\u2019t.) And we worry that shaving or cutting it will make hair grow back thicker or darker or coarser. Shavers and clippers take heart: in your quest for tonsorial perfection, you are not creating a larger problem for yourself through your efforts. Cutting does not stimulate new growth. (If it did, those going bald would be shaving afflicted areas to encourage regrowth of what they\u2019re losing.) This belief probably stems from the perception that short hair seems to be tougher than longer hair. Hair expert Philip Kingsley recommends thinking of a bamboo cane: a long cane flexes easily, but the same cane cut short feels harder and tougher. Another reason for the belief resides with the naturally finer ends of uncut hair: compare the end of a long-lived hair with that of a hair recently cut or shaved, and you\u2019ll see the one is thicker than the other. That could lead the less-than-careful to conclude that the whole of the hair\u2019s shaft became thicker as a result of the hair\u2019s being cut (which it didn\u2019t) rather than to realize that shaving or cutting results in a blunt termination, whereas natural outgrowth concludes in a tapering. The part of the hair we style is already dead. The living sections lie below the surface of the scalp. Cutting or shaving the extreme end of the dead section isn\u2019t going to have an impact on the parts that are alive. Go forth to shave and trim as much as you like \u2014 you will not be affecting the intrinsic nature of your hair. Other mistaken hair beliefs include: My hair is gray, but not with years, Nor grew it white In a single night As men\u2019s have grown from sudden fears. For most, the greying process is a gradual progression which takes place across a span of years, but for some it can occur at an accelerated rate or at a very early age. Hair loss conditions such as alopecia areata can also cause all of the still-pigmented hairs on a head to fall out, leaving only the grey hairs (which are more resistant), resulting in a dramatic and seemingly \u201covernight\u201d change. Yet, when a person whose hair would have gone grey quickly anyway is subjected to horrible news, this coincidence is seized upon as evidence that the horrible news caused the early greyness. (Former first lady Barbara Bush is often pointed to as an example of the \u201cgrey overnight from shock\u201d group. In 1953, when she was 28, her 3-year-old daughter, Robin, died of leukemia. During the months-long battle to save the child, Mrs. Bush\u2019s hair became white.) Claim: Shaving makes your hair grow back in thicker, faster, and fuller.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ef131a49f6434254bd65cee81e87ac9c", + "input": "Paragraph: Aerus air quality technicians who inspected the Jefferson County Election Commission office last month found evidence of water damage and mold buildup, and an oppressive musty odor permeated the air. \u201cThey found mold in the carpet,\u201d Commissioner Stuart Soffer said. \u201cIn the heating and air room, the readings were unbelievable and there was a pickle bucket in there with water and mold that has been growing because apparently one of the units back there was leaking, and the two air filters were black with mold.\u201d Soffer noted that mold was growing inside the cabinets in the media room, where commissioners work to prepare elections and to tabulate election results. He added that the moisture contamination was coming from a building next door that was leaking into the election commission office. \u201cThe bottom line is that we cannot continue using this building,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a liability and if you knowingly expose people to this stuff, you\u2019re setting yourself up.\u201d According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mold can prompt a variety of health problems including eye, nose and throat irritation, but can also lead to lung disease and upper respiratory tract illness for those with asthma or a compromised immune system. Aerus\u2019 measurements showed that one election room contained 73,300 particles per cubic foot small mold spores, which technicians said far exceeded acceptable levels of 2,500 particles per cubic foot. They also found large mold spores measuring 16,800 particles per cubic foot, while the acceptable level is 200 particles per cubic foot. The Arkansas Gazette-Democrat reported that the damp and mold could lead to corrosion of electronic voting machines. The technicians said mold spore levels far exceeded acceptable levels. Aerus, which sells air and water purifiers, recommended a $1,500 dehumidifier. Soffer suggested that the election commission could move into the former sheriff\u2019s office facility in the county courthouse. But County Judge Gerald Robinson, the chief executive of county government, said that room wasn\u2019t available to the election commission. Robinson said he would look for another county-owned building to use. ___ Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com Claim: Arkansas election office may move due to high mold levels.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5e58c264f7c0485eb2073a55ca0da227", + "input": "Paragraph: Some of the birds have already died and the remainder will be culled, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said in a statement. bit.ly/2jOxDEv A 3-km (1.9-mile) protection zone and a 10-km surveillance zone have been put in place around the farm in Preston, it said, adding that the virus posed very low risk to public health. Different strains of bird flu have been spreading across Europe and Asia since late last year, leading to the large-scale slaughter of poultry in certain countries and some human deaths in China. A case of the contagious H5N8 bird flu strain was found in southwest Wales earlier in January while the eastern English county of Lincolnshire and the Irish Republic each reported a case in December. The World Health Organization called on all countries on Monday to monitor closely outbreaks of deadly avian influenza in birds and poultry and to report promptly any human cases that could signal the start of a flu pandemic. Claim: Britain confirms bird flu case in Lancashire, to cull infected poultry.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4ed2272a94ee4eb0819dcf182479cdfb", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Democrat Charlie Crist has criticized Republican Gov. Rick Scott for the state\u2019s failure to expand Medicaid. During the second governor\u2019s debate, which was held on Oct. 15, 2014, at Broward College, Crist said of Medicaid expansion, \"\"In addition to the $51 billion it would bring to the state over the next 10 years, some studies indicate it would create about 120,000 jobs. That's the right thing to do.\"\" That\u2019s nearly double the number of new jobs that Crist cited this summer. If Florida expands Medicaid, would that lead to 120,000 more jobs? Studies about Medicaid and jobs Medicaid is a joint state and federal program aimed at providing health insurance to the very poor. The 2010 Affordable Care Act encourages states to expand eligibility, with the federal government paying 100 percent of the expansion for the first three years, declining to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond. The expansion would have led to 800,000 to 1 million additional Floridians signing up for Medicaid. (That\u2019s mostly due to new Floridians who would be eligible and also because some who are already eligible but haven\u2019t signed up would enroll for the program\u00a0after publicity.) Scott initially opposed Medicaid expansion but switched his position\u00a0in 2013 when he came out in support of it. But Scott didn\u2019t lobby the GOP-led Legislature, which ultimately rejected the expansion. He hasn\u2019t talked about it much on the campaign trail. Studies predicting job growth are based on the idea that as states expand Medicaid, new patients will access medical services they haven\u2019t used in the past. Extra revenue will allow health care facilities to hire new workers. But the number of jobs predicted in each study varies depending upon the methodology. We only found one study that went as high as the 120,000 number Crist cited in the debate. And that study was conducted by a supporter of the expansion. Crist was citing the Florida Hospital Association\u2019s 2013 analysis that predicts about 120,000 jobs. The association commissioned the study done by University of Florida researchers. During the debate, Crist didn\u2019t specify any time frame. Direct jobs accounted for about one-third of the jobs, while the remainder included suppliers or secondary spending, such as when a doctor buys a new house or car. Other studies cited much lower figures for job growth. For example, Moody\u2019s, a financial analysis firm that doesn\u2019t have a position on the health care law, last year predicted Medicaid expansion would create 10,000 to 30,000 jobs over 10 years in Florida. The White House Council of Economic Advisers projected 63,800 jobs between 2014 and 2017 in Florida. That study was part of the Obama administration\u2019s promotion of the Affordable Care Act. The White House study relies in part on the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, in which some residents got Medicaid through a lottery. Research showed people in Medicaid got preventative tests such as mammograms, cholesterol screening and pap smears compared to the control group. The White House predicts that Medicaid expansion would allow tens of thousands of Floridians to get those preventative tests. Experts weigh in on studies So why the massive differences on the job predictions? The numbers vary based on different economic models used and other assumptions. PolitiFact Florida interviewed several experts on the studies after the first debate, held on Telemundo, when Crist made a similar claim about new\u00a0jobs from expanding\u00a0Medicaid. Dan White, the senior economist who authored the Moody\u2019s study, said that the hospital association study appears to assume that everyone who signs up under the Medicaid expansion will generate new spending. But at least some of those people who would have signed up for Medicaid were already accessing some medical services -- albeit inefficiently in emergency rooms. \"\"They are treating all the money coming into Medicaid expansion as new medical spending in Florida, but some of those people are already spending money,\"\" White said. \"\"The crux of our analysis is shifting who is paying for it. It might be true that those people support 120,000 jobs, but maybe 10,000 to 30,000 are new jobs.\"\" Some experts on Medicaid expansion told PolitiFact Florida that an infusion of federal dollars for Medicaid expansion would lead to some job growth, but they questioned pinpointing a specific number. \"\"Pumping federal dollars into the state is likely to be stimulative, but an exact job calculation (given the many concurrent policy changes) is difficult,\"\" Harvard professor of health economics Katherine Baicker told PolitiFact Florida. Michael Tanner, a health care expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, said it\u2019s impossible to make a jobs prediction. \"\"I would guess there would be some short-term employment gains, but the long term would be more problematic as bills become due,\"\" he said. \"\"But even in the short term, I am skeptical of both the size and precision of this estimate.\"\" Though most of the experts we interviewed agreed that there would be some job growth, University of Chicago economist Casey B. Mulligan argues that increasing Medicaid will reduce employment because people will no longer need to work full-time to get health insurance. \"\"Medicaid makes it less painful to have a low income, so people have less incentive to take actions to prevent their incomes from getting low,\"\" he previously told PolitiFact. \"\"Not everyone acts that way, but enough do that a Medicaid expansion would depress employment nationally.\"\" Our ruling Crist said \"\"some studies indicate\"\" expanding Medicaid would \"\"create about 120,000 jobs.\"\" Crist was referring to one study done for the Florida Hospital Association, a supporter of Medicaid expansion. That study predicted about 120,000 new jobs. There have been several studies that predict job growth related to Medicaid expansion, with one study putting the figure as low as 10,000 jobs. Crist cherry-picked the study with the highest statistic and omitted that it was done for an association that supports the expansion. Most economists and Medicaid experts say that it\u2019s likely that the infusion of federal cash would lead to some jobs, but it is difficult to pinpoint the number.\" Claim: \"If Florida expanded Medicaid, \"\"some studies indicate it would create about 120,000 jobs.\"", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e6d8cf5bfd614ee8b3821cb3a19ef159", + "input": "Paragraph: \u00a31.8 billion of \u2018new money\u2019 has been announced for the NHS over the next five years. \u00a3850 million has been announced for 20 hospitals over the next five years and \u00a31 billion for the NHS in capital funding this year. The \u00a31 billion is money that NHS trusts previously earned through a cost-cutting incentive scheme, but were then told not to spend. It is \u2018new\u2019 in the sense that the Treasury had not previously budgeted for them spending it. Claim 1 of 2 Claim: \u00a31.8 billion of \u2018new money\u2019 has been announced for the NHS over the next five years.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-05122a84c2224aa5a1d67600585b199c", + "input": "Paragraph: The government had gone to the High Court to extend an April 24 deadline to submit its plan to improve air quality and comply with nitrogen dioxide limits set by the European Union (EU). But the court ruled on Thursday against any extension, ordering a draft plan to be submitted by May 9 and a full report by July 31, British media reported. The government is obliged to draw up a new plan after the High Court ruled in November that a calculation of future vehicle emissions was too optimistic. It was not immediately clear whether the government would appeal Thursday\u2019s ruling. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was considering the judgment. Concern over air quality has grown since the Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) emissions scandal broke and reports that real-world emissions exceed those recorded during laboratory tests have put pollution high on the political agenda. \u201cAir pollution is an election issue with or without publication of this plan, and we clearly need robust commitments from all parties on tackling the UK\u2019s toxic air,\u201d said Areeba Hamid, a clean air campaigner at environmental group Greenpeace. Nitrogen oxides reduce air quality and EU member states have been flouting limits on a range of pollutants associated with respiratory and other illnesses and more than 400,000 premature deaths per year, according to European Commission data. Under the EU\u2019s Air Quality Directive, member states were supposed to comply with nitrogen dioxide limits in 2010 - or by 2015 if they delivered plans to deal with high levels of the gas, which is produced mainly by diesel engines. Claim: Britain loses case to delay submission of air pollution plan.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b91e2db10fb64379b6c63e2781845845", + "input": "Paragraph: Abbott executives said the increase in manufacturing capacity will begin in the second half of this year and make room for the expected U.S. launch of the FreeStyle Libre 2. This next-generation device has been approved in Europe and is now under U.S. regulatory review. Abbott\u2019s plans for Libre, its fastest-growing diabetes product, used by 1.5 million people worldwide, will be in focus when the company reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Jared Watkin, Abbott\u2019s senior vice president for Diabetes Care, said in an interview that scale is a \u201chuge part\u201d of the company\u2019s strategy for its glucose monitors. \u201cWhen you\u2019re making disposable diagnostic products, the more you can make, the lower the cost you can produce them at.\u201d While the Libre 2 has more features, including alarms for when blood sugar levels swing too low or high, Abbott plans to keep the U.S. price the same as its predecessor, Watkin said. Abbott started in diabetes care as a maker of inexpensive test strips and glucose meters. More recently, the company has sought to expand access to its so-called continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices - traditionally sold to type 1 diabetics in markets with generous insurance coverage. \u201cIt\u2019s not good enough to bring this to a small, wealthy population. Diabetes is such a global epidemic that you need to bring products that can really make a dent in that,\u201d Watkin said. Launched in Europe in 2014 and in the United States three years later, the FreeStyle Libre allows people with diabetes to track blood sugar levels without multiple daily finger sticks. A sensor attached to the back of the upper arm uses a thin filament under the skin to measure glucose every minute. Users check their blood sugar levels throughout the day by waving a reader, or smartphone, over the sensor. Major competitors Medtronic Plc (MDT.N) and Dexcom Inc (DXCM.O) critique the current Libre\u2019s lack of automatic alerts that can help diabetics manage their disease. Yet they also are taking steps to introduce cheaper models themselves, executives told Reuters. Libre\u2019s sales are expected to reach $1.5 billion this year, the company said. In April, Goldman Sachs estimated the global CGM market could reach $5 billion by 2021, up from $3.7 billion in 2019. Goldman projected Abbott\u2019s 2021 sales at $2.7 billion compared to $1.7 billion for Dexcom and $894 million for Medtronic. In the past, CGMs were used almost exclusively by type 1 diabetics, whose bodies do not make insulin and who must inject themselves with the blood-sugar regulating hormone to survive. Increasingly, people with type 2 diabetes - the kind driven by obesity, lack of exercise and genetics - must also closely monitor their blood glucose and use insulin to manage their disease when it is not controlled by other medications and lifestyle changes. For now, Libre users include 1 million type 1 diabetic patients and half a million type 2. That\u2019s a tiny sliver of the 425 million people with diabetes worldwide. Although not all diabetics need glucose monitors, \u201cthere is an element of scratching the surface at this point,\u201d Watkin said. \u201cThe need to invest and bring up capacity is, we believe, going to be an ongoing activity for us.\u201d Two 14-day Libre sensors, a month\u2019s supply, retail for $109. Abbott says most of its patients are commercially insured, and many pay as little as $10 out of pocket. In the United States, the company says, more than half of people in commercial health plans are covered, as well as any eligible diabetic person on Medicare, the federal program for the elderly and disabled. The device is also approved in 45 other countries, including Germany, Japan, Brazil, China and the United Arab Emirates. Medtronic told Reuters it offers a discounted price of $345 per month for uninsured patients. The company estimates that the typical insured patient pays $50 a month. Medicare does not cover the device. Dexcom\u2019s G6 sensors retail online, with a discount, at around $350 for a month\u2019s supply. Dexcom says 98 percent of all U.S. private insurers cover the device, and patients covered by commercial insurance pay an average of $50-$80 per month for sensors through pharmacies or durable medical equipment suppliers. It is covered by Medicare. Libre\u2019s 14-day sensor is also longer-lasting. Dexcom\u2019s sensors work for 10 days, and Medtronic\u2019s for up to 7. Abbott was also the first company to introduce a product that can be used without routine finger stick tests to validate the sensor\u2019s readings \u2013 a feature Dexcom later matched and Medtronic has not. Dr. Roy Beck, an endocrinologist at the Jaeb Center for Health Research in Tampa, Florida, said that Abbott\u2019s FreeStyle Libre is \u201can excellent sensor\u201d but not as accurate at detecting very low blood sugar as the devices from Dexcom, Medtronic or an implantable CGM made by Senseonics (SENS.A). That makes it less desirable for patients for whom this is a major issue, he said. Beck\u2019s center has received research funding from Abbott and Dexcom. Medtronic and Dexcom executives say the current Libre does not compare with their devices when it comes to features such as alerting users to dangerous blood sugar changes and providing comprehensive trend data. \u201cIt\u2019s the cheapest, but it\u2019s not exactly in the same category,\u201d said Mike Hill, vice president and general manager of Medtronic\u2019s sensor business. Abbott countered that its sensor has best-in-class accuracy, and noted that the next-generation Libre 2 does have optional alarms. Still, Medtronic is considering making a cheaper sensor for patients who don\u2019t need all the features of its current continuous monitor, Hill said. And next year, Dexcom plans to launch a cheaper, smaller, 14-day sensor developed in partnership with Verily, Alphabet Inc\u2019s (GOOGL.O) life sciences division. Dexcom Chief Executive Kevin Sayer acknowledged that Abbott\u2019s pricing strategy will affect the global market over time, and that Dexcom expects its own prices to come down. \u201cWe\u2019ve planned for this,\u201d he said. Claim: You see a whole bunch of Korean cars here in the United States, and you don't see any American cars in Korea.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-129c142adddd4d0fa1aa65a8b64f306a", + "input": "Paragraph: \"At a minimum, the reporter could have found out how much the master used in the study typically charges and how much the DVD costs. Still, unlike most of the stories, this reporter did write, \"\"Dr. Shmerling said that though tai chi is inexpensive compared with other treatments, some patients would reject such an alternative therapy.\"\" The story presents the evidence in relative terms. It would have been nice to see the absolute numbers. Still, it\u2019s easy to calculate roughly what one third of 33 would be and one sixth would be. Essentially about 11 people stopped taking drugs after tai chi, and 5 or 6 stopped using other therapies. That\u2019s not a huge difference, but, because there was any improvement, the researchers and the journal were understandably curious and hoping the study might spark more research. A big point of the story is that tai chi would be a much less onerous therapy with no harmful side effects. It is difficult to imagine that twice-weekly tai chi, like any other form of moderate exercise, would be harmful, but, at a minimum, the story could have reported upon the study\u2019s adverse events registry. The journal article on which the story is based clearly discussed this. The story makes it clear early that the study is small and that more research would be needed in order to recommend tai chi as a therapy. There is no disease mongering and the description of the syndrome is the best of the five stories we reviewed. Most of the quotes in the story are from people not affiliated with the study. The story talks about how the study compared different alternatives, and it mentions, at least in passing, several other therapies. The story makes it clear that there are multiple versions of tai chi. It could have been more clear about how widely available it might be, especially in sparsely populated areas. The story says, \"\"Recent studies have suggested that tai chi, with its slow exercises, breathing and meditation, could benefit patients with other chronic conditions, including arthritis. But not all of these reports have been conclusive, and tai chi is hard to study because there are many styles and approaches.\"\" This is all important context, succinctly presented. This story shows that you can pull together a lot of information and still keep the story tight. The story is very well reported and goes well beyond the original study, the editorial and any supporting materials. We were unable to locate a press release about the study.\" Claim: Tai Chi Reported to Ease Fibromyalgia", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e98d961fe8ab451db116a720205eba2d", + "input": "Paragraph: A price range of $200,000 to $250,000 for the device was included in the story. However, there was no mention of physician fees or hospital stay costs. The longest a patient has lived with device was included in the story, but no range was given for the length of time patients survived with the device for reference. While putting a premium on the \u201cone more Christmas, one more birthday\u201d concept, there was no discussion about the differences in quality of life experienced by the patients receiving the device. Only the results from the longest living recipient of the device were included in the article. For balance, it would have been useful to include the average amount of time that people survived with the device as well as some mention of consequences of the treatment that may affect quality of life. Further, it is hard to predict who will live \u201cless than a month.\u201d It is possible that some recipients may have their life shortened (death in surgery or immediately thereafter). The article mentions that the evidence about the device comes from only 14 patients to date who have had it implanted. No overt disease-mongering, although the story contained no information on the prevelance of heart failure or the percentage of individuals with heart failure for whom this treatment might be considered. The article contained quotes from physicians directly involved in the clinical trial leading to the humanitarian device exemption, family members of patients who had, on balance, positive experiences with the device and the director of the FDA division responsible for the decision. The article would have been improved had it contained the views of some individuals slightly more removed from the device itself to help provide a framework in which to consider the ramifications of this treatment. While mentioning that this device is only for patients with advanced heart failure who have no other options and would otherwise die, the story just three sentences later quotes a surgeon stating that the device\u2019s approval \u201cgives tons of hope to people with end-stage heart failure\u201d. This paints a somewhat unrealistic picture about the limited group of patients for whom the device is an option. In addition to only being intended for those who are not eligible for a heart transplant and who would likely live less than a month without the device, it is only for patients whose chest is large enough to hold the device. Although the story didn\u2019t explain that the device was only approved by the FDA using the \u201cHumanitarian Device Exemption,\u201d it did say that sales of only up to 4,000/yr would be allowed and that it is much more likely that far fewer will be sold. The story also explained that the device will be available at only 5 institutions in the U.S. It is valuable for readers to understand the limited availability of this device for appropriate expectations. The story was clear that only 14 people have received this medical device. The article does not appear to rely exclusively on a press release. However, the quotes attributed to Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA\u2019s Center for Devices and Radiological Health came from the FDA news release on the device, found at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01443.html. Claim: FDA approves AbioCor heart", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-266f342e00b84e5c841927d85baae0ff", + "input": "Paragraph: The story does not say how much this new procedure costs or compare it with existing treatments for patients who don\u2019t respond to medication. Deep brain stimulation, the current treatment standard, can run anywhere from $30,000 to $70,000, according to various online cost estimates. There also may be additional costs incurred by those patients who have adverse effects. The story is long on description but short on numbers. Saying the treatment \u201chas had an immense impact on patients\u2019 lives,\u201d the story devotes quite a bit of print along with video footage to show rapid functional and quality-of-life improvements experienced by patients, focusing on one women who said her tremor \u201chas almost disappeared\u201d since she had the procedure in June. Video showing this patient before and after treatment\u2013including her attempts to write her name, trace a spiral and pour water from one cup to another\u2013do a great job of conveying the improvements. This is terrific news for this woman, but\u00a0we\u2019re not told how representative her experience\u00a0is of overall outcomes. Is she a best-case scenario? Middle of the road? There are also inspiring quotes from a researcher, including a description of the \u201cremarkable moment\u201d patients experience when they realized the tremor has subsided. \u201cThey can write their names again, they can feed themselves, they are not embarrassed about being in public. So it really is extraordinarily helpful for people,\u201d he says. In terms of study data, the story says researchers \u201cfound that the severity of essential tremor reduced significantly\u201d in patients who underwent the treatment as well as reported improvements in quality of life. But there are no figures. In fact, according to the study, patients experienced a 47 percent improvement in tremor scores, dropping from 18.1 points on a 32-point scale at baseline to 9.6 points three months after the procedure. That data should have been included. Also, the story should have spelled out that 56 patients received the treatment, versus 20 who experienced a fake procedure. Also worth pointing out: We don\u2019t know the meaning or clinical significance of a reduction of this magnitude in the total score. The story addresses adverse effects, and that\u2019s sufficient for a Satisfactory rating. We do wish the story had quantified the harms that were measured in the study. The fourth paragraph says the procedure \u201cbrings lasting side effects in some patients\u201d and later the story quotes a physician who is not involved in the research as saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty high incidence of side effects.\u201d But nowhere do exact numbers appear. Rather than citing data from the study, the story quotes the physician as saying that \u201cover a third of patients actually experienced either gait disturbance or paresthesia,\u201d or numbness. This information isn\u2019t very useful because the story does not explain when these rates were measured. According to the study, three months after the procedure 36% of patients had gait disturbance and 38% had numbness. After 12 months, the numbers dropped, to 9 percent and 14 percent respectively. Also worth mentioning is that one patient was reported to have permanent diminished sensation of the dominant thumb and index figure, which was categorized as a serious adverse event. That did not appear in the story. The story clearly spells out that there isn\u2019t data on the long-term efficacy of this procedure, and that more study is needed, so we\u2019ll give this a barely passing Satisfactory. Several important\u00a0study limitations were not included in the story, such as the fact that the treatment did not provide significant improvement for some types of tremors, and the treatment is not appropriate for people who are unwilling or unable to undergo an MRI. We\u2019re also not told that the sham group was only followed for 3 months, while the experimental group was followed for a year. This is not usually recommended in clinical trials and both groups should be followed for the same length of time. The story cites a figure from the International Essential Tremor Foundation, an advocacy group, that an estimated 10 million people in the United States suffer from the condition. However, a 2014 analysis of existing research put the number of cases at around 7 million as of 2012, or about 2.2% of the U.S. population. While this may not qualify as disease mongering, the story could have pointed out that the exact number of cases isn\u2019t clear. Also, the story should have noted that not all people with essential tremor have symptoms severe enough to require treatment. The story only fulfills part of our criteria. It does use one independent source, a physician who was not involved in the study. It also accurately reports the trial\u2019s funding sources: InSightec, which developed the device; along with Focused Ultrasound Foundation, which is funded by device makers and philanthropic organizations; and the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, an Israel-U.S. government partnership that receives corporate support. However, the story falls short because it does not report the fact that nine of the study authors reported conflicts of interest, with most receiving financial compensation of some sort from device makers in the field. Lead researcher G. Rees Cosgrove, M.D. who is quoted in the story, reported receiving consulting fees from InSightec. The story states, \u201cDoctors usually treat essential tremor with medication, but the drugs don\u2019t work well for all patients.\u201d That\u2019s true, and so we\u2019ll give this a Satisfactory rating for at least mentioning alternatives. But it should be noted that other procedural treatment options were not compared or even mentioned in the story and received only a brief mention in one of the videos. The current standard for tremor patients who don\u2019t respond to medication is deep-brain stimulation, in which a probe connected to a pacemaker is implanted in the thalamus to suppress the tremors. Gamma Knife thalamotomy, which delivers precise doses of radiation to the thalamus, is also considered to be a safe and effective therapy for patients who don\u2019t respond to medication. Also, some patients have mild symptoms that can be treated with relaxation techniques and the avoidance of triggers such as caffeine. The story states that the device was approved by the FDA in July. The story could have done readers a service by giving a sense of how many medical centers around the country are geared up to perform the procedure, or will be soon. This is indeed a new treatment option for essential tremor, though the story may leave readers with the false impression that the concept of killing off neurons in the thalamus is new. Rather, it\u2019s the use of focused ultrasound to destroy brain tissue, rather than a probe inserted in the brain, that constitutes an advance. The story does not appear to rely solely on the news release, which we also reviewed. Claim: New treatment offers some hope for an unshakable tremor", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5917c2890b4949c486812e56990f8789", + "input": "Paragraph: This story does not address costs at all, even though one half of the drug combination \u2013vemurafenib \u2014 is already being used in treatment and costs $11,000 per month of treatment. The combination treatment is reportedly going to cost $17,600 per month,\u00a0and it is not clear whether payers will cover it. This story does not quantify the benefits at all except for saying that the safety and efficacy was tested on over 400 patients. What benefits they received from the treatment are totally omitted from the story. This is unacceptable, especially as the FDA provided some quantification in their news release. This story states both the severe and mild side effects of taking this drug. We\u2019ll rule this Satisfactory since there was a good-faith attempt to address the criterion. However,\u00a0while the array of side effects are listed they are not quantified. We do not know what proportion of those taking the medication get each side effect. Nor do we know how severe they are, or how many stopped the medicine die to the side effects. More detail would have been welcome. This story provides no evidence at all and relies on the fact that the FDA approved the drug combination. The research that led to the approval is not described in any meaningful way. There is no disease mongering here. Advanced melanoma is a terrible disease and many treatments fail. There appear to be no outside sources used in this story. All the information comes from the FDA. However, because of that, there is no conflict of interest as the drug manufacturer/distributor is identified, but no information apparently comes from them. It is important to remember here that the role of the FDA is to approve based on effectiveness and safety and the bar for both in a disease like melanoma is low. How clinically useful this drug will prove to be is open to question and it would have been nice to hear from some independent oncologists about that. No alternative therapies are discussed in the story. There is a lot of new drug development for melanoma; none mentioned. Because this is an announcement from the FDA about approval, the drug will now be marketed for treatment, and the story clearly indicates that the drug combination is distributed by Genentech. We\u2019ll rule this Satisfactory, but we\u2019d caution that\u00a0FDA approval does not necessarily equal availability. The key factor here is the cost and who will pay for it, or not. The story doesn\u2019t address this. The news hook here is the FDA approval of this drug combination. We\u2019ve already given the story credit for this above under \u201cAvailability.\u201d And we\u2019d note that just because the FDA approves something, doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s novel. There are plenty of \u201cme-too\u201d drugs out there, and this story doesn\u2019t make any attempt to clarify how this new drug combination works differently or better than existing drugs. This story appears to rely exclusively on a news release from the FDA and there are many similarities in the text of the two documents. Unfortunately, the story leaves out much of the quantitative data and other useful details included in the FDA news release. Claim: FDA Approves Roche\u2019s Cotellic Treatment for Melanoma", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-88b24b7a1a184cfabe57c8c69244256a", + "input": "Paragraph: Q: Did an FDA-approved form of \u201csynthetic marijuana\u201d lead to recent deaths in Illinois? A: No. The drugs that have killed four people in the last two months are unregulated and illegal. Four people have died after using drugs made to imitate the high of\u00a0marijuana in Illinois over the last two months. That\u2019s true.It\u2019s not true that the drugs they used were approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as was claimed by a story circulating on Facebook under the headline: \u201cBig Pharma Synthetic Marijuana Leaves 2 Dead, 89 Hospitalized In Illinois.\u201dThe number of those who died is wrong in the headline because the story was copied, for the most part, from a legitimate report that was published on April 6, when that number was accurate.The recent story that Facebook users flagged as potentially false comes from a site registered to an owner in Pakistan and differs in a couple of important ways from the original. It has a misleading headline (indicating that the drugs were made by regulated pharmaceutical manufacturers) and it starts out with a sentence that is wrong.It says at the top: \u201cThe users ingested an FDA-approved version of synthetic cannabis known as K2 or Spice.\u201dThat\u2019s not true.The FDA has approved three drugs with synthetic versions of chemicals similar to or the same as those found in marijuana \u2014 Marinol, Syndros, and Cesamet can be used to help with nausea from cancer treatments and Marinol and and Syndros can also be used to treat weight loss in AIDS patients. The FDA is currently reviewing another drug related to marijuana that would treat epilepsy.Neither \u201cK2\u201d nor \u201cSpice\u201d has been approved by the FDA,\u00a0administration spokesman Michael Felberbaum confirmed.Not only are they not approved by the FDA, those are two of the most common names under which imitation marijuana is sold. A Drug Enforcement Administration official, Susan Gibson, used them as an example when she testified in front of Congress earlier this year, saying, \u201cSynthetic cannabinoids and their byproducts (sometimes sold under brand names such as K2 or Spice) continue to be a significant threat to public health and safety.\u201dSynthetic cannabinoids are\u00a0typically sprayed onto dried plant material and smoked or used in e-cigarettes to achieve a high similar to marijuana, but their effects can be unpredictable and dangerous, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The drugs used in the recent spate of overdoses in Illinois and surrounding states included a chemical found in rat poison, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.NIDA:\u00a0These chemicals are called\u00a0cannabinoids\u00a0because they are similar to chemicals found in the marijuana plant. Because of this similarity, synthetic cannabinoids are sometimes misleadingly called \u201csynthetic marijuana\u201d (or \u201cfake weed\u201d), and they are often marketed as safe, legal alternatives to that drug. In fact, they are not safe and may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, more dangerous or even life-threatening.The chemical composition of imitation marijuana can vary, which makes legislating against it difficult, although all 50 states have banned some form of synthetic cannabinoids, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Illinois, imitation marijuana is illegal under two laws \u2014 one that was passed specifically to address those drugs and under the state\u2019s Controlled Substances Act, according to Eileen Boyce, spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general.In April 2017 the DEA temporarily added chemical compounds often used in imitation marijuana to the list of schedule 1 controlled substances, citing overdoses on the increasingly popular drug as the reason. Those compounds are set to remain on the list until April 10, 2019.So, if you\u2019ve read the story traveling around Facebook and gotten the impression that people are dying from legal, regulated medications related to marijuana \u2014 they\u2019re not. The imitation marijuana that is killing people is unregulated and illegal.Editor\u2019s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk false stories flagged by readers on the social media network.Illinois Department of Public Health. WARNING: Synthetic Cannabinoids Linked to Bleeding. Accessed 17 May 2018.\u201cBig Pharma Synthetic Marijuana Leaves 2 Dead, 89 Hospitalized In Illinois.\u201d Trendsadays.com. 15 May 2018.Tomoski, Miroslav. \u201c89 hospitalized and 2 dead in Illinois after using synthetic marijuana.\u201d Herb.co. 6 Apr 2018.Gibson, Susan. Statement for hearing entitled \u201cCOMBATING THE OPIOID CRISIS: HELPING COMMUNITIES BALANCE ENFORCEMENT AND PATIENT SAFETY.\u201d 28 Feb 2018.Felberbaum, Michael. Spokesman, Food and Drug Administration. Interview with FactCheck.org. 17 May 2018.National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug facts \u2014 Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2/Spice). Feb 2018.National Conference of State Legislatures. Emerging Drug Threats. 7 Jun 2017.Illinois Department of Public Health. \u201cFourth Death Related to Synthetic Cannabinoids.\u201d 24 Apr 2018.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreak Alert: Potential Life-Threatening Vitamin K-Dependent Antagonist Coagulopathy Associated With Synthetic Cannabinoids Use. 5 Apr 2018.Boyce, Eileen. Spokeswoman, Illinois Office of the Attorney General. Interview with FactCheck.org. 17 May 2018.Federal Register. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of Six Synthetic Cannabinoids (5F-ADB, 5F-AMB, 5F-APINACA, ADB-FUBINACA, MDMB-CHMICA and MDMB-FUBINACA) into Schedule I. 10 Apr 2017. Claim: \"FDA-approved \"\"synthetic marijuana\"\" leads to deaths in Illinois.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8f63baa9471d47e28b4d675d89e2f522", + "input": "Paragraph: On 10 June 2016, the\u00a0Daily Beast\u00a0reported that Sen. David Perdue urged attendees of the Faith & Freedom Coalition\u2019s Road to Majority conference\u00a0to pray for misfortune and death to befall President Barack Obama: At a major event for conservative Christians this morning, a Republican senator joked about praying for President Obama\u2019s \u201cdays to be short.\u201d Sen. David Perdue, a freshman senator from Georgia, opened his remarks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition\u2019s Road to Majority conference by encouraging attendees to pray for President Obama. But, he added in a joking tone, they need to pray for him in a very specific way: \u201cWe should pray for him like Psalms 109:8 says: Let his days be few, and let another have his office,\u201d the senator said, smiling wryly. The crowd chuckled and he moved on with his address. The rest of that passage, which Perdue did not recite, reads, \u201cMay his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.\u201d The psalm is a pointed, lengthy death wish for one of David\u2019s enemies. Video depicted Purdue\u2019s 10 June 2016 remarks: Psalms 109:8 (alternately named \u201cSong of the Slandered\u201d) was rendered in the manner below in the King James Bible: Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. As many pointed out, the Senator\u2019s Biblical reference wasn\u2019t\u00a0a new\u00a0or even uncommon scripture-based jab at President Obama. A 2009 article\u00a0reported that the verse was traction across the internet as a veiled threat cloaked in the guise of prayerful intent: There\u2019s a new slogan making its way onto car bumpers and across the Internet. It reads simply: \u201cPray for Obama: Psalm 109:8\u201d A nice sentiment? Maybe not. The psalm reads, \u201cLet his days be few; and let another take his office.\u201d Presidential criticism through witty slogans is nothing new. Bumper stickers, t-shirts, and hats with \u201c1/20/09\u201d commemorated President Bush\u2019s last day in office. But the verse immediately following the psalm referenced is a bit more ominous: \u201cLet his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.\u201d The slogan comes at a time of heightened concern about antigovernment anger. Earlier this year, the president\u2019s senior adviser, David Axelrod, said that Tea Parties could lead to something unhealthy. In September, authorities shut down a poll on Facebook asking if President Obama should be killed. Still, that doesn\u2019t push the Psalms citation into the realm of hate speech, says Chris Hansen, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). That particular piece was published during President Obama\u2019s first term in office. Some argued at the time that the reference to the verse\u00a0simply expressed a hope that he not be re-elected to a second term: Deborah Lauter, director of civil rights at the Anti-Defamation League agrees that the bumper sticker falls within acceptable political discourse. \u201cThe problem is you don\u2019t know if people who are donning that message in a shirt or on a bumper sticker are fully aware of the quote or what follows. Obviously that message makes the ambiguity disappear. If they\u2019re just referring to him being out of office, that\u2019s one thing. If they\u2019re referring to him being dead, that\u2019s so offensive. It\u2019s protected speech, but it\u2019s clearly offensive.\u201d However, that motive ceased to be relevant after Obama\u2019s 2012 re-election. A representative for the Senator provided a terse statement to a Bloomberg reporter about the controversy: David Perdue spokeswoman Caroline Vanvick responds in an email: \u201cHe in no way wishes harm towards our president\u201d pic.twitter.com/PPj5jtZv0n \u2014 Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 10, 2016 The statement\u00a0read: Senator Perdue said we are called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and for our president. He in no way wishes harm towards our president and everyone in the room understood that. However, we should add the media to our prayer list because they are pushing a narrative to create controversy and this is exactly what the American people are tired of. It is\u00a0true Sen. David Perdue laughed and referenced Psalms 109:8 during a 10 June 2016 conservative Christian event. A representative for the Senator addressed the ensuing controversy, blaming the media for \u201cpushing a narrative\u201d for\u00a0the outcry. Claim: Sen. David Perdue advised attendees to offer up an ominous prayer aimed at President Obama during the 2016 Faith & Freedom Coalition\u2019s Road to Majority conference.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c499d2f19f2c485ebaef53d56e4f79ee", + "input": "Paragraph: \"In a swipe at the World Health Organization, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway made a misleading claim about COVID-19, implying that the disease caused by the novel coronavirus was so named because it\u2019s the latest in a string of similar coronaviruses. \"\"Some of the scientists and doctors say there could be other strains later on, this could come back in the fall in a limited way,\"\" Conway said in an April 15 \"\"Fox & Friends\"\" interview. \"\"This is COVID-19, not COVID-1, folks. And so you would think that people charged with the World Health Organization facts and figures would be on top of that.\"\" \"\"People should know the facts,\"\" she added. The comment came one day after President Donald Trump announced his intention to halt U.S. funding to the WHO and review its handling of the virus. But the name of the disease doesn\u2019t mean the WHO had 18 chances to learn about coronaviruses before the latest strain hit. COVID-19 is short for \"\"coronavirus disease 2019,\"\" a name that reflects the year in which the disease was first identified. The WHO announced the name on Feb. 11. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \"\"CO\"\" stands for \"\"corona,\"\" \"\"VI\"\" stands for \"\"virus,\"\" and \"\"D\"\" stands for \"\"disease.\"\" Before the WHO formalized a name for the disease, it was referred to as the \"\"2019 novel coronavirus\"\" or \"\"2019-nCoV.\"\" The virus itself, by contrast, is known as \"\"severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2\"\" and abbreviated as \"\"SARS-CoV-2,\"\" according to the WHO. The CDC lists seven coronaviruses that are known to infect humans, some of which are relatively common. Conway was clearer about the origins of \"\"COVID-19\"\" during a separate interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo roughly 30 minutes after her comment on \"\"Fox & Friends.\"\" \"\"It\u2019s called COVID-19 because that\u2019s the year, that\u2019s the year,\"\" Conway said while ripping the WHO\u2019s response to the coronavirus outbreak. \"\"It\u2019s not COVID-20. It\u2019s COVID-19.\"\" Facing blowback for her \"\"Fox & Friends\"\" comment, Conway tweeted the clip from her interview with Bartiromo. She said she knows \"\"19 refers to (the) year,\"\" but that she was making the point that the WHO \"\"should see pandemics coming\"\" because of the funding it gets from the U.S. Dear @RepBobbyRush: I know 19 refers to year. I\u2019m in Task Force daily (Congress is out until May 4). Point: WHO has received billion$ from USA for decades; it should see pandemics coming & be honestWhich felt better:insulting me or endorsing Bloomberg for President?God bless https://t.co/3LpvkoQERb In a statement to PolitiFact, a White House official said Conway is \"\"well aware that \u201819\u2019 refers to the year\"\" and that she attends meetings held by the White House\u2019s coronavirus task force. Conway was addressing \"\"the sheer number of years the U.S. has given billions and billions of dollars to WHO and were failed by them,\"\" the White House said, adding that in each of her April 15 interviews, she said the WHO\u2019s job is to anticipate infectious disease pandemics. \"\"Kellyanne never mentioned \u201818 other coronaviruses,\u2019\"\" the White House said. Conway said, \"\"This is COVID-19, not COVID-1,\"\" arguing that the WHO should have been better prepared to deal with the virus. \"\"People should know the facts,\"\" she added. We agree. The name of the disease caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s the 19th in a series of similar coronaviruses. The 19 refers to the year it was discovered, 2019. Conway made the claim with a straight-face, but she later said she knew what the name meant.\" Claim: This is COVID-19, not COVID-1, folks. And so you would think the people charged with the World Health Organization facts and figures would be on top of that.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c0ed8c8a79d0433fb782415af90ba27e", + "input": "Paragraph: Costs are not mentioned but we\u2019ll let this pass since it\u2019s reasonable to assume the approximate pricing of most of the dairy products tested are widely known. Main findings mentioned include: Readers are given no sense of just how much the risk is increased or decreased in these groups. The only data provided from the study is this: The risk of CHD was 26% lower in those men who consumed the highest amount of low fat (<3.5%) fermented dairy (compared to the lowest consumption group). It would be difficult for many readers to put that number into context without knowing how much low-fat/fermented dairy was consumed. Some data contained in the study might have helped put the numbers in context. According to the tables in the published manuscript, there is a modest reduction from 14 CHD events per 1,000 person years in the low intake group (of fermented dairy) to 10 CHD events per 1,000 person years in the high intake group (of fermented dairy). Since readers might interpret this study\u2019s results as supporting consuming more fermented dairy (much of which contains saturated fats), not mentioning the potential harms of consuming too much saturated fats is a shortcoming. There are three major limitations of this study that aren\u2019t mentioned. First, this is a prospective cohort study that can\u2019t completely control for other health variables in the subjects being responsible for some of the changes observed. Second, the use of a food questionnaire (even with some supervision by nutritionists) is not a completely reliable way to document dairy intake; especially when trying to pinpoint amounts and subtypes of dairy. Finally, the cohort studied (Eastern Finnish men, ages 42-60) is a very specific subgroup. This limits the generalizability of the results. The news release addresses none of this. In the published manuscript the authors describe differences in smoking rates and other dietary patterns in the men who consumed more or less of the dairy types. These other differences could have accounted for all of the differences in this observational study. No disease mongering is noted in this news release. Nor does the release provide any context on the prevalence of\u00a0 coronary heart disease. Funding for the study is not mentioned. Review of the authors does not reveal any major conflicts of interest. The headline suggests fermented dairy products may protect against heart attacks, but does not mention any other common sense steps that may be protective. Exercise, not smoking, and a prudent plant-based diet are other habits known to be associated with lower risk. Fermented dairy products are widely available and the news release does clearly outline several types. The news release claims that the new research gives more weight to earlier study findings. It states: \u201cearlier studies have shown that fermented dairy products have more positive effects on blood lipid profiles and on the risk of heart disease than other dairy products.\u201d And that \u201cThe new study provides further evidence on the health benefits that fermented dairy products may have over non-fermented ones.\u201d Links to the earlier studies would have been helpful. As yet, it\u2019s still speculative to claim that fermented dairy products lower the risk of CHD. No overtly unjustifiable language was used. We appreciate mention of the fact that the possible mechanisms for explaining the study\u2019s findings are not completely understood. Claim: Fermented dairy products may protect against heart attack", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c9ae3569e171451fa9646ef0fd251732", + "input": "Paragraph: In a TV message on Monday evening watched by more than 27 million people, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered people to stay at home, told nearly all shops to close and banned social gatherings including weddings and baptisms. However, public transport in London was busy during the morning rush hour and the streets were far from deserted amid confusion over the government\u2019s advice to workers. The death toll from coronavirus in the United Kingdom has jumped by 87 to a total of 422 - the biggest daily increase since the crisis began. Meanwhile, the economic devastation was underscored by a survey that suggested the economy was shrinking at a record pace, faster than during the 2008-09 financial crisis. The unprecedented peacetime restrictions announced by Johnson, which will last at least three weeks, are intended to stop the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which suffers from staff shortages at the best of times, being overwhelmed. \u201cThese measures are not advice, they are rules and will be enforced, including by the police,\u201d health minister Matt Hancock told parliament. At a news conference later, Hancock announced plans to open a temporary hospital next week at the Excel Centre, a huge venue in east London normally used for trade fairs and similar events. \u201cWith the help of the military and with NHS clinicians we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support they need,\u201d he said. British Transport Police said 500 officers will be deployed to train stations across the country to remind the public of the government\u2019s advice to travel only when essential. Hancock called for 250,000 volunteers to help the NHS with tasks such as delivering medicines from pharmacies, driving patients to and from hospital appointments and phoning people isolating at home to check up on them. \u201cIf you are well and able to do so safely, I would urge you to sign up today to help the most vulnerable people in our communities as an NHS Volunteer Responder,\u201d Hancock said. He also said the government had bought 3.5 million coronavirus antibody tests so that people who suspect they have had the virus would be able to find out for sure. Despite the message for people to stay at home, some roads were still busy and utility workmen and others were still mingling close together. Social media images showed the capital\u2019s underground trains were packed with passengers closer than the 2-metre (6-foot) recommended distance apart and the government said \u201cappropriate\u201d construction work should continue. \u201cThe government needs to urgently provide clearer guidance on who should be working and who shouldn\u2019t,\u201d said Rebecca Long-Bailey, the opposition Labour Party\u2019s business policy chief. \u201cNo one should be asked to work if they are not providing an essential function in this crisis.\u201d Under the curbs on movement, people should leave their homes only for very limited reasons such as going to supermarkets for vital supplies or for exercise once a day. Police, who will be able to issue fines of 30 pounds ($35), will now be able to break up gatherings of more than two people. A snap YouGov poll found that 93 percent of Britons supported the measures but were split on whether fines would be a sufficient deterrent. Supermarkets, where shelves have been stripped bare by panic-buying in recent days, said they had begun limiting the number of shoppers in stores at any one time, erecting barriers outside, and installing screens at checkouts to protect staff. Last week, the government announced billions of pounds of help for businesses and said it would help to pay the wages of employees, giving grants to cover 80% of a worker\u2019s salary if they were kept on as staff. But critics said it did not provide support for the self-employed, who total about 5 million in Britain compared to roughly 28 million employees, meaning they either had to keep working or risk losing all income. Finance minister Rishi Sunak told parliament the government was working on measures to help self-employed people, but said these had to be practical and fair. Claim: UK calls for 250,000 volunteers as virus deaths surge.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-33a87d331eb646d8b6aa8e3cc45ed359", + "input": "Paragraph: Gives a cost comparison with injected insulin. Given that the article stresses the need for injected insulin as an adjunct to inhaled insulin (in some cases), the cost would be higher. No quantitative data presented. No information on the efficacy of Exubera at controlling blood sugar as compared to existing methods of insulin delivery. No data on the side effects, or how many people who did not have pre-pre-existing lung disease experienced inflammation due to Exubera. No quantitative data presented. No long-term data on the side effects, or how many people who did not have pre-existing lung disease experienced inflammation due to Exubera. No data from any Exubera trials. No mention of study design or incidence of side effects. Provides American Diabetes Association statistics on prevalence. Does not appear to be disease mongering. Mentions that not all diabetics take insulin and some people with Type 2 can manage with oral hypoglycemics, diet and exercise. There is some discussion that more diabetics will take insulin if it is inhaled form, which may or may not be true. Balanced. FDA, American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and diabetic patient perspective provided. No conflict of interest noted. (No mention if anyone received research funding from Pfizer.) Mention of alternative treatment (i.e. injections alone) and possible treatment needed in conjunction with inhalable insulin. There is mention of some of the side effects on the lungs (coughing or decrease in lung capacity) , and that the inhaled form of insulin is not appropriate for all diabetics, especially those with asthma or poorly controlled lung disease. There is a reminder that diabetics still need to check their blood sugar levels via needles, pens or pumps. Mentions availability of treatment and that Exubera won\u2019t replace injected insulin. The story focuses on recent FDA approval. No clear evidence that the story relied heavily on a press release; however, the financial information seems to be PR-driven. While investors may be interested that this could be a \u201c$1 billion a year seller for Pfizer\u201d, people with diabetes who take daily insulin in this new form would appreciate quantitative information on the risks and benefits of Exubera. Claim: FDA approves first inhalable version of insulin", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-0e9708ff30dc4170a45e2003beac6e99", + "input": "Paragraph: But a decade on, work at the site is only 10% complete because of a row over an increasingly scarce resource in Iran that is vital to keep the facility cool: water. \u201cIn early project studies, there were some mistakes about the amount of water the plant would need,\u201d said Hamidreza Soleymannejad, one of the plant\u2019s project managers. \u201cThey found the plant needs a lot of water, but the region could not provide that.\u201d The fate of the Firouzabad plant is not unique in Iran, even though the nation has huge oil and gas reserves and is eager to expand output of downstream products which can more easily evade crippling U.S. sanctions on its vital energy industry. At least a dozen petrochemical, fertilizer and refinery projects, with combined capacity to produce more than 5 million tonnes a year of products, have hit the buffers or been delayed due to water supply problems, according to a Reuters assessment. The list was compiled based on reports in state media, direct comments from project managers involved in several of the delayed plants, traders, and details published by some of the companies or major shareholders in the developments. Reuters sought comment from investors or companies involved. Most did not respond to emailed requests, while two confirmed water shortages were a major issue. One denied there was any problem, although a trader with close links to the project flagged a lack of water supplies as a crucial factor. Fasa Petrochemical Company and Darab Petrochemical Company, which each own 30% in Firouzabad Petrochemical Company, did not respond to requests for comment. \u201cMany of these projects were proposed by lawmakers who were trying to create jobs in their constituencies. Unfortunately the technical studies have been widely ignored,\u201d said Reza Banimahd, a businessman in Tehran who has worked on refinery projects. The water shortage is one of many challenges facing Tehran as it seeks to skirt U.S. sanctions by ramping up production of products, which are more difficult to trace back to Iran than Iranian crude, which has clearly identifiable characteristics. Under sanctions, crude exports have plunged 80% and are now worth about $700 million a month - a calculation based on Iran\u2019s normal selling price although under sanctions Iran tends to sell crude at a discount. By comparison, Tehran has kept oil product sales at about $500 million a month, Reuters calculations show. Graphic: Iranian fuel oil exports, here Oil refineries and other processing plants need water mainly for cooling. Producing a single gallon of gasoline requires 0.61\u20130.71 of a gallon of water. But diverting limited supplies away from farming towards industry carries political risks. Drought and depleting water supplies have sparked unrest. Farmers in Iran's central region protested here in several cities in 2018 over water mismanagement, as rainfall dropped 25% below the average. The plant in Firouzabad, an inland area in the parched south of the country, aimed to produce 1 million tonnes of ethylene a year. Based on figures for a similar capacity plant, that output would use more than 2 million tonnes of water a year. The government, which worries about falling national groundwater levels, wants the $500 million plant moved to the coast where desalinated water could be used. But local officials and a senior cleric have objected and the project has stalled. Azizollah Hashemizadeh, Firouzabad\u2019s Friday prayer leader who reports to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the top authority in Iran\u2019s theocratic system, said in June the project would bring prosperity and could not be shifted. While Khamenei has the last word in state affairs, there are a range of parallel institutions below him that often compete for influence. For example, the Revolutionary Guards, an investor in the Firouzabad plant, has a separate command structure to the conventional army and has vast industrial interests. The Revolutionary Guards did not respond to a request for comment sent via their website. The structure of rival power centers often creates a tortured decision-making process and can push aside commercial and environmental factors. \u201cThere is a problem with coordination between ministries over development plans,\u201d said Kaveh Madani, a former Iranian deputy vice president for the environment and now visiting professor at London\u2019s Imperial College, adding that sanctions had pushed the government to prioritize jobs over water and the environment. The delay in the Firouzabad plant has had knock on effects, disrupting four other projects that aimed to use the facility\u2019s output of ethylene, an ingredient used to make products such as polyester resins and adhesives. Those offtake plants would also have added to strains on the region\u2019s scant water reserves. \u201cDelay is not a good word. After 12 years, we are practically facing a failed project,\u201d said another project manager for the Firouzabad plant when contacted by Reuters. Asking not to be identified, he said the proposed new coastal site was empty, flattened but with nothing yet built. Despite the challenges, Iran has boosted refining capacity, announcing in February it was self sufficient in gasoline. Iran\u2019s petrochemical plants have capacity to make about 65 million tonnes of products a year, of which about 22.5 million tonnes is exported. The government aims to increase output to 91 million tonnes in two years and 130 million tonnes in five years. Iran\u2019s refining capacity stands at about 2.23 million barrels per day, putting it behind regional leader Saudi Arabia. Graphic: Middle East refining capacities (2018), here Social Security Investment Company, a state body with 200 subsidiaries and major energy investments, flagged problems facing the industry in a 2018 report including sanctions and \u201cthe drought and shortage of water for the inland refineries.\u201d It said some projects \u201cwere not economically feasible as they were initiated to create jobs in unsuitable locations.\u201d In northeast Iran, Khorasan Petrochemical Company has struggled to launch a fertilizer plant to produce 660,000 tonnes of urea, using gas as a feedstock. Five years on, the project is at a standstill despite securing $700 million in state support. \u201cWater resources for the project have not been provided and remain unclear,\u201d Tamin Petroleum and Petrochemical Investment Company (TAPPICO), a major shareholder, wrote on its website. Agriculture, a major employer in Iran, accounts for about 90% of Iran\u2019s water usage, with industry using 10%. But any extra demand strains Iran\u2019s depleting reserves. U.N. data indicate Iran is using 3.8 billion cubic meters of water a year more than is replaced, leading to a fast falling water table. Nevertheless, some projects still go ahead even in areas where strains are acute. Shazand refinery in central Iran had to drill deep wells to pump groundwater, state news agency IRNA reported in 2018, alarming environmentalists and sapping supplies from farmers. When asked to comment, Shazand Petrochemical Company pointed to a statement published on its website that was published after Reuters made the request: \u201cTo reduce consumption of groundwater, the company has planned to use the reservoir of Kamal Saleh dam - when it is full - and wastewater of neighboring cities.\u201d The company said it was seeking a contractor for its water recycling project. Graphic: Iran refineries, here Claim: Iran's thirsty energy industry runs up against water shortage.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ae72ec382ec84e0b9ef569ba2cabe79e", + "input": "Paragraph: The 2017-2018 flu season is proving to be among the worst in recent history,\u00a0in part because this year\u2019s flu shot offers little protection against the most virulent strain \u2014 H3N2. The strength of this year\u2019s epidemic has also lead to an increase in influenza-based fear-mongering, generally about the drugs or vaccines used to combat the virus. One target of online fear is the antiviral drug Tamiflu, prescribed to reduce the length of illness, or in some cases as a preventative measure. A well-shared 14 February 2018 Facebook post took this to an extreme when it blamed the reportedly increased deaths not on the influenza itself but the drug Tamiflu: So it isn\u2019t the flu that is causing the deaths.. Maybe it\u2019s the tamiflu\u2026 It says so on the insert\u2026 It can lead you to death.. Yikes.. DO NOT TAKE THE TAMIFLU.. The doctor at our local hospital wouldn\u2019t even prescribe Tamiflu when we took our daughter because of the side effects and risk. In support of this claim, the user posted a excerpt of the medication\u2019s safety insert about \u201cchange in behavior,\u201d using a white line to highlight the word \u201cdeath\u201d: People, especially children, who have the flu can develop nervous system problems and abnormal behavior that can lead to death. During treatment with Tamiflu, tell your healthcare provider right away if you or your child have confusion, speech problems, shaky movements, seizure, or start hearing voices or seeing things that are not really there (hallucinations). The existence of this warning is factual (though not especially unique, as many drug inserts list death as a rare side effect), but research supporting this connection is controversial. Change in behavior is indeed a class of side effects linked to Tamiflu, and it is one that has been also been linked in rare cases to deaths. However, those deaths mainly resulted from dangerous or self destructive behavior, easily distinguishable from deaths caused by flu symptoms. Our article on a viral Facebook post about a child\u2019s possible terrifying reaction to Tamiflu goes into more detail\u00a0about these side effects. However, to suggest that Tamiflu is responsible for the increased number of deaths is at best illogical, as the symptoms that would accompany the behavioral changes (hallucinations, seizures, speech problems) would be obvious even to the most untrained medical professional. It is also unsupported by any credible evidence \u2014 a majority of influenza deaths this year are due to higher than usual rates of pneumonia, a condition characterized by fluid in the lungs \u2014 which is\u00a0extremely difficult to confuse with the symptoms listed above or behavioral aberrations. Claim: Tamiflu is responsible for the increased number of deaths this flu season.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b3145f25244f46abbb934bc543665651", + "input": "Paragraph: \"At this year\u2019s March for Life -- the annual anti-abortion rally in Washington -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, decried a federal rule implemented in the waning days of President Barack\u00a0Obama's administration. Ernst told the crowd on Jan. 27, 2017, that she would \"\"introduce a bill Monday to stop what some have referred to as \u2018President Obama\u2019s last gift to Planned Parenthood.\u2019 \"\" Ernst referred to Title X of the United States Public Health Service Act, which covers family planning. She said that her effort, in cooperation with Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., \"\"would scrap the Obama administration\u2019s 11th-hour rule that entrenches federal family planning funding for Planned Parenthood.\"\" We wondered if Ernst had accurately described the Obama administration\u2019s action. Our conclusion: Ernst was essentially on target. About Title X Title X, as the federal rule notes, is the only federal program focused solely on providing family planning and related preventive services. In 2015, the rule says, more than 4 million individuals received services through more than 3,900 Title X-funded health centers. Planned Parenthood says its affiliates served approximately 1.5 million patients that year under Title X, about one-third of the federal program\u2019s yearly total. Planned Parenthood has drawn criticism from anti-abortion advocates because in addition to providing uncontroversial women\u2019s health services, the group also performs abortions. By law, abortions performed by Planned Parenthood are paid for by private money, not federal dollars. But anti-abortion advocates argue that money is fungible and that the federal government is effectively supporting a major provider of abortions. Supporters of Planned Parenthood counter that the money flows are separated and that barring federal dollars from being spent on Planned Parenthood would have dire negative consequences for women\u2019s health, especially among poor Americans. The Obama administration rule On Sept. 7, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a \"\"notice of proposed rulemaking\"\" -- the first step in formulating a new federal rule. The proposed rule would make clear that the decision to fund an organization under Title X cannot be based on \"\"reasons other than its ability to provide Title X services.\"\" The effect would be that the fact of providing abortion services couldn\u2019t be used against a group that seeks Title X funding. After the notice of proposed rulemaking was issued, the rule went through a series of required steps, including a public comment period. Ultimately, HHS acted to finalize the rule while the Obama administration was still in charge, but after Donald Trump had won the 2016 presidential election. HHS made the rule effective Jan. 18. Though the proposal was framed broadly, it was widely perceived as having a significant impact on Planned Parenthood. Both sides essentially agreed on that. After the notice of proposed rulemaking, Ernst and other lawmakers immediately expressed concern to HHS about its impact on Planned Parenthood. And after the rule was finalized, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said in a statement that \"\"President Obama has cemented his legacy as a champion for women's health. This rule protects birth control, cancer screenings, (sexually-transmitted infection) testing and treatment and other health care for millions of people.\"\" Evaluating Ernst\u2019s description So how well does Ernst\u2019s characterization stack up? We\u2019ll take her statement phrase by phrase. \u2022 \"\"11th-hour rule.\"\" While all relevant procedures were followed in the formulation of the rule, the final rule did materialize quicker than many federal rules do, experts said. \"\"The rule was proposed in September and finalized in December,\"\" said Columbia Law School professor Gillian Metzger. \"\"In practice, that's a pretty fast turnaround.\"\" And of course, by making the effective date Jan. 18, 2017, it took effect in the final 48 hours of the Obama administration. All told, Ernst has a strong case for calling it an \"\"11th-hour\"\" rule. \u2022 \"\"Entrenches federal family planning funding.\"\" Experts told PolitiFact that the Obama rulemaking did make the policy harder to overturn, although either Congress or Trump\u2019s HHS department could take steps to do so. \"\"I would not quibble about the use of \u2018entrench\u2019 in this context,\"\" said Boston University law professor Gary S. Lawson. \"\"Rules are not that easy to change. There are degrees of entrenchment, of course, depending on the procedures required for change, but if someone wants to apply the term to a substantive agency rule, I would let them do it.\"\" Metzger agreed. \"\"As a practical matter, reversing a rule takes resources and time by the agency, and there would likely be a court challenge and the possibility that a court would repeal the reversal as arbitrary.\"\" \u2022 \"\"For Planned Parenthood.\"\" As we noted earlier, both sides in the abortion debate publicly linked the rule to Planned Parenthood. That said, the rule did not exclusively target Planned Parenthood. The rule itself does not mention the organization by name, although the accompanying material does mention the group specifically in a question-and-answer section summarizing public comments. \"\"While Planned\u00a0Parenthood might be one of the affected applicants, the rule is actually written in a neutral manner,\"\" said Jeffrey S. Lubbers, an American University law professor. Our ruling Ernst said the Obama administration issued an \"\"11th-hour rule that entrenches federal family planning funding for Planned Parenthood.\"\" It may be a slight exaggeration to use the word \"\"entrench,\"\" since there are ways to overturn the rule within a matter of months, and it should be noted that the rule would affect a variety of other health care providers, not just Planned Parenthood, Still, it\u2019s hard to argue that this was not an 11th-hour rule, and in general we find that Ernst has characterized pretty accurately what the Obama administration did.\" Claim: \"The Obama administration issued an \"\"11th-hour rule that entrenches federal family planning funding for Planned Parenthood.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-50ec601b0e1a4529bff17289ab8eca61", + "input": "Paragraph: The Tri-County Health Department said Thursday prairie dog burrows are being sprayed with insecticide to kill fleas that could transmit the disease to the rodents, people and pets. The health department says Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Gateway Open Space are temporarily closed. The department says parking at Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods Park, where the Colorado Rapids play, is restricted to asphalt lots, and a planned fireworks display after Saturday\u2019s game has been postponed. Tri-County Health Director Dr. John M. Douglas Jr. says plague is common in Colorado prairie dog colonies and can be managed safely with insecticides. Claim: Plague confirmed in prairie dogs in Commerce City.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c6e37d0522ef488a99aba619d687298f", + "input": "Paragraph: Indonesia confirmed 40 more deaths and its death toll accounts for nearly half of the more than 590 across Southeast Asia. More than 16,500 cases have been reported across the region. Indonesian health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said the country had registered 337 new infections, also a new daily high, taking the total to 3,293. Health experts say Indonesia faces a surge in cases after a slow government response masked the scale of the outbreak in Southeast Asia\u2019s biggest country. Indonesia has brought in \u201clarge-scale social restrictions\u201d, but President Joko Widodo has resisted bringing in the type of tough lockdowns imposed by neighbours and only moved to allow areas like Jakarta, where there has been a spike in cases, more powers to tackle the crisis. Researchers at the University of Indonesia have predicted there could be 140,000 deaths and 1.5 million cases by May without tougher curbs on movement and gathering. Indonesia has stepped up the number of tests to 16,511 as of Wednesday, but for a country with more than 260 million people it has one the lowest testing rates in the world Neighbouring Malaysia, with only 32 million people, has conducted 69,675 tests. There are also growing fears that the outbreak could spread across the archipelago during the annual exodus to home villages for the Muslim Ramadan holiday.Widodo has said the government would give aid to poorer families, particularly in Jakarta, to persuade them to stay put but has rejected calls for an outright ban on the \u201cmudik\u201d, as the holiday is known. Malaysia reported 109 new infections on Thursday, the second-lowest daily increase since a partial lockdown was imposed on March 18. The data comes a day ahead of possible ministerial discussions on whether to extend the curbs on travel and non-essential businesses beyond April 14. The country has so far recorded 4,228 infections - the highest in Southeast Asia - with 67 deaths. But government officials have said the restrictions are showing results. \u201cWe have done well,\u201d Ministry of Health Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a news conference. \u201cWe have a small window of opportunity. If we do it right we may be able to avert the surge that we have seen in other countries.\u201d Claim: Indonesia reports biggest jump in coronavirus deaths as Malaysia trend improves.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f37db7b83fe647af81e9efa56c08bc81", + "input": "Paragraph: \"In a regular feature called \"\"How the Left Destroys the Nation,\"\" a website founded by the leader of a far-right group posted this headline about one state\u2019s coronavirus response: \"\"Michigan Governor Bans Gardening, Sale Of Fruit and Vegetable Seeds, Gardening Supplies Prohibited.\"\" The attack on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who has been touted as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) That\u2019s because it\u2019s wrong. Whitmer has issued orders directing people to stay home and limiting some commercial activity, but this claim goes too far. The headline appears on the Geller Report, a website by Pamela Geller. She is an activist who co-founded Stop Islamization of America, also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Below the headline is an article that originally appeared in The Daily Caller, a conservative-leaning publication, that reports on an executive order issued by Whitmer in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The article does not say that the order bans gardening, but that it does restrict the sale of gardening supplies. In reality, executive order 2020-42, which went into effect April 9, 2020, requires larger stores to block off certain areas of their sales floors as a way of limiting the number of people in those stores. The order does not ban gardening or the sale of any product, including, as we mentioned in a previous fact-check, American flags. The numbers of coronavirus cases in Michigan have surged in recent weeks. As of April 14, the Wolverine State ranked fourth \u2014 behind New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, according to the New York Times. Nearly half of Michigan\u2019s cases are in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, according to Johns Hopkins University. Both the state and the county have a COVID-19 fatality rate of 6%. It\u2019s in that climate that Whitmer issued this order, subtitled the \"\"Temporary requirement to suspend activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life,\"\" which extended and added to a stay-at-home order issued March 23. Tiffany Brown, a spokeswoman for the governor, told PolitiFact that Whitmer\u2019s order does not ban Michiganders from buying any item. The order says that stores larger than 50,000 square feet must close areas \u2014 \"\"by cordoning them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means \u2014 that are dedicated to the following classes of goods: Carpet or flooring, furniture, garden centers and plant nurseries, and paint.\"\" Referring to that restriction at a news conference announcing the order, Whitmer said: \"\"If you\u2019re not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store.\"\" As to gardening, a frequently asked questions document released by the governor\u2019s office states: \"\"The order does not prohibit homeowners from tending to their own yards as they see fit.\"\" Grocery stores, of course, remain open. And neither the order nor the FAQs mention any restriction on the sale of fruit or seeds. A headline shared on social media inaccurately describes an order that Whitmer issued in response to the coronavirus. The order does not prohibit gardening or the sale of any particular product in Michigan. Stores in Michigan larger than 50,000 square feet must close areas for garden centers and plant nurseries, as well as those that sell carpet or flooring, furniture and paint.\" Claim: Facebook post Says Michigan COVID-19 order bans gardening and the sale of vegetable seeds and fruit.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-efb2995c501e4a92861d605299c314c9", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Like most Republicans, Rep. Greg Walden says the $825 billion stimulus law has been a failure. But unlike other critics who speak in contemptuous generalities, Walden puts hard numbers behind his opinion. \"\"When the bill was signed into law, the White House promised that the stimulus would increase by 44,000 the number of jobs in Oregon by December 2010,\"\" he says on his official congressional website. \"\"Unfortunately, even with the stimulus, since the bill was signed, the number of jobs has actually decreased by 18,300 through July 2011.\"\" Walden supports his claim with a study by the Republican staff of the House Ways and Means Committee. That study relies on federal statistics and, sure enough, both the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Oregon Employment Department show that Oregon had fewer people working in July 2010 than February 2009. When the stimulus was signed into law in February 2009, 1.643 million people in Oregon held non-farm jobs, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In July 2010, after billions of dollars of stimulus spending had been dispersed, the number of non-farm jobs in Oregon was 1.625 million. That\u2019s a loss of 18,000 jobs which is the number Walden cited. But it\u2019s only part of the story. First, a quick recap. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is the full name of what is commonly called the stimulus, became law in February 2009. Democrats pushed the legislation as a way to create jobs and extend unemployment benefits through a mix of government spending, tax cuts and financial aid to cash-strapped states. The stimulus and its performance have provided a high intensity battlefield ever since. The White House released at least six reports on the program, counting jobs that were created or \"\"saved\"\" as a result of the stimulus. Those counts were augmented by dozens of other reports from independent sources. The most recent came Nov. 22 from the Congressional Budget Office. It says the stimulus is responsible for adding between 500,000 and 3.3 million jobs nationally. But the CBO, which is nonpartisan, also says its reports, \"\"do not provide a comprehensive estimate of the law\u2019s impact on U.S. employment, which could be higher or lower...\"\" Among the reasons is that \"\"some of the jobs included in the reports might have existed even without the stimulus,\"\" and that the reports do not \"\"attempt to measure\"\" the number of indirect jobs. Earlier studies, both independent and partisan, have offered similar ranges for the law\u2019s impact on jobs. A March study by the White House Council of Economic Advisers explains why. \"\"Evaluating the impact,\"\" said the report, which was the sixth in a series, \"\" \u2026 is inherently difficult because we do not observe what would have happened to the economy in the absence of policy.\"\" Separately, the council\u2019s report cited four independent analyses by the CBO and three private economic analysis companies that all found between 1.3 million and 3.6 million jobs saved or created. Oregon\u2019s acting state economist Mark McMullen agrees precision is difficult -- and fraught with politics. \"\"This issue is about as politically charged as topics in economics get,\"\" he said. He points to CBO numbers to explain how many stimulus jobs were created and reported in Oregon. In 2009, 18,412 direct jobs were created with 33,489 in 2010 and 17,663 in 2011. Even trickier is estimating the indirect jobs from the stimulus. Here, McMullen and other economists extend estimates that Oregon collected between 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent of stimulus jobs depending on the year. That translates to 2,967 to 13,350 indirect jobs in 2009; 8,714 to 41,078 jobs in 2010 and 5,820 to 30,473 jobs in 2011. Economists say there\u2019s another conundrum: Because of constant churning in the economy, the stimulus law could have generated - or come close to generating - the number of jobs the White House predicted even though total employment in the state declined. The reason is that the jobs total is fluid and that additions in jobs like road construction could be eclipsed by losses in other parts of the economy that aren\u2019t touched by the stimulus. There are also jobs protected with stimulus money. Teachers, prison guards, and other state workers who probably would have been laid off were able to keep their jobs because the stimulus sent $2.4 billion to Oregon. More than $1.2 billion was used to fill state cuts to education that could have triggered teacher layoffs in every district. Another $117 million went to public safety, with some of that money used to avoid cut-backs in police and emergency response personnel. The White House and supporters factor those \"\"saved\"\" jobs into their calculations. Walden and critics do not. Got it? It\u2019s all very murky and far from precise. But this much is certain: As of July 31, 2011, there were 18,300 fewer people working in Oregon than in February 2009. That is the number Walden cites in his comment and that much is true. But Walden\u2019s context suggests that the stimulus did not produce jobs for Oregon, and that is not correct. While economists and other experts say it\u2019s impossible to say how many Oregon jobs were \"\"created or saved,\"\" as the White House puts it, there certainly were some. And it\u2019s clear that a significant number of Oregon jobs would have been lost without the stimulus. Walden\u2019s assertion of lost jobs uses numbers out of context and leaves out important details. Return to OregonLive to comment on this ruling.\" Claim: \"Greg Walden Says the federal stimulus program was ineffective because \"\"the number of jobs has actually decreased by 18,300 through July 2011.\"", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a851796912ea4d4c980fd17ad860bf6a", + "input": "Paragraph: The recommendations won\u2019t be final until public health officials and Gov. Chris Sununu give their OK. The task force unanimously recommended that hotels be limited to half their capacity, though the limit would not apply to motels with outdoor access to rooms or to inns and bed-and-breakfasts with 10 or fewer rooms. Face masks would be required for staffers and are recommended for guests, who would be asked at check-in about any possible exposure to the coronavirus. A reopening date of May 22 is recommended for lodging, but target dates for other sectors were not included. On attractions, the guidance covers activities in \u201crecreational and natural settings,\u201d including biking, canoe and kayak rentals, mini-golf, driving ranges, shooting ranges, and racetracks. Also included are small group tours such those offered at Lost River Gorge and the Polar Caves, but task force members said amusement parks, water parks and indoor attractions would be addressed later. Outdoor attractions would be limited to half their capacity, or to the number social distancing guidelines can accommodate, whichever is less. The requirement would be the same for gyms and fitness clubs, which also would be prohibited from enrolling out-of-state residents as new members. The Republican governor\u2019s stay-at-home order has been extended to May 31, but some businesses were allowed to reopen this week, including retail stores, hair salons and golf courses. Restaurants will be allowed to begin offering outdoor dining May 18. Other pandemic-related developments: ___ MANDATORY MASKS? Officials in a New Hampshire town near the border with Massachusetts are considering requiring face masks in indoor public spaces. The proposal in Salem would require anyone over age 2 to wear some type of face covering, or face a fine as high as $200. The town board discussed the matter during a virtual meeting Monday but didn\u2019t vote on it. Jim Keller, the selectman who wrote the proposal, said the main concern is to protect residents from visitors from Massachusetts, where the outbreak is worse, WMUR-TV reported. Some callers disagreed and believed the fine was too high. In Massachusetts, residents must wear face coverings in public or face fines of as much as $300. ___ THE NUMBERS As of Monday, 3,239 people in New Hampshire had tested positive for the virus, an increase of 81 from the previous day. There have been at least 142 coronavirus-related deaths in the state. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. ___ Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed to this report. Claim: Rules for reopening hotels, gyms, attractions taking shape.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-889b0f9870134822b858d0c380d204bf", + "input": "Paragraph: \"In metro Atlanta, the land of smog alerts and farmland-turned-to-suburbs, one local county makes a bold claim about its efforts to be environmentally conscious. DeKalb County, its website says, is \"\"the greenest county in America.\"\" Let's put that on some recycled paper and send it to each of the county's estimated 750,000 residents. DeKalb's communications director, Burke Brennan, sent PolitiFact Georgia an e-mail making the case for the county. It includes: \"\"In DeKalb County, we are taking the lead on sustainability ...\u00a0 we are one step closer to being the greenest county in America,\"\" DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis said in 2009 when the county was honored by the ARC. Many folks we discussed this claim with used phrases like \"\"bold\"\" or \"\"ambitious\"\" to describe DeKalb's audacity, not willing to publicly dismiss it. Some were willing to criticize the claim. \"\"That's all a good case for them to be one of the greenest counties in Georgia,\"\" said Mark Woodall, Georgia chapter chairman of the Sierra Club, which claims to be the largest grassroots environmental organization in the state. \"\"DeKalb being the greenest county in America seems pretty unthinkable.\"\" Being \"\"green,\"\" means many things these days. Some organizations have occasionally released surveys rankings America's greenest cities, but we found few similar rankings of counties. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to improve health and health care for Americans, earlier this year looked at the environmental health of each U.S. county. One category was physical health. The foundation used data put together by researchers from the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the physical health of each county. The criteria included how many days the air was unhealthy, the number of days the air was unhealthy due to ozone, access to healthy foods and how many liquor stores were in a county. DeKalb ranked near the bottom of Georgia counties, 153rd, in terms of physical health. Some categories that DeKalb is bragging about are difficult to compare. In other areas, such as the number of LEED-certified buildings, Dekalb has competition. Gwinnett had three LEED-certifiied structures, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. DeKalb is an Energy Star partner -- a federal effort to protect the environment through energy-efficient practices -- but so are Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties and the city of Atlanta. On hiking and biking trails, DeKalb may run into some argument about having the most in Georgia. Cobb County, for example, lists about 75 miles of trails within its cities and unincorporated areas. It was suggested we look at Arlington County, Va. to find another county that could make a case it is greener than DeKalb. The county has a page on its website with more than a dozen awards and recognition for its sustainable community and environmental efforts. Arlington won two National Association of Counties Achievement Awards this year for its recycling efforts. That organization also named Arlington its Outstanding Civil Engineering Project award in 2006 for its Green Building Program. Other counties, like Boulder, Colo., have goals such as reducing outdoor water use by 50 percent by using indigenous plants and recycling 50 percent of construction waste. DeKalb's case was muddied in December when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined $453,000 for 836 sewage spills over the last five years. The EPA estimates there are about 40,000 spills from the nation's 25,000 sewage systems a year. California officials reported about 2,000 spills into the San Francisco Bay in 2008. Brennan noted the day after the fine was announced, county commissioners voted 6-1 to spend $1.345 billion to make repairs to its water and sewer system, nearly twice as much money as the EPA recommended. DeKalb taxpayers will pay higher water and sewer bills to help fund the work. Despite the fine, Brennan stuck by DeKalb's claim. \"\"Nobody here is claiming perfection, but based on the programs, awards, designations and initiatives DeKalb has in place and ongoing, I am sticking with the motto 'DeKalb is the greenest county in America,' \"\" Brennan told us in an e-mail. \"\"After all, 'Cowboy Capital of the World' was already taken,\"\" added Brennan, referring to Oakdale, Calif. DeKalb has certainly tried to make its mark as an environmentally conscious county. But DeKalb's claim of being the \"\"greenest county\"\" in the nation ignores critical facts that would give a visitor to its web site a different impression.\" Claim: The Greenest County in America.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-76650595e5a742ad9dbc68915c11a11f", + "input": "Paragraph: ___ WILDFIRES \u2014 In a step to curb greenhouse gas emissions, California becomes the first state to require new homes to install solar panels, which the California Energy Commission says could add about $9,500 to the cost of a new home. But another new law exempts homeowners forced to rebuild because of a wildfire or other natural disaster. \u2014 The state is temporarily suspending its lengthy environmental review process for areas affected by the 2018 Camp Fire wildfire in a bid to speed up reconstruction of housing after the state\u2019s most destructive wildfire displaced more than 50,000 people. But the law does not include the city of Chico because the mayor and most of the city council opposed it. \u2014 State entities can waive or reduce governmental licensing fees for businesses experiencing hardship and displacement after wildfires and other emergencies. \u2014 Caregivers can face enhanced civil penalties if they abandon the elderly in disasters such as wildfires. The law responds to the abandonment of seniors at two Santa Rosa assisted living centers during wildfires in 2017. ___ ANIMAL WELFARE \u2014 California becomes the first state to ban commercial or recreational fur trapping. It remains legal to trap animals for other purposes, including pest control and public health. \u2014 It is also the first state to bar cosmetic companies from selling products in California if they were tested on animals. \u2014 California becomes the third state, behind Hawaii and New Jersey, to ban most animals from circuses, including bears, tigers, elephants and monkeys. The law exempts rodeos and does not apply to domesticated dogs, cats and horses. \u2014 It\u2019s illegal to hunt, trap or kill bobcats in California until 2025, when the state can begin issuing limited licenses as part of a bobcat management plan. \u2014 California\u2019s ban on importing and selling alligator or crocodile products takes effect, though the state of Louisiana is suing to block the prohibition. \u2014 California becomes the latest state to allow for the eventual use of road-killed deer, elk, pronghorn antelope and wild pigs. But wildlife wardens warn it\u2019s still illegal to collect roadkill because a state permitting and tracking program is not yet in place. \u2014 It\u2019s illegal to smoke or dispose of cigar and cigarette waste in California state parks and beaches. The law covers traditional cigarettes and electric smoking devices, but smoking will still be allowed in parking lots. Supporters say it will provide a healthier environment for people, fish and wildlife. ___ CRIMINAL JUSTICE \u2014 California is the first state to bar health and dental co-pays for all inmates. California has one of nine state prison systems that already banned the charges, but the American Civil Liberties Union says California is the first to also abolish the practice in county jails. \u2014 Police are barred for three years from using facial recognition software in body-worn cameras in a move that follows New Hampshire and Oregon. \u2014 Victims of violent crime have seven years, up from three, to seek compensation. \u2014 Law enforcement agencies must submit rape kits for testing within 20 days. \u2014 The statute of limitations for domestic violence felony crimes increases from three years to five. \u2014 Most of those with felony convictions can serve on juries. \u2014 The state removes two mandatory sentences: a mandatory minimum for certain drug crimes, and an automatic one-year enhancement for each prior felony jail or prison term. Officials estimate the latter change could affect about 10,000 current inmates. \u2014 Inmates convicted of a sexually violent offense must undergo a risk assessment before their parole hearing. \u2014 Most children under age 12 must be released to their parents instead of prosecuted if they come to the attention of law enforcement. \u2014 Those under 21 can no longer buy center-fire, semiautomatic firearms, the type of rifle used in shootings this year at a Poway synagogue and a Gilroy food festival. Sales of those rifles will be limited to one a month for adults starting July 1. ___ BUSINESS \u2014 New Year\u2019s Day is the deadline for publicly held California corporations to add at least one woman to their boards of directors, though the mandate is being challenged in court. \u2014 Employers are prohibited from using \u201cno re-hire\u201d clauses for workers settling a sexual harassment, discrimination or other employment dispute. Supporters say the clauses punish victims, while perpetrators may remain employed. \u2014 California\u2019s minimum wage increases to $13 an hour for employers with more than 26 employees, and to $12 for employers with 26 or fewer workers. Annual dollar-a-year increases continue until all employers reach $15 an hour in 2023. \u2014 Employers are barred from forcing workers to enter into arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. Proponents say waiving rights including the ability to sue can leave employees more vulnerable to harassment and discrimination. \u2014 California is capping interest rates for consumer loans between $2,500 and $9,999 at 36 percentage points above the main interest rate set by the Federal Reserve. Consumer advocacy groups say some loan companies charge interest rates as high as 225%. \u2014 Local governments can form their own banks to handle taxpayer money, which supporters say could be used for things like affordable housing and infrastructure. The California Bankers Association fears they could be unfair competition for community banks. \u2014 Colleges must disclose whether they provide preferential treatment to students related to donors or alumni under a law aiming to provide more equity in college admissions following a nationwide admissions scandal. ___ HEALTHCARE \u2014 California begins taxing people who refuse to buy health insurance. A family of four would pay at least $2,000. The projected $300 million to $400 million in tax proceeds will go to giving middle-income people discounts on their monthly health insurance premiums. \u2014 California will provide health insurance for low-income immigrants ages 25 and younger living in the U.S. illegally. It\u2019s expected to cost $98 million and cover about 100,000 people. California already provides health insurance for children living in the U.S. illegally. \u2014 Adults enrolled in the Medicaid program will have insurance coverage for eyeglasses, restoring a benefit cut during the Great Recession. Children are already eligible for the benefit. ___ GENDER \u2014 School districts must update former students\u2019 diplomas, GEDs or transcripts upon request to reflect the graduates\u2019 chosen names and genders. The law is intended to particularly help transgender graduates or those whose student records don\u2019t match their legal name. \u2014 Heterosexual couples can register as domestic partners as an alternative to marriage. California\u2019s 20-year-old domestic partnerships law previously applied only to same-sex couples, who at the time could not marry. Claim: New California laws help animals, fire victims, immigrants.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-152402e82fc44829b686ce1518774dfe", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Last month, the House, on a vote of 59-11, passed legislation that would make it a felony to attempt to strangle or choke someone, even if the attack did not result in any injury to the victim. The bill, H-5087, is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal is intended, in part, to make it easier to prosecute anyone who applies pressure on a person's throat or neck with the intent to cause harm. The chief advocate, Rep. Roberto DaSilva, a Pawtucket police officer, said he submitted it because he was seeing too many cases in which serious strangulation attempts would be prosecuted as misdemeanor simple assaults because the attack, although potentially fatal, didn't result in obvious signs of serious bodily injury. \"\"If you take a knife, swing it at someone and not strike them, that's a felony,\"\" he said. \"\"Under this law, strangulation itself would be a felony. When you have your hands around their throat, you've taken it to the next level. It's serious enough.\"\" But it was his assertion about the prevalence of the crime that caught our attention. \"\"Ten percent of violent deaths in the U.S. each year are due to strangulation,\"\" he said, adding that there are \"\"six female victims to every male victim.\"\" We wondered if the rate was really that high. DaSilva sent us a handful of documents. One was a 2001 article from the Journal of Emergency Medicine, which flatly stated that \"\"Ten percent of violent deaths each year in the United States are directly because of strangulation.\"\" Where did that statistic come from? Although the article has 35 footnotes, the \"\"ten percent\"\" statement carries no citation. Two of the three authors, Dr. George E. McClane and Gael B. Strack, a lawyer, have apparently been using this statistic for a while. DaSilva also directed us to a 1999 article in which McClane and Strack are quoted as making the same claim. Strack has repeated the statistic as recently as a 2007 article written to help prosecutors. In each case, there is no indication where the data come from. We emailed Strack, who is CEO of the Family Justice Center Alliance in San Diego; she told us it came from a paper written by McClane in 1995, which we found intriguing because no McClane research is cited in their 2001 article. Researchers are typically quick to cite their previous work each time they write a paper. We couldn't get an interview with McClane. The website of the Medical Board of California of the Department of Consumer Affairs said he surrendered his medical license in March after being found guilty of unprofessional conduct. His lawyer did not respond to an email. So we took another route. DaSilva had also sent us an article from 2007, also in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, saying that national data from 1993 showed that 11.8 percent of women and 1.9 percent of men who died that year were killed by strangulation. It didn't give an overall rate. So we went to the source: a 2003 article on firearm deaths by David Wiebe of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It says the strangulation rate that year was 3.4 percent. That's 1 in 29, not 1 in 10. But that 3.4 percent does not include all violence-related deaths, as DaSilva did. Suicides are excluded. If you include them, as the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control does when it catalogues all \"\"violence-related injury deaths,\"\" the rate is even lower -- about 1.4 percent, or 1 in 71. That same difference is echoed in the most recent federal data, where strangulation accounted for only about 1.2 percent of the violence-related deaths in 2007. If you only look at homicides, the rate rises, but only to 3.5 percent, still far shy of 10 percent. Only when we focused on women who have been murdered did the 10-percent figure apply. Wiebe directed us to the 1998 version of the database, where 448 of the 4,241 female homicide deaths were logged as being due to strangulation. That's 10.6 percent. We calculated a similar number for 2007. (The actual numbers show that there were not six female strangulation victims for every male, as DaSilva said. Because 448 women and 213 men died of strangulation in 2008, the actual ratio was 2 to 1. To hit a 6-to-1 ratio, you have to compare the percentages of homicide deaths due to strangulation -- 10.6 percent for women and 1.6 percent for men.) In short, the \"\"10 percent\"\" statistic cited by DaSilva has been bandied about at least since the 1990s. As presented, it is false. Federal data from 1993, 1998 and 2007 show that the percentage is significantly lower, whether or not you include suicides. It may be that the federal statistics are being repeatedly misrepresented, taking numbers that were only meant to apply to female homicides and expanding them to include all violent deaths, regardless of gender. If DaSilva had said that \"\"10 percent of all homicide deaths among women are due to strangulation\"\" and that \"\"women who are murdered are six times more likely to die of strangulation than men who are murdered,\"\" he would be on solid ground. But he didn't. In his defense, he was quoting sources that should be reliable. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, for one, failed to display adequate rigor by allowing the 10-percent estimate to appear without attribution. And DaSilva is trying to address what he sees as a serious problem, especially in domestic assaults on women. Deborah DeBare, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said her organization has been concerned for a few years that strangulation assaults are not being aggressively prosecuted, even though they \"\"are one of the most dangerous ways of attacking someone.\"\" And because they are often carried out by a coldly calculating assailant, she said, the hope is that the stronger threat of jail time might be a deterrent for some men. But we make our rulings based on whether a statement is actually true or false. (Get updates from PolitiFactRI on Twitter. To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)\" Claim: Ten percent of violent deaths in the U.S. each year are due to strangulation.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e37ac93649e04a2ba876edb3a2142879", + "input": "Paragraph: On April 28 2020, amid ongoing coverage of astroturfed anti-lockdown protests, a Facebook post claimed that\u00a0quarantine was intended to \u201crestrict the movement of sick people\u201d (archived here):White text against a red and blue background read:QUARANTINE IS WHEN YOU RESTRICT THE MOVEMENT OF SICK PEOPLETYRANNY IS WHEN YOU RESTRICT THE MOVEMENT OF HEALTHY PEOPLEA single word was added to the post, \u201cHmmm,\u201d implying that its content was something to ponder in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, this meme simply plays to larger public ignorance about both the meaning and purpose of a \u201cquarantine,\u201d as well as broad lack of understanding regarding the aim of social distancing measures.Quarantine DefinitionHere are some definitions of the word \u201cquarantine\u201d from various sources:Cambridge:a period of time during which an animal or person that might have a disease is kept away from other people or animals so that the disease cannot spread[. ]Merriam-Webster (a bit more expansive):1: a period of 40 days 2a: a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shore b: a regulation placing a ship in quarantine c: a place where a ship is detained during quarantine 3a: a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pestsMacmillan Dictionary:a situation in which a person or animal that might have a disease is kept separate from other people or animals so that they do not catch the disease in quarantine: Animals can be kept in quarantine for up to three months.Dictionary.com:noun a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease. a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease. a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease. the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.verb (used with object), quar\u00b7an\u00b7tined, quar\u00b7an\u00b7tin\u00b7ing. to put in or subject to quarantine. to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.You could also just Google it, and find this at the very top of the page:a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.Universally, \u201cquarantine\u201d is described as a condition placed upon people (or animals) who do or\u00a0may\u00a0have disease; a common trait in definitions for specific reasons.Quarantines in Recent HistoryHistorical quarantine signs from past epidemics are available for perusal through various web outlets, such as one from the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic:As we explained in a separate April 2020 fact check, an influenza pandemic in 1918 and 1919 killed millions of people and spread in a deadlier second wave in late 1918:Did the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Kill 20 to 30 Million, While the First Wave Killed 3 to 5 Million?Although the sign embedded above is not easy to read, it\u2019s clear that \u201cmovie houses,\u201d \u201cchurches,\u201d and \u201cchapels\u201d were among places closed to the ill and healthy alike during that pandemic.The Larger History of QuarantineQuarantine as we know it likely dated back to the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), the word\u2019s etymological roots come from the Italian phrase for\u00a0\u201cforty days\u201d:The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which mean 40 days. [\u2026]State and local governments made sporadic attempts to impose quarantine requirements. Continued outbreaks of yellow fever finally prompted Congress to pass federal quarantine legislation in 1878. This legislation, while not conflicting with states\u2019 rights, paved the way for federal involvement in quarantine activities.As the CDC explained, the 1948 Public Health Service Act (PHSA) influenced modern pandemic management. That legislation \u201cgave the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) responsibility for preventing the introduction, transmission, and spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the United States.\u201dOnce again, the goal of quarantine was to prevent transmission \u2014 not only from the sick, but also from those who had not yet fallen ill from those who were asymptomatic. Further, preventing \u201cthe spread of communicable disease\u201d also involved the movements of healthy people who might contract the disease and themselves become vectors.On a separate page in its series of quarantine-related resources for public education (\u201cLegal Authorities for Isolation and Quarantine\u201d), the CDC outlined the purposes of \u201cquarantine\u201d and \u201cisolation\u201d:Isolation and quarantine help protect the public by preventing exposure to people who have or may have a contagious disease.\u2022 Isolation separates sick people with a quarantinable communicable disease from people who are not sick. \u2022 Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.To reiterate, \u201cisolation\u201d referred to known infected and ill people, and separating them from the general public. \u201cQuarantine\u201d specifically referred to the \u201cmovement of people \u2026 exposed to a contagious disease\u201d to see if they fall ill. Quarantine when contrasted with isolation was, again, for people who had\u00a0not yet become sick, to prevent the spread of sickness by people infected but not ill.The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided a nearly identical resource defining \u201cquarantine\u201d and \u201cisolation\u201d for the purposes of public health, adding:\u2022 Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. \u2022 Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. These people may have been exposed to a disease and do not know it, or they may have the disease but do not show symptoms.As of April 27 2020, that descriptor could easily be applied to Americans under \u201cstay at home\u201d or \u201cshelter in place\u201d orders. Those people \u201cmay have been exposed\u201d and \u201cnot know it,\u201d or they \u201cmay have the disease\u201d and not show symptoms.Asymptomatic Novel Coronavirus Carriers and the Necessity of QuarantineAs of April 3 2020, reports indicated a full 25 percent of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) were fully asymptomatic \u2014 a big deal number. And those people likely\u00a0never become ill to begin with:According to Robert Redfield, the director of the [CDC], 25 percent of people infected with the new coronavirus don\u2019t present any symptoms or fall ill but can still transmit the illness to others.And you may have heard the term \u201cnovel coronavirus,\u201d which alludes to the fact this strain of coronavirus is completely new\u00a0(which has led to its own genre of disinformation and misinformation); researchers are constantly learning new and important things about how it infects and spreads. That is why less than a month later on April 24 2020, the estimate of asymptomatic carriers rose to as many as fifty percent.If we view that information through the lens of the history of quarantine, it\u2019s important to bear in mind it started due to an inability to test for or treat carriers of previous illnesses during pandemics or epidemics.It is also true that some protested against those historical measures, too \u2014 either a result of not understanding or refusing to understand why quarantine was important:In some countries, the suspension of personal liberty provided the opportunity\u2014using special laws\u2014to stop political opposition. However, the cultural and social context differed from that in previous centuries. For example, the increasing use of quarantine and isolation conflicted with the affirmation of citizens\u2019 rights and growing sentiments of personal freedom fostered by the French Revolution of 1789. In England, liberal reformers contested both quarantine and compulsory vaccination against smallpox. Social and political tensions created an explosive mixture, culminating in popular rebellions and uprisings, a phenomenon that affected numerous European countries. In the Italian states, in which revolutionary groups had taken the cause of unification and republicanism, cholera epidemics provided a justification (i.e., the enforcement of sanitary measures) for increasing police power.A lack of testing and ability to treat the ill were a driving force behind prior quarantine orders.Only One Percent of Americans Have Been Tested for Novel CoronavirusAlthough statistics changed daily, as of April 22 2020, only one percent of Americans had been tested for the virus which caused COVID-19:At least 4,163,464 people in the U.S. have been tested, as of [April 22 2020]. This amounts to around 1.2 percent of the country\u2019s population of nearly 332,639,000.The Math on ThatWe are not mathematicians. But we don\u2019t need to be to point out that if just over one percent of Americans had been tested for novel coronavirus as of late April 2020, and 25 to 50 percent of the infected would never be sickened, the need to quarantine or restrict the movement of the possibly infected perhaps becomes apparent.TL;DRA Facebook meme asserted \u201cQUARANTINE IS WHEN YOU RESTRICT THE MOVEMENT OF SICK PEOPLE, TYRANNY IS WHEN YOU RESTRICT THE MOVEMENT OF HEALTHY PEOPLE,\u201d and it demonstrated lack of knowledge about the pandemic on myriad levels.Historically and through 2020, quarantine was never designed to apply to \u201csick people\u201d; the word for that is\u00a0isolation. Quarantine, by contrast, was for people who\u00a0might have been exposed to an infectious disease, for the duration of the time that they might pass the disease on to others. Finally, 25 to 50 percent of coronavirus carriers never get sick, and just over one percent of Americans had been tested as of April 2020. The meme was not only ignorant, but dangerously so \u2014 in fact, it ought to be quarantined until it can no longer do harm.Comments Claim: Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-768e7f09c7c6403a8b9613779ee448fd", + "input": "Paragraph: \"On April 20 2020, purported \u201chot mic\u201d footage from a White House coronavirus press briefing\u00a0appeared and quickly began circulating \u2014 involving discussion of what seemed to be fudged case-fatality rate numbers as well as the existence of a vaccine for the well-connected:Very Interesting exchange Caught on (GST HOT MIC) between FAKE NEWS @FoxNews @johnrobertsFox and a FAKE NEWS Tech at Todays White House Press Briefing!#coronavirus #WhiteHousePressBriefing #TrumpPressConf @realDonaldTrump @DanScavino FULL pic.twitter.com/D624MnmgcL\u2014 Golden State Times \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Goldstatetimes) April 21, 2020\"\"Everybody here has been vaccinated anyway\"\" \u2014 caught on tape. https://t.co/ziXR8525yI\u2014 Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) April 21, 2020BOMBSHELL: Hot Mic At White House CoronaVirus Press Briefing \u2018Everybody Here\u2019s Already Been Vaccinated\u2019 and MORE Bombs Inside https://t.co/CZahiuogYA pic.twitter.com/QtoOCCmbaK\u2014 Matt Couch \ud83c\udf99 (@RealMattCouch) April 21, 2020\u201cEveryone here has been vaccinated\u201d What in the world? Hot Mic before @realDonaldTrump press conference #coronavirusbriefing #coronavirus #vaccine #AnthonyFauci #CDC pic.twitter.com/7HK6T3euyb\u2014 Nate Medeiros (@NateMedeiros_) April 21, 2020Omg !!! Please retweet\u2019s and share away please !!! https://t.co/St6uEsH6H8\u2014 Rebecca Martin (@therealblondie7) April 21, 2020\u201cSo It Was A Hoax?\u201d \u2013 Fox News\u2019 John Roberts Caught On Hot Mic Discussing COVID-19 Mortality Rate With Technician #coronavirus #covid19 #foxnews #johnroberts #hotmic #hoax #vaccine #whitehousebriefinghttps://t.co/8Vl1v27rwm\u2014 The Clover Chronicle (@CloverChron) April 21, 2020When, Where, Who, and WhatAccording to the rumors, a \u201chot mic\u201d recording the period prior to April 20 2020\u2019s White House coronavirus briefing captured a \u201cvery interesting\u201d exchange. One of the two people speaking was Fox News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts.What\u2019s a Hot Mic?A \u201chot mic\u201d in this context is \u201ca microphone which amplifies the remarks of someone who does not know that it is on.\u201dAs such, the exchange in question was interpreted by the above Twitter users as one intended to be private, inadvertently amplified to an audience without the speakers\u2019 awareness the discussion was recorded.Source for the VideoOne of several streams recording the daily White House briefing about COVID-19 \u2014 accessible in a lengthy Facebook video \u2014 included the exchange. Shorter clips became available, but WPMI\u2018s clip below included the exchange, roughly twelve minutes in.Roberts is seen conversing with a man wearing a facemask for several seconds in that clip.The Man in the Mask on the Coronavirus Hot Mic VideoPer Mediate, the second individual was\u00a0New York Times photographer Doug Mills.Coronavirus Hot Mic Video TranscriptionDue to the informal nature of the exchange, no formal transcription existed.However, a forum user endeavored to transcribe the discussion, which began with Roberts addressing Mills\u2019 mask; Mills quipped that \u201ceveryone here has been vaccinated anyway\u201d:You can take off the mask Doug, the base mortality rate\u2019s like point 1 to point 3 according to USC.\u201d\u201cIs it really? That\u2019s reassuring \u2026 Everybody here\u2019s been vaccinated anyway.\u201dRoberts continued, referencing a recent study with controversial and preliminary findings:\u201cUSC in LA county public health has come out with a study. They found that there\u2019s 7,000 cases in California, but they really believe that there are anywhere between 221,000 to 442,000 people who were infected.\u201cReally?\u201d\u201cYeah.\u201d\u201cSo that makes it zero point 1 to zero point 3?\u201d\u201cYup.\u201d\u201cIs the study come out < inaudible > ?\u201d\u201cYeah, just came in today.\u201d\u201cSo it suggests that the case fatality rate is about of a tenth of what it seems to be.\u201d\u201cPuts it right in line with the flu.\u201d\u201cYeah exactly that\u2019s what it is, the flu.\u201d\u201cSo it\u2019s a hoax!\u201d\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a hoax.\u201d\u201cHa ha ha.\u201d\u201cHa ha ha ha.\u201dRoberts and the Coronavirus Case-Fatality Rate StudyIncidentally, Roberts tweeted about the same research that day \u2014 April 20 2020:New @USC and \u2066@lapublichealth\u2069 study suggests a coronavirus case fatality rate of .1 to .3 pic.twitter.com/th8Sld0ifl\u2014 John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) April 20, 2020Again, the research was preliminary and novel:By April 7 [2020], 55 (98.2%) of the 56 jurisdictions reporting COVID-19 cases also reported at least one related death (Table); however, approximately half (52.7%) of all deaths (12,757) were reported from three jurisdictions: NYC (4,111), New York (1,378), and New Jersey (1,232) (Figure 3). Other jurisdictions reporting \u2265300 deaths included Michigan (845), Louisiana (582), Washington (394), Illinois (380), California (374), Massachusetts (356), and Georgia (351). Case-fatality ratios ranged from 0.7% in Utah to 5.7% in Kentucky.\u201cEverybody Here\u2019s Been Vaccinated Anyway.\u201dPerhaps one of the most discussed elements of the viral coronavirus hot mic video was the snippet \u201ceverybody here\u2019s been vaccinated anyway,\u201d interpreted as an allusion to a vaccine for COVID-19 available only to the well-connected.The timeline for an anticipated COVID-19 vaccine is a major part of coronavirus news, and we discussed it on our page about the influential Imperial College London report; that report was published on March 16 2020, and it informed the introduction of \u201cstay at home\u201d or \u201cshelter in place\u201d orders:Imperial College London\u2019s COVID-19 Report, ExplainedThat report went into the wait for a vaccine \u2014 and why there was any wait at all. Those non-negotiable elements were again discussed in\u00a0U.S. News and World Report\u2018s April 7 2020 article, \u201cWhy Will It Take So Long for a COVID-19 Vaccine?\u201dIn short, it was in the best interests of everyone that the general public be vaccinated at the earliest moment possible. But the realities of vaccine development meant it would take a significant amount of time to actually produce a vaccine:Public health officials have been warning that a COVID-19 vaccine will not be available to the public for 12 to 18 months, dampening hopes that there will be a quick end to the global pandemic nightmare.But Chinese researchers cracked the virus\u2019 genetic code within weeks of its emergence late last year, and two vaccine candidates are already in early human trials \u2014 one in China and the other in the United States.What\u2019s the holdup?Essentially, you can speed up the vaccine development process to respond to a pandemic, but you don\u2019t want to speed it up so much that you allow a bad vaccine to enter the market, explained Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic\u2019s Vaccine Research Group.\u201cThe process of developing, testing and licensing a vaccine for widespread population use is designed to be slow, deliberative, peer-reviewed, reflective, evidence-based, so that we don\u2019t make mistakes,\u201d Poland said.Going too fast could lead to a vaccine that\u2019s not effective or, worse, can cause serious health problems, Poland said.That means that the vaccine\u2019s early recipients would also be its test subjects \u2014 the delay in introducing a new vaccine was safety-related. The wealthy and well-connected might get first crack at a viable vaccine, but a viable vaccine was still months away when Mills and Roberts had their sarcastic exchange.Further, the well-connected and famous are unlikely to be the same people on which any new COVID-19 vaccine is\u00a0tested.White House Coronavirus \u2018Hot Mic\u2019 Video, in SummationOn April 20 2020, White House coronavirus pre-briefing streams captured a clearly sarcastic \u201chot mic\u201d exchange between Roberts (of Fox News) and Mills (a\u00a0Times photographer); arguably Mills and Roberts were well aware the briefing room was wired and the pair were not exchanging closely-guarded state secrets. Roberts referenced a study about which he also tweeted, but the study in no way altered the known case-fatality rate for COVID-19. Mills\u2019 joke about reporters and White House staffers being \u201cvaccinated anyway\u201d seemed to play to the room and the setting, a quip squarely satirizing COVID-19 conspiracies. In any event, the clip read as a covert conversation captured and disseminated before it could be \u201cscrubbed,\u201d when in actuality it was clearly two journalists employing dark humor during a tongue-in-cheek discussion about a global pandemic.Comments\" Claim: \"Hot mic\"\" video from a White House coronavirus briefing revealed a far lower \"\"real\"\" case-fatality rate, as well as the existence of a vaccine provided to the government and the press corps (but not you.)\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-1e2ba68129d94c89ab973517caaa9906", + "input": "Paragraph: \"According to a chain email making the rounds, people over 75 years old will be denied cancer treatment under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, after President Barack Obama. The email also states that vitamin B12 shots won\u2019t be covered under Medicare because of Obamacare. Also, your primary care physician will have to admit you into a hospital -- as opposed to, oh let\u2019s say, an emergency care doctor -- or Medicare won\u2019t pay for it, again, because of Obamacare. Here\u2019s a portion of the chain email, which a reader in Northeast Portland forwarded to PolitiFact Oregon, with a plea for more information. She said it came from a friend: \"\"Your hospital Medicare admittance has just changed under Obama Care. You must be admitted by your primary Physician in order for Medicare to pay for it! If you are admitted by an emergency room doctor it is treated as outpatient care where hospital costs are not covered. This is only the tip of the iceberg for Obama Care. Just wait to see what happens in 2013 & 2014! \u2026 (ellipses) Please for the sake of many good people, please... pass this on. We all need to be informed. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS... At age 76 when you most need it, you are not eligible for cancer treatment page \u00a0272.\"\" The email goes on with a long list of other claims as assessed by a Judge David Kithil of Marble Falls, Texas. PolitiFact Oregon hopped to it. And we learned very quickly -- through the power of the Internet -- that a version of this chain email has been kicking around since 2009, based on H.R. 3200, a 2009 bill that did not become law. Many of the claims have been debunked. In fact, FactCheck.org found just four of the 48 claims in the original email to be accurate. PolitiFact ruled two statements to be . The chain email has morphed over the years, with new assertions added. As for the cancer-related statement, the email cites page 272 of H.R. 3200 to back up its assertion that seniors at 76 are not eligible for cancer treatment. Later, the email specifies that under Section 1145 of H.R. 3200, \"\"cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age.\"\" Neither statement is accurate. There is no rationing, based on age or otherwise, on cancer treatment under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010. Likewise, there is no rationing or cut-off age in 2009\u2019s H.R. 3200. H.R. 3200 contained a section on \"\"treatment of certain cancer hospitals.\"\" But the American Nurses Association described the section as \u00a0\"\"the opposite of rationing. The section allows Medicare to pay cancer hospitals more if they are incurring higher costs.\"\" FactCheck.org agrees with the nurses group. And again, the bill never became law. \"\"All medically necessary treatment is covered by Medicare. Including cancer treatments, regardless of age,\"\" said Katherine Fitzpatrick with the Medicare Rights Center in Washington, D.C. and in New York. Yet, none of the debunking seems to matter, because four years later, the email lives on via the forward button. The Internet is unstoppable. What, we wondered, did the Texas judge think of his undying notoriety? \"\"I wish it would die. I can\u2019t control it,\"\" David Kithil told PolitiFact Oregon. \"\"I don\u2019t know how something like that goes viral like that.\"\" The former judge said he wrote a letter to his local newspaper in 2009, protesting the initial version of the health care act. The letter was published in the River Cities Daily Tribune, circulation 5,000. Somehow, he said, the letter was republished online. Kithil wants readers to disregard his letter as it is outdated and based on legislation that did not become law. \"\"I\u2019ve had calls from all over the country, 300 to 400 calls over three or four years on this,\"\" he said. He pleads with the callers, \"\"Don\u2019t pass it on. It\u2019s not accurate anymore. Trash it.\"\" He says he still has problems with the Affordable Care Act, but that\u2019s neither here nor there. Both the Medicare Rights Center and AARP, the national organization for seniors, verified that hospital admittance has to do with billing under parts A or B of Medicare, the government health plan for seniors 65 and older. The Affordable Care Act reduces Medicare payments to hospitals with readmissions within 30 days for certain conditions, such as pneumonia, but that\u2019s not based on who admits the patient. Also, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid says Medicare has never covered vitamin B12 shots as a preventive benefit. Again, this isn\u2019t related to the Affordable Care Act. Older patients diagnosed with cancer need not worry that treatment will be rationed or denied under the Affordable Care Act. The claim is based on an inaccurate reading of a bill that went nowhere. We don\u2019t know where or how the specific age of 76 was added -- Kithil said he doesn\u2019t remember including a specific age in his letter. But we do know enough to rule this widely debunked and ridiculous-on-its-face statement a .\" Claim: \"Chain email Says \"\"At age 76 when you most need it, you are not eligible for cancer treatment\"\" under Affordable Care Act.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-15dc7f3d131b4e6195bb34a64118758c", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The mid-pandemic election in Wisconsin yielded no shortage of bizarre storylines. But a noteworthy one emerged late in the day when President Donald Trump tried to put himself at the center of a debate over whether the election should have even been held as scheduled. The April 7, 2020, contest featured a Democratic presidential primary and a Wisconsin Supreme Court race between conservative-backed Daniel Kelly and liberal-backed Jill Karofsky, as well as numerous local elections. At his daily briefing that day, Trump connected his endorsement of Kelly to Gov. Tony Evers\u2019 last-minute attempt to change the election. The implication was Democrats thought they\u2019d have a better chance of boosting Karofsky by extending the election period. Here\u2019s an excerpt of Trump\u2019s extended discussion on the topic: \"\"(Wisconsin Democrats) didn't want to move the election. As soon as I endorsed him, the Wisconsin Democrats say, \u2018Oh, let's move the election to two months later, three.\u2019 They didn't mind having the election until I endorsed him, which is very interesting.\"\" So Trump is saying his endorsement caused Evers to try moving the election back two months. Let\u2019s take a closer look at that timeline. In case you lost track of the election back-and-forth, the basics are these: Evers had said for weeks he didn\u2019t have the authority to move the election on his own. Then on Friday \u2014 four days before the election \u2014 he called on the Republican Legislature to switch to an all-mail election that would allow votes to come in through May 19, 2020. He also ordered a special session of the Legislature for the following day to take up the matter. The state Assembly and Senate both gaveled out of that session in seconds, without taking action. Then, 18 hours before polls opened, Evers issued an order to delay the election to June 9, 2020. Republicans appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where the conservative majority overturned Evers\u2019 order, clearing the way to hold the election. Trump is claiming his endorsement of Kelly was a pivotal moment in this back-and-forth. Trump sent a tweet at 12:12 p.m. April 3, 2020, saying Kelly has his \"\"complete endorsement.\"\" Evers\u2019 call for a mail-in election was released about an hour later. But that\u2019s a coincidence. Here\u2019s why Trump is wrong. Evers\u2019 call at that point was not to move the election by two months, but to switch the format to mail-in only and extend the deadline to May. The attempt to move the in-person election to June didn\u2019t come until several days later. And the Evers\u2019 administration had been moving toward that mail-in announcement well before Trump\u2019s tweet, including calls to Republican leaders, said Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. But there\u2019s a much more glaring oversight from Trump. He had already endorsed Kelly several months earlier. At a rally in Milwaukee on Jan. 14, 2020, Trump urged his supporters to \"\"go vote for Justice Daniel Kelly to defend the rule of law.\"\" At that time, of course, coronavirus was barely a blip on the national radar. And it was the pandemic that fueled the back-and-forth over Wisconsin\u2019s election, not a repeat of a prior endorsement. In a statement later on Election Day, Evers said Trump was not a factor in his decision-making. \"\"I don\u2019t pay any attention to who the president endorses,\"\" the governor said. \"\"Frankly, my focus right now is on keeping the people of this state safe, and that\u2019s why I issued an executive order to extend Wisconsin\u2019s election date and make sure everyone could vote safely from home.\"\" Trump claims his endorsement of Kelly caused the Wisconsin attempts to push the election back until June. That\u2019s not at all how it happened. Trump had already endorsed Kelly back in January. And in any case, the action from Evers that coincidentally followed Trump\u2019s reiterated endorsement on Twitter was to shift to a mail-in election, not to move the whole election by several months. That leaves us with a claim that is both false and ridiculous.\" Claim: \u201cAs soon as I endorsed (Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly), the Wisconsin Democrats said, let\u2019s move the election to two months later.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-6bbc24ec3fd14263bca3a54e242fc8d7", + "input": "Paragraph: The article doesn\u2019t discuss what the study authors new \u201cway\u201d of assessment might add in the way of costs. The story didn\u2019t provide any data to give a sense of the potential benefit of the new approach. No numbers were given to explain how well it worked. Because there is so little information about the imaging technique and what it requires, it\u2019s hard to say what the harms or benefits might be, but certainly the story might have mentioned the potential risk of drug intervention (or non-intervention) if the inflammatory cell \u201cmarker\u201d is valid as a predictor of heart attack risk. Also, it would have been worth discussing if the new imaging technique exposes patients to radiation, which has been shown to increase the risk of cancer if used repeatedly. The story does not adequately establish the quality of the evidence, except to indicate that more research is needed, implying that this is preliminary work. From the journal article itself: \u00a0\u201cThe main limitation of this study is the lack of data demonstrating a predictive value of these imaging markers for clinical outcomes, which falls beyond the scope of this current work.\u201d There was no such caveat in the news story. Rather, the headline trumpets that it \u201cMay Predict Heart Attacks.\u201d No disease mongering here. The story stated that \u201cabout 750,000 Americans have a heart attack every year.\u201d The article appears to quote only those who conducted the study. The article does describe current means of assessing heart attack risk, as well as some interventions (surgical and medical) to address those risks. However, the article doesn\u2019t mention how this new technique would stack up against standard\u00a0tests\u00a0like stress tests or nuclear perfusion scans. There also is the option of simply treating people with risk factors and not utilizing imaging tests. The story explains that more research is needed before the technology might be available to everyone. The story focuses on the use of inflammatory heart tissue as having potentially better predictive value than current risk assessment tools for heart attack. But it\u2019s a reluctant satisfactory, because the narrative is confusing and no\u00a0numbers were given to estimate the scope of the potential benefit\u2013how well the new approach worked. We could not locate a release from the University of Oxford or Science Translational Medicine. Claim: New Heart Imaging Method May Predict Heart Attack", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-0864a5e2cd174b4ab3b0b4328f1d1ac8", + "input": "Paragraph: Attorney and Democratic state Sen. Jacob Candelaria recently filed a lawsuit in state district court on behalf of Joe Montano, who said authorities recently seized his medical cannabis, KOAT-TV reports. According to court documents, correctional officers searched Montano\u2019s home while he was on house arrest, found the marijuana, and put him in jail for a month as punishment. The petition is seeking a judge to order the jail to allow him to possess and use his medical marijuana. State lawmakers passed a measure last year to allow people on house arrest to use medical marijuana. In a statement, Metropolitan Detention Center Chief of Corrections Ralph Fernadez said Community Custody Program inmates are considered in jail custody, and medical marijuana use is prohibited in the detention center. Claim: New Mexico man in house arrest sues to use medical marijuana.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d411e06a0fd04b59839620c9d2e5bec1", + "input": "Paragraph: \"A startling Obamacare claim swept from blog to blog last week: \"\"SHOCKING: Obamacare Provision Will Allow \u2018Forced\u2019 Home Inspections.\"\" One blogger used a photo of armed officers entering a cottage, with the overline, \"\"We\u2019re from the government and we\u2019re here to raid your home.\"\" Another said \"\"this is why the IRS has been training with AR-15s.\"\" A reader sent us a post from BenSwann.com, \"\"Obamacare provision: \u2018Forced\u2019 home inspections.\"\" He wondered if it were true. So did we. South Carolina\u2019s concern \"\"Forced home inspections\"\"? Um, no. The flurry originated with BenSwann.com blogger Joshua Cook on Aug. 13. He picked up the phrase \"\"forced home inspections\"\" from a state lawmaker in South Carolina. Back in March, as a group of state legislators discussed a bill to fight the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Rick Quinn offered a specific example of something in the law that worried him: \"\"The forced home inspections that I\u2019ve heard about.\"\" Cook was there. And the comment nagged him. He noticed people weren\u2019t really writing about the issue. \"\"It's just been bothering me,\"\" he told PolitiFact. So he wrote about it last week, talking with an attorney who spoke at the committee hearing and posting a video clip of Quinn\u2019s comment. \"\"The point is South Carolina legislators believe it, and are convinced this is going to happen,\"\" Cook told us. Quinn, indeed, had added an amendment to the South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act to prevent state workers from conducting any \"\"involuntary \u2026 in-home visitation.\"\" It passed the House, but the Senate didn\u2019t have a chance to vote. Cook says lawmakers hope to revive the legislation in the next session. But that Obamacare program that worries Quinn? It already is \u2014 by statute \u2014 voluntary. There\u2019s literally nothing to suggest raids or weapons. Home visiting programs Concerned bloggers pointed to an Obamacare-funded grant program for \"\"maternal, infant and early childhood home visiting.\"\" In 2011, the government announced $224 million in funding. Most of those grants are going to health departments \u2014 none, so far, in South Carolina. The idea: fund visits from nurses and social workers to high-risk families to help them develop skills to keep kids healthy, get them ready for school, and prevent child abuse and neglect. Home-visit programs already existed in 40 states. But to Kent Masterson Brown, a health care litigator invited by South Carolina lawmakers to help them avoid implementing Obamacare, the programs suggest overzealous nonprofits telling parents how to raise their children without their consent. Brown raises the specter of a home-schooling family subject to \"\"intervention\"\" for school readiness, their children forced into schools and onto medications and vaccines. \"\"The federal government will now set the standards for raising children and will enforce them by home visits,\"\" he wrote about the law. But consent is built into the program. A home visitor could no more compel a family to vaccinate kids than a pediatrician could, said Kay Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School who\u2019s one of the nation\u2019s experts on state home visiting policy. Here\u2019s what the Affordable Care Act says: Home-visiting programs must assure they\u2019ll have procedures that ensure \"\"the participation of each eligible family in the program is voluntary.\"\" Here\u2019s how that might work, according to Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, who supports such programs. A low-income mom gets her prenatal care at a community health center. Her doctor asks if she would like visits from a nurse after the baby comes to offer tips and answer questions. Mom could say yes \u2014 or no. It\u2019s like the old days of health care, Rosenbaum said, when nurses would visit families to show how to breastfeed, sterilize bottles, care for babies and cope when you\u2019re exhausted. \"\"It's real health education in the home, is the purpose of it,\"\" she said. Such programs have a long history backed by peer-reviewed research, she said. They work. \"\"They make sure that you don't go home to nothing. It's done to help families, not to police them.\"\" A classic randomized trial in Elmira, N.Y., showed nurse visits to families of newborns reduced child abuse and neglect, even years later. They also reduced government spending for low-income unmarried women. Brown, the lawyer, says he\u2019s concerned families have no protection from social workers. He\u2019s concerned workers won\u2019t be well-trained and will overstep families\u2019 rights. Nobody should knock on your door without a badge, he said. \"\"What I see in this is a monster, frankly. And you can quote me on that,\"\" he said. That\u2019s the fear. The law, however, specifies that programs be voluntary, their staffs trained and supervised, and the home-visiting models they follow based on strong research. Any \"\"forced home inspection\"\" wouldn\u2019t be under the law \u2014 it would be in direct opposition to it. And if a family welcomed help but later decided it made them uncomfortable? Samantha Miller, a spokeswoman for the U.S. agency administering the program, said families could stop accepting services \"\"without consequence at any time and for any reason.\"\" Our ruling Bloggers passed around a claim last week that a provision of the new health care law will allow \"\"forced\"\" home inspections by government agents. But the program they pointed to provides grants for voluntary help to at-risk families from trained staff like nurses and social workers. What bloggers describe would be an egregious abuse of the law \u2014 not what\u2019s allowed by it.\" Claim: \"Obamacare provision will allow \"\"forced\u00a0home inspections\"\" by government agents.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8a56f0d5c4bc437bb47585d676c3739b", + "input": "Paragraph: Once the captain announced their vessel may be tainted with coronavirus, Grand Princess cruise ship guests like Kathleen Reid were left with little to do but contemplate the prospect of extended isolation at sea, or worse. \u201cMy first reaction was, \u2018Oh, crap. We\u2019re going to be quarantined, and maybe get sick,\u2019\u201d Reid, 67, a retiree from Granbury, Texas said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening, so we\u2019re just kind of in limbo, waiting.\u201d Reid, who spoke to Reuters by cell phone on Thursday, was one of some 2,300 passengers stuck with about 1,100 crew members aboard the Grand Princess, idled off the coast of California a day after the ship was denied entry to its home port in San Francisco. Like the Diamond Princess, the liner held in quarantine off Japan last month, the Grand Princess is owned by a unit of Carnival Corp, the world\u2019s largest cruise operator. Experts have criticized Japanese bureaucrats\u2019 handling of the onboard quarantine, as ultimately about 700 people were infected and six have died in what was at the time the largest concentration of coronavirus cases outside China. California Governor Gavin Newsom insisted that the Grand Princess remain at sea until passengers and crew complaining of flu-like symptoms during a 15-day roundtrip cruise to Hawaii could be tested for possible coronavirus infection. On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard airlifted a batch of diagnostic kits to the ship via helicopter, and public health officials said samples collected would be flown back to a San Francisco Bay Area state laboratory for testing. Results were expected in about 24 hours, said Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the city\u2019s Department of Emergency Management. State and local officials acted after learning that 35 people aboard the ship had fallen ill, and that two passengers who had traveled on the same vessel for a voyage last month between San Francisco and Mexico later tested positive for coronavirus. One, an elderly man from Placer County near Sacramento with underlying health conditions, died this week, marking the first documented coronavirus fatality in California. The other, from the Bay area, was described by Newsom as gravely sick. Health officials say both individuals likely contracted the virus while they were aboard the ocean liner. The Princess cruise line said fewer than 100 passengers and crew from the Hawaii voyage of its Grand Princess have been identified for testing, including those who were ill. Tests will also be given to dozens of holdover passengers from the Mexico trip who stayed on the ship for the voyage to Hawaii, as well as \u201cguests currently under care for respiratory illness,\u201d the cruise line said in a statement. They will remain quarantined on the ship until cleared by medical staff. Specialists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were working with local health authorities and the Coast Guard to coordinate the operation. They also were seeking to contact some 2,500 passengers who disembarked in San Francisco on Feb. 21 after the earlier cruise to Mexico. One of them, a Canadian woman from the province of Alberta, tested positive for the virus this week, health officials there said. Princess Cruises has canceled the next scheduled departure of its Grand Princess Hawaii voyage from San Francisco, which had been set for March 7. Passengers on the current cruise, meanwhile, were forced to make do with a rapidly shrinking choice of amusements. Having already lost access to many of the ship\u2019s favorite attractions - the bar, casino, shops, food buffet and gym - guests were also urged to practice \u201csocial distancing,\u201d making an effort to keep at least 6 feet away from strangers on the ship, the company said. By midday on Thursday, they were asked to confine themselves to their staterooms until further notice. It was unclear what would occur should anyone now aboard the ship test positive for the respiratory virus, which has infected more than 95,000 people worldwide, most of them in China, where the outbreak originated. \u201cOnce we have results from the tests, the CDC and the state will determine the most appropriate location for the ship to berth, and the location needs to provide for the safety of the surrounding community as well as the passengers and crew,\u201d Carroll told reporters on Thursday. She said the ship might be directed to an arrival point other than San Francisco. Reid, who is traveling with her husband, said the ship\u2019s captain was keeping passengers informed of developments throughout the day with announcements every couple of hours, and that fellow guests seemed to be taking the uncertainty mostly in stride. \u201cPeople are, I\u2019m sure, a little anxious, but nobody has just gone screaming mad yet,\u201d Reid said, adding she had seen no obvious signs of anyone being sick. \u201cHand-washing is a big deal,\u201d she said, but \u201cnobody is walking around sneezing or coughing.\u201d Claim: Cruise ship passengers 'in limbo' off San Francisco awaiting coronavirus tests.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ee72081e92d645cfae3aba02c015da83", + "input": "Paragraph: Such a test could initially be used to select patients for clinical trials of experimental treatments being developed to try to halt progression of Alzheimer\u2019s, the researchers said, and may one day move into routine use in doctors\u2019 clinics. \u201cAlzheimer\u2019s begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed (and) many of our drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs the brain has already been too severely affected,\u201d said Simon Lovestone of Oxford University, who led this work from King\u2019s College London. \u201cA simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments,\u201d he said. Alzheimer\u2019s is the most common form of dementia, a brain-wasting disease which in 2010 was estimated to be costing the world $604 billion a year. The fatal disease affects 44 million people worldwide, with the number set to triple by 2050, the campaign group Alzheimer\u2019s Disease International says. Several big pharma firms including Roche, Eli Lilly, Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson, are pursuing various approaches to get to the root cause of Alzheimer\u2019s and try to find treatments to halt its progression. Yet over the past 15 years, more than 100 experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drugs have failed in trial. Lovestone and other experts believe this may be because drug trials are conducted too late, in patients whose condition has already gone too far. A predictive test for use before people develop symptoms would help researchers select the right people for drug trials, and help show whether the experimental drugs are working. Previous studies have found that PET brain scans and tests of lumbar fluid can be used to predict the onset of dementia from people with a less severe condition known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but these tests are expensive and invasive, so scientists are keen to develop a cheaper, simpler blood test. MCI includes problems with day-to-day memory, language and attention. It can be an early sign of dementia, or a symptom of stress or anxiety. Around 10 percent of people diagnosed with MCI develop dementia within a year. Apart from regular assessments to measure memory decline, there is currently no accurate way of predicting who will or won\u2019t develop dementia. For this study, published in the journal Alzheimer\u2019s & Dementia, Lovestone\u2019s team used blood samples from 1,148 people - 476 with Alzheimer\u2019s, 220 with mild cognitive impairment and 452 elderly controls without dementia. They were analyzed for 26 proteins previously found to be linked with Alzheimer\u2019s. The team found 16 of these 26 proteins to be strongly associated with brain shrinkage in either MCI or Alzheimer\u2019s and then ran a second series of tests to see which of these could predict which patients would progress from MCI to Alzheimer\u2019s. With this second series, they found a combination of 10 proteins capable of predicting with 87 percent accuracy whether people with MCI would develop Alzheimer\u2019s disease within a year. Experts in the field welcomed the results but said they should be replicated in larger studies before an Alzheimer\u2019s blood test could be rolled out for use in doctors\u2019 clinics. \u201cThe results reported today are interesting, but as the authors point out there is still a very large amount of work remaining until a usable blood test for Alzheimer\u2019s disease becomes available,\u201d said Adrian Pini of the MRC Center for Developmental Neurobiology at King\u2019s College London. James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer\u2019s Society, said the research \u201cdoes not mean that a blood test for dementia is just around the corner\u201d. \u201cThese 10 proteins can predict conversion to dementia with less than 90 percent accuracy, meaning one in 10 people would get an incorrect result,\u201d he said. \u201cAccuracy would need to be improved before it could be a useful diagnostic test.\u201d Claim: Study paves the way for a blood test to predict Alzheimer's.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a9c5bfa8090d488292541662121f5949", + "input": "Paragraph: On June 9 2020, Facebook user Xavier Dillingham shared\u00a0the following Twitter screenshots, which purportedly showed Google search results for the terms \u201cprofessional hairstyles men,\u201d \u201cunprofessional hairstyles men,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u201cprofessional hairstyles women,\u201d and \u201cunprofessional hairstyles women\u201d:Dillingham included screenshots of tweets by @Denzel_Success and @dave_fieri with a visible date on one of June 6 2020:It\u2019s deeper than police brutality https://t.co/6bJKhJa1w3\u2014 DENZEL SMITH (@Denzel_Success) June 6, 2020Hold up pic.twitter.com/xBBR8OZ7Cr\u2014 DAVE FIERI \u277c (@dave_fieri) June 6, 2020One of the screenshots visible in the Facebook post appeared to show at least one result specifically about the matter of Google\u2019s purported racial bias in organizing images of men\u2019s and women\u2019s \u201cprofessional hairstyles\u201d and \u201cunprofessional hairstyles.\u201dWhen we searched \u201cprofessional hairstyles men\u201d on June 19 2020, the results were primarily of white men:As was a search for \u201cprofessional hairstyles women\u201d:When we searched \u201cunprofessional hairstyles men\u201d and \u201cunprofessional hairstyles women,\u201d the results appeared to have been altered by discourse on social media. For the second search, a number of collages appeared, along with links to content about bias in Google results:We also found discussions about the matter going back for years. On April 6 2016, Mic.com covered the same issue in an article titled \u201cIf You Google \u2018Unprofessional Hairstyles for Work,\u2019 These Are the Problematic Results,\u201d reporting that April 2016 results included versions of the same hairstyle for both searches:The people in a search for professional hairstyles are predominantly white. Conversely, people in searches for unprofessional are mostly black \u2014 though for some reason, Elizabeth Banks as The Hunger Games\u2019 Effie Trinket makes a surprise appearance.Twitter user MalumDube pointed out the irony of a similar style worn by Rachel McAdams was somehow deemed \u201cunprofessional\u201d when worn by a black woman.British outlet\u00a0The Guardian published an editorial about the April 2016 controversy, in which the author described clicking through some of the images and explained their occasional context:In the case of the great hair debate, Google Images seems to have taken many of the pictures of black women wearing the \u201cunprofessional\u201d hairstyles were from blogs, articles and Pinterest boards. Many of these are by people of colour explicitly discussing and protesting against racist attitudes to hair. One image led me to a post criticising Hampton University\u2019s ban on dreadlocks and cornrows; another was linked with a post celebrating natural hair and the \u201cridiculous\u201d pressure to straighten it for the office; here\u2019s a rejection of the idea that big, natural curls are \u201cdistracting\u201d in a newsroom.One thing was clear between the 2016 popularity of a Google image search for \u201cunprofessional hair men/women\u201d and \u201cprofessional hair men/women\u201d \u2014 viral discourse in both instances appeared to influence the images returned by Google in both cases. Collages we found in the results on June 19 2020 often accompanied reporting on the Google results, pushing down what may have been earlier, accurately described results before tens of thousands of Google users tested the hypothesis.On June 10 2020, The Shade Room published a statement from Cathy Edwards, Vice President of Google Images, about the discussion. Edwards reiterated the claim that articles decrying descriptions of black women\u2019s natural hair as \u201cunprofessional\u201d made up some but not all of the images:Google spoke exclusively to us to explain these image results, which are usually linked to articles that are actually denouncing the biases that black men and women face when it comes to their hair and society\u2019s idea of what professional hair is supposed to look like.\u201cOur Google Images search systems rely on a number of factors, including word matching, to surface results,\u201d Cathy Edwards, VP of Google Images, tells us. \u201cFor many of the results, the words \u2018unprofessional hairstyles\u2019 appear in the articles, and many of these stories are rightly denouncing the discrimination people of color face when it comes to their hair.\u201dWhile the images may be alarming, for the purposes of clarity, Google has taken the liberty of adding captions to help people under the relevancy of the images.\u201cWhile we include captions to help people understand why these images are relevant to the query, we acknowledge that the association can be concerning and painful to see without the fuller context,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cEnsuring that all people and communities are able to find helpful results in Google Images is something we care about deeply and are actively working to improve.\u201dRating the veracity of the claim that\u00a0Google search results for the terms \u201cprofessional hairstyles men,\u201d \u201cunprofessional hairstyles men,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u201cprofessional hairstyles women,\u201d and \u201cunprofessional hairstyles women\u201d demonstrated racial bias was difficult due in part to how viral the claim became. Facebook posts and tweets with tens of thousands of shares reshuffled the results, and Google could have changed their algorithms in the two-week period between the June 6 2020 tweets and our June 19 2020 fact check. It is true that some of the results remained (and were the subject of scrutiny in 2016), but the results we evaluated were influenced by the interest generated by the claims \u2014 and other forces that remained invisible.Comments Claim: \"If you Google \"\"unprofessional hairstyles for men\"\" and \"\"\"\"unprofessional hairstyles for women\"\" or \"\"professional hairstyles for men\"\" and \"\"professional hairstyles for women,\"\" results appeared to be racially biased.\"", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d125395882f94392a59ad9352fd5674d", + "input": "Paragraph: \"On 5 January 2016, President Obama proposed several measures to curb gun violence while delivering remarks on the topic in the East Room of the White House. As he discussed gun deaths involving children, the President began crying (as seen at the 0:44 mark in the video embedded below): // Some versions of the meme attributed its claims to Dr. Lillian Glass: In her 2013 book \u201cThe Body Language of Liars,\u201d behavioral analyst Lillian Glass wrote that psychopaths are really bad at crying: \u201cWhen psychopaths cry, they will often wipe underneath each eye, one at a time. When people cry genuine tears they cry with both eyes, and so they will tend to wipe both eyes at once.\u201d A brief online search indicated that the quote cited above was lifted directly from a 6 November 2013\u00a0Business Insider article titled \u201c7 Signs You\u2019re Working with a Psychopath.\u201d The article predictably described an entirely different context: They are really bad at crying. \u201cWhen [Susan Smith] gave a press conference and cried about her missing children, her fake tears were actually what raised suspicions that she was the killer,\u201d says Glass. When psychopaths cry, Glass says they will often wipe underneath each eye, one at a time. \u201cWhen people cry genuine tears they cry with both eyes, and so they will tend to wipe both eyes at once.\u201d In their original context, Dr. Glass\u2019 observations clearly pertained to video footage (not a still image). Dr. Glass\u2019 web site\u00a0includes a blog wherein her observations consistently describe analysis of subjects in context and motion (utilizing photographs to illustrate the body language she described in a broader context throughout). Nowhere in her writings\u00a0did we locate an example of her making such a definitive diagnosis based upon a single still image, nor of her throwing around severe diagnostic language such as \u201cpsychopath.\u201d We contacted Dr. Glass regarding the meme and the use of language from her 2013 book\u00a0The Body Language of Liars. Dr. Glass told us she was aware of the quote\u2019s newfound popularity and was deeply dismayed by\u00a0the lengths to which her words and work had been misconstrued due to the meme (and related articles). Dr. Glass\u00a0strongly repudiated the assertions of the meme, noting that the quote originally appeared in her 2013 book and was used for the\u00a0Business Insider piece in a very different context. Moreover, she stated that she would never engage in body language analysis so flippantly, nor did she consider the subject matter of the meme appropriate for such observations. Mostly, Dr. Glass was dismayed at the virality of a grossly misconstrued, unrelated, out-of-context quote from her book in a meme that misrepresented her work. We\u00a0asked\u00a0psychologist Dr.\u00a0Emily Perrine-Gifford about the claims; she\u00a0explained why the armchair diagnoses of\u00a0social media made little sense to mental health clinicians: I don\u2019t think people understand what a psychopath really is. A psychopath is someone who is literally born without a conscience. That means that if Obama were really a psychopath, he would have shown signs and symptoms from childhood. Psychopathy may be understood as the worst form of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Antisocial Personality Disorder can not be diagnosed until adulthood, but with psychopathy, since this is potentially the worst form of Antisocial Personality Disorder and is thought to have genetic origins as well as psychosocial origins, certain symptoms may be seen before adulthood. These symptoms, most notably, for psychopaths, are fire setting, problems wetting the bed past an age appropriate time period, and a blatant disregard for the safety of self or others. Psychopaths are notoriously difficult to diagnose as they can be charming and manipulative. However, I have particular expertise in this area as I have worked in forensic psychiatric hospitals and super maximum security prison settings. I am not convinced that President Obama is or ever was a psychopath. He shows little to no signs or symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder and these symptoms would have to present in order to be diagnosed as a psychopath.\" Claim: According to a body language expert, a photograph of President Obama crying reveals he is a psychopath.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-efa3e701cd0e4d369d27465df60af9c0", + "input": "Paragraph: On 3 October 2018, the National Council of Churches (NCC) umbrella organization, a large consortium of Christian churches around the United States, issued a statement calling for the withdrawal of the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. The NCC represents over 100,000 local congregations and 40 million churchgoers. Their statement was posted to the organization\u2019s official Facebook page and read as follows: The National Council of Churches (NCC) calls for the withdrawal of the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. We believe he has disqualified himself from this lifetime appointment and must step aside immediately. We note several reasons. During his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Kavanaugh exhibited extreme partisan bias and disrespect towards certain members of the committee and thereby demonstrated that he possesses neither the temperament nor the character essential for a member of the highest court in our nation. We are deeply disturbed by the multiple allegations of sexual assault and call for a full and unhindered investigation of these accusations. In addition, his testimony before the Judiciary Committee included several misstatements and some outright falsehoods. All citizens must be expected to speak truthfully when under oath, however, this is especially true for anyone who seeks a seat on the Supreme Court. Moreover, Judge Kavanaugh\u2019s extensive judicial and political record is troubling with regard to issues of voting rights, racial and gender justice, health care, the rights of people with disabilities, and environmental protections. This leads us to believe that he cannot be an impartial justice in cases that are sure to come before him at the Court. Therefore the National Council of Churches calls for the withdrawal of Judge Kavanaugh\u2019s nomination to the Supreme Court immediately. NCC was the second prominent religious organization to call for Kavanaugh\u2019s nomination to be withdrawn. On 27 September 2018, America, the flagship publication for the Jesuit order within the Roman Catholic Church, published an editorial that concluded: \u201cFor the good of the country and the future credibility of the Supreme Court in a world that is finally learning to take reports of harassment, assault and abuse seriously, it is time to find a nominee whose confirmation will not repudiate that lesson.\u201d Claim: At least 100,000 churches called for the withdrawal of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-1d2a833933474508a4ab68ac6845d303", + "input": "Paragraph: The advent of various technologies enabling contact with emergency services (or easier identification during such an event) has not quelled interest in core functions of long-standing institutions\u00a0such as 911 and the Emergency Alert System (EAS). A side effect of the advancement of gadgets and networks\u00a0into our daily lives\u00a0is lingering concern those devices will one day fail us; even the cellular phone was (in the not-so-distant past) eyed with some skepticism\u00a0by first responders. Accordingly, the notion police or paramedics are best summoned via landline due to its long-developed and trustworthy capabilities remains despite the popularity and ubiquitousness of mobile phones. Landlines are are thought to make it easier to track down a person in need of assistance \u2014 and in films or on television, mobiles\u00a0seem to regularly fail in moments of high tension (clip contains some profanity): Various versions\u00a0of that rumor have circulated in both the United States and the United Kingdom, dating back to at\u00a0least 2006. The rumor\u2019s functionality exists on at least two levels: one cautioning against inadvertently summoning the police (leading at best to embarrassment and at worst, actual harm), and another reassuring people (inaccurately) that even if you cannot complete a call for help, the cavalry\u00a0will eventually arrive all the same. The latter notion is one where belief in the claim\u00a0presents a risk, suggesting that one need only knock a landline off its receiver to eventually summon first responders. We contacted the Federal Communications Commission, which referred us to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA): As The Voice of 9-1-1\u2122, NENA is on the forefront of all emergency communications issues. The association serves its members and the greater public safety community as the only professional organization solely focused on 9-1-1 policy, technology, operations, and education issues. With more than 9,000 members in 48 chapters across the United States and around the globe, NENA promotes the implementation and awareness of 9-1-1, as well as international three-digit emergency communications systems\u00a0\u2026\u00a0Through the association\u2019s efforts to provide effective and efficient public safety solutions, NENA strives to protect human life, preserve property, and maintain the security of our communities. A NENA representative\u00a0told us he was unfamiliar with the rumor,\u00a0adding\u00a0that to the best of his knowledge a \u201cpresented dial tone will time out and the line will become inaccessible to inbound calls.\u201d \u00a0(Or, to put it another way, a \u201cbusy signal.\u201d)\u00a0 Until the mid-2000s, mobile phones were largely considered a secondary form of contact to be used sparingly in the absence of a landline, and fixed-location phones were often inadvertently or (perhaps more often) deliberately\u00a0left \u201coff the hook\u201d to disable incoming calls \u2014 a not uncommon occurrence, as one New York Times writer lamented in 2012: But there was also another part of the Friday night ritual \u2014 very likely the most important part. \u201cNick, go and take the phone off the hook,\u201d my father would command. I\u2019d excitedly rush into the hallway, lift up the phone receiver, and toss it to the floor. Then, I\u2019d race back into the living room before showtime. As the opening credits for the movie began, the phone left off the hook would echo in the hall: Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep \u2026 and then, silence. No way to answer the phone, and no way to leave a message, meant that no one could get through. And rightly so: it was movie night, after all. Claim: A landline disengaged from its cradle will eventually self-dial 911.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e02da3ccd0cb4df987f40a4f7d1676db", + "input": "Paragraph: \"During a Senate appropriations Feb. 25 subcommittee hearing, Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, said the U.S. flu mortality rate was about the same as the current estimated global mortality rate of the coronavirus outbreak. He made this statement during an exchange with Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) regarding what the acting secretary knew about the coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19. This C-SPAN video shows the full discussion between the two. Kennedy first asked what the worldwide mortality rate for coronavirus is, to which Wolf responded, that it was \"\"under 2%\"\" but that he would need to check with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get the actual figure and that \"\"it changes daily.\"\" The Louisiana senator then asked, \"\"What\u2019s the mortality rate for influenza over, say, the last 10 years in America?\"\" Wolf answered: \"\"It\u2019s also right around that percentage as well. I don\u2019t have that offhand, but it\u2019s right around 2% as well.\"\" We asked the Department of Homeland Security where Wolf\u2019s figure came from. A DHS spokesperson said in an email, \"\"As the acting secretary said in his hearing, he did not have that information on hand and refers to Health and Human Services -- the federal agency in charge of the federal government\u2019s coronavirus response.\"\" The comparison of coronavirus to flu in terms of mortality rates seemed like an important mechanism to understanding the growing concern about the reach of coronavirus, so we decided to dig deeper to find out if these statistics hold up. We also asked experts to explain what the numbers mean in terms of risk. Digging into mortality rate numbers The CDC directed us to its online influenza resources and referred us to the World Health Organization for more information on coronavirus. Christopher Mores, a global health professor at George Washington University, helped make sense of some of the figures. He calculated the average, 10-year mortality rate for flu using CDC data and found it was 0.1%. That 0.1% rate is frequently cited among experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, called it \"\"sort of the canonical seasonal influenza mortality figure.\"\" It\u2019s important to note, that although this percentage seems like a small number, influenza is responsible for an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 deaths annually. Now, for coronavirus. According to statistics released Feb. 17 by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the mortality rate for coronavirus was 2.3%. That\u2019s based on cases reported through Feb. 11 and calculated by dividing the numbers of coronavirus-related deaths at the time (1,023) by the number of the confirmed cases (44,672) of the coronavirus. (These numbers reflect the information available at the time of the secretary\u2019s testimony.) But this report has limitations, Mores said, including the vague way Chinese officials are defining who has been infected by the coronavirus. \"\"We have not been able to understand what precisely has gone on there,\"\" said Mores. \"\"They have changed their case definitions multiple times. It\u2019s murky what has gone into the case count and who has gone into being counted on cases.\"\" The WHO said in a press conference Monday that in Wuhan, China, the city where the virus first hit, the mortality rate ranged from 2% to 4%. Officials said that in the rest of China, outside of Wuhan, the mortality rate of coronavirus is 0.7%. Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the mortality rate in China has since risen to 0.9%. Right now he doesn\u2019t see a similarity in the flu mortality rate and the coronavirus mortality rate. \"\"We don\u2019t have any evidence to that being the case,\"\" said Osterholm. Mores said U.S. health officials just don\u2019t have enough information to know whether the two mortality rates are similar. Understanding this comparison would offer a means to better understand the severity of the coronavirus. It could also help in educating the public about the novel illness. \"\"Until we can gain our own experience with this virus, it\u2019s going to be pretty squishy. So, all the numbers that you have come across here are within the range of possibility,\"\" he said. \"\"Absolutely, the hope is we will end up with something similar to the flu, but we just don\u2019t know yet.\"\" Multiple experts told us that the number of coronavirus cases not just in China but worldwide has probably been undercounted because many people with the infection do not suffer serious symptoms and may not seek medical treatment. It is possible that only those who have tested positive are being counted as \"\"confirmed cases.\"\" Until the case definition is expanded, they said, to include people clinicians think may have COVID-19 but who were not tested for it, then the total estimated number of cases will remain lower than the likely reality. But, if the number of cases widens to include those with mild symptoms who have not been tested, then the mortality rate will go down. This is the way mortality rates are calculated for the flu, said Mores. The numbers of flu illnesses and deaths are estimates based not only on positive flu tests, but also on doctors\u2019 suspicions and symptomatic diagnosis. One key difference between the flu and the coronavirus illness, Osterholm cautioned, is that, with the flu, the population has a partially built up immunity, whether through receiving flu shots or already having been exposed to the illness. Mores concurred. \"\"You know, the risk is this: We have a brand-new virus in a completely naive population on Earth, we\u2019re all susceptible to it. Everyone is potentially infectable with this virus,\"\" he said. \"\"Even with a high transmission rate and the low case fatality rate, that still becomes a massive number of ill and fatal cases.\"\" Our ruling There are two ways to parse out this claim: First, is it true that the average U.S. mortality rate for flu is 2%? That\u2019s not true, according to data from the CDC and exchanges with multiple global health experts. On average, the flu mortality rate during the past 10 years has been 0.1%. In addition, Wolf and a DHS spokesperson admitted that the acting secretary did not have the statistics in front of him when he answered questions at the hearing about the mortality rates. Second, is it true the COVID-19 mortality rate is similar to the flu mortality rate? Wolf is also wrong on that account, based on the limited information currently known about the coronavirus. Recent data from the Chinese government set the COVID-19 mortality rate at 2.3%. That\u2019s vastly different from the flu\u2019s mortality rate of 0.1%. Experts also said that while it\u2019s possible the mortality rate from the new virus could come close to the flu\u2019s mortality rate eventually \u2015 if the case definition of coronavirus is expanded -- it\u2019s too soon to make that assumption with the limited information available.\" Claim: The mortality rate for the flu is \u201cright around\u201d that of the new coronavirus: \u201cIt\u2019s right around 2%.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-55befa44ae2a4f40a0e128364a618e07", + "input": "Paragraph: The radiologists used angiography, an X-ray of the blood vessels, to confirm loss of blood flow in the severely frostbitten hands and feet of 17 patients. They threaded catheters into the arteries to directly deliver clot-busting drugs to dissolve the blood clots and anti-spasmodics to relax the arteries. This helped 90 percent of the patients, they told a meeting in Washington of the Society of Interventional Radiology. \u201cPreviously, severe frostbite was a one-way route to limb loss. This treatment is a significant improvement.\u201d said Dr. George Edmonson, an interventional radiologist with St. Paul Radiology in St. Paul, Minnesota, who worked on the study. \u201cWe\u2019re opening arteries that are blocked so that tissues can heal and limbs can be salvaged. We were able to reopen even the smallest arteries, saving patients\u2019 fingers and toes,\u201d Edmonson added. Severe frostbite can block blood flow and cause small clots to form. These clots can worsen already slowed blood flow. \u201cFor half our patients who received the clot-busting drug Tenectaplase, this technique worked beautifully, saving all fingers, hands, toes and feet that otherwise would have been lost,\u201d said Edmonson. \u201cOverall, in about 80 percent of the cases, it significantly improved patients\u2019 outcomes. Within one to three days of treatment, we saw improvement.\u201d Claim: Clot-busting drugs save limbs from frostbite.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7dc3756ef42c408680146b7e5bfa8833", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Local and state governments are expected to have budget shortfalls as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And, according to the Democrat in North Carolina\u2019s U.S. Senate race, the Republican incumbent thinks struggling communities should go bankrupt. That\u2019s what Cal Cunningham said about Sen. Thom Tillis. \"\"Mitch McConnell said he wanted states to go bankrupt instead of the federal government providing relief. Today, Thom Tillis agreed,\"\" Cunningham tweeted April 24, linking to a Politico story. Is that true? There\u2019s a lot of context being left out. Yes, Tillis did say he is \"\"more or less aligned\"\" with what McConnell, the U.S. Senate majority leader, said about not giving more federal dollars to states that had pre-existing budget problems. McConnell proposed allowing them to file for bankruptcy, which states are not currently permitted to do. But Cunningham exaggerated what we know about Tillis\u2019 position. Tillis\u2019 comments clearly show he doesn\u2019t want the federal government to pay for state debt that wasn\u2019t incurred during the coronavirus outbreak. What\u2019s less clear is whether he wants those states to go the bankruptcy route. So what did McConnell say about bankruptcy? In a radio interview on April 22, McConnell said states with pre-existing problems might be better off declaring bankruptcy than by expecting additional funding from the federal government. But he didn\u2019t specifically say he \"\"wanted\"\" states to declare bankruptcy, only that he supports it as an option. \"\"I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities. And there\u2019s no good reason for it not to be available,\"\" McConnell said. \"\"My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don\u2019t have to do that. That\u2019s not something I\u2019m going to be in favor of.\"\" As The Atlantic reported, McConnell expanded on his bankruptcy comments in another radio interview that day: \"\"We\u2019re not interested in solving their pension problems for them. We\u2019re not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions they've made in the past, we\u2019re not going to let them take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created themselves (with) bad decisions in the past.\"\" That brings us to Tillis and how closely he has \"\"agreed\"\" with McConnell. Audio of the April 24 town hall shows a constituent named Charles saying he has a question about the future: \"\"Will the Senate vote to bail out poorly-run states that were near bankrupt before COVID-19 hit?\"\" Tillis wasn\u2019t asked about states in general. He was asked specifically about \"\"poorly-run states that were near bankrupt\"\" prior to the pandemic. Tillis said he doesn\u2019t think those states should be bailed out. \"\"Well, Charles, that's a great question and personally I don't think we should, and I don't think that we can,\"\" Tillis said. He then said the $2 trillion economic stimulus gave him \"\"pause,\"\" but was worth it. Then he used North Carolina\u2019s state government as an example of good financial stewardship: \"\"I'm not so sure that taxpayer dollars for North Carolina should go to a state, a county, or a city that, like you said, was in poor economic shape before we ever had the virus. We need to take care of first responders. We need to take care of law enforcement. And we will do that. But I don't believe that I can support any measure that is effectively a bailout for poorly run state and local governments. \"\"We can look at things on a case-by-case basis where it's very clear that the damage is done because of the virus impact. But a broad-based bailout is not something I'd be prepared to support.\"\" That\u2019s when Tillis brought up McConnell\u2019s comments. \"\"You probably heard Leader McConnell's comments about it, I'm more or less aligned with Leader McConnell on the issue,\"\" Tillis said, a few seconds later adding: \"\"I think we need to work on executing (plans already signed into law) and not really entertain a discussion of trillions more going into jurisdictions that really need to get their financial houses in order.\"\" Cunningham spokeswoman Rachel Petri said Tillis\u2019s comments about McConnell show he\u2019s in lockstep with the Senate leader, who said \"\"I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route.\"\" Tillis elaborated on his position in an interview with Fox News radio's Guy Benson on April 29. Benson asked him about McConnell\u2019s comments that money should not cover pre-pandemic budget holes (without mentioning the bankruptcy idea). Tillis said the Senate \"\"will go back and take a look at well-documented cases for the costs of the response, potentially the cause of some of the revenues in this year based on closures.\"\" When PolitiFact asked about Tillis\u2019 position on the bankruptcy option, Tillis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said: \"\"Sen. Tillis has never advocated for any state or municipality to go bankrupt as a result of COVID-19, has already delivered billions of dollars in relief to North Carolina, and has consistently said that he supports providing targeted assistance for communities that have been impacted by the virus.\"\" Cunningham tweeted, \"\"Mitch McConnell said he wanted states to go bankrupt instead of the federal government providing relief. Today, Thom Tillis agreed.\"\" The tweet lacks so much context that it\u2019s several degrees removed from what\u2019s actually been said. McConnell wasn\u2019t talking about just any states, he was talking about states that were in poor financial shape before the coronavirus outbreak. Additionally, McConnell said he supported bankruptcy as a novel option for states, particularly for those with pre-existing pension liabilities. Tillis said he agreed with McConnell \"\"more or less.\"\" He agreed that Congress shouldn\u2019t pay for revenue losses that aren\u2019t related to the coronavirus outbreak. But Tillis never actually said he wanted states to go bankrupt. And he said he will consider federal aid for smaller governments on a case-by-case basis. Cunningham\u2019s tweet exaggerates what McConnell said and misrepresents what Tilils has said about federal coronavirus aid. It contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.\" Claim: Mitch McConnell said he wanted states to go bankrupt instead of the federal government providing relief. Today, Thom Tillis agreed.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2d659319e58543fa88fb87bfd15241f8", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Health insurance has emerged as a defining issue in the Georgia Senate race, and Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue declared that there is one angle where he can\u2019t be attacked. \"\"I\u2019ve always believed in protections for Americans with preexisting conditions. Period,\"\" Perdue tweeted Aug. 18. \"\"Anyone who says otherwise just isn\u2019t telling the truth.\"\" The campaign ad attached to the tweet adds, \"\"Health insurance should always cover preexisting conditions. For anyone. Period.\"\" That is a sweeping policy \u2014 guaranteed coverage for anyone, with no penalty for a preexisting condition. If that\u2019s Perdue\u2019s position now, it doesn\u2019t jibe with his record as a lawmaker. He\u2019s voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act \u2014 Obamacare \u2014 and a bill he cosponsored to guarantee coverage fails to match the ironclad protections under that law. Perdue makes no bones about opposing the ACA, which contains several interlocking provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions. He voted to repeal it in 2015 and backed the Senate\u2019s failed repeal-and-replace effort in 2017. Perdue\u2019s campaign said that it\u2019s possible to be against Obamacare, and in favor of patient protections. It said, \"\"Perdue co-sponsored legislation to ensure preexisting conditions are covered at no additional cost to those patients.\"\" That bill, called the Protect Act, never came to a vote in the Senate and doesn\u2019t match the ACA\u2019s guarantees. The current law blocks insurers from using any eligibility rule, list of covered services or pricing to deny anyone coverage. The Protect Act does say that insurance companies can\u2019t deny coverage based on \"\"any preexisting condition.\"\" But it gives a carrier the option to deny certain coverage, if \"\"it will not have the capacity to deliver services adequately.\"\" Since the bill doesn\u2019t define what that clause means, it leaves open the possibility that carriers could use it to drop coverage of certain expensive diseases from all of their policies. To Allison Hoffman, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, that\u2019s a big loophole. \"\"Insurers could exclude someone\u2019s preexisting conditions from coverage, even if they offered her a policy,\"\" Hoffman told us in 2018 when the bill was first introduced. \"\"That fact alone sinks any claims that this law offers preexisting condition protection.\"\" Rodney Whitlock, a health policy expert who worked for Republicans in Congress, told us concerns about loopholes are reasonable. \"\"Insurers will use the rules available to them to take in more in premiums than they pay out in claims,\"\" Whitlock said in 2018. \"\"If you see a loophole and think insurers will use it, that\u2019s probably true.\"\" Hoffman notes that the Protect Act\u2019s language against insurers discriminating based on genetic information also concerns her. The bill says carriers \"\"shall not request, require, or purchase genetic information with respect to any individual prior to such individual's enrollment.\"\" But the bill says information collected incidentally can be used by insurers. That could happen, for example, when an employee inadvertently reveals details on a questionnaire, despite being told not to include information that can be linked back to their DNA. Insurers can\u2019t use that information for setting premiums, but Hoffman says it could shape the list of covered maladies. \"\"If an insurer comes across genetic information incidentally, it seems to me that they could exclude any related conditions,\"\" Hoffman warned. \"\"This loophole could be huge considering the amount of incidental collection and how broadly it is construed.\"\" The bill has other holes: for instance, permitting insurers to charge women more than men. Perdue\u2019s stance on short-term health insurance plans also raises issues. These plans offer limited coverage that\u2019s intended to tide people over when they\u2019re between jobs. They don\u2019t need to follow the strict rules of the ACA. They don\u2019t have to cover the package of essential benefits under the law and they can exclude coverage for preexisting conditions. Under the ACA, they were limited to 90 days\u2019 coverage. The Trump administration extended that to 364 days, with the option to renew them for up to three years. Perdue voted against a 2018 resolution to oppose Trump\u2019s expansion of short-term plans. The measure failed by one vote. The Perdue campaign said that Obamacare isn\u2019t the only way to take care of people. \"\"The best way to protect those with preexisting conditions, lower costs for all Georgians, and expand access to coverage is through free market solutions,\"\" the campaign said in a statement. The campaign noted that many counties have only one insurance company offering coverage. It argues that if more companies found it profitable to move into those areas, competition would improve the options for consumers. Perdue said that his policy is that \"\"health insurance should always cover preexisting conditions. For anyone. Period.\"\" Perdue opposes the Affordable Care Act and weighed in on the side of short-term health plans that lack some of the ACA\u2019s strong protections for people with preexisting conditions. Perdue\u2019s bill to maintain those protections contains loopholes that insurance companies could use to avoid covering certain conditions. Perdue\u2019s promise is sweeping and absolute. The policies he has backed offer some limited protections, but don\u2019t match that promise.\" Claim: David Perdue Says his policy is that \u201chealth insurance should always cover preexisting conditions. For anyone. Period.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-092604fdf1584ea0ad54f8e6b8205623", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Sen. Elizabeth Warren loves to tout her plans for any and all policy questions, including climate change, child care and especially health care. This became a point of contention during the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, where she\u00a0criticized her rivals over a lack of specificity in their health plans. Warren said a proposal from Pete Buttigieg is \"\"not a plan. It's a PowerPoint.\"\" Then she turned to Senate colleague Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. \"\"And Amy's plan is even less,\"\" Warren said. \"\"It's like a Post-It note, 'Insert Plan Here.'\"\" After some additional digs and discussion,\u00a0Warren and Klobuchar had this\u00a0exchange: Warren: \"\"So I actually took a look at the plans that are posted. \u2026 Amy, I looked online at your plan. It's two paragraphs. Families are suffering, and they need \u2026\"\" Klobuchar: \"\"OK, that's it.\"\" Warren: \"\"You can't simply stand here and trash an idea to give health care coverage to everyone without having a realistic plan of your own. And if you're not going to own up to the fact either that you don't have a plan or that your plan is going to leave people without health care coverage, full coverage, then you need to say so.\"\" Warren\u2019s campaign told PolitiFact that she was referring specifically to Klobuchar\u2019s plan for \"\"universal health care.\"\" Her campaign pointed to the two paragraphs at the end of a Klobuchar campaign web page that specifically follow the heading \"\"Propose legislation to get us to universal health care.\"\" However, this is a selective reading of the health care policy pages that Klobuchar posted on her website. Klobuchar supports building on the Affordable Care Act and adding a public option that expands Medicare and Medicaid. By contrast, Warren initially joined rival candidate Bernie Sanders in supporting a wholesale switch to a single-player plan \u2014 a more aggressive approach than Klobuchar\u2019s \u2014 then later eased off. Warren currently backs two bills, one for a public option and another for a single-payer plan. The problem with Warren\u2019s attack is that it focuses on two paragraphs, which ignores most of her rival\u2019s health care plan. There is quite a bit of detail in Klobuchar\u2019s plan. Klobuchar\u2019s website has no fewer than four different web pages that address the topic \u2014 a main health care policy page, a more detailed sub-page, a sub-page on prescription drugs and a sub-page on mental health. Some of Klobuchar\u2019s bullet-pointed priorities include: \u2022 \"\"Immediately suspend the Trump Administration\u2019s efforts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act\u2019s protections for people with pre-existing conditions.\"\" \u2022 \"\"Develop best models of care to address disparities in maternal and infant mortality and address the shortage of maternity care health professionals in underserved rural and urban areas.\"\" \u2022 \"\"Expand Medicaid reimbursement for people receiving mental health or substance use treatment.\"\" \u2022 \"\"Expand the open enrollment period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act so more people can get insurance coverage.\"\" \u2022 \"\"Stop Trump sabotage of the ACA by ending workarounds that allow states to raise premiums for sicker people and shift ACA premium subsidies away from lower-income enrollees.\"\" All told, the four Klobuchar web pages by our count have 64 paragraphs, not counting overlap \u2014 far more than two. Warren said, \"\"Amy, I looked online at your (health care) plan. It\u2019s two paragraphs.\"\" Warren\u2019s campaign said she was referring to just the paragraphs that specifically addressed universal health care. That wasn't clear on stage, where she dismissed Klobuchar's health policy ideas as small enough to fit on a Post-It. Klobuchar's two paragraphs on universal health care are just one part of a four-webpage policy statement that collectively runs 64 paragraphs long.\" Claim: Amy, I looked online at your (health care) plan. It\u2019s two paragraphs.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e05133d2530440a0ae8a5693f1e9c3a5", + "input": "Paragraph: There was no discussion of costs. Were people to begin taking B vitamins in the quantities necessary to show improvement along the lines of what has been seen in some of the studies mentioned, B vitamins could become a lifelong treatment with significant cumulative costs. The slant of the story was to question the wisdom in augmenting vitamin B intake in light of the studies failing to demonstrate benefit. The story itself, however, reported on several pieces of evidence over time rather than reporting on the results of a specific study or studies. Where it did provide numbers on benefits, it did so in a clear and cautious way. For example, it noted \u201ca recent study in which brain atrophy (or shrinkage, which occurs in older people who are losing brain function) slowed by 30% in elderly patients with both high homocysteine levels and mild cognitive impairment who took a B vitamin pill daily for two years. Brain shrinkage occurred at a rate of about 0.75% in the people taking B vitamins in the study, compared with a rate of 1.1% per year in a group that took a placebo.\u201d By including the actual percentages for people in both groups, the story shows the reader that the shrinkage was not dramatic to begin with and that the difference between the two groups could also be described as a 0.26 percentage point difference. The story did include information about possible side effects and harms associated with excessive consumption of B vitamins. The story provided a reasonable description of several studies in which outcomes were not changed with vitamin B supplementation. There was a useful quote by one of the researches indicating that only a minority of studies showed any indication of benefit from increasing vitamin B intake. We wish it had taken a little more care in making clear distinctions between the different populations being studied. In some cases, the studies were focused on anyone of advanced age, while in others they were focused specifically on Alzheimer\u2019s patients, but there was no discussion in the story about whether these differences may also have accounted for the different findings among the studies. The story did not engage in disease mongering. The story detailed several studies of the relation between the B vitamins and cognitive impairment; it included quotes from two researchers \u00a0(Haan and Miller) in the field who are at different institutions but have several studies that they have worked on and published together. There was no discussion of how the fortification of common foods in the supply chain, such as grains, flour, cereal, energy bars and drinks, has affected the levels of B vitamin. There was also no mention of other specific therapies to stop cognitive decline. The story described the urge to rush out and purchase B vitamins, which is suggestive of their ready availability. The story neglected to mention that many foods are already fortified with B vitamins, which may already cover the recommended intake levels for many readers. This story provided a nice overview of what is known about B vitamins in relation to age- and disease- related cognitive decline. The story does not appear to rely solely on a news release. It is not clear why this information about the long-term research interest of two local scientists is news right now, but it is an interesting piece nonetheless. Claim: Vitamin B and its role in improving memory", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8c79e25022474c80a649a0cc3a3a2fe6", + "input": "Paragraph: The total number of infections climbed to 41,495. \u201cIn the past 24 hours we had 117 new deaths and 3,186 new confirmed cases of people infected with the coronavirus,\u201d Kianush Jahanpur told state TV, calling on Iranians to stay at home. Iran has had an intercity travel ban since Thursday and the government has extended the closure of universities and schools and the suspension of all cultural, religious and sports events. \u201cIf necessary, we might impose tougher measures as our priority is the nation\u2019s safety and health,\u201d said Iran\u2019s first Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri, according to state TV. Iran last week warned of a surge of cases as many Iranians ignored calls to avoid traveling for Persian New Year holidays that started on March 20. To stem the spread of the virus in crowded jails, Iran\u2019s judiciary on Sunday extended furloughs for 100,000 prisoners. On March 17, Iran said it had freed about 85,000 people from jail temporarily, including political prisoners. Iranian media on Monday, citing the governor of Iran\u2019s Fars province, Enayatollah Rahimi, reported that prisoners at one prison \u201cbroke cameras and caused other damage in two sections of the prison where violent criminals are kept\u201d. The state news agency IRNA said similar riots had erupted in other prisons since March 20. Families have called for the release of all prisoners. Claim: Iran plans tougher restrictions as coronavirus toll rises.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c5915010d87f4d7bafacf9e3b9c7c965", + "input": "Paragraph: In late summer 2019, we received multiple inquiries from readers about the accuracy of a viral Facebook post that claimed the popular energy drinks Red Bull and Bang test positive for various illicit substances, including methamphetamines, ecstasy, and the prescription opioids OxyContin and Suboxone. The claims were posted in July by user Angie Rider Freese, who included photographs of what appeared to be a urine screen-test cup, with \u201cRed Bull\u201d written on the lid. We have edited her post for clarity: \u201cToday at work a patient had a Red Bull. [I] told him they [test positive] on drug screens. He didn\u2019t believe me. So I had him pour some in a new cup, and it [tested positive] for [methamphetamine] and [oxycodone] and [buprenorphine]. Also Bang will [test positive] for [ecstasy/MDMA].\u201d Rider Freese subsequently deleted the post in question, but she later confirmed its authenticity with a second post in which she explained that she had taken it down because its viral spread had caused her to be inundated with friend requests and messages. Although the original post was deleted, social media users have continued to share a screenshot of it, meaning its claims continued to be promulgated. The claims were inaccurate and misleading in several ways, but they did allude (whether knowingly or not) to a flaw in some substance-testing field kits that have caused innocuous substances to incorrectly test positive for drugs such as methamphetamines. Experts told us that a false positive of this kind could, in principle, be produced in certain tests of a sample of Red Bull or other energy drinks, or a urine sample taken from a person who had consumed the beverages. However, we found no evidence of an actual pattern of such false positive test results. The first point to clarify is that neither Red Bull nor Bang nor any other energy drink contains methamphetamine, buprenorphine (often sold as suboxone), oxycodone (often sold as OxyContin), or MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy or X). What the meme alluded to (whether knowingly or unknowingly) was the phenomenon of false positives, in which a drug test incorrectly indicates the presence of a substance that is not present, either in a biological specimen (usually urine and blood) or a sample of the substance in question. The ingredients of both Red Bull and Bang can be found listed here. Despite Rider Freese\u2019s claim that the energy-drink samples tested positive for various drugs, it\u2019s not clear that the urine test cup in the second photograph illustrates any such positive tests. The test strips on urine screen-test cups, such as the one shown in the photograph, invariably indicate a negative result where two horizontal red bars are visible. The only clearly visible test strips in Rider Freese\u2019s photograph show horizontal, double red lines, suggesting negative results for unidentified substances. The second misleading feature of the meme is that Rider Freese said she used a urine screen test to screen for methamphetamine, buprenorphine, and oxycodone in a sample of Red Bull. This makes little sense, because that kind of test is used to screen for illicit substances in a person\u2019s urine, not in a beverage. Testing substances, rather than biological specimens, is done via a \u201cpresumptive substance test.\u201d The typical use of such a test would be where police found a powder in someone\u2019s car, which they suspected might be a prohibited substance like cocaine or heroin, so they either send a sample of the substance for laboratory testing, or conduct a field test themselves. Typically, law-enforcement agents use a type of substance testing called colorimetric testing, which involves adding a small sample of the questionable substance to a liquid solution, and inducing particular chemical reactions that cause specific changes in the color of the solution. The presence or absence of those color changes indicates the possible presence or absence of the substance being tested. The following is a helpful and relatively straightforward video guide to presumptive colorimetric drug field tests, produced by Florida International University\u2019s (FIU) National Forensic Science Technology Center: \u00a0\ufeff These field tests are imperfect and can sometimes produce false positives. However, the preliminary or \u201cpresumptive\u201d result they produce is typically enough to give a law-enforcement agent probable cause to make an arrest. After that, samples are typically sent to a laboratory for \u201cconfirmatory\u201d testing, which either confirms the initial result, or shows that the initial result was a false positive. Many private companies design various kinds of field-test kits and sell them to law-enforcement agencies throughout the United States. Those kits vary in their reliability, specificity, and sensitivity, and a pattern of false positives has emerged in recent years, with various innocuous household substances showing up as illicit drugs. For example, the Marijuana Policy Project has documented cases in which chocolate tested positive for hashish, flour tested positive for cocaine, and soap tested positive for gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), which is used recreationally and as a date rape drug. In 2017, Georgia woman Dasha Fincher was arrested and imprisoned for three months, awaiting confirmatory test results, after police performed a field test on a substance that produced a false positive for methamphetamine\u00a0but was in fact cotton candy. In principle, it\u2019s possible that a sample of Red Bull, Bang, or some other energy drink could produce a false positive for one of the drugs mentioned in the July 2019 meme. However, we found no evidence of an actual pattern of Red Bull or Bang producing such false positives, which significantly undermines the claim that Red Bull \u201cpops\u201d for methamphetamine\u00a0and Bang \u201cpops\u201d for ecstasy. It should also be noted once again that Rider Freese attempted to support her claims with photographic evidence of a urine test cup, which is a different test and simply would not be used to test a sample of a beverage (or any other substance) as opposed to a urine sample. Moreover, that photograph did not clearly show a positive test for any substance. It\u2019s possible but unlikely that a urine sample provided by someone who drank a can of energy drink could test positive for methamphetamine or other drugs. Even if it did, it would only be the result of a false positive, just as in the case of substance testing. Kirk Grates, chemistry research project manager at FIU\u2019s\u00a0National Forensic Science Technology Center, told Snopes: \u201c\u2026 There may be some analytes that are contained within these aforementioned energy drinks that could possibly cause a false positive.\u201d Certain innocuous items have been known to cause false positives for various drugs in individuals who consume them before providing a urine sample. For example, the over-the-counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen has caused urine samples to give false positives for phencyclidine (PCP), and other NSAIDs have provided false positives for marijuana. The urine of individuals who use a Vick\u2019s inhaler has been known to provide a false positive for methamphetamine. In principle, it\u2019s possible that certain ingredients in Red Bull, Bang, or other energy drinks might trigger false positives for the drugs listed in Rider Freese\u2019s meme, but we found no evidence of an actual pattern to this effect. The photographs posted by Rider Freese did not constitute evidence of a positive result for any substance, and, anyway, she claimed to have used a urine screen test cup to test a sample of Red Bull itself, rather than the urine of an individual who had consumed the drink. On the whole, we found no evidence to support the specific claims made in the meme, which was in any case expressed in confusing and misleading terms. However, the meme may have alluded (whether knowingly or unknowingly) to the possibility that the energy drinks in question, like other innocuous products, could in theory produce false-positive test results for the drugs listed in the meme, either through substance or urine testing. Claim: Red Bull and Bang energy drinks test positive for various illicit or prescription drugs in substance or urine tests", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-9ee38aaa9e0f445d9b0a204ffe371510", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The article includes price information for the drug\u2019s likely competitor, Plavix\u2013about $4 per day, a significant cost for a drug that is taken daily, perhaps for a lifetime. The article correctly indicates that the price of Plavix is likely to come down when it goes generic in four years. The article properly includes speculation that the pricing of prasugrel may be a key factor in its adoption, should it be approved. The reporter includes considerable data about several key clinical endpoints of both benefits and harms, in two cases using both absolute numbers of patients and percentage increase or descrease. The reporter gets extra points for including \"\"number needed to treat\"\"\u2013the number of people who would have\u00a0 clinically significant outcomes for each 1,000 treated with the drug. The story is built around the question of the drugs\u2019 risks vs. benefits. Data about harms are mentioned early and often, and described in detail. A direct comparision of the fatal bleeding rates for the two drugs would have been additionally useful. The New England Journal of Medicine article is based on results of a Phase III trial that appears to meet all the important criteria for significance: the study is prospective, the study group is large, the patients were randomized, the treatments double-blinded, the clinical endpoints signficant. While there is no placebo group, this was likely decided for ethical reasons, so all patients in the study would receive at least current best-practice treatment. The article assigns proper crediblity to the study, which to appear in NEJM has received rigorous peer review. The article does nothing to exaggerate the risk of death or the consequences of heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular disease deaths. It allows the outcome figures to speak for themselves. The article quotes five experts in cardiology from different institutions, providing greater balance and context than just one or two experts would. In each case the relationship of the souce to the study and/or its funders is revealed. The considerable conflicts of interest of the investigators are made very clear. The article makes clear that prasugrel is being developed as an option to Plavix, and that Plavix with aspirin is currently best-practice treatment. The article makes clear that the drug prasugrel is not FDA approved and that its approval is uncertain. The article makes clear that this is a drug that is very similar to Plavix, and that it may be marginally more effective. No claims of novelty are made. The companies\u2019 joint press release, an enthusiastic announcement about the drug\u2019s benefits, bears little resemblance to this story.\" Claim: Blood drug trades benefit for risk", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5b3c170c68fe405f8cedd55311ee2aa9", + "input": "Paragraph: \"A Facebook user declared, \"\"I\u2019m starting a public movement called TAKE IT OFF,\"\" in attempting a six-point takedown of facial coverings and how effective they are in fighting COVID-19. The post features an image labeled \"\"Face Mask Safety \u2014 Know The Facts Before You Wear One.\"\" The image makes this six-part claim about masks: \"\"Decreases oxygen intake; increases toxin inhalation; shuts down immune system; increases virus risk; scientifically inaccurate; effectiveness not studied.\"\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) \"\"Well, that all sounds like a lot of dangerous nonsense,\"\" Texas A&M University-Texarkana virologist Ben Neuman told PolitiFact. As we\u2019ve reported, facial coverings are not in themselves totally effective in fighting the coronavirus and there is a need for more study. But health officials largely agree that wearing any kind of face mask, coupled with social distancing and frequent hand-washing, is more protective than going unmasked. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn\u2019t recommend masks for children under age 2 or for people who are unconscious or have breathing conditions, it generally recommends wearing masks in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. As the CDC puts it: \"\"Your cloth face covering may protect them. Their cloth face covering may protect you.\"\" Here\u2019s a rundown on why each part of the post is wrong. \"\"Breathing through a mask decreases the amount of oxygen we need to live & be healthy, increases blood acidity & makes breathing difficult.\"\" A mask does not reduce oxygen intake nor does it make blood more acidic, virologist Angela Rasmussen, a research scientist at Columbia University, told PolitiFact. Neuman said a mask \"\"will add some resistance to the breathing process, meaning it may feel like it takes a bit more work to take a breath, but it won't materially change the makeup of air that comes through the mask.\"\" \"\"Toxins that we normally exhale as we breathe become trapped in the mask and re-inhaled into the lungs, increasing symptoms.\"\" Repeated, long-term usage of the same unwashed mask could potentially lead to bacteria accumulating on the inside, which is why paper masks shouldn\u2019t be reused and cloth masks should be laundered with soap between uses, Rasmussen said. \"\"However, there\u2019s no reason to worry about \u2018toxins,\u2019\u2019 she said. \"\"The only potentially toxic molecule that you routinely exhale is carbon dioxide, which is only toxic when it displaces oxygen,\"\" and it easily passes through the mask. Neuman also said carbon dioxide would not be trapped by a mask. \"\"Decreases oxygen intake, increases carbon dioxide & toxin intake putting body under stress, releasing cortisol & shutting down immune processes.\"\" Not true. \"\"There\u2019s no decreased oxygen or increased carbon dioxide from normal breathing while wearing a mask, and no evidence that masks have any effect on the immune system or immune function,\"\" Rasmussen said. Inhaling high levels of carbon dioxide is dangerous, but this is very unlikely to happen from wearing a cloth face mask \u2014 especially if you\u2019re only wearing it for short periods of time, according to the Cleveland Clinic. There are studies that show that medical N95 respirators may result in increased carbon dioxide, which can lead to headaches and fatigue. This is one reason they're not recommended for home use,\"\" University of San Francisco research scientist Jeremy Howard told PolitiFact. \"\"Cloth masks, on the other hand, have excellent breathability and the same problems have not been demonstrated with them.\"\" A USA Today fact-check said a similar claim, that masks weaken the immune system, was . \"\"Encourages triggering & infection from dormant retro viruses already in the body, taking advantage of a weakened immune system due to mask wearing.\"\" Masks can be effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 because COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, according to the CDC. The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. \"\"It\u2019s absurd to think that masks would \u2018trigger\u2019 their activation and cause disease, especially since mask-wearing has no effect on immune system function,\"\" Rasmussen said. \"\"Virologists measure COVID-19 to be 80-140nm in size making the weave of material masks to be the equivalent of a chain-link fence to a mosquito.\"\" (NM is a reference to the nanometer measure of diameter.) Rasmussen said virus particles are much smaller than the weave of masks, but infected people do not shed individual virus particles into the environment \u2014 they shed them in respiratory droplets. Masks prevent most, but not all, of these respiratory droplets from being dispersed into the environment. \"\"In addition, although we don\u2019t know how many virus particles it takes to cause an infection, it\u2019s almost certainly more than one. So you have to be exposed to enough respiratory droplets containing enough virus to establish an infection to actually become infected. Reducing droplet dispersal by wearing a mask greatly reduces this exposure risk, though it does not eliminate it completely,\"\" she said. Neuman said there is a growing number of research papers that demonstrate the effectiveness of surgical face masks in preventing transmission of a range of viruses, or demonstrate the effectiveness of face covering in limiting the novel coronavirus spread. \"\"Absolutely no peer-reviewed studies have been carried out of mask effectiveness within a social environment to control, prevent or eliminate the spread of disease.\"\" Both papers cited by Neuman are published and peer reviewed. One was published in April by the journal Nature and the other on June 11 by the National Academy of Sciences. In terms of being \"\"within a social environment,\"\" 246 individuals provided exhaled breath samples in the first study, roughly half with masks and half without; the second study was a review of coronavirus mitigation efforts undertaken in Wuhan, China, Italy and New York City. Said Rasmussen: \"\"It\u2019s true that to my knowledge masks have not been subjected to a large, randomized clinical trial, but a growing body of evidence does suggest that masks substantially reduce droplet spread.\"\" A Facebook post claimed that wearing masks for the coronavirus \"\"decreases oxygen intake, increases toxin inhalation, shuts down immune system, increases virus risk, scientifically inaccurate, effectiveness not studied.\"\" There is no evidence to back any of the six parts of the claim.\" Claim: Wearing masks for the coronavirus \u201cdecreases oxygen intake, increases toxin inhalation, shuts down immune system, increases virus risk, scientifically inaccurate, effectiveness not studied.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-eaeeeb9ef29b4d34a05b6912dd414cc8", + "input": "Paragraph: Kenosha County prosecutors said 20-year-old Tyler Huffhines had employees make professionally packaged cartridges. Authorities said the employees filled about 3,000 to 5,000 cartridges per day and were sold for $16 each. \u201cBased on how everything was set up, this was a very high-tech operation that was running for some time,\u201d Andrew Burgoyne, Kenosha County assistant district attorney, said during a Monday court hearing to set bond. Police said the business started in January 2018. Police arrested Huffhines on Thursday. He was being held on a $500,000 cash bond while he awaits charges to be filed. He was due in court Friday. His attorney, Mark Richards, did not respond to an email or a phone message left at his office. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kenosha Drug Operations Group and other agencies executed search warrants at two homes. The Kenosha News reports that authorities seized 188 pounds (85 kilograms) of marijuana, THC oil, eight firearms, and about $20,000 in cash. The arrest comes as health officials investigate 450 possible cases in 33 states where vaping was linked to a severe lung disease. Kansas reported its first death tied to the outbreak on Friday. Nationwide, as many as six people have died. Health officials have warned against buying counterfeit vaping cartridges. It\u2019s unknown if the Wisconsin operation has been linked to any illnesses. No single vaping device, liquid or ingredient has been tied to all the illnesses. But recent attention has been focused on devices, liquids, refill pods and cartridges that are not sold in stores. New York state has focused its investigation on an ingredient called Vitamin E acetate, which has been used to thicken marijuana vape juice but is considered dangerous if heated and inhaled. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also investigating Vitamin E acetate, but officials said they\u2019re looking at several other ingredients as well. Last week, the CDC warned against buying vaping products off the street because the substances in them may be unknown. The agency also warned against modifying vaping products or adding any substances not intended by the manufacturer. This isn\u2019t the first time Huffhines has made it into the headlines. Last year, the Kenosha News wrote a feature story about him when he was an 18-year-old Central High School student, selling athletic shoes online. The story\u2019s headline was \u201cWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?\u201d Claim: Wisconsin man accused in illegal THC vaping cartridge scheme.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7d5520cad5de4d569f69b1ca240c41ad", + "input": "Paragraph: There was no discussion of class costs. How much do yoga classes \u2013 several times a week \u2013 cost? The story provided much discussion about the impact of the yoga on levels of \u2018oxidative stress\u2019. Besides the fact that the link between oxidative stress and disease is tenuous at best, the story reported that those in the yoga group had a 20% reduction in oxidative stress when the study results showed that they had a 20% reduction in one marker of oxidative stress but at the same time showed reductions in two pathways form managing oxidative stress \u2013 which could be interpreted as increasing their risk from oxidative stress. Even the weight loss was not really quantified (the writer mentioned \u201ca handful of pounds\u201d lost). This does not actually address what is known about any potential harms of the type of yoga reported on. The story could have mentioned that the study mentioned that there were no adverse events reported during the 3 months of yoga classes but that about 5% of those assigned to the yoga classes dropped out and were not included in the final analysis. The story did not provide sufficient details for readers to evaluate how the study results might apply to them. And the story included only hand picked pieces of information from the study. While it is potentially exciting that the change in body weight between the groups was statistically different at 3 months, the magnitude of that change is not clinically significant. The story also didn\u2019t explain what measures of oxidative stress were used. The story did not engage in overt disease-mongering. The story did not quote any independent sources. There was no discusion about how adding other lifestyle changes in addition to the other management strategies in place affect the health of those with type II diabetes. For example, prior studies have examined the benefits of regular light exercise. A discussion of exercise alternatives and their relative benefits would have helped the readers judge the benefit of yoga in context. The story indicated that gentle yoga classes might be found in hospitals and local community settings. The story didn\u2019t give any context about prior reports examining the potential for people with type II diabetes to benefit from participation in regular series of yoga classes. We can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which the story relied on a news release. We do know that it quoted only a single source \u2013 the lead researcher. Claim: Yoga shows some benefit for diabetes", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-80cc597e9c6f4578a9c15071913a6b4a", + "input": "Paragraph: Costs are not mentioned at all. The costs of acupuncture treatment can vary widely, but most people can expect to pay at least $60 per session (and often considerably more). Given that this study involved 16 sessions, and that not all health plans would cover acupuncture to treat ASD, the expense could be considerable. According to the news release, the researchers \u201cidentified the most positive outcome of the study as the high compliance rate, with all parents of the children ages 3-10 completing the intervention.\u201d While it is good to know that the patients were able to complete the study, most readers probably wanted to know if the patients benefited from the treatment in any way. The release notes that \u201cresearchers measured the effects of the intervention on factors such as the children\u2019s behavior, ability to pay attention, sleep, and aspects of parenting stress\u201d \u2014 but doesn\u2019t tell readers whether any of those things changed as a result of treatment. The closest the release comes to quantifying a benefit is when it states that \u201cmost parents reported that the intervention had a positive impact on their relationship with their child.\u201d It\u2019s not clear what they mean by \u201cmost parents,\u201d how much their relationship improved, how it improved, or why it may have improved. In fairness, the release states that the goal of the study was \u201cto determine if young children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents would tolerate and adhere to an office- and home-based acupuncture/acupressure intervention.\u201d However, the release also says \u201cWhile a small study, the tolerance and adherence with acupressure this pilot [sic] are both hopeful signs for families of those in their care with autism spectrum disorder.\u201d Why should families be hopeful? Who knows? Given that there had been more than a dozen clinical trials involving acupuncture and children with ASD as of 2012, it\u2019s not clear what questions this new study has answered. Potential harms aren\u2019t discussed at all. To be clear, the risks here are low. As the Mayo Clinic notes, \u201cThe risks of acupuncture are low if you have a competent, certified acupuncture practitioner.\u201d But, then again, the release also doesn\u2019t mention the importance of finding a certified acupuncture practitioner. And even with certified practitioners, there are risks, from soreness and bruising to infections. In addition, individuals with bleeding disorders are not good candidates for acupuncture. The release offers very little information about the study. For example, while the release refers to it as a \u201cpilot feasibility study,\u201d it doesn\u2019t even tell readers how many patients participated (there were 10). No disease mongering here. The release doesn\u2019t mention who funded the work. In this case, the work was funded by Autism Speaks. Many people have strong feelings about Autism Speaks, one way or the other, making the funding organization particularly worth mentioning here. It also doesn\u2019t mention any conflicts of interest but there don\u2019t appear to be any. The release doesn\u2019t describe potential benefits for ASD patients, so it\u2019s not clear what alternatives are relevant in this context. Alternatives to what? Ergo, we\u2019ll rank this as not applicable. The release doesn\u2019t address availability at all. While many (or most) readers are aware that acupuncture therapy exists, they may be less familiar with how widely available it is. Readers may not be aware of pediatric acupuncture at all, much less pediatric acupuncture for children with ASD. Is there a special certification for pediatric acupuncture therapy? What about for pediatric ASD acupuncture therapy? The release doesn\u2019t tell us. Acupuncture research related to ASD is not new. Here\u2019s a systematic review of the relevant literature from 2011, and another from the same year. The Cochrane review, among the collection of studies included in the reviews above, concludes that: \u201cWe need high quality trials of larger size and longer follow-up as the evidence base at present has many limitations.\u201d But the study described here tackles the subject in a new way, that of the feasibility of being able to complete therapy. Prior studies haven\u2019t shown that it\u2019s feasible for families to commit to longer term acupuncture therapy. The release doesn\u2019t rely on sensational language. We do caution that when a news release includes a quote that says a study offers \u201chopeful signs for families,\u201d it should be obvious why those families should be hopeful. This release doesn\u2019t do that, because it is not clear how or whether these patients were better off at the end of the study than they were at the beginning. It\u2019s not as egregious as releases (or news stories) that claim amazing results based on limited data, but no release (or news story) should leave readers no wiser at the end than they were at the beginning. Claim: New study from KKI shows feasibility of acupuncture in young children with ASD", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-af2a3ba066b14ebeaa6397b86f26cf23", + "input": "Paragraph: A statement from Bogota\u2019s Shaio Clinic says Londono is in \u201csatisfactory\u201d condition following Wednesday\u2019s coronary bypass surgery. The ex-rebel was also diagnosed with chronic lung disease and a clogged artery. Londono is more commonly known by his nom-de-guerre \u2014 Timochenko. After the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia disarmed following a peace agreement with Colombia\u2019s government, Londono announced his presidential candidacy. But his campaign has been marred by protests and complicated by his own health problems, including a stroke last year. Analysts expect Timochenko to come in last in the presidential election. But his party will be awarded 10 congressional seats under the 2016 peace deal. Claim: Colombian rebel-turned-candidate OK after heart surgery.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-8b1060b9cd8e47579308921dd1566dad", + "input": "Paragraph: Italy has concluded Covid-19 is not a virus, and people are actually dying of amplified global 5G electromagnetic radiation poisoning. Italy disobeyed world health law from the WHO saying not to carry out autopsies on Covid-19 patients. The WHO never said autopsies couldn\u2019t take place. Italy has found that Covid-19 is actually disseminated intravascular coagulation (thrombosis). The way to cure this is antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants. Antibiotics do not directly treat Covid-19, which is caused by a virus. The anti-inflammatory ibuprofen is being trialled for use against Covid-19 and an anticoagulant has been used in some Covid-19 cases. Aspirin is not a specific cure. Covid-19 is not a virus, but a bacterium being amplified by 5G which causes inflammation and hypoxia. Covid-19 patients can get secondary infections from bacteria. Hypoxia and types of inflammation can be symptoms of Covid-19. There\u2019s no proof Covid-19 is in any way related to 5G. People with Covid-19 should take aspirin 100mg and Apronax or paracetamol. Trials into both of these drugs\u2019 effectiveness in treating Covid-19 are ongoing, but haven\u2019t concluded yet. Paracetamol can ease symptoms but isn\u2019t a specific treatment. Covid-19 clots the blood causing thrombosis, stopping blood flow and oxygenating the heart and lungs. Severe Covid-19 can cause blood clotting problems and issues like this have been seen in Covid-19 patients, but this is not the only thing that can be fatal in patients. In a day, Italy sent home more than 14,000 patients after treating them with Aspirin and Apronax. The Italian Medicines Agency doesn\u2019t mention aspirin or apronax in its list drugs used to treat Covid-19 outside of clinical trials. And there\u2019s no record of a day when 14,000 people were sent home from hospital in Italy. There is an order to incinerate or immediately bury Covid-19 bodies without autopsy. There is no such order. Claim 1 of 10 Claim: Covid-19 clots the blood causing thrombosis, stopping blood flow and oxygenating the heart and lungs.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f8ad10b34c694ee8bf57d394c6b901f6", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Dr. George Flinn is well known in Memphis as a radiologist, radio station magnate and a big-spending, self-funding Republican political candidate who is running for Congress again this summer, this time in Tennessee\u2019s 9th Congressional District. Fewer know him as an inventor with patents on file in Washington, but that\u2019s what he claims in a commercial he\u2019s airing as he seeks to defeat 2010 GOP nominee Charlotte Bergmann. The winner in Thursday\u2019s Aug. 2 primary will face the winner of the primary between incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and school board member Tomeka Hart. The commercial boldly claimsthat Flinn is \"\"a doctor whose patents in ultrasound have revolutionized modern medicine, whose innovations have saved lives throughout the world.\"\" Based on the scant evidence we were able to discover and our lack of deep knowledge in the history of ultrasound technology, we are narrowing the focus to whether Flinn does indeed hold patents in ultrasound technology that might have revolutionized modern medicine. The only Flinn patent we were able to find was awarded on July 3, 2007, and it is not for ultrasound technology. Flinn and two others received patent No. 7,238,370 B2 for their invention of a substance made of pumice and an aqueous surfactant (like a detergent) that experiments showed increased skin thickness and gave it a \"\"more youthful appearance.\"\" It was also tested on shaved guinea pigs. Its claim is that it prevents and treats \"\"photoaging\"\" of skin. Whatever the usefulness of this substance, we\u2019re comfortable concluding it has not revolutionized modern medicine. It took Flinn\u2019s campaign more than a week to provide information about other innovations the campaign believes backs up Flinn\u2019s claims. OnThursday evening, July 26, campaign manager Kristi Stanley sent along three acknowledgement letters from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirming receipt of applications for patents. Not patents, but applications for patents. The letters state that the information Flinn provided (which was not provided to PolitiFact) \"\"will be examined for patentability.\"\" The letters also extend Flinn the right under federal law to seek a patent in foreign countries. Nothing that Stanley provided indicates Flinn sought foreign patents. She did note that Flinn also was involved in obtaining patents while employed by the National Institutes of Health that are held, not by him, but by that government agency. So let\u2019s look at the three patent applications, according to the initial letters from the Patent and Trademark Office dated in May and June of this year. One (Customer No. 062439) is for \"\"Chemotherapy Treatment Using Microspheres to Deliver a High Concentration of a Drug to a Tumor.\"\" The letter provided by Stanley provides no other information about the patent itself, just details about Flinn\u2019s rights. It does not appear to deal with ultrasound. The second is titled \"\"Process for an Improved Galactogram Procedure,\"\" with, again, no supporting description or detail. The third: \"\"Color Encoding Method for Ultrasound Images.\"\" Again: No detail. We could explain that galactography is the examination of the breast by mammography and, specifically, examination of the milk ducts, or that microspheres are particles smaller than one millimeter in diameter. But it seems we can make short work of this analysis by saying that, although Flinn claims to deserve the patent for them, these are not patented inventions and he only sought them after he was deeply involved in this congressional campaign. If the technologies are being employed in medicine to demonstrative salubrious effect, it isn\u2019t because they are his patents because the patents have not yet been granted. When contacted initially, the campaign indicated it was eager for us to examine the claim but did not provide the kind of supportive documentation that would establish its veracity. Instead, the documentation establishes the application for patents. But Flinn\u2019s commercials flatly claim he his patents in ultrasound technology revolutionized modern medicine, when the record shows he he only applied for patents several months after this congressional campaign was under way. That kind of deliberate deception of voters earns this claim a\" Claim: \"George Flinn Says his \"\"patents in ultrasound have revolutionized modern medicine.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-07e8f2285c644aa897a7b5dc1d18969d", + "input": "Paragraph: Democratic state Sen. Tom Holland of Baldwin City and Republican Sen. Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg outlined the details of their bill during a recent Statehouse news conference, the Lawrence Journal-World reports. They\u2019ve already drafted it and filed it so that it will be introduced when lawmakers open their next annual session Jan. 13. The measure would strengthen a state law that requires health insurance companies to cover mental health services in line with how they cover medical care. Holland and Baumgardner say people suffering from mental illness and their families have discovered that insurers can throw up obstacles to getting services, such as requiring prior approval or not authorizing coverage unless someone has attempted suicide first. The bill would rename the state\u2019s mental health coverage parity law after Kristi L. Bennett, a Lenexa woman who overdosed on antidepressant medication eight months ago, family members said, after being told that her outpatient treatment wouldn\u2019t be covered unless she had tried to commit suicide first. \u201cImagine if an individual \u2014 family member, neighbor, or co-worker \u2014 with coronary artery blockage was told by their insurance company that they wouldn\u2019t cover stent surgery until they first suffered a heart attack. That seems irrational,\u201d Baumgardner said. \u201cBut that is what\u2019s happening with individuals facing a mental health crisis.\u201d This bill would require insurance plans to provide coverage without requiring prior authorization or a review by the insurance company when a health care provider deems treatment medically necessary. Four other Democratic senators have joined Holland and Baumgardner as sponsors. The measure also would require that when no in-network treatment facility is immediately available, the insurer must provide exceptions to ensure coverage within 24 hours. \u201cIt is imperative that Kansas lawmakers begin knocking down those barriers that would deny life-saving services and treatments to those Kansans desperately crying out for help in a time of crisis,\u201d Holland said. Claim: Kansas lawmakers want stronger law on mental health coverage.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5976b2c252bf4ff1a4e441d316612bbd", + "input": "Paragraph: Amid warnings from public health officials that a 2020 outbreak of a new coronavirus could soon become a pandemic involving the U.S., alarmed readers asked Snopes to verify a rumor that U.S. President Donald Trump had \u201cfired the entire pandemic response team two years ago and then didn\u2019t replace them.\u201d The claim came from a series of tweets posted by Judd Legum, who runs Popular Information, a newsletter he describes as being about \u201cpolitics and power.\u201d Legum\u2019s commentary was representative of sharp criticism from Democratic legislators (and some Republicans) that the Trump administration had ill-prepared the country for a pandemic even as one was looming on the horizon. Legum outlined a series of cost-cutting decisions made by the Trump administration in preceding years that had gutted the nation\u2019s infectious disease defense infrastructure. The \u201cpandemic response team\u201d firing claim referred to news accounts from Spring 2018 reporting that White House officials tasked with directing a national response to a pandemic had been ousted. Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer abruptly departed from his post leading the global health security team on the National Security Council in May 2018 amid a reorganization of the council by then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Ziemer\u2019s team was disbanded. Tom Bossert, whom the Washington Post reported \u201chad called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks,\u201d had been fired one month prior. It\u2019s thus true that the Trump administration axed the executive branch team responsible for coordinating a response to a pandemic and did not replace it, eliminating Ziemer\u2019s position and reassigning others, although Bolton was the executive at the top of the National Security Council chain of command at the time. Legum stated in a follow-up tweet that \u201cTrump also cut funding for the CDC, forcing the CDC to cancel its efforts to help countries prevent infectious-disease threats from becoming epidemics in 39 of 49 countries in 2018. Among the countries abandoned? China.\u201d That was partly true, according to 2018 news reports stating that funding for the CDC\u2019s global disease outbreak prevention efforts had been reduced by 80%, including funding for the agency\u2019s efforts in China. But that was the result of the anticipated depletion of previously allotted funding, not a direct cut by the Trump administration. And as the CDC told FactCheck.org, the cuts were ultimately avoided because Congress provided other funding. Claim: The Trump administration fired the U.S. pandemic response team in 2018 to cut costs.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ca20afe88d244a9db4fec54dd689f261", + "input": "Paragraph: Leaf appeared Thursday at C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls for the first time in more than 20 years, The Great Falls Tribune reported Friday. In a speech titled, \u201cLying to Myself,\u201d Leaf discussed his football career as a star at Washington State University, Heisman Trophy finalist and second-overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. Four years later he was out of professional football and became addicted to prescription pills, which led to burglary and drug charges and a prison sentence, Leaf said. He recalled attending a boxing match in Las Vegas in the time shortly after hanging it up in the NFL and being booed loudly by the crowd as the announcer recognized celebrities in attendance. At an after-fight party, he took a Vicodin, and for the next eight years, kept trying to chase that high, he said. \u201cI was a drug addict long before I ever took a drug,\u201d Leaf said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know any better.\u201d Leaf\u2019s goal in telling his story was to connect with the audience and \u201ctry to give back to a community that I took so much from and victimized,\u201d he said. He also spoke about the need for more discussion of mental health issues in Montana. \u201cThere is a mental health epidemic in this state,\u201d Leaf said. \u201cWe need to come together as a community.\u201d He does not practice a specific religion but spoke of spirituality, community and accountability. Leaf found his calling working as an assistant to a substance abuse counselor in prison, he said. He is now a program ambassador for Transcend Recovery, an addiction treatment center in Los Angeles where he worked after getting sober. As a pro athlete, \u201cI was making $5 million a year and was miserable,\u201d Leaf said. \u201cNow, I was making $15 an hour and felt valued.\u201d ___ Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com Claim: Former NFL player Ryan Leaf gives speech on substance abuse.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-660b7eca7c364e3691195cd6876fbd83", + "input": "Paragraph: \"New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said prescribers in some states have been so lenient that they have given out more prescriptions than there are residents in those states. With 33,091 opioid-related deaths in 2015 across the country, the ease in getting prescriptions for the painkillers has become an issue attracting attention from state officials. \"\"Some states hardest hit by the crisis have more opioid prescriptions than residents,\"\" Schneiderman said at a press conference. Twenty-three states have a higher rate of opioid overdose deaths than New York state. But is Schneiderman right that some of those states have more opioid prescriptions than residents? National numbers Eight states reported more opioid prescriptions than residents in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The states are\u00a0Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Alabama recorded the highest rate, with 125 opioid prescriptions for every 100 people in the state. Even so, \u00a0Alabama had a lower rate of opioid-related deaths than most other states, according to Centers for Disease Control data analyzed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy research organization. Two other top prescribing states \u2014 West Virginia and Kentucky \u2014 had some of the highest rates of opioid related deaths. West Virginia had the highest rate in the country, with 36 opioid deaths for every 100,000 residents. The state reported 111 opioid prescriptions for every 100 residents. Kentucky, \u00a0ranking sixth with 21 deaths for every 100,000 residents, had 102 prescriptions for every 100 residents in 2015. West Virginia\u2019s rate decreased in 2016 to 96 prescriptions for every 100 people. Kentucky\u2019s went down to 97 opioid prescriptions for every 100 people. Alabama remained highest with 121 prescriptions for every 100 people. New York state numbers New York state had 42 prescriptions for every 100 residents in 2016. There were no counties in New York with more opioid prescriptions than residents, according to the state Department of Health. Montgomery County had the highest rate in the state with 82 opioid prescriptions for every 100 residents in the county. The county had two opioid deaths for one of the lowest opioid-related death rates in the state. Our ruling Schneiderman said some states hit hardest by the opioid crisis \"\"have more opioid prescriptions than residents.\"\" West Virginia and Kentucky \u2014 two states with the highest rates of opioid deaths in the country \u2014 reported more opioid prescriptions than their respective population, according to CDC data. Six other states had more prescriptions than residents, too.\" Claim: \"Some states hit hardest by opioid deaths \"\"have more opioid prescriptions than residents.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-69733d02f7c849da8d4fed7128b93528", + "input": "Paragraph: A woman sits on Arpoador beach in Rio de Janeiro August 27, 2010. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes Nearly half of adult Brazilians are overweight and about 15 percent are obese, Brazil\u2019s IBGE social statistics agency said on Friday, citing the results of a national study carried out with the Health Ministry. Among 20- to 24-year-olds, the percentage of men who were overweight jumped to 50.1 percent from 18.5 percent in a survey carried out in 1974, while the percentage of overweight women rose to 48 percent from 28.7 percent. \u201cWe are in a situation of absolute red alert,\u201d Brazil\u2019s Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao told reporters in beach-side Rio de Janeiro. \u201cIf we stay at this pace, in 10 years we will have two-third of the population overweight (or obese), as has happened in the United States.\u201d Incomes in Brazil have been rising rapidly in recent years as Latin America\u2019s largest country enjoys a prolonged economic boom that has lifted millions out of poverty. The IBGE did not give reasons for Brazilians\u2019 expanding girth but said the biggest incidence was found among higher-income men, older people and in the wealthier south of the country. \u201cThe excess of weight and obesity is a growing phenomenon that is happening everywhere (in Brazil),\u201d said Marcia Quintsler, the IBGE\u2019s coordinator. \u201cThis information on obesity shows that clearly.\u201d One in three Brazilian children between 5 and 9 years old was above the weight recommended by the World Health Organization, it said. The IBGE said 49 percent of adult Brazilians were overweight in 2009, based on the body mass index that is calculated from a person\u2019s height and weight. That is more than the third of Americans defined as overweight. The Brazilian obesity rate of 15 percent is still well below the U.S. rate of nearly 27 percent. Claim: The chubby girl from Ipanema? Brazil puts on weight.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-138acf8ce035408696ec9e5d499614b2", + "input": "Paragraph: An old hoax about\u00a0Charles Manson being\u00a0paroled that was started by a known fake news website in June 2014 resurfaced in June 2017. The rumor stems from a 2014 report that appeared at Empire News under the headline, \u201cCharles Manson Granted Parole,\u201d that reports Manson had been granted parole\u00a0due to prison overcrowding: The ruling, issued by three judges overseeing the state\u2019s efforts to ease the\u00a0overcrowding, gives California until February 2016 to achieve their goals. But, the\u00a0judges said, the state has to make elderly inmates and those with serious illnesses\u00a0eligible for parole immediately. Manson, who was denied parole in April of 2012 and wasn\u2019t scheduled for another\u00a0parole hearing until 2027, was re-evaluated due to his age and health and the Parole\u00a0Board recommended his parole. The site\u2019s disclaimer, however, states that it\u2019s content is \u201cintended for entertainment purposes only,\u201d meaning that its reporting should not be taken as fact. It\u2019s not clear why Charles Manson parole rumors resurfaced in June 2017. Manson was denied parole by the California Department of Corrections in 2012 and his next parole hearing was scheduled for 2027, when Manson would be 92 years old. In January 2017, however, Manson was transferred to a hospital for treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding, and Manson\u2019s condition was described as \u201cserious\u201d by family members. He had been transferred back to\u00a0prison by the time the rumor resurfaced. It\u2019s possible that parole decisions regarding the release of other former Manson Family members could have contributed to Charles\u00a0Manson parole rumors resurfacing. A panel recommended the release of\u00a0\u00a0a former Manson Family member named Bruce Davis who murdered\u00a0musician Gary Hinman and\u00a0stuntman Donald \u201cShorty\u201d Shea in 1969. The final decision, however, will rest with California Gov. Jerry\u00a0Brown, who had about five months to make a decision. the Los Angeles Times reports. Meanwhile, an appeals panel postponed a decision on wether or not to recommend the release of former Manson Family member\u00a0Patricia Krenwinkel in December 2016, Fox News reports. Krenwinkel was present at the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate and four others. But regardless of\u00a0developments with other members of the Manson Family, all Charles Manson parole rumors should be considered \u201cfiction\u201d until at least 2027, when his next hearing is scheduled. Comments Claim: Charles Manson has been granted parole and will be released from prison. ", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b215d188e7814c758234c7a2c212452d", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Saying Medicaid is a broken system that should not be expanded in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry and the state\u2019s U.S. senators suggested many physicians decline to serve patients insured by the state-federal program. In an April 1, 2013, press release issued in conjunction with their joint Texas Capitol press conference, Perry and Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, all Republicans, said that nationally, Medicaid expenditures surged from 1990 to 2010, outpacing its caseload. Also, their press release said: \"\"Only three in 10 Texas doctors are currently accepting new Medicaid patients.\"\" Elaborating in the press conference, Perry said: \"\"And we fear that number may actually decrease if expansion went through.\"\" The 3-in-10 claim, brought to our attention by analyst Anne Dunkelberg of Austin\u2019s liberal-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities, sounded familiar, especially after spokespeople for Perry and each senator said by email that it was based on a 2012 survey of Texas physicians by the Texas Medical Association. Preliminary results from the survey figured into one of our fact checks earlier this year. Final survey results are now compiled, Donna Kinney, the association\u2019s lead researcher, told us by phone. Kinney said the results break out to 32 percent of Texas physicians saying they accept all new Medicaid patients and 42 percent declining all new Medicaid patients--with 26 percent limiting their new Medicaid patients. Put another way, the final results indicate that about four in 10 Texas physicians decline all new Medicaid patients while about six in 10 accept at least some new patients. \"\"They may accept them only in the emergency room,\"\" Kinney speculated. \"\"The limits could be anything.\"\" Early this year, we rated the association\u2019s claim that only 31 percent of Texas physicians accept all new Medicaid patients, compared with 67 percent in 2000. The group\u2019s Twitter post about the figure was missing clarification that the figure came from a survey. At the time, though, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission told us that some 67 percent of the state\u2019s physicians had accepted Medicaid at least once during a recent 12-month period. Agency spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman told us by email that 34,290 Texas physicians had claims paid by Medicaid in the fiscal year that ran through August 2011. According to the Texas Medical Board, there were nearly 51,000 practicing physicians in the state at about that time. Goodman said then that she did not have information on the share of physicians not accepting all new Medicaid patients. Brent Annear, a medical association spokesman, guided us to a March 2012 web post by the group stating that 27,917 physicians and medical residents were asked to fill out its online survey and the group fielded 1,139 responses, a 4 percent response rate. The group\u2019s \"\"preliminary findings\"\" document says the respondents were a \"\"representative sample\"\" of all physicians. The survey reached members and non-members, Kinney told us by email. The key question lists physician reimbursement methods including private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. \"\"For patients covered by the following payers,\"\" the question says, \"\"does your practice currently (1) accept all new patients, (2) limit new patients that you will accept, or (3) accept no new patients?\"\" According to the final results, Kinney said, 32 percent said they accept all new Medicaid patients. Some 26 percent said they limit their new Medicaid patients, and 42 percent said they decline all new Medicaid patients, compared with 32 percent in 2010. For our previous check, Annear said by email that physicians have difficulties with Medicaid\u2019s rates and bureaucratic hurdles that delay payments. The rates decreased four times from 2000 to 2011, an association spokeswoman, Pam Udall, said by email, though the state also agreed to a 25-percent boost in funds covering certain physician services provided to children on Medicaid, as part of resolving a lawsuit. We asked Kinney to speculate on why nearly 70 percent of Texas physicians submitted at least one Medicaid claim in a recent year. She said about 60 percent of the state\u2019s physicians--including many specialists in radiology, pathology and anesthesiology--must accept Medicaid to maintain their hospital admitting privileges. Those kinds of doctors would have responded to the survey by saying they limit new Medicaid patients, she said by phone. For a \"\"real-world\"\" take, we ran the preliminary survey result by Austin opthalmologist Michelle Berger, the 2013 president of the Travis County Medical Society, which is affiliated with the medical association. Berger said by phone that the society frequently fields inquiries from individuals newly on Medicaid seeking a doctor. Berger said she stopped accepting new Medicaid patients in her practice because related paperwork proved onerous and government payments, which have not kept up with inflation, were not quickly forthcoming. Then again, she said, doctors who do not accept new Medicaid patients may still provide charity care--the result being that some low-income patients are served even though their doctors do not seek payment. Asked to appraise the Texas leaders\u2019 declaration--that only three in 10 physicians accept new Medicaid patients--Kinney said: \"\"The language does matter. They should have said \u2018all\u2019\"\" new patients. In emails, Perry spokesman Josh Havens and Cornyn spokeswoman Jessica Sandlin each said the leaders\u2019 statement accurately reflected the association survey. Havens added that \"\"you cannot continue to add context to manipulate the result you want.\"\" Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier, also standing by the claim, said by email that the point is that Medicaid is a broken system. Our ruling Perry said only three in 10 Texas doctors currently accept new Medicaid patients. In a recent year, some 67 percent of Texas physicians submitted at least one Medicaid claim. More recently, 42 percent of the state\u2019s physicians responding to a 2012 survey said they refuse all new Medicaid patients. Then again, 32 percent said they accept all new Medicaid patients and 26 percent said they limit such patients--signaling that 58 percent of physicians accept at least some new Medicaid patients. By not specifying that the cited \"\"three in 10\"\" reflects only doctors who accept all new Medicaid patients, Perry\u2019s statement falls off target by nearly 30 percent. Still, it has en element of truth.\" Claim: Only three in 10 Texas doctors are currently accepting new Medicaid patients.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b6c3b13664f4499f9477a8b7cd02673b", + "input": "Paragraph: The biosimilar, Ontruzant, is sold by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, a unit of Merck & Co Inc, and is developed by Samsung Bioepis Co Ltd, which is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen Inc. The approval here comes just a few weeks after the health regulator gave Celltrion Inc's Herzuma - another biosimilar to Herceptin - its nod to market it commercially. Herceptin, which generated sales of 7.01 billion Swiss francs in 2017, is one of the world\u2019s most successful antibody drugs and has been a mainstay of Roche profits for many years. Herceptin and other complex medicines called biologics are made from living cells, making them difficult to copy with precision. Their similar versions are called biosimilars, instead of generics. The FDA had declined to approve Pfizer\u2019s biosimilar of Herceptin in April. (This story corrects paragraph 2 to say Ontruzant is \u201csold\u201d by Merck Sharp & Dohme and Corp not \u201cco-developed\u201d. Also removes reference to Merck from headline) Claim: Samsung Bioepis biosimilar to Roche's Herceptin wins FDA nod.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-feb593dd5ad54c1ebbd390a18b1d39c0", + "input": "Paragraph: More than 115,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Italy since the outbreak was discovered in its wealthy northern regions on Feb. 21 and almost 14,000 have died, the highest death toll in the world. But daily tallies of new infections and fatalities have been steady in recent days, which experts hope points to a decline soon. Pressure is growing to find out who has been exposed to the virus and whether some people have developed immunity, in order to soften the severe lockdown measures the government has imposed to curb the contagion. Franco Locatelli, the head of Italy\u2019s Higher Health Council, said a reliable antibody testing system to use at the national level had still to be identified, though various products had already been proposed. Locatelli told reporters that government scientists were working hard to analyse the tests and hoped to have a result \u201cin a few days\u201d. He added that it would probably then take another month before the health authorities are able to roll out recommendations on a nationwide testing procedure. Some badly hit Italian regions have already started buying some of the tests already on the market. Speaking at the same news conference, health officials said the lockdown had prevented a potentially ruinous spread of the contagion from its northern epicentre to less developed southern regions. \u201cThe social distancing measures adopted on a national scale have meant that where the number of infections was relatively low, it remained low,\u201d said Giovanni Rezza, director of infectious diseases at the national health institute. The government said this week that curbs on movement and business activities introduced nationwide on March 9 would stay in place until at least April 13. The head of the Civil Protection Agency, Angelo Borrelli, said on Friday he expected them to remain beyond May 1. Claim: Italy experts say reliable coronavirus antibody test may be ready soon.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-bd5c5583b6a9436783d190b54ec75d37", + "input": "Paragraph: We won\u2019t require a discussion of costs in this story because the use of zoledronic acid for early stage breast cancer is still up in the air. However, since the drug is already being sold for other indications, the story would have been better if it had told readers something about the costs of using the drug for approved indications. The story headline and lead muddled the main conclusion of the AZURE trial: that there was no survival benefit to adding zoledronic acid to standard therapy for women with early stage breast cancer. In contrast to the headline of this story saying that any benefit to younger women is \u201cin question,\u201d the other story we reviewed included a quote from the lead author of the study article saying that not only did younger patients get no benefit, \u201cIf anything, they are doing a little bit worse.\u201d The story did accurately report that there may be some benefit to postmenopausal women, but the story should have been more cautious in presenting the results of the sub-group analysis. Overall, the thrust of the story didn\u2019t appear to match the negative results that researchers reported. The article did\u00a0 not mention any adverse effects associated with zoledronic acid. The story should have at least discussed the incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw bone\u2014a serious complication affecting more than one percent of study subjects. The article never mentioned that roughly one percent of women taking zoledronic acid in this trial developed a serious side effect: confirmed osteonecrosis of the jawbone. And another half a percent of subjects may have developed this bone-destroying problem. Women weighing the pros and cons of zoledronic acid for early breast cancer\u2014or for other indications such as metastatic breast cancer\u2014would certainly want to take this potentially devastating side-effect into account in their decision-making. And it deserved mention in the article. The article provided an adequate description of the randomized trial. In addition, it offered readers background on an earlier trial, highlighting some possible reasons that trial produced different results. However, it appeared to overstate the power of a subgroup analysis to produce conclusive results; in this case that the drug may extend the lives of women with established menopause. To produce strong take-home messages, the results of subgroup analyses have to be tested in further clinical trials. The story did offer a statement from an independent expert to this effect further down the page\u2014but never explicitly stated that subgroup analyses have inherent limitations. There was no hint of disease mongering in this article. The article used an independent source. Howeever, it failed to tell readers about the support provided by the pharmaceutical company that markets this drug or about speaker fees paid to the lead researcher. The story did point out that the women in this trial did receive standard therapy, though it did not specifically say what that treatment entails. We will give the story a satisfactory rating since it is not clear that there is a proven alternative that would provide the type of recurrence and survival benefits seen in a previous study of zoledronic acid for early stage breast cancer. The article did not clarify the regulatory status of zoledronic acid. The FDA has approved zoledronic acid as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer but not for early stage breast cancer. The article made it clear that zoledronic acid is already being used in routine clinical care for other indications. The article did not appear to be overly reliant on a news release. Claim: Drug\u2019s benefit to younger breast cancer patients in question", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3582034e28e94293ba384abcd0149080", + "input": "Paragraph: The massive (8.9) Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 resulted in a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear disaster since the catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine in April 1986. In August 2013, news accounts quoted an official from Japan\u2019s Nuclear Regulatory Authority as stating that highly radioactive water was seeping from the plant into the Pacific Ocean and creating an \u201cemergency\u201d situation that the plant\u2019s operators were not adequately containing: Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan\u2019s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an \u201cemergency\u201d that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country\u2019s nuclear watchdog said on Monday. This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, [said]. Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) are only a temporary solution, he said. Tepco\u2019s \u201csense of crisis is weak,\u201d Kinjo said. \u201cThis is why you can\u2019t just leave it up to Tepco alone\u201d to grapple with the ongoing disaster. \u201cRight now, we have an emergency,\u201d he said. References to these news accounts were widely circulated on the Internet accompanied by a color graphic supposedly showing the flow of radioactive discharge from Fukushima all the way across the Pacific Ocean to the western coasts of North and South America and down to Antarctica: However, that chart did not actually track or measure radioactive discharge emanating from Fukushima in 2013, or any other aspect of the Fukushima disaster. It was a plot created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) immediately after the Tohoku earthquake in March 2011 showing the wave height of the tsunami that followed. It had (and has) nothing to do with the flow or spread of radioactive seepage from Fukushima. As for whether the current Fukushima \u201cemergency\u201d poses a danger to residents of the U.S., American officials have stated that the diluting effects of the vast Pacific Ocean expanse would likely neutralize any deleterious effects from the radioactive seepage by the time it reached U.S. shores: In the United States, across the Pacific, there was no sense of alarm. \u201cWith the amount of dilution that would occur, any kind of release in Japan would be non-detectable here,\u201d said David Yogi, spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Eric Norman, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said the latest leak was not a concern. \u201cThe Pacific Ocean is an enormous place,\u201d said Norman, who found radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power in California rainwater, milk and plants soon after the earthquake and tsunami. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of material between us and Japan. No matter what happens in Fukushima, it\u2019s not going to be a problem over here.\u201d Likewise, the Hawaii State Department of Health has been monitoring Japanese water quality surveys and anticipates no public health effect in that state due to leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant: The Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) continues to monitor the results of water quality surveys [from Japan] and does not anticipate any public health effect on beachgoers or seafood safety around the Hawaiian Islands, due to the following factors: \u2022 Water acts as a diluent. While there may be significant quantities of radioactive material released into the sea near the Fukushima reactor site, the massive amount of water in the Pacific Ocean would rapidly dilute and disperse the materials to negligible levels. \u2022 Some radioactive isotopes rapidly decay. For example, the half life of Iodine-131 (I-131) is about eight days. This means that the activity level of the I-131 isotope drops by half every eight days. Given the length of time since the event, the short-lived radionuclides would have decayed to near background levels and therefore pose no health hazard. Although Cesium isotopes have longer half-lives (Cs-134 has a half-life of about two years, Cs-137 a longer half-life of about 30 years), the radionuclides also undergo biological excretion and do not continue to build up in fish forever. (Similar \u201cfalse image\u201d fears were spurred by the Internet circulation of a nuclear fallout map back in March 2011.) In December 2013, alarmist reports were spread on the Internet with headlines such as \u201cTEPCO Quietly Admits Reactor 3 Could Be Melting Down Now!\u201d and \u201cPersons residing on the west coast of North America should IMMEDIATELY begin preparing for another possible onslaught of dangerous atmospheric radiation!\u201d Such claims were exaggerations based on much less sensational reports (similar to ones issued several months earlier) which simply stated that the plant\u2019s operators, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), had recently observed steam issuing from one of the damaged Fukushima reactor buildings but had \u201cnot identified [any] abnormal plant conditions.\u201d As noted at the Fukushima Diary blog: Since the end of 2013, a hoax has been going around on the Internet saying that Reactor #3 is experiencing a meltdown. (In fact, it had already melted down some time earlier.) From my observation, this mess started with an article on Enenews saying that Reactor #3 had been observed still steaming multiple times in December, which is correct. However, \u201csteam\u201d has been observed issuing from that reactor beginning in July 2013, and since then it has been observed almost every day. From the frequency of the \u201csteam,\u201d I assume it is evaporated coolant water leaking out of primary containment vessel, and we\u2019re seeing it now because TEPCO has removed the major debris from the top of the reactor. Probably the steam has been coming up since just after [the earthquake of] March 2011. Sure it\u2019s extremely radioactive, nobody can stand on the top of reactor #3, and it\u2019s harmful for the west coast. However, it\u2019s been that way for 3 years now. Claim: Image shows radioactive seepage spreading across the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear plant.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-389dc225422f4ba5a746f606717bd890", + "input": "Paragraph: Activists say they fear the move, which reflects Bolsonaro\u2019s oft-stated skepticism about environmental organizations, could lead to more deforestation and less oversight in the nation that holds about 60% of the vast Amazon rainforest, which scientists see as crucial for efforts to slow global warming and for the world climate systems. A policy roadmap drafted by Bolsonaro\u2019s transition team before he took office Jan. 1 proposes a decree creating a \u201cgovernment council\u201d to replace Brazil\u2019s National Council of the Environment, which has almost 100 members, including representatives of independent environmental and business groups. The new body would consist of five presidential appointees plus Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, who is one of the authors of the plan. The documents, first published by the Brazilian Climate Observatory environmental group, were obtained and verified by the AP. Brazil\u2019s Environment Ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Part of the transition plan has already come into force. The country\u2019s forestry service, aimed at promoting \u201cknowledge, sustainable use and widening of forestry coverage,\u201d was transferred to the Agriculture Ministry on Bolsonaro\u2019s second day in office. On the same day, the Agriculture Ministry was given the power to determine the limits of indigenous lands, rather than Brazil\u2019s official indigenous rights agency. As a congressman and candidate, Bolsonaro often questioned the reality of climate change and cast environmental groups as foreign-influenced meddlers restraining Brazil\u2019s economic growth by holding back mining and agriculture \u2014 stances that resemble those of U.S. President Donald Trump, who before taking office described the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a \u201cdisgrace\u201d that largely should be dismantled. The authors of Bolsonaro\u2019s transition plan say the current Environment Council, known as CONAMA, is a \u201cconfusing\u201d body that \u201cacts emotionally, without due technique, being subjected to ideological interference.\u201d In another transition team document, lawyer Antonio Fernando Pinheiro Pedro argues that CONAMA\u2019s decisions have led to \u201cthe emission of norms and standards that are far from reality.\u201d In an interview shortly after his election, Bolsonaro complained that it could sometimes take a decade to get an environmental license. \u201cThat will not continue,\u201d he said. While officials haven\u2019t yet formally proposed the smaller council, there has already been increased friction over CONAMA. Security guards blocked alternate members of the council from joining the main meeting at a March 20 session in the capital of Brasilia, breaking a long tradition of wide-open debate in Brazil\u2019s top environmental council. Carlos Rittl, executive secretary of the Brazilian Climate Observatory, which includes several nonprofit groups, said he believes that chaotic meeting was \u201cmore evidence that the plan (for a smaller council) is indeed being implemented.\u201d \u201cDeforestation ended 2018 on the rise. It is on the rise in 2019, but we haven\u2019t heard a word from the minister about that. We have heard about limiting the access to civil society so we can\u2019t have a fair discussion,\u201d Rittl said. Former Environment Minister Rubens Ricupero speculated the new administration may have delayed creating the new council due to public anger over the collapse of a mine dam near the city of Brumadinho in January that killed at least 223 people, with 70 still missing. Ricupero noted that Bolsonaro\u2019s chief of staff suggested closing the environmental ministry during the campaign, but said that the powerful agribusiness lobby is afraid such a move would damage trade and has prevented any such move. \u201cThen Brumadinho showed that our problem is not excessive care in environmental licensing \u2014 it is the lack of it,\u201d Ricupero said. He added that hopes Bolsonaro would engage with environmentalists have not come to pass. Bolsonaro recently defended his environmental ideas at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that Brazil \u201cis the country that most preserves the environment\u201d and that \u201cthose that criticize us actually have a lot to learn from us.\u201d The Bolsonaro transition plan also suggested closing the federal agency that oversees conservation zones such as national parks and biological reserves and issues fines for violation of environmental laws there. Many of those penalties are never paid, but several Brazilian agribusiness leaders have complained about them over the years. Pinheiro Pedro, the transition team lawyer, wrote that the agency should be folded into the Environment Institute, which enforces other environmental legislation and aims to promote the sustainable the use of natural resources. He said the two have \u201cthe same objective\u201d and streamlining environmental governance is key to \u201cavoid international interference.\u201d Rittl, of the Brazilian Climate Observatory, said he believes that change would reduce oversight in key areas by diluting the focus of regulators. Environmentalists also took umbrage at the language used in the transition documents, though the tone echoes Bolsonaro\u2019s own pronouncements. The plan says NGOs involved in climate change discussions are \u201cuncontrollable organisms\u201d that need to be stopped so the system is \u201ccloser to ministerial control.\u201d It also contends Brazil\u2019s environmental governance is crafted to give jobs to political appointees, describing that as \u201ca risk to national sovereignty.\u201d Emilio Bruna, a tropical ecologist focused on the Amazon who is based at the University of Florida, said the transition plan shows the \u201cworst fears\u201d about Bolsonaro\u2019s presidency \u201care starting to come true.\u201d \u201cScientists are not only concerned about the government not creating new protected areas, but also the downgrading of existing protections in the rainforest,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was already a culture of impunity, but now it\u2019s being reinforced.\u201d ___ Associated Press science writer Christina Larson and EPA reporter Ellen Knickmayer in Washington contributed to this report. Claim: Brazil\u2019s Bolsonaro eyes new body for environmental policy.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c39831ebc06546d99fb417c0663e8451", + "input": "Paragraph: The story mentions that beta-blockers are available as generics but doesn\u2019t specifically mention costs. As a class, beta blockers drugs are low cost ($10 to $200 a month according to some estimates). The article describes the median survival time afforded the women with ovarian cancer under different scenarios \u2013 with or without beta blockers in addition to their chemotherapy. For example, women who had been taking any beta blocker at the time of their chemotherapy had a median survival of 47.8 months while women who were not being treated with beta blockers while on chemo had median survival time of 42 months. The article notes that the quoted source and the study authors cautioned that beta blockers carry some side effects and additional research is needed to determine if the drugs\u2019 benefits outweigh their risks for cancer patients. It specifically mentions risks for people with asthma. Other specific harms from beta-blockers for the general population include depression and diarrhea. Beta-blockers may also cause complications for people with diabetes. The article provides a good overall description of the size of the study and how patients were followed. It describes the median survival time afforded the 1,425 women with ovarian cancer under different scenarios \u2013 with or without beta blockers in addition to their chemotherapy. The use of language is appropriate in that it says these drugs were \u201clinked to\u201d and \u201cassociated with\u201d benefits, but never claims that the drugs \u201cprolonged survival\u201d as stated in the MD Anderson news release. The story also briefly touched on the study limitations. Because the research was a retrospective look at 1,425 cases in a database of ovarian cancer cases, it wasn\u2019t randomized. The article also notes that more research is needed to determine if the findings will translate into new treatments, and that \u201cThis is not something that people should rush out and start taking.\u201d One area of concern is that the subheadline touts the dramatic benefits seen in a subgroup of patients taking nonselective beta-blockers \u2014 \u201cA type of beta blocker is tied to more than four-year increase in survival for women with ovarian cancer, study finds\u201d \u2014 but the story never specifically cautions readers about the small size of this group (only 75 people). Findings from such a small subgroup should be treated very carefully, and we\u2019re not sure that they should have been highlighted for readers in the headline. We say this knowing full well that reporters often have no control over what gets put in the headline. We observed no evidence of fear-mongering language in the story. The story includes an independent source who wasn\u2019t affiliated with the research. Christina Annunziata, a director with the Center for Cancer Research at the National Institutes of Health, said that while she found the study \u201cinteresting\u201d and \u201cthought-provoking,\u201d she cautioned that \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s practice-changing quite yet.\u201d Annunziata co-authored an editorial accompanying the report which were both published in the American Cancer Society\u2019s Cancer journal. The story would have been even stronger had it outlined the funding sources for this study, which included government and foundation grants. However, since we didn\u2019t find any significant conflicts in the list of funding sources, we didn\u2019t think this omission unbalanced the coverage. The relevant research is based on evaluating the use of beta blockers in conjunction with conventional chemotherapy, not as an alternative to chemotherapy or other courses of treatment. As such, we\u2019ll rate \u201cCompare Alternatives\u201d as Not Applicable. Beta blockers are called \u201ccommon heart drugs\u201d in the story and are thus generally understood to be widely available. Beta-blockers first came on the market more than 50 years ago and their use has become widespread as researchers found more applications for this class of drugs. Generic versions are available, making them some of the most affordable prescription drugs. A close call here. The story acknowledges previous research in this areas when it says, \u201cMouse and test-tube studies have shown that so-called nonselective beta blockers inhibit molecular pathways that promote tumor growth. Selective versions, designed to minimize side effects for heart patients, are less effective in hitting such targets. Dr. Sood and his colleagues wondered if the same effect would be found in people.\u201d\u00a0That\u2019s good context, but the story could also have noted that a number of studies\u00a0have indeed examined the impact of beta-blocker use on ovarian cancer patients, and did not find the same prolonged survival rates that are reported on in this story. The researchers think that\u2019s because these earlier studies didn\u2019t distinguish between the two types of beta-blockers. Because the article quotes an independent, unaffiliated cancer expert, we are confident the article doesn\u2019t rely solely on a press release. Claim: Heart Drug Linked to Extra Years for Cancer Patients", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-428d4bcaf9304a449f7920e61006f222", + "input": "Paragraph: In January 2016, an event primarily dubbed the \u201cFlint water crisis\u201d (involving lead contamination in the city\u2019s water supply at levels that posed a serious health danger) garnered national headlines. Although some details were murky as the situation unfolded, a number of items related to the crisis were circulated worldwide via social media. The undisputed core of the public health crisis was summed up by the\u00a0New York Times\u2018 report that\u00a0\u201c[h]igh levels of lead had leached from pipes into the water supply\u201d in Flint in a period beginning around April 2014: Among the items related to the water crisis that circulated online was a piece from\u00a0the Free Thought Project titled \u201cFlint Residents Told That Their Children Could Be Taken Away If They Don\u2019t Pay for City\u2019s Poison Water\u201d: There is no denying that the water in Flint is undrinkable and that it is contaminated with lead and other substances, and it is clear that the government of Flint is responsible for the problem. However, the city\u2019s government continues to charge people for the poison water and then threatening to foreclose their home or take their children if they refuse to pay. Michigan law states that parents are neglectful if they do not have running water in their home, and if they chose not to pay for water they can\u2019t drink anyway, then they could be guilty of child endangerment. Activists in Flint say that some residents have already received similar threats from the government if they refuse to pay their bills \u2026\u00a0Flint residents have recently filed two class action lawsuits calling for all water bills since April of 2014 to be considered null and void because of the fact that the water was poisonous. \u201cEssentially, the residents have been getting billed for water that they cannot use. Because of that, we do not feel that is a fair way to treat the residents,\u201d [attorney Trachelle] Young added\u00a0\u2026\u00a0Despite the fact that the issue is obviously the government\u2019s responsibility, they have made it illegal for people to sell their homes because of the fact that they are known to carry contaminated water. Meanwhile, residents are still left to purchase bottled water on their own, in addition to paying their water bill. The article confusingly vacillated between assertions supported by a largely undisputed chain of events (i.e., the water supply in Flint had been compromised for some time, and its effect on families was severe) with alarming but unsubstantiated claims (i.e., CPS was threatening to remove children affected by the crisis). The headline clearly stated that residents of Flint had been threatened with the intervention of Michigan\u2019s Children\u2019s\u00a0Protective Services (CPS) agency if they refused to pay for water that was clearly not potable, but we were unable to locate any other account reporting on what would be an extraordinary scenario. The Free Thought Project excerpt reproduced above was the sole source for this otherwise uncited claim. A careful reading of the text suggests that the site perhaps extrapolated two unrelated factual items to form a third hypothetical conclusion: It was true the Flint water crisis was unresolved at the time the article was published, and that Michigan\u2019s Department of Health & Human Services\u2019 (MDHHS) list of possible red flags for child abuse or neglect\u00a0allows the inference\u00a0that a lack of running water in a home is grounds for investigation and removal of children. Page 15 of a publicly available document titled \u201cMandated\u00a0Reporters\u2019 Resource Guide\u201d [PDF] further describes scenarios under which mandated reporters are obligated to contact CPS and file a report. Appendix 2, Section I\u00a0(physical neglect), portion A pertains to neglect with respect to living conditions: under a list of items by which mandated reporters can observe potential conditions of neglect, \u201crunning water in the home\u201d is listed as a potential signifier. As such, the above-excerpted item quite possibly extrapolated its conclusion based on the existence of the Flint water crisis and demonstrated\u00a0standards of child abuse and neglect evidenced by Michigan\u2019s documentation of those criteria. If so, the item made a significant leap between something that could conceivably happen (children\u2019s being removed from homes due to a lack of running water under normal circumstances) and something that might be far less likely to happen (CPS\u2019 tasking itself with imposing upon the crisis in the city of Flint by using its scant resources to target families and children already burdened by an ongoing and unprecedented contamination\u00a0of Flint\u2019s\u00a0water supply). We were unable to find\u00a0any other reporting of such claims aside from ones citing\u00a0The Free Thought Project, nor could we locate any independent, anecdotal reports claiming that CPS was removing children from homes \u201cwithout running water\u201d in Flint. We contacted several divisions of MDHHS to determine whether there was any truth to the claim that CPS has removed children for reasons directly related to the Flint water crisis, or whether any such information or demands had been transmitted to families in Flint with respect to the water crisis. Under normal circumstances, the lack of running water in a home could certainly serve as grounds to initiate an investigation or even trigger removal of children from their home until basic living conditions are restored to the satisfaction of agencies tasked with ensuring children are safe from abusive or neglectful homes. Given widespread coverage of the Flint water crisis and its ongoing nature, the assertion doesn\u2019t make much plausible sense (nor does it seem likely CPS could have the manpower to engage in such a large undertaking). The existence of such a crisis in Flint and its effect on the city\u2019s residents are not in dispute and reasonably warrant alarm, but unsupported claims exacerbating concern and anxiety are not helpful to the residents of Flint or\u00a0other people seeking credible information about the extent of an ongoing public health incident. In response to our inquiry, a representative from\u00a0Michigan\u2019s Department of Health & Human Services confirmed children are not removed from homes solely due to a lack of running water (due to the current situation in Flint, or otherwise): We do not petition a court for removal solely because of lack of water. Instead CPS works to make sure the children have water \u2013 by having them apply for State Emergency Relief, or making sure they have access to water at a relatives\u2019 home or bottled water. On 26 January 2016,\u00a0MDHHS Children\u2019s Services Agency provided us with a statement from executive director\u00a0Steve Yager. Yager\u2019s statement confirmed\u00a0no such complaints or removals occurred due to the Flint water crisis: MDHHS has not assigned a single Children\u2019s Protective Services complaint due to any issues related to Flint water. MDHHS works proactively to assist families whose water is shut off and to ensure families have water filters and bottled water in Flint. When a family is without water, our goal is to help that family provide clean water for their children. That can be through assisting families in applying for State Emergency Relief, setting up plans for children to access safe water at a relative\u2019s home or providing bottled water. We do not petition the court to remove a child solely for the lack of water in a family\u2019s home. We also contacted\u00a0the author of the original\u00a0The Free Thought Project article for additional information supporting the claim. He directed us to the above-quoted MDHHS\u00a0guidelines, as well as\u00a0the article\u2019s embedded\u00a0RT\u00a0video. In that clip,\u00a0a Flint resident speculated\u00a0that refusal to pay water bills could result in the eventual removal of children due to a lack of running water in the home: Claim: Residents of Flint, Michigan have been threatened by CPS with removal of their children if they refuse to pay for contaminated water.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3f70c0e888084efa8c43e9682c4e5ab7", + "input": "Paragraph: The lead author is quoted as stating the implant could prevent HIV infection \u201cmore reliably and cheaply,\u201d but the cost is not provided in the release. The cost may well be unknown since the treatment is experimental and in development. However, the published research states that the active ingredient \u2014 hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ \u2014 \u201cis an inexpensive drug.\u201d Perhaps that price could have been included. And cost is relevant since the vast majority of HIV infections occur in the developing world where cost could have a major influence on compliance with prevention measures. As stated in the news release: The tool, a vaginal implant, decreases the number of cells that the virus can target in a woman\u2019s genital tract Two problems here. First, the emphasis on woman\u2019s is ours because the research was done in rabbits. (The fact that this research used an animal model was not mentioned until the penultimate sentence.) Second, we\u2019re given no data whatsoever to understand just how beneficial or significant the results really are. However, we did appreciate the inclusion of this quote from the lead researcher: What we don\u2019t know yet is if this can be a stand-alone option for preventing HIV transmission or if it might be used in conjunction with other prevention strategies. We aim to answer these questions with future research. Given that the news release opens with \u201cScientists at the University of Waterloo have developed a new tool to protect women [emphasis added] from HIV infection\u201d it might lead some interested women to ask about side effects. The question of harms is never addressed. That\u2019s a huge oversight given that the device is implanted and there are many risks associated with such procedures: pain, bleeding, infection, the device becoming dislodged, follow-up surgeries to remove the implant. No potential risks are mentioned. In addition, if the device is not effective in comparison to existing preventive strategies then there\u2019s a potential harm in relying on the device and acquiring HIV. This is a major weakness of the news release. Claims of efficacy, reliability, and affordability are made in the release with absolutely no supporting data from the study. Many readers might be familiar with the commonly quoted statistic that condoms \u2014 when used properly and consistently \u2014 are well over 90% effective in preventing HIV transmission. They would naturally want to know if this implant can approach that efficacy and be accomplished affordably and without side effects. But the news release does not include this. If such information can not be gleaned from\u00a0 the study \u2014 either because it wasn\u2019t measured or because of the limitations of applying results from animal studies to humans \u2014 then we encourage news release authors to follow up with the researchers and ask for clarity. No disease mongering. Prevention of HIV transmission is a global public health priority. The release does not mention funding sources. The published study does not include any disclosures of financial conflicts of interest by the authors. The news release briefly mentions \u201cconventional methods of HIV prevention, such as condoms or anti-HIV drugs.\u201d Given the preliminary nature of this experimental device it\u2019s unlikely the authors can conclude how effective this vaginal implant is in comparison to these well-studied, conventional approaches. But mentioning how effective condoms and anti-HIV medications are might have been helpful context. It\u2019s not made clear enough that this vaginal implant is experimental, in development, and has never been tested on humans and that it could be years \u2014 if ever \u2014 before the device is available. Although the release does not claim novelty specifically, it does mention the past failure of\u00a0a related attempted preventative (nonoxynol-9). The researchers do emphasize in the published paper that this study is the first of its kind to use a vaginal implant to deliver HCQ to reduce the response of T-lymphocytes in the vagina. Furthermore, they point out this is a uniquely women-oriented strategy against HIV infection (versus a male-dominated one such as condoms). Alluding to potential impacts on women or people four times in the first few paragraphs, but not mentioning the research utilized an animal model until the penultimate paragraph, is quite misleading and unjustified. We\u2019d suggest changing the headline to: \u201cUniversity of Waterloo develops a new way to fight HIV transmission in rabbit study.\u201d Claim: University of Waterloo develops new way to fight HIV transmission", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-11d2c698e2484e8db12c1731ee5b7969", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The story provides the cost of the machine but does not mention how this would influence the treatment costs for the patient. We are not told if this method of cancer treatment would be covered by health insurance, or how the cost would compare to current radiation treatments. The story does not provide any quantification of benefit. The story is a promotional vehicle for a new, potentially cost-prohibitive machine manufactured by TomoTherapy. We are told that proton therapy\u00a0 will work better for patients than radiation, but no data are given to show that this is the case. The story notes potential harms of radiation, but mentions no harms of proton therapy. Proton therapy is not without side effects; this story inappropriately minimizes potential harm of proton beam. Clearly, future clinical studies will help define better the harms, but the story should have noted potential for harms. Common harms include hair loss, skin rash, fatigue \u2013 story says \"\"patient won\u2019t have undue side effects\"\" whatever \u2018undue side effects\u2019 may mean \u2013 the harms are not inconsequential for sure. Here\u2019s what another proton center lists: What are some of the side effects from proton therapy?Side effects will depend on the patient\u2019s age, medical history, diagnosis, disease size and location. Some patients may receive chemotherapy in conjunction with proton therapy; some will receive much lower radiation doses than others and therefore symptoms will vary significantly. Common symptoms include temporary hair loss and skin reactions in the direct path of the radiation. Fatigue is also associated treatment to large areas. The story provides no quantitative evidence that the proton therapy is better than current radiation. Despite company reassurances, we do not know if this form of therapy is as efficacious as current radiation or if it is safe. We are also not told if this therapy is only for a particular type of cancer or if it could be used on tumors anywhere in the body. The story does not engage in disease mongering, but promotes a new technology and potential future option for cancer treatment. The story cites Dr. DeVere White and Dr. Matthew of UC Davis Cancer. Researchers at this center helped finance research and development of the proton therapy machines with TomoTherapy, Inc., so they have an interest in positively promoting their work. The story also cites a senior project manager at TomoTherapy, Inc., who also cannot provide unbiased information about this new device. The story needs balance from cancer researchers (esp. radiation oncologists) and clinicians to provide perspective on this emerging technology as cancer treatment. The story presents proton therapy as a newer, alternative option for shrinking tumors; however, this technology as cancer therapy is still in early development, thought it has received FDA approval for cancer treatment. The story gives us no data to support this newer option as better than existing methods of X-ray radiation treatment for cancer. There have been advances in standard radiation therapy with the goal of minimizing harm to healthy tissue, and the story does not mention that current forms of X-ray radiation can be targeted to a tumor via computer imaging and the use of devices (i.e. balloon, seeds, etc.) Mary, unsure here if we need to mention the latter, but thought it was important as they position this as proton therapy v. harmful radiation. Radiation, at least as much as I know for breast cancer, is now safer. The story mentions that the proton therapy machines are only in five cancer centers in the U.S..\u00a0 Space and cost are provided as the reason this therapy is not widely available, but cancer centers may be waiting for evidence that this therapy is safe and works as well (or better) than current forms of targeted radiation delivery. The story presents a new technology\u2013proton therapy\u2013as an option for shrinking tumors; however, the story gives us no data to support this newer option as better than existing methods of X-ray radiation treatment for cancer. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied soley or largely on\u00a0 a press release, but there is very little new information in the story that is NOT in a news release posted by TomoTherapy, Inc., makers of the proton therapy machine promoted in the news story.\" Claim: Partnership plans to build cancer treatment machine", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-6984e3a09c124624921351c84e8934ae", + "input": "Paragraph: A Microsoft PowerPoint file that made the rounds of the Internet in 2003 presented the viewer with a chilling slide show: four pictures of a pretty young woman with her friends and family, a post-accident photograph of the charred remains of a car, nine images of a horribly disfigured woman pursuing her daily routine (sharing time with her father, receiving medical treatment, eating, reading), and finally a reproduction of a \u201cDon\u2019t Drink and Drive\u201d poster from the Texas Department of Public Safety bearing pre- and post-disfigurement photos of the young woman under the legend \u201cNot everyone who gets hit by a drunk driver dies\u201d: This was one of the cases we really wished would have turned out to be someone\u2019s sick idea of hoax. Unfortunately, the story was all too real. The slide show documented what happened to Jacqueline Saburido, a 20-year-old woman who had taken a break from attending college in Venezuela to come to the United States and study English. Her HelpJacqui website described the horrific accident that turned her life upside-down: Early on Sunday morning September 19, 1999, Jacqui \u2014 then 20 years old \u2014 and four friends were on their way home from a birthday party. Reggie Stephey, an 18-year-old high school student, was on his way home from drinking beer with some buddies. On a dark road on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Reggie\u2019s SUV veered into the Oldsmobile carrying Jacqui and the others. Two passengers in the car were killed at the scene and two were rescued. Within minutes, the car caught fire. Jacqui was pinned in the front seat on the passenger side. She was burned over 60% of her body; no one thought she could survive. But Jacqui lived. Her hands were so badly burned that she no longer can use them. She lost her hair, her ears, her nose, her left eyelid and much of her vision. She has had more than 40 operations since the crash and has many more to go. A May 2002 profile in The Austin American-Statesman also described the terrible extent of Jacqui\u2019s injuries: At a distance Jacqui looks old. Up close, ageless. She has a baggy neckchin and thin crumpled lips. Her cheeks are splotchy and rough in places, smooth in others. Where her right ear should be, she has a slender crescent of cartilage around a pea-size black hole. On the left side, she has only a hole. Her nostrils are ragged, torn. A flap of skin hides her left eye. For more than two years, the eyeball floated naked in the socket, mostly blind but perpetually staring behind a clear plastic goggle. Her right eye sees behind a veil of scar. Her burned skin can\u2019t sweat or protect her from heat and cold. It feels hot and tight, like having a sunburn. Scars run down her body, halting at her knees and before her size 7-1/2 feet, which the fire never touched. She has learned to use her feet like hands \u2014 her toes stroke a blanket\u2019s softness and test shower water. Her fingers are amputated between the knuckle and the first joint. On her right hand, they are fused together like a mitten. Nerve damage has left parts of her body numb. She can make out some texture with the bottom of her right palm. Her left hand feels only pinpricks \u2014 \u201clike a thousand needles,\u201d she says. Her hands hurt every day, but Jacqui doesn\u2019t take painkillers. (The other driver, Reggie Stephey, was arrested and charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter. He was found guilty in 2001 and served seven years in prison.) As Jacqui\u2019s web site noted, she continued to receive medical treatment for her extensive injuries in Louisville, Kentucky, where she and her father Amadeo lived, and specialists were performing a series of skin grafts and working to rebuild her right hand. Jacqui was eventually able to resume her studies and enroll in intensive English classes, and she established a private bank account to receive donations to help pay her living and medical expenses. On 24 November 2003, Jacqui garnered national attention when she appeared as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and then again in 2009 when Orpah counted down her most memorable guests of the past 25 years: Jacqueline Saburido passed away at the age of 40 in April 2019, but she left behind a legacy of inspiring \u201chope among a legion of followers across the globe\u201d in her roles as a motivational speaker and anti-drunken driving spokeswoman: \u201cI thought she was the bravest, most courageous person I have ever met,\u201d said Janet Lea, former senior vice president of the Sherry Matthews Group, which organized the campaign for TxDOT. \u201cWith all of her injuries, she was still wickedly funny and also willing to speak to anybody who would listen to her about the dangers of drinking and driving.\u201d The TV spot, with Saburido\u2019s before and after images, \u201cwas a real punch in the gut,\u201d Lea said. \u201cIt just went nuts. She got thousands and thousands and thousands of letters and was interviewed by media all over the world.\u201d An educational kit, which included a video and a teacher\u2019s guide, was sent to every middle and high school in Texas. Bentley Nettles, executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said: \u201cJacqui did not let the tragic circumstances of her accident diminish her, instead using her life story as a lesson on the importance of preventing drunken driving. We are eternally grateful for Jacqui\u2019s bravery, her compassion and her drive to help others. Saburido was featured in safety campaigns as far away as Australia, her scarred face persuading a generation of students that drunken driving has consequences. Claim: Jacqueline Saburido, the victim of a drunk driving accident, seeks donations to help with the expenses of medical treatment for her extensive injuries.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e9aa9838735748579f733e5a4ac89c8c", + "input": "Paragraph: This is a tricky one. The story does not explicitly address cost, except to call text messaging \u201ca scalable and affordable approach.\u201d For many (or most) patients, the cost of receiving four text messages a week would likely be negligible \u2014 covered by an individual\u2019s phone plan or by nominal text rates. However, not everyone owns a mobile phone, a fact that makes access (and cost) a more significant issue. However, the story does deliver on this point. The story discusses both the number of U.S. adults who own mobile phones (90 percent) and the fact that text messages are more accessible than other forms of mobile health communication (such as apps, which require patients to own smartphones or other smart devices). So, while we\u2019d prefer a more in-depth discussion here, we\u2019ll award\u00a0a Satisfactory rating for the story\u2019s nod in this direction. The story addresses the range of benefits reported in the study, such as reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, but doesn\u2019t quantify that information or offer readers any context. For example, while the story says \u201cpatients who had received the text messages had reduced their cholesterol,\u201d the JAMA paper reports that patients who received the text messages had a \u201cmean difference [of] \u22125 mg/dL\u201d in \u201cLDL-C.\u201d In other words, the information in the paper, while quantified, probably isn\u2019t very useful to many readers outside the health industry. Is \u201ca mean difference of\u00a0\u22125 mg/dL in LDL-C\u201d good? Bad? Irrelevant? This is where reporters have an opportunity to shine. If a news story can take those numbers and translate them into language that is accessible to non-experts, it provides a very real service. It would have been great to see that here. As long as people aren\u2019t driving and checking their cell phones, there don\u2019t appear to be any harms associated with receiving well-meaning text messages four times a week, so we\u2019ll mark this one \u201cnot applicable.\u201d This is a strong suit. The story not only offers a concise, but good, summary of the study \u2014 but it also goes out of its way to address the study\u2019s limitations. For example, the study notes that the study \u201ccan\u2019t tell us whether text messaging could eventually lead to fewer subsequent heart attacks among the patients receiving those messages or whether the positive health outcomes would continue past the six-month study window.\u201d Good points, and we\u2019re glad the story includes them. No disease mongering here. The story includes input from an outside expert who was not involved with the research. The story clearly meets our bar here, although it would have been stronger if it had reached out to at least one more independent source \u2014 preferably one who hadn\u2019t written an editorial that ran in conjunction with the paper in JAMA. Yes, the editorial was independent and provides some insightful commentary. But it also means we already knew where this source stood on the issue. Finding another reputable expert, who hadn\u2019t already weighed in publicly on the work, would have been great. The focus of the story is not so much on how the text message intervention directly reduced heart disease risk, but on the extent to which it resulted in patients taking steps to reduce their own risk \u2014 such as by exercising more, smoking less, making dietary changes, or taking prescription drugs on a regular basis. The story does discuss other \u201cmobile health interventions,\u201d such as smartphone apps \u2014 but notes that there don\u2019t appear to be many mobile health projects that rely simply on text messages. The story also looks at how the text messages helped patients pursue lifestyle changes \u2014 like exercising more and smoking less \u2014 that reduced their risk. It was fairly clear from the story that this was a clinical trial, and that this particular service doesn\u2019t seem to be available to offer customized, encouraging text messages for heart disease patients. From the start, the story frames this research in the context of the much larger \u201cmobile health\u201d field. For example, the story notes that \u201cWhile there are more than 100,000 health-related apps on the market, the evidence to date is lacking as to whether many of those apps are safe or effective.\u201d Since the story includes quotes from an interview, we can be fairly certain it went beyond the related JAMA news release. Claim: Text Reminders Help People Lower Cholesterol, Blood Pressure", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4c3735820d75470797b8deabde23b21a", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Speaking out against the exclusion of Planned Parenthood clinics from a Texas family planning program for low-income women, five Democratic legislators aired a statistic indicating that the group is a crucial provider. \"\"Nearly 45 percent of the women who receive health screenings through this program do so at a Planned Parenthood health center,\"\" said a commentary in the March 6, 2012, Austin American-Statesman by Austin state Reps. Elliott Naishtat, Dawnna Dukes, Eddie Rodriguez, Mark Strama and Donna Howard. We looked into that figure amid debate over the state\u2019s decision, which led the Obama administration to set in motion a phased-in cutoff of about $30 million in annual federal funds for the Texas Medicaid Women\u2019s Health Program, which has served tens of thousands of women a year since its launch in 2007. To participate in the program, providers may not perform elective abortions. Since the program\u2019s start, dozens of Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas have qualified because they don\u2019t provide abortions and are legally separated from Planned Parenthood clinics that do. That is changing, however. The Texas health and human services commissioner signed a rule in February 2012 barring entities affiliated with abortion providers from the program, which had the effect of disqualifying Planned Parenthood health centers that do not provide abortions. In response, the Obama administration declined to renew the program, arguing that Texas\u2019 new rule violates federal law by restricting women\u2019s abilities to choose their own caregivers. Perry has pledged to continue the program with state money \u2014 and without Planned Parenthood. Under the program, participating women may receive health screenings, including a Pap smear, during the one family planning exam per fiscal year that the program covers. Examples of other screenings, related to family planning, that women can get during their visit: breast exam, pregnancy test, routine urinalysis, as well as testing for diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases and high blood pressure. Screenings are not covered outside of the annual exam. The program also pays for birth control such as pills and condoms. Naishtat aide Nancy Walker told us by email that the \"\"nearly 45 percent\"\" figure came from \"\"multiple sources,\"\" including the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She said the agency told her that in fiscal 2010, about 46 percent of clients in the state\u2019s Women\u2019s Health Program had received services from Planned Parenthood \u2014 which, we noticed, is a wider description than the legislators\u2019 reference solely to \"\"health screenings.\"\" Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman told us that the state has not compiled data on where women in the program receive health screenings. Asked about the figure that Naishtat\u2019s aide cited from the commission, Goodman told us that the figure is based on a data analysis for fiscal 2010 \u2014 Sept. 1, 2009, through Aug. 31, 2010 \u2014 showing that of the 106,711 women who were served by the program, 49,162 received a service from a Planned Parenthood clinic. That\u2019s 46.1 percent. We wondered, though, if it\u2019s correct to assume that all women in the program received health screenings, as the Democrats\u2019 article suggests. Goodman speculated that it might be, pointing out that all women in the program are entitled to an annual exam with health screenings. Also, the Democrats\u2019 article leaves the impression that the referenced women solely depended on Planned Parenthood clinics for their screenings. That might not be so. According to the commission\u2019s figures, 27,256 of the 49,162 Women\u2019s Health Program clients who were served by Planned Parenthood in fiscal 2010 also received a Women\u2019s Health Program service from a provider not linked to Planned Parenthood. In a previous fact-check, we laid out a couple of possible explanations for those women being served by both Planned Parenthood and another type of provider. For one, some portion of the 27,256 women may have had their exams and screenings at a Planned Parenthood clinic and then any tests processed at an outside lab. In those cases \u2014 and the state couldn\u2019t tell us how many of them there were \u2014 the only \"\"services\"\" that a woman would have received from a non-Planned Parenthood provider was lab testing. These women would not affect the Democrats\u2019 statistic, since they received their screenings at Planned Parenthood. But under the program, it\u2019s also possible for women to switch providers during the year and receive another exam and screenings. So some portion of the 27,256 women may have received screenings from both a Planned Parenthood and a non-Planned Parenthood provider during fiscal 2010. And if the number were large enough, the percentage of women in the program who received their screenings exclusively from a Planned Parenthood clinic would be smaller than 46 percent. Goodman told us the state has not teased out the detailed data that would settle this issue. Our ruling The Democratic legislators wrote that nearly 45 percent of women who received health screenings through the targeted family-planning program in fiscal 2010 had them at Planned Parenthood clinics. That could be so, but we identified a couple of unsettled hitches. According to the state, 46 percent of the cited program\u2019s clients went to a Planned Parenthood clinic, but the state has no breakdown of the number of women who were screened overall, which is what the Democrats focused on. Also, the Democrats\u2019 statement implies that 46 percent of women rely on Planned Parenthood exclusively for screenings, but some women included in the 46 percent could have had screenings at a different kind of clinic, though (again) such details are not available.\" Claim: Nearly 45 percent of the women who receive health screenings through (the Women\u2019s Health Program) do so at a Planned Parenthood health center.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-eb50f615edcb45548990001515f487b5", + "input": "Paragraph: The plague outbreak has killed 63 people in the Indian Ocean island nation, Madagascar\u2019s government says. For the first time, the disease long seen in the country\u2019s remote areas is largely concentrated in its two largest cities, Antananarivo and Toamasina. Global health officials have responded quickly. The World Health Organization, criticized for its slow response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, has released $1.5 million and sent plague specialists and epidemiologists. The Red Cross is sending its first-ever plague treatment center to Madagascar. On Wednesday, Madagascar\u2019s minister of public health rallied doctors and paramedics in a packed auditorium at the country\u2019s main hospital, saying they\u2019re not allowed to go on vacation. \u201cLet\u2019s be strong, because it\u2019s only us. We\u2019re at the front, like the military,\u201d Mamy Lalatiana Andriamanarivo said. The outbreak could continue until the end of infection season in April, experts warn. Madagascar has about 400 plague cases per year, or more than half of the world\u2019s total, according to a 2016 World Health Organization report. Usually, they are cases of bubonic plague in the rural highlands. Bubonic plague is carried by rats and spread to humans through flea bites. It is fatal about the half the time, if untreated. Most of the cases in the current outbreak are pneumonic plague, a more virulent form that spreads through coughing, sneezing or spitting and is almost always fatal if untreated. In some cases, it can kill within 24 hours. Like the bubonic form, it can be treated with common antibiotics if caught in time. The WHO calls plague a \u201cdisease of poverty\u201d caused in part by unsanitary living conditions. Madagascar has a per capita GDP of about $400, and national programs to control the disease have been \u201champered by operational and management difficulties,\u201d according to a report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. But the airborne pneumonic plague, which accounts for about 75 percent of cases in the current outbreak, makes no class distinctions. \u201cNormally, the people who catch the plague are dirty people who live in poor areas, but in this case we find the well-to-do, the directors, the professors, people in every place in society, catching the disease,\u201d said Dr. Manitra Rakotoarivony, Madagascar\u2019s director of health promotion. The current outbreak began in August, earlier than usual, when a 31-year-old man who had spent time in a village in the central highlands, Ankazobe, traveled by bush taxi to the east coast, unaware that he had the plague. He died en route and was buried without any safety precautions in Toamasina. Four people in contact with him also died. Residents of the capital began to relax in recent days amid the global response to the outbreak, but the disease remains a serious threat with the number of new cases per day remaining steady. Madagascar has fought the disease for more than a century. It was introduced to the island in 1898 when steamships from India brought rats infected with the bacteria that causes the disease. The plague nearly disappeared from Madagascar for 60 years, starting in 1930, but re-emerged in recent decades. The black rats that carry the disease in the highlands have gradually developed resistance to it. Unsafe burial practices that involve touching corpses are another reason the disease spreads, according to a 2015 study by scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Madagascar. The outbreak has alarmed neighboring countries. A 34-year-old man in another Indian Ocean island nation, the Seychelles, contracted the pneumonic plague while in Madagascar. He was treated in his own country and no longer has symptoms. It was the first-ever plague case in the Seychelles, said the country\u2019s public health commissioner, Dr. Jude Gedeon. Another Seychellois, a 49-year-old basketball coach, died of the plague last month while in Antananarivo for a tournament. Seychelles authorities have established a plague isolation ward and announced that schools will be closed through Tuesday. Foreign travelers who have recently visited Madagascar are not being allowed into the country. While the WHO says the risk of the epidemic spreading beyond the region is very low and does not advise restrictions on travel to Madagascar, Air Seychelles has canceled all flights to and from the island until further notice. \u201cThe situation is still not under control in Madagascar,\u201d Gedeon said. Claim: In Madagascar, plague outbreak now threatens largest cities.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f9bad348dd1f47f8898d03224b9c2821", + "input": "Paragraph: There is no mention of costs in the release, but overuse of medical technology such as MRI scanning is one major reason for soaring health care costs. According to personal finance website Nerdwallet.com, median prices of a brain MRI range from $525 in Atlanta to a whopping $3,310 in Milwaukee. The main contention of the news release is that \u201cimaging findings can help spur beneficial lifestyle changes in patients to reduce risk for Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d But there\u2019s no evidence presented to show that these images have any effect \u2014 good or bad \u2014 on patients\u2019 adoption of beneficial lifestyle changes. Does performing an MRI increase the likelihood that someone will lose weight, exercise, and stop smoking? The release also states, \u201cinstitutions\u2026 meld these approaches into novel ways to improve patient care,\u201d but the report doesn\u2019t detail what those \u201cnovel\u201d therapies are. Experts in the report talk about pinpointing \u201cvolume loss in the brain\u201d and characterizing imaging markers, but these are all surrogate endpoints. In other words, how do these translate to tangible health outcomes for patients? Bottom line: The idea that a brain MRI is going to help motivate people to adopt meaningful lifestyle changes \u2014 and that those changes will, in turn, lead to an actual reduction in the number of Alzheimer\u2019s disease cases \u2014 requires several leaps of logic that have very limited support from evidence. The release owed it to readers either to point out the preliminary nature of the hypothesis or provide some evidence to back it up. The release did neither. Procedures almost always carry risks, and MRI is no exception. Some physicians are concerned with \u201cMRI abuse,\u201d pointing out that MRIs often pick up abnormal \u2013 but harmless \u2013 findings that muddy up the clinical picture. These so-called \u201cincidentalomas\u201d can lead to more tests and treatments that cause harm and add to costs. Unnecessary imaging is a major contributor to spiraling health care costs in the US, since a single scan on average in the US costs $2,611, according to Medicare data. Beyond stating that it exists, this news release provides no information about the journal article that is the subject of the release. Nor does it detail any of the studies that supposedly support the value of imaging for Alzheimer\u2019s disease prevention. We\u2019d add that the journal article itself provides limited-quality evidence \u2014 it doesn\u2019t detail the process for selecting articles that are included in the review (raising the possibility of \u201ccherry-picked\u201d studies) and includes little in the way of critical evaluation of the studies that are cited. Strangely, three physicians, who weren\u2019t listed as authors of the study, are quoted in the release and allowed to tout the benefits of quantitative MRI technology. They make sweeping statements, such as that this technology \u201cwill have a huge impact in the future\u201d and that imaging \u201ccan have a powerful impact [on patients]\u201d But the report fails to go into detail. One of these experts adds, \u201cPatients seem to enjoy reviewing results of their imaging studies, more so than reading the results of their blood tests or other clinical evaluations.\u201d But one physician\u2019s anecdotal observation is not evidence of enhanced quality or effectiveness of care. Again, supporting data is needed. The news release does not engage in disease mongering and states that as many as three million cases of Alzheimer\u2019s dementia could be prevented with lifestyle changes. However, it does imply that there would be more cases prevented with the addition of brain imaging, a claim that is not supported by the release or the underlying review article. The release does not specify funding sources for the work, which included the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Institutes of Health. Many of the authors are consultants for medical device and pharmaceutical companies, including Toshiba (cited as \u201crelated\u201d or relevant in the original research report). The release does not disclose this. The main premise of the news release is that MRI imaging can help people lower their risks for cognitive decline by encouraging them to make lifestyle and behavioral changes. It states that risk factors include obesity, diet, sleep, hypertension, diabetes, depression and smoking. However, the release does not address any alternatives \u2014 besides brain imaging \u2014 that might help people make the desired changes. Behavioral change counseling, which is an established approach to reducing problematic behaviors, is not discussed. The release doesn\u2019t address the availability of quantitative MRIs of the brain. MRI in general has been used since the 1970s, and its availability is not in question. But since the issue is not specifically addressed by the release, we\u2019ll rate it Not Applicable. Using quantitative MRI technology to diagnose Alzheimer\u2019s disease in its early stages is not a new concept. There have been blog posts and numerous studies in the past 10 years devoted to this topic. We\u2019re not really sure what\u2019s new here. The news release refers to \u201cnovel ways to improve patient care,\u201d but does not specify what these new approaches are. The language of the release bordered on sensational, with neurologist Majid Fotuhi touting the benefits of quantitative MRI technology and claiming it will have a \u201chuge impact in the future of diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d The release never clarifies the how and why of this statement. Claim: Preventive neuroradiology: Brain imaging bolsters efforts to lower Alzheimer's risk", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-fd0be2e1a323420085e62e9731e259af", + "input": "Paragraph: At the same time, the WHO said, record numbers of children are getting the vaccine - offering hope that the rise in infections may not last. \u201cProgress has been uneven between and within countries, leaving increasing clusters of susceptible individuals unprotected, and resulting in a record number of people affected by the virus in 2018,\u201d it said in a statement. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause hearing loss and brain disorders in children and, in severe cases, can kill. Vaccination coverage needs to be around 95 percent to prevent the virus circulating in communities - so-called \u201cherd immunity\u201d. In many countries, anti-vaccine campaigners seek to dissuade parents from getting their children immunized, despite strong scientific evidence that vaccines are safe and effective. In Italy, the co-ruling anti-establishment Five Star Movement has questioned the safety of some vaccines and loudly denounced efforts to make vaccinations mandatory. In the WHO\u2019s European region, which covers nearly 900 million people, some 82,600 in 47 countries contracted measles last year - the highest number this decade. Of those, 72 cases were fatal. Six of the 53 countries did not report. In 34 of the countries, estimated coverage with a second dose of measles vaccine was below 95 percent. \u201c(Immunization) gaps at local level still offer an open door to the virus,\u201d the WHO\u2019s European director, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said in a statement. Professor Arne Akbar, president of the British Society for Immunology, said the figures were \u201cextremely concerning\u201d. Heidi Larson, a specialist in vaccines and public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the increase in cases was a \u201cwake-up call on the importance of building confidence in vaccination\u201d. A report published by the European Commission last year and compiled by a team led by Larson found that measles immunization coverage has fallen in 12 EU countries since 2010, and that seven out of the 10 countries with the lowest vaccine confidence in the world are in Europe. Claim: European measles cases highest in a decade as pockets refuse vaccination.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f729464236e6459ea3b0f0d46643ad9b", + "input": "Paragraph: \u201cIt\u2019s because my body has been suppressed for so long, it can\u2019t fight it (cancer),\u201d the Wisconsin resident said. Patty, who has worked at her father\u2019s restaurant for 27 years, now struggles to handle full-time duties. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get disability, but I\u2019ve been denied once already. I don\u2019t plan on quitting working. I just need help. I need help because I can\u2019t do a full-time job,\u201d Patty said. In March 2017, a friend who lives in New Mexico, where medical marijuana is legal, mailed her Buddha Tears, a cannabis oil product containing cannabidiol (CBD), and THC, the psychotropic component of cannabis. After consuming a tiny amount of the oil each day \u2014 as well as smoking marijuana \u2014 Patty said she saw a massive improvement in her condition. \u201cUnfortunately, I have to smoke everyday, because if I don\u2019t, I will be in the bathroom all the time,\u201d said Patty, who asked that her last name not be published because she is using an illegal substance. But these days, Patty is again struggling with the symptoms. \u201cMy connection (for CBD and marijuana) got cut off,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m very angry.\u201d While Patty and others have found success treating their medical ailments with cannabis, the drug remains illegal in Wisconsin. And because of its status as a Schedule I drug \u2014 the most restrictive classification \u2014 there has been limited research in the United States about its effectiveness as medicine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized one component of cannabis to treat serious and rare seizure disorders, as well as three drugs with synthetic cannabis substances; no other uses have been approved. ___ The nonprofit news outlet Wisconsin Watch provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News. ___ Although it remains illegal federally, 33 states and the District of Columbia have authorized medical use of cannabis. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed legalizing it for medical use in Wisconsin, and another group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill in October to decriminalize possession of less than 28 grams. But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, remains opposed. An April poll conducted by the Marquette Law School Poll showed that 83% of registered voters polled support the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor\u2019s prescription. \u201cWhen issues receive more than 70% support from registered voters in Wisconsin, the Legislature needs to listen and act,\u201d said Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee. According to Dr. Angela Janis, director of psychiatry for University of Wisconsin-Madison\u2019s University Health Services, Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, are considered to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, whereas for Schedule II drugs, there is less potential for abuse, and there is some therapeutic benefit. Janis is intimately familiar with this distinction. In addition to her university job, Janis is chief medical officer at LeafLine Labs, a Minnesota-based medical marijuana company. \u201cTo put this in perspective: methamphetamine is Schedule II because it\u2019s approved for obesity. Cocaine is Schedule II because it\u2019s approved for nasal surgery since it can constrict your blood vessels as they do surgery in your nose. So that\u2019s the bar for what \u2018medical benefit\u2019 means,\u201d Janis said. According to Janis, cannabis has less abuse potential than any of those substances. \u201cCannabis is not appropriately scheduled. And that\u2019s one of the barriers, but not the only barrier, to research,\u201d Janis said. Janis recommends rescheduling the drug so researchers can further study its properties. Even Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which opposes marijuana legalization, is \u201cfully supportive\u201d of drugs containing cannabis that have been approved by the FDA, said Colton Grace, a spokesman for the group. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, cannabinoids are substances within the cannabis plant that act on specific receptors in the human brain and body. They are the main active ingredients in the medical products derived from cannabis. These receptors affect many essential functions, including one\u2019s memory, thinking, concentration and coordination. Interfering with it can have profound effects \u2014 both positive and negative. Two of the most extensively studied cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD. However, there are dozens of cannabinoids that may also have medical uses. \u201cMany strains of the cannabis plant can have 60, 70, 80 cannabinoids in them that all interact in different ways,\u201d Janis said. The National Institutes of Health reported spending $191 million on researching cannabinoids for medicinal use in 2017-18. Some effects are already known. For example, THC can affect the central nervous system, producing benefits such as decreased vomiting and nausea, increased appetite, reduced pain and anti-inflammatory effects. CBD also acts as an anti-inflammatory, increasing immune function, reducing pain and keeping certain cells from proliferating. Cannabinoid receptors are not in areas that control breathing, which is why there are no fatal overdoses with marijuana, Janis said. CBD actually blocks the psychotropic effects of THC, Janis said. In addition to all those cannabinoids, the cannabis sativa plant has a lot of other chemicals. For instance, terpenes, which give each strain its particular smell, such as lemon or pine, \u201care thought to have a lot of effects, but we just don\u2019t know what they actually do in the body,\u201d Janis said. In 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine came out with one of the most comprehensive reviews of scientific research on what is known about the health effects of cannabis and cannabis-derived products. The committee considered more than 10,000 scientific abstracts. It reached nearly 100 conclusions, finding substantial evidence for just a few indications \u2014 the biggest one being pain. The report found there is substantial evidence that cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain in adults, specifically nerve pain, Janis said. The group also found conclusive evidence for cannabis treating chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting and MS-associated muscle spasms. The report also showed moderate evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective for improving sleep in individuals with sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, chronic pain and multiple sclerosis. It also found limited evidence for cannabis as effective for increasing appetite and decreasing weight loss associated with HIV/AIDS, relaxing muscle tightness and pain from MS, symptoms of Tourette syndrome, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anecdotal evidence has also proven the effectiveness of cannabinoids for treating Rett syndrome. Norah Lowe, 10, started feeling relief from the rare neurological disorder one year ago when she began using CBD to treat her symptoms. Rett syndrome impacts nearly every part of a child\u2019s life, including the ability to speak, walk, eat and breathe. A distinct feature of the condition is repetitive, almost constant hand movements. At a news conference arranged by state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, to introduce her latest bill to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, Norah\u2019s father, Josh Lowe, said he is frustrated that state law prohibits her from trying medical marijuana, which has helped others with her condition. Norah, who uses a wheelchair, has experienced \u201cincreased flexibility, decreased pain and muscle cramping, increased communication, cognitive ability, reduction in seizures, better mood control, and the list goes on and on,\u201d Lowe said. A 2017 study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews analyzed several studies, concluding that cannabis-based medicines were better than placebos for pain relief \u2014 and that these medications also improved sleep and psychological distress \u2014 it concluded that any potential benefits might be outweighed by their potential harms. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the most common conditions accepted by states that allow medicinal cannabis relate to the relief of the symptoms of cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and MS. Some other common indicators include Alzheimer\u2019s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s disease and PTSD, according to the group, which advocates for marijuana legalization. Additionally, the University of Michigan published a study in the February issue of Health Affairs to understand the reasons why people are using cannabis for medical purposes, and whether those purposes are evidence-based. The authors found that 85.5% t of uses of medical cannabis were for conditions for which there was substantial or conclusive evidence of their therapeutic effectiveness. Even more, they found that chronic pain is currently the most common qualifying condition reported by medical cannabis patients, used by 64.9% of such patients in 2016. \u201cThat\u2019s a good sign,\u201d Janis said. \u201cEven though a physician can write it (a cannabis prescription) for a variety of things, it seems to be being used for what it\u2019s intended for.\u201d Since cannabis is a Schedule I drug, it is \u201cvery difficult to study at any institutional level\u201d because, in order to do so, researchers need sign-offs from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which has \u201chistorically been unwilling to provide them,\u201d said David Abernathy, vice president of data and government affairs for the Arcview Group, a firm that advises investors in the cannabis industry. Because of this, \u201cThings like double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials weren\u2019t happening in the U.S.,\u201d Abernathy said. But there has been a lot of research in the past decade in other countries including Israel, Canada, China and Italy, and \u201cnow we\u2019re starting to see more research in the U.S.,\u201d he said. The 2017 National Academies review of cannabis research agreed that the drug\u2019s status as a Schedule I substance made it hard to study. \u201cResearchers also often find it difficult to gain access to the quantity, quality, and type of cannabis product necessary to address specific research questions,\u201d the review found. Patty, the Crohn\u2019s patient, believes that her cannabis treatment not only alleviated her Crohn\u2019s symptoms, but she credits it with keeping her aggressive skin cancer at bay. According to a 2018 article published in Biochemical Pharmacology, studies have shown the potential of cannabinoids to reduce of skin cancer progression. However, there is a significant lack of clinical studies promising enough to make any conclusive statements at this time. \u201cI haven\u2019t had the cannabis oil since March of 2018, and once I couldn\u2019t get it anymore, I mean I just finished my 12th surgery (for cancer),\u201d Patty said. \u201cSo, you tell me, what do you think?\u201d Claim: Wisconsin residents using medical cannabis amid restrictions.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-db67174629ff401ca51ee8fca931e8d0", + "input": "Paragraph: \u201cThis pandemic is not only a public health crisis, it is also fueling an economic crisis the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression,\u201d Hancock said at a news conference. Denver has seen steep declines in sales, lodging and other taxes since the pandemic hit Colorado two months ago, and the state is still under a safer-at-home order that has placed restrictions on businesses. City leaders say the drop in tax revenue is affecting the fund that pays for police and fire services, as well as street maintenance. American cities, from Puyallup, Washington, to Miramar, Florida, have also furloughed employees to save money in the face of dire economic forecasts. In April, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a spending plan he called \u201ca document of our pain\u201d that includes service cuts and furloughs for nearly 16,000 workers. Under the proposal, city employees would take 26 furlough days, the equivalent of a 10% pay cut, in the coming year. The spending reductions in Los Angeles are likely to be a sign of what\u2019s to come at city halls across the nation, as jobless lines grow and local treasuries see steep drops in tax revenue. Denver\u2019s planned furloughs, which do not apply to uniformed employees like firefighters, police officers and sheriff\u2019s deputies, will save the city about $16 million. The city also is reducing travel, hiring and purchases, and it is asking departments to cut 7.5% from their budgets. About 3,000 of Denver\u2019s 12,000 employees are uniformed workers. \u201cI want everyone to know that we have worked to exhaust every other tool we had before taking this step,\u201d said Hancock, who repeated his call for lawmakers to include cities in the next federal stimulus package. \u201cThe reality is this: If cities can\u2019t recover, there will be no national recovery,\u201d he said. Brendan Hanlon, the city\u2019s chief financial officer, said he thought the fallout from the 2008-2009 Great Recession was astonishing, but the current crisis will be harder to address. \u201cI could have never imagined seeing the numbers that we\u2019re seeing right now and the gravity that it means to the services that we provide to the public every day here in Denver,\u201d he said. The city last instituted furloughs in 2011. A survey by the National League of Cities found nearly universal agreement that cities would be hit hard by revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus outbreak, and in many cases furloughs and layoffs would be used to close budget gaps. Claim: Denver to furlough thousands of workers amid coronavirus.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-445f0880919042758bdac54320bbb853", + "input": "Paragraph: \"To show that insurance companies can be callous, President Barack Obama recently cited the case of an Illinois man who Obama said had died because of an insurer's decision. \"\"More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care,\"\" the president told a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009. \"\"It happens every day. One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.\"\" The man Obama was referring to was Otto S. Raddatz, who died earlier this year. But Lynn Sweet, a reporter with the Chicago Sun-Times , found the president was wrong to blame Raddatz's death on the insurance company. Raddatz, a restaurant owner, was insured by Fortis Insurance Co., according to congressional testimony by his sister, Peggy. In September 2004, at 59, he was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkins lymphoma and began chemotherapy. As he was preparing for a stem cell transplant for which timing was crucial, he was told that his coverage was being rescinded due to a \"\"routine\"\" review that had found that he'd failed to disclose having gallstones and an anyeurism. Explaining that the doctor had never even told him about the discovery, and that no treatment had ever been urged, Peggy Raddatz went to the state attorney general for help. Within weeks, the attorney general's office got the decision reversed, and Raddatz was able to proceed with his transplant. The case drew national attention, including stories in Slate and on National Public Radio, and Peggy Raddatz testified twice to congressional commitees about her brother's story. But the president's version of the story was challenged by a Sept. 13, 2009, blog post by Sweet, who covers the White House for the Sun-Times . She noted that the transplant went ahead and Raddatz lived for another three years \u2014 an indication that the company's decision to rescind his treatment didn't cause his death. Peggy Raddatz's testimony backs this up. On June 16, 2009, Raddatz recounted the experience before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Raddatz is still angry with the insurer \u2014 in her prepared testimony, she called what the company did to her brother \"\"unethical\"\" and \"\"cruel\"\" \u2014 but she gave no indication that the delay hampered her brother's survival. At one point, the full committee's ranking Republican, Joe Barton of Texas, asked Raddatz whether her brother had received the stem cell transplant he needed. \"\"He did indeed receive the stem cell transplant,\"\" she responded. \"\"It was extremely successful. It extended his life approximately three-and-a-half years. He did pass away January 6th of 2009, and he was about to have a second stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, due to certain situations, his donor became ill at the last minute, and so he did pass away on January 6th. But again, (the initial transplant) extended his life nearly three-and-a-half years. And at his age, each day meant everything to him.\"\" The White House acknowledges that the facts got garbled, but insists that the larger lessons from the story are unchanged. \"\"The story President Obama referenced in his speech underscores what so many Americans have learned the hard way: Insurance companies look for ways to rescind their coverage when you need it most,\"\" White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said. \"\"A media account of Mr. Raddatz\u2019s story that the president relied on in his speech confused some of the details, but the underlying point remains the same. President Obama wants to end the practice that allows insurance companies to pull insurance for individuals like Mr. Raddatz when they need it most.\"\" In her piece, Sweet noted that a fellow Sun-Times reporter, Cheryl V. Jackson, talked to Raddatz after the speech, and she had no complaint with Obama's account of her brother's death. \"\"The point is that my brother lost his insurance coverage when he was dying,\"\" the article quoted Raddatz as saying. Still, the president said that Otto Raddatz's death was caused by a delay in his surgery caused by the insurer's decision to rescind his policy. But as Peggy Raddatz testified, government intervention enabled her brother to have the procedure, and he lived, despite his cancer, for another three and a half years. When Raddatz eventually died earlier this year, his sister said that his death came while waiting for a second procedure that did not happen because the transplant donor unexpectedly fell ill. Critics can still blame the insurance company for insensitivity \u2014 and it's true that the company only paid for Raddatz's treatment after the attorney general's office acted \u2014 but the evidence shows that it's inaccurate to say a delay in care caused his death.\" Claim: \"Insurers delayed an Illinois man's treatment, \"\"and he died because of it.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d4710cf8412e460f805ff41ac3deaecf", + "input": "Paragraph: Wild claims that cells from aborted fetuses are used as ingredients in food and drinks have been around since at least 2011:The Christian media is swarming with accusations that\u00a0Senomyx, a San Diego-based research and development company, whose clients include food heavy-hitters Nestle, Campbell\u2019s Soup, Kraft Foods, and PepsiCo, is conducting research with\u00a0HEK293, originally derived from human embryonic kidney cells.These accusations began with an\u00a0action\u00a0alert issued by Largo, Florida-based\u00a0Children of God for Life, a nonprofit, pro-life organization focused on the \u201cbioethical issues of human cloning, embryonic, and fetal tissue research.\u201d In the alert, Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God, calls for the public to \u201cboycott products of major food companies that are partnering with Senomyx, a biotech company that produces artificial flavor enhancers, unless the company stops using aborted fetal cell lines to test their products.\u201dIn March 2012, that same Florida-based anti-abortion group issued an updated press release\u00a0claiming outright that Senomyx had used human embryonic kidney cells \u2014 also called HEK293\u00a0\u2014 to test its products,\u00a0but the group seemed to misunderstand where those cells came from:In a shocking decision delivered Feb 28th, President Obama\u2019s Security and Exchange Commission ruled that PepsiCo\u2019s use of aborted fetal remains in their research and development agreement with Senomyx to produce flavor enhancers falls under \u201cordinary business operations\u201d.The letter signed by Attorney Bryan Pitko of the SEC Office of Chief Counsel was sent in response to a 36-page document submitted by PepsiCo attorneys in January, 2012. In that filing, PepsiCo pleaded with the SEC to reject the Shareholder\u2019s Resolution filed in October 2011 that the company \u201cadopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements.\u201dThe group again called for a boycott of companies that had partnered with Senomyx.The original claim that Senomyx had used HEK293 to test its products is true, but thanks to anti-abortion groups enabled by some Christian media outlets, the original claim has morphed over the years. Today, viral emails and blogs claim that cells from aborted babies are used as ingredients, which is completely false.The\u00a0HEK293\u00a0cell line dates back to the 1970s. Today, it is commonly used to test new drugs and vaccines:The cells, called HEK 293 cells (that stands for human embryonic kidney) were\u00a0taken from an\u00a0aborted fetus\u00a0in the 1970s in the Netherlands. Bits of chopped\u00a0up DNA\u00a0from the adenovirus, a virus that causes a pretty severe cold. The\u00a0kidney cells were forced to take up bits of DNA using a technique invented in\u00a01973 that used a calcium solution. The resulting cells don\u2019t act much like\u00a0human cells at all, but they are very easy to work with and have become\u00a0workhorses of cellular biology. That\u2019s why they\u2019re used in the development of\u00a0drugs and vaccines. No new fetal tissue has been used to keep the\u00a0cell culture\u00a0going; the use of\u00a0this cell line isn\u2019t leading to new abortions.In 2008, Senomyx was awarded a\u00a0patent\u00a0on \u201crecombinant methods for expressing a function sweet taste receptor\u201d that lists the cells as part of the process, and according to 2011 reports, many of the company\u2019s\u00a077 patents\u00a0listed HEK293.While it appears to be true that these cells are used to develop and test new ingredients, the claim that the cells themselves are used for ingredients is false and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of scientific research and development and how it works.Iteration: Adrenochrome (\u201cAdenochrome\u201d) and fetal tissue harvestingRumors about cells from aborted fetuses in commercial products like Pepsi re-circulated after the January 22 2019 passage of new abortion-related laws in New York State, and those long-circulating claims merged with a related rumor involving a substance known as \u201cadrenochrome\u201d (often misspelled as \u201cadenochrome\u201d).Users of 4Chan\u2019s /pol/ board were among proponents of the claim, evidenced in a February 2 2019 post titled \u201cFUCK: Was the recent abortion law pushed to produce enough adrenochrome for RBG to survive? ?\u201d Variations of the rumor also appeared on Instagram (archived here):Adrenochrome is a byproduct of the oxidation of adrenaline (epinephrine). It has long been thought to be a powerful recreational drug due to its mention in Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but the substance described in the book was intended to be fictional and its resemblance to an extant substance was accidental. Thompson\u2019s reference to the substance as a drug appears to have driven the pop culture belief that it was both rare and powerful, but by and large, information around adrenochrome (regarldess of how it is purportedly harvested) is believed to be a myth. Claim: \"Fetal cells from abortions are being used to flavor commercial foods and drinks or in the production of a mysterious substance known as \"\"adrenochrome.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-bd32b905be8a45f384cc5cb54461746c", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Gov. Bruce Rauner\u2019s signing of a controversial abortion bill last month triggered an avalanche of protest from his fellow Illinois Republicans and anti-abortion groups, who said he had betrayed them. The bill, House Bill 40, removed a \"\"trigger provision\"\" in Illinois law that would have made abortion illegal should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe vs. Wade. It also made abortion eligible for coverage under Medicaid in Illinois and under the state\u2019s employee health insurance plan. Opponents were angry that Rauner broke a promise he made five months earlier to veto the bill because of its Medicaid and insurance component, which for the first time would use state taxpayer funds to pay for abortion outside of cases of rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother. They also claimed Rauner reneged on a campaign pledge that he had \"\"no social agenda,\"\" which they interpreted as Rauner having no plans to change the state\u2019s abortion laws. In a Sept. 28 press conference in which he announced his intent to sign the bill, Rauner lamented that he could not convince Democratic lawmakers to split the legislation into separate bills, one covering the trigger provision and the other dealing with insurance coverage. But he defended his action as consistent with his pro-choice principles. \"\"I personally am pro-choice. I always have been. And I made no qualms about that when I was elected governor,\"\" Rauner said. Rauner\u2019s statement sent us combing through video clips, ads and news coverage of the 2014 gubernatorial election to see if he really was consistent in presenting his pro-choice stance to voters during that hotly contested race. Here\u2019s what we found. Rauner, a wealthy private equity investor who had never run for elected office, sought to build his campaign solely on economic, educational and political reform issues. He stated often that he had no social agenda, and his wife, Diana, appeared in a campaign ad making that very statement. This helped Rauner avoid taking a direct stand on same-sex marriage, which was a hot topic in Illinois politics in the months preceding the 2014 GOP primary for governor. In May 2013, just before Rauner formally declared his candidacy, longtime state GOP chairman Pat Brady resigned in part because of fallout from him having declared his support for same-sex marriage. Rauner\u2019s no-social-agenda claim also proved useful when it came to navigating the political minefield of abortion. To win election in a Democratic-leaning state, Rauner needed to get votes from Democrats who support abortion rights and moderate Republicans without antagonizing social conservatives. \"\"My opponent is desperate for social issues to become prominent in the campaign,\"\" Rauner said in a campaign appearance with his running mate, Evelyn Sanguinetti, in June 2014. \"\"And I\u2019ve been crystal clear: I do not have a social agenda. Evelyn and I are not running on social issues. We all have our personal beliefs. We are not advocating leading on social issues, we are fine with the status quo on that.\"\" That said, we found several examples in which Rauner explained his position on access to abortion during the campaign. In an appearance before Wauconda Township Republicans on Oct. 2, 2013, Rauner said: \"\"Abortion is a tragedy. It\u2019s a loss of life. To me that\u2019s not debatable. However, I do not advocate making it illegal. I can\u2019t, I won\u2019t, I\u2019m not going to talk about making it illegal. I\u2019m going to work and support efforts to make it safe and rare. Parental notification, late-term restrictions, teaching abstinence outside of marriage and strongly encouraging adoption as a far better alternative.\"\" To residents of HeatherRidge community in Gurnee on Nov. 3, 2013: \"\"The reality is the right for a woman to choose is the national law and we\u2019re not gonna, that ain\u2019t gonna change in Illinois. I think we can agree on some common-sense ways where abortion can be more rare and safe. I support parental notification. I support late-term restrictions. I strongly encourage adoption as a far better alternative to abortion. There are things we can agree on to work on to try and get done, realistically\u2026 \"\"I just think it\u2019s better for a woman and her physician and her family and her minister or priest make the decision than the government. That\u2019s my view. People can disagree with me. I respect that. But that\u2019s my view, it ain\u2019t gonna change.\"\" It came up in an interview on the \"\"Big John and Amy Show\"\" on WIND-AM 560 on March 17, 2014: Amy Jacobson: \"\"If there was a possibility that the decision was passed from federal to state jurisdiction, what would your position be?\"\" Rauner: \"\"My position would be abortion is a tragedy but it should be an issue left to a woman with her physician and her family and her minister, not the government.\"\" It wasn\u2019t just the candidate himself proclaiming his \"\"pro-choice\"\" bona fides during the campaign. Diana Rauner, head of the child advocacy concern the Ounce of Prevention Fund, became a strong spokeswoman for her husband\u2019s no-social-agenda agenda, especially where it concerned reproductive rights. \"\"You can trust him that there\u2019s no way he will ever let anything happen to our reproductive rights,\"\" Diana Rauner said in an interview with NBC5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern on Sept. 26, 2014. \"\"I actually think this is a great opportunity in this race where we actually don\u2019t have to think about the social issues because both candidates are pro-choice.\"\" The campaign featured a 30-second TV ad in which Diana, who claimed to be a Democrat, \u00a0sought to bring Democrats to her husband\u2019s side by telling viewers, \"\"Bruce doesn't have a social agenda. He has an economic and educational agenda.\"\" After an Oct. 24, 2014, event in Chicago in which feminist icon Gloria Steinem endorsed Quinn and accused Rauner of financially supporting anti-abortion causes and candidates. \"\"In terms of money and action, he is, in fact, anti-choice,\"\" Steinem said during her appearance with Quinn. Diana Rauner provided the response in an interview with then ABC-7 political reporter Charles Thomas. \"\"Bruce has a strong history of being a supporter of reproductive rights,\"\" she said. \"\"He\u2019s a social moderate and he\u2019s committed to education and has shown that commitment over the years.\"\" Throughout the campaign, Rauner found himself in the strange position of being a Republican candidate forced to deny charges that he opposed abortion. Despite Rauner\u2019s many statements to the contrary, the Quinn campaign sought to portray Rauner as a major funder of anti-abortion candidates and organizations. The Chicago Tribune story on Steinem\u2019s appearance carried this rebuttal from Rauner\u2019s campaign: \"\"Rauner campaign aides said the candidate and wife Diana have donated money to abortion rights groups including Planned Parenthood and the Roger Baldwin Foundation.\"\" The Baldwin Foundation is a branch of the American Civil Liberties Union that litigates issues including reproductive rights. At the same time, however, Rauner was a heavy donor to Republican candidates and state and national Republican organizations that were firmly in the anti-abortion camp. Chicago Magazine detailed the political/ideological conflict of the Rauners in an article published the day before the 2014 election headlined, \"\"Is Bruce Rauner Pro-Choice, Anti-Choice, or Just an Opportunist?\"\" (I)t\u2019s interesting to look at the self-proclaimed Democrat, Diana, who has given in 2014 the max in the primary and/or general to several Republicans, some who are decidedly not socially moderate... Just a couple of examples: David McSweeney (abortion and gay marriage opponent), Mark Neerhof (against gay marriage). Diana has also given generously ($10,000 in 2012; $5,300 this time around) to the Republican Renaissance PAC of the late ultra-conservative Jack Roeser (anti abortion, anti gay marriage). Bruce has a much more extensive record of contributions\u2014including $27.6 million to himself, $5 million to the state Republican party, and also, along with Diana, donations to McSweeney, Neerhof, and to Roeser\u2019s PAC. (Roeser, who died last June, was an early Rauner backer and a member of his gubernatorial exploratory committee.) Considering the contradictory nature of the Rauners\u2019 donations -- giving heavily to groups that support abortion rights and also to political candidates and organizations that oppose them -- it\u2019s reasonable to believe that some anti-abortion voters might have inferred anti-abortion leanings in candidate Rauner. But we found no evidence of Rauner himself attempting to hide his stance. In 2014, campaigning on maintaining the status quo on abortion was a viable option. State finances were a wreck and there appeared to be little pressure either way to change the state\u2019s laws on abortion. The election of Donald Trump, who stated an intent to overturn Roe v. Wade and turn the question of abortion\u2019s legality back to the states, changed that overnight. Almost immediately, Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly began advancing a bill to both keep abortion legal should Roe v. Wade be overturned and provide insurance coverage for it under Medicaid and Illinois\u2019 state employee health insurance. \"\"I look at it as an insurance parity issue. There\u2019s no excuse about the cost,\"\" Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, said in December 2016. By packaging the trigger language and the expanded insurance coverage into a single bill, supporters of what became HB 40 effectively boxed Rauner by forcing the no-social-agenda governor to pick a side in the culture wars. He would infuriate pro-choice voters by either vetoing the bill outright or issuing an amendatory veto to strike the abortion insurance provision, the practical effect of which would be to kill the measure anyway. But signing HB 40 would be sure to antagonize much his Republican base, much of which remains passionately opposed to abortion. This was something Rauner had worked throughout the spring to avoid, at times sending out mixed signals about how he intended to handle the bill if lawmakers sent it to his desk. He made public statements in April promising to veto the bill as written. When he broke that promise, he faced the wrath of everyone from rank-and-file Republican lawmakers to Chicago Cardinal Blaise Cupich. Rauner, speaking haltingly and appearing physically uncomfortable, explained at his signing press conference that adding government funded insurance coverage was consistent with his pro-choice beliefs. \"\"I also believe that no woman should be forced to make a different decision than another woman make purely based on her income,\"\" Rauner said. \"\"I believe that a woman living with limited financial means should not be put in a position where she has to choose something different than a woman of higher income would be able to choose.\"\" Bruce Rauner said his signing of a controversial abortion bill was consistent with his pro-choice principles and that he had never presented himself as anything but pro-choice. We looked through numerous campaign appearance videos, ads and news stories and found no evidence that Rauner ever tried to hide or downplay his pro-choice beliefs. In fact, his campaign touted the Rauners\u2019 support of abortion rights groups to rebut the charge that he was not pro-choice. Rauner sought anti-abortion voters by assuring them that, as governor, he had no social agenda and that \"\"the right for a woman to choose is the national law and\u2026 that ain\u2019t gonna change in Illinois.\"\" Politically, it proved to be a smart strategy that helped gain him election in 2014. By 2017, however, it became impossible to continue finessing the issue. In picking a side, Rauner declared that he has been consistent in declaring his pro-choice beliefs.\" Claim: I personally am pro-choice. I always have been. And I made no qualms about that when I was elected governor.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a0f40ba4bc654681817f5015dfba2a34", + "input": "Paragraph: \"It\u2019s clear that Scott Walker\u2019s views on abortion will get intensified scrutiny now that he has joined the crowded Republican presidential field. In 2014, during the final weeks of the campaign before he won re-election as governor, Walker was attacked in a TV ad by a national political action committee that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights. And weeks before his White House run announcement on July 13, 2015, Walker was targeted twice: once in a TV ad by the nation\u2019s oldest abortion rights advocacy group and once on a TV talk show by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, used her June 3, 2015 interview on MSNBC to cast Walker as out of step with other Republicans on abortion. After host Chris Hayes suggested that Walker\u2019s support for a law banning abortion after 20 weeks was mainstream among Republicans, Baldwin agreed. But she drew a contrast, stating: \"\"Yes, but if you look at the history of those who have been elected president, Scott Walker's views are clearly more extreme than any Republican president in recent times -- much more extreme than President George W. Bush with regard to the issues of having exemptions that deal with the health and the life of the mother, and the issues of exemptions for rape victims and incest.\"\" On abortion, is Walker to the right of any recent Republican president? Previous claims Some statements about Walker and abortion have missed the mark, including the two we mentioned. The TV ad by EMILY\u2019s List shortly before Walker defeated Democrat Mary Burke in 2014 claimed Walker was \"\"forcing some women to undergo a transvaginal probe to get an abortion.\"\". A law Walker signed says women can choose either a transvaginal or transabdominal ultrasound, though in certain cases a transvaginal probe may be medically necessary. The TV ad by NARAL Pro-Choice America, which aired in June 2015 in Iowa and New Hampshire, claimed Walker had said that \"\"forcing women facing abortion to get invasive ultrasounds was 'just a cool thing.\u2019 \"\" The \"\"cool\"\" reference wasn\u2019t to forcing some women to get vaginal ultrasounds, but rather to the ultrasound technology that produces images from the womb. Nevertheless, there is no question that for decades -- going back to before his time as governor and as a state lawmaker -- Walker has been staunchly anti-abortion. Baldwin\u2019s office didn\u2019t respond to our requests for information to back her claim, and Walker\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t weigh in, either. But we can compare Walker\u2019s public positions on abortion to those of recent GOP presidents. NARAL, Planned Parenthood We asked NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly known as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America about how they rate politicians on abortion rights. The groups told us they don\u2019t produce ratings on a continuum. They put politicians into broad categories -- not on a scale that would rank one as more extreme, to use Baldwin\u2019s term, than another. NARAL gave Walker and 13 other Republican presidential contenders a grade of F, for Fail. The group points to Walker\u2019s votes in the Legislature and measures he has signed into law as governor restricting access to abortion services. Planned Parenthood rates the Republican and Democratic 2016 contenders more broadly, on access to abortion, affordable birth control and family planning. Like most of the other GOP hopefuls, Walker was given a red X on each measure, rather than a green checkmark. Planned Parenthood notes that besides wanting to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest, Walker tried to repeal a law requiring insurance companies to cover prescription birth control and defunded Planned Parenthood, which is something Walker himself highlights in his campaign speeches. The website of the National Right to Life Committee, meanwhile, highlights the records of President Barack Obama and his four most recent predecessors, dating back to the late Ronald Reagan, but doesn\u2019t do any ratings. So let\u2019s look more closely at Walker and the three most recent GOP presidents, dating back to Reagan. Walker vs. Bushes, Reagan Walker\u2019s basic position is clear. In 2010, a week before he was elected to his first term as governor, we rated a claim that Walker wants to make abortion illegal even in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother. He acknowledged that was his position. As Matt Sande of Pro-Life Wisconsin told us, since then, Walker has not contradicted that position in words or actions. In fact, Walker has underscored his support for banning abortion without exceptions commonly accepted by other abortion opponents. In March 2015, Walker released an \"\"open letter on life,\"\" which began by noting that he had \"\"earned a 100 percent rating with pro-life groups in Wisconsin.\"\" And in June 2015, Walker pledged to sign legislation to ban abortions in Wisconsin after 20 weeks -- with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. That measure was passed by the Legislature the next month and is awaiting Walker\u2019s signature. No recent Republican president has gone so far in opposing exceptions. As president, George H.W. Bush (1989-\u201993) and George W. Bush (2001-\u201909) both supported allowing abortions in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother. The elder Bush said in 1992 he said: \"\"My own position on abortion is well-known and remains unchanged. I oppose abortion in all cases except rape or incest or where the life of the mother is at stake.\"\" The younger Bush declared in 2006: ''My position has always been three exceptions: rape, incest and the life of the mother.\"\" Meanwhile, Reagan (1981-\u201989), an idol of Walker\u2019s, was closer to Walker\u2019s position. He didn\u2019t support an exception for rape or incest, but did support one to protect the life of the mother. In 1987, he promoted a bill with a provision that \"\"no funds appropriated by Congress shall be used to perform abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.\"\" Our rating Baldwin said Walker's views on abortion are more restrictive \"\"than any Republican president in recent times.\"\" Walker supports outlawing abortion in all circumstances. The three most recent GOP presidents each supported exceptions, such as allowing abortion to protect the life of the mother.\" Claim: \"Tammy Baldwin Says Scott Walker's views on abortion are more restrictive \"\"than any Republican president in recent times.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-fd39ea09003c428e8127a2f0e383efbc", + "input": "Paragraph: On December 18, 2018, a spate of posts and articles about fast food chain Popeye\u2019s new \u201cemotional support chicken\u201d appeared on social media:The move appeared to be a stunt that was either tasty or tasteless, depending on your perspective. Although several general news outlets posted about the Popeye\u2019s product, readers and social media users remained on high alert for leg pulls and marketing stunts based on the topics of the day \u2014 in this case, the ongoing controversy around emotional support animal companions and air travel:Delta says it saw an 84 percent increase in reported incidents involving service and support animals in 2016 and 2017. According to the trade group Airlines for America, airlines in the US saw a 74 percent increase overall in emotional support animals from 2016 to 2017. This increase has caused other major airlines including American and United to\u00a0tighten their policies.Even if you haven\u2019t encountered a nonhuman passenger on your own flight, you\u2019ve probably heard one of the viral stories about one, which seem to surface every few weeks. In January [2018], a woman was barred from bringing her\u00a0emotional support peacock\u00a0on a United flight, even when she offered to buy the bird its own seat.Likely owing in part to the evergreen popularity of the debate, Popeye\u2019s advertisement of a new purported product relating to emotional support animals proved popular on social media:Sorry, Fido. Popeyes #EmotionalSupportChicken doesn\u2019t bark on the plane. (Available in the Philadelphia airport on 12/18.) pic.twitter.com/vWyBWq4PTe\u2014 Popeyes Chicken (@PopeyesChicken) December 18, 2018Popeye\u2019s issued a press release on December 18, 2018 about its purported new product:There is no doubt the holiday season is one of the busiest and most stressful travel times of the year. The airports are crowded, the delays are frustrating, and travelers are stressed about getting from point A to point B with gifts in hand. This year, POPEYES\u00ae is launching \u201cEmotional Support Chicken\u201d to provide a good-hearted laugh most need to get through stressful holiday air travel. Starting Tuesday, December 18 [2018], travelers passing through Philadelphia International Airport can purchase their fried chicken meal with an \u201cEmotional Support Chicken\u201d carrier at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Terminal C to bring with them on their flight.Emotional support animals provide comfort and companionship, especially during a highly stressful time like air travel. However, according to recent headlines, some travelers are pushing the envelope with the types of animals they try to bring on flights and classify as \u201cemotional support animals,\u201d including the likes of peacocks, squirrels and tarantulas. Knowing this, Popeyes decided to launch its new \u201cEmotional Support Chicken\u201d to bring holiday travelers some humor to what is one of the most stressful places to be during the holidays \u2013 the airport.As is often the case with headline-grabbing fast food news, Popeye\u2019s \u201cEmotional Support Chicken\u201d promotion was a bit overhyped for its real-world impact. The product was only available at one location (Philadelphia International Airport), and only while supplies lasted. Overall, the announcement largely served to get Popeye\u2019s a bunch of news mentions, with little substance behind the novelty item. Claim: \"Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is selling \"\"emotional support chicken\"\" for weary flight passengers.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4cd040cfe99a4e6cb60ea9ef1ef43b19", + "input": "Paragraph: The European Medicines Agency had already restricted the use of Protelos - also known as Osseor or strontium ranelate - last April but its pharmacovigilance committee said on Friday the drug should no longer be used to treat osteoporosis at all. The move follows an analysis which found that for every 1,000 patient-years there were four more cases of serious heart problems, including heart attacks, and four more cases of blood clots among patients taking the drug than those on placebo. The recommendation will now be sent to the agency\u2019s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, which is expected to issue a final opinion at its January 20-23 meeting. Claim: EU panel recommends suspension of risky bone disease drug.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e32b8eefca934f59ab310a59de904295", + "input": "Paragraph: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross is expected in July to decide whether to halt more than 160 active lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, cities and counties against opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics Inc. When it filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware earlier this month, Insys requested the cases be paused. A bankruptcy filing would normally halt active litigation immediately, giving a company such as Insys time to reorganize and preserve money that would otherwise be spent fighting the cases. But a longstanding exception in U.S. bankruptcy law can keep the lawsuits alive if they are enforcing government officials\u2019 \u201cpolice or regulatory power.\u201d The exception holds that government actions seeking to enforce laws related to matters such as public health and safety are not automatically stopped by a company\u2019s bankruptcy filing as other lawsuits are. State and local officials are suing Insys and other drugmakers in an attempt to address harm from an opioid crisis that has killed nearly 400,000 people between 1999 and 2017. More than half these deaths resulted from prescription painkillers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2EgfT0n \u201cCriminal enterprises \u2026 should not be permitted to shield themselves from the consequences of their misconduct by running to bankruptcy court and obtaining the equivalent of a stay that allows them to evade justice,\u201d said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh in a Tuesday legal filing opposing Insys\u2019s request to halt lawsuits. The opioid crisis \u201cis a national public health emergency,\u201d they said in the filing, which other state attorneys general supported, including those in New York, New Jersey and Arizona. \u201cThe interests of the public therefore are served by allowing these police powers actions of the states to continue unfettered by the injunctions that Insys seeks.\u201d A spokesman for Insys, which faces trials in Maryland and Minnesota beginning in August, declined to comment beyond the company\u2019s court filings. Insys already had reached a $225 million settlement before filing for bankruptcy with the U.S. Justice Department, admitting to illegal conduct in resolving claims that it bribed doctors to write prescriptions, including medically unnecessary ones, for a fentanyl spray called Subsys designed to treat cancer pain. The Chandler, Arizona-based company still faces, overall, more than 1,000 lawsuits raising similar allegations of deception and fraud in marketing its opioids. The misconduct occurred under a prior management team that has since \u201centirely turned over\u201d and Insys is now committed to lawful marketing practices, the company said in court papers. Insys contends in bankruptcy-court filings that Judge Gross should halt the lawsuits against it regardless of any exceptions, lest the company drain limited financial resources fighting cases on multiple fronts. Allowing the cases to continue would leave less money for creditors, including the very government officials seeking to hold it to account, Insys contends, adding that its request is not an attempt to escape liability. It had less than $40 million in the bank when filing for bankruptcy and predicts spending up to $9 million through December to continue fighting lawsuits, according to court papers. The judge\u2019s ruling is expected to influence whether another opioid manufacturer facing 2,000 lawsuits - OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP - decides to file for bankruptcy protection, according to a person familiar with the matter and legal experts. A Purdue spokesman declined to comment. A ruling allowing the Insys litigation to proceed could discourage Purdue from seeking bankruptcy protection, while pausing the cases might signal that Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings are a viable way to halt lawsuits and take advantage of breathing room to reach a broader settlement with plaintiffs, according to the person familiar with the matter and several legal experts. Insys lawyers are attempting to persuade government officials to agree to voluntarily halt their cases, according to a bankruptcy-court filing. Insys is nearing a deal that would effectively halt some of those legal claims against the drugmaker that are consolidated in an Ohio federal court, said Paul Hanly, a lead lawyer for plaintiffs in the opioid litigation. An Insys spokesman declined to comment on the potential agreement. Insys has some legal precedent backing its approach. In 2017, a bankruptcy judge sided with Takata Corp when temporarily halting lawsuits brought by Hawaii, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands against the Japanese supplier of automobile airbags that exploded, finding that allowing the litigation to continue threatened the company\u2019s reorganization. That would have harmed creditors, including those seeking to hold Takata accountable for widespread deaths and injuries, the judge ruled. The ruling allowed Takata to focus on completing a sale to a rival, creating a combined company called Joyson Safety Systems. A Joyson representative declined to comment. The Minnesota and Maryland attorneys general argued in their legal filing on Tuesday that Insys has not demonstrated the kind of exceptional circumstances present in the Takata case - an unprecedented automotive recall - that warranted halting government lawsuits. While the outcome in the Insys case is not critical for opioid manufacturers with stronger balance sheets that face lawsuits, such as Johnson & Johnson, it holds significance for the likes of OxyContin maker Purdue, according to several legal experts. In March, Reuters reported that Purdue was exploring filing for bankruptcy protection to address lawsuits alleging it pushed prescription painkillers while downplaying their abuse and overdose risks, according to people familiar with the matter. Purdue\u2019s CEO later confirmed the company was considering a bankruptcy filing. The company has denied allegations it contributed to the opioid crisis, pointing to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving labels on its drugs carrying warnings about risk and abuse associated with treating pain. Claim: Fate of opioid litigation hinges on government 'police power'.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-0a8f6c6161054498bcc61d9e05a8a597", + "input": "Paragraph: In May 2016,\u00a0photographs and messages reproduced above began circulating on Facebook\u00a0along with claims that\u00a0lurking underneath labels of\u00a0pricey salon-brand hair products purchased through discount retailers were cheaper, lower quality brands. Photographs\u00a0show\u00a0the\u00a0CHI line of hair care products with T.J. Maxx price tag and the label half peeled away to show\u00a0a\u00a0bottle bearing a less expensive (and presumably lower-quality) hair care product. Most versions\u00a0of the claim included an assertion that salon-brand hair products should only be bought at hair salons, not discount retailers. The rumors served as a tacit criticism of\u00a0salon clientele who purchase product\u00a0from third parties rather than\u00a0from salons or stylists (who would earn commission and meet salon sales goals otherwise). A similar social media rumor\u00a0maintained that\u00a0eyelash extensions\u00a0can cause \u201clash lice,\u201d a story spread\u00a0primarily by multi-level marketing salespeople hawking\u00a0mascara. In another instance, salons and stylists spread a rumor that Pantene (one of the top-selling drugstore hair care brands) can be\u00a0flammable in combination with popular hair-lightening treatments. Both rumors began with or were passed along\u00a0by people\u00a0invested in the sale of competing products at full price. T.J. Maxx said\u00a0that the CHI products depicted were genuine: At T.J. Maxx, conducting our business with integrity means everything to us and we take pride in offering our customers great values on high quality brand-name products. We have looked into your concerns and can assure you that the contents of the bottle are authentic and are as described on the outer label. We have also confirmed with our supplier that its relabeling of the bottle was appropriate. We thank you for your ongoing patronage of our stores. CHI also responded our questions\u00a0about the photographs. The company explained that the labeling was due in part\u00a0to manufacturing fluctuations, as well as cutting back on unnecessary waste: Recently, several of our customers have noticed cans of CHI\u00ae products with labels covering up other products. We sincerely wish to clear up any confusion. The Egyptian Oil and French Oil and other cans you may have seen were originally another CHI\u00ae product brand we manufactured. Due to a legal challenge that arose concerning the new brand names and designs, we were forced to cease production. As a result of this, we were left with many empty cylinders. To avoid them taking up vital space in our warehouse but most importantly, adding unnecessary waste to landfills, we decided to uphold our environmentally conscious efforts that we have maintained since 1986. We felt we made the right decision by placing original CHI\u00ae labels over these cylinders and filling them with our CHI\u00ae formulas. Therefore, the product is authentically made by Farouk Systems with the correct CHI\u00ae label on them and product inside. We sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused our customers. One of the two viral photographs didn\u2019t display a T.J. Maxx or Marshall\u2019s price tag, strongly suggesting\u00a0that the relabeled\u00a0bottles were indeed not\u00a0restricted to non-salon retail environments. CHI\u2019s statement affirmed\u00a0the relabeled bottles\u00a0were in no way different than any other from the brand, whether purchased in a salon or a discount department store. In this instance, both the retailer and the manufacturer said that\u00a0the product packaging was simply repurposed, but the contents remain authentic and identical to products sold in salons and other non-discount retail environments. (In instances where counterfeiting occurs, the company\u00a0being impersonated\u00a0is typically the first to object to dilution of their brand.) Claim: Retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's sell counterfeit salon products.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-de21e31ec57741f5a88fce64422c9b9f", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The march of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, across a swath of Iraq has fractured a nation and spurred Republican attacks that the Obama administration is on the verge of \"\"snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.\"\" Fox News host Jeanine Pirro tied President Barack Obama to the roots of the current assault. On June 14, Pirro offered listeners this insight into the ISIS leader. (ISIS is also called ISIL, for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.) \"\"The head of this band of savages is a man named Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the new Osama Bin Laden,\"\" Pirro said. \"\"A man released by Obama in 2009, who started ISIS a year later. And when Baghdadi left Camp Bucca, where the worst of the worst were held in Iraq, he threatened his American jailers saying, \u2018I\u2019ll see you in New York.\u2019 \"\" A reader wanted to know if Obama actually released Baghdadi, and we decided to look into it. Whatever the truth, the assertion has gained traction. For the president\u2019s critics this fits with their disdain for the recent prisoner swap that freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban leaders who had been kept at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Red State, a conservative blog, used the Baghdadi connection to talk about Obama\u2019s \"\"catch-and-release\"\" policy. We have two elements to verify. Was Baghdadi in U.S. custody in 2009 and did Obama have a direct connection to his release? We\u2019ll deal with them in order. Will the real Abu Bakr al Baghdadi please stand up There have been several articles -- from Slate, and NBC among others -- \u00a0that place Baghdadi at a detention facility in Iraq called Camp Bucca in 2009 (when Obama would have been president). However, all the talk tracks back to a Daily Beast interview with Army Col. Kenneth King, the former commander of Camp Bucca. That article said King knew Baghdadi at the camp and that he didn\u2019t expect to see him become the leader of a spectacularly vicious and brutal movement. \"\"I\u2019m not surprised that it was someone who spent time in Bucca but I\u2019m a little surprised it was him,\"\" King said. \"\"He was a bad dude, but he wasn\u2019t the worst of the worst.\"\" In this storyline, Baghdadi was handed over to Iraqi justice system late in 2009 shortly before Camp Bucca closed. However, when PunditFact asked the Defense Department to confirm the story, officials there said Baghdadi was released in 2004, not 2009. \"\"Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Al Badry, also known as \u2018Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi\u2019 was held as a \u2018civilian internee\u2019 by U.S. Forces-Iraq from early February 2004 until early December 2004, when he was released,\"\" the Pentagon said in a statement. \"\"He was held at Camp Bucca. A Combined Review and Release Board recommended \u2018unconditional release\u2019 of this detainee and he was released from U.S. custody shortly thereafter. We have no record of him being held at any other time.\"\" In short, according to the Defense Department, the man who heads ISIS was released in 2004, long before Obama took office, and was not recaptured. ABC News also has questioned King\u2019s recollection, citing a \"\"a U.S. official\"\" that Baghdadi was not in American custody in 2009. \"\"I could be mistaken,\"\" King told ABC News, \"\"but I\u2019m 99 percent. He\u2019s a dead ringer for the guy I had the run-in with \u2026 His face is very familiar.\"\" King declined to comment to PunditFact. A troubled detention policy If Baghdadi wasn\u2019t in American custody in 2009 as Defense Department officials say, then there\u2019s no way Obama could be to blame. But even if he was, the link between the ISIS leader and the American president are flimsy because the framework was set in in 2008 while George W. Bush was president. A little backstory. By July 2005, the United States had four detention facilities -- two near Baghdad, one in the northeastern corner of the country, and Camp Bucca in the far southeastern corner near the Kuwait border. The entire operation was known as Task Force 134. In the course of the war, some 80,000 people passed through these centers, according to the Defense Department. A Pentagon-commissioned study by RAND, a private policy analysis group, described a system that struggled with competing expectations. The incoming population was a mix of captured Sunni and Shiite militants, people rounded up in military raids and ordinary criminals. At times, a blend of overcrowding and sectarian animosities led to riots. The RAND study also said the 2007 \"\"surge\"\" -- the addition of 20,000 new troops into Iraq to quell spreading unrest -- pushed detainee levels to over 25,000 people. From 2007-08, Navy Captain Brian J. Bill served as the legal adviser to Detainee Operations for the Multi-National Force in Iraq. Bill described the process of vetting inmates in the U.S. Naval War College journal, International Law Studies. The military established nine review boards, working six days a week, to hear 20 cases each day. Bill reported that when the boards first began they released about 25 percent of the individuals who came before them. Later, that rose to 40 percent. The end of the detention policy At the end Bush\u2019s second term in 2008, American and Iraqi negotiators moved toward getting the United States out of the business of holding large numbers of Iraqis. Robert Chesney, professor of international security law at the University of Texas School of Law, said neither side wanted to see the network of detention centers continue. \"\"Its demise reflected a deliberate policy choice by the United States and Iraq to phase out that system and to rely instead on the Iraqi criminal justice system as the sole mechanism for detention going forward,\"\" Chesney wrote in 2011. That goal became part of the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, signed in November 2008. Under that agreement the United States agreed to \"\"turn over custody of such wanted detainees to Iraqi authorities pursuant to a valid Iraqi arrest warrant and shall release all the remaining detainees in a safe and orderly manner.\"\" The United States\u00a0continued to hold about 200 prisoners judged to pose the greatest risk. They were what remained from a group that numbered about 14,000 at the start of 2009. \"\"Aside from the so-called \u2018Deck of Cards\u2019 detainees held at Camp Cropper (the top leaders in Saddam Hussein\u2019s government), it\u2019s hard to imagine how anyone in Washington would have any interest in who we held or released,\"\" Bill told PunditFact. \"\"By the end of 2009, it\u2019s hard to imagine how we could have continued to hold anyone if the Iraqis themselves didn\u2019t decide to detain them.\"\" Our ruling Pirro said that Obama released the current head of ISIS from government custody in 2009. The Defense Department said that the man now known as Baghdadi was released in 2004. The evidence that Baghdadi was still in custody in 2009 appears to be the recollection of an Army colonel who said Baghdadi\u2019s \"\"face is very familiar.\"\" Even if the colonel is right, Baghdadi was not set free; he was handed over to the Iraqis who released him some time later. But more important, the legal contract between the United States and Iraq that guaranteed that the United States would give up custody of virtually every detainee was signed during the Bush administration. It would have required an extraordinary effort to have held on to Baghdadi and there is no evidence that he was on anyone\u2019s radar screen, assuming that he was in custody at all in 2009. The U.S.-Iraq agreement drove the release of thousands of detainees in 2009, but Obama had nothing to do with that.\" Claim: \"ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was \"\"released by Obama in 2009.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e5131a236e3948cd9b58af9208f2ed72", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Much has been made of the United States' success in reducing the amount of drinking and driving over the past few decades. But is there a growing problem with drivers on drugs? During a March 31, 2010, interview on C-SPAN\u2019s Washington Journal, Gil Kerlikowske -- the head of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, and more commonly known as the drug czar -- seemed to suggest as much. \"\"More people are driving under the influence of drugs than are driving under the influence of alcohol,\"\" Kerlikowske said. \"\"A recent roadside survey showed that 16 percent of the people tested, tested positive for illicit or licit drugs. That's significantly higher than alcohol.\"\" This surprised us, so we decided to take a closer look. We located the study that Kerlikowske was referring to -- the National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers. It was conducted in 2007 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- part of the federal Department of Transportation -- through a contract with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. It was the fourth major roadside survey (earlier ones were undertaken in 1973, 1986 and 1996) and was the first to look at drugs as well as alcohol. The 2007 study randomly stopped drivers at 300 U.S. locations on weekend nights (10 p.m. through midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays) and also made some daytime stops for comparisons. Participation in the\u00a0survey and its testing was voluntary. The stops targeted private vehicles, including motorcycles, but they excluded commercial vehicles such as semitrailer trucks. In all, 11,000 drivers participated, with 86 percent tested by breathalyzer, 71 percent by oral fluid samples and 39 percent by blood samples. (The blood test was for nighttime drivers only.) Because the nighttime sample provides the most complete data on drug use, we'll stick to the nighttime sample for alcohol use as well. During the nighttime tests, 2.2 percent of drivers registered a blood-alcohol content of at least .08 percent -- the level at which a driver is presumed impaired under Florida law. By contrast, a whopping 16.3 percent of drivers tested positive for drugs, defined in the study as \"\"illegal, prescription, and over-the-counter products, including stimulants, sedatives, antidepressants, marijuana, and narcotic analgesics.\"\" The most commonly detected drugs were marijuana (8.6 percent), cocaine (3.9 percent) and methamphetamine (1.3 percent). If that were the end of the story, Kerlikowske's comment would be resoundingly accurate -- 16.3 percent is indeed \"\"significantly higher\"\" than 2.2 percent. But there are two caveats that deserve a mention. \u2022\u00a0 Legal vs. illegal levels of alcohol. The 2.2 percent of drivers registering .08 or above is, by historical standards, impressively low -- that number has steadily declined since the first survey, from 7.5 percent in 1973 to 5.4 percent in 1986 to 4.3 percent in 1996 before dropping to 2.2 percent in 2007. Still, that number underestimates the total percentage of drivers who registered some alcohol in their bloodstream. In all, the survey found that 12.4 percent of drivers had some alcohol in their bloodstream -- 7.9 percent with levels between .005 and .049 and an additional 2.3 percent with levels between .05 and .079. Low, but detectible, blood-alcohol levels do not impair a driver as much as illegal levels do, but they can have an effect. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, such symptoms as \"\"mild euphoria, talkativeness, decreased inhibitions, decreased attention, impaired judgment and increased reaction time\"\" can begin at .03 percent, and numerous countries have set legal thresholds lower than .08. Indeed, the California Department of Motor Vehicles says that blood-alcohol content below .08 percent \"\"does not mean that it is safe or legal to drive.\"\" The state calls levels from .01 to .04 a \"\"possible DUI\"\" (driving under the influence) and .05 to .07 a \"\"likely DUI.\"\" For drivers under 21, both categories are illegal outright. \u2022\u00a0 We don't know much about how drugs affect the act of driving. Compared to the effects of alcohol, the impact of drugs on driving is not yet well understood. Some of this has to do with the long head start in research on alcohol and driving, and some has to do with the greater chemical complexity of drugs compared to alcohol. The authors of the study were open about the limitations of today's knowledge. \"\"In addition to the prevalence of drug use by drivers,\"\" they wrote, \"\"several other questions need to be answered in order to assess the drug-impaired driving problem, including: Which drugs impair driving ability? What drug dose levels are associated with impaired driving? Which drugs are associated with higher crash rates?\"\" They added a strongly worded caveat. \"\"The reader is cautioned that drug presence does not necessarily imply impairment,\"\" they wrote. \"\"For many drug types, drug presence can be detected long after any impairment that might affect driving has passed. For example, traces of marijuana can be detected in blood samples several weeks after chronic users stop ingestion. Also, whereas the impairment effects for various concentration levels of alcohol are well understood, little evidence is available to link concentrations of other drug types to driver performance.\"\" To offer a more concrete example, it's unclear how much impact a joint of marijuana inhaled two weeks ago may have on a driver today. It could well be that the two-week-old joint is less of an impairment than a legal level of alcohol in the blood -- even though the study would count the marijuana user as part of that 16 percent \"\"under the influence of drugs\"\" yet exclude someone with .07 percent alcohol from the 2.2 percent of alcohol-impaired drivers. Thomas McLellan, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told PolitiFact that the sensitivity of the oral swabs makes it \"\"highly unlikely\"\" that marijuana use \"\"even half a day earlier would have shown up\"\" in the survey. Still, in addition to the survey authors' written caution, several independent experts we contacted agreed that the lack of data on drug-use-and-driving interactions suggests that the survey's results be taken with a degree of caution. Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, added that there's strong evidence that, regardless of the comparative data on substances in drivers' systems, \"\"drunk driving is still the bigger problem. . . . Alcohol-related crashes were 32 percent of the total in 2008. There\u2019s no comparable data for drug-related crashes, since there are no standards for drug impairment while driving, but the estimates are in the 10 percent to 15 percent range.\"\" If you look no further than\u00a0the outcome of the survey he cites,\u00a0Kerlikowske's comment\u00a0are accurate. But\u00a0the caveats listed above reduce our confidence\u00a0that, as he puts it, \"\"more people are driving under the influence of drugs than are driving under the influence of alcohol.\"\" There's reason to believe that not all of the 16 percent of drivers testing positive for drugs would have been \"\"under the influence of drugs.\"\" The survey only reveals who has\u00a0some level of drugs in their system, and does not provide an accurate measure of who was impaired by drugs\u00a0when they were surveyed. By the same token, it's quite possible that many more than 2.2 percent of the study participants were indeed \"\"driving under the influence of alcohol\"\" even if they weren't over the .08 legal threshold. Did these two percentages approach each other in the middle, thus undermining Kerlikowske's statement? Maybe -- or maybe he is right after all. Ultimately, the research isn't yet detailed enough to be sure. With this degree of uncertainty,\" Claim: More people are driving under the influence of drugs than are driving under the influence of alcohol. A recent roadside survey showed that 16 percent of the people tested, tested positive for illicit or licit drugs. That's significantly higher than alcohol.", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-bf2f54083c404eebb5a0ee04a0bd2ac0", + "input": "Paragraph: Maxwell, 31, started the Australian summer season in strong form when he hit 62 runs off just 28 balls against Sri Lanka on Sunday and executed a run-out from near the Adelaide Oval boundary. Australia won that match by 134 runs and the second on Wednesday by nine wickets, when Maxwell wasn\u2019t required to bat, to clinch the three-match series. Maxwell met with Cricket Australia staff on Wednesday, and is expected to miss the rest of the T20 internationals against Sri Lanka on Friday in Melbourne and against Pakistan in three matches next week. Team psychologist Dr. Michael Lloyd said Thursday that Maxwell \u201chas been experiencing some difficulties with regards to his mental health. As a result, he will spend a short time away from the game ... Glenn was proactive in identifying these issues and engaging with support staff.\u201d Australia coach Justin Langer said he approached Maxwell before Sunday\u2019s match. \u201cThere\u2019s been a few times over the last 12 months where I\u2019ve probably suspected that he\u2019s been battling a little bit,\u201d Langer said. \u201cThe day before the game in Adelaide he didn\u2019t seem to have his normal zip and enthusiasm, although he still worked hard. \u201cPeople in public positions have to put on a mask and that\u2019s the mask he puts on. He\u2019s the great entertainer, but underneath the mask I could probably just sense he wasn\u2019t quite right.\u201d D\u2019Arcy Short has been chosen as a replacement player and will join the Australian T20 squad on Friday ahead of the final Sri Lanka match. ___ More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Claim: Cricketer Maxwell to take break due to mental health issues.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3d2bcca0cee04fd09d9b4dd56cf0ee84", + "input": "Paragraph: According to Simon and Schuster\u2019s website, it\u2019s the truth. The game is called \u201cPanty Raider: From Here to Immaturity.\u201d\u00a0 The publicity says, \u201cGamers will Seek Out Supermodels to Strip Them Down to Their Bra and Panties.\u201d Here are some other tidbits from the Simon and Schuster publicity: PANTY RAIDER takes gamers to Model Isle where a supermodel photo shoot is taking place. The player is on a mission to photograph specific styles and colors of panties worn by supermodels to satisfy three testosterone-driven aliens and keep them from blowing up the Earth.One day on a planet far, far away, a catalog from a famous lingerie store inexplicably showed up in the mailbox at one horny alien\u2019s home. Some time later, he and his two buddies had worn out the catalog and they needed more! So they hijacked a flying saucer for a joy ride across the universe in search of supermodels in their underwear.The player assumes the role of \u201cNelson,\u201d an innocent bystander who is forced to help the aliens in their perverted quest. Nelson\u2019s job is to photograph specific models, wearing specific types and colors of underwear (as specified by the aliens). If Nelson does not get the photos that the aliens are asking for, in the amount of time given, the aliens will destroy Earth.Once on the island, Nelson can use all the tools available to him: * Pick up lines \u2013 Use cheesy pickup lines to lure models out of the woods. * X-Ray glasses \u2013 You know the ones seen in the back of comic books? These actually work \u2013 allowing the player to see what kind of underwear each girl is wearing, before they go through the process of undressing her. Keep in mind if you waste too much time undressing a supermodel Earth will be destroyed can you control yourself? * Lures \u2013 Items such as tiny mints (lunch!) and credit cards. No self-respecting supermodel can resist these items. * Camera \u2013 Once the correct model is found wearing the right panties, and the outer clothing has been removed, it\u2019s time to use the camera to photograph the model. These photos are then added to the player\u2019s inventory. If all the correct models in the correct lingerie are photographed within the given amount of time, Earth is saved. Otherwise, the frustrated aliens are forced to take their hormone driven anger out on the planet. Last updated 11/13/00 For more information: Simon and Schuster News Release Comments Claim: \u00a0 The email says that Simon and Schuster has announced a new CD-ROM computer game where \u201c\u2026to win the game, boys must strip supermodels down to their underwear, then provide photographs of them to aliens who \u0091wore out\u0092 their one lingerie catalog \u2013 or else the aliens hormone driven anger will destroy the earth.\u201d", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-220c5e2ee1af431c8c4a8f47f5c7877b", + "input": "Paragraph: As the new coronavirus, which is responsible for the disease COVID-19, spreads worldwide, so too has viral advice for combating the pandemic. One frequently copied and pasted bit of text that has gone viral on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp suggests a simple self-check for coronavirus infection, usually attributed to \u201cTaiwan Experts,\u201d \u201cStanford University,\u201d or \u201cStanford Hospital Board,\u201d among others: The new Coronavirus may not show signs of infection for many days. How can you know if you are infected? By the time you have fever and/or cough and go to the hospital, the lung is usually 50% fibrosis. Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check that we can do every morning: Take a deep breath and hold it for more than 10 seconds. If you do this successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, there is no fibrosis in the lungs; it basically indicates no infection. In critical times, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air. Stanford Health Care, for their part, explicitly stated they had nothing to do with the email: A widely distributed email about COVID-19 that is attributed to a \u201cStanford Hospital board member\u201d contains inaccurate information. It did not come from Stanford Medicine. The viral text is often combined with other frequently recurring coronavirus claims including a paragraph attributed to \u201cserious excellent advice by Japanese doctors\u201d about keeping your throat moist, and a set of recommendations that begins with a claim about differentiating between a cold and COVID-19. Snopes addressed the \u201cserious excellent advice\u201d here, and addressed the list of tips that begin with a purported way to diagnose a cold versus COVID-19 here. This article deals only with the \u201cself-check\u201d claim attributed to Taiwan experts, which is flawed for several reasons. The \u201csimple self-check\u201d hinges on two central and unsupported assertions: First, that early COVID-19 infections include as a symptom a condition known as pulmonary fibrosis; and second, that the ability to hold your breath for 10 seconds is an accurate indicator of fibrosis. Neither is the case. Claim: If you can hold your breath without coughing, discomfort, stiffness, or tightness, your lungs do not suffer from fibrosis and therefore you have no COVID-19 infection. ", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-071920f557c143fba0f73c06c2aa209b", + "input": "Paragraph: The fruit (soursop, guyabano), leaves, and bark of the graviola tree (A. muricata), have long been utilized as a folk remedy in parts of Africa and South America for myriad conditions. Claims of their potential to \u201ccure\u201d cancer, similarly, have long been a fixture in certain regions of the Internet \u2014 fringe health websites and supplement hucksters, primarily. In their most exaggerated form, such claims take the form of a widespread conspiracy alleging a pharmaceutical coverup to squash evidence of viable, powerful, and universal cure for cancer in favor of financial gain. The dubious Health Sciences Institute, (promoter of a previously debunked claim that Hillary Clinton has worked to hide a cancer cure dubbed \u201csour honey\u201d) described the plant\u2019s potential this way: Since the 1970s, the bark, leaves, roots, fruit, and fruit seeds of the Amazonian Graviola tree have been studied in numerous laboratory tests and have shown remarkable results with this deadly disease. Several years ago, a major pharmaceutical company began extensive independent research on it. They learned that certain extracts of the tree actually seek out, attack, and destroy cancer cells. [\u2026] After more than seven years of work behind closed doors, researchers at this company realized they couldn\u2019t duplicate the tree\u2019s natural properties with a patentable substance. So they shut down the entire project. It basically came down to this\u2014if they couldn\u2019t make huge profits, they would keep the news of this possible cure a well-guarded secret. But one researcher couldn\u2019t bear that, and decided to risk his job with the hope of saving lives. Indeed, there has been research on many parts of, and chemicals within, the graviola tree with regard to their ability to kill cancerous cells. In terms of a possible mechanism, most ideas revolve around unique chemicals contained within the fruit \u2014 annonaceous acetogenins \u2014 that may present a novel pathway to kill cancer cells. These chemicals are found only in the family of plants Graviola belongs to (Annonaceae) and some research indicates they may have the ability to\u00a0inhibit chemicals that aid cellular respiration, which can cause a \u201cprogrammed death\u201d of cancer cells. Perhaps most notably, this mechanism has been explored using extracts from graviola material against human lung, colorectal, and liver cancer cell lines. Such studies have found that extracts were indeed able to cause programmed cell death as hypothesized. Other studies have shown limited potential in reducing the proliferation of cancer cells in some animals and cell lines as well. It is worth mentioning, however, that many chemicals that show anti-cancer properties in laboratory settings do not translate to viable cures or treatments for cancer. Investigations on laboratory animals, too, have shown limited but somewhat positive results with regard to the plant\u2019s anticancer potential. Studies on rats and mice, respectively, have shown some anti-tumor potential with prostate cancer and breast cancer, and studies on rats have, as well, shown potential preventive effects for colon cancer. Outside of singular case reports from people alleging benefits from the plant, no large scale clinical human studies have been published on its efficacy as a legitimate treatment for cancer (at least one clinical trial has been registered, however). As such, the\u00a0view of the UK based Cancer Research, and other Cancer groups, is as follows: There have not been any studies [of Graviola] in humans. So we don\u2019t know whether it can work as a cancer treatment or not. Many sites on the internet advertise and promote graviola capsules as a cancer cure but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific cancer organisations. Both the United States Food and Drug administration as well as the United States Federal Trade Commission have issued warnings to groups selling graviola extract with claims of its cancer-curing potential. In 2008, in a press release describing a \u201csweep\u201d of graviola supplement sellers, the FTC described their products as \u201cbogus\u201c. Outside of overblown claims, there are also legitimate concerns about the safety of these products. Numerous studies have suggested that the potentially active chemicals within the graviola tree may be neurotoxic. Epidemiological studies of cultures that regularly use the plant in traditional medicine have shown associations between the plant\u2019s consumption and Parkinson\u2019s disease: Epidemiological studies, however, linked the consumption of Annonaceae to a high prevalence of atypical parkinsonism, in Guadeloupe, in parts of the Afro-Caribbean and Indian population in London and New Caledonia. In several patients who desisted in their consumption of Annonaceae fruits, the progression of atypical parkinsonism ceased [\u2026]. Chemical investigations of active components within the plant reveal strong evidence of its neurotoxicity, as well: The fruit pulp extract of A. muricata revealed the strongest neurotoxic effect, with 67% cell death at a concentration of 1 \u00b5g/mL. A high reduction in cell viability coupled with pronounced cell death was found at 0.1 \u00b5g/mL for an Annonaceous seed extract. These results demonstrate that the intake of dietary supplements containing plant material from Annonaceae may be hazardous to health in terms of neurotoxicity. Claim: The fruit of the graviola tree (soursop or guyabano), or other components of the plant (A. muricata), are a viable cure for cancer.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f69abbd32d86480babc6c677031960bf", + "input": "Paragraph: There is no mention of costs in the story. Although pridopidine is an experimental drug, it may have been useful for the reader to know whether pridopidine could be at least a cheaper alternative to tetrabenazine, the only drug currently approved for Huntington\u2019s disease. The story did not detail the potential benefits of pridopidine. Specifically, how did the patients improve their motor function? The only number provided was that 70% of patients improved. We need to know how this function was measured and to what degree they improved (it is not clear whether the story was talking about statistical significance or clinical significance). The story notes, \u201cSide effects among patients taking the drug were similar to the placebo group.\u201d Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco also agrees with this statement, since the \u201ccompound is apparently well tolerated without significant side effects.\u201d However, the story could have been more thorough in letting the reader know exactly what those side effects are. The story makes contradictory statements on the study\u2019s results. At one point, the article reports, \u201c\u2026the drug showed a significant benefit,\u201d while further down in the article, Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco is quoted as saying, \u201cthe benefit is modest and limited to the motor symptoms of the disease.\u201d The story could have expanded on Di Rocco\u2019s comment and also could have included some of the study\u2019s limitations. For example, the researchers could not prove their primary hypothesis, for which they wrote in The Lancet: \u201cThis study did not provide evidence of efficacy.\u201d The apparent benefits came from the tertiary endpoint, which merits a more cautious interpretation of the results. There is not any disease mongering, but the article does not provide much background information on Huntington\u2019s disease, regarding its epidemiology, risk factors and treatments. However, the story does mention dopamine and its role in movement and coordination. Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco from NYU Langone Medical Center is used as an independent source. The story also adds that the study was funded by European pharmaceuticals company NeuroSearch A/S. The article mentions tetrabenazine \u2013 the only drug on the market for Huntington\u2019s disease \u2013 and adds that it can \u201ccause serious side effects.\u201d The story mentions that study results are from a phase III clinical trial, but it does not clearly comment on the availability of pridopidine, or the class of dopidine drugs in general. The story could have simply said that this drug is investigational and is not available yet. Pridopidine is an experimental drug candidate for Huntington\u2019s disease and has been in clinical trials for the past several years. The same quotation in the news release is used in the HealthDay story, suggesting that the article was somewhat based off the news release. However, there is some evidence of original reporting, with the inclusion of Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco\u2019s comments. Claim: New Drug Shows Promise Against Huntington\u2019s Disease", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-421775c064054fb1ad0422249919403b", + "input": "Paragraph: \"At a rally in Houston, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg apologized for supporting the stop-and-frisk policy he endorsed while serving as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. Bloomberg told the mostly black audience at the rally that he should have \"\"acted sooner and faster\"\" to stop the policy and said if he were elected, he\u2019d use \"\"the power of the presidency to right the wrongs of institutional racism.\"\" He used the rally as an opportunity to unveil a new initiative that he says will address issues specific to the black community in the United States: \"\"Mike for Black America.\"\" One issue he highlighted in his address was access to health care. \"\"We will build a future in which we better protect the health of black mothers and their babies,\"\" Bloomberg said at the rally. \"\"You should know that black babies die at rates twice as high as white babies because of a lack of access to affordable health care and here, in the wealthiest country in the world, we cannot accept that and we will change that.\"\" Bloomberg\u2019s figure is accurate, but is he right in his assessment of the cause of this disparity? His team did not return a request for more information about his claim. Mortality rate higher for black infants The latest statistics on infant mortality from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that there were 22,341 infant deaths reported in the United States in 2017, putting the mortality rate at 5.79 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Statistics on infant mortality are compiled based on birth and infant death certificates in cases where infants less than a year died during the calendar year. Generally, the infant mortality rate has trended downward since 1995 and has declined 16% since 2005, when the rate was 6.86 deaths per 1,000 live births. The CDC also analyzes the infant mortality rate by race. In 2017, infants born to black women had the highest mortality rate of 10.97 deaths per 1,000 live births. The mortality rate for infants born to non-Hispanic white mothers was 4.67 deaths per 1,000 live births, meaning infants born to black mothers have an infant mortality rate 2.35 times higher than infants born to white mothers, according to the CDC. Bloomberg\u2019s claim wasn\u2019t limited to Texas, but this trend is also visible at the state level. A 2018 report from the CDC looked at infant mortality data from 2013 to 2015 by state and race and found that, in Texas, the mortality rate for infants born to non-Hispanic white women was 5 deaths per 1,000 live births and was 10.52 for infants born to black women. Exploring causes of disparity It\u2019s true that infants born to black mothers have died at rates twice as high as white babies in recent years, but is it true that it is due to a lack of access to affordable health care? It isn\u2019t that simple. The five leading causes of all infant deaths in 2017 identified by the CDC were all health related: In a 2019 report, the CDC noted that infants born to black women had the highest mortality rates for disorders related to short gestation (premature birth) and low birthweight and maternal complications. Numerous academic studies and media investigations have highlighted correlations between access to health care and the disparity in infant and maternal mortality rates between black and white mothers. But access to health care is widely considered to be one of many contributing factors. One 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health identified other factors that contribute to the high black infant mortality rate: socioeconomic status, maternal behavior, \"\"exposure to protective and risk factors over the course of a woman\u2019s life,\"\" and certain historical factors like segregation, limited educational opportunities, structural racism, and intergenerational poverty. This is not to say that a lack of access to health care is not a significant cause of this disparity. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2019 explored how state Medicaid expansion associated with changes in low birthweight and preterm birth across different races \u2014 which are more likely to affect black mothers and infants than white mothers and infants. The study did not explore the link between Medicaid expansion and reducing infant mortality. Researchers found that overall, Medicaid expansion was not associated with differences in rates of low birth weight or preterm births. However, they identified \"\"significant improvements in relative disparities for black infants compared with white infants in states that expanded Medicaid vs. those that did not.\"\" In other words, states that expanded Medicaid saw rates of low birthweight and preterm births decline among black mothers and infants. In general, black mothers were less likely than white mothers to access prenatal care, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019s Office of Minority Health. In 2017, black mothers were 2.3 times more likely to receive no prenatal care or late prenatal care than non-Hispanic white mothers. The same year, 66.6% of black mothers received prenatal care during the first trimester, compared to 82.4% of white mothers who accessed early care. Our ruling Bloomberg said: \"\"Black babies die at rates twice as high as white babies because of a lack of access to affordable health care.\"\" Bloomberg\u2019s figures about the black infant mortality rate vs. the white infant mortality rate are accurate. Studies show that access to healthcare is a contributing factor to this disparity, but it is far from being the only issue at play.\" Claim: Michael Bloomberg Says \u201cblack babies die at rates twice as high as white babies because of a lack of access to affordable health care.\u201d", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-796b95242dc4495ab7c0fb40858e853c", + "input": "Paragraph: The state Department of Environmental Conservation says an investigation determined the geese died of the fungal disease Aspergillosis, caused by eating moldy grain or bread. Three dozen Canada geese were found dead in a pond at the Malone Recreation Park in Franklin County near the Canadian border. State wildlife staff in Albany tested the dead birds. The state agency is asking the public not to feed waterfowl to help prevent the fungal disease or cause poor nutrition, delayed migration and other problems. Officials are also asking farmers to dispose of moldy grain and silage by burying it rather than spreading it over fields. Claim: Moldy bread or grain blamed for Canada geese deaths.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e2a76892746b4babb67f26732c455d3c", + "input": "Paragraph: A woman smokes a cigarette in an undated file photo. REUTERS/File Independent Pharmaceutica, a private company based at Stockholm\u2019s Karolinska Institute and founded in 1997 by Professor Torgny Svensson, joins a growing line-up of biotech companies seeking to develop an anti-nicotine shot. Its researchers say the vaccine eliminates the quick high smokers relish by creating antibodies that bind to nicotine molecules, making them too bulky to enter the brain. Once the high is gone, the argument goes, so is the main cause of addiction. In the Phase II study on 400 people in three Nordic countries, researchers will measure the effect of the vaccine on those who have quit smoking and want to avoid relapse. But they may use it in future to help active smokers quit, according to Independent Pharmaceutica. Several other vaccines against nicotine dependence are under investigation, but Independent Pharmaceutica Chief Executive Lena Degling Wikingsson said her company hopes to produce a more potent product with fewer side effects than competitors. \u201cAfter this Phase II study, we want to have co-operation with a bigger pharmaceutical company to be able to take this further,\u201d Wikingsson told Reuters on Tuesday. \u201cWe are discussing (this) with the world\u2019s biggest pharmaceutical companies.\u201d Switzerland\u2019s Cytos Biotechnology published results from a Phase II trial in 2005, showing 42 percent of patients who achieved high antibody levels at vaccination stayed smoke-free after 12 months, against 21 percent in the group given a placebo. Bermuda-based private equity firm Celtic Pharma has said it will announce results from its Phase II trial on a nicotine vaccine this quarter, while U.S. company Nabi Pharmaceuticals is developing a similar product. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the world, killing 5.4 million people every year, an increasing proportion of those in low-income countries. Claim: Nordic scientists start trial on nicotine vaccine.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-9a59e1806a1d437bb88b6d5d6657420e", + "input": "Paragraph: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the winning applicants Thursday, just days after the state awarded licenses to companies seeking to transport cannabis products. Testing facilities were licensed earlier this month, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The newly announced licensees included Blue Arrow Holdings LLC, a newly formed company that plans to retrofit a building in the long-shuttered Lempt Brewery complex in St. Louis to grow cannabis indoors, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. \u201cWe\u2019ll be taking over that space and sustaining it,\u201d said Max Bonanno, a consultant to Blue Arrow Holdings. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d But some of the applicants that didn\u2019t win licenses threatened to sue or appeal. Among them was Dr. Paul Callicoat, a retired cardiologist and a principal of Sarcoxie Nursery in southwest Missouri, who said his family will review \u201call available lawful remedies\u201d to reverse this decision. Voters made medical marijuana legal in 2018. The licensing program is expected to wind up by February with the awarding of licenses to applicants seeking to sell cannabis products to Missourians holding doctor-approved cards. Claim: State awards license to grow medical marijuana in Missouri.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-13bb54804f854641b5b4a583eb2383b9", + "input": "Paragraph: \"If living through a pandemic doesn\u2019t already make you feel like you\u2019re walking around in a brave, new world, then conspiratorial social media posts about the global outbreak may push you to the brink. According to a claim we spotted on Instagram and beyond, Bill Gates \"\"is pushing\"\" an effort during the current outbreak to track Americans using bracelets and invisible tattoos that would be delivered alongside a vaccine. The theory also insinuates the project came along \"\"days\"\" after Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, stepped down from the company\u2019s board of directors. The post reads: \"\"Bill Gates and other globalists, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, are reportedly working to push tracking bracelets and \u2018invisible tattoos\u2019 to monitor Americans during an impending lockdown. MIT and Gates have \u2018created an ink that can be safely embedded in the skin alongside the vaccine itself, and it\u2019s only visible using a special smartphone camera app and filter.\u2019 This comes days after Gates stepped down from Microsoft\u2019s board.\"\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has helped fund research into increased vaccine tracking, especially in under-resourced communities, but this post makes unsupported assertions and distorts the timeline of that research. Let\u2019s take a look. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are seeking to address vaccine tracking challenges in developing countries by creating an invisible ink that could be injected into children along with vaccines. The study began in July 2016, MIT told us, more than three years before the first novel coronavirus cases emerged. It was not inspired by the current outbreak. The idea behind the research is that the dye would be visible under near-infrared light for up to five years and provide a quick, affordable way of helping health providers keep track of a child\u2019s vaccinations, even when paperwork gets lost or parents forget whether their child is up to date. The dye wouldn\u2019t monitor people\u2019s habits or movements, as the Instagram post implies. It would essentially be a marker to see if someone received a vaccine upon inspection by a medical official. Scientists hope an invisible, embeddable medical record that could accompany vaccines could help solve that problem. The Gates Foundation has contributed funds for this research. Some governments such as Hong Kong are using electronic wristbands to track people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in order to enforce quarantines and reduce the spread of the virus. But we find no evidence in news archives or other internet searches that Gates specifically stated he is \"\"pushing\"\" or advocating for the development of tracking bracelets. The only mention of \"\"bracelets\"\" we could find associated with Gates came about in 2012, when the Gates Foundation funded a study into bracelets that would measure student engagement in classrooms. That said, Gates has said he supports the idea of a national tracking system to monitor the virus that causes COVID-19. In a March 18 Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Gates lauded South Korea\u2019s tracking system, which\u00a0 uses a smartphone app to gather information about COVID-19 spread. He said that, although thousands of tests are being offered per day at the University of Washington in Seattle, for example, \"\"no one is connected to a national tracking system\"\" and that \"\"whenever there is a positive test it should be seen to understand where the disease is and whether we need to strengthen the social distancing.\"\" Gates has been interested in vaccinations and vaccination tracking, particularly in low-resource areas, for several years. He stepped down from Microsoft\u2019s board of directors on March 13, 2020. And, as we mentioned, MIT\u2019s research into a vaccination-related invisible ink program has been going on for several years as well. MIT published a study on its research on Dec. 18, 2019, in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The research was submitted to the journal in July 2019, and an MIT spokesperson told PolitiFact that it began back in 2016 \u2014 years before the first cases of the virus were reported. The Gates Foundation told PolitiFact that it awarded a grant to MIT to improve the way childhood vaccinations are tracked; it had nothing to do with the 2019 coronavirus outbreak. Additional funding also came from the National Cancer Institute. \"\"The researchers are exploring storing data in a pattern of dye, invisible to the naked eye, that is delivered under the skin at the same time as the vaccine. The technology is currently in the proof-of-concept phase,\"\" the foundation told PolitiFact in an email. \"\"If successful, governments could elect to incorporate this kind of tool in their immunization programs in place of, or in addition to, their current methods of tracking vaccinations.\"\" None of the research is specific to America, as the Instagram post suggests. Nor is it tied specifically to COVID-19. An online post says that Bill Gates is pushing tracking bracelets and invisible tattoos to monitor Americans during the novel coronavirus pandemic. We find no evidence that Gates has supported the concept of \"\"tracking bracelets.\"\" His foundation awarded a grant to MIT to study invisible dyes that could accompany vaccines to keep track of vaccinations in developing countries. But this research began in 2016, and there is no evidence that it has anything to do with the current coronavirus pandemic, or to \"\"monitor\"\" Americans specifically. This post takes a small kernel of truth and frames it in a way that gives a misleading impression.\" Claim: Instagram posts Says \u201cBill Gates and other globalists, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, are reportedly working to push tracking bracelets and \u2018invisible tattoos\u2019 to monitor Americans during an impending lockdown.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-71699c64fe864c0fac80a207531ba155", + "input": "Paragraph: \"CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper noted that a backlash against vaccines was blamed for a measles outbreak in California. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has linked childhood vaccines to autism despite the medical community debunking that myth. During the second GOP debate, Tapper asked Ben Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon who now lives in West Palm Beach, if Trump should stop making such a claim. Carson said Trump should look at the evidence, noting that there is \"\"extremely well-documented proof that there\u2019s no autism associated with vaccinations.\"\" Carson then turned the subject to the scheduling of vaccines: \"\"But it is true that we are probably giving way too many in too short a period of time. And a lot of pediatricians now recognize that, and I think are cutting down on the number and the proximity in which those are done, and I think that\u2019s appropriate.\"\" Are pediatricians cutting down on the number and proximity of vaccines? As for Trump\u2019s claim about autism, as PolitiFact has noted before, decades of epidemiological research have demonstrated autism rates do not increase when vaccines are introduced to a population. We contacted Carson\u2019s campaign to ask for his evidence and did not get a reply. Vaccines Doctors follow a childhood vaccination schedule prepared by the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Children may receive as many as 24 immunizations by their second birthday and may receive up to five injections during a single doctor\u2019s visit, according to a 2013 paper by The Institute of Medicines of the National Academies. That vaccine schedule is also supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control. More than 90 percent of children entering kindergarten have been immunized with recommended vaccines in accordance with this schedule. But some parents have sought to delay vaccines or reduce the number given per visit, while others have rejected them entirely, despite recommendations by the scientific community. That\u2019s not a good idea, according to the report. \"\"Delaying or declining vaccination has led to outbreaks of such vaccine-preventable diseases as measles and whooping cough that may jeopardize public health, particularly for people who are under-immunized or who were never immunized,\"\" wrote researchers. The researchers also concluded that there is \"\"no evidence that the schedule is unsafe.\"\" The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a press release in 2013 stating that it agreed with the paper\u2019s conclusion. After the Republican debate, it issued a new\u00a0statement in support of vaccines: \"\"Claims that vaccines are linked to autism, or are unsafe when administered according to the recommended schedule, have been disproven by a robust body of medical literature. It is dangerous to public health to suggest otherwise,\"\" wrote\u00a0Karen Remley, executive director of the academy. Despite the scientific consensus, pediatricians are facing pressure from parents to delay vaccines. A survey of 534 pediatricians done for the American Academy of Pediatricians in 2012 showed that 93 percent reported that within a typical month some parents asked to spread out the vaccinations. The vast majority thought these parents were putting their children at risk for disease but thought they would build trust with the families if they agreed to the request. While there is anecdotal evidence that some pediatricians have acquiesced to parents\u2019 requests to delay vaccinations, that decision is not rooted in public health or science. \"\"There is no evidence that pediatricians 'recognize'\u00a0that we give too many vaccines in too short a time,\"\" said Mark Schleiss, division director of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Minnesota. \"\"Far from it. ... There is no evidence at all that spacing vaccines out or changing the schedule would improve health or help children.\"\" Eugene R. Hershorin, chief of the division of general pediatrics at the University of Miami, pointed to what happened a decade ago when England and Japan delayed the DTaP vaccine, a combination vaccine used to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. \"\"There was a tremendous increase in the incidence of pertussis in both countries, leading them to re-institute the schedule immediately,\"\" he said. Our ruling Carson said pediatricians have cut down on the number and proximity of vaccines because they recognize there have been \"\"too many in too short a period of time.\"\" Leading medical organizations have concluded that the scheduling of vaccines -- including multiple ones at once -- is safe. While there is evidence that some parents ask pediatricians to delay vaccines, that\u2019s a decision based on parents\u2019 wishes and isn\u2019t based on scientific evidence. There is no evidence that pediatricians are cutting down the number and proximity of vaccines based on any conclusion by them that there have been too many in too short a period of time. Carson has provided no evidence to support his claim.\" Claim: \"Pediatricians have cut down on the number and proximity of vaccines because they recognize there have been \"\"too many in too short a period of time.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-364b0a6db0684ab7bfc4b4fc0272e6b1", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Native American tribes have been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and Joe Biden claims that President Donald Trump has not done enough to help. \"\"Donald Trump has failed to live up to our trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans,\"\" Biden told The Arizona Republic May 21. \"\"He took more than a month to allocate Congress\u2019 emergency funding to tribes \u2014 and only did so after tribes sued. He has failed to provide tribes with adequate protective personal equipment and medical supplies. It\u2019s unacceptable.\"\" Indian treaty rights recognized and established rights, benefits, and conditions for tribes who agreed to cede millions of acres of land to the United States and to accept the United States\u2019 protection. Under a \"\"trust responsibility\"\" legal principle, the United States federal government is obligated to ensure the survival and welfare of Indian tribes. Is Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, right that it took more than a month for tribes to get funding allocated by Congress, and that it happened only after suing the Trump administration? The chronology lines up, but omits important context. The Treasury Department has argued that payments were delayed because it is required to consult with tribes and the Interior Department regarding how much money to allocate to tribes. That consultation process started before the lawsuit over the delay in payments. A separate lawsuit filed by tribes to prevent corporations in Alaska from receiving aid has also affected the process. Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, and Trump signed it into law March 27. The $2.2 trillion measure included a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund for states, local governments, and tribal governments. The law set aside $8 billion for tribal governments. The law said the Treasury secretary had to make the payments within 30 days; so by April 26, all entities were supposed to have received funds. It wasn\u2019t until May 5 that the Treasury Department said it would begin making funds available to tribal governments. So that part of Biden\u2019s claim adds up. By May 5, the Trump administration was facing several lawsuits by multiple tribes: for delay of payment. The lawsuits also challenged the administration for intending to direct some of the funds to the Alaska Native Corporations, which are regional and village corporations recognized under Alaska law and created by Congress as part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. In the lawsuit to stop the corporations from getting a share of the $8 billion, tribes argued that corporations do not meet the statutory definition of \"\"tribal government,\"\" or \"\"Indian tribe\"\" and therefore did not qualify for the relief. A federal district judge on April 27 issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the Treasury from giving money to the corporations. Pending a final determination, the judge did not direct the Treasury secretary to immediately disburse the entire $8 billion to the tribes. In its May 5 announcement, the Trump administration said it would begin paying tribes 60% of the $8 billion, or $4.8 billion, based on population data. The remaining 40% would be paid at \"\"a later date\"\" based on employment data and tribe expenses related to COVID-19. Amounts calculated for corporations would be held back \"\"until pending litigation relating to their eligibility is resolved.\"\" The Navajo Nation, which joined tribes in the lawsuit, on May 5 said the judge\u2019s April 27 ruling \"\"led to the (Treasury) Department\u2019s announcement to begin distributing funds to federally-recognized tribes.\"\" In a separate lawsuit over the delay in the disbursement of funds, lawyers for the Trump administration argued that providing funds to tribal governments required a more involved and difficult process than the one for states and local governments. While the CARES Act imposed a 30-day deadline for funds disbursement, it also called for a consultation process among tribes and the Treasury and Interior departments. According to the Trump administration, Treasury staff spent about 2,200 hours on efforts to get tribes the appropriated money. The same federal district judge from the corporations case said that those hours of labor \"\"arguably should have produced better results,\"\" but a court intervention was not warranted. \"\"\u2018Egregious\u2019 delay is the governing standard, and the Secretary is not there quite yet, even in the midst of a public health crisis,\"\" U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta wrote in a May 11 opinion. Mehta did not find that the Treasury secretary was \"\"lagging unreasonably\"\" behind in delivering the funds. \"\"The Secretary has not been \u2018twiddling his thumbs\u2019,\"\" he said, citing language from a precedent. Mehta said he would not give the Treasury department a deadline for disbursing the rest of the funds, but if it took the department double the amount of time Congress directed for the disbursement, \"\"then the question of egregiousness becomes a closer one than it is today.\"\" Biden said Trump \"\"took more than a month to allocate Congress\u2019 emergency funding to tribes \u2014 and only did so after tribes sued.\"\" It did take more than a month for tribes to begin receiving funds appropriated by Congress, and they began to flow after lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration. But a consultation process for disbursing the funds began before the administration was sued.\" Claim: Joe Biden Says President Donald Trump \u201ctook more than a month to allocate Congress\u2019 emergency funding to tribes \u2014 and only did so after tribes sued.\u201d", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-33a97298d4304ee89c0ba1002b887caf", + "input": "Paragraph: As the criminal case moves toward possible trial this year, related pending lawsuits reflect a battle over blame. A look at where things stand: THE ALLEGATIONS The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System determined William Husel ordered excessive doses for nearly three dozen patients over several years, though it said the doses likely weren\u2019t what caused six of those deaths. Reviewers found that in many cases, the drugs were accessed by overriding a dispensing system. Husel was fired in December 2018, weeks after a concern was raised. Mount Carmel later said three patients died during those weeks after receiving excessive doses he ordered. ___ CRIMINAL CASE Last June, Husel was charged with murder in 25 deaths and pleaded not guilty in one of the biggest cases of its kind ever brought against a U.S. health care professional. He was charged only in cases involving 500 to 2,000 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl \u2013 doses so unusually large that prosecutors said it indicated an intent to snuff out lives. His initial lawyer said Husel was providing comfort care to dying patients, not trying to kill them. Husel\u2019s current lawyers in the criminal case \u2014 including Florida-based Jose Baez, who is known for successfully defending high-profile clients such as Casey Anthony and Aaron Hernandez \u2014 haven\u2019t said much publicly about his motives. Husel\u2019s lawyers in civil cases contend that he provided appropriate care and that Mount Carmel misled the public about what happened. Mount Carmel publicly apologized, tightened its drug policies, fired other employees and changed leadership but has stood by its investigation and subsequent decisions. \u201cThere is nothing more important to us than our patients\u2019 safety and their trust in us \u2014 and we will do everything in our power to continue to improve,\u201d it said in an emailed statement Tuesday. Trial for Husel, 44, is currently scheduled for June. _____ LOTS OF LAWSUITS More than 30 lawsuits have been filed against Mount Carmel in the matter, and it has agreed to more than $13 million in related settlements so far. Husel and Mount Carmel unsuccessfully argued the remaining lawsuits should be put on hold until the criminal case is resolved. Husel also has filed lawsuits. One against Mount Carmel and its parent company, Michigan-based Trinity Health, alleges defamation. Another against Trinity and its insurer seeks to force them to cover costs of his defense in the criminal case, just as in civil cases against him. _____ FORMER COLLEAGUES Authorities aren\u2019t prosecuting those who administered the drugs, though they have faced other fallout. Mount Carmel said it fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers after its internal investigation. Ten of Husel\u2019s former colleagues recently sued Mount Carmel for defamation and, in some cases, wrongful termination. The group of mostly nurses decried a \u201c false narrative of an evil rogue doctor and his complicit staff\u201d and said the spread of that narrative damaged their lives and livelihoods regardless of whether they were fired. Three pharmacists and 25 nurses still face potential disciplinary action from their respective state boards and have administrative hearings scheduled in the coming months. Husel is in line for one, too, after the Ohio State Medical Board suspended his license. It hadn\u2019t previously disciplined him. ___ Follow Franko on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kantele10. Claim: Amid doc\u2019s murder case, lawsuits reflect battle over blame.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-14e3ac18f6e7433588d74f18409f77c3", + "input": "Paragraph: The number of mental health nurses has fallen from 46,155 to 39,358 [since 2009]. This is the difference in the number of mental health and learning disabilities nurses between two different months which isn\u2019t the best way to compare the figures. Comparing the figures in September 2009 and 2017 shows the drop has been larger. The number of doctors in specialist psychiatry training fell from 3,187 in 2009 to 2,588 in the first quarter of this year. This 20% drop was between September 2009 and March 2018, which isn\u2019t a fair comparison. Comparing September 2009 and 2017 there was a 15% decrease. Claim 1 of 3 Claim: The number of mental health nurses has fallen from 46,155 to 39,358 [since 2009].", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-188f1f38ed0249b2bed4bde5b3c3f211", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The General Assembly on April 3 narrowly approved an amendment by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will ban insurers participating in an upcoming federal health care exchange in Virginia from offering policies that cover most abortions. The action was disappointing to NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. The group said, among other things, that McDonnell\u2019s proposal would force the exchange to offer more restrictive coverage than most private insurance plans. \"\"McDonnell\u2019s amendment prohibits Virginians participating in the new health exchange from purchasing any insurance plan that includes coverage for abortion -- coverage that currently exists as a standard benefit in nearly 90 percent of private plans sold in the U.S.,\"\" NARAL said in a March 26 news release. Two Democrats running for lieutenant governor -- state Sen. Ralph Northam of Norfolk and Aneesh Chopra, former U.S. chief technology officer of the United States -- quickly sent out similar statements. We decided to check NARAL\u2019s claim that abortion coverage is standard in almost 90 percent of the private plans now being sold. We should note McDonnell\u2019s amendment has an exception that allows insurance companies on the exchange to cover abortions in instances of rape, incest or when a mother\u2019s life would be endangered by continuing a pregnancy. NARAL said it got the figure from a 2004 report by the Guttmacher Institute, an organization based in New York City that specializes in research on reproductive health issues. Although Guttmacher supports access to abortion and birth control, its research has been cited by both sides of the abortion debate. NARAL cited a Guttmacher synopsis that says the study examined abortion coverage through private insurance in 2002. It found that 87 percent of typical employer-based policies back then covered \"\"medically necessary or appropriate abortions.\"\" Rebecca Wind, a spokeswoman for the Guttmacher Institute, said the definition of \"\"medically necessary or appropriate abortions\"\" is whatever a physician deems is required to protect the \"\"health or mental health of the patient.\"\" Guttmacher said its figure on private insurance coverage for abortion did not consider plans that offered benefits only in limited circumstances such as cases of rape, incest or to protect \u00a0the life of a mother. But the Guttmacher memo also noted another survey examining the issue came up with different results. That study, by Kaiser Family Foundation, found in 2003 that 46 percent of workers with employer-based insurance had coverage for abortion. The Guttmacher and Kaiser studies conducted early last decade offer the only detailed looks available on abortion coverage. Experts have not reconciled the difference in results. We spoke to Jon Gabel, a researcher who helped compile the 2003 Kaiser survey and now is a senior fellow at NORC, a social science research foundation at the University of Chicago. He said the 46 percent Kaiser cited refers to workers who were covered \u00a0for \"\"elective abortions\"\" that did not involve a medical emergency. Gabel said he interpreted Guttmacher\u2019s study as an examination of abortion coverage for medical necessity. Guttmacher, in a 2011 memo, essentially said the two studies asked different sets of questions that may have led to the different results. Guttmacher did not defend its original finding as definitive. \"\"The actual level of coverage is probably somewhere between the estimates made by Guttmacher and Kaiser, meaning that most Americans with employer-based insurance currently have coverage for abortion,\"\" the memo said. Our ruling NARAL said McDonnell\u2019s amendment banning an upcoming health care exchange from offering insurance plans that include abortion denies Virginians \"\"coverage that currently exists as a standard benefit in nearly 90 percent of private plans sold in the U.S.\"\" NARAL bases its claim on a 9-year-old study by the Guttmacher Institute that found 87 percent of typical of typical employer-based insurance policies covered \"\"medically necessary or appropriate abortions.\"\" Contrary to NARAL\u2019s contention, the findings do not reflect coverage \"\"that currently exists.\"\" The research focused on policies that were offered in 2002. Guttmacher never updated its report. The only other major research on abortion coverage was conducted by Kaiser in early 2003 and produced a different result. It found that 46 percent of workers with employer-based insurance had coverage for abortions. Experts have struggled to reconcile the two numbers. Guttmacher, in 2011, said that the \"\"actual level of coverage is probably somewhere between\"\" its estimate and that of Kaiser. So NARAL is citing as gospel an old figure that even its authors undercut.\" Claim: \"Abortion coverage is a standard insurance benefit \"\"in nearly 90 percent of private plans sold in the U.S.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-306c070a7ecf4a758fd76bf48c34a2a9", + "input": "Paragraph: \"On Nov. 27, 2013, a Madison-based liberal advocacy group used a mass email to promote protests that were planned against Walmart stores for two days later -- Black Friday. The demonstrations aimed to \"\"expose Wal-Mart\u2019s shameful labor practices and support workers,\"\" according to One Wisconsin Now, which then made this claim: \"\"The Walton family, which owns Wal-Mart, controls a fortune equal to the wealth of the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined.\"\" That reminded us of a March 2011 claim by filmmaker and liberal activist Michael Moore. He said in a Madison speech that 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined. Based on online hits, it became one of our most popular fact-checks ever. So we wondered about the Walmart claim. Wealth, not income In the days before and after Black Friday, leaders no less prominent than President Barack Obama and Pope Francis decried the extent of income disparity in the United States and around the world. Obama called the growing income gap a \"\"defining challenge of our time.\"\" The pope said that while the earnings of a minority \"\"are growing exponentially, so, too, is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.\"\" Walmart, of course, is a big target. According to Forbes, as of May 2013 the international retailer had $469 billion in sales and 2.2 million employees, including 1.3 million in the United States. The corporation has been criticized for low wages; and in December 2012, PolitiFact National rated as Mostly a claim that more Walmart employees are on Medicaid and food stamps than other companies. But let\u2019s be clear up front: Although income and wealth are related, they\u2019re not the same. Wealth is commonly measured in terms of net worth -- the value of a person\u2019s assets minus liabilities. So, things like savings and retirement accounts, minus what is owed on a home mortgage, credit cards, etc. That means a person with heavy debt can have little wealth, or negative wealth, even while earning a six-figure income. One more point before we get to the wealth figures. Walmart was founded by the late Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Arkansas in 1962. Walmart incorporated in 1969 and became a publicly traded company a year later. So, Wal-Mart is not family owned, but rather owned by its stockholders; on the other hand, according to Bloomberg and other news reports, the Walton family members still have control of the company, owning about half of the shares. Group's evidence Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now's executive director, told us his evidence to back his group\u2019s claim is a July 2012 article by economist Josh Bivens, research and policy director of the liberal Economics Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Bivens wrote that in 2010, the wealth of six Walton family heirs was $89.5 billion, 22 percent higher than in 2007. Meanwhile, the median wealth of American families in 2010 was $77,300, nearly 39 percent lower than three years earlier. (Median wealth refers to the American family that is exactly wealthier than half of all families and less wealthy than half.) As for measuring one against the other, Bivens said the Walton family wealth in 2010 was as large as the wealth of the bottom 48.8 million families in the United States, or 41.5 percent of all American families. Rounded up, 41.5 percent would be 42 percent, the figure One Wisconsin Now claims. But let's keep shopping around a little. Similar claim It turns out that a statement nearly identical to the one made by One Wisconsin Now was uttered in July 2012 by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats. Sanders said the Walton family owns \"\"more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of America,\"\" a claim PolitiFact National rated . Our colleagues found that Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist at the University of California, Berkeley, compared the Waltons\u2019 cumulative net worth with that of the overall population, as cited in the Federal Reserve\u2019s Survey of Consumer Finances. That survey was published in August 2012. Allegretto found that the Waltons\u2019 wealth in 2010 was valued at $89.5 billion -- equal to the entire bottom 41.5 percent of American families. The 2010 figures are the latest available for doing comparisons with the net worth of the overall population. But we found, using the Forbes 400 list for 2013, that the wealth of six of Sam Walton\u2019s descendants has continued to grow. Here are their rankings and their wealth: No. 6 Christy Walton (daughter-in-law), $35.4 billion No. 7: Jim Walton (son), $33.8 billion No. 8: Alice Walton (daughter), $33.5 billion No. 9: S. Robson Walton (son), $33.3 billion No. 95: Ann Walton Kroenke (niece), $4.7 billion No. 110: Nancy Walton Laurie (niece), $4 billion Total Walton family wealth: $144.7 billion. A note before we close: Allegretto told us the housing crisis is a key reason that the gap between the Walton family wealth and the wealth of other American families has grown. More Americans were left with \"\"negative wealth\"\" because they lost their biggest asset -- their home -- and often significant amounts of their savings, as well, she said. Our rating One Wisconsin Now wrote: \"\"The Walton family, which owns Wal-Mart, controls a fortune equal to the wealth of the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined.\"\" For comparison purposes, the latest data available, for 2010, the figure is 41.5 percent. To comment on this item, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website.\" Claim: The Walton family, which owns Wal-Mart, controls a fortune equal to the wealth of the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-cc80eee82a364849989731e8eaae0f81", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Hillary Clinton's near-collapse at a Sept. 11 memorial service and the subsequent revelation that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier has people wondering about the health of the two major presidential candidates. The Clinton campaign promised more medical data on her health, and Republican Donald Trump pledged to release details of a recent checkup. Both candidates have already released letters from their doctors saying they are healthy enough to be president. Clinton\u2019s team argues that Trump has released less information about his health than Clinton. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Clinton said her two-page 2015 letter from her physician is consistent with what presidential candidates have released in the past. \"\"You know, you've got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama\"\" when the two ran for president, Clinton said. \"\"Donald Trump's doctor said he'd be the healthiest president in history. That's just not even serious.\"\" When Cooper asked what additional information she would be supplying, Clinton did not offer any details. \"\"Well, we're going to be releasing more information, and I think it's fair to say, we've already met the standard of disclosure of past presidential candidates like Mitt Romney and President Obama.\"\" Actually, there is no \"\"standard\"\" for the type of medical information that should be released. The experts we consulted agreed. But Clinton's disclosures are on the same level as Obama and Romney in previous elections. \"\"There is no 'standard' of medical disclosure, just whatever the voting public is comfortable with,\"\" said Jerald Podair, professor of history at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. \"\"This means, of course, that as much secrecy as possible has been the historical norm.\"\" Thus, he said, the public didn't know about Grover Cleveland's cancer, Franklin Roosevelt's paralysis or John Kennedy's Addison\u2019s disease. \"\"All kept the true nature of their illnesses secret from the American public. Obviously, is is harder to do so today, but as Hillary (\u2018darn these allergies\u2019) Clinton has shown, the system can still be gamed.\"\" \"\"This is an imaginary standard set up by candidates,\"\" said Brooks Simpson, a presidential historian at Arizona State University. Interest in candidate medical records has varied over time. There was a lot of interest when John McCain ran against Obama in 2008. McCain was 71 and had a history of skin cancer. He released 1,173 pages of records going back to 2000. In contrast, medical records were not much of an issue in 2004 when George W. Bush, then 58, sought re-election against John Kerry, then 60. Both were known to be big fitness enthusiasts. Bush had received regular checkups as president but that year decided to have his physical after the election. As CNN reported at the time, \"\"Neither President Bush nor Senator Kerry have released their full medical records, but there isn't much public pressure for either man to release more details. Americans may want a healthy commander-in-chief, but 61 percent say the president has the same rights as other citizens to keep medical records private, compared to just 38 percent in favor of releasing all information that might affect his ability to serve.\"\" It's more of an issue today, in part, because both candidates are so old. \"\"These people are in the Ronald Reagan category,\"\" said Simpson. Trump, if elected, would be the oldest person to assume the presidency. Clinton would be the second oldest behind Reagan. \"\"Maybe 70 is the new 60, but these people are old,\"\" Simpson said. \"\"Neither one has really satisfied issues of disclosure in the public mind,\"\" although Clinton has been more forthcoming, he said. \"\"Trump's efforts have been pretty feeble. But the incident on Sunday and the cough just illustrated a personal attack narrative and has given traction to an accusation that her health is less than ideal. This is a way not just to raise questions about candidate health, but about candidate transparency.\"\" When we contacted the Clinton campaign, spokesman Josh Schwerin acknowledged that there is no real standard. He said the candidate was simply referring to the examples of Obama and Romney as a relevant point of comparison. How do their medical summaries compare? Candidate Obama Romney Clinton Trump Year 2008 2012 2015 2015 Words in doctor letter 280 535 578 174 Blood pressure 90/60 130/80 100/65 110/65 Heart rate 60 40 72 Not mentioned Triglycerides 44 179 69 Not mentioned Total cholesterol 173 169 195 Not mentioned Good cholesterol 68 Not mentioned 64 Not mentioned Bad cholesterol 96 Not mentioned 118 Not mentioned Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 0.6 Normal Not relevant .015 Allergies mentioned? No Yes Yes No Past health problems detailed? No Yes Yes Yes Family history mentioned? Yes Yes Yes No Because there is no standard, the doctors of different candidates included different levels of detail. The letters for all four candidates gave blood pressure. The letters for Obama, Romney and Clinton offered at least some blood test results, such as total cholesterol. Trump's does not. Family history, a key factor for predicting a person's lifespan or potential health problems, is missing from Trump's letter. The doctors for Clinton and Romney go into more detail about the candidate's past health problems, but that may be because they had some issues in the past. We don't know about Trump's history, but the detailed 2014 health report for Obama once he became president says he's had no significant medical problems, including no surgeries. The most detailed template was Obama\u2019s annual presidential physical. The 2014 report contains far more information than he released when he first ran in 2008. It talks about immunizations. It lists medications (without giving doses), a fasting blood sugar level and cholesterol counts. There's also discussion of the status of his heart, lungs, eyes, head neck, bones, muscles, nerves and skin. \"\"Probably Hillary is about right since the standard is that most politicians conceal their debilitating illnesses or fabricate (maybe exaggerate) how wonderfully healthy they are,\"\" said Bert Rockman, professor emeritus of political science at Purdue University. Because of their age, \"\"there is bound to be something wrong with each of them despite Trump's likely-dictated note to his doctor, which meets the standard of a school boy note.\"\" \"\"Of course, some candidates are in terrific shape \u2014 Romney and Obama, for example, and Carter,\"\" he said. \"\"And you likely wouldn't run for president if you were seriously (physically) debilitated,\"\" putting the cases of Kennedy and Roosevelt aside. \"\"In other words,\"\" said Rockman, \"\"the bar is really low, and Hillary likely met it by historical standards.\"\" Our ruling Clinton said, \"\"You've got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.\"\" If Romney and Obama exemplify a standard, then the information Clinton has provided to the public is on a comparable level. But Clinton's statement implies a standard that doesn\u2019t really exist, according to the experts. And both the quality and quantity of information on presidential candidates has varied widely. Claim: You've got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-f84aca3513cd4eb8827bd024e00ee32e", + "input": "Paragraph: This release makes no mention of the costs of the drugs compared in this study, even though the drugs have been in use for years and are widely available. Since the study is a comparison of various treatments for this form of cancer, it seems relevant to offer a cost comparison as well as a comparison of efficacy. It appears that the high dose methotrexate is given over a 24-hour period, presumably in the hospital, while the standard methotrexate is given as a single dose. Also, the high dose methotrexate is\u00a0followed by leucovorin administration while the standard dose is not. According to the site GoodRx, the cost for methotrexate in low-dose (2.5 mg) pill form averages out to about $50 for a month\u2019s supply. Newer, injectable variations of the drug cost upwards of $500 a month for the 25 mg dose. The release states that patients receiving high doses of the drug methotrexate \u201chad a significantly better outcome, by 5 to 6 percent\u201d than did patients receiving the current standard of care, which is gradually escalating doses of the drug. The release also explains that patients nine years old or younger who were also treated with a steroid called decadron (dexamethasone) for\u00a0half as long as normal (14 versus 28 days) benefited from the treatment while patients 10 and older did not. We\u2019re not sure of the meaning behind these results as portrayed in the release. Which outcome was better by 5 or 6 percent? The study has several. Does that mean the relapse rate was reduced or is it the event free survival that was better? It would be more meaningful to readers if the release had included the actual relapse and event free survival rates for each group analyzed in terms most people can understand. For example: \u201crelapse rates were 5 percent lower in Group X compared to Group Y.\u201d We\u2019ll give this category a satisfactory rating largely due to the release including information that patients 10 and older receiving dexamethasone \u201cwere at much higher risk for a debilitating bone condition called osteonecrosis,\u201d although we would have been happier if that greater risk would have been quantified. However, the published study explains that there were toxicity problems beyond that of dexamethasone and the release would have been stronger including that information as well. The release stated the study was randomized and controlled, and provides a broad overview of the study design, for which we give the release a borderline satisfactory under this criteria. However, these are the\u00a0superficial results. On deeper delving into the study methodology, the statistical significances of the results were very close to not\u00a0statistically significant. This is due to their planned interim stopping of the treatment and the fact that they were looking at multiple outcomes in multiple groups. This release doesn\u2019t demonstrate disease-mongering. While the release does say that this clinical trial was run by the Children\u2019s Oncology Group, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, it makes no mention of possible conflicts of interest. Compounding that is the fact that the published study says, \u201cDisclosures provided by the authors are available with this article at www.jco.org,\u201d but that information is behind the journal\u2019s paywall for most readers, so it\u2019s unknown if there is, or is not, a conflict. It appears as though five of the authors (out of a total of about 20) have some conflicts of interest, mostly from several types of drug company payments. The release is comparing the efficacy of treatment regimens using different drugs so alternative treatments\u00a0for B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia are noted. The release makes clear at the end that the treatment of this disease is improving thanks to refinement of the use of existing drug treatments, meaning that they are readily available for patient use. The release suggests the study findings could change the way childhood leukemia is treated. Modifying existing treatments to enhance a patient\u2019s survival is certainly novel enough to warrant a release. There is no use of unjustifiable language in this release. However, the tone may be a bit overly optimistic given the study findings. Claim: Relapses of childhood leukemia improve with high doses of common chemo drug", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-ae10068f25b944f29a0cb1d98141bc7f", + "input": "Paragraph: About 1.3 million people worldwide died of TB in 2017. A further 300,000 people with both HIV and TB died in last year, according to World Health Organization figures released this month. Once referred to as \u2018consumption\u2019 because of the way sufferers appear to waste away, tuberculosis has been known for centuries. The bacterium responsible for TB was discovered 136 years ago and the development of an effective antibiotic helped rich countries to largely contain the disease after World War II. Still, the U.N. health agency estimates that about 10 million people worldwide become newly infected with TB each year, mostly in poor countries where access to health care is limited. \u201cIt really is a global epidemic,\u201d said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, who heads WHO\u2019s program to combat TB. Speaking ahead of a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Kasaeva said the U.N.\u2019s target of eradicating tuberculosis worldwide by 2030 \u201cis very ambitious given that for now progress is too slow.\u201d Like HIV, tuberculosis remains a highly stigmatized illness, preventing some sufferers from seeking treatment. Experts are particularly concerned about the rising number of people contracting drug-resistant variants of TB, many of which aren\u2019t diagnosed properly. Treating them can be costly and arduous, requiring years of medication with strong side effects. Dr. Ralf Otto-Knapp of the German Central Committee to Combat Tuberculosis, a group established in the late 19th century when the disease was still widespread in much of Europe, warned against complacency about the disease in an age of global travel. \u201cBecause of the increasing mobility in society it also affects economically more powerful countries,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a joint political will and the necessary resources to fight tuberculosis effectively.\u201d Kasaeva said she hoped leaders attending the New York meeting Wednesday will commit to closing the growing gap between the amount of money available and the billions more required to tackle the disease. Campaigners applauded a recent decision by the World Health Organization to recommend a change in the way drug-resistant tuberculosis is treated, prioritizing oral drugs over injectable medication. The group Doctors Without Borders said such treatment can reduce debilitating side effects, help improve cure rates and cut the number of deaths, but noted that it requires U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, which makes the key drug bedaquiline, to reduce its price in low- and middle-income countries with high rates of drug-resistant TB. The company has already sharply reduced costs for the drug in some countries, but in others a six-month course of treatment can cost several thousand dollars \u2014 far more than most people can afford. Companies have been reluctant to invest in developing TB medication \u2014 with only two new drugs coming onto the market in the past 50 years. Claim: Governments to discuss tackling tuberculosis at UN summit.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d83abb2decd7441e9493b2bbfc3b65aa", + "input": "Paragraph: Cost is particularly important when many patients may have to pay out of pocket for weight loss drugs. The\u00a0story does\u00a0not provide any information about the\u00a0cost of orlistat, the\u00a0cost of the food\u00a0in the\u00a0study diets, or the cost of the counseling provided to study participants. A quotation from one of the study researchers suggests\u00a0that\u00a0a low-carb diet might be a\u00a0cheaper alternative to a low-fat diet plus medication. While this is certainly\u00a0possible, it also seems possible that low-carb eating,\u00a0with its emphasis on protein from\u00a0meat,\u00a0would be more expensive than low-fat eating, and that this would cancel out any savings on medication. In any case,\u00a0making any kind of judgment in this area would require\u00a0more hard data, but\u00a0the story provides only speculation. The story earns points for noting the absolute reduction in blood pressure in each group. We wish, though, that it had provided the weight loss in similar terms of actual\u00a0pounds or kilograms lost instead of as a percentage of bodyweight. Similar to the HealthDay piece, the story provides no information about the potential adverse effects of orlistat or a low-carbohydrate diet. Similar to the HealthDay piece,\u00a0the story gives a decent overview of\u00a0the basic study design and outcomes. However more information would have helped us judge\u00a0how well these diet plans might work in the real world. There is\u00a0no information on who dropped out of the study or how well the two groups were able to adhere to the diet. In addition, the story states that low-carb dieters were advised to consume 20 g of carbohydrate per day, but it\u00a0seems very unlikely that participants were able to maintain that level of carbohydrate restriction for almost a year. Overall, this story squeaks by with a satisfactory. The story does not exaggerate the prevalence or consequences of obesity. The story\u2019s only quotes come from Dr. Yancy, a researcher affiliated with the study. The story also does not inform\u00a0readers that Dr. Yancy and another co-author on the study have received funding from the Robert C. Atkins Foundation, which promotes\u00a0research on low-carb diets. Given the story\u2019s focus on blood pressure, it\u00a0should have mentioned how the results of this study might compare to treatment with blood pressure medication. The\u00a0story mentioned that\u00a0orlistat, the weight loss medication tested in the study,\u00a0is the active ingredient in Xenical and\u00a0Alli. Unlike the competing piece in HealthDay, however, it did not specify that Xenical is a prescription drug and that Alli is available over the counter. Although this information would have been helpful, providing the trade names for both drugs is probably enough to orient most readers. The story mentions that both low-carb and low-fat diets are proven to produce weight loss. However, it suggests that we should be surprised that a low-carbohydrate diet could produce such beneficial effects on blood pressure. In fact, this effect was well-documented in another comparison\u00a0of weight loss diets\u00a0published in JAMA in 2007. The story lifts two quotes directly from a news release put out by Duke University. While the story admits that\u00a0the quotes\u00a0came from\u00a0a release,\u00a0it doesn\u2019t\u00a0perform\u00a0the basic task of finding another source to provide an alternate\u00a0viewpoint. The reader is left wondering if this is journalism or simply an extension of the Duke University press office. Claim: Low-Carb Diet Lowers Blood Pressure", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5ad21f853c974e8a8e9a744d26417f36", + "input": "Paragraph: Viral claims regarding the purported dangers of common household plants belonging to the genus Dieffenbachia (shown above) have been on the internet for years. One article\u00a0(titled, colorfully, \u201cMy Son Died for This Damn Plant it Is Urgent That Everyone Knows, Kills a Child in 1 Minute and an Adult in 15! !\u201d) appears identically across multiple websites and provides the following\u00a0representative claim: Please read this carefully. My son died because he put a piece of leaf in his mouth and tongue and these swelled to suffocate. This plant is very common in many homes and offices. It is deadly poisonous and dangerous, to the point of killing a child in 1 minute and an adult in 15 minutes. If you touch it by chance you should never bring your fingers to your eyes, as this could cause permanent blindness. Warn your friends and family. This post does not seek to debunk that specific story, in part because it comes with no details that allow any aspect of it to be verified. Instead, this post addresses more broadly the risk posed to humans by this widespread potted plant. Dieffenbachia is indeed very common among household plants (it\u2019s simple, and requires little sunlight), and eating its leaves or rubbing your eyes with your hands after coming into contact with the plant may indeed cause irritation,\u00a0which in turn can cause the swelling\u00a0described above. As far as the plant causing death, however, Ed Krenzelok, an emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a former director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center who has researched Dieffenbachia toxicity specifically, is skeptical: I\u2019ve never ever seen a fatality in my experience related to Dieffenbachia or any of the members of the Arum family. I\u2019ve reviewed, virtually [\u2026] hundreds of thousands of cases in my career involving plants of this nature. The risk of irritation from Dieffenbachia is not news. People have been aware of its properties as an irritant since at least the first century A.D. Later, Jamaican slave traders \u2014 sadistically \u2014 rubbed the juice of these plants on the tongues of slaves, causing their mouths to become painfully swollen, as a form of punishment, making one of its common names \u201cdumb cane\u201c. The cause of this irritation comes from a chemical called calcium oxalate, which exists in varying concentrations across the entire plant kingdom, including a variety of food crops. In Dieffenbachia and some other groups of plants, this chemical forms microscopic (but razor-sharp) crystals called raphides that can rip apart and irritate tissues in your mouth or your eyes, as described by Krenzelok: Think of a micro-miniature balloon filled with crystal in the cells of the dieffenbachia and when you bite down on that, you squeeze the cells and the enzymes that are in there and the oxalate crystal are expelled. [\u2026] If you just touch a dieffenbachia or rub it on your arm or whatever, without breaking the integrity of the leaf, you\u2019re not going to have a problem. Calcium oxalate is a ubiquitous chemical in nature. It is produced as a byproduct of a variety of cellular processes, and can form many different types of chemical structures depending on the species of plant. Not limited to plants, it is also produced as a byproduct in mammalian metabolism as well, and it is one of the most common minerals that form kidney stones. The risk to humans \u2014 at least, when speaking about the reactions described in these viral posts \u2014 would come not from the inherent toxicity of calcium oxalate, but from physical abrasion caused by these tiny sharp crystals, as explained by the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia: Oxalate crystals can cause intense pain and swelling if they come in contact with the skin or mouth. When any part of these plants is chewed and swallowed, the crystals stab the sensitive tissues of the tongue, gums and throat, creating the sensation of biting into ground glass. Pain, difficulty swallowing, swelling and temporary hoarseness may occur. Poisoning from swallowing an oxalate-containing plant is rare because the intense mouth pain usually prevents children from eating a significant quantity of the plant. In terms of contact with the eyes, Krenzelok says he frequently saw eye irritation at his center, but never traumatic, permanent eye damage: I\u2019ve seen a lot of cases where ocular exposure has occurred, but generally because people have a broken stem or something and they get some of the juice on their fingers and they happen to rub their eye and they have a little irritation. But I\u2019ve never ever seen or observed a traumatic ocular exposure either. [In my experience], I\u2019ve never seen loss of vision or anything of that nature. Claim: The household plant Dieffenbachia, one of the most common indoor plants, is so poisonous it can kill a child in one minute and an adult in 15 minutes.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c9866c60ae784e948d111564cf65fb2a", + "input": "Paragraph: \"As the spread of coronavirus has fed fears of illness, it has also spurred fears of mass quarantines. And looking at other countries that have been hit hard by the virus, including China and Italy, it\u2019s not an idle question. On March 12, a reader sent us a comment from a website called Stop Mandatory Vaccination, run by a group that opposes bills to curb exemptions for vaccinations. (Here\u2019s some background on the anti-vaccine movement.) The website said in part, \"\"The CDC can detain anyone with a fever \u2014 indefinitely. \u2026 Vaccination (is) a way people could get out of detention.\"\" Similar comments on social media soon prompted high-level debunkings. Late on March 15, the National Security Council took to Twitter to knock down rumors about a national quarantine: \"\"Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus.\"\" Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus Quarantines are real, but there\u2019s a lot of misinformation floating around about the details. Here, we\u2019ll attempt to clarify what\u2019s accurate, and what\u2019s not, about quarantines. (An inquiry to Stop Mandatory Vaccination was not returned.) There are two related terms that address this phenomenon: quarantine and isolation. \"\"Isolation\"\" separates people with a confirmed case of a communicable disease from people who are not sick. \"\"Quarantine\"\" separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. The last federal quarantine prior to the coronavirus outbreak came in the early 1960s, when officials were concerned about a smallpox outbreak. It\u2019s been a century \u2014 back to the 1918-19 \"\"Spanish flu\"\" pandemic \u2014 since large-scale isolations and quarantines were last enforced. Federal quarantine power stems from Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act, which authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take measures to prevent the entry and spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries and between states. Federal regulations revised in 2017 allow the CDC \"\"to detain, medically examine, and release persons arriving into the United States and traveling between states who are suspected of carrying\"\" certain communicable diseases. (Here\u2019s what a sample quarantine order looks like.) Those powers are carried out with help from other federal agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard. This federal government has exercised this power recently with travelers returning from locations where coronavirus has been spreading, based on presidential proclamations like this one. So far we\u2019ve been referring to federal quarantines. But most quarantine power actually resides with state and local governments, as well as tribal law on tribal lands. That\u2019s because federal quarantine powers are limited to persons entering the United States from elsewhere. By contrast, states and localities enforce those powers within their own borders \"\"CDC officials are \u2018preparing as if (the new coronavirus) is the next pandemic,\u2019 but in reality, the laboring oar falls to state and local health departments,\"\" Polly J. Price, a professor of law and global health at Emory University, has written in the Atlantic. So the assertion we\u2019re checking in this article, by focusing on CDC, misses a lot of where the action is: state and local governments. Historically, forcible quarantines have been rare, and they require a court order. Most of the time, experts said, people who are infected are released on their own recognizance with a promise to self-quarantine. There\u2019s judicial precedent for quarantine powers dating back to the early 1800s, but subsequent case law has required a degree of due process, especially given that a quarantine, unlike an arrest, involves the detention of someone who is not suspected of a crime. Past cases \"\"suggest that there are important limits on the ability of the U.S. and state and local governments when it comes to some types of public health action,\"\" said David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University. The government has to show real harm, as well as that people get due process and a chance to appeal. Becoming subject to forcible quarantines isn\u2019t just a question of having a particular germ; it also requires a strong likelihood that you will spread it to other people. \"\"Since most people can take precautions, this typically only happens in the case of person who can\u2019t stay away from other people,\"\" such as people who have a severe mental illness, said Wendy K. Mariner, a professor of health law at the Boston University School of Public Health. What if you refuse a mandatory order? Practical consequences for such an action are tricky. While fines and incarceration are allowed, no public health expert today recommends jailing a person unwilling to quarantine, because they would be introducing a contagion into a confined population. \"\"The likelier answer is hospitals with secure wards,\"\" Mariner said. Not any fever gets you quarantined, contrary to the assertion we\u2019re checking. The government \"\"would have to have good evidence that the individual was exposed to COVID-19\"\" to impose a quarantine, said Lawrence O. Gostin, faculty director of Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. \"\"\u2018Fever\u2019 is too broad a definition,\"\" Mariner agreed. In addition to coronavirus, the CDC is able to quarantine only for the following diseases: cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fever, SARS and pandemic flu. It\u2019s an exaggeration to say quarantine is \"\"indefinite\"\" detention by the government, especially given what we know so far about the course of coronavirus disease. First, as we noted, quarantine is usually self-regulated. And for those instances when it\u2019s not, such as when an individual is uncooperative, the person is able to leave quarantine when they are no longer contagious. Vaccination doesn\u2019t get you out of quarantine. Typically, vaccinations aren\u2019t cures; they\u2019re preventive measures. In any case, it\u2019s moot for coronavirus, because there is no vaccine yet. Claims on the internet said \"\"the CDC can detain anyone with a fever \u2014 indefinitely. \u2026 Vaccination (is) a way people could get out of detention.\"\" The CDC does have the power to isolate people with certain infectious diseases and quarantine those who had contact with an infected person. But this claim is wrong or misleading about many of the details. Most quarantine decisions will be up to states and localities, rather than the CDC. People can\u2019t be quarantined for just having a fever; they have to be shown to have been exposed to a specific set of diseases. Most quarantines are done voluntarily, not by force of the state. And vaccination is not a ticket out of quarantine.\" Claim: \u201cThe CDC can detain anyone with a fever \u2014 indefinitely. \u2026 Vaccination (is) a way people could get out of detention.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-dda3954982cc45b3a1a121b2d7f0a8f8", + "input": "Paragraph: An image that purports to show a screengrab from a medical journal was\u00a0featured on a tweet that gained traction on January 15 2020.The tweet\u00a0contains a capture of this citation:It says:Hormone replacement therapy has many nicknames among transfeminine people, including titty pills, titty skittles, smartitties, chicklets, anticistamines, mammary mints, life savers, tit tacs, breast mints, femme&m\u2019s, antiboyotics, trans-mission fluid, and the Notorious H.R.T.\u201coh fuck this was in an actual medical journal I\u2019m gonna cry lmao,\u201d the user wrote.While it is legitimate, many of the users sharing it may not be aware of the context behind it. The citation was included in an article published by the McGill Journal of Law and Health, a publication covering healthcare-related law. The story itself is a first-person account by activist Florence Ashley regarding their experience seeking medical care both pre-and post-gender transition.Their listing of the nicknames for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) appears alongside a passage covering the temporary effects from stopping the treatment prior to reassignment surgery:I had to stop taking the hormones three weeks before surgery, give or take a few days. I was ill-prepared for this endeavour. Because hormones regulate emotions, amongst many other things, changes in hormonal regimen can have a heavy impact on mood stability and mental health. In my case, the fluctuations were large enough that I had to raise my dosage of antidepressant.A few months after surgery, my reflection in the mirror elicited an emotional reaction I had not yet grown accustomed to. After over a year on hormone replacement therapy, my body had changed in ways that finally began feeling comfortable. After decades of discontent, I was finally feeling at home in what I had previously described as a flesh prison. It had only taken a few weeks without hormones to lose what I estimated as six months of progress, noticeable in terms of fat redistribution, breast tissue loss, and changes to sexual functioning. The mirror served me a cruel reminder of this loss of self.In their paper, Ashley argues that current regulations covering disclosure of information between medical providers and transgender patients rely \u201con overly narrow conceptions of informed consent and underestimates the role that communal knowledge should play in health care.\u201dTheir own surgeon, for example, did not mention what the side effects would be of stopping HRT prior to surgery.\u201cI would not have changed my mind about having surgery, it is true, but I could have done more to prepare had I known about the impact of ceasing hormone replacement therapy,\u201d they wrote:Knowing in advance is crucial to psychological preparation and adaptation. Armed with knowledge, I could have scheduled appointments with my therapist, warned my loved ones about my increased need for support and softness, and refrained from in-person commitments. I did the latter two of those for a subsequent surgical procedure. Claim: \"An article published in a medical journal makes reference to nicknames for hormone replacement therapy that included \"\"antiboyotics, trans-mission fluid, and the Notorious H.R.T.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-d6c0f4d2720f4123833d771ee2828065", + "input": "Paragraph: The story does not mention the costs of screening or follow-up tests or treatment \u2013 to the individual or, collectively, to society. Those costs are significant. This story uses several different statistics and expert perspectives to explain what the researchers found in their examination of the effects of mammography screening. It not only include the relative risk reduction (10 percent) and an absolute risk reduction statistic (among women in their 50s, a decade of screening would boost the likelihood of avoiding a fatal breast cancer from 995.6 out of 1,000 to 996 out of 1,000), but it also offered comments from different experts about how they would personally value effects of that size. The story notes that screening mammography exposes women to false alarms scares as well as the risks and harms of treating tumors that actually would not have become life-threatening. This story explains how this study is different from earlier research on mammography. It points out both advantages of the study methods (comparing women in regions with screening to those without as Norway rolled out a national program over a 9 year period) and limitations (an observational study like this is not as powerful as a randomized trial, and the study might have found more benefits to screening if it had lasted longer). The story also noted the uncertainty in the numbers the researchers reported and that the real differences might be different. The story does not exaggerate the risk of breast cancer or the need to be screened for it. The story includes comments from several independent sources offering a variety of perspectives. It does not mention that the study was funded by the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Research Council of Norway. The story notes that improved treatments appear to have reduced the breast cancer death rate even among women who did not have regular screening mammograms. Not being screened was clearly acknowledged as an alternative, something not all competing stories explicitly addressed. The availability of mammography screening is not at issue. This story does point out that the women who were screened in Norway had access to special treatment teams. And it noted that these treatments are available at \u201cmany major medical centers in the United States.\u201d Mammography is not new, but this story does a good job of explaining what is new about the way these researchers examined the effects of screening. The story includes comments from several sources and does not appear to rely on a news release. Claim: Mammograms\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Value in Cancer Fight at Issue", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7a5bc9e66afa4acc8d3d610f98996f95", + "input": "Paragraph: There are three costs not mentioned in this news release that are critical in evaluating the relevance of this unpublished study. First, the release could have compared the costs of \u201cdual mobility cup\u201d hip transplants vs. conventional implants. We\u2019re told the former are \u201cmore expensive\u201d but it would be helpful to know by how much, since the study suggests dual mobility cup transplants may be indicated in patients at high risk for dislocation. Second, the study is based on a \u201cnovel risk assessment tool\u201d which suggests pre-operative scans in the sitting and standing positions. How much does this cost? It\u2019s not mentioned. Third, how much money could potentially be saved by reducing the need for \u201crevision surgeries\u201d in patients whose implant becomes dislocated? It is unlikely that this will reduce costs overall given the small number of individuals who may require repeat surgery, even in this high risk group. Thus, the question is whether this is a cost-effective strategy or not. This study was done in two parts. Part one: a retrospective review of 1,082 conventional (not dual cup) total hip replacements (THRs), over 2 years, in which the dislocation rate was 1.8% (19 patients). We\u2019re told about a third of the total cohort (320 of the 1,082) had \u201cspinal disease and deformity\u201d on imaging scans. In this group of 320, 10 patients (3.1%) had subsequent dislocations. Part two: Beginning in 2016 researchers began employing their risk assessment tool \u2014 pre-operative sitting/standing scans of the hip, and factoring in other risk factors like previous spinal fusion \u2014 and identified 192 of 1,009 patients (19%) as \u2018high risk\u2019 for dislocation. About three-fourths of these patients received dual cup transplants with only 1 having a subsequent dislocation (0.5%). The news release gives us the absolute rate of dislocations in both high-risk groups (3.1% vs. 0.5%), which is vital information to understand the scope of the potential benefit. And on that basis we\u2019ll award a satisfactory grade here. However, we note limitations under the Evidence criterion below that have a bearing on these statistics. The news release does not mention any risks associated with hip replacement surgery in general, nor does it address potential harms specific to dual mobility cups, which are described in the release as the recommended approach to reduce risk for dislocations. The release notes that dual mobility cups may carry risks \u201cif implanted unnecessarily\u201d but doesn\u2019t describe or quantify those risks. Of note, there is some concern that this type of replacement joint may release higher levels of metal ions than conventional joints when implanted in younger, more active patients. As presented, the only downside of these newer devices are the increased cost. It would be helpful to know if there are any other risks. Newer devices may have some risk simply due to not having long-term experience with them. Current hip replacement devices have been shown to work for 20+ years. It will take considerable time to know whether the same may hold for these newer devices. The release provides a relatively thorough description of how the study was conducted, noting that one group of patients was treated before the introduction of a new assessment protocol (in 2014-2015), and that the second group had their treatment guided by the new protocol (introduced in 2016). The fact that the second group had better outcomes (i.e. a lower rate of dislocations following hip replacement) indicates that the protocol must be helpful for identifying high-risk patients and treating them more appropriately, the release suggests. What\u2019s lacking, though, is any acknowledgment\u00a0that these two groups of patients might not be directly comparable. For example, did these two groups have the same types of \u201cspinal disease and deformity\u201d \u2014 the nature of which might impact the failure rate for their hip replacements? Did they also have the same level of mobility and co-existing illnesses? Did anything else about the treatment provided to patients change in the time between the first group\u2019s treatment and the second group? Were both groups followed for the same length of time post-surgery? Differences in any of these areas could have biased the results. To conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of the new protocol, researchers would need to randomly assign patients to receive the new protocol, or not, and document how both groups fared following treatment. A brief note to that effect, or at least a mention of some of the limitations inherent in the current study\u2019s design, would have been helpful. The report should have mentioned that the comparison was not a direct one. The best way to examine these outcomes would be to compare patients screened to be at high risk and then randomize them to the new device or a standard one. It is possible that the benefit is from knowing that they are at higher risk. For example, physical therapy or other instruction may be given to mitigate the risk, irrespective of the device inserted. No disease mongering. The release states that dislocations occur in about 1% of patients following hip replacement. The release doesn\u2019t discuss funding for the study or possible conflicts of interest among the study authors. A quick search of the federal Open Payments database shows that the lead author, Dr. Jonathan Vigdorchik, receives payments from a number of device companies, including those that make dual mobility hip implants. Since we\u2019re not aware of alternatives to this tool we\u2019ll rate this criteria Not Applicable. It\u2019s clear that patients who undergo hip replacement at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital have access to the risk assessment screening and treatment algorithm prior to surgery. But what about patients who can\u2019t travel to New York? Is anything similar in use at other institutions? The release is silent on this point. The release clarifies the problem this new assessment tool is trying to solve and why it\u2019s worth reading about: Some newer hip implants are designed with dual mobility cups that allow for increased range of motion, which helps reduce dislocation risk. However, no guidelines currently exist to aid clinicians in deciding when to use these more flexible implants, which are often more expensive than conventional implants, may not be medically necessary, and may carry added risks if implanted unnecessarily. No unjustifiable language. Claim: New tool helps identify risk for post-surgical dislocations following hip replacement", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-5d8ddce0ec6b4d30b1a6cb1b32e17fe2", + "input": "Paragraph: We flagged false and misleading claims from several candidates:The second set of Democratic primary debates was hosted by CNN at Detroit\u2019s Fox Theatre on July 30 with 10 candidates. Another 10 will take the stage on July 31.O\u2019Rourke falsely claimed that \u201cno other country\u201d has as many firearm-related deaths as the U.S.O\u2019Rourke: How else can we explain that we lose nearly 40,000 people in this country to gun violence, a number that no other country comes even close to.O\u2019Rourke didn\u2019t specify a time period, but 39,773 people died from firearm-related injuries in the U.S. in 2017, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Of those deaths, 60% were suicides and 36.6% were homicides.But it\u2019s not true that no other country comes close to the U.S., as O\u2019Rourke said.In 2016, there were an estimated 43,200 firearm injury deaths in Brazil, according to a 2018 study published in JAMA. That was more than the estimated 37,200 firearm deaths that year in the U.S. Mexico, with an estimated 15,400 deaths by firearms, was the next closest country.The U.S., with 10.6 deaths per 100,000 people, also did not have the highest firearm injury death rate. More than a dozen countries had a higher rate than the U.S., including Brazil (19.4), Honduras (22.5), Guatemala (32.3) and Venezuela (38.7). El Salvador\u2019s rate of 39.2 deaths per 100,000 people was the highest.O\u2019Rourke also claimed that the CDC is \u201cprevented from actually studying the issue [of gun violence] in the first place.\u201d Under what\u2019s known as the Dickey Amendment, no CDC funds \u201cfor injury prevention and control \u2026 may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.\u201d However, compromise language accompanying a 2018 spending bill clarified that, while that prohibition remains, \u201cthe Secretary of Health and Human Services has stated the CDC has the authority to conduct research on the causes of gun violence.\u201dUpdate, July 31: A spokesman for O\u2019Rourke\u2019s campaign told us the former congressman meant that \u201cno other developed country comes close to the number of gun deaths\u201d in the U.S. That claim is accurate, but it\u2019s not what he said in the debate. The candidates engaged in some misleading claims about the effects of the 2017 Republican tax cut.\u201cLeft everyone behind?\u201d\u00a0\u2014 Klobuchar referred to the bill as \u201cthat regressive tax bill that left everyone behind, but really made his Mar-a-Lago friends richer.\u201d\u00a0The bill did benefit wealthy people like those able to afford the\u00a0$200,000 membership fee to join Trump\u2019s Palm Beach resort. A 2017\u00a0analysis by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center\u00a0estimated that in 2018 the average tax cut for those in the top one-tenth of 1% in income would amount to $193,380.But the bill certainly didn\u2019t \u201cleave everyone behind.\u201d The TPC analysis estimated that the middle 20% in income would get an average cut of $930 in 2018.Klobuchar would have been correct to say that the bill favored the rich more than others. The TPC analysis estimated that the middle 20% would see their after-tax income go up 1.6%, less than half the 3.4% increase in after-tax income for the top 1%.\u201c83 cents\u201d? \u2014\u00a0Williamson dusted off a shopworn and misleading Democratic talking point that\u00a0we\u2019ve debunked before. She said, \u201cWe had a $2 trillion tax cut, where 83 cents of every dollar goes to the very, very richest among us.\u201d That\u2019s misleading.She\u2019s referring to the TPC\u2019s analysis of the effect of the Trump tax bill in 2027 \u2014 which is after\u00a0most of the individual income tax changes would expire, should Congress not extend them. In 2025, when all of the bill\u2019s provisions would still be in effect, the top 1% would get just over 25 cents of every dollar of the cuts.In explaining how he would run against Trump in the general election, Hickenlooper accused the president of \u201cmalpractice\u201d and ticked off several examples \u2014 including manufacturing job growth.\u201cWhere\u2019s the small manufacturing jobs that are supposed to come back?\u201d he asked.It\u2019s true that there are still 892,000 fewer manufacturing jobs, as of June, than there were in\u00a0December 2007, when the Great Recession started. However, manufacturing jobs have increased under Trump.The economy has added\u00a0486,000\u00a0manufacturing jobs between Trump\u2019s inauguration and June,\u00a0according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As we wrote in the most recent installment of \u201cTrump\u2019s Numbers,\u201d that amounts to 3.9% growth \u2014 the same rate as total employment has grown during that time.In discussing climate change, two candidates referred to decade-long deadlines to take action on the issue.Buttigieg broached the subject in his opening statement, saying, \u201cScience tells us we have 12 years before we reach the horizon of catastrophe when it comes to our climate.\u201dO\u2019Rourke also referenced a similar time period. \u201cI\u2019ve listened to the scientists on this, and they\u2019re very clear,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have more than 10 years to get this right.\u201dIn his closing statement, Buttigieg returned to the idea, adding, \u201cBy 2030 we will have passed the point of no return on climate.\u201dAs we explained in our\u00a0coverage\u00a0of the last Democratic debate, the time frames both politicians reference are pulled from a\u00a0special report\u00a0issued by the U.N.\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2018.The IPCC report\u00a0concluded\u00a0that to avoid many of the more severe impacts of climate change, global warming would have to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels \u2014 or about half a degree more than current warming. To reach that goal, the report said carbon dioxide emissions around the world would need to fall 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, and be net-zero by 2050.With just 12 years between 2018 and 2030, the report\u2019s message was misinterpreted by many to mean that just over a decade remained to take action on climate change, or before an ecological catastrophe.\u201cThe problem with that framing from a scientific perspective is that climate change is not pass/fail,\u201d Benjamin Cook, a climate scientist at NASA explained in a phone interview. \u201cThe 1.5 and 2 degree thresholds aren\u2019t magical tipping points,\u201d he said, where \u201cwe\u2019re okay before then and it\u2019s a disaster afterwards.\u201dThe consequences will be worse if we wait, he said, but even if the world surpasses 2 degrees of warming, any action we take to prevent further warming would still have value.It\u2019s a point that other scientists have made as well. \u201cPlease stop saying something globally bad is going to happen in 2030,\u201d wrote\u00a0Myles Allen, an author of the IPCC report and the leader of the ECI Climate Research Programme at the University of Oxford, in a\u00a0Conversation\u00a0article. \u201cBad stuff is already happening and every half a degree of warming matters, but the IPCC does not draw a \u2018planetary boundary\u2019 at 1.5\u00b0C beyond which lie climate dragons.\u201dSonali McDermid, a climate scientist at New York University, noted in an email that the longer we wait to take action, the harder it will be to make progress on climate change, which after the 1.5 degree target, could lead to or exacerbate loss of key ecosystems, increases in extremes, changes in seasonality that affect food production and infrastructure, and higher sea level rise. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t \u2013 and shouldn\u2019t \u2013 imply or mean that we just give up after 12 years,\u201d she wrote.So while the candidates are correct to say that scientists have warned about the effects of climate change \u2014 and advocate for sooner, rather than later movement on the issue \u2014 it\u2019s not the case that 2030 is a \u201cpoint of no return\u201d or that there is a particular deadline for taking action.Ryan said of farmers, \u201cThey haven\u2019t made a profit in five years.\u201d That\u2019s far from being true.The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently projected that\u00a0net farm income would rise 10% this year, to $69.4 billion. And that broad measure of farm profits\u00a0hasn\u2019t been below $60 billion since 2006.It\u2019s true that\u00a0net farm income peaked at $123 billion\u00a0in 2013 \u2014 a period of high commodity prices. Ryan would have been on firmer ground had he said farmers haven\u2019t seen a big profit increase in five years.Sanders twice said that there were \u201c87 million uninsured or underinsured,\u201d saying this was the case \u201ctonight in America, as we speak.\u201d A Commonwealth Fund study supports that figure, though it includes those who were insured at the time they were surveyed but had had a gap in coverage in the prior year.\u201cOf the 194 million U.S. adults ages 19 to 64 in 2018, an estimated 87 million, or 45 percent, were inadequately insured,\u201d the study found, directing readers to Tables 1 and 2. The 87 million figure includes: 24 million uninsured in 2018, 43.8 million who were \u201cunderinsured\u201d and 19.3 million who were insured at the time of the survey but had a gap in coverage in the previous year. The underinsured measure looks at out-of-pocket costs, not including insurance premiums, and the plan deductible. It includes people whose out-of-pocket costs were 10 percent or more of household income over 12 months, or 5 percent or more of household income for those earning under 200% of the federal poverty level; it also includes those whose deductibles were 5 percent or more of household income.The study found that fewer adults were uninsured in 2018, compared with 2010, but more people were underinsured.Warren defended her\u00a0plan\u00a0to fund child care and education by taxing \u201cthe top one-tenth of 1% of fortunes in this country.\u201dBy collecting a 2% tax on net worth over $50 million and a 3% tax on net worth over $1 billion, Warren promises to provide universal child care for kids up to age 5 and universal pre-K, raise the wages of child care and preschool teachers, offer free tuition at community and technical colleges, dedicate $50 billion to historically black colleges and universities, and cancel student debt for 95 percent of those who have it.Delivering on that promise depends on her tax plan generating\u00a0$2.75 trillion over 10 years. But some economists are skeptical that it will actually raise that much. We wrote about it\u00a0here.An\u00a0op-ed\u00a0from\u00a0Lawrence Summers, a former treasury secretary and an economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, and Natasha Sarin, a law and business professor, suggested that Warren\u2019s plan would\u00a0raise about 40%\u00a0of the projection.The Warren campaign\u00a0hit back\u00a0on the criticisms raised in that piece, arguing that the tax plan wouldn\u2019t be weakened by loopholes and would include funds to bolster IRS enforcement. But it\u2019s far from settled as to whether or not Warren\u2019s plan will be able to pay for everything it has promised.When asked about the economic impact of policy proposals that would reduce public reliance on fossil fuels, O\u2019Rourke\u00a0said\u00a0\u201cwind and solar jobs are the fastest-growing jobs in the country.\u201d\u00a0We covered this issue once before \u2014 when\u00a0Washington Gov. Jay Inslee\u00a0made a similar statement \u2014 and\u00a0found\u00a0no federal data that could support such a claim.The BLS, the country\u2019s official custodian of employment data,\u00a0discontinued\u00a0collecting data on all so-called \u201cgreen jobs\u201d in 2013. However, the agency does measure the number of jobs for some individual green occupations on an annual basis and projects job growth for these occupations.In 2017, BLS\u00a0projected\u00a0that\u00a0solar\u00a0photovoltaic installers and wind turbine technicians will be the two fastest-growing occupations by 2026. But that\u2019s future growth, not current growth, and it is\u00a0on a percentage basis. The actual number of additional jobs projected by 2026 is quite small.By 2026, BLS\u00a0projects\u00a0there will be 11,800 additional solar installers and 5,600 new wind turbine service technicians. That would be a\u00a0105 percent increase in solar photovoltaic installers and a 96 percent increase in\u00a0wind turbine technicians from 2016 levels. By contrast, the third fastest-growing occupation \u2014 home health aides \u2014 will add\u00a0431,200 jobs, an increase of 47 percent.Home health aides also appears on the agency\u2019s \u201cmost new jobs\u201d projections, but the solar and wind jobs do not.We also found that, as of May 2018, there were an estimated\u00a08,950 solar installers\u00a0and\u00a05,580 wind turbine service technicians. But a BLS spokesman told us that those figures represent a moving three-year average, so those figures should not be compared with those from previous years.The BLS data limitations make it impossible to measure the growth in \u201cgreen jobs\u201d in a way that is comparable with other occupations tracked by the agency. Two candidates misrepresented the Green New Deal during the debate, inaccurately stating that the nonbinding resolution offers Americans a guarantee of a government job.When asked why he felt the Green New Deal was unrealistic, Delaney responded, \u201cWell, first of all, because it ties its progress to other things that are completely unrelated to climate, like universal health care, guaranteed government jobs, and universal basic income. So that only makes it harder to do.\u201dHickenlooper made the\u00a0same claim\u00a0in the last debate, and repeated it again twice in this debate.The Green New Deal, he said, would \u201cmake sure that every American is guaranteed a government job that they want.\u201d\u00a0Later, when Hickenlooper was also asked why he is opposed to the Green New Deal, he replied, \u201cWell, I think the guarantee for a public job for everyone who wants one is a classic part of the problem. It\u2019s a distraction.\u201dAs we\u00a0explained\u00a0after the June debate, the\u00a0Green New Deal\u00a0guarantees \u201ca job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all people of the United States.\u201d The legislation, which\u00a0failed to advance\u00a0in the Senate in March, does not require the job be a public sector position. The Global Burden of Disease 2016 Injury Collaborators. \u201cGlobal Mortality From Firearms, 1990-2016.\u201d JAMA. 28 Aug 2018.Santhanam, Laura. \u201cThere\u2019s a new global ranking of gun deaths. Here\u2019s where the U.S. stands.\u201d PBS NewsHour. 28 Aug 2018.Kochanek K.D., et al. \u201cDeaths: Final data for 2017.\u201d National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. National Center for Health Statistics. 24 Jun 2019.Collins, Sara R. et. al. \u201cHealth Insurance Coverage Eight Years After the ACA.\u201d The Commonwealth Fund. 7 Feb 2019.Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. \u201cDistributional Analysis of the Conference Agreement for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act\u201d 18 Dec 2017.Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. \u201cHighlights From the March 2019 Farm Income Forecast: Farm Sector Profits Expected To Increase in 2019.\u201d 7 Mar 2019.Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. \u201cValue added to the U.S. economy by the agricultural sector, 2000-2009\u00a0Nominal (current dollars).\u201d Data accessed 31 Jul 2019.Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. \u201cValue added to the U.S. economy by the agricultural sector, 2010-2019F Nominal (current dollars).\u201d Data accessed 31 Jul 2019.McDonald, Jessica. \u201cThe Facts on the \u2018Green New Deal.\u2019\u201d FactCheck.org. 15 Feb 2019.Allen, Myles. \u201cWhy protesters should be wary of \u201812 years to climate breakdown\u2019\u00a0rhetoric.\u201d The Conversation. 18 Apr 2019.IPCC, 2018:\u00a0Summary for Policymakers. Global warming of 1.5\u00b0C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.Cook, Benjamin. Climate scientist, NASA. Interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Jul 2019.McDermid, Sonali. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, New York University. Emails sent to FactCheck.org. 28 and 30 Jul 2019.Bureau of Labor Statistics. \u201cEmployment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey; All employees, thousands, manufacturing, seasonally adjusted.\u201d\u00a0Accessed 31 Jul 2019.Jackson, Brooks. \u201cTrump\u2019s Numbers July 2019 Update.\u201d FactCheck.org. 12 Jul 2019.Kiely, Eugene. \u201cJay Inslee\u2019s Green Jobs Claim.\u201d FactCheck.org. 16 Apr 2019.Bureau of Labor Statistics. \u201cThirty fastest growing occupations projected to account for 19 percent of new jobs from 2016 to 2026.\u201d Press release. 30 Oct 2017.Torpey, Elka. \u201cGreen growth: Employment projections in environmentally focused occupations.\u201d\u00a0Bureau of Labor Statistics. Apr 2018.Bureau of Labor Statistics. \u201cMost New Jobs.\u201d Updated 12 Apr 2019. Accessed 31 Jul 2019.Bureau of Labor Statistics. \u201cOccupational Employment and Wages, May 2018. 47-2231 Solar Photovoltaic Installers.\u201d\u00a0Accessed 31 Jul 2019.Bureau of Labor Statistics. \u201cOccupational Employment and Wages, May 2018. 49-9081 Wind Turbine Service Technicians.\u201d\u00a0Accessed 31 Jul 2019. Claim: \"No other country comes even close to\"\" the \"\"nearly 40,000 people in this country\"\" lost to gun violence.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-27dee796e17649208497b3e52614fe48", + "input": "Paragraph: Such hedge funds, often cast as villains of the piece because they bet against share prices, scent a profit from company valuations they believe are unduly inflated by ESG promises or which they say ignore risks that threaten to undermine the company\u2019s prospects. The fact short-sellers, who look to exploit information gaps, are targeting the ESG sphere underlines the complexities facing investors in accurately gauging companies\u2019 sustainability credentials. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg last week spoke of CEOs masking inaction with \u201ccreative PR\u201d. Against a backdrop of growing public and political concerns about climate change and economic inequality, companies are under increasing pressure to show they are taking greater responsibility for how they generate their profits. Investments defined as \u201csustainable\u201d account for more than a quarter of all assets under management globally, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. About $31 trillion has been invested, buoyed by analyst reports that show companies with strong ESG narratives outperform their peers. Some short-sellers, including Carson Block of Muddy Waters, Josh Strauss of Appleseed Capital and Chad Slater of Morphic Asset Management, argue share prices can be bolstered by corporate misrepresentation about sustainability, or so-called \u201cgreenwashing\u201d. \u201cGreenwashing is absolutely rampant now,\u201d says Slater, whose fund bets on both rising and falling share prices. If companies fail to engage with long-term investors, he sees a red flag. \u201cFrom the short side, it\u2019s quite interesting.\u201d Analytics companies that provide corporate ESG ratings use a combination of company disclosures, news sources and qualitative analysis of third-party data. They are a major source of information for investors, but it is not an exact science. Hedge funds have various strategies for selecting targets, often focusing on those they think show both ESG and more traditional financial or operational weakness. A high ESG rating can attract short interest. A Reuters analysis of data from financial information company Refinitiv and national regulators in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy shows the five companies in each country with the best ESG scores collectively were being shorted more than those with the worst scores. The short positions against the companies deemed to have the best ESG credentials were 50% greater in size than those placed against the worst-performers. (Graphic: ESG shorts - UK: here) For an interactive version of the graphic, click here tmsnrt.rs/2RwpBDj. For additional graphics covering the other countries mentioned, see related content. ESG data providers compile ratings based on a slew of measures ranging from energy usage to board gender make-up, salary gap data and the scale of negative press reports on the company from newspapers across the world. Refinitiv, part-owned by the parent company of Reuters News, factors in more than 400 ESG measures for each company, taken from a range of sources including company reports, regulatory filings, NGO websites and news articles. A key problem, though, is scant regulations governing what ESG measures and risks companies must disclose and their patchy nature, said Diederik Timmer, executive vice president of client relations at Sustainalytics, a major ESG data provider. \u201cWhen things go well, companies report quite well on those, when things don\u2019t go so well it gets awfully quiet,\u201d he added. Some policymakers, largely in Europe, are pushing for standardized disclosures to help investors better gauge the risks, something which will leave less wriggle room for companies and make scores even more reliable. Two leading global asset managers interviewed by Reuters, who manage nearly $1 trillion in assets but declined to be identified, said they had tested their portfolios using several data providers and found the correlation between ESG ratings to be so low, they are building their own ranking system. Peter Hafez, chief data scientist at RavenPack, which helps hedge funds analyze data to get a trading edge, agreed. \u201cThere\u2019s no perfect ESG rating out there,\u201d he said. The influence of news flows on investor sentiment was underlined by a Deutsche Bank study here published in September that mapped 1,600 stocks and millions of company announcements and climate-related media reports over two decades. It found companies that had a greater proportion of positive announcements and press over the preceding 12 months outperformed the MSCI World Index by 1.4% a year, on average, while those with more negative news underperformed by 0.3%. For graphics of the data, click here tmsnrt.rs/2ncsFY0 and here tmsnrt.rs/2nd5hcT. Short-sellers borrow shares, pay the lender a fee and sell them on, betting the price will fall before buying them back and returning them to the original lender - pocketing the difference, minus the fee. But it is not for the faint-hearted. If funds trigger a share price fall, they can earn millions, but the downside, should shares rise, is unlimited. The perils of the practice were shown by the shorts burnt by a 17% surge in the shares of Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla (TSLA.O) in October after a surprise quarterly profit. Short-sellers suffered paper losses of $1.4 billion, erasing most of their 2019 profits, according to analytics firm S3 Partners. And in a decade-long stock market bull-run, short-selling can be tricky. Morphic\u2019s joint chief investment officer Slater said the Sydney-based money manager\u2019s standalone short positions in its Trium Morphic ESG long-short fund had weighed on the portfolio over the past 12 months. Niche activist short-sellers, who can torpedo company valuations by publishing negative reports on targets - often alleging fraud or serious failures - are often criticized for undermining long-term company objectives and blurring the lines between whistleblower and market manipulator. Short-sellers agree they are biased, but argue no more than long investors, the banks that raise money for the company and the company\u2019s management. Carson Block, founder of American short-seller Muddy Waters, who shot to prominence spotting wrongdoing in some Chinese-run companies, is now seeking a \u201cmorality short\u201d on ESG - branching out from a traditional focus on corporate governance issues to targets whose success he says hinges on secretly harming society. As an example of what he is seeking, he points to the U.S. opioid crisis, which has triggered around 2,500 lawsuits by authorities seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for stoking a scandal that has claimed almost 400,000 overdose deaths between 1999 and 2017. \u201cI\u2019m really skeptical of ESG,\u201d he says, likening the use of the acronym by the corporate world to the token straw slipped into a large plastic cup with a plastic lid. \u201cESG is the paper straw of investing,\u201d he says. \u201cI definitely want to find companies like that because I know they\u2019re out there and I want to help put them down.\u201d Claim: Villains or visionaries? Hedge funds short companies they say 'greenwash'.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-cc8da7f9504843b5b7615e33220b1d2d", + "input": "Paragraph: The patient likely contracted meningitis at the downtown club on Saturday, officials said. The KitKatClub is renowned for its sexually uninhibited techno parties that draw visitors from around the world. City authorities issued a warning this week after being alerted to the Berlin patron\u2019s exposure to the disease, urging all others who were at the club at the time to consult with a doctor. Bacterial meningitis can be spread via saliva and close body contact. Common symptoms are strong headaches, high fever, a stiff neck, dizziness and weakness. The disease can become life-threatening within hours. In a statement on its home page, the club itself said that \u201cwhile infections in the club were very unlikely according to doctors and authorities ... anybody suffering from symptoms should immediately see a doctor.\u201d The club said that none of its employees had shown any symptoms so far, but all had been offered antibiotics as a preventive measure. City officials said there was no need to shut down the club because it wasn\u2019t the source of infection, and the site itself was not contaminated. Claim: Berlin nightclub patrons urged to get meningitis test.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-748dfcd930114d6cb4c4239e9b02aa7c", + "input": "Paragraph: Cost wasn\u2019t mentioned, but given that this is light activity, we\u2019ll rate this N//A. Still, the story could have explicitly said that the activities that are highlighted in this study probably have no cost associated with them. The story notes that engaging in light activity for 30 minutes per day reduced relative risk of mortality during the study period by 12 percent. It also noted that engaging in moderate activity for 30 minutes per day reduced that risk by 39 percent. But what about the absolute risk reduction? As the NIH has noted, the benefits of physical activity far outweigh the risks. For that reason, we won\u2019t ding this story for not going into details regarding the risks associated with light physical activity. Nonetheless, it would have been nice to see the story mention that older adults may want to consult with a health professional to determine what types of activity they should (or should not) engage in. The story does briefly point out that this type of study can\u2019t prove cause and effect, though it quickly pivoted to a \u201chowever\u2026\u201d to weaken that point. A limitation that should have made it into the news story is that individuals weren\u2019t assigned a level of activity\u2013rather they presumably went about their usual activities for a week (just a week) and the device captured it. The authors then categorized individuals into three categories of increasing level of activity. The challenge is that people who are less active, may be that way for a reason. Maybe they are sick, or have other issues that make them less active. And that might have been a temporary problem. This helps readers understand why the study can\u2019t prove cause and effect. There\u2019s really no disease mongering here, though there is one note we\u2019d like to make that falls under this heading as well as anywhere. The story tells readers that increased physical activity is \u201clinked to a lower risk of death.\u201d Reader, we have bad news\u2026death is inevitable. It would be more accurate to note that physical activity reduced the relative risk of dying during a given timeframe (in this case, the three-year period of observation). No outside sources are cited in the story, nor does the story make clear who funded the research (addressing potential conflicts of interest). The study compared different levels of physical activity. As such, it was comparative. However, there are other important lifestyle habits that affect mortality (cigarette smoking or drinking alcohol, for instance), and it would be interesting to know how helpful light activity is compared to these other lifestyle modifications. The story does a good job of defining what light activity means, which is important for understanding how accessible it is. Bike riding is a moderate activity, for example, whereas \u201cstrolling around the neighborhood\u201d is a light activity. The story refers to national guidelines and some (nonspecific) \u201crecent analyses,\u201d noting that the \u201cnew study refutes that research.\u201d But is this the first study to show benefits like these from engaging in low-intensity daily activities? No. For example, this 2014 study published in Preventive Medicine examined \u201cexamine[d] the association between household physical activity and all-cause mortality in a cohort of older adults from Spain.\u201d The study relied on self-reporting from study participants, but found that \u2014 among other things \u2014 \u201cHousehold physical activity may have benefits for longer survival in older women.\u201d It would have been interesting to see the article look at how the new study compared to the 2014 study. Do the findings support each other? How do they differ? This sort of context would be valuable for readers. What does appear novel is the use of a device to assess activity\u2013versus recording what people report as their activity levels. This is borderline. The story maps very closely to the news release. However, the story appears to incorporate quotes from study author Andrea LaCroix that are not found in the news release. Claim: Want to Live Longer? Every Movement Counts, Even Cleaning the House", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b94d6b6975eb43bf851ab2f98cb942e2", + "input": "Paragraph: A normal-sized gurney (L) is pictured alongside an oversized one at the children's and women's maternity ward at the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, April 26, 2012. OBESITY/ REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The nation\u2019s rising rate of obesity has been well-chronicled. But businesses, governments and individuals are only now coming to grips with the costs of those extra pounds, many of which are even greater than believed only a few years ago: The additional medical spending due to obesity is double previous estimates and exceeds even those of smoking, a new study shows. Many of those costs have dollar signs in front of them, such as the higher health insurance premiums everyone pays to cover those extra medical costs. Other changes, often cost-neutral, are coming to the built environment in the form of wider seats in public places from sports stadiums to bus stops. The startling economic costs of obesity, often borne by the non-obese, could become the epidemic\u2019s second-hand smoke. Only when scientists discovered that nonsmokers were developing lung cancer and other diseases from breathing smoke-filled air did policymakers get serious about fighting the habit, in particular by establishing nonsmoking zones. The costs that smoking added to Medicaid also spurred action. Now, as economists put a price tag on sky-high body mass indexes (BMIs), policymakers as well as the private sector are mobilizing to find solutions to the obesity epidemic. \u201cAs committee chairmen, Cabinet secretaries, the head of Medicare and health officials see these really high costs, they are more interested in knowing, \u2018what policy knob can I turn to stop this hemorrhage?\u2019\u201d said Michael O\u2019Grady of the National Opinion Research Center, co-author of a new report for the Campaign to End Obesity, which brings together representatives from business, academia and the public health community to work with policymakers on the issue. The U.S. health care reform law of 2010 allows employers to charge obese workers 30 percent to 50 percent more for health insurance if they decline to participate in a qualified wellness program. The law also includes carrots and celery sticks, so to speak, to persuade Medicare and Medicaid enrollees to see a primary care physician about losing weight, and funds community demonstration programs for weight loss. Such measures do not sit well with all obese Americans. Advocacy groups formed to \u201cend size discrimination\u201d argue that it is possible to be healthy \u201cat every size,\u201d taking issue with the findings that obesity necessarily comes with added medical costs. The reason for denominating the costs of obesity in dollars is not to stigmatize plus-size Americans even further. Rather, the goal is to allow public health officials as well as employers to break out their calculators and see whether programs to prevent or reverse obesity are worth it. The percentage of Americans who are obese (with a BMI of 30 or higher) has tripled since 1960, to 34 percent, while the incidence of extreme or \u201cmorbid\u201d obesity (BMI above 40) has risen sixfold, to 6 percent. The percentage of overweight Americans (BMI of 25 to 29.9) has held steady: It was 34 percent in 2008 and 32 percent in 1961. What seems to have happened is that for every healthy-weight person who \u201cgraduated\u201d into overweight, an overweight person graduated into obesity. Because obesity raises the risk of a host of medical conditions, from heart disease to chronic pain, the obese are absent from work more often than people of healthy weight. The most obese men take 5.9 more sick days a year; the most obese women, 9.4 days more. Obesity-related absenteeism costs employers as much as $6.4 billion a year, health economists led by Eric Finkelstein of Duke University calculated. Even when poor health doesn\u2019t keep obese workers home, it can cut into productivity, as they grapple with pain or shortness of breath or other obstacles to working all-out. Such obesity-related \u201cpresenteeism,\u201d said Finkelstein, is also expensive. The very obese lose one month of productive work per year, costing employers an average of $3,792 per very obese male worker and $3,037 per female. Total annual cost of presenteeism due to obesity: $30 billion. Decreased productivity can reduce wages, as employers penalize less productive workers. Obesity hits workers\u2019 pocketbooks indirectly, too: Numerous studies have shown that the obese are less likely to be hired and promoted than their svelte peers are. Women in particular bear the brunt of that, earning about 11 percent less than women of healthy weight, health economist John Cawley of Cornell University found. At the average weekly U.S. wage of $669 in 2010, that\u2019s a $76 weekly obesity tax. The medical costs of obesity have long been the focus of health economists. A just-published analysis finds that it raises those costs more than thought. Obese men rack up an additional $1,152 a year in medical spending, especially for hospitalizations and prescription drugs, Cawley and Chad Meyerhoefer of Lehigh University reported in January in the Journal of Health Economics. Obese women account for an extra $3,613 a year. Using data from 9,852 men (average BMI: 28) and 13,837 women (average BMI: 27) ages 20 to 64, among whom 28 percent were obese, the researchers found even higher costs among the uninsured: annual medical spending for an obese person was $3,271 compared with $512 for the non-obese. Nationally, that comes to $190 billion a year in additional medical spending as a result of obesity, calculated Cawley, or 20.6 percent of U.S. health care expenditures. That is double recent estimates, reflecting more precise methodology. The new analysis corrected for people\u2019s tendency to low-ball their weight, for instance, and compared obesity with non-obesity (healthy weight and overweight) rather than just to healthy weight. Because the merely overweight do not incur many additional medical costs, grouping the overweight with the obese underestimates the costs of obesity. Contrary to the media\u2019s idealization of slimness, medical spending for men is about the same for BMIs of 26 to 35. For women, the uptick starts at a BMI of 25. In men more than women, high BMIs can reflect extra muscle as well as fat, so it is possible to be healthy even with an overweight BMI. \u201cA man with a BMI of 28 might be very fit,\u201d said Cawley. \u201cWhere healthcare costs really take off is in the morbidly obese.\u201d Those extra medical costs are partly born by the non-obese, in the form of higher taxes to support Medicaid and higher health insurance premiums. Obese women raise such \u201cthird party\u201d expenditures $3,220 a year each; obese men, $967 a year, Cawley and Meyerhoefer found. One recent surprise is the discovery that the costs of obesity exceed those of smoking. In a paper published in March, scientists at the Mayo Clinic toted up the exact medical costs of 30,529 Mayo employees, adult dependents, and retirees over several years. \u201cSmoking added about 20 percent a year to medical costs,\u201d said Mayo\u2019s James Naessens. \u201cObesity was similar, but morbid obesity increased those costs by 50 percent a year. There really is an economic justification for employers to offer programs to help the very obese lose weight.\u201d For years researchers suspected that the higher medical costs of obesity might be offset by the possibility that the obese would die young, and thus never rack up spending for nursing homes, Alzheimer\u2019s care, and other pricey items. That\u2019s what happens to smokers. While they do incur higher medical costs than nonsmokers in any given year, their lifetime drain on public and private dollars is less because they die sooner. \u201cSmokers die early enough that they save Social Security, private pensions, and Medicare\u201d trillions of dollars, said Duke\u2019s Finkelstein. \u201cBut mortality isn\u2019t that much higher among the obese.\u201d Beta blockers for heart disease, diabetes drugs, and other treatments are keeping the obese alive longer, with the result that they incur astronomically high medical expenses in old age just like their slimmer peers. Some costs of obesity reflect basic physics. It requires twice as much energy to move 250 pounds than 125 pounds. As a result, a vehicle burns more gasoline carrying heavier passengers than lighter ones. \u201cGrowing obesity rates increase fuel consumption,\u201d said engineer Sheldon Jacobson of the University of Illinois. How much? An additional 938 million gallons of gasoline each year due to overweight and obesity in the United States, or 0.8 percent, he calculated. That\u2019s $4 billion extra. Not all the changes spurred by the prevalence of obesity come with a price tag. Train cars New Jersey Transit ordered from Bombardier have seats 2.2 inches wider than current cars, at 19.75 inches, said spokesman John Durso, giving everyone a more comfortable commute. (There will also be more seats per car because the new ones are double-deckers.) The built environment generally is changing to accommodate larger Americans. New York\u2019s commuter trains are considering new cars with seats able to hold 400 pounds. Blue Bird is widening the front doors on its school buses so wider kids can fit. And at both the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, seats are wider than their predecessors by 1 to 2 inches. The new performance testing proposed by transit officials for buses, assuming an average passenger weight of 175 instead of 150 pounds, arise from concerns that heavier passengers might pose a safety threat. If too much weight is behind the rear axle, a bus can lose steering. And every additional pound increases a moving vehicle\u2019s momentum, requiring more force to stop and thereby putting greater demands on brakes. Manufacturers have told the FTA the proposal will require them to upgrade several components. Hospitals, too, are adapting to larger patients. The University of Alabama at Birmingham\u2019s hospital, the nation\u2019s fourth largest, has widened doors, replaced wall-mounted toilets with floor models able to hold 250 pounds or more, and bought plus-size wheelchairs (twice the price of regulars) as well as mini-cranes to hoist obese patients out of bed. The additional spending due to obesity doesn\u2019t fall into a black hole, of course. It contributes to overall economic activity and thus to gross domestic product. But not all spending is created equal. \u201cYes, a heart attack will generate economic activity, since the surgeon and hospital get paid, but not in a good way,\u201d said Murray Ross, vice president of Kaiser Permanente\u2019s Institute for Health Policy. \u201cIf we avoided that heart attack we could have put the money to better use, such as in education or investments in clean energy.\u201d The books on obesity remain open. The latest entry: An obese man is 64 percent less likely to be arrested for a crime than a healthy man. Researchers have yet to run the numbers on what that might save. Claim: As America's waistline expands, costs soar.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7b66fe8df8704415ad46c14b6238dfd2", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Democrats savaged the Republican legislation, pushed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, that would replace Obamacare. \"\"Under \u2018Trumpcare,\u2019\"\" U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin declared in a May 4, 2017 news release, \"\"being a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault could be considered pre-existing conditions.\"\" The claim by Moore, who has talked publicly about being a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault herself, cuts to one of the big fears around health care -- that having something that is considered a pre-existing condition means a person has to pay more for insurance, or could be denied coverage altogether. Typically, this refers to things such as diabetes or cancer. But sexual assault or domestic violence? Obamacare vs \u2018Trumpcare\u2019 The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is the 2010 legislation adopted under President Barack Obama. It prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage -- or charging higher premiums -- because a person has a pre-existing medical condition. Under the American Health Care Act (sometimes called \"\"Trumpcare\"\"), insurers would still be prohibited from denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition. The bill was narrowly approved by the House of Representatives and could be changed in the Senate. But in its current form, the bill would give states the option to allow insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions higher prices. Republicans argue those people would be protected, because those states would have to set up high-risk pools to insure people with pre-existing conditions. But many analysts believe the law would still leave those people more vulnerable to cost increases that could make their plans unaffordable. (The day after the House passed the bill, GOP Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he would consider allowing insurers to charge higher prices. But later that day -- in an indication of how politically touchy the issue is -- he backed away from that comment after it drew criticism.) Pre-existing conditions Bloggers claimed that under the GOP bill, sexual assault is a pre-existing condition, which PolitiFact National rated . PolitiFact National spelled out what would happen under the GOP bill regarding sexual assault and experts told us that the same would apply to domestic violence. In a nutshell: The bill does not single out any specific medical event or diagnosis as a pre-existing condition. Conditions stemming from a sexual assault or domestic violence, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or certain sexually transmitted diseases, could be judged to be a pre-existing condition. States would have the option to allow insurers to charge higher prices to people with an existing condition, possibly making coverage unaffordable. Our rating Moore says that \"\"under \u2018Trumpcare,\u2019\"\" the Republican replacement for Obamacare, domestic violence and sexual assault \"\"could be considered pre-existing conditions\"\" -- something that could trigger higher insurance prices for those victims. Moore\u2019s claim goes too far. Simply being a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault would not mean a person had a pre-existing condition. But it is important to know that conditions stemming from those assaults, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, could. For a statement that contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, our rating is .\" Claim: \"Under \u2018Trumpcare,\u2019\"\" domestic violence and sexual assault \"\"could be considered pre-existing conditions.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3c434c9f9d874bdaa7116c43ae3c1cbf", + "input": "Paragraph: \"When one thinks of the country\u2019s most powerful lobbying groups, acronyms like NRA, AIPAC and AARP spring to mind. So do phrases like Big Pharma, Big Oil and Wall Street. During an appearance April 17 on NBC\u2019s \"\"Meet The Press,\"\" North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory made the argument that the Human Rights Campaign is also among the most powerful lobbies in the United States. \"\"The Human Rights Council, my gosh, they\u2019re more powerful than the NRA,\"\" McCrory said, meaning the Human Rights Campaign and the National Rifle Association. The Human Rights Campaign, or HRC, is a major player in the opposition to North Carolina\u2019s controversial new law, House Bill 2, which limits LGBT rights in public accommodations \u2014 and which McCrory was on national television to defend. \"\"They are putting on a lot of pressure instead of having good dialogue,\"\" McCrory said. The HRC is the country\u2019s largest gay rights group. It has led the charge for gay marriage and for the types of LGBT discrimination protections that HB2 prohibited cities in North Carolina from making. But has the group really eclipsed the NRA, an oft-cited stereotype of a powerful lobbying group that can shape public policy and opinion? McCrory says it has. And in the last few days, that claim has been picked up as a talking point by supporters of HB2. Measuring political power It would be big news if McCrory was right. Debates over gay rights, as with gun rights, are a large part of modern political discourse. We don\u2019t know what criteria McCrory was using, if any, to make his claim. \"\"Meet The Press\"\" host Chuck Todd didn\u2019t ask him to elaborate. When we asked McCrory\u2019s campaign about his rationale, spokesman Ricky Diaz called it a \"\"ridiculous question\"\" and declined to answer. We also asked both the HRC and the NRA whether they agreed with McCrory. The NRA did not respond, and the HRC declined to answer. There are many ways to measure a group\u2019s strength. We asked an expert, UNC-Chapel Hill political science professor Frank Baumgartner, who has written multiple books on special interest groups and lobbying. He listed three main ways to measure influence: Money and resources, \"\"cultural resonance\"\" and record of success or failure. Baumgartner said he believes McCrory\u2019s comparison is \"\" or substantially exaggerated.\"\" But let\u2019s look into the numbers to see if they back that up. Money Money is especially important in modern politics because of the Citizens United ruling that McCrory mentioned, which allows for unlimited political spending. In 2014, according to federal tax filings, the NRA and its foundation had revenue of $356.1 million, compared with $51.2 million for the HRC and its foundation. Money allows interest groups to hire lobbyists, contribute directly to politicians and political groups or take part in what\u2019s known as outside spending \u2013 TV ads, mailers and other political initiatives. In the 2014 election cycle, according to the Center For Responsive Politics, the NRA\u2019s political spending was 7.5 times greater than the HRC\u2019s ($36.8 million to $4.8 million). In the 2012 cycle, the NRA spent five times as much ($26.9 million to $5.1 million). In both cycles, the NRA spent more on lobbying than the HRC spent on lobbying, contributions and outside spending combined. For outside spending in particular, the NRA spent about $350 for every $1 the HRC spent. \"\"Cultural resonance\"\" How do you measure this? It sounds intangible, but there are ways to break it into specific, quantifiable pieces. And in everything we looked at, the NRA came out on top. Membership, magazine subscriptions, Google searches, social media following and official government mentions all show the NRA\u2019s presence is anywhere from 2 to 10 times larger than the HRC\u2019s. Both groups have magazines. The HRC\u2019s goes to more than 350,000 homes, according to a group spokesman this week. According to the publishing group Alliance for Audited Media, the NRA\u2019s three magazines had a combined circulation in 2015 of more than 3.5 million. As for membership, both have been accused in the past of inflating their numbers. Take it with a grain of salt, but the NRA claims 4.5 million members compared with 1.5 million for the HRC. The NRA also has a larger audience on social media \u2013 4.8 million Facebook likes and 345,000 Twitter followers, compared with 2.3 million Facebook likes and 529,000 Twitter followers for the HRC. We also compared online searches, which indicate how interested people are in learning about the groups. When their Google searches over the last 12 years are graphed against each other, the HRC\u2019s results show up as an almost flat line hovering just above 0. We used Google Trends to aggregate numerous terms related to both groups and map their relative popularity as compared with all other searches each month. The NRA is in red and the HRC is in blue. Even the HRC\u2019s best month didn\u2019t surpass the NRA\u2019s worst month. We also counted how often they\u2019re mentioned in congressional hearing transcripts and other documents listed by the U.S. Government Publishing Office search engine \u20131,408 results for \"\"National Rifle Association\"\" and 393 for \"\"Human Rights Campaign.\"\" Reputation and success Baumgartner said he thinks this was the point McCrory was trying to make \u2013 on a group\u2019s \"\"ability to push public policy in a direction the group prefers.\"\" And again, Baumgartner said, the HRC doesn\u2019t quite stack up. \"\"I'd say Human Rights Campaign has had some success,\"\" he said. \"\"But no, they would not compare to the long-run success of groups such as the NRA, the Realtors, the petroleum industry, the Chamber of Commerce and many others.\"\" The NRA is famous for its clout and success in Congress. The HRC, on the other hand, has achieved most of its biggest victories \u2013 gay marriage, gay adoption rights and the invalidation of anti-sodomy laws \u2013 at the Supreme Court. The HRC has existed since 1980. For most of that time, one of its top priorities has been a federal LGBT anti-discrimination law. Efforts to pass such laws state-by-state have been mostly unsuccessful, as we explored in a previous fact check. On the national level, friendly legislators have introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act,\u00a0ENDA, in nearly every Congress since 1994. It has failed each time, despite polling that shows about three quarters of Americans support such laws. The NRA has done the opposite, persuading Congress to repeatedly kill legislation that has even broader public support than ENDA does. Even though about 90 percent of Americans support background checks on gun buyers \u2013 previous PolitiFact rulings have found a range of 85 to 93 percent \u2013 the federal Fix Gun Checks Act has been voted down several times since 2011. It would allow for universal background checks, and the NRA is strongly opposed to it. As for the HRC, it hasn\u2019t been totally unsuccessful in Congress. The group successfully pushed for a 2009 law that expanded federal hate crime definitions to include LGBT\u00a0status. And what about outside of government, in the corporate world? It\u2019s undeniable that the HRC\u2019s influence there is growing. The group started ranking how \"\"LGBT friendly\"\" companies were in 2002 in what it calls its Corporate Equality Index. About a dozen received a perfect score that year. In 2016, more than 400 companies did. And many businesses have followed the HRC in criticizing North Carolina over HB2. But that hasn\u2019t meant much so far. Key legislators have said they have no plans to repeal HB2 or make major changes to it, despite the pressure. On the other hand, the NRA has seen many of its initiatives passed in North Carolina, like 2013 law that loosened restrictions on concealed carry. Our ruling McCrory said the main group against HB2, the Human Rights Campaign, is \"\"more powerful than the NRA.\"\" It\u2019s a strong claim, given the NRA\u2019s reputation for power and influence, and even the HRC spokesman was unwilling to embrace it. That\u2019s not to say the HRC isn\u2019t powerful. It\u2019s a multimillion-dollar organization and the country\u2019s largest gay rights group. But it doesn\u2019t have the resources, adherents or success rate that the NRA does. In every way we tried to define influence, the HRC doesn\u2019t even come close to the NRA\u2019s level of power.\" Claim: \"The Human Rights Campaign is \"\"more powerful than the NRA.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-4c689589dc214105bc8390f90ff4265a", + "input": "Paragraph: \"During ongoing controversy over United States Postal Service slowdowns and mail-in voting in August 2020, historian Heather Cox Richardson posted a status update to Facebook\u00a0quoting\u00a0United States President Donald Trump as saying that withholding USPS funding meant \u201cthey can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting\u201d:The post began:August 13, 2020 (Thursday)Today was another one for the history books.This morning, in an interview with Fox Business Network\u2019s Maria Bartiromo, Trump came out and said it: he wants to starve the United States Postal Service to destroy mail-in voting. Claiming that mail-in voting favors Democrats, he said: \u201cNow they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots\u2026 Now, if we don\u2019t make a deal, that means they don\u2019t get the money. That means they can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting, they just can\u2019t have it.\u201dIt was fairly easy to determine the veracity of the quote; myriad news outlets in the United States and abroad covered the interview between Trump and Bartiromo on August 13 2020. A clip of the comments also circulated on Twitter:Trump this morning why he won\u2019t fund US Postal Service. \u201cNow they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots \u2026 But if they don\u2019t get those two items that means you can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting.\u201d pic.twitter.com/73NBmSnoNC\u2014 The Recount (@therecount) August 13, 2020That video clip started with Trump saying \u201cthey want,\u201d with no previous context about the \u201cthey\u201d he referenced. Those comments appeared after memes began circulating, warning voters to avoid using USPS to submit ballots in November 2020:\u2018Don\u2019t Mail Ballots In, Drop at Board of Elections, This is an Inside Tip from a Postal Worker, Can\u2019t Say More than That\u2019Both controversies occurred against the backdrop of comments made by Trump in March 2020, in which he appeared to express disapproval of broader access to voting:Trump openly admitting if we made voting easier in America, Republicans wouldn't win electionsTrump: \"\"The things they had in there were crazy. They had levels of voting, that if you ever agreed to it you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again.\"\" pic.twitter.com/x5HmX6uogo\u2014 Lis Power (@LisPower1) March 30, 2020With respect to the August 13 2020 Bartiromo interview on Fox Business, most clips and transcripts started with \u201cthey,\u201d making it not entirely clear which \u201cthey\u201d Trump referenced. However, Slate published a partial transcript of the portion of the video about USPS funding and mail-in voting. Bartiromo asked what specifically Democrats were seeking that was \u201ccausing a breakdown in any deals\u201d:Bartiromo: What specifically are they pushing for that is causing a breakdown in any deals? Nancy Pelosi said that the Democrats and the White House are still miles apart on any stimulus.Trump responded, indicating \u201cthey\u201d were congressional Democrats:Trump: Well they\u2019re right. And it\u2019s their fault. They want $3.5 billion for something that\u2019ll turn out to be fraudulent. That\u2019s election money, basically. They want $3.5 billion for the mail-in votes. Universal mail-in ballots. They want $25 billion\u2014billion\u2014for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, in the meantime, they aren\u2019t getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if you don\u2019t get those two items, that means you can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting. Because they\u2019re not equipped to have it. And you see how bad it\u2019s been with this Carolyn Maloney scam. She scammed her way into an election she probably lost. But they said mail-in ballots, its all mixed up. Paterson, New Jersey, same thing. Yesterday Virginia, 500,000 applications for ballots got sent to everybody, nobody even knows. Got sent to dogs. Got sent to dead people. Nobody has no idea what happened. They said, Oh we made a mistake, I\u2019m sorry. Five hundred thousand ballots sent in Virginia. How do you feel about Virginia going in there when you have 500,000 phony ballot applicants? And this is all over.Bartiromo asked about whether quibbling over USPS funding and infrastructure for mail-in voting was \u201cholding up money for the American people,\u201d referring to stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his second response, Trump confirmed that funding for mail-in voting was at issue in broader negotiations:Bartiromo: This is what\u2019s holding up money for the American people? They want mail-in voting and they want money for the post office? This is one of the sticking points that\u2019s holding back stimulus for Americans during this coronavirus?Trump: That\u2019s one of them. [Cross talk]Trump: That\u2019s one of them. That\u2019s right. Maria, how would you like to have $3.5 billion for mail-in voting. Billion! You know how much that is? Nobody has any idea, you people, Oh, you know, 3\u00bd billion. They want $25 billion for the post office, because the post office is going to have to go to town to get these ridiculous ballots in. You know, there\u2019s nothing wrong with getting out and voting. They voted during World War I and World War II. And they should have voter ID, because the Democrats scam the system. But two of the items are the post office, and $3.5 billion dollars for mail-in voting. Now, if we don\u2019t make a deal, that means they don\u2019t get the money. That means they can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting. They just can\u2019t have it. So, you know.As such, the comments Heather Cox Richardson shared were accurate; Trump said Democrats sought money in order to have the post office functioning \u201cso it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,\u201d and \u201cif we don\u2019t make a deal, that means they don\u2019t get the money,\u201d and \u201cthey can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting \u2026 they just can\u2019t have it.\u201d The commentary occurred across exchanges with Bartiromo, in the same short section of an interview on Fox Business. The segment in its entirety can be viewed here.Comments\" Claim: \"On August 13 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump said: \"\"They need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots... Now, if we don\u2019t make a deal, that means they don\u2019t get the money. That means they can\u2019t have universal mail-in voting, they just can\u2019t have it.\u201d\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-fb8823339598423fac6d7017e976e6bf", + "input": "Paragraph: Publishing a study that found risk score tools are only around 46 percent accurate on how likely psychopathic convicts are to kill, rape or assault again, they said probation officers and judges should set little or no store by such tests. They warned that clinicians carrying out such classifications must be aware of their severe limitations, and make sure prisoners undergo comprehensive psychiatric diagnosis before any risks assessment is made. \u201cIf you apply these (tests) to somebody who is a psychopath, they\u2019re utterly useless, you might as well toss a coin,\u201d said Jeremy Coid, director of the forensic psychiatry research unit at Queen Mary University of London who led the study. \u201cThey will not predict accurately at all,\u201d he told reporters at a briefing in London about his findings. Coid and other forensic psychiatrists say the findings - which also showed the tools perform only moderately well in prisoners with disorders like schizophrenia, depression, drug and alcohol dependence - could have major implications for risk assessment in criminal justice systems. \u201cThere are increasing expectations of public protection from violent behavior, and psychiatrists can be seriously criticized if they make wrong decisions,\u201d he said. Seena Fazel, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Britain\u2019s University of Oxford, said the reliability of the tests\u2019 predictive ability was so low that it might be best not to use them at all - and warned that at the very least, their results should only be noted by parole boards, rather than acted upon. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to use these instruments, be aware of their strengths and limitations,\u201d he told reporters. The estimated prevalence of adult psychopathy in the general population is around 1 percent, but that rises to between 15 percent and 25 percent among men in prison. Coid, whose study was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, analyzed data from 1,396 male prisoners in England and Wales who were interviewed between six and 12 months before their release. All the men were serving sentences of two or more years for a sexual or violent offences. The prisoners were assessed for personality disorders, symptoms of schizophrenia, depression and drug and alcohol dependence, as well as being measured for psychopathy on a reputable scale known as Hare Psychopathy Check List. After their release, data on their re-offending rates was added to the study, and showed that among three different re-offending risk assessment tools used before their release, the accuracy among psychopaths was below 50 percent. While the tools were more accurate in predictions for prisoners with no mental health disorders - at around 75 percent accuracy - they were only around 60 percent right when it came to prisoners diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression. For prisoners with anti-social personality disorders the predictive value of the tests ranged from poor to little more than chance, with an average 53.2 percent predictive accuracy. And for the 70 prisoners rated as psychopathic, none of the tests was statistically better than chance. Coid said the results suggest it is time to question the expectations put on psychiatrists and psychologists asked to forecast future behavior of offenders, and to consider what can happen to their reputations if predictions are wrong. \u201cThe easy solution is to be highly restrictive on who is released, and be risk averse. However, even for serious offenders, most will be released at some stage and someone has to carry out a risk assessment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to prioritize the development of new assessment tools for these hard-to-predict groups.\u201d Claim: Predicting violence in psychopaths is 'no more than chance'.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-57fe260181aa403eb773649125ca545f", + "input": "Paragraph: Discussion of costs is relatively unimportant as most individuals would know how much beer costs. The story did quantify the benefits of one parameter by quoting the abstract \u201cincidence of upper respiratory tract infections was 3.25-fold lower\u201d \u2013 but it was not mentioned that these were self-reported upper respiratory tract infections. The story mentions that there was \u2018significantly less evidence of inflammation\u2026.and lower counts of white blood cells than the placebo group\u201d but does not provide numbers. The story also states that the \u2018beer experiment\u2019 showed benefits of minimizing post-race damage. But the study didn\u2019t measure damage, it measured blood markers of immune function. In the study, participants consumed 1-1.5 liters/day of non-alcoholic beer (or a placebo) for 5 weeks total. There could be several potential adverse effects such as weight gain from extra calorie consumption, imbalances in nutrients if the liquid replaced other fluids, etc. No potential harms were mentioned. The quality of evidence in the research study was low as it was a non-peer reviewed abstract that was presented at a scientific meeting only, and this is not mentioned. While the treatment (non-alcoholic beer) was compared to a placebo in a double-blinded design, the nature of the placebo is not known, other than that it was a beverage. The research does not mention whether numerous important factors were controlled in the study design (the training regimens of the participants, their diets, their total beverage consumption, etc) and these extensive limitations are not mentioned in the story. No disease mongering. Marathon running was described as \u201cpunishing to the body, causing muscle soreness and inflammation.\u201d This is accurate. The story quotes the lead author extensively. Unfortunately, no other independent perspectives are provided. No potential conflicts of interest are noted. The article does not mention potential alternatives that might aid marathon recovery, including any other dietary alterations, and does not discuss the advantages and disadvantages compared with any other approaches. Not applicable. The availability of nonalcoholic beer is not in question. However, it is not clear from the original abstract whether the type of beer matters, as the brand and/or the characteristics (such as calories) were not provided. This is not mentioned in the story. (note: the brand was provided in a press release) The treatment, beer, is not novel, and is not presented as such. Other substances that also contain the purported active ingredient, polyphenols, are discussed. There was an American College of Sports Medicine news release for the abstract, but it doesn\u2019t appear to have been relied upon. Maybe it should have been, since the news release actually includes a disclaimer the story did not include \u2013 that the research was presented at a professional meeting but has not been peer-reviewed. Claim: Nonalcoholic Beer Aids Marathon Recovery", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-252fb32bc24f491593d8e2ed5819c609", + "input": "Paragraph: \"In a public interview hosted by the Austin-based Texas Tribune, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White compared Republican leadership on state budget woes to how things swung in ye olde U.S.S.R. You remember, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics -- home of the late dictator Joseph Stalin and run single-handedly by the Communist Party prior to the government's collapse in 1991. White said March 9 he\u2019d take a more deliberate approach to spending than the state's top leaders, all Republican, who asked government agencies in January to suggest ways to cut their budgets by 5 percent. White said if he's in charge, \"\"it won\u2019t be done by things that are just across the board, Soviet style, you know, budget management that only career politicians seem to embrace.\"\" Pressed by interviewer Evan Smith, White said: \"\"Is it just a coincidence that 5 percent is the appropriate amount for each state agency?... No. It\u2019s because that\u2019s the way that career politicians know how to run government.\"\" We started our review of White's statement wondering what \"\"Soviet-style\"\" budget management means. Several expert professors said that historically, the term didn't refer to across-the-board budget cuts. Professor Paul Gregory of the University of Houston Department of History said \"\"Soviet style\"\" makes him think of a monopoly party (in this case, the Communist Party) dictating everything to subordinates without any possibility of change. Gregory said Soviet-style budgeting also means hiding expenditures you don\u2019t want people to see\u2014such as massive investments in military infrastructure. Peter Caldwell, a Rice University professor of history, said budget-writing in the Soviet Union most often consisted of \u201chuge and crude\u201d decisions to invest in one part of the economy at the expense of another. And H. Stephen Gardner, chairman of the Baylor University Department of Economics, said he\u2019d define Soviet-style management as overly centralized as opposed to giving autonomy to individual units of government. So are there \"\"Soviet style\"\" ways that state leaders have approached the budget? Some background: In January, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus--mindful of a projected state revenue shortfall that could reach $15 billion by next January--jointly asked agencies to submit plans identifying savings in 5 percent \u201cpriority increments\u201d in their 2010-11 appropriations from state revenue. Such plans could lead to cuts, though no decisions have been made and some programs have already been excused. No doubt, the leaders' request is a centralized one. But is it Soviet-style in any other way? We turned to White for elaboration. White\u2019s campaign pointed us to a statement issued by White, the former Houston mayor, in January: \u201cWell-run organizations cut spending based on priorities and where they can best attain productivity improvements. So, for example, in the city of Houston we made smaller cuts in public safety because that was the highest priority. And we were able to cut more in garbage collection and disposal through productivity improvements.\u201d White then told us that by \"\"Soviet style,\"\" he doesn't mean that Texas state government owns the means of production, as in the Soviet Union. \u201cObviously we have a market system,\u201d White said. He described his alternative approach to the looming revenue gap, saying that as governor, he'd focus on funding priorities such as education while encouraging agencies to improve productivity via \"\"process re-engineering\"\" without hurting the delivery of services to taxpayers. He said the state also would seek savings by renegotiating vendor contracts. Also, he said, there\u2019d be regular meetings with agency chiefs to talk about how they\u2019re cutting spending and avoiding non-essential hirings. \u201cI would have had reports back to me weekly and monthly concerning the efficiencies identified,\u201d White said. We didn't get to why White considers the existing approach \"\"Soviet style\"\" before he had to go. We\u00a0asked the professors if \"\"Soviet style\"\" accurately characterizes the GOP leaders' request for proposed budget cuts. Gregory said describing the request from Perry, et al. that way \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem to have any relevance to what was actually practiced in the Soviet Union. ... It's inappropriate to use that term.\"\" Gardner agreed, saying: \"\"It\u2019s a bit hyperbolic to refer to this (budget cutting) as Soviet style. I should admit I have done exactly the same thing myself on matters of budgeting.\u201d The point of saying as much, Gardner said, is to elicit an emotional reaction. He added that Republicans who cast President Barack Obama as socialist \u2014 Perry has told reporters he thinks Obama has socialist beliefs \u2014 are likewise guilty of hyperbole for dramatic effect. The professor, who said he considers Obama a centrist, speculated that Noam Chomsky, a left-leaning linguist who writes on public affairs, would call the president a \"\"crazed capitalist.\"\" \"\"If White\u2019s point is that budget management is being handled in an overly centralized way,\"\" Gardner said, \"\"I can see the element of truth there. The problem I would have is even if you say I am going to be more careful and more surgically look at the right places to cut, you\u2019re still using a more centralized approach.\u201d Caldwell agreed with the psychological impact, if not the accuracy, of \"\"Soviet style.\"\" Generally, he said, \u201canyone who ever mentions the Soviet economy or Naziism when they\u2019re talking about American domestic debate is usually off track. They\u2019re referring to crude examples to raise the stakes of a debate. They\u2019re not necessarily wanting a careful, rational debate. Who in America wants the Soviet economy or supports Naziism?\u201d Our conclusion? The GOP leaders' request that agencies submit proposed budget cuts isn\u2019t Soviet style \u2014 not even close. At best, White's statement is an example of how politicians try to light up a room. It's so off base, we're lighting up the meter: !\" Claim: \"Bill White Says Republican state leaders are using \"\"Soviet-style\"\" budget management.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-65afd69edca447ff98072678cf7bf4a0", + "input": "Paragraph: The state health department said Friday the case was confirmed in a man over 50 from West Warwick. It\u2019s the first human case in Rhode Island since 2010. State environmental officials said Thursday a six-month-old horse tested positive for the virus in Westerly. Mosquitoes carrying the disease have been found in Westerly and Central Falls. Ana Novais, the health department\u2019s deputy director, says there\u2019s a high risk for transmission of the disease to humans through mosquito bites. She recommends taking extra precautions to prevent bites. In neighboring Massachusetts, there have been four confirmed human cases of the virus this year, one of them fatal. The virus can cause brain infections. Claim: Man in Rhode Island tests positive for rare equine virus.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-e167d4f2c72348ffadbb4a929a4c37ed", + "input": "Paragraph: \"The release of a video showing NFL running back Ray Rice striking his now-wife in an Atlantic City, N.J., casino elevator revived conversations about domestic violence on the Sunday shows. On the Sept. 14,\u00a02014, edition of\u00a0CNN\u2019s State of the Union, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., shared an anecdote from her time as a prosecutor to illustrate the ills of domestic violence. \"\"We had a poster outside the door so everyone would see it when they came in. It was a picture of a woman beaten up with a Band-Aid over her nose, holding a little baby boy,\"\" Klobuchar said. \"\"And the words read, \u2018Beat your wife, and it\u2019s your son that goes to jail.\u2019 \"\" \"\"Kids \u2026 that have seen it happen,\"\" Klobuchar said, are \"\"twice as likely to commit it themselves.\"\" Klobuchar concluded that because the NFL puts \"\"out their players as role models,\"\" they have \"\"to set a different culture.\"\" We were interested in checking Klobuchar\u2019s claim that kids who witness domestic violence are \"\"twice as likely to commit it themselves.\"\" 90's kids We want to be clear upfront that witnessing domestic violence means witnessing it in a child\u2019s household -- not watching the TMZ.com Rice video. That said, the \"\"twice as likely\"\" talking point is fairly popular among advocates against domestic abuse, and suffice to say has been around for a while. The domestic violence literature we\u2019ve seen often cited that claim with a 1990 book called \"\"Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families.\"\" This book compiled the results of the landmark National Family Violence Surveys of 1975 and 1985, which constituted 60-minute face-to-face interviews and 30-minute phone interviews, respectively, with thousands of American families. Based on those interviews, the book\u2019s authors illustrated how a variety of factors influenced the incidence of domestic violence. Most of the book is about gender differences and roles in domestic violence, but the section on the effects on children crunches the surveys\u2019 numbers on whether abusers said they witnessed abuse as children. That produced the \"\"twice as likely\"\" estimate. The experts we talked to told us there hasn\u2019t been any study as definitive or comprehensive since, although other studies have taken stabs at the issue of intergenerational transmission of domestic violence. \"\"We\u2019ve known for such a long time that the biggest risk factor for being abusive against wives and children is witnessing domestic violence at home or being abused,\"\" said Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing who studies domestic violence. So \"\"people haven\u2019t repeated the research for a while,\"\" Campbell said, and \"\"a lot of stuff is old and mostly cross-sectional.\"\" What the existing literature says Campbell pointed us to a 2010 study about intimate partner violence -- a subset of domestic violence -- which found that children who witnessed any intimate partner violence were 2.6 times as likely to perpetrate it themselves. Children who witnessed any violence were 1.6 times as likely, according to the study, to become abusers as adults. Klobuchar\u2019s claim, then, has grounds in literature both old and new. There are literally dozens of studies on this issue, though, and different studies tell different stories. A 2000 meta-analysis of 39 different studies on this issue found a \"\"small-to-medium\"\" correlation between witnessing and perpetrating. The studies in that survey, while a couple decades old, ranged from showing a causal relationship between witnessing and perpetrating to showing no relationship at all. That corroborates Klobuchar\u2019s larger point that parents\u2019 domestic violence has negative outcomes for their children, but that\u2019s not the same as these kids being \"\"twice as likely to commit it themselves.\"\" Difficulties with measurements Putting numbers on domestic violence is particularly hard, and perhaps even inappropriate, said Ruth Glenn, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. \"\"I wouldn\u2019t say twice as likely,\"\" said Glenn. \"\"So I would say that it is an additional risk factor. I get nervous when we start to assign data, because there\u2019s not enough data to support it. Domestic violence happens in families, and each of those families are individual units.\"\" In other words, there\u2019s enough out there to suggest that children who witness domestic violence are more likely to perpetrate it, but saying something as precise as \"\"twice as likely\"\" is difficult. Domestic violence is \"\"hard to measure for various and sundry reasons,\"\" said Glenn, from the lack of \"\"good data\"\" on who\u2019s charged and convicted of domestic violence to confidentiality issues with its victims. And even when researchers can get affirmative data, there are methodological concerns. The studies about children who witness domestic violence often surveyed clinical populations -- meaning those with family issues, so a non-representative sample -- and ask respondents to self-report and to retroactively report. Extricating domestic violence from other family issues -- like mental health and substance abuse -- is also difficult, according to the studies Campbell referred us to. Our ruling Klobuchar, arguing that the NFL has a responsibility to hold its \"\"role models\"\" accountable to a \"\"different culture,\"\" said that kids who witness domestic violence in their households are \"\"twice as likely to commit it themselves.\"\" There are legitimate, peer-reviewed studies that bear Klobuchar\u2019s claim out. But overall, even though there\u2019s a consensus that witnessing domestic violence puts kids at a greater risk for perpetrating it themselves, the precise figures differ. Measuring domestic violence is very difficult for a variety of reasons, and there hasn\u2019t been a recent, comprehensive study. So saying these kids are \"\"twice as likely to commit\"\" domestic violence is a little too precise.\" Claim: \"Children who witness domestic violence are \"\"twice as likely to commit it themselves.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-2be211caf89a4f5a9738adb7b78b50fd", + "input": "Paragraph: Darren Salter, senior coroner for the county of Oxfordshire in southern England, said a post-mortem has found that the singer died of \u201cdilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.\u201d Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the left ventricle of the heart becomes stretched and weakened, limiting the heart\u2019s ability to pump blood. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. The former Wham! singer-songwriter was found dead at his country home in Oxfordshire on Dec. 25. He was 53. An initial autopsy failed to determine the cause of death for the star, who had battled health problems and drug addiction. Salter said that because Michael died of natural causes, there will be no coroner\u2019s inquest or further inquiries. In Britain, inquests are held to determine the facts of unexplained deaths. Police initially investigated and took witness statements in order to establish the facts surrounding Michael\u2019s death, which they called \u201cunexplained but non-suspicious.\u201d Wham!, formed by Michael and his friend Andrew Ridgeley, topped charts in the 1980s with exuberant pop hits including \u201cWake Me Up Before You Go-Go,\u201d \u2033Young Guns (Go For It)\u201d and \u201cFreedom.\u201d Michael went on to a solo career studded with major hits including \u201cCareless Whisper\u201d and \u201cFaith\u201d and sold more than 100 million albums around the world. He suffered problems with drugs and alcohol, however, and in 2010 was briefly jailed after crashing his Range Rover into a shop front near his London home while high on prescription drugs and marijuana. Michael had experienced health problems including a bout of pneumonia in 2011 that saw him hospitalized in intensive care. He said later it had been \u201ctouch and go\u201d whether he would survive. Michael\u2019s former partner, Kenny Goss, has said he thinks the musician\u2019s body \u201cjust gave up.\u201d Dilated cardiomyopathy can be an inherited condition, or can be caused by factors such as viral infections and high blood pressure. Myocarditis is usually caused by a viral, bacterial or fungal infection, while fatty liver disease can be caused by alcohol, or by other factors that cause a buildup of fat in the liver. Michael\u2019s death prompted an outpouring of recognition for his musical gifts as well as his charitable work in support of causes including AIDS groups, cancer charities and Childline, which offers confidential phone counseling for young people. Paying tribute to Michael at the Brit Awards last month, Ridgeley said that with his death, \u201ca supernova in a firmament of shining stars has been extinguished.\u201d At the Grammys, Adele performed Michael\u2019s song \u201cFastlove\u201d \u2014 restarting the rendition because she said the tribute was \u201ctoo important\u201d to mess up. Claim: George Michael died of natural causes, British coroner says.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-3bafd52f8a6d4234b0e8e32910a3b5f2", + "input": "Paragraph: The verdict, in California Superior Court in Oakland, marks the latest defeat for the healthcare conglomerate facing more than 13,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide. J&J said it would appeal, citing \u201cserious procedural and evidentiary errors\u201d in the course of the trial, saying lawyers for the woman had fundamentally failed to show its baby powder contains asbestos. The company did not provide\u00a0further details of the\u00a0alleged errors during the trial. \u201cWe respect the legal process and reiterate that jury verdicts are not medical, scientific or regulatory conclusions about a product,\u201d J&J said in a statement on Wednesday. The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company denies that its talc causes cancer, saying numerous studies and tests by regulators worldwide have shown that its talc is safe and asbestos-free. The lawsuit was brought by Terry Leavitt, who said she used Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower - another powder containing talc sold by J&J in the past - in the 1960s and 1970s and was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017. It was the first of more than a dozen J&J talc cases scheduled for trial in 2019. The nine-week trial began on Jan. 7 and included testimony from nearly a dozen experts on both sides. The jury deliberated for two days before delivering its verdict, which was broadcast online by Courtroom View Network. Jurors found that J&J\u2019s talc-based products used by Leavitt were defective and that the company had failed to warn consumers of the health risks, awarding\u00a0$29.4 million in damages to Leavitt and her husband. The jury declined to award punitive damages. \u201cYet another jury has rejected J&J\u2019s misleading claims that its talc was free of asbestos,\u201d said Moshe Maimon, a lawyer for Leavitt, in a statement on Wednesday. \u201cThe internal J&J documents that the jury saw, once more laid bare the shocking truth of decades of cover- up, deception and concealment by J&J.\u201d\u00a0 Leavitt\u2019s was the first talc case to go to trial since Reuters on Dec. 14 published a report detailing that J&J knew that the talc in its raw and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos from the 1970s into the early 2000s - test results it did not disclose to regulators or consumers. Leavitt\u2019s trial originally included J&J\u2019s talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, a unit of Imerys SE, as a co-defendant. California\u00a0Superior Court Judge\u00a0Brad Seligman, who oversaw the trial,\u00a0told jurors in February that\u00a0the company was no longer part of the case after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the weight of the talc litigation, which\u00a0stayed lawsuits against it. While earlier talc lawsuits alleged talc itself causes ovarian cancer, plaintiffs\u2019 lawyers have more recently focused on arguing asbestos contamination in talc caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. In 11 cases so far alleging asbestos contamination in talc, three have resulted in wins for plaintiffs, awarding damages as high as $4.69 billion in a July 2018 multi-plaintiff ovarian cancer verdict. J&J won three other cases and another five ended in hung juries. J&J has appealed all of the plaintiff verdicts, and the company said it is confident the verdicts would be overturned on appeal. (Read the documents that sparked the investigation - here) Claim: Facebook post Says the CEO of Camping World told Trump supporters \u201cFrankly, don\u2019t shop at my business.\u201d", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7d8fd64da3db4ccabb3c15979fd67a01", + "input": "Paragraph: A Lehigh County judge tossed out evidence cited in support of drug and firearms counts stemming from the Nov. 7 search in Allentown, The (Allentown) Morning Call reported . \u201cThe smell of marijuana is no longer per se indicative of a crime,\u201d Judge Maria Dantos wrote in her opinion filed earlier this month. Authorities said Timothy Barr, 27, was a passenger in the car driven by his wife that was stopped by state troopers on a traffic violation. Troopers said they smelled a strong odor of marijuana and told Barr that gave them the legal right to search the vehicle even after he showed them his card authorizing the use of medical marijuana. Officers found small amounts of marijuana and residue and also found a loaded handgun under the driver\u2019s seat. Court records indicate that Barr cannot legally possess a firearm due to a prior conviction. In her ruling, Dantos said it was \u201cillogical, impractical and unreasonable\u201d for the troopers to suspect illegal activity once Barr showed them his medical marijuana card. She said Pennsylvania lawmakers never contemplated people with such cards being arrested and prosecuted for possession of marijuana in a package not clearly marked with a dispensary name. \u201cSuch actions are merely means of hampering the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes,\u201d Dantos wrote. Prosecutors must now decide whether to appeal to state Superior Court or try to move forward without the evidence. District Attorney Jim Martin said his office is reviewing the opinion and transcripts from a July 17 hearing and had made no decision on an appeal. Defense attorney Joshua Karoly said the ruling could be the first step in changing a procedural rule that allows police to search a vehicle based on the smell of drugs alone. \u201cThis case will put a spotlight on the plain smell doctrine in Pennsylvania which police use far too often to invade citizens\u2019 privacy,\u201d he said. Dantos wrote in the opinion that officers\u2019 confusion over medical marijuana exemplified a \u201cclear disconnect between the medical community and the law enforcement community.\u201d One trooper testified that he believed medical marijuana had no smell and the other said she mistakenly thought dried marijuana was illegal and not used for medical purposes. Marijuana in flower and dry leaf form has been offered at dispensaries since August 2018. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the medical marijuana card belonged to the passenger, not the driver, and decision came earlier this month rather than Friday. ___ Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com Claim: Vehicle search prompted by marijuana smell ruled illegal.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-93d781860d014a799be430853c39e398", + "input": "Paragraph: The Alpine republic with a population of 8.8 million has tested around 28,400 people so far with nearly 4,900 cases and 28 deaths confirmed. It was one of the first European countries to put severe restrictions on movement and close shops and schools in response to the developments in neighboring Italy and a strong increase in coronavirus infections in its western regions. In coming weeks, Austria plans to test up to 15,000 people per day, the chancellor said. \u201cWe will also launch rapid tests, to test hundreds of thousands of people, as quickly as possible,\u201d Kurz told a news conference. He referred to brand new tests that are comparably cheap but take longer than laboratory tests used up until now. Broad testing is key to getting a clear picture of the real infection rate and an idea of how many people have developed immunity against the virus, the chancellor said. Top priority was to delay the peak of infections as long as possible to avoid a situation like in Italy or Spain, where the health systems are overwhelmed. \u201cOur goal is that the number of infections doubles only every 14 days and not every two, three or five days and that we will set the right measures to keep it that way once we ramp up social life again,\u201d Kurz said. Austria\u2019s strict measures are in place until April 13, and Kurz said there was hope that a gradual withdrawal could start the day after. A government task force developing scenarios for the \u201cramp up\u201d was currently dealing with questions such as in which order schools, businesses and production should restart. Lessons from other countries showed that it was crucial to remain disciplined and to make use of \u201cbig data\u201d. Asked what he meant by \u201cbig data\u201d, Kurz said: \u201cWe are currently working with the Red Cross and other enterprises on ideas that could be implemented in Austria and in Europe, and which are suitable for our system and our democracy.\u201d Austria\u2019s Red Cross is promoting a so-called \u201cStop Corona\u201d app, which enables a user to digitally store who he meets and when. If a person shows symptoms of corona disease, these contact persons can be notified. Austria\u2019s mobile carrier A1 Telekom Austria is already sharing results from a motion analysis application that visualizes the movement flows of groups of people with the health authority. Claim: Austria bets on mass testing to manage coronavirus spread.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c4bdcd147e51425481aedb6dcbdf7305", + "input": "Paragraph: The first Democrat-only televised debate is Wednesday, a natural forum for the three candidates to tout their agendas to a broader audience after several weeks of unveiling fresh items. Gretchen Whitmer, Shri Thanedar and Abdul El-Sayed agree on many issues, like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, spending much more on roads and other infrastructure, shutting down twin oil pipelines in a waterway linking two of the Great Lakes and repealing the state\u2019s emergency manager law. But there are some differences that are being emphasized more in the stretch to the Aug. 7 election. El-Sayed, Detroit\u2019s former health director, has proposed a plan to provide all Michigan residents with government-financed \u201cMichicare\u201d until they reach Medicare age, including 600,000 who have no insurance. He hopes to make it a \u201cwedge issue,\u201d especially with Whitmer, who has not embraced the single-payer concept and whom he has criticized for accepting campaign donations from the political action committee of Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state\u2019s dominant insurer. \u201cHealth care is a human right,\u201d he said, contending that raising taxes to fund the Medicare-for-all-style system while eliminating premiums, deductibles and copays would save both residents and businesses overall. Whitmer is expected to announce her own health care plan before the primary and most recently has rolled out education and economic proposals while also focusing on her mantra to \u201cfix the damn roads.\u201d The former Senate minority leader frequently points to her role in the bipartisan expansion of Medicaid to more than 600,000 adults, including in a TV ad that is airing. \u201cShe\u2019s the only candidate in the race who has actually expanded coverage for Michiganders,\u201d said spokesman Zack Pohl. El-Sayed, who is courting the party\u2019s liberal wing and in recent days outlined a plan to address high auto insurance premiums, proposes paying for Michicare with a 2 percent or 2.25 percent gross receipts tax on businesses, depending on their size, with the first $2 million exempt from taxation. He also would effectively raise the state\u2019s 4.25 percent personal income tax to between 5 percent and 8 percent, via a graduated payroll tax. Thanedar, a multimillionaire businessman, also supports a universal, single-payer system but has not elaborated. He is recommending tax increases to fund signature facets of his economic plan \u2014 expanding child care subsidies to cover 345,000 additional low-income children, ten times more than now, and paying for 78,000 more 3- and 4-year-olds to attend preschool. He says the moves would allow thousands of women to re-enter the workforce and improve students\u2019 educational outcomes. He wants to boost the 6 percent corporate income tax to 7.5 percent for businesses with at least $350,000 in gross receipts and assess a 10 percent tax on the portion of receipts exceeding $1 million. He also would assess an 8.85 percent personal income tax for individuals earning at least $200,000 and a 10 percent rate for millionaires. Households with less than $50,000 income would pay no income tax. \u201cWe are one big family. We need to chip in to make it helpful to the ones who need help,\u201d Thanedar said during a recent joint Democratic-Republican debate on Mackinac Island. Both he and El-Sayed, if elected, would face steep obstacles, including a Republican-led Legislature \u2014 unless power shifts \u2014 and the constitutional requirement that voters approve a graduated income tax. Whitmer, with an eye toward the general election, has been more pragmatic \u2014 focusing on what her camp says is actually achievable in the current budget and political environment. While not ruling anything out, she has not called for changes to business or income taxes and has proposed repealing the taxation of retirement income that was enacted as part of a GOP-written tax overhaul. She pledges to work with lawmakers to fund an infrastructure bank to upgrade roads through user fees such as higher fuel taxes or, if that is unsuccessful, to ask voters to approve bonding. Thanedar wants to borrow money, while El-Sayed also proposes an infrastructure bank funded with increased fuel taxes and other revenue-raising mechanisms. The centerpiece of Whitmer\u2019s jobs plan is providing a two-year maximum $3,040 annual scholarship to high school graduates who attend an in-state university, community college or receive technical training, as long as they do community service, maintain a certain grade point average and have a good attendance record. The estimated cost is $100 million a year. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating a path for everyone in to a high-wage skill,\u201d she said. ___ Online: Policy plans for \u2014 El-Sayed: https://abdulformichigan.com/issues \u2014 Thanedar: https://www.shri2018.com/ \u2014 Whitmer: https://www.gretchenwhitmer.com/issues/ ___ Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert Claim: Democrats unveil new policies before gubernatorial primary.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-6c98972f5cd849aa895b6bdebf22ced5", + "input": "Paragraph: Through ups and downs in popularity, health troubles and weight fluctuations and the sorts of seismic shifts that take place over decades in the entertainment industry, Lewis always figured out a way to battle back, to reinvent himself, to stay relevant. It\u2019s what enduring stars know how to do instinctively; perhaps it\u2019s that very drive that makes them stars in the first place. Through it all, Lewis remained the consummate showman, and his distinctive comic legacy surely will continue to survive for decades to come. The manic, rubber-faced performer who jumped and hollered to fame in a stage, radio, TV and film partnership with Dean Martin, settled to become a self-conscious auteur in movies he wrote, produced and directed, and found new fame as the tireless, teary host of the annual muscular dystrophy telethons, died Sunday at home in Las Vegas surrounded by family. He was 91. Lewis, who had battled the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis, heart issues, a debilitating back problem and addiction to pain killers, died of natural causes, according to his publicist. His career spanned the history of show business in the 20th century, beginning in his parents\u2019 vaudeville act at the age of 5. He was just 20 when his pairing with Martin made them international stars. After their cold parting in 1956, Lewis made such favorites as \u201cThe Bellboy\u201d and \u201cThe Nutty Professor,\u201d was featured in Martin Scorsese\u2019s \u201cThe King of Comedy\u201d and appeared as himself in Billy Crystal\u2019s \u201cMr. Saturday Night.\u201d In the 1990s, he scored a stage comeback as the devil in the Broadway revival of \u201cDamn Yankees.\u201d In his 80s, he was still traveling the world, planning to remake some of his earlier movies and working on a stage version of \u201cThe Nutty Professor.\u201d He was so active he would sometimes forget the basics, like eating, his associates would recall. In 2012, Lewis missed an awards ceremony thrown by his beloved Friars Club because his blood sugar dropped from lack of food and he had to spend the night in the hospital. In an interview with The Associated Press from 2016, Lewis, at 90 and promoting the film \u201cMax Rose,\u201d said he still woke up every day at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to write, and he had a handful of standup shows on the schedule. Although a clear influence on Jim Carrey and other slapstick performers, later generations knew Lewis primarily as the ringmaster of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association, joking and reminiscing and introducing guests, sharing stories about ailing kids and concluding with his personal anthem, the ballad \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone.\u201d From the 1960s onward, the telethons raised about $1.5 billion. He announced in 2011 that he would step down as host, but he would remain chairman of the association he joined some 60 years ago. His fundraising efforts won him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2009 Oscar telecast, an honor he said \u201ctouches my heart and the very depth of my soul.\u201d But the telethon was also criticized for being mawkish and exploitative of children, known as \u201cJerry\u2019s Kids.\u201d A 1960s muscular dystrophy poster boy, Mike Ervin, later made a documentary called \u201cThe Kids Are All Alright,\u201d in which he alleged that Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association had treated him and others as objects of pity rather than real people. Responded Lewis: \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be pitied because you\u2019re a cripple in a wheelchair, stay in your house!\u201d He was the classic funnyman who longed to play \u201cHamlet.\u201d He cried as hard as he laughed. He sassed and snarled at critics and interviewers who displeased him. He pontificated on talk shows, lectured to college students and compiled his thoughts in the 1971 book \u201cThe Total Film-Maker.\u201d \u201cI believe, in my own way, that I say something on film. I\u2019m getting to those who probably don\u2019t have the mentality to understand what ... \u2018A Man for All Seasons\u2019 is all about, plus many who did understand it,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI am not ashamed or embarrassed at how seemingly trite or saccharine something in my films will sound. I really do make films for my great-great-grandchildren and not for my fellows at the Screen Directors Guild or for the critics.\u201d In his early movies, he played the kind of fellows who would have had no idea what the elder Lewis was talking about: loose-limbed, buck-toothed, overgrown adolescents, trouble-prone and inclined to wail when beset by enemies. American critics recognized the comedian\u2019s popular appeal but not his pretensions of higher art. Not the French. Writing in Paris\u2019 Le Monde newspaper, Jacques Siclier praised Lewis\u2019 \u201capish allure, his conduct of a child, his grimaces, his contortions, his maladjustment to the world, his morbid fear of women, his way of disturbing order everywhere he appeared.\u201d The French government awarded Lewis the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1983 and Commander of Arts and Letters the following year. Film critic Andrew Sarris observed: \u201cThe fact that Lewis lacks verbal wit on the screen doesn\u2019t particularly bother the French.\u201d Lewis had teamed up with Martin after World War II, and their radio and stage antics delighted audiences, although not immediately. Their debut, in 1946 at Atlantic City\u2019s 500 Club, was a bust. Warned by owner \u201cSkinny\u201d D\u2019Amato that they might be fired, Martin and Lewis tossed the script and improvised their way into history. New York columnists Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan raved over the sexy singer and the berserk clown. Hollywood producer Hal Wallis saw them at New York\u2019s Copacabana and signed them to a film contract. Martin and Lewis first appeared in supporting roles in, then they began a hit series of starring vehicles: \u201cAt War With the Army,\u201d \u2033That\u2019s My Boy,\u201d \u2033Sailor Beware,\u201d \u2033Jumping Jacks,\u201d \u2033The Stooge,\u201d \u2033The Caddy,\u201d \u2033Money From Home,\u201d \u2033Living It Up,\u201d \u2033Three Ring Circus,\u201d \u2033You\u2019re Never Too Young,\u201d \u2033Artists and Models,\u201d \u2033Pardners,\u201d \u2033Hollywood or Bust.\u201d But in the mid-1950s, their partnership began to wear. Lewis longed for more than laughs. Martin had tired of playing straight man and of Lewis\u2019 attempts to inject Chaplinesque pathos into their movies. He also wearied of the pace of films, television, nightclub and theater appearances, benefits and publicity junkets on which Lewis thrived. The rift became increasingly public as the two camps sparred verbally. \u201cI knew we were in trouble the day someone gave Jerry a book about Charlie Chaplin,\u201d Martin cracked. On July 24, 1956, Martin and Lewis closed shop, at the Copa, and remained estranged for years. Martin, who died in 1995, did make a dramatic, surprise appearance on Lewis\u2019 telethon in 1976 (a reunion brokered by mutual pal Frank Sinatra). After Martin\u2019s death, Lewis said the two had again become friendly during his former partner\u2019s final years and he would repeatedly express his admiration for Martin above all others. Lewis distinguished himself after the break, revealing a serious side as unexpected as Martin\u2019s gift for comedy. He brought in comedy director Frank Tashlin for \u201cRock-a-bye Baby,\u201d \u2033Cinderfella,\u201d \u2033The Disorderly Orderly,\u201d \u2033The Geisha Boy\u201d and \u201cWho\u2019s Minding the Store?\u201d With \u201cThe Bellboy,\u201d though, Lewis assumed the posts of producer, director, writer and star, like his idol Chaplin. Among his hits under his own direction was the 1963 \u201cThe Nutty Professor,\u201d playing a dual Jekyll and Hyde role, transforming himself from a nerdy college teacher to a sexy (and conceited) lounge singer, Buddy Love, regarded as a spoof of his old partner Martin. Lewis\u2019 more recent film credits included such low-budget releases as \u201cArizona Dream,\u201d co-starring Johnny Depp, \u201cFunny Bones,\u201d and \u201cMax Rose,\u201d from 2016. He was seen briefly in Eddie Murphy\u2019s remake of \u201cThe Nutty Professor.\u201d He was born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey, on March 16, 1926. His father, billed as Danny Lewis, was a singer on the borscht and burlesque circuits. His mother played piano for Danny\u2019s act. Their only child was often left alone in hotel rooms, or lived in Brooklyn with his paternal grandparents, Russian Jewish immigrants, or his aunts in New Jersey. \u201cAll my life I\u2019ve been afraid of being alone,\u201d Lewis once said. In his later years the solitude haunted him, and he surrounded himself with an entourage at work and at home. Joey Levitch made his professional debut at age 5, singing the Depression tearjerker \u201cBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?\u201d to great applause. By 16, Jerry Lewis had dropped out of school and was earning as much as $150 a week as a solo performer. Rejected by the Army because of a heart murmur and punctured eardrum, Lewis entertained troops in World War II and toured with his lip-sync act. In 1944 he married Patti Palmer, a band vocalist. The following year he met Martin, on a March day in 1945 in Manhattan. Fame brought him women and Lewis wrote openly of his many partners. After 36 years of marriage and six sons, Patti Lewis sued her husband for divorce in 1982. She later wrote a book claiming that he was an adulterer and drug addict who abused their children. In his late 50s, Lewis married Sandra Pitnick, 32, a former airline stewardess. They had a daughter, Dani, named for Jerry\u2019s father. \u201cWhen the truth comes down to the truth, I am so grateful that I\u2019m on that stage or in front of that camera,\u201d Lewis told The Associated Press in 2016. \u201cTo have a career that I had in film, I\u2019m the luckiest Jew that ever lived. I\u2019m so grateful for it. I don\u2019t take advantage of it. I don\u2019t use it improperly. And I love the fact that there\u2019s nowhere I can go where people don\u2019t know me.\u201d ___ Lemire is a former Associated Press writer. Associated Press writer Bob Thomas and AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr in Los Angeles and AP National Writer Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report. Claim: Jerry Lewis, Hollywood survivor, showman, dies at 91.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-28e7b0635cf94d3aaca2420d772d3bc4", + "input": "Paragraph: Signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, the measure is one of the nation\u2019s most restrictive abortion laws and would effectively ban the procedure around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. Staci Fox, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast, said at a news conference that she had one message for Kemp: \u201cWe will see you, sir, in court.\u201d The organization also planned to campaign to unseat lawmakers who supported it, saying they would \u201cbe held accountable for playing politics with women\u2019s health.\u201d The legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, Sean Young, has said the measure is unconstitutional, and the group plans to challenge it in court. \u201cUnder 50 years of Supreme Court precedent, this abortion ban is clearly unconstitutional,\u201d Young said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. \u201cEvery federal court that has heard a challenge to a similar ban has ruled that it\u2019s unconstitutional.\u201d Kemp said he approved the bill \u201cto ensure that all Georgians have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper in our great state.\u201d The signing caps weeks of tension and protests at the state Capitol and begins what could be a lengthy and costly legal battle. \u201cWe will not back down,\u201d Kemp said, acknowledging the likelihood of a legal challenge. \u201cWe will always continue to fight for life.\u201d Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers across the country have been energized by the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. They are pushing abortion bans in an attack on the high court\u2019s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide until a fetus is developed enough to live outside a woman\u2019s uterus. Current law allows women in Georgia to seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. If it\u2019s not blocked in court, the new ban would take effect Jan. 1. The measure makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest \u2014 if the woman files a police report first \u2014 and to save the life of the mother. It also would allow for abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable because of serious medical issues. In addition, the bill includes provisions for alimony, child support and even income tax deductions for fetuses, declaring that \u201cthe full value of a child begins at the point when a detectable human heartbeat exists.\u201d The legislation will result in $10 million to $20 million in lost tax revenue for the state each year, according to its author, Republican Rep. Ed Setzler. Setzler called the bill a \u201ccommon sense\u201d measure that seeks to \u201cbalance the difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child.\u201d But Democratic Sen. Jen Jordan said \u201cthere\u2019s nothing balanced about it: It\u2019s an all-out abortion ban.\u201d Jordan said she is particularly worried that the new law will push obstetricians away from practicing in Georgia, worsening health care outcomes for women in a state that already has one of the nation\u2019s worst maternal mortality rates. \u201cIt\u2019s about the unintended consequences,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cThey\u2019re making policy choices that are going to end up causing women to die, and they\u2019re preventable deaths.\u201d Georgia has at least 11 abortion providers, according to the National Abortion Federation, a group that advocates for access to abortion. Some providers have already faced negative effects from the bill, according to Wula Dawson, director of development and communications for the Feminist Women\u2019s Health Center, an abortion clinic in Georgia. Dawson said anti-abortion protesters outside their clinic have become \u201cbolder and more aggressive\u201d toward patients. In the first few months of 2019, \u201cheartbeat\u201d abortion bans have been signed into law in four states: Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and now Georgia. Lawmakers in other states including Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia, are considering similar proposals. A bill that recently passed the Alabama House would outlaw abortions at any stage of pregnancy, with a few narrow exceptions. Kentucky\u2019s law was immediately challenged by the ACLU after it was signed in March, and a federal judge temporarily blocked it. Earlier versions of the law passed in North Dakota and Iowa have also been struck down in court. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, about 33,000 abortions were provided in Georgia in 2014. ___ Associated Press Writer Sanya Mansoor in Atlanta contributed to this report. Claim: Opponents of Georgia abortion ban promise court challenge.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-536e39c210d54d69996632f41a715689", + "input": "Paragraph: Ishikawa only heard his voice, bellowing from his fire engine as he sped towards the sea to try to evacuate people before the wave struck. As the truck raced past, Ishikawa heard her son call out to her grandson, telling the boy to evacuate to higher ground. Then he was gone. She is haunted by what happened and tormented by what might have been. \u201cI blame myself over and over again, asking myself why I didn\u2019t stop him,\u201d said Ishikawa, 65, as she sat in the spartan shelter where she has lived since that day. Small towns across Japan\u2019s northeastern coast are rebuilding but far from healing three years since a massive earthquake set off a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people. In Rikuzentakata, where one in 10 residents died, nearly everyone lost a friend or family member on March 11, 2011. The resilience of Rikuzentakata\u2019s tsunami survivors was embodied by a lone surviving tree, dubbed the \u201cmiracle pine\u201d. But the tree died last year and a replica stands in its place. Around 5,000 people, a quarter of the town\u2019s population, are still in temporary shelters with their lives on hold. Many like Ishikawa have chosen to suffer alone rather than seek support. Ishikawa\u2019s voice cracked as she described how her husband placed a scarf around their son\u2019s neck when they found him in a makeshift morgue. \u201cHe looked so cold,\u201d she said. After finding him, she went back to the rubble to search for the bodies of her mother and younger brother. There were days in the wake of the disaster when her mind was completely blank, Ishikawa said. Then her blood pressure spiked and she was taken to a hospital. Her doctor urged her to see a counselor but she declined. \u201cNo stranger can understand what is in my heart. I must bear this alone,\u201d she said, tears running down her face. Survivors can find it especially difficult to seek help in a country that still stigmatizes mental illness and prizes stoicism, experts say. \u201cJapanese hesitate to use mental health support - not only mental health support, but support in general,\u201d said Tsuyoshi Akiyama, the chairman of the disaster support committee set up by the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology. Most of the debris has been cleared in Rikuzentakata, leaving only an overgrown field where the town once stood. Dump trucks and bulldozers barrel down the town\u2019s few paved roads, sending clouds of yellow dust into the air. After sunset, there is only silence. Some residents say they believe in ghosts and a few taxi drivers say they refuse to pick up passengers after dark after some claimed to have seen apparitions. The sound of the ocean is faint, and many survivors say they avoid the seaside at night. Mental health professionals say resentment has also built among the survivors because some have managed to get their lives back on track faster than others. \u201cIn the first year, there is a collective feeling of working together, of overcoming this together,\u201d said Ayako Sato, a psychologist hired by the Rikuzentakata city board. \u201cIn the second year, everyone wants to help each other because everyone suffered a loss in the disaster. But by the third year, you start to see a rift in living standards. People drift apart,\u201d Sato said. Takeshi Kanno, 63, is a pillar of the Rikuzentakata village of Kesencho, which lost all of its homes to the disaster. While Kanno built a relief camp at the Buddhist temple above the town, his youngest son, a volunteer firefighter, searched for bodies in the debris below. \u201cHe was young and reliable and everyone depended on him. This became a massive burden,\u201d said Kanno. \u201cHe didn\u2019t sleep and collapsed from exhaustion.\u201d Kanno\u2019s son has since been hospitalized and has not spoken or left his room in nearly a year, he said. A photo of his 28-year-old son hangs on the wall of the log cabin Kanno built after the disaster. The photo, taken in 2012, shows a young, slender man smiling as villagers line up before a drum performance. Some of that sense of community has disappeared, Kanno said. There are no comprehensive statistics on the depth of the tsunami\u2019s psychological impact on survivors. Rikuzentakata\u2019s city hall so far counts three disaster-related suicides. A study funded by Japan\u2019s health ministry found that more than a quarter of children aged between 3 and 5 in the disaster zone exhibited signs of distress that needed professional help. Some daycare centers don\u2019t celebrate Mother\u2019s Day or Father\u2019s Day anymore because so many children lost at least one parent. Rikuzentakata mayor Futoshi Toba lost his wife in the tsunami. He says the city must do what it can to help its residents heal as it rebuilds. \u201cThere are people who feel better when they speak to someone, and then there are those who feel more traumatized when they remember the past,\u201d Toba said. \u201cWhat we have to do is to keep rebuilding and share the town\u2019s progress with the residents to keep up hope.\u201d Claim: Japan's tsunami survivors suffer in silence three years after disaster.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-749b35b699ce453fbd394778fb629c19", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Donald Trump made a grab for blue collar Democrats by citing the anti-trade, anti-Hillary Clinton rhetoric of Clinton\u2019s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders. For his latest attack, he borrowed Sanders\u2019 own words. \"\"As Bernie Sanders said, Hillary Clinton \u2018voted for virtually every trade agreement that has cost the workers of this country millions, millions of jobs,\u2019 \"\" Trump said in a speech about the economy delivered outside a recycling plant in western Pennsylvania. The presumptive Republican nominee quoted Sanders accurately (barring the Trumpian flourish emphasizing \"\"millions\"\"). But Sanders\u2019 original claim, which we investigated, wasn\u2019t without faults. Clinton has largely supported free trade, though her position is more nuanced than Trump and Sanders suggest, she \u00a0The notion that \"\"millions, millions of jobs\"\" have been lost because of trade, however, is more debatable. Clinton\u2019s position on free trade Sanders is consistently anti-free trade, and Trump has been outspoken in disapproval of deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership. Clinton\u2019s views, however, seem to depend on the content of each agreement. Overall, Trump and Sanders have a point that she\u2019s supported more trade deals than she\u2019s opposed. As first lady, Clinton spoke favorably of the NAFTA, signed by President Bill Clinton. The deal, she wrote in her 2003 memoir Living History, \"\"would expand U.S. exports, create jobs and ensure that our economy was reaping the benefits, not the burdens, of globalization.\"\" During her 2000 Senate bid to represent New York, Clinton supported normalizing trade relations with China. Out of the 10 trade deals that came up for a vote when she was in the Senate, Clinton said yes to six, no to two, and skipped the votes on two (though she had given her vocal support). She also voted for legislation that included an amendment granting Vietnam normalized trade status. She was in favor of a deal with Jordan because of its \"\"internationally recognized enforceable labor standards,\"\" she explained in 2005, but she considered the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement \"\"a step backward.\"\" As a presidential candidate in 2008, Clinton had varying opinions on several trade deals, and she changed her position on NAFTA. She called NAFTA \"\"a mistake\"\" and opposed pending deals with South Korea (out of concern for American carmakers), Colombia (because of labor rights abuses) and Panama (whose National Assembly president was a U.S. fugitive). She reiterated her support for free trade with Peru on the campaign trail, praising the country for its \"\"very strong labor and environmental protections.\"\" As secretary of state in the pro-trade administration of President Barack Obama, Clinton walked back her opposition to three deals from her 2008 run and helped negotiate them. As a presidential candidate in 2016, she flip-flopped on her support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Year Trade deal Clinton\u2019s position 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement Supported in 1990s, against in 2007 2002 Trade Act of 2002* Voted against** 2003 Chile-United States Voted for 2003 Singapore-United States Voted for 2004 Australia-United States Voted for 2004 Morocco-United States Voted for 2005 Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement Voted against 2005 Bahrain-United States Voted for*** 2006 Oman-United States Voted for 2007 Peru-United States Didn\u2019t vote, supported in 2007 2007 Jordan-United States Didn\u2019t vote, supported in 2005 2011 Panama-United States Against in 2007, supported in 2010 2011 Colombia-United States Against in 2007, supported in 2010 2011 South Korea-United States Against in 2007, supported in 2010 2015 Trans-Pacific Partnership Supported in 2010, against in 2015 * This deal is not included in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative\u2019s list of free trade agreements, but contains many free trade provisions. ** This is a vote for \"\"fast track authority\"\" \u2014 allowing trade agreement to move through Congress without amendments or filibusters. *** The free trade agreement with Bahrain passed by unanimous consent, not a recorded roll call vote. Employment impact unclear The jury is still out on the impact of trade deals on employment, even after decades of debate. On one side, unions and some left-leaning think tanks often link American job losses to expanded trade. Labor advocates opposed the Chile and Singapore agreements, which they said in a 2003 report would kill an unspecified number of jobs. The liberal Economic Policy Institute, which Trump cited, has found that NAFTA has cost the United States over 800,000 jobs, and the South Korean deal cost about 60,000. In a 2014 report, the think tank reported that the United States has lost 3.2 million jobs between 2001 and 2013 to trade with China. Business groups, on the other hand, argue that trade deals actually boost employment. For example, a 2010 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that the 14 trade deals in place in 2008 supported 5.4 million jobs. Meanwhile, the U.S-China Business Council and the Financial Times contend that the loss in manufacturing jobs were not due to trade with China so much as gains in technology and productivity, as well as the result of a more sophisticated economy. And in a recent fact-check, we found several nonpartisan reports demonstrating that NAFTA produced no significant job losses nor job gains. Analysis by economists at Tufts University and the University of Michigan projected no net impact on employment from the Chile, Singapore and South Korea deals. Our ruling Trump said, \"\"As Bernie Sanders said, Hillary Clinton \u2018for virtually every trade agreement that has cost the workers of this country millions, millions of jobs.\u2019 \"\" He accurately recasted Sanders\u2019 words, but that doesn\u2019t make the attack any more correct. Out of the 10 trade deals Clinton could have voted on, she voted in favor of six and against two. On two other deals (with Peru and Jordan), she didn\u2019t vote but did vouch for them. As for subsequent job losses, independent research has shown the impact of NAFTA, for example, to not be significant one way or the other for jobs. Trump\u2019s claim is partially accurate and needs additional information.\" Claim: As Bernie Sanders said, Hillary Clinton \u2018voted for virtually every trade agreement that has cost the workers of this country millions, millions of jobs.\u2019 ", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-aecb58ec6e95409797655f7f3fa626ab", + "input": "Paragraph: Dr. William D. Parham will oversee the union\u2019s new program designed to help members with mental health issues. The program will be headquartered in Los Angeles. NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts says the union has \u201cheard our players\u2019 stories and are making mental health a priority now.\u201d Earlier this season, NBA stars Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors revealed issues they\u2019ve struggle with on and off the court. Love detailed his experience with panic attacks and anxiety. DeRozan talked about battles with depression. Claim: NBA players\u2019 union hires director of mental health.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-7a6a54b4f42b4dae90ccb5d9c23bb5c4", + "input": "Paragraph: The ruling Communist Party\u2019s Politburo said on Friday it would step up macroeconomic policy adjustments and pursue more proactive fiscal policy, state media reported. With the world\u2019s second-biggest economy expected to shrink for the first time in four decades this quarter, China is set to unleash hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus. The Politburo called for expanding the budget deficit, issuing more local and national bonds, guiding interest rates lower, delaying loan repayments, reducing supply-chain bottlenecks and boosting consumption. \u201cWe expect government ministries to roll out more tangible measures in the coming weeks as this Politburo meeting gave them no choice but to do more,\u201d Goldman Sachs analysts said. The Politburo did not elaborate on plans for the central government to issue special treasury bonds, which would be the first such issuance since 2007. China should issue at least 2 trillion yuan ($282 billion) of such bonds to aid the economy, Morgan Stanley Chief China Economist Robin Xing said. Restrictions on foreigners entering the country went into effect on Saturday, as China reported no new locally transmitted infections and a small drop in so-called imported cases. Airlines have been ordered to sharply cut international flights from Sunday. Beijing has in recent days emphasized the risk posed by imported virus cases after widespread lockdowns within China helped to sharply reduce domestic transmissions. The Politburo said it would shift its focus to prevent more imported cases and a rebound in locally transmitted infections. \u201cWe must be extremely vigilant and cautious, and we must prevent the post-epidemic relaxation from coming too soon, leading to the loss of all our achievements,\u201d the Communist Party\u2019s official People\u2019s Daily newspaper said in a front-page editorial. The authorities also reversed planned reopenings of movie theaters, the state-owned China Securities Journal reported, citing sources. With local transmission of the virus basically under control, China shifts focus toward rebooting paused businesses. China\u2019s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday nearly all of the country\u2019s major supermarkets, convenience stores, shopping malls and farm produce retail markets have reopened, while all e-commerce platforms are operating. Meanwhile, 80% of restaurants and 60% of hotels are back in business, ministry official Wang Bin told a news conference. In a sign of businesses getting back to normal, wholesale prices of vegetables have dropped 16.5% from end-February, while pork prices have fallen 7.4% from a mid-February high. However, many street shops such as beauty salons are not yet open as \u201csentiment is reviving slowly, while people remain cautious about going out shopping\u201d, Wang said. In China\u2019s central Hubei Province, authorities had removed all highway checkpoints except those in its capital city Wuhan - the virus epicenter - and allowed traffic to leave the province as of Friday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. Hubei officials vowed to help businesses re-open and people get back to work. Gong Dingrong, mayor of Hubei\u2019s Qianjiang, dubbed \u201clobster city\u201d, said the government would promote sales across the country both online and offline, adding \u201cthere\u2019s nothing to fear\u201d eating lobsters from the city. China\u2019s National Health Commission said on Saturday that 54 new coronavirus cases were reported on the mainland on Friday, all imported cases. There were 55 new cases a day earlier, one of which was transmitted locally. The number of infections for mainland China stands at 81,394, with the death toll rising by three to 3,295, the commission said. Hubei province reported no new cases, and three new deaths. The province of 60 million, where the virus was first detected, has recorded 67,801 coronavirus cases and 3,177 deaths. Shanghai reported the highest number of new cases, with 17. An additional 11 cases were reported in Guangdong, six in Fujian, five in Tianjin, four in Zhejiang, three each in Beijing and Liaoning, two each in Inner Mongolia and Jilin, and one in Shandong. Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that China would support U.S. efforts to fight the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States rose by at least 16,000 on Friday to nearly 102,000, the most of any country. George Gao, the director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, urged people to wear masks to control the virus\u2019s spread overseas. Gao told the journal Science in an interview published on Friday that the \u201cbig mistake in the United States and Europe has been the failure to wear masks, which \u201ccan prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others\u201d. Claim: China readies stimulus measures as local virus cases dwindle.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-422c5e2c3da54f6dbb03178e969049fb", + "input": "Paragraph: On April Fool\u2019s Day in 2013, a pair of Florida disc jockeys got themselves into a bit of hot water with station management for prankishly warning their listeners that \u201cdihydrogen monoxide\u201d \u2014 another name for that life-giving substance we identify as H2O, or more commonly, \u201cwater\u201d \u2014 was coming out of local residents\u2019 taps: The radio station\u2019s joke involved that \u201cdihydrogen monoxide\u201d was coming out of county residents\u2019 taps.The joke immediately got the attention of Patty DiPiero from Lee County Utilities. She said Lee County residents began calling the utility saying they heard on the station that county water was unsafe and should not be used for drinking, showering or for any use. DiPiero stressed in an email to media outlets that the utility was not having any issues with the water supply and the water is safe to use. However, some people believed the hoax, at least for a short time. One woman wrote in saying she worked in the food service industry and was trying to figure out how to serve customers and prepare food without requiring water.https://www.snopes.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=30094&action=edit# Lee County residents were far from the first people to fall for this venerable jape. Back in September 2007, for example, news media reported that a New Zealand MP was tricked by a letter from a constituent asking her to raise the issue of \u201cdihydrogen monoxide\u201d (DHMO): National MP Jacqui Dean has been caught out by a long-running hoax that seeks to trick gullible MPs into calling for a ban on \u201cdihydrogen monoxide\u201d \u2014 or water. A letter, signed by Ms Dean and sent to Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton, the minister in charge of drug policy, asked if the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs had a view on banning the \u201cdrug\u201d. Mr Anderton yesterday took the opportunity to rub Ms Dean\u2019s nose in the embarrassing blunder. He said dihydrogen monoxide \u201cmay have been described to her as colourless, odourless, tasteless and causing the death of uncounted thousands of people every year, and withdrawal from which, for those who become dependent on it, means certain death. \u201cI had to respond that the experts had no intention of doing so.\u201d In 1997, Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls, made the news when he based his science fair project on a warning similar to the one reproduced in the \u201cExample\u201d box above. Zohner\u2019s project, titled \u201cHow Gullible Are We?\u201d, involved presenting that warning about \u201cthe dangers of dihydrogen monoxide\u201d to fifty ninth-grade students and asking them what (if anything) should be done about the chemical: Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.Dihydrogen monoxide: Contamination is reaching epidemic proportions! Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest, and recently California. Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used: Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer! The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its \u201cimportance to the economic health of this nation.\u201d In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use. Forty-three students favored banning DHMO, six were undecided, and only one correctly recognized that \u2018dihydrogen monoxide\u2019 was actually plain old water. Zohner\u2019s analysis of the results he obtained won him first prize in the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair; garnered him scads of attention from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, universities, and congresspeople; and prompted the usual round of outcries about how our ignorant citizenry doesn\u2019t read critically and can be easily misled. Even back then Nathan Zohner\u2019s project wasn\u2019t original, as spoof petitions about dihydrogen monoxide and other innocuous \u201cdangers\u201d had been circulating for years, and Nathan based his project on a bogus report that was already making the rounds of the Internet. Moreover, his target audience was ninth-graders, a group highly susceptible to allowing peer pressure to overwhelm critical thinking. Thrust any piece of paper at the average high school student with a suggestion about what the \u201ccorrect\u201d response to it should be, and peer pressure pretty much assures you\u2019ll get the answer you\u2019re looking for. Someone that age isn\u2019t very likely to read a friend\u2019s petition calling for the banning of whale hunting and critically evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impact of such a regulation; instead, he\u2019s probably going to say to himself, \u201cThis issue is obviously important to my friend, and he must have some good reasons for circulating the petition, so I\u2019ll sign it.\u201d That said, this example does aptly demonstrate the kind of fallacious reasoning that\u2019s thrust at us every day under the guise of \u201cimportant information\u201d: how with a little effort, even the most innocuous of substances can be made to sound like a dangerous threat to human life. In March 2004 the California municipality of Aliso Viejo (a suburb in Orange County) came within a cat\u2019s whisker of falling for this hoax after a paralegal there convinced city officials of the danger posed by this chemical. The leg-pull got so far as a vote\u2019s having been scheduled for the City Council on a proposed law that would have banned the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events because (among other things) they were made with DHMO, a substance that could \u201cthreaten human health and safety.\u201d Claim: Dihydrogen monoxide is a dangerous chemical that should be banned.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a2ed810dfe374b49b5f4fe35adc2eb3c", + "input": "Paragraph: The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Wednesday that an older woman in north Texas died last week from a lung disease associated with using electronic cigarettes. The agency says the state has also identified 95 confirmed or probable cases of lung illnesses linked to vaping. The agency says those illnesses affect patients as young as 13, with a median age of 22. The department also says that among the illnesses, nearly 90% of patients reported vaping marijuana or THC, the high-producing ingredient in marijuana. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1,000 confirmed or probable vaping illnesses have been reported nationwide as of last week. Claim: Texas records 1st death linked to e-cigarette use.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-bf70d5b0033147e3b9dccec72ca9e580", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Newly installed CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert tangled, politely, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on his Sept. 21 show regarding the legacy of President Ronald Reagan. Colbert asked Cruz, who\u2019s running for the Republican presidential nomination, whether he could agree with Reagan\u2019s support of \"\"amnesty\"\" for undocumented immigrants and the late president\u2019s willingness to raise some taxes amid budget shortfalls. Cruz said \"\"of course not\"\" before pivoting to Reagan\u2019s most conservative accomplishments, one being that he \"\"signed the largest tax cut in history\"\" and spurred economic growth. \"\"When (Ronald) Reagan came in, from 1978 to 1982, economic growth averaged less than 1 percent a year,\"\" Cruz said. \"\"There\u2019s only one other four-year period where that\u2019s true. That\u2019s true from 2008 to 2012.\"\" His point was that Reagan rescued the U.S. economy from the ravages it suffered under his Democratic predecessor, President Jimmy Carter, and that the only other equivalent economic distress occurred under Carter\u2019s fellow Democrat, Barack Obama. Colbert responded, \"\"But when conditions changed in the country, he reversed his world\u2019s \u2018largest tax cut\u2019 and raised taxes when revenues did not match the expectations. So it\u2019s a matter of compromising.\"\" We wondered if Cruz was correct about the periods of low GDP growth. (In a separate fact-check, we explore Colbert\u2019s rejoinder.) Excepting the unusual post-World War II period of 1945 through 1949 -- when the nation was demobilizing from an all-encompassing war -- Cruz has put his finger correctly on the two general periods in which the annual average growth of gross domestic product over four-year periods has sunk below 1 percent. They are the late 1970s era of \"\"stagflation\"\" (that is, stagnant growth combined with rapid inflation) and the aftermath of the Great Recession. The full annual data can be found here. But there were actually three distinct four-year periods during and after the Great Recession that fit Cruz\u2019s criteria, rather than one -- that is, the four-year periods starting with 2006, 2007 and 2008. (With every four-year period beginning after 2009, average annual GDP growth has exceeded 1 percent.) Here\u2019s the rundown of the four post-World War II periods that fit Cruz\u2019s criteria: First year Second year Third year Fourth year Average annual GDP growth 1979 1980 1981 1982 0.2 percent 2006 2007 2008 2009 0.3 percent 2007 2008 2009 2010 0.4 percent 2008 2009 2010 2011 0.4 percent So Cruz overlooked two additional four-year periods. Also, the implication of his comment -- that Democrats bear the primary responsibility for these periods of poor economic growth -- is not so clear. For starters, as we\u2019ve discussed previously, economists say it\u2019s hard to determine how much credit or blame a president deserves for successes or shortcomings in the economy at large on their watch. Factors outside their control, from energy-price shocks to technological changes to pure luck, can have a significant impact on the nation\u2019s economic record. In addition, Cruz\u2019s groupings suggest some contradictory standard-setting. For the 1979-1982 period, Carter was in office for the first two years and Reagan was in office for the third and fourth years. But in the next two periods -- 2006-2009 and\u00a0 2007-2010 -- George W. Bush, a Republican, was president for at least half of the time. In fact, Bush was in charge for the first three years in 2006-2009, and the first two years in 2007-2010. If Carter, Democrat, is to take blame for the slow growth in the first period, then logically Bush, a Republican, should shoulder the same blame in the next two four-year periods. By the same token, if Reagan, a Republican, escapes blame in the first example, then so too should Obama in the second and third four-year periods. And the 2005-2008 period --\u00a0which occurred entirely on Bush\u2019s watch -- barely escapes inclusion on this list, with an average annual growth rate of 1.13 percent. (During the 2008-2011 period,\u00a0Obama\u00a0was president for the final three of those years.) Gary Burtless, an economist with the Brookings Institution, said he doesn\u2019t blame either Reagan or Obama for the economic shortcomings early in their tenures that fall under Cruz\u2019s statistical claim. Still, he sees a logical inconsistency in Cruz\u2019s comparison as stated on Colbert\u2019s show. \"\"It seems doubtful whether poor economic performance early in any president's term can be attributed to the impact of his administration's policies,\"\" Burtless said. \"\"If you take office when economic output is plunging, it does not seem legitimate to attribute the economic plunge to the person who just took office.\"\" He added a footnote: Unlike Obama, who unquestionably inherited a recession already under way, the economy actually grew through the first couple of months of Reagan\u2019s first term. GDP grew in the third and fourth quarters of 1980, right before he was elected, and continued to grow during the first quarter of 1981 after he was in office, before a \"\"double-dip\"\" recession hit. Cruz spokesman Phil Novack told PolitiFact that our analysis misses the point. \"\"The focus on who exactly held office in each of those individual time periods is not as important as the contrast between the two periods in terms of how quickly the economy was growing before and after those identified time periods, which is the point Cruz was making,\"\" Novack said. \"\"His point was obviously referring to policy results, and we know the results of the policies that followed those slow-growth years of below 1 percent growth that Sen. Cruz identified. Reagan's policies brought us a boom, and Obama's policies have been a bust.\"\" For what it\u2019s worth, we also compared Carter and Reagan on their economic records and found them more similar than one might expect. During Carter\u2019s four years in office, the growth rate averaged 3.23 percent a year. If you take the first four years of Reagan\u2019s presidency, it averaged 3.34 percent. Essentially, each president had two good years and two bad years, which more or less averaged out. Our ruling Cruz said that \"\"when (Ronald) Reagan came in, from 1978 to 1982, economic growth averaged less than 1 percent a year. There\u2019s only one other four-year period where that\u2019s true. That\u2019s true from 2008 to 2012.\"\" Cruz missed\u00a0two other four-year periods that fit the criteria. In addition, his implication -- that Democrats are largely to blame for those conditions -- doesn\u2019t stand up to logical consistency, particularly when he excluded the period beginning in 2006 (which included three years solely under Bush) and 2007 (which included two years solely under Bush). This goes on top of general uncertainty about how much blame to assign presidents for poor economic conditions.\" Claim: When (Ronald) Reagan came in, from 1978 to 1982, economic growth averaged less than 1 percent a year. There\u2019s only one other four-year period where that\u2019s true. That\u2019s true from 2008 to 2012.", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-c3802785fbbe454eb434a2605cd9fe64", + "input": "Paragraph: Several now-viral videos posted to Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok in May 2020 showed small insects crawling along the outside of strawberries after the fruit had been soaked in a saltwater solution. Collectively, the videos received hundreds of thousands of views and sparked many questions about the methodology. Social media users filled a bowl with water and table salt. Once the salt had dissolved, strawberries were said to have been submerged in the solution for \u201cabout 30 minutes\u201d after which point small \u201cworms\u201d could be seen crawling around the outside of the berry. WAIT FOR IT\u2026 Still trying to think happy thoughts today. #fyp #foryou #strawberrieswithbugs #bugsinstrawberries #rednoseday #got2bhome \u266c original sound \u2013 callmekristatorres Though it is true that strawberries and other fruit may house small insects and the saltwater method is largely used by the agricultural industry as a way to detect such infestations, entomological experts at Oregon State University told Snopes that there is no scientific evidence that suggests a saltwater solution can, in fact, force pests out from infested berries. The insect in question is an invasive flying pest called spotted wing drosophila (SWD), or Drosophila suzukii. Endemic to Asia, SWD was first detected in North America in California in 2008 and has since spread to many regions of the United States where the insects are known to infect fruit crops and berries, according to Michigan State University (MSU). Female flies lay their eggs in fruit where they will ultimately hatch into a delectable habitat prime for larval feeding. If the pest is not controlled through mitigation measures, MSU adds that it is possible fruit may be harvested with larvae inside. Despite a lack of published scientific evidence, the saltwater method is one most often employed by commercial growers in order to determine whether an SWD infestation has occurred, but berry lovers of any sort can also use it to detect creepy crawlies. Claim: A saltwater solution will force insect pests out of infested strawberries. ", + "output": [ + "1" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b164dc4df07045c8a06d22f94aef096f", + "input": "Paragraph: There was no mentioned of costs \u2013 and that\u2019s a big issue. The costs of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors ($3/pill) and PD5-inhibitors (> $10/pill) are rather high compared to alpha blocker such as terazosin and doxazosin ($0.5 to 1.5). Avodart and Tamsulosin are not more effective than finasteride (now a generic) and terazosin/doxazosin, just newer and more expensive. While discussing the symptoms associated with benign prostate hyperplasia, it provide little quantitative information either about how common the various types of symptoms are or the extent to which the various medications and medication combinations relieved these symptoms. The story also did not provide data on the proportion of men who benefit, the magnitude of treatment benefit for symptom relief, quality of life, or preventing complications from BPH progression. The only other evidence was that Botox reduces prostate volume by 15%\u2013a finding of uncertain clinical significance. The story did not explicitly note the most clinically important benefits of preventing BPH progression\u2013reducing the risks for surgery, renal insufficiency, and urinary retention. The story did not mention any harms that might be associated with the use of 8 of the 9 medications discussed (though the description of the tolterodine study does note the potential for urinary retention); nor any possible harms associated with combined use of the various medications mentioned. The story mentioned a number of studies and extrapolated results from studies with one drug to others using a different drug, albeit of the same class. It is incorrect to assume that all drugs within a class will have the same magnitude of benefit, or even the same harms associated with their use. This story engaged in disease mongering. It leads with the concern that with increasing age, men experience a steady enlargement of the prostate gland. While this may be the case, it is not always a condition that mandates intervention. The story then goes on to explain about the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia explaining that there are bothersome symptoms and serious symptoms. Yet the reader is not given any information that would enable them to gauge how often the more serious symptoms arise. The story referred to the results of several previously published stories. It included a comment from one of the authors of a high quality study published in a peer reviewed \u00a0It also made reference to the results to be presented at an upcoming meeting that are from a drug company funded trial. It included a comment from one of the authors of that yet to be presented study. The story mentioned that surgery used to be the gold standard of care for benign prostate hyperplasia but that it is now commonplace for medications to be used to treat symptoms and prevent progression of benign prostate hyperplasia. The story did not mention that it is not always necessary for benign prostate hyperplasia to be actively treated. This is a significant oversight. The story mentioned 9 different medications, included the scientific name for most but not all along with a trade name. However, although there are direct to consumer advertisements for many of the medications mentioned, the story did not explicitly state whether these medications were approved and whether they were prescription or over-the-counter preparations. The story was informative about noninvasive approaches for treatment of the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia. However, most of the story focused on drugs that have been in use for years and cited studies 2 \u2013 5 years old. Does not appear to rely on a press release. Claim: Advances in treatments for enlarged prostates", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-388a7aa602cd49efa003d990de9dfcc0", + "input": "Paragraph: \"Republicans have been getting a lot of mileage out of the recent Supreme Court decision that brought a blow to the Affordable Care Act -- with the court citing a law enacted by Bill Clinton as part of its rationale. In Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the court said the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows certain corporations to opt out of providing employees with certain contraception coverage -- which were mandated by the ACA -- because of the owners\u2019 religious beliefs. Now, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich is saying Bill and Hillary Clinton\u2019s health care reform plan from the 1990s also would have supported the court\u2019s decision. In fact, Hillary Clinton\u2019s plan -- which he calls Hillarycare -- would have been more favorable to corporations wanting to evade certain parts of Obama\u2019s health care law. \"\"Hillarycare, 20 years ago, had a broader provision. The bill that (former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.) introduced for Hillary had a broader provision in favor of corporate right to back out,\"\" of providing contraceptives based on religious beliefs, Gingrich said on Sunday\u2019s ABC This Week. We showed Gingrich's statement to Sara Rosenbaum, a health policy professor at George Washington University, who played a role in drafting health care legislation for the Clinton administration. \"\"I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about,\"\" she said. So what is Gingrich talking about? The Clintons' proposed Health Security Act, proposed in 1993, would have required all employers to contribute to employees' health insurance. All benefits packages would have included coverage for \"\"family planning,\"\" including birth control. But the original proposal doesn't say anything about religious exemptions for employers. We weren't able to get a hold of Gingrich, but we think he's referring to this provision, included in a 1994 bill that Moynihan sponsored during the health care reform debate. (This bill was, however, separate from the Clintons\u2019 plan.) Moynihan\u2019s bill said, in part, \"\"Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent any employer from contributing to the purchase of a standard benefits package which excludes coverage of abortion or other services, if the employer objects to such services on the basis of a religious belief or moral conviction.\"\" In plain English, the law would not require an employer to utilize a benefits package that provided benefits that went against their religious or moral beliefs. Gingrich is right that this would be less restrictive than the provisions laid out by the Supreme Court in the\u00a0Hobby Lobby decision, experts said. The court decision established fairly narrow restrictions for corporations looking to claim religious exemption from parts of the Affordable Care Act (though some say it creates a slippery slope). The decision said closely held corporations with strong religious convictions don\u2019t have to offer insurance that covers four kinds of ACA-mandated contraceptives. Moynihan\u2019s provision was less restrictive because it said employers don\u2019t have to purchase plans that include \"\"abortion and other services,\"\" but it does not specify the other services, said Timothy Jost, a Washington and Lee University law professor. Additionally, it includes \"\"moral conviction\"\" in addition to \"\"religious beliefs,\"\" Jost added. The Religious Freedom and Restoration Act on which the court based its decision only applies to religious beliefs. But was creating an exemption for employers based on religious beliefs a primary tenant of the Clintons' health care plan? No, it wasn\u2019t. The Clintons\u2019 proposal Moynihan\u2019s bill was not put forth on the Clintons\u2019 behalf. Their plan did not include a religious exemption for employers clause, said Chris Jennings, former health care adviser to both Clinton and President Barack Obama, in an interview. \"\"That was not related to the plan,\"\" Jennings said. In fact, Moynihan was routinely critical of the Clintons\u2019 proposal, once calling the administration\u2019s financing estimates \"\"fantasy.\"\" Moynihan's proposal was one of several health care reform bills coming out of the 103rd Congress, and it certainly was not the one the Clintons wanted. It saw little floor time because it came up in August 1994, when the health care reform debate was winding down. No other version of the Health Security Act included a religious exemption provision for employers -- including another earlier version also sponsored by Moynihan. The primary health care bill -- sponsored by former Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo. and backed by the Clintons -- included a provision that allowed health care providers to refuse to offer or perform services that went against their moral or religious beliefs, such as abortions. But the exemption did not extend to the employers contributing to health insurance costs. The congressional briefing book on the Clintons' proposed plan does not include the provision, either. Additionally, we spoke with experts who said they do not recall birth control as a major source of debate during the Clintons\u2019 health care reform efforts. News coverage at the time seems to back that up. Contraception coverage \"\"hadn't emerged as a goal of reformers at that point,\"\" said Paul Starr, a public affairs professor at Princeton University. \"\"So the idea of a \u2018corporate right to back out\u2019 also hadn't come up.\"\" Abortion coverage was the primary point of contention, in terms of family planning, rather than birth control, Rosenbaum said. It\u2019s possible that Moynihan added a religious exemption for employers in order to appease those who didn\u2019t want comprehensive abortion coverage. But even so, it seems unlikely that the Clintons would have budged on providing universal abortion coverage. Around that time, Lorrie McHugh, a Clinton administration spokeswoman on health, told the New York Times that the administration stood by its original position that abortion should be covered \"\"where a doctor deemed it medically necessary or appropriate. \u2026 We\u2019ll fight for it.\"\" Our ruling Gingrich said Hillary Clinton's health care plan from the 1990s \"\"had a broader provision in favor of corporate right to back out\"\" of providing contraceptive coverage than the one created by the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision. We found that Sen. Moynihan did produce a health care bill, as part of widespread reform efforts, that included a religious exemption for employers that was broader than the provisions created by the court\u2019s decision. However, Gingrich was wrong to connect that back to the Clintons. The Clintons\u2019 health care plans did not include such a provision, and they did not back Moynihan\u2019s bill. In fact, Moynihan was critical of the administration throughout the health care debate. Additionally, his proposal came up near the end of the reform efforts and didn\u2019t generate much discussion.\" Claim: \"Newt Gingrich Says Hillary Clinton's health care plan from the 1990s \"\"had a broader provision in favor of corporate right to back out\"\" of providing contraceptive coverage than the one created by the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision.\"", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-b8ffa09819e84a6db6abce96b70f09a1", + "input": "Paragraph: In October 2018, a warning appeared and made its way around the usual internet circles to warn against eating meat from deer afflicted with \u201cbovine tuberculosis.\u201d The warning was accompanied by a rather unappetizing photograph of a lesion-studded hunk of meat that showed what people should avoid:Since 1995, Michigan has been testing white-tailed deer for bovine tuberculosis year-round. Michigan has the longest- running continuous wildlife TB surveillance program in the world.\u201cMost Michiganders, and even most policymakers, don\u2019t realize how much we\u2019ve learned about bTB in the last 20 years\u201d, said Dan O\u2019Brien, veterinary specialist with DNR\u2019s wildlife disease lab. \u201cThe research we\u2019ve done here in Michigan is respected around the world.\u201cOther countries dealing with similar outbreaks of bTB continue to watch our situation with great interest. At this point, we know what it will take to get rid of bTB. Whether we as a state will choose to make that happen though is still an open question.\u201dThe original warning was belched back into the public consciousness in October 2018 because a large cattle herd in Alcona County was found to be infected with bovine tuberculosis, the 73rd herd so infected since 1998:Bovine\u00a0TB\u00a0is a bacterial disease that also has infected free-ranging whitetail deer in parts of the northeastern Lower Peninsula.Cattle in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda counties must be tested before they are moved off the farm, which can help prevent the illness from spreading.Assistant State Veterinarian Nancy Barr says farmers in that area should do all they can to prevent deer from having contact with cattle feeding and watering areas.The original warning simply urges hunters to get the wild deer they kill tested free of charge before consumption, even if it looks healthy. Humans as well as cattle can potentially contract bovine tuberculosis, which is relatively rare, but potentially fatal\u00a0if left untreated. Claim: \"Bovine tuberculosis\"\" has appeared in a herd of cattle in Michigan.\"", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-a9e419363f8e4f0c92a37845656c37e8", + "input": "Paragraph: IndyCar medical director Geoffrey Billows said Thursday a \u201cvery limited supply\u201d of vaccines will be available at the medical building near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. He says most insurance companies will cover the cost. Billows encourages concerned fans to get vaccinated before coming to a race expected to attract in excess of 275,000. Measles was once common in the U.S. but gradually became rare after vaccination campaigns that started in the 1960s. The nation is struggling with a high number of cases this year as some families choose not to get vaccinated despite the recommendations of public health experts. At least 20 confirmed cases of mumps also were reported at Indiana University in Bloomington, about 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis. ___ More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Claim: Indianapolis 500 officials to offer measles vaccine at race.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-91b4dda70d22432796336048a4aa4cfa", + "input": "Paragraph: \"As New York state began implementing a regional approach to reopening after coronavirus-related shutdowns, a lawmaker from western New York complained that many of his constituents faced a longer wait to reopen because they were geographically linked to more hard-hit counties. State Sen. George Borrello, who made the comments in a statement on May 11, represents New York\u2019s 57th district, which includes three less-populated counties \u2014 Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua \u2014 south of more heavily populated regions near Buffalo (Erie County) and Niagara Falls (Niagara County). \"\"While infection rates in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties have consistently been among the lowest in the state throughout the COVID-19 crisis, our linkage with Erie County and its higher infection rates means that we don\u2019t meet the metrics for reopening, and our hurting, rural economies must remain shut down for at least another two weeks,\"\" Borrello said in the statement. The state\u2019s reopening plan allowed regions to begin Phase 1 of the reopening process on May 15 as long as they met seven metrics established by the state. The Western New York Region subsequently met all seven metrics on May 18 and entered Phase 1 the following day. But we wondered whether Borrello was correct in his May 11 statement that the infection rates in the three rural counties was substantially lower than those of the more urbanized counties to the north, and consistently among the state's lowest. We used the county-by-county infection tallies posted on Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s pressroom page and converted them to a rate per 10,000 residents. We ranked the counties from the highest to the lowest for each week from March 30 to mid-May, when Borrello made his statement. We found that, as Borrello had said, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties ranked low in infection rates consistently over that period, while Erie and Niagara started higher and continued to rise: Our analysis found that Chautauqua never ranked higher than sixth from the bottom for infection rates among the 58 New York counties for which data was available, and Chautauqua had the lowest rate of any county for much of the period. Allegany and Cattaraugus ranked marginally higher than Chautauqua, but well below Erie and Niagara. Overall, the three small counties usually ranked in the bottom one-third of counties in the state, and by the time Borrello made his statement, they were all in the bottom one-fifth of counties. By contrast, Erie and Niagara were consistently in the top half of counties as measured by infections per capita. New York City (including all five boroughs) ranked at or near the top for the entire period. The state reopening plan mirrored what many other states are doing, with certain types of non-essential businesses opening in phases in each of 10 regions, as long as certain health measurements are met in the region. Borrello said in an interview that he just wants sensible reopening policies that are implemented \"\"fairly and equitably.\"\" \"\"Even though the infection rates are higher in Erie County than the rest of the region, we\u2019re still talking about keeping those same precautions and ensuring that they\u2019re being adhered to,\"\" he said. Borrello said that \"\"infection rates in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties have consistently been among the lowest in the state.\"\" A look at the data from the end of March to mid-May confirms that the infection rate in each of the three counties was usually in the bottom one-third of counties in the state, and by the time Borello made his statement, they were all in the bottom one-fifth of counties. By contrast, Erie and Niagara were consistently in the top half of counties as measured by infections per capita.\" Claim: \u201cInfection rates in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties have consistently been among the lowest in the state.\u201d", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-9a9416daaa3f4ed3824500b33ce492fa", + "input": "Paragraph: US-Patent 8835624 is for the H1N1 virus. The patent with this number was for a strand of DNA that binds to the H1N1 virus, not the virus itself. US patent number 20120251502 is for Ebola. This application number was for a strain of the Ebola virus but the application has now been abandoned. The virus was not created by those who filed the patent. US patent number CA2741523 is for swine flu. This is the application number for a patent for the Ebola virus made to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. This patent has not been granted, and doesn\u2019t mean the Ebola virus was created by someone. 0070031450 A1 is a US patent for BSE (mad cow disease). There is a patent application number one digit away from this that mentions BSE, but is not a patent for BSE itself. ATTC VR-84 is a patent for Zika virus that comes from the Rockefeller Foundation. This is the name of a certain strain of Zika virus, which was first isolated in the 1940s in a lab funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. This strain was not patented. US patents 7897744 and 8506968 are for SARS. The first number is the US patent number for the SARS virus. The patent application was made by the CDC, but after the outbreak in 2002. The second number is a patent for a SARS vaccine which has now expired. US patent 10130701 is for coronavirus. This number is not a patent for the new Wuhan virus, Covid-19. It\u2019s a patent for a weakened version of a virus in the same family as Covid-19, a family which includes the common cold and SARS. Claim 1 of 8 Claim: US patents 7897744 and 8506968 are for SARS.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-51a7dba2ff9e486ba1a571452a54045f", + "input": "Paragraph: In recent weeks, vaccine opponents have made several unsubstantiated claims, including allegations that vaccine trials will be dangerously rushed or that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation\u2019s top infectious diseases expert, is blocking cures to enrich vaccine makers. They\u2019ve also falsely claimed that Microsoft founder Bill Gates wants to use a vaccine to inject microchips into people \u2014 or to cull 15% of the world\u2019s population. Vaccine opponents in the U.S. have been around for a long time. Their claims range from relatively modest safety concerns about specific vaccines or the risk of side effects to conspiracy theories that border on the bizarre. The movement is receiving renewed attention, especially as it aligns itself with groups loudly protesting restrictions on daily life aimed at controlling the spread of the virus. Health professionals say vaccine misinformation could have lethal consequences if it leads people to opt for bogus cures instead. \u201cOnly a coronavirus vaccine can truly protect us from future outbreaks,\u201d said Dr. Scott Ratzan, a physician and medical misinformation expert at the City University of New York and Columbia University. \u201cBut what if the effort succeeds and large numbers of people decide not to vaccinate themselves or their children?\u201d While vaccines for diseases such as polio, smallpox and measles have benefited millions, some skeptics reject the science, citing a distrust of modern medicine and government. Others say mandatory vaccine requirements violate their religious freedom. Rita Palma, the leader of the anti-vaccine group in Long Island called My Kids, My Choice, is among those who say their families won\u2019t get the coronavirus vaccine. \u201cMany of us are anxiety stricken at the thought of being forced to get a vaccine,\u201d Palma said. \u201cI will never choose to have a COVID-19 vaccine. I don\u2019t want the government forcing it on my community or my family.\u201d From the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine skeptics have tailored several long-standing claims about vaccine safety to fit the current outbreak. When the first U.S. case was announced in January, some alleged the coronavirus was manufactured and that patents for it could be found online. Thousands of deaths later, vaccine opponents are endorsing unapproved treatments, second-guessing medical experts and pushing fears about mandatory vaccinations. They\u2019ve also latched onto protests against stay-at-home orders in the U.S. \u201cThe coronavirus has created this perfect storm of misinformation,\u201d remarked David A. Broniatowski, an associate professor at George Washington University\u2019s school of engineering and applied science who has published several studies on vaccine misinformation. Last week, an anti-vaccine activist was arrested in Idaho after repeatedly refusing police orders to leave a playground closed because of the pandemic. The woman, who was there with other families, is affiliated with two groups that protested at the Idaho Statehouse against stay-at-home orders. Facebook groups formed to organize the protests have been peppered with vaccine hoaxes and myths. Perhaps no one plays a bigger role in the conspiracy theories than Gates, who is funding vaccine research. The online movement has centered concerns around a COVID-19 vaccine on false claims that Gates is planning to microchip people with the vaccine or use it to reduce the world\u2019s population. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic who helped popularize unsubstantiated claims that vaccines can cause autism, said Gates\u2019 work gives him \u201cdictatorial control of global health policy.\u201d Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, went further on a New York City radio show, saying Gates \u201cand other globalists\u201d are using the coronavirus \u201cfor mandatory vaccinations and microchipping people.\u201d Such wild theories can have real-world effects. False rumors that Gates hoped to test an experimental vaccine in South Africa became mainstream after a news site erroneously reported the claim. One of the country\u2019s political parties then sent a letter to President Cyril Rampahosa demanding answers about \u201cdeals\u201d struck with Gates. In fact, Gates and his wife are financing a vaccine trial in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Missouri, not South Africa. He also suggested creating a database of people immune to the virus, not implanting microchips. On Monday, during remarks recognizing World Immunization Week, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized vaccine skeptics for spreading misinformation at a time when many families are delaying or skipping routine childhood immunizations because they\u2019re afraid of COVID-19 exposure in doctors\u2019 offices. \u201cMyths and misinformation about vaccines are adding fuel to the fire,\u201d he said. Health experts have repeatedly said there is no evidence the coronavirus was intentionally created or spread. They also insist that vaccines are not only safe, but essential to global health. \u201cVaccine researchers and anyone who is a vaccine advocate cares deeply about vaccine safety,\u201d said Dr. Paul Offit, a Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia physician and co-inventor of a vaccine for rotavirus, which kills hundreds of thousands of children annually. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems. The vaccine debate is fertile ground for groups looking to sow discord in the United States. Russia seized on it to create divisions before the 2016 U.S. election, and appears to be at it again. A report from a European Union disinformation task force found numerous conspiracy theories in English-language Russian media, including state-run RT, claiming an eventual vaccine will be used to inject nanoparticles into people. \u201cWhen pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets spread anti-vaccine tropes, they become responsible for those who will hesitate to seek professional medical care,\u201d the EU report said. Claim: Groups sow doubt about COVID vaccine before one even exists.", + "output": [ + "2" + ] + }, + { + "id": "task1366-223d9855e1144e85b63990a55c656e30", + "input": "Paragraph: There was no mention of cost. The article reports that \u201cpatients with two copies of the arginine variant lived an average 38 percent longer than patients with the glycine variant. Patients with glycine variant didn\u2019t respond to the beta blocker.\u201d Did they live longer whether or not they received bucindolol or not? It is not possible to tell whether the increased mortality in the glycine variant group is due to the effect of having two copies of this allele or whether having two copies of this allele renders a person resistant to the benefits (if any) conferred by bucindolol. And 38% longer is only a relative term. What was the absolute time lived longer? Although side effects of beta-blockers (depression, fatigue, and asthma-related lung problems) were mentioned, it is not clear what the list of side effects found specifically with bucindolol might be. Since the article also discussed an imminent genetic test that might suggest greater risk of death, it could have also discussed the possible impact this sort of information might have on an individual or family. Other than mentioning where the study is published, the article does not provide any information about the nature of the clinical evidence supporting the claims reported. The story says \u201c\u2026 heart failure can kill quickly. One in five chronic heart failure patients is dead within a year of being diagnosed and less than half live for more than five years, researchers say. \u2018You have a very narrow window before the progression of the disease gets out of hand,\u2019 Liggett said.\u201d The choice of words provides a negative frame: \u201ckill quickly\u201d and \u201cnarrow window\u201d convey a sense of urgency that does NOT apply to all patients with heart failure. Some patients with heart failure are asymptomatic and have a much much better prognosis. These numbers really apply only to those with severe symptomatic heart failure. Although the article included a comment from Dr. Blumenthal who was mentioned as \u201cnot involved in the study\u201d, he was an investigator on the \u201cBeta-blocker evaluation in survival trial\u201d from which data were reportedly used for the current study. Another clinician, Dr. Mehra, cited as not involved in the current study, is the chairman of the department from which the work originated. Thus it appears that the article does not include comments from researchers who did not have a stake in the findings. The story failed to put the new idea into the context of other currently approved beta-blocker drugs for heart failure, or of other drugs of other classes. The article discusses two unapproved medical interventions: a genetic test and a particular drug for heart failure. The genetic test needed to determine whether bucindolol might be effective is reported as not approved by the FDA but that such approval could be obtained in the next year or two. In reality, it is not possible to predict whether this test will be approved or when. Secondly, the article mentions that researchers hope that drug, bucindolol, will be approved by the FDA. The application for FDA approval has not even been filed yet. The story promotes researchers\u2019 hopes that the FDA will approve the experimental beta blocker (bucindolol) and promotes researchers predictions that a genetic test could be approved by the FDA in the next year or two without any justification for that prediction. The true novelty of either idea is still uNPRoven. There is no evidence that the story relied solely or largely on a news release. However no truly independent sources were interviewed in the story. Claim: Heart drug riddle solved: Beta blockers\u2019 ability to combat chronic failure linked to genetics", + "output": [ + "0" + ] + } + ], + "Instance License": [ + "MIT" + ] +} \ No newline at end of file