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34463 | Capsaicin, the spice-causing molecule in chili peppers, can help beat breast cancer. | January 20, 2017 | All told, the potential cancer fighting properties of capsaicin are not all that new, but the discovery of this specific pathway for a capsaicin-like chemical to exploit is an exciting (if extremely preliminary) step in the fight against this extremely common form of cancer. | Alex Kasprak | On 13 December 2016, a team of researchers from Germany published a study that both hypothesized a mechanism by which capsaicin (the chemical in chili peppers responsible for their spiciness) could combat breast cancer cells, and also demonstrated its potential on a cell line representative of the most aggressive form of breast cancer. The researchers’ hypothesized mechanism (based on previous research on the chemical) was that capsaicin modulated a specific chemical pathway, called a transient receptor potential (TRP), known to induce cell apoptosis (in other words, death). Per the study: Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, which are membranous ion channels that conduct calcium and sodium ions, have been shown to influence cancer cell growth. […] While there are a number of TRP channels known to exist in breast cancer cells, the researchers sought to identify — by analyzing RNA sequences in numerous breast cancer tissue samples — the one that was most common to breast cancer cells, but that also was uncommon in other cells: There were only two TRP channels expressed in every tissue sample, namely TRPM7 and TRPV1. Because TRPM7 is known to be expressed in a large number of different other cell types, it could not be considered a suitable, specific target for cancer therapy. In comparison, TRPV1 is not expressed in such a broad range; furthermore, it is associated with breast tumor growth inhibition. The researchers then tested the ability of capsaicin either to kill or inhibit the growth of a specific cell line representative of the most aggressive form of breast cancer: We showed the induction of apoptosis and necrosis upon capsaicin stimulation. […] This induction led to the suggestion that activation of TRPV1 by specific ligands could significantly enhance breast cancer cell death, even in the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, triple-negative breast cancer. The mechanisms involved leading to apoptosis remain elusive. It is important to note, however, that the significance of this study’s finding wasn’t that capsaicin (and by extension spicy peppers) specifically fights breast cancer cells. It was that they identified and described a biological pathway for potential anti-cancer agents to exploit in breast cancer — chemicals that activate the TRPM1 channel: The current study revealed the expression profiles of human TRP channels in 60 different breast cancer tissues and cell lines and furthermore validated the antitumor activity of TRPV1 against SUM149PT breast cancer cells, indicating that activation of TRPV1 could be used as a therapeutic target. The use of capsaicin would come with a number of challenges. First, would be the problem of how you get it to the actual location of cancerous cells. The authors stated in a press release that “an intake via food or inhalation [would be] insufficient for this purpose.” So anyone trying to sell capsaicin pills or a whole batch of spicy peppers for anti-cancer purposes would be trying to pull a fast one. Related to that issue is the problem that capsaicin, at least when ingested, is removed from the body really quickly. In the breast cancer study, the cell lines were exposed to capsaicin for 48 hours. When ingested orally by humans, however, capsaicin likely remains in your bloodstream for less than 90 minutes, as reported in a 2012 study published in Pharmacological Reviews: A recent study investigated thoroughly the human pharmacokinetic profile of 5 g of orally ingested C. frutescens, equipotent to 26.6 mg of pure capsaicin (this is the equivalent of eating 15 habanero peppers!). The group documented that capsaicin could be detected in plasma after 10 min […]. After 90 min, capsaicin could not be detected. […] Oral capsaicin has more relevance to molecular gastronomy than to any therapeutic options. According to the authors of the above review, intravenous injection of capsaicin is essentially too problematic to consider, as well: There are, to the best of our knowledge, no reports of capsaicin administered intravenously in humans; given the likely widespread adverse effects, this is just as well. Another issue is that capsaicin (in the very high concentrations that would be necessary for it to be efficacious, at least) might also produce carcinogens that play a role in other forms of cancer, including colon cancer, gastric cancer, and skin cancer. As reported in a review of the therapeutic uses of capsaicin, these effects may come from byproducts formed from the metabolism of capsaicin: Studies […] have shown that capsaicin is metabolized […] to aromatic and aliphatic hydroxylated products [and other reactive metabolites]. These by-products of capsaicin metabolism may be responsible for its carcinogenic properties. | 3unproven
| Medical, cancer cure, food |
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2466 | Scientists to cook world's first in-vitro beef burger. | August 3, 2013 | A corner of west London will see culinary and scientific history made on Monday when scientists cook and serve up the world’s first lab-grown beef burger. | Kate Kelland, Health, Science Correspondent | The in-vitro burger, cultured from cattle stem cells, the first example of what its creator says could provide an answer to global food shortages and help combat climate change, will be fried in a pan and tasted by two volunteers. The burger is the result of years of research by Dutch scientist Mark Post, a vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht, who is working to show how meat grown in petri dishes might one day be a true alternative to meat from livestock. The meat in the burger has been made by knitting together around 20,000 strands of protein that has been cultured from cattle stem cells in Post’s lab. The tissue is grown by placing the cells in a ring, like a donut, around a hub of nutrient gel, Post explained. To prepare the burger, scientists combined the cultured beef with other ingredients normally used in burgers, such as salt, breadcrumbs and egg powder. Red beet juice and saffron have been added to bring out its natural colors. “Our burger is made from muscle cells taken from a cow. We haven’t altered them in any way,” Post said in a statement on Friday. “For it to succeed it has to look, feel and hopefully taste like the real thing.” Success, in Post’s view, would mean not just a tasty burger, but also the prospect of finding a sustainable, ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to meat production. According to a 2006 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), industrialized agriculture contributes on a “massive scale” to climate change, air pollution, land degradation, energy use, deforestation and biodiversity decline. The report, entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow, said the meat industry contributes about 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions and this proportion is expected to grow as consumers in fast-developing countries such as China and India eat more meat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), annual meat production is projected to rise to 376 million metric tons by 2030 from 218 million metric tons in 1997-1999, and demand from a growing world population is expected to rise beyond that. Post cites FAO figures suggesting demand for meat is expected to increase by more than two-thirds by 2050. Animal welfare campaigners applauded the arrival of cultured meat and predicted a great future for it. “In vitro technology will spell the end of lorries full of cows and chickens, abattoirs and factory farming,” the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign group said in a statement. “It will reduce carbon emissions, conserve water and make the food supply safer.” A study published in 2011 comparing the relative environmental impacts of various types of meat, including lamb, pork, beef and cultured meat, said the lab-grown product has by far the least impact on the environment. Hanna Tuomisto, who conducted the study at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, found that growing meats in-vitro would use 35 percent to 60 percent less energy, emit 80 percent to 95 percent less greenhouse gas and use around 98 percent less land than conventionally produced animal meat. While Monday’s fry-up will be a world first and only an initial proof-of concept, the Dutch scientist reckons commercial production of cultured beef could begin within the next 20 years. “What we are going to attempt is important because I hope it will show cultured beef has the answers to major problems that the world faces,” he added. | 2true
| Science News |
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35147 | Drinking boiled garlic water will cure COVID-19. | March 10, 2020 | BBC News similarly reported of this rumor that: | David Mikkelson | In early 2020 the global spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus, saw the internet flooded with dubious medical advice about how to avoid or cure the illness. One such example — supposedly originating with the medical sage known as “old Chinese doctor” — held that consuming a bowl of boiled garlic water would “improve and cure” persons afflicted with the malady overnight: Garlic has long been claimed as possessing qualities that aid in the prevention and treatment of various illnesses, including colds and flu, but scientific evidence supporting such claims is weak or lacking. The World Health Organization (WHO) specifically addressed this rumor in reference to COVID-19 and noted that although “garlic is a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties,” there’s no evidence that “eating garlic has protected people from the new coronavirus”: | 0false
| Medical, COVID-19 |
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8169 | Faced with a shortage of face masks, some U.S. doctors make their own. | March 20, 2020 | Doctors in Seattle have been reduced to making their own face masks out of sheets of plastic, after a global shortage of medical protective gear has hit Washington state, an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. | Deborah Bloom | Ahead of an anticipated shortage of medical supplies, hospital staff met in a conference room south of Seattle to make homemade masks for the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the frontline of tackling the coronavirus outbreak. “We’re days away from running out of the equipment we need,” said Melissa Tizon, Associate Vice President of Providence St. Joseph Health, which runs 51 hospitals across five western states. “We’re expecting more shipments later on but until then we’ve got to improvise.” With coronavirus cases surging past 13,000 in the United State, health care workers are dealing with not only a shortage of masks but also surgical gowns and protective eye gear. President Donald Trump, speaking about medical gear at a White House briefing on Thursday, said “millions of masks” were in production, but did not give details. “We have helped out, and there are right now millions of masks being made. But this is really for the local governments, governors and people within the state, depending on the way they divided it up. And they’ll do that, and they’re doing a very good job of it.” When asked by a reporter at the briefing why the increased production of masks was not reaching hospitals, Trump said the medical system was “obsolete” and the production system “wasn’t meant for this” emergency. “Nobody knew there’d be a pandemic or an epidemic of this proportion,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever seen anything like this before.” Vice President Mike Pence said at the same briefing, “We’ve vastly increased the supply of medical masks, and we’re going to continue to put a priority on making sure that we’re calling on industry at every level.” Meanwhile, many hospitals in other states have issued emergency calls for private companies to donate face masks and other items that can be used as medical protective gear. The Illinois Health and Hospital Association on Thursday, made that plea to help the state’s 200 hospitals, asking for donations of masks from construction companies, dentists, veterinarians and any other group that might have the masks, called N95s. “Hospitals all over the state are in jeopardy of potentially running out of critically needed protective medical supplies,” said the associations president and chief executive officer A.J. Wilhelmi. | 2true
| Health News |
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2592 | Italy court ruling links mobile phone use to tumor. | October 19, 2012 | Italy’s supreme court has upheld a ruling that said there was a link between a business executive’s brain tumor and his heavy mobile phone usage, potentially opening the door to further legal claims. | The court’s decision flies in the face of much scientific opinion, which generally says there is not enough evidence to declare a link between mobile phone use and diseases such as cancer and some experts said the Italian ruling should not be used to draw wider conclusions about the subject. “Great caution is needed before we jump to conclusions about mobile phones and brain tumors,” said Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics and clinical engineering at Britain’s Royal Berkshire Hospital. The Italian case concerned company director Innocenzo Marcolini who developed a tumor in the left side of his head after using his mobile phone for 5-6 hours a day for 12 years. He normally held the phone in his left hand, while taking notes with his right hand. Marcolini developed a so-called neurinoma affecting a cranial nerve, which was apparently not cancerous but nevertheless required surgery that badly affected his quality of life. He initially sought financial compensation from the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority INAIL which rejected his application, saying there was no proof his illness had been caused by his work. But a court in Brescia later ruled there was a causal link between the use of mobile and cordless telephones and tumors. Italy’s supreme court rejected an INAIL appeal against that ruling on October 12 though its decision was only reported on Friday. It said the lower court’s decision was justified and that scientific evidence advanced in support of the claim was reliable. Marcolini’s situation had been “different from normal, non-professional use of a mobile telephone”, it said. The evidence was based on studies conducted between 2005-2009 by a group led by Lennart Hardell, a cancer specialist at the University Hospital in Orebro in Sweden. The court said the research was independent and “unlike some others, was not co-financed by the same companies that produce mobile telephones”. | 2true
| Health News |
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9165 | Technique improves breast reduction outcomes | April 17, 2017 | This news release from Louisiana State Health Sciences Center summarizes results from a retrospective study of two different surgical procedures used in cosmetic breast reduction. The release claims that a modified version of reduction surgery results in fewer cases of breast pseudoptosis, also called “bottoming out” or sagging breasts. The release adequately notes that the research was a retrospective review (as opposed to a randomized clinical trial) examining the anatomic differences seen in the use of two recognized surgical approaches — and that 92 percent of surgeries performed on 400 breasts (208 patients) used the Wise pattern incision, which purportedly interferes with the lower suspensory ligaments, and just 7.5 percent used a Boston modification of Robertson technique, which preserves the lower suspensory ligaments. No explanation was given for the wide disparity in procedures analyzed. And it leaves out some other important information from the research. Although the release claims the Boston modification technique is superior to the Wise incision, the published analysis didn’t demonstrate the superiority of the Boston modification procedure. The release didn’t say why the operating surgeon chose one approach over the other. This is important because it may have been based on preference, skill or patient anatomy. Reduction mammaplasty is a relatively common plastic surgery procedure with a goal of an aesthetic result. In 2015, there were 68,106 aesthetic breast reduction surgeries in the United States, with men accounting for more than 40 percent of those procedures, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Differences in the surgical approach and surgical outcomes result are an important consideration for women and men who seek the procedure. The debate over the best approach has been ongoing for years and while this research adds to the suggestion that the Boston modified Robertson approach may provide superior results with regard to breast sagging, it is not definitive. | Harold J. DeMonaco, MS,A'ndrea Elyse Messer, MS, PhD,Kathlyn Stone | The release doesn’t mention cost. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of breast reduction (for aesthetic patients only) is $5,631. Some insurance carriers don’t cover cosmetic breast reduction surgery. In that case, patients must pay for the procedure out-of-pocket. The direct cost of either of the two procedures described could be increased if the results are undesirable. The release addresses benefits of the technique in question in only abstract terms. It notes that in terms of rate of stretch, “for every 1 cm in upper sensory ligament stretch, the lower sensory ligament length increases by 0.45 cm.” That’s neither clear nor useful for people considering the procedure. The rate of breast sagging was not noted nor was the degree of satisfaction either on the part of the surgeon or the patient. The lead author’s statement that “These results help us provide the best breast reduction outcomes to our patients,” appear rather speculative. The release also doesn’t say what a good outcome would look like and how long it should remain acceptable until gravity wins out. While the title of the release suggests improved results with the Boston modification of the Robertson technique, the research merely confirmed the hypothesis that the technique provided “…an anatomical foundation for why our technique may yield better, longer-lasting results.” The release does not address the incidence of harms with either method. Based on our review of the literature on the topic, there are potential complications seen with both techniques including painful scars, wound dehiscence (a surgical complication in which a wound ruptures along a surgical incision), infection requiring antibiotics, and corrective surgery if the original surgery is unsuccessful. The published study does note a variety of side effects and how often they occurred and also states there was no statistical difference between the rate of harms. This would have been good to mention in the release. The release presents the broad overview of the research — the type of study, number of patients involved and the type and frequency of the procedure used in the analysis. The vast majority — 92 percent — of procedures used the Wise procedure. This provides a very lopsided picture of the outcomes. While the release may correctly state that the study gives additional support for the idea that the modified Robertson technique may be superior to the Wise method, it doesn’t demonstrate this definitively. The quality of the evidence is not satisfactory in terms of backing up the claims that the procedure is superior. A prospective clinical trial would be needed to prove this. No disease mongering here. The release also includes some context about how often sagging of breast tissue occurs following breast reduction surgery. Rather than saying aesthetic breast reduction is a “common” procedure, we’d like to see a more specific number here. As noted in the Why it Matters section, about 68,000 procedures are done annually, with men electing for the surgery nearly as often as women. The release doesn’t mention a funding source but that’s understandable since the published study clearly states there is no conflict of interest and no funding source. The research compared specific anatomic differences seen with two recognized surgical approaches to reduction mammaplasty. The release mentions standard therapy and a modified technique but doesn’t tell us how widely available the modified technique is, whether it is new or how many plastic surgeons are skilled in the procedure. The release doesn’t claim that the research is the first but it does state its “one of the largest breast anthropometry (measurement) studies ever performed.” We agree the study appears to be one of the largest reviews and does add to the literature on the subject. The release doesn’t rely on sensational language. However, the headline “Technique improves breast reduction outcomes,” and the comments of Dr. Lau, (“..we offer an improved technique that preserves more of the critical breast anatomy. This study provides an anatomical foundation for why our technique may yield better, longer-lasting results” and “These results help us provide the best breast reduction outcomes to our patients”) seem to provide an overly optimistic interpretation of the study results. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/GettyImages-141527257.jpg,http://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00000637-900000000-97735,https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/press-releases/new-statistics-reflect-the-changing-face-of-plastic-surgery | 1mixture
| breast reduction surgery,Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center,reduction mammaplasty |
7172 | Oregon plans meetings on proposed controlled burn rules. | Oregon agencies are holding a series of public meetings on measures aimed at reducing wildfire smoke by increasing controlled burns during non-fire seasons. | The Mail Tribune reports the state forestry and environmental quality departments will hold a meeting next week in Medford, which has recorded 23 unhealthy air quality days because of smoke this summer. The state is seeking feedback on rules that would make it easier to conduct controlled burns as a way of reducing the threat of major wildfires. The burns would still be required to follow certain state and federal air quality standards. Meetings are also planned for Bend, Klamath Falls, LaGrande and Eugene — cities often affected by wildfire smoke. State officials hope to have the proposed rules in place by spring 2019. ___ Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/ | http://mailtribune.com/news/top-stories/medford-meeting-will-air-smoke-management-proposals,http://www.mailtribune.com/ | 2true
| Environment, Oregon, Controlled burns, Forestry, Air quality, Medford |
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33787 | "Sororities are outlawed on certain campuses because local ""brothel laws"" prohibit more than a specified number of females from living together." | August 6, 2002 | "We have heard from many students who were convinced their particular university lacks a sorority because of local ""law.""" | David Mikkelson | This mistaken belief has been recorded since the 1960s and is probably a great deal older than that. Its possible origin might lie in a mental confluence of half-remembered tidbits about old time “blue laws“ mixed with a healthy dollop of badly-parsed newer input about zoning laws adopted by various communities in more contemporary times. Short and sweet, if any so-called “brothel laws” anywhere tie a building’s classification as a bordello to the number of occupants, we’ve yet to find documentation that proves this. Some municipalities do indeed have zoning laws prohibiting more than a specified number of non-family members (male or female) from living together, but not even in those cases would a household in violation of those codes be labeled a brothel. Brothels earn such designations solely on the basis of what goes on in them, not upon how many women inhabit particular buildings. Even in communities that carry such housing restrictions on their books, sororities and fraternities are exempted from them. The thrust of such laws is to set limits on how many people may reasonably inhabit what were meant to be single-family dwellings, not to enjoin those who are living in more communal settings in buildings meant for such purposes. Were such laws to apply to those latter forms of housing, local YWCAs would have been shut down and padlocked, as would a variety of nurses’ residences. Collegians have been explaining the lack of sorority houses on various campuses through this flawed factlet for many a year. Richard Roeper noted this legend in 1994, calling it “the most widespread piece of university folklore making the rounds” and estimating from entries on collegiate bulletin boards that it was being told on at least 100 campuses. Examples: [Collected on the Internet, 2001] Sorority houses are illegal in PA. Due to a 19th century law banning more the 5 unrelated women from living in the same house. This law supposedly was meant to prevent prostitution houses. [Collected on the Internet, 1998] Well, my alma mater is Denison University. Dogs were part of the landscape when there were fraternities on campus. There are no fraternities there anymore. I was in a sorority, but we weren’t allowed to live in the sorority houses (old town law about more than 8 women in a house constituting a brothel). [Collected on the Internet, 1997] I have a friend who goes to Loyola New Orleans. They cannot have sorority houses because more than five girls in one house is a brothel. [Collected on the Internet, 1995] I have heard from the ol’ rumor mill that the reason that sororities don’t have houses at the University of Chicago is that there’s some sort of local/state law which defines four or more unmarried women living together as a brothel. The belief that a “brothel law” bars live-in sororities from campuses is so deeply worked into the fabric of collegiate life that few now think to question it. In 1998 a group of eight students at Tulane University unsuccessfully searched city and state laws for the statute, finally concluding they’d been on a wild goose chase. “It was not found in either city or state codes,” Adriana Belli, one of the student researchers, said. “We looked in every law book, every ordinance in New Orleans . . . dating back to the 1800s.” We routinely hear from students who are convinced their particular university lacks a sorority because of this non-existent law. Their vehemence aside, none have yet produced a copy of the statute they so firmly believe in, an act that would earn their city and institution of higher learning a measure of fame in the world of contemporary lore. Variations: | 0false
| College, Hallowed Halls, Risqué Business |
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7621 | Windsor doctor joining direct primary care movement. | Dr. Emily Anderson-Elder carefully considered her patient’s symptoms: | Luanne Kadlub | - Frustration over limited time spent with patients. - Inordinate amounts of time inputting required data. - Side effects including high levels of stress. The patient? Herself. The remedy? “I did the research and found direct primary care,” said Anderson-Elder of Windsor. And in June she joined Dr. Frank Morgan at Balance Health in Greeley, a direct primary care clinic he founded four years ago in Greeley. Leaving her family practice at UCHealth Medical Clinic in Windsor after seven years wasn’t an easy decision, she said, but it was the right decision for her. Many physicians — from all specialties — share Anderson-Elder’s frustration and levels of stress incurred while working in insurance-based health care systems. In the 2018 Medscape National Physician and Depression Report, 42 percent of family physicians admitted to having burnout or depression, listing “too many bureaucratic tasks (charting, paperwork)” and “too many hours at work” as the leading factors in burnout. Although direct primary care has been around for some time, it is just now gaining a toehold with both physicians contemplating the switch to a different way of providing care and patients willing to give it a shot, so to speak. In 2017, there were more than 600 direct primary care clinics in the U.S., 10 percent of those in Colorado, according to the Colorado Independent. Anderson-Elder said in her research she found 1,000 out of the 80,000 family doctors practicing in the U.S. have gone the direct primary care route. DIRECT PRIMARY CARE What is direct primary care? And why the interest? First and foremost, the major difference is that direct primary care does not accept insurance. Patients instead pay a monthly membership fee that includes unlimited visits, calls and emails, along with many routine services and access to prescriptions and lab work at a reduced cost. For the physician, it means quality time spent with patients and no more time filling out paperwork to satisfy health insurance company regulations. What the monthly fee is varies from clinic to clinic. At Balance Health, it is $99 for adults, $180 for couples and $30 for children. Those who sign up for direct primary care are asked to sign an annual contract but can be released from it with 30 days’ notice, Anderson-Elder said. “We want to be accessible to our patients. We don’t want them to go to urgent care or ER if they don’t have to,” she said. And yes, that includes calls at 3 a.m., but if it can wait till morning, the patient is worked into that day’s schedule. Anderson-Elder typically sees eight to 17 patients per day, depending on whether it’s cold and flu season. And she spends as much time as needed with them. At her previous practice, she was limited to spending 15 to 20 minutes per patient. “People service their cars,” she said. “They should do the same thing with their bodies. You should be looked at and tuned up.” While most people think of going to the doctor only when they don’t feel well or need a physical for work or school, Anderson-Elder said she likes to see patients even when they feel healthy so she can check in on their well-being and talk about proper nutrition. “Oftentimes patients think they’re healthy, but then we do an exam and sometimes find things,” she said. Direct primary care works best when combined with a high-deductible health plan, Anderson-Elder said, for those times when unexpected surgeries are scheduled and for patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. But she said about one-third of her patients have no health insurance at all. She also noted direct primary care should not be confused with concierge medicine, which also provides direct access to providers for a flat fee but still bills insurance companies for services provided. Another key distinction between the two is direct primary care is mentioned in the Affordable Care Act as an acceptable option for receiving medical care without insurance, while concierge medicine is not, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. And last year, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Colorado HB17-1115, which establishes that direct primary health care can operate without regulation of the division of insurance. Windsor Republican Rep. Perry Buck was a primary sponsor of the bill. Patients at Balance Health also can tap into other healthy-living services for additional fees. Dr. Dana Morgan, a family care physician, specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Balance Health also has a small fitness gym replete with trainers and classes. Wellness coaching also is offered. Leaving her practice in Windsor, though a hard decision, has been the right prescription for her, she said. “I no longer take paperwork home,” she said. “I’m happier and less stressed.” ___ Information from: The Tribune of Greeley, Co, http://greeleytribune.com | http://greeleytribune.com | 2true
| Health, Greeley, Elder care |
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8853 | "New kind of gene ""silencing"" drug works in monkeys." | A new class of drug that fine tunes the action of genes has been shown to cut cholesterol in monkeys and may fight a range of ills, including hepatitis C and perhaps cancer, scientists said on Wednesday. | Ben Hirschler | The compound, from Danish biotech firm Santaris Pharma, works by blocking or “silencing” microRNAs — tiny strands of RNA, or ribonucleic acid, that help turn genes into proteins. The ground-breaking study is the first demonstration of microRNA silencing in primates and an early endorsement of the technique. Phase I safety trials are now planned in humans. Unlike other drugs in the hotly pursued RNA interference field, the new designer molecule, known as Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA), can be given as a simple injection rather than having to be delivered direct to affected tissue. “We think LNA is a one-stop shop for silencing,” Santaris Chief Executive Keith McCullagh told reporters. Scientists from Santaris and the University of Copenhagen lowered total cholesterol in African green monkeys by up to 30 percent, without ill effects, by targeting a microRNA linked to genes in the liver that are involved in cholesterol metabolism. The results were published in the journal Nature, along with other test-tube research showing that LNA effectively blocks the production of hepatitis C virus in human liver cells. Santaris intends to test its first LNA compounds in humans by the middle of this year but it will take at least five years before any medicine is ready for submission for approval. While the cholesterol effect is interesting, McCullagh said the most promising opportunity actually lay in pursuing LNA as a treatment for hepatitis C, a poorly treated viral disease that can cause serious liver damage. Further ahead, LNA could also have a role to play in other infectious diseases, as well as cancer and autoimmune disorders, since many disease-associated genes are regulated by microRNAs. “There are great prospects for future drug development both for liver diseases and other disease types, and Europe has the potential to match the USA in this area,” said Mike Gait at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. Up until now, U.S. firms such as Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sirna Therapeutics — which was bought by Merck & Co Inc for $1.1 billion in October 2006 — have led the field in RNA interference. Santaris last year signed a pact that could earn it more than $700 million with GlaxoSmithKline Plc, giving Europe’s biggest drugmaker the right to develop certain products as antiviral medicines. That alliance did not include the new technology but McCullagh said Santaris could potentially extend the Glaxo deal. For a story on Santaris Pharma’s possible IPO, please click on | 2true
| Science News |
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7084 | Activists warn Balkan rivers at risk from hydropower plants. | Unspoiled rivers in the Balkans are facing new dangers from small hydropower plants that have sprouted up across the region in recent years, environmental experts warned Thursday. | Eldar Emric | In a declaration issued after a meeting in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, they urged Balkan governments to halt any further construction of hydro dams. “We want everybody to see that it is bad, and it is wrong and that we are devastating our natural beauties,” said Irma Popovic Dujmovic, from World Wide Fund for Nature Adria group, one of the organizers of the Sarajevo gathering. Concerns have been raised that small plants are being built for profit without any regard for the local community and local eco-systems. “Nature is losing, and local people are losing,” Dujmovic said. In Bosnia alone, participants at the meeting said there are plans to build 300 dams on 244 rivers. In the region, some 2,700 hydropower plants are envisaged in the coming years. Also Thursday, EuroNatur and Riverwatch groups said in a report that small hydro power plants are putting “immense pressure” on rivers throughout Europe. In addition to the 21,387 existing hydropower plants, another 8,779 are planned, mainly in the Alps and the Balkans. According to the report, this proliferation could destroy previously untouched rivers especially in the Balkans. Anger over crystal clear rivers being turned into building sites has fueled citizens’ movements throughout the Balkans. Residents of small villages have held protests and sought to bring the work to a halt. In the central Bosnian village of Merdani, residents said a small hydro plant under construction on the river Lasva has led to problems with water supplies and damaged roads. “It was a peaceful river before,” said villager Mehrudin Halilovic. “I am totally against the building of this plant.” Countries in the Balkans are lagging the rest of Europe in environmental standards. Many rivers in the area also are heavily polluted with waste from factories or clogged with garbage washed away from the riverbanks. Martin Skalsky, from the Czech Republic’s ARNIKA group, said in Sarajevo that it is important to preserve the Balkan nature because there are not many other regions in Europe so untouched and unpopulated. “If you will build hundreds or thousands of small hydropower plants on your rivers, you can just lose everything in very few years,” he said. “So, it’s really dangerous.” | 2true
| International News, Dams, General News, Environment, Sarajevo, Europe |
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28638 | A photograph shows a red blood cell on the tip of a needle. | What's true: The image shows a representation of a red blood cell on a needle's point. What's false: It is not a single photograph, but a composite of two or more images. | Dan Evon | An impressive image, purportedly showing a single red blood cell balanced on the tip of a needle, has been making the rounds on the Internet since at least 2011: The image was created by Steve Gschmeissner, in part using a scanning electron microscope. Gschmeissner explained in a 2012 Reddit thread that the image was colorized (SEMs can only create black and white images) and that it was composed of multiple images from different magnifications: All the components are taken on a scanning electron microscope and then coloured in Photoshop as electron microscopes use electrons to form images not light so are always B&W. The blood cell on the tip of a needle is a composition of images at very different magnifications put together to simply make an interesting image with no desire to deceive or cause controversy. All my images are authentic in that they are real images of real objects. The attached shows a concept for bone marrow transplantation and is a similar composition to illustrate a visual idea. Hope you can post this and people continue to discuss my work, always happy to answer sensible questions. Regards Steve Gschmeissner The image was included on Gschmeissner’s web site, TheWorldCloseUp.com, in a gallery of images for music posters and album artwork. While we could not find this particular image on an album cover, many of Gschmeissner’s other works have been used on album covers by musician Peter Gabriel. Marc Bessant, who designed the cover for the New Bloodalbum, added a little more context to Gschmeissner’s work: Working again with Steven Gschmeissner, the cover for ‘New Blood’ shows an embryonic stem cell on the tip of a needle (coloured for enhancement), for this sleeve I really wanted something that had a ‘point of origin’, the very beginning of things, along with an object associated with drawing blood or making a new mark; Steve’s is a fantastic guy to work with, one minute I can say ‘whats a cell on the edge of a razor blade like?’ or ‘can we cut a cell in half?’ and sure enough within 48hrs a scanned electron micrograph drops into my inbox and they are always fascinating to look at. As per usual, I came up with a number of options to show Peter, but there was something about this shot of Steve’s that really connected, both with the title and the overall theme of Peter’s current crop of audio/video recordings. | 1mixture
| Fauxtography, composite images, peter gabriel, red blood cell |
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10844 | Cholesterol Drugs May Treat Psoriasis | March 8, 2010 | "This 627 word story attempts to summarize a 404 word abstract submitted at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. In doing so, it fails to meet even the most simple requirements. The story fails to note the ""study"" was a retrospective review of patients and not a prospective trial, fails to discuss confounding variables such as additional treatments for psoriasis and fails to describe the methodological issues associated with the use of non-validated single observer measurement of outcome. While the story includes some attempts to temper the enthusiasm expressed in the headline, it does so inadequately. The headline and beginning of this story are overly enthusiastic about a long stream of potential benefits from statins. Stories shouldn’t lump all of this together because the evidence is quite variable and, in this case, quite weak." | "There was no discussion of costs. The study reported on failed to find a statistically significant improvement in psoriasis. Despite this, the story headline, first sentence and overall tenor report about benefit even though this is inappropriate given the study results. The story failed to note any of the potential side effects of statins. While acknowledging that the results reported on were based on a preliminary study and mentioning that the benefit observed was not statistically significant, the rest of the wording of the story was misleading. The opening line is just plain wrong: ""Once again, cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have been shown to be good for more than the heart."" NO, they haven’t. Not in this study. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Independent sources were used to write this story; there was, however, no information about sources of funding for this research. This story was about the possibility that statin medications have a role for improving psoriasis. The story did mention that examining whether statins improve psoriasis in the absence of high cholesterol was one area to be explored. There was no discussion of other medications or medication combinations that may be under study to treat psoriasis and there was no mention of the lack of controls in the retrospective study reported on. While statins are in widespread use, the story never emphasized that statins are not approved for treating psoriasis. The story clealry indicated that it was reporting about a potential for a new benefit that might be associated with the use of statin medications. Does not appear to rely exclusively on a news release." | 0false
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29022 | Fireball whisky is being recalled due to concerns over a dangerous ingredient. | October 28, 2014 | What's true: In 2014, some Scandinavian state agencies recalled Fireball whisky until they could determine if it met local regulations regarding propylene glycol content. What's false: Fireball whisky has been broadly recalled from all markets because it contains antifreeze. | David Mikkelson | On 27 October 2014, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter erupted in response to rumors that Fireball whisky was being recalled. Fireball whisky is a popular choice among the college set due to its low cost and relatively high alcohol content, with sales rivaling the collegiate staple of Jägermeister in recent years, and so rumors suggesting that a Fireball recall was underway sent ripples of upset across social sites. However, no news reports emerged to suggest Fireball whisky was indeed being recalled or that a recall would affect North American consumers. As it turned out, the rumor was partially true: While Fireball whisky wasn’t being broadly recalled, it was the subject of recent scrutiny and a partial recall in Finland and Sweden due to the product’s inclusion of propylene glycol. On 27 October 2014, Finland’s national public broadcasting company YLE reported that country’s liquor retail agency was recalling Fireball and offering refunds: According to Alko, the substance isn’t necessarily detrimental to individuals’ health, although it is used in a wide range of cases from de-icing compounds in the aviation industry to the preparation of snack foods. It’s also used in alcoholic beverages as a flavour carrier. [T]he Swedish state alcohol retailer Systembolaget withdrew Fireball from distribution after Alko revealed that the beverage contained excessive levels of propylene glycol. On 26 October 2014, Radio Sweden reported Alko’s Swedish counterpart Systembolaget removed Fireball whisky from shelves due to concerns over propylene glycol content. The broadcast service noted, however, Finland and Sweden’s regulatory policies regarding propylene glycol are fifty times more strict than American regulations: It is not yet known how high the levels are, or if they pose a risk to public health. Systembolaget is now to carry out its own tests of the brand. Products sold in the EU are only allowed to contain max 0.1g/kg of the substance, in the USA the limit is 5 grams per kilo. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deemed propylene glycol to be “generally recognized as safe” when used in foods and beverages “at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice.” European Union regulations permit the use of propylene glycol in smaller amounts. Many of the Fireball rumors state the product was “recalled in Europe” because it “contains antifreeze,” but neither statement is accurate: Motoko Mukai, a principal research scientist at the Department of Food Science at Cornell University, explained that there are different kinds of antifreeze and that the antifreeze that contains propylene glycol is less toxic and more environmentally safe than antifreeze that contains ethylene glycol, which is toxic to humans. “I saw a lot of media that it’s found in antifreeze; [propylene glycol] is found in environmentally friendly antifreeze,” she said. Mukai said there are limits on the amount of propylene glycol that can be used in foods and liquors, but that it would be extremely difficult to ingest too much of the chemical through food or drink. For example, Mukai points out in liquor the chemical can make up to just 50 grams for each kilogram of liquid, or 5 percent. So, she said before a person would get sick from consuming a dangerous amount of the chemical, they would likely get sick from alcohol poisoning. While Sweden and Finland temporarily restricted the sale and consumption of Fireball whisky, North American sales of the popular spirit were unaffected. Moreover, no change in Fireball whisky’s composition prompted the European recalls: the move was due to differing regulatory protocols in different countries. On 28 October 2014, Fireball issued an official response to rampant web rumors about the drink’s composition and recall status. In the statement, the brand explained that a logistical mix-up caused bottles intended for the North American market to be shipped to Finland. Fireball added that all formulations are safe to drink, but that the “small recipe-related compliance issue” prompted a temporary recall in some European countries due to minor recipe variations between the versions: Fireball Cinnamon Whisky assures its consumers the product is perfectly safe to drink. There is no recall in North America. Fireball fans can enjoy their favorite product as they always have. Late last week, Sazerac, the makers of Fireball, was contacted by its European bottler regarding a small recipe-related compliance issue in Finland. Regulations for the product formulation are different in Europe, which explains why recipes for products like soft drinks, alcohol/spirits and even candies and confections are slightly different than their North American counterparts. Fireball, therefore, has a slightly different recipe for Europe. Unfortunately, Fireball shipped its North American formula to Europe and found that one ingredient is out of compliance with European regulations. Finland, Sweden and Norway have asked to recall those specific batches, which is what the brand is doing. Fireball anticipates being back on the shelves for fans in these countries within three weeks. The ingredient in question was propylene glycol (PG). PG is a regularly used and perfectly safe flavoring ingredient. PG has been used in more than 4,000 food, beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products for more than 50 years. Most people consume PG every day in soft drinks, sweeteners, some foods and alcoholic beverages. The ingredient is “generally recognized as safe (GRAS)” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration up to 50 grams per KG. In Canada, its use is limited to “good manufacturing practice” with no defined numerical limit. It is used in the Fireball flavor in very small quantities, less than 1/8th of the amount allowed by the US FDA regulations. All Fireball formulas are absolutely safe to drink and the use of PG in Fireball creates no health risks whatsoever. There is no recall in North America. Fireball fans can continue to enjoy their favorite product as they always have. As noted in the Fireball whisky statement above, not only is no US recall underway, European Fireball drinkers had the spirit back on shelves within weeks of the statement issued on 28 October 2014. | http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=184.1666, http://www.dow.com/propyleneglycol/applications/food_and_flavorings.htm, http://fireballwhisky.com/press-media/ | 1mixture
| Food, ASP Article, fireball whisky, potent potables |
5276 | From parade to pandemic: Museum looks at 1918′s deadly flu. | On Sept. 28, 1918, in the waning days of World War I, over 200,000 people gathered along Broad Street in Philadelphia for a parade meant to raise funds for the war effort. Among the patriotic throngs cheering for troops and floats was an invisible threat, which would be more dangerous to soldiers and civilians than any foreign enemy: the influenza virus. | Kristen De Groot | Officials went ahead with the parade despite the discouragement of the city health department about the ever-spreading virus. Within 72 hours of the parade, all the hospital beds in Philadelphia were full of flu patients. Within six weeks, more than 12,000 people died — a death every five minutes — and 20,000 had died within six months. Despite the human toll, there has been no memorial or public remembrance of flu victims in the city. Until now. The Mutter Museum, known for its collection of organs preserved in jars, deformed skeletons and wax casts of medical maladies, is launching new permanent exhibit on the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in Philadelphia. “Spit Spreads Death” will open on Oct. 17, and will feature interactives mapping the pandemic, artifacts, images and personal stories. “It’s still referred to by some historians as the forgotten pandemic, because how many Americans are conscious of it today?” said Robert Hicks, the museum’s director. The exhibit takes its name from health department signs that popped up around the city as the pandemic spread. Ahead of the exhibit’s launch, the museum will present a parade Saturday along the same stretch of road where the ill-fated Liberty Loan Parade took place. A sort of moving memorial, the parade will feature about 500 members of the public honoring victims of the pandemic, four illuminated floats and an original piece of music performed by Grammy-winning choir “The Crossing.” “The parade has turned into an interesting commemorative act,” said Matt Adams, co-founder of Blast Theory, the artists’ group creating the parade. Anyone can sign up to participate and can choose the name of an actual flu victim to honor while marching. Marchers will be given a sign with the name of the person they chose and will move along the parade route flanked by the illuminated sculptures. Members of city’s public health community have been urged to join in. “This is all about the process of remembering what the risks are in public health, because that is a crucial way for us to stay safe today,” he said. More U.S. soldiers died from the flu than from battles in Europe during the war. It was called the Spanish flu at the time because Spain was neutral during the conflict and had no restrictions on the press, and could therefore report the outbreak freely, said Nancy Hill, special projects manager at the museum. The general public in much of the U.S. was uninformed about the virus because of the crackdown on news and any speech deemed unpatriotic. Speaking of soldiers dying from the flu fell into that category. About 500 million people, or one-third of the world’s population, became infected with the virus. An estimated 20-50 million died around the world, with about 675,000 flu-related deaths in the United States. Troops moving around the globe in crowded ships and trains helped the deadly virus spread as the war dragged on. The exhibit itself will include interactives that allow people to explore their own neighborhoods to see how the flu hit their street, and even their own homes. Among the most poignant artifacts is a selection of Christmas gifts that a woman named Naomi Whitehead Ellis Ford purchased for friends and family, all fitted with handwritten personal notes to the intended recipients. But they were never handed out, because she passed away from the flu on Oct. 21. Hicks hopes visitors take away a sense of the scope of the pandemic and see how the city came together to help each other, and to be vigilant — getting vaccines, taking common-sense health care measures and staying informed. The museum even threw a health fair in a south Philadelphia neighborhood, offering everything from flu shots to Narcan training. “It is too easy in the United States to forget,” Hicks said. “Cholera, typhus, typhoid fever all mean nothing to most Americans today, but President Lincoln’s son was killed by typhoid fever. From the high and mighty to those whose names aren’t remembered, these diseases were commonplace. The fact that measles is back again is a great reminder: These diseases don’t go away.” | http://muttermuseum.org/exhibitions/going-viral-behind-the-scenes-at-a-medical-museum/ | 2true
| Health, General News, Flu, Philadelphia, Museums, Pandemics, U.S. News, World War I |
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7042 | Teen baseball player finds alternative to Tommy John surgery. | The pitching gods have naturally blessed Sammy Rosenfield. He’s just 14 years old but already stands 6 feet 5 inches and has a wingspan that would rival that of Red Sox ace Chris Sale. He was an all-star for his local AAU baseball team before he tore a ligament in his elbow playing basketball. | Stan Grossfeld | “I just love pitching,” says Rosenfield, a high honors freshman at Grafton High School. “I want to be a major league pitcher.” Doctors told him he needed Tommy John surgery, which typically has a recovery time of 12-18 months. His parents researched a ligament repair instead of a reconstruction, which could cut his recovery time in half. They wound up at the famous Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, where Roger Clemens, Michael Jordan, Drew Brees, and John Cena, among other top athletes, have been treated. Tommy John surgeries were performed here on pitchers John Smoltz, David Wells, and Kerry Wood. But none of the above superstars has had the operation that Rosenfield is considering. Known by its clunky official name — Ulnar Collateral Ligament Repair with Internal Brace — it could be called “Tommy John lite.” “Is this a breakthrough? Yes,” says Glenn Fleisig, the research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute. “It’s a big deal because up until this, having Tommy John surgery was the only choice. You either have the big surgery or you live with the situation. This introduces a middle compromise approach.” For Rosenfield, who has pitched only six innings the past two seasons because of arm injuries, playing next season could become a reality. “When I’m on the mound I feel like that’s where I am supposed to be,” he says. ‘All of a sudden my arm was just dead’ June 13, 2015 was Rosenfield’s bar mitzvah day. It was also the day he pitched the New England Storm to an AAU New England championship. Unbeknownst to his parents, he put his uniform on under his navy suit, read from the Torah, and then abruptly left the party. His uncle drove him to the ballpark and he changed in the car. “My coach told me he thought I’d be really nervous, so he said depending how I looked, he’d decide whether to pitch me,” Rosenfield says. Former Storm manager Keith Lyon remembers the day well. “Time was tight, but I saw how he pulled it together. He was normal Sammy, ready to go, all business, and we won.” Rosenfield pitched a complete game, got the game ball, and then schlepped his team back to the reception. It wasn’t long before injuries started to set in. Fast-forward to March 2016. After hearing a pop in his shoulder while throwing a bullpen session, Rosenfield was diagnosed with a fractured growth plate. Sammy Rosenfield couldn’t throw overhand at a practice in late March, flipping the ball back to his coach underhand. Sammy Rosenfield couldn’t throw overhand at a practice in late March, flipping the ball back to his coach underhand. “All of a sudden my arm was just dead,” he says. The orthopedic surgeon prescribed rest and rehab for 12 weeks. Rosenfield returned in early June to play first base. Then in December, Rosenfield was playing junior varsity basketball when he reached in for a loose ball. “I got arm-barred,” he says. One doctor told him he could be back in six weeks. But an orthopedic surgeon for his new baseball team, the New England Ruffnecks, a college development program, discovered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament during a physical and asked for a second opinion. The doctor’s opening line was chilling. “The first thing he said to Sammy is, ‘Are you a good hitter?’ ” recalled Sammy’s father, Todd Rosenfield. Sammy was told he needed Tommy John surgery, but he was too young to be a candidate because his growth plates were still developing. Sammy cried all the way home. They tried a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection. It didn’t help. So they sent his MRI to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Dugas in Alabama. Dugas’s mentor is Dr. James Andrews, a household name among professional athletes. Dugas performed his first UCL repair in August 2013 on a local high school pitcher who went on to pitch successfully at the college level. Dugas has performed an estimated 150 of the 400 done nationwide. This relatively new surgery has a 100 percent success rate to date. Tommy John surgery has a success rate of nearly 85 percent, according to the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The bigger issue is the alarming number of elbow injuries in baseball. One in four major league pitchers has already had Tommy John surgery, according to the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The number of Tommy John surgeries increased 343 percent between 2003 and 2014, with the highest rise in the 15- to 19-year age group, according to a study published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. Another problem is that more than half of high school athletes (51 percent) incorrectly “believe that Tommy John surgery should be performed on players without elbow injury to enhance performance,” according to the Phys Sportsmed journal. Rosenfield walks toward an examination room at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Ala. Rosenfield walks toward an examination room at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Ala. Kids today throw harder and are recruited at younger ages for travel teams and showcase events, where scouts swarm. Fleisig, the researcher, helped Pitch Smart, a collaborative educational effort by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball, change pitch counts from innings to pitches. He says Rosenfield’s situation is slightly different. “Sammy did not get injured by overuse, but he is going through the same process,” he said. His coach always followed strict pitch counts and his parents refused to let Sammy pitch in the offseason. His parents aren’t pushing their son to be a major leaguer. “I just want you to have fun and get into an Amherst or Williams,” says Todd Rosenfield to his son in the waiting room. Added his mother, Amy, “I think where we’ve pushed him is that we want him to be the best that he can be.” How good is this kid? “He’s so young and raw, but he definitely has a lot of upside with how big he is for his age and how loose his actions were,” says Matt Blake, who tutored Sammy before being hired by the Cleveland Indians as a minor league pitching instructor. Rosenfield’s trip to Alabama in early April begins with an ominous start. Baseball-sized hail and tornado warnings have been posted. When Dugas enters the exam room he informs Sammy that the odds are 90-100 percent that he can do the UCL repair instead of the reconstruction. He explains that the operation is not for everyone — the ligament can’t be frayed from overuse —but the final decision will have to be made in the operating room. Sammy doesn’t want the Tommy John surgery; he doesn’t want a tendon graft taken from his leg or from a cadaver. “Do I have the confidence to do this in you?” Dugas asks himself. “Absolutely. Do I know what it’s going to look like in 10 years? I don’t, nobody does. Based on what we’ve seen this looks good.” Two major league pitchers have already had the primary repair surgery, performed by Dr. George Paletta, the St. Louis Cardinals’ head orthopedic physician — former Cardinals reliever Seth Maness, now with the Royals, and Mitch Harris, who is currently with the Cardinals’ Triple A team in Memphis. Sitting in an exam room surrounded by signed photos and uniforms of sports stars, Dugas senses Rosenfield’s drive to return ASAP. “It takes 6-8 weeks to heal and you are not the biological stud that heals faster than every other human being who has ever been born,” Dugas says. “You are not at liberty to make up the Rosenfield Protocol. Do what we tell you. Deal?” “Deal,” says Rosenfield. Sammy will have a scar on his elbow but no pain after a day or two, says Dugas. “You can always get a tattoo over it,” the doctor adds, with a smile. Basic throwing exercises can begin nine weeks later, with a return possible in 6-8 months. But the night before the operation, Rosenfield tosses and turns. “He kind of shut down. He really had a tough time last night,” says his father. The operation on April 6 lasts just 29 minutes. Within 10 minutes, Dugas has inspected the ligament and found it to be in good shape. A minute fleck of bone had broken off the elbow and with it a small piece of the ligament. Dugas drills two small holes, taps a surgical hammer a dozen times so that two plastic anchors are set in the bone, and then reattaches the ligament with collagen-dipped tape, a suture material. “Now I’m going to sew it down so it doesn’t windshield wipe a little bit,” Dugas says, checking Rosenfield’s range of motion. “Call the father,” says Dugas, “so he doesn’t have a heart attack waiting.” There is little blood and zero drama. The whole process seems as routine as an oil change. “Piece of cake,” says Dugas, giving fist bumps as he exits the room. Rosenfield wakes up groggy but happy in the recovery room, sucking on ice chips, then dozing off before they melt. Dugas has already visited him with the good news. “That’s a great kind of injury because we don’t have to guess the length of things, you just stick it back from where it came. And that’s what makes this operation so good. You’re just putting it back where God made it,” says Dugas. Rosenfield is relieved. He remembers nothing of the operation and wants to see the photos. Like every other 14-year-old, he wants his phone back immediately. He hugs his parents and tells the nurse he’s ready to go home. “It feels like when I go to the school dance and I’m out with friends afterwards, I’m just dead tired. But at the same time I wanted to get up and see you guys,” he says. Earlier this spring, he attended his varsity team practices. He was limited to flipping the ball underhand back to the coach hitting fungoes. He said he wasn’t in pain but he clearly looked wounded. “I want to tell my story because I hope this can help some other kids,” he says. ___ Online: http://bit.ly/2qz55kf ___ Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com | http://www.bostonglobe.com | 2true
| Baseball, Roger Clemens, Sports medicine, MLB baseball, Michael Jordan, Chris Sale, John Cena, Sports |
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9199 | Anti-inflammatory diet could reduce risk of bone loss in women | February 3, 2017 | Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N), Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O), and Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) hiked U.S. list prices on more than 50 drugs on Wednesday, bringing total New Year’s Day drug price increases to more than 250, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. | William Heisel,Allison Dostal, PhD, RD,Kathlyn Stone | Reuters reported on Tuesday that drugmakers including Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.L) and Sanofi SA (SASY.PA) were planning to increase prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1. Nearly all of the price increases are below 10% and the median price increase is around 5%, according to 3 Axis. More early year price increases could still be announced. Soaring U.S. prescription drug prices are expected to again be a central issue in the presidential election. President Donald Trump, who made bringing them down a core pledge of his 2016 campaign, is running for re-election in 2020. Many branded drugmakers have pledged to keep their U.S. list price increases below 10% a year, under pressure from politicians and patients. The United States, which leaves drug pricing to market competition, has higher prices than in other countries where governments directly or indirectly control the costs, making it the world’s most lucrative market for manufacturers. Drugmakers often negotiate rebates on their list prices in exchange for favorable treatment from healthcare payers. As a result, health insurers and patients rarely pay the full list price of a drug. Bristol-Myers said in a statement it will not raise list prices on its drugs by more than 6% this year. The drugmaker raised the price on 10 drugs on Wednesday, including 1.5% price hikes on cancer immunotherapies Opdivo and Yervoy and a 6% increase on its blood thinner Eliquis, all of which bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually. It also raised the price on Celgene’s flagship multiple myeloma drug, Revlimid, 6%. Bristol acquired rival Celgene in a $74 billion deal last year. Gilead raised prices on more than 15 drugs including HIV treatments Biktarvy and Truvada less than 5%, according to 3 Axis. Biogen price increases included a 6% price hike on multiple sclerosis treatment Tecfidera, according to 3 Axis. Gilead and Biogen could not be immediately reached for comment. 3 Axis advises pharmacy industry groups on identifying inefficiencies in the U.S. drug supply chain and has provided consulting work to hedge fund billionaire John Arnold, a prominent critic of high drug prices. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/osteoporosis-questions.jpg,http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.3070/abstract | 2true
| Anti-inflammatory diets,bone fractures,Ohio State University |
5253 | Colleges’ message to ease student stress: Failure is normal. | Bentley University has plenty of success stories among its faculty and alumni. But one recent evening, the school invited students to hear about the failures. | Collin Binkley | Speaking to a crowded auditorium, one professor recounted the time he sank a $21 million company. Another recalled failing her college statistics course. One graduate described his past struggles with drug addiction. Each story reinforced the same message: Even successful people sometimes fail. “Failure is normal. It’s healthy. And I think people on this panel would argue it actually is transformative,” Peter Forkner, director of Bentley’s counseling center, told students. “If you’re not failing, it probably means that you’re not taking enough risks.” Bentley, a private business school near Boston, joins a growing number of U.S. colleges trying to ease students’ anxieties around failure and teach them to cope with it. On many campuses, it’s meant to combat climbing rates of stress, depression and other problems that have been blamed on reduced resilience or grit among younger generations. Across the country, campus mental health officials report today’s students appear to have a harder time bouncing back from adversity. Counseling centers have seen surging demand, often from students overwhelmed by everyday stresses. Professors have raised concerns about students’ fragility when it comes to receiving bad grades. “Anxiety is rising like crazy,” said Nance Roy, a psychologist who works with colleges through the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit mental health group. “For many students, it’s the first time they’re navigating independently away from home, and if they also don’t have basic life skills, it’s sort of a perfect storm.” Colleges have responded with an array of programs meant to boost resilience and help students catch up on life skills. The University of California, Los Angeles, offers ”grit coaching .” The University of Minnesota recently hosted a ”resilience resource fair .” Dozens of schools now provide ”Adulting 101 ” workshops covering topics from finance to romance. As part of that work, more schools are also striving to normalize failure and create an environment where students can take risks and learn from setbacks. Stanford University encourages its students to celebrate their failures through song, poetry and other creative outlets at an annual event called ”Stanford, I Screwed Up! ” Smith College in Massachusetts and the University of Central Arkansas have both issued students ”certificates of failure ” as part of broader programs on the topic. Colorado State University invites students to take a pledge to embrace failure and persist through it. When it comes to grades, Cornell College in Iowa is warning professors that they shouldn’t soften their scoring for the sake of students’ emotions. A directive on the issue notes that “a grade of a C or below is not the end of the world.” “Normalize failure. It’s part of life. It’s one way we learn,” the message says. “Sometimes students need to fail, and not be given an undeserved grade by a sympathetic faculty member.” Others, like Bentley, are highlighting the failures of successful people. Harvard University has a website sharing rejection letters received by faculty, staff and alumni. Experts propose a variety of theories to explain why today’s students might be struggling. Some say the pressure to succeed is stronger than ever, making even small failures seem disastrous. Some say social media floods students with images of perfection that make them feel bad about their own lives. Others blame parents who tightly manage their children’s lives and shield them from failure — a tendency taken to the extreme in the college admissions bribery scandal , in which dozens of parents were charged last month with paying bribes to help their children get into top schools. Whatever the cause, mental health issues appear to be on the rise on college campuses. A 2018 survey by the American College Health Association found that 22% of college students were diagnosed with anxiety or treated for it over the past year, up from 10% a decade before. The rate for depression rose from 10% to 17% in the same span, the survey found. Efforts to tackle campus mental health have sometimes been met by sneers. On social media, some observers mock a generation of fragile “snowflakes” who need “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings.” But mental health advocates counter that today’s students are grappling with a host of pressures that past generations didn’t, from social media to the threat of school violence. “There’s this temptation to judge or criticize today’s youth,” said Laura Horne, program director at Active Minds, a college mental health group. “They’re just responding to a different and more challenging landscape with the resources we’ve given them.” At Bentley, along with hosting events on failure, officials have launched a “Failure Friday” series on social media that shares a different story of failure from someone on campus each week. Lea Guldemond, a junior who attended the event on professors’ failures, said she welcomes the conversations about anxiety and struggle. Especially at a business school, she said, students face constant stress to compete for the best grades, the best internships and the best jobs. “We’re under a lot of pressure and I think we’re stressed all the time,” said Guldemond, 21, of West Newbury, Massachusetts. “It’s nice to be able to talk about it and know that you’re not alone when you fail. Everyone deals with it.” ___ Follow Collin Binkley on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cbinkley | https://library.unc.edu/house/workshops/adulting-101/,https://www.grit.ucla.edu/,https://twitter.com/cbinkley,https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_Fall_2018_Reference_Group_Executive_Summary.pdf,https://bsc.harvard.edu/reflections-rejections,https://learningconnection.stanford.edu/resilience-project,https://health.colostate.edu/fail-forward/,https://uca.edu/studentsuccess/files/2017/09/Certificate-to-Fail-Forward.pdf,/54d48acf42a04258a1d516637bb5dfd0,https://advisor.umn.edu/news/umn-mental-health-well-being-resilience-resource-fair,https://www.cornellcollege.edu/student-affairs/resources-staff/tips-for-supporting-student-wellness.shtml | 2true
| Health, Stress, North America, AP Top News, Waltham, U.S. News |
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4057 | Illinois illnesses from insect bites increased by 58 percent. | The Illinois Department of Public Health is warning the public to take precautions against tick and mosquito bites, saying reported cases of infections have increased over the past decade. | The department cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showing that the number of people across the U.S. being infected by diseases from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas has tripled from 2004 to 2016. Reported cases have increased in Illinois by 58 percent in that same time period. Ticks and mosquitoes can carry diseases causing mild to severe illness, and even death in some cases. The most common mosquito-borne illness in the state is West Nile virus, which can cause paralysis or death in severe cases. The department recommends people use insect repellent containing DEET to repel the insects. | 2true
| Health, Ticks, Illinois, Insects, Public health |
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21958 | Roughly 700 Georgians die needlessly each year because they are too far from a trauma center. | June 10, 2011 | Trauma Centers Save Lives Just Not as Many as People Think | M.B. Pell | "Georgia voters are suspicious of new taxes. How suspicious are they? Last year, they voted down an amendment that would have added a $10 fee to the cost of registering a motor vehicle to pay for additional trauma centers in the state. This wasn’t a penny sales tax to polish the Capitol dome, this was an attempt to improve emergency medical care. Proponents of the tax, such as Kevin Bloye, a spokesman for the Georgia Hospital Association, say the money would have helped Georgia lower the number of trauma deaths by creating more emergency medical facilities designed to treat trauma patients. Bloye said in a news story that appeared in the AJCin March that roughly 700 Georgians die needlessly each year because they are too far from a trauma center. Right now, there are only 18 medical facilities that specialize in treatment of physical injuries, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health. Many of these facilities are clustered in the Atlanta metro area, leaving portions of South Georgia without immediate access to trauma care. So the argument is the state could save lives if the number of trauma centers in South Georgia was, say, closer to the number of billboards advertising Asian massage parlors along I-75. It’s hard to argue with that logic, but we felt the number ""roughly 700"" deaths seemed high, so we decided to take a closer look. The number comes from an extrapolation of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of trauma deaths in each state, Bloye said. ""It does vary from year to year, but in the year we put it together, it was 712,"" he said. Dr. Patrick O’Neal, deputy director of the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response, prepared this number for the hospital association about seven years ago. O’Neal used CDC estimates to determine that if Georgia lowered its trauma death rate to the national average, the state could save 712 lives in that particular year. He didn’t remember if he used data from 2004 or 2005. Since O’Neal’s analysis, the CDC has updated its data for that year, and the difference between the national trauma death rate and Georgia’s rate is closer, he said. So that number is no longer accurate. Another problem is that O’Neal examined only one year, but Bloye said roughly 700 lives could be saved ""each year."" Bloye’s not alone. Organizations, such as Georgia Watch, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group, also have said an estimated 700 people die each year because of inadequate trauma care in the state. The number has often been repeated in news reports, including by the AJC. Turns out no one should use that statistic. PolitiFact used O’Neal’s methodology and the CDC’s current data and found that if Georgia had the same rate of trauma deaths as the national average in 2007, the latest data available, the state could have saved 455 lives. The state would have saved 329 lives in 2006, 415 in 2005, 623 in 2004 and 719 in 2003. These numbers are based on the CDC’s age-adjusted rate of trauma deaths for the state and the nation. Statisticians adjust rates of illness, death and injury by age so communities with different age structures can be compared to one another. Using the unadjusted data, the number of lives saved drops even lower. According to these numbers, the state would have saved 120 lives in 2007, 2 lives in 2006, 88 in 2005, 306 in 2004 and 402 in 2003. Even considering these are estimates, neither the adjusted nor the unadjusted numbers fall in the ""roughly 700"" range. There’s another issue as well. Bloye said Georgians died needlessly because ""they are too far from a trauma center."" But O’Neal said the number of ambulances and the quality of ambulance service along with other public policy issues such as developing programs to combat violent crime also play a role in reducing the trauma death rate in Georgia. ""There’s some truth in [Bloye’s statement], but it’s simplistic,"" he said. The statement holds some truth in that Georgia is consistently above the national average in trauma deaths, according to CDC statistics. And if Georgia lowered the number of trauma deaths to the national average through a comprehensive approach including the creation of new trauma centers, better emergency transportation and innovative public policy approaches, hundreds of lives would be saved each year. In 2003, Georgia could have saved 719 lives if the state had matched the national rate of trauma deaths; since then, the number is not in the ""roughly 700"" range, according to CDC data. But with more trauma centers, the state could save hundreds of lives. Bloye’s statement contains some elements of truth, but it ignores critical facts that would give the reader a different impression." | http://www.georgiaitsabouttime.com/, http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html, http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp | 0false
| Georgia, Polls and Public Opinion, Kevin Bloye, |
9727 | New Support for Home Births U.K. board NICE, in a surprise, rules having a baby at home is safer than a hospital in some low-risk pregnancies | October 1, 2015 | The story looks at guidance from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) — and related research — to pregnant women. Specifically, the guidance says home births pose fewer risks than hospital births for woman with low-risk pregnancies who are not having their first child. The story features plenty of expert views on both sides of this issue and is well-reported overall. However, it does little to explain the difference in risk between home and hospital births to readers — and it never defines what constitutes a “low-risk” pregnancy in this context. Giving birth is an intensely personal experience, and therefore the decision about where to give birth is an extremely personal decision. It’s also a decision that can affect the health and well-being of both mother and child. More than 3.9 million children were born in the U.S. in 2013, so this is clearly a subject that affects a great many people, and the range of factors that come into play when making that decision is significant. A story that specifically highlights a reported reduction in risk for at least some home births should be sure to clearly articulate that difference in risk, and to explain precisely how those risks change for both mother and child. | Matt Shipman,Karen Carlson, MD,Kevin Lomangino | The story does not address cost at all. The story is focused primarily on childbirth practices in the U.K., which has a significantly different healthcare system from that in the U.S. However, the story does discuss childbirth practices in the U.S., and speaks to U.S. experts on the subject. Home births are often significantly less expensive than hospital or birth center deliveries, but there are still costs involved. The story would have been stronger if it had addressed this, even in broad terms. The story addresses benefits in only general terms. For example, when summarizing the NICE guidance, the story states “home births are safer than hospital births for women who are having their second or later child with a low-risk pregnancy.” And when describing the findings of the U.K. study that was the basis for the guidance, the story notes that “among low-risk women who chose to have a second or later child at home, there were fewer interventions and complications, such as cesarean sections, forceps delivery, infections and hemorrhage compared with hospital births, while the health of babies didn’t differ.” How much safer are home births under the relevant circumstances? How much lower was the risk of complications? It would be helpful to have at minimum an estimate of a summary figure, such as the frequency of complications and interventions overall for home and/or hospital births. In addition, while the story makes clear that the reduced risk is only for women with low-risk pregnancies — it doesn’t tell readers what that means. Does having had a previous C-section rule out a low-risk pregnancy? Which chronic medical conditions might rule a low-risk pregnancy out? It’s not clear. Potential harms are mentioned at different points in the report: maternal deaths; interventions and complications, such as cesarean sections, forceps delivery, infections and hemorrhage compared with hospital births; “complications” for the babies. But the story does not really explore the difference (if any) between risks that would be of potentially greater concern during home birth versus hospital birth — or vice versa. The story does note that the U.K. study behind the guidance found that there was a slightly increased risk of complications for babies born at home if it was the mother’s first birth. We’ll rule this Satisfactory with suggestions noted for next time. The story reports on an expert guideline published last spring that draws on a high-quality UK cohort study (Birthplace) and a Canadian case-control study.The story offers a broad overview of the cohort study that served as the basis for the NICE guidance. The overview would have been stronger if it had offered some additional details, such as information on the likelihood of complications for mothers and infants in both home and hospital settings. However, the story did include a link directly to the relevant research, which is always laudable. The story also offers limited details about the Canadian case-control study — but again the story linked directly to the study. One thing that’s missing from the discussion is any explanation of the hierarchy of evidence — how these two studies differ from one another and how the evidence they provide might compare to, say, a randomized trial. No disease mongering here. The story was very careful not to over-hype risks associated with giving birth, whether at home or in the hospital. This was a strong point for the story. The story cites multiple sources on both sides of the issue, and clearly notes when a given source has written about the issue and what that source’s position was. The story is, by its nature, about comparing alternatives. The story looks explicitly at home births compared to births in medical centers; and, among medical centers, the story explains the difference between hospitals and birth centers. This is another close one. The story does explain the difference between hospitals and birth centers, but doesn’t let readers know how common birth centers are in the U.S. Nor does it mention the availability of midwife services for home births, which can vary by state. However, the story does cite one U.S.obstetrics expert as saying that more birth centers could be established. Because the story addressed the issue, at least tangentially, we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. The novelty here, which the story emphasizes, is the evidence-based statement from an expert medical group that hospital births may be riskier than home births for uncomplicated second or later pregnancies. It is unusual to see a medical group recommending against a higher level of medical intervention. With that being said, there is a fairly broad body of work on risks associated with childbirth, and home birth in particular, but the story only mentions the U.K. and Canada studies we noted above. While other research findings may not offer as convenient a comparison to the study used to inform the NICE guidance, they could help readers understand the levels of absolute risk facing mothers and infants at home, in hospitals, or at birth centers. And if the U.K. and Canada studies offer insights that were simply not to be found in other work, that would have been worth mentioning too. But the story earned a Satisfactory here. The story does not seem to be tied a news release, and clearly draws from interviews with multiple sources. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/iStock_000046032846_Small.jpg,http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm | 2true
| birth |
17278 | As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that (public) trust, who have been corrupted. | March 11, 2014 | "Abbott said, ""As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that (public) trust, who have been corrupted."" During Abbott’s decade-plus as attorney general, his office has helped prosecute 104 cases against public officials across Texas -- 61 of them appearing to involve public corruption and five of those against judges, a county attorney and a DA." | Sue Owen | "Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott drew heat for a Feb. 4 2014, speech in which he likened official corruption scandals in Texas-Mexico border counties to ""third-world practices,"" a comment PolitiFact Texas unpacked in a Feb. 11 In Context article. His comparison drew criticism from lawmakers, the McAllen newspaper and his main opponent in the governor’s race, Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, who said, ""Abbott even went as far as comparing the Texas border to a third-world country."" (Abbott soon after won the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the March 2014 primary.) Responding to such criticism, Abbott said in a Feb. 10 opinion article in the McAllen Monitor that his concerns about corruption expressed in his speech ""apply wherever corruption is found."" ""Public service is a public trust,"" Abbott wrote. ""As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that trust, who have been corrupted."" We were curious about that because the attorney general’s office doesn’t focus on battling violent crime. That’s the purview of local prosecutors and police departments. As the Texas Constitution makes clear, the primary job of the attorney general is representing the state in civil matters. Still, state law permits the attorney general to help prosecute a criminal case if a local prosecutor requests assistance. For such purposes, state lawmakers have allowed the attorney general to employ peace officers and lawyers with backgrounds in criminal prosecution to pitch in on occasion. We asked Abbott’s office for information on the prosecutions he referred to in his commentary. Spokeswoman Lauren Bean emailed us a list of 104 prosecutions handled by the agency since Abbott became attorney general in late 2002. The AG’s office was the lead prosecutor in the vast majority of the cases, she told us by phone. The list included cases involving public officials from dog catcher (a child pornography case that ended in a guilty verdict) through higher city and county officials, tax assessors, sheriffs, justices of the peace, judges, assistant district attorneys and one former district attorney (who pleaded guilty to paying himself and others more than $2 million illegally while in office). Crimes involving child pornography and taking public funds are certainly violations of the public trust, though we also wondered how many of Abbott’s cases involved corruption like the examples he presented in his ""third-world"" speech: a former state district judge sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a cash-for-favors scheme, a former sheriff’s captain who took bribes from drug traffickers; and law enforcement officials who stole drugs and resold them to dealers. Abbott also noted in his Feb. 10 opinion piece that the Monitor had reported that ""cases of public officials on the take have spiked."" And, Abbott said, ""there have been other stories about law enforcement officers in other Texas counties involved in money laundering, drug smuggling and accepting bribes to protect the cartels and their smuggling routes."" Texas Penal Code Chapter 1, Section 1.09, says the attorney general’s office can aid county or district attorneys in prosecuting certain criminal offenses including misuse of state property or funds and abuse of office, according to the office’s website. Public corruption, bribery and abuse of office were specifically cited in some of Abbott’s prosecutions. We set aside those that did not immediately appear to relate to misusing a public office. Deleting DWI cases, child pornography or indecency, murder, assault/injury, sexual offenses and gambling left 61 prosecutions. Eleven of those 61 prosecutions cited theft by a public servant. Others fell into criminal offense categories including bribery, (breach of) public integrity, official oppression, election violations, fraud and abuse of official capacity, as well as misappropriation or misallocation of public funds or property. The type of case in one prosecution involving an assistant county auditor was specifically given as ""public corruption."" So certainly some of the prosecutions involved what ordinary citizens might regard as corruption. We sought expert advice. Two attorneys suggested it’s not easy to decide when a criminal case involves corruption in office. Director Gregg Cox of the Travis County district attorney’s special prosecutions division, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing by public officials, told us by email, ""There is no definition of ‘corruption’ in the Penal Code or Code of Criminal Procedure, and because the way that term is used can differ from office to office, I would just not be comfortable commenting on that."" George Dix, a criminal law expert and University of Texas law professor, said via email, ""I'm not sure what are 'corruption' cases. As far as I know, that is not a term of art. I suppose the term could mean a prosecution for a crime that requires proof of some official malfeasance."" Finally, we looked at whether the prosecutions occurred across Texas, as Abbott wrote, and at whether the prosecuted individuals included judges and district attorneys, as he said. The 104 prosecutions occurred in about one-fourth of Texas’ 254 counties -- six on the border and 193 scattered elsewhere across the state. Nine of Abbott’s public-official prosecutions involved a judge, assistant district attorney, county attorney and district attorney (at the time of his crimes). Four seemed not to be related to abuse of office: a child pornography case, two drunken-driving cases and one case involving misdemeanor offensive contact with an employee. The remaining five prosecutions: State v. David McCoy A Feb. 21, 2008, Amarillo Globe-News news story said, ""Suspended 100th District Court Judge David McCoy concluded an agreement with the state Attorney General's office Thursday afternoon that will prevent him from facing felony charges. … A Childress County Grand Jury indicted him on two felony indictments: abuse of official capacity and theft by a public servant."" News reports provided no additional detail. State v. Emil Karl Prohl An April 29, 2010, Facebook post by the Kerrville Daily Times said, ""Former 198th district judge Emil Karl Prohl has pled guilty to charges of misapplication of funds. He gets two years probation for taking double reimbursement for travel expenses out of several district and county accounts."" State vs. Joe Frank Garza A May 9, 2011, Corpus Christi Caller-Times news story said, ""Former 79th District Attorney Joe Frank Garza began serving a six-month stint behind bars on Monday for illegally paying himself and his employees more than $2 million from his office's drug forfeiture fund."" In re: Judge Christopher Dupuy A Sept. 19, 2013, Houston Chronicle news story said, ""A suspended Galveston judge pleaded guilty Thursday to two misdemeanors in exchange for two years of probation. County Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy pleaded guilty to abuse of office and perjury in exchange for two years of deferred adjudication. … The petition for removal accuses Dupuy of failing to obey an order from a state appeals court, abusing his authority by retaliating against attorneys and threatening the district clerk while attempting to interfere in his own divorce case."" State vs. Scott Tidwell An Oct. 5, 2011, Associated Press news story said, ""A former West Texas county attorney will spend four months in jail for retaliating against two nurses who made an anonymous complaint about a doctor to state medical regulators. … The nurses were fired from their jobs at a hospital in Kermit and charged with felonies."" Our ruling Abbott said, ""As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that (public) trust, who have been corrupted."" During Abbott’s decade-plus as attorney general, his office has helped prosecute 104 cases against public officials across Texas -- 61 of them appearing to involve public corruption and five of those against judges, a county attorney and a DA. The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing." | https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2Wzr4_cemD5Q3ZqbzM5emlETFk/edit?usp=sharing, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GVKXWeEH0r32r8O_hSqdzq018neppZ475GM4LgY1MbM/edit?usp=sharing, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pbzM1VKfdYzpDULGwij159zPDRLa5Le5fygsh0Z1430/edit?usp=sharing, http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_d6d33a72-92b3-11e3-b173-0017a43b2370.html, https://new.livestream.com/texastribune/events/2742948 | 2true
| City Government, County Government, Criminal Justice, Legal Issues, Public Service, Texas, Greg Abbott, |
20969 | A database police use to look up wanted suspects excludes certain warrants issued by Atlanta Municipal Court. | December 12, 2011 | City: Criminal database lacks some Atlanta warrants | Willoughby Mariano | "The handling of a police traffic stop involving Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s brother raises questions about power, politics and ethics. What has the Truth-O-Meter spinning is a more practical concern: crime databases. When police stopped Tracy Reed on Oct. 28, he had an open warrant for failing to appear at a traffic court hearing three weeks earlier. Reed could have been arrested on the spot. Yet when an officer ran his name in the Atlanta Police Department’s criminal database, the warrant never popped up. A police major let Reed go. This was no fluke, according to a recent city of Atlanta news release about its internal investigation on the stop. Police may rely upon the Atlanta Criminal Information Center database to find out whether someone has a warrant, but in certain cases, it can’t tell them. ""Atlanta Municipal Court bench warrants are not included in the Atlanta Criminal Information Center [ACIC] database,"" the Nov. 28 release said. Bench warrants are arrest warrants initiated by a judge, often when people fail to appear in court. We PolitiFact Georgia scribes squinted our eyes and read the sentence twice. If these arrest warrants aren’t in the system, how do police know whom to haul to jail? We talked to Atlanta police, reviewed existing policies and statutes, contacted court officials, and looked at investigative reports to find some answers. And yes, there is a hole in the city’s criminal database. In case you missed the controversy, Reed ran into trouble Oct. 28 after an Atlanta police officer stopped him for driving with an expired tag, according to a city internal investigation. Even though Reed drove with a license suspended since 2006, the patrolman’s superior let the mayor’s brother go. Running a criminal history database is a complex operation. The information is sensitive and the stakes are high. If the people who enter the data get it wrong or don’t enter it in time, an officer might come face to face with a dangerous felon and not even know it. A person could be jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. That means police can’t do something as simple as make a phone call or send an email to put a warrant in the system, state and local law enforcement officials told us. Only specially certified employees may enter the information into the computer, and they may do so only after receiving the proper documentation. When Atlanta police obtain warrants as part of their investigations, agency policy gives investigating officers 12 hours to hand-deliver the paperwork to the APD team that updates the criminal database. But when an Atlanta municipal judge issues a warrant because someone fails to appear in court, no one hands this paperwork over for entry in the city’s database, police spokesman Carlos Campos told PolitiFact. In fact, these bench warrants are not entered into any local, state or national database, according to the city’s investigative report. Georgia law doesn’t require it, said Shirley Andrews, who helps run the state’s criminal database for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The state attorney general designates what minor offenses must be in the system. Bench warrants for failing to appear in Municipal Court are not on it. This is a problem, Atlanta Police Chief George Turner told investigators. ""[T]he truth is, there are thousands of folks that are warranted by Municipal Court warrants. But there’s no way, not to my knowledge, on how to deal with it,"" Turner said, according to a transcript of his interview. The head of a state professional organization for prosecutors said he has heard that other jurisdictions are wrestling with the issue. Officers or dispatchers could telephone the Atlanta court to check for open warrants, Turner told investigators, but it’s closed on Friday, the day Reed was stopped. Police and court officials told PolitiFact they’ve been working on this problem for months but need funding to solve it. Atlanta Municipal Court bench warrants are not included in the ACIC database, as the city’s news release said. In fact, Atlanta’s police chief estimates that thousands of people with open warrants aren’t in there. We find the city’s claim ." | http://www.atlantaga.gov/media/nr_lawhrinvestigation_112811.aspx, http://web.atlantaga.gov/videoondemand/video/LawInvestigation112811.pdf | 2true
| Georgia, Criminal Justice, City of Atlanta, |
10511 | Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D | May 6, 2016 | This release summarizes an unexpected finding observed during follow-up of a study that looked at the impact of vitamin D3 supplementation on bone density in young children. The release claims in one section that at 3 years old, children that had been given vitamin D supplementation in infancy (during the ages of 1 month to 12 months old) appear to have reduced body fat and improved muscle mass. In another section, the release states “there were no significant differences in body composition across the different dosage groups” (the children were given either 400, 800, 1200 or 1600 IU/day). The journal article on which the release is based also states that there were no differences in body (muscle) mass between the groups of children given different doses of vitamin D. The headline and some of the content appear to be discordant with the main findings — that higher vitamin D stores among those given supplements were associated with “around 450 grams less body fat at 3 years of age.” The release also omits cost, harms and funding sources. This is an important topic because we are in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic and need better approaches to prevent childhood obesity. All of the children in this study received vitamin D supplements. Some were given more than others, but the researchers reported no differences in body composition (just body fat) between the various dosage groups. Yet, because the term body composition and body mass are used interchangeably, readers of the release may be left with the idea that giving kids vitamin D supplements reduces body fat and increases muscle mass. (It’s probably important here to note that the term “body composition” refers to both body fat and lean mass. The release several times refers to improved body composition when the study clearly noted there was a correlation only with reduced body fat.) We often see confusion between correlation and causation, but this release appears to wrongly claim causation for changes in body composition where there wasn’t any. | Andrew Holtz, MPH,Kathleen Fairfield, MD, DrPH,Kathlyn Stone | The release does not mention cost. A quick online search found that the standard infant dose of 400 IU/day of Vitamin D costs about $10-15 for a three-month supply in the United States. We believe news releases should mention costs, including the cost of relatively inexpensive supplements or unusual foods, with associated health claims. Children growing up in poverty are at particular risk of obesity because their families suffer from food insecurity and often purchase the least expensive (and least nutritional) foods. Expenditures for pediatric supplements for people living well below the poverty level may mean less food on the table. We’ll give this a borderline Satisfactory rating because the release provides a number associated with vitamin D supplements — 450 grams less body fat. However, the release presents some of the findings in a confusing way that could be misleading to readers. It confuses blood levels of vitamin D with doses of vitamin D supplements and it reports that children with higher blood levels of vitamin D averaged around 450 grams (1 pound) less body fat, but the headline says supplements reduce body fat. The researchers clearly stated, “This long-term follow-up of a vitamin D supplementation study in children demonstrates no difference in body composition across any dosage groups (400, 800, 1200 and 1600 IU).” The release notes that “there were no significant differences in body composition across the different dosage groups”, which makes the headline claiming that vitamin D supplements reduced body fat incompatible with what the researchers actually reported. The release does report that physical activity also made a difference, but did not offer any comparison to the claimed effects of vitamin D levels. There is no warning that in rare cases vitamin D overdoses can cause calcium to rise to harmful levels, which can weaken bones and cause kidney stones and other problems. Some of the reported cases have been linked to manufacturing errors which meant the drops given to children contained far more vitamin D than listed on the label. The release reports that the key strength of this study was that it provided a three-year follow up on children who were given different doses of vitamin D and closely studied during their first year of life. It also notes that the body scans used to assess bone density in the initial study also allowed researchers to measure the children’s muscle and fat mass. However, the release would have been stronger had it noted that the study group was homogeneous (mostly white and healthy). All were carried to term, all were normal size, and 9 out of 10 were breastfed for the first six months. So the researchers can’t say whether their results apply to the population as a whole. The news release doesn’t hype pediatric obesity. Even though the researchers did not disclose any conflicts in their journal article and the study was funded by a government agency, the release should have identified the funding source. We’ll give the release a Satisfactory for noting that physical activity is another factor making “a significant difference to the children’s amount of body fat.” The release would have been improved if it had noted that diet, home and family environment can affect the healthy development of young bodies. The release notes that vitamin D supplementation is already widely recommended for infants. The news release claims novelty through this statement: “For the first time, a connection was made between the benefits of achieving healthy vitamin D status during a baby’s first 12 to 36 months and how muscle mass develops.” We agree that the study of infants who received supplementation is the novel piece. However, it’s worth noting that there is a body of literature about the association of low vitamin D levels and obesity in the greater population. The claims in the headline and lead paragraphs that the study found supplementation reduced body fat and improved muscle-mass development in toddlers are unjustified, because they are simply wrong. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/iStock_000080649585_Medium.jpg,https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Vitamin-D.pdf | 1mixture
| Academic medical center news release |
28792 | "A study proved e-cigarette use (or vaping) leads to an incurable condition known as ""popcorn lung." | August 8, 2016 | What's true: A December 2015 Harvard study concluded that diacetyl, which is associated with popcorn lung, is present in e-cigarettes,. What's false: The Harvard study did not prove a link between e-cigarettes and popcorn lung; it simply stated that the possibility should be explored through additional research. | Kim LaCapria | In early August 2016, a number of disreputable clickbait web sites published identical photo galleries alongside claims that a new study had proved e-cigarettes cause0 an incurable condition known as “popcorn lung” (a common term for bronchiolitis obliterans, a disease that results in obstruction of the smallest airways of the lungs due to inflammation and leaves sufferers coughing and feeling short of breath): Most users who shared the story inferred that the man pictured in those photographs was a popcorn lung patient. But a reverse image search revealed that he was in fact the victim of a 2015 e-cigarette explosion, not a pulmonary disease: A 22 November 2015 report by Memphis TV station WHBQ documented that the young man seen in these images was a college student who was injured when an improperly assembled e-cigarette exploded, in what was described as an avoidable accident: The injuries a college student sustained when an electronic cigarette exploded in his face could have been prevented if the man had been taught to use the e-cigarette properly, a smoke shop employee said. Meanwhile, the man’s family is sharing their story to try to keep the same accident from happening to another person. E-cigarettes are sold in parts. The two main parts are the battery tank and the coil on top that heats to create the vapor. [Vape shop owner Mary Grace] Burns said the combination that made up Caples’ cigarette was incompatible. Burns said e-cigarette users should buy their products from trusted stores, and be weary of online dealers. The confluence of identical articles connecting the unrelated image with “popcorn lung” led many sources to link to a December 2015 AOL article, which in turn linked to a Harvard School of Public Health study published that same month. However, the Harvard study did not definitively link e-cigarettes to popcorn lung; rather, the research, which tested 51 of 7,000 available e-liquids, concluded: Our findings confirm the presence of diacetyl and other flavoring chemicals in flavored e-cigarettes. Because of the associations between diacetyl and bronchiolitis obliterans and other severe respiratory diseases among workers inhaling heated vapors containing diacetyl, urgent action is recommended to further evaluate the extent of this new exposure to diacetyl and related flavoring compounds in e-cigarettes. While the initial findings might have appeared worrisome, the presence of diacetyl in e-liquid was not first discovered by Harvard researchers. E-cigarette vendors had widely disclosed its presence in e-liquids as early as 2014, one year prior to the Harvard research. Diacetyl’s presence in e-juice at variable levels remains a controversial issue among e-cigarette merchants and users, but it was hardly a secret before the 2015 study. Concerns about diacetyl and popcorn lung largely stemmed from a paper published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2002 pertaining to a cluster of eight cases of “a respiratory illness resembling bronchiolitis obliterans” among workers at a popcorn factory, circumstances that led to the colloquialism “popcorn lung.” But that paper was somewhat inconclusive, reporting that: During 1992-2000, factory A employed approximately 560 workers; 425 no longer worked at the factory as of May 2000. Of the eight patients reported, four were mixers and four were microwave-packaging workers. No microwave-packaging workers had ever worked as mixers. Discussions with workers and management staff at factory A indicated that an estimated 13 (3%) of the 425 former workers had been mixers, 276 (65%) had worked in microwave packaging, and 136 (32%) had worked in other areas of the factory. On the basis of this estimated distribution, the crude incidence of illness was highest in mixers (four of 13 [31%]) and microwave-packaging workers (four of 276 [1%]); no cases were reported in the estimated 136 workers in other areas of the factory. Assuming exposure to factory work contributed to reported occupational lung disease, former workers had 1,148-2,819 person-years at risk, depending on assumptions about whether risk for disease continues after employment ceases. On the basis of the eight cases reported during this period, the calculated rate of illness was 28-70 cases per 10,000 person-years. Assuming that all eight reported patients represented cases of occupational lung disease, this represents a five- to 11-fold excess over the expected number of reported occupational respiratory conditions attributed to toxins. MoDHSS and CDC investigated the worksite for possible exposures to airborne respiratory toxins, but found no known substance that could explain the illnesses … Industrial hygiene sampling conducted during the November 2000 survey detected approximately 100 VOCs in the plant air. Diacetyl, a ketone with butter-flavor characteristics, was measured as a marker for exposure to flavoring vapors. The geometric mean air concentration of diacetyl was 18 parts per million parts air (ppm) in the room where the mixing tank was located, 1.3 ppm in the microwave-packaging area, and 0.02 ppm in other areas of the plant. It’s true that the research out of Harvard made waves when it first appeared in December 2015, but immediate criticisms emerged about a key aspect of the study. Rolling Stone was one of the first news outlets to look into the diacetyl scare, speaking to Boston University professor and physician Michael Siegel. Siegel addressed a popular objection to the research for eliding prior research of the same nature regarding tobacco cigarettes and diacetyl: While studies like Harvard’s are critical to fully understanding e-cigs, they too often have the opposite effect. Tobacco cigarettes, for instance, have also long been known to contain diacetyl — at levels over 100 times those found in electronic cigarettes — yet earlier tobacco studies found that even these levels were not enough to cause popcorn lung in smokers. “The Harvard study is a perfect example of something that happens over and over,” says Michael Siegel, a physician and professor at Boston University. “It creates a scare by omitting a key piece of information, undermining the public’s appreciation of the severe hazards of tobacco smoking and leading to perverse public health outcomes.” Siegel … has spent much of his career fighting tobacco companies: testifying against them in court, pushing for smoking bans in bars and restaurants, advocating for policies making it illegal to market cigarettes to youth. When e-cigs first started gaining popularity, he was skeptical, believing them to be little more than a product designed to mask the dangers of smoking. Today, however, he has become one of the most outspoken supporters of the idea that e-cigs can succeed where the crusade against smoking has come up short. Given that the current e-cig market is dominated by habitual smokers, Siegel calls the U.S. government’s reluctance to allow them to be pitched as a safer alternative “irresponsible.” Quantifying the “over 100 times” tobacco to e-cigarette comparison was difficult given the ranges cited in published research, but Siegel expounded upon his comments in an attendant blog post: All conventional cigarettes produce tobacco smoke that contains diacetyl, and the levels of diacetyl in cigarettes are a lot higher than those produced by e-cigarettes. In the study, Allen et al. found that the average diacetyl content of the products tested was 9.0 micrograms per e-cigarette cartridge. Assuming that a vaper uses one cartridge per day, the average daily inhaled dose of diacetyl associated with vaping is therefore 9.0 micrograms. Fujioka and Shibamoto conducted a study to measure the diacetyl exposure from active smoking. They found that the average diacetyl content of the cigarettes tested was 335.9 micrograms per cigarette. Assuming that a smoker consumes one pack per day (20 cigarettes), the average daily inhaled does of diacetyl associated with smoking is therefore 6718 micrograms. Table 1. Average inhaled daily diacetyl dose associated with smoking vs. vaping Vaping: 9 micrograms Smoking: 6718 micrograms Daily exposure to diacetyl from smoking is therefore 750 times higher, on average, than exposure to diacetyl from vaping. Even if one looks at the maximum detected level of diacetyl in the electronic cigarettes vs. real cigarettes tested, the exposure of a smoker is much higher than that of a vaper. The Harvard study held that the e-liquids tested ranged from zero to 239 micrograms in diacetyl content: At least one flavoring chemical was detected in 47 of 51 unique flavors tested. Diacetyl was detected above the laboratory limit of detection 39 of the 51 flavors tested, ranging from < limit of qualification (LOQ) to 239 µg/e-cigarette. 2,3-pentanedione and acetoin were detected in 23 and 46 of the 51 flavors tested at concentrations up to 64 and 529 µg/e-cigarette, respectively. Contrasted with a 2014 study on tobacco consumption, diacetyl, and popcorn lung, it appears that the highest concentration in e-cigarettes is lower than the lowest concentration in tobacco cigarettes at the very least (the comparison was, however, possibly a somewhat apples-to-oranges one): The yields (μg/cigarette) of diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione in mainstream (MS) cigarette smoke were evaluated for six tobacco products under three smoking regimens (ISO, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Health Canada Intense) using a standard smoking machine. Mean diacetyl concentrations in MS smoke ranged from 250 to 361 ppm for all tobacco products and smoking regimens, and mean cumulative exposures associated with 1 pack-year ranged from 1.1 to 1.9 ppm-years. Mean 2,3-pentanedione concentrations in MS smoke ranged from 32.2 to 50.1 ppm, and mean cumulative exposures associated with 1 pack-year ranged from 0.14 to 0.26 ppm-years A 2005 study on tobacco cigarettes similarly estimated a range of 301 to 433 ppm of diacetyl, and overall, it was clear tobacco cigarettes contained higher concentrations of diacetyl, as demonstrated in both studies. But more telling was the conclusion of the 2014 tobacco research, which noted: We found that diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione exposures from cigarette smoking far exceed occupational exposures for most food/flavoring workers who smoke. This suggests that previous claims of a significant exposure-response relationship between diacetyl inhalation and respiratory disease in food/flavoring workers were confounded, because none of the investigations considered or quantified the non-occupational diacetyl exposure from cigarette smoke, yet all of the cohorts evaluated had considerable smoking histories. Further, because smoking has not been shown to be a risk factor for bronchiolitis obliterans, our findings are inconsistent with claims that diacetyl and/or 2,3-pentanedione exposure are risk factors for this disease. Moreover, a separate study about occupational popcorn lung published in 2012 paradoxically held that non-smokers may be at higher risk for popcorn lung than smokers are: The 2015 research from Harvard omitted comparison to a far larger and more established control group of smokers when asserting concerns about diacetyl, popcorn lung, and e-cigarettes. Prior research into tobacco cigarettes (which contain measurably higher levels of diacetyl and are more commonly used than e-cigarettes) determined that smoking is not a risk factor for popcorn lung, so the lower concentrations of diacetyl in e-cigarette juices are not likely a risk factor in popcorn lung. | 1mixture
| Medical, e-cigarettes, popcorn lung, Toxin Du Jour |
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4077 | Massachusetts collecting data on possible vaping illnesses. | Massachusetts health officials are mandating the collection of data on potential cases of lung disease related to the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping. | Steve Leblanc | Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said Wednesday any suspected cases of unexplained e-cigarette or vaping-associated pulmonary disease must be immediately reported to the Department of Public Health for the next 12 months. Last month, the agency sent an alert to 25,000 Massachusetts health care providers asking them to voluntarily report pulmonary-related disease associated with vaping. “Today’s action establishes the legal framework for health care providers to report cases and suspected cases so that we can get a better sense of the overall burden of disease in Massachusetts,” Bharel said in a written statement. She said the reporting will also help the state provide case counts to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they to try to understand the nationwide impact of vaping. U.S. health officials are investigating what might be causing hundreds of serious breathing illnesses in people who use e-cigarettes and vaping devices. They have identified about 450 possible cases in 33 states, including six deaths. Massachusetts is actively investigating several suspected vaping-associated pulmonary cases. There have been no confirmed Massachusetts cases. The last time the state health commissioner issued a similar mandate was two years ago. That mandate required providers to report cases of amnesia associated with intravenous drug use. The new mandate was sent to all clinicians — including internal medicine, family practice, general practice, emergency medicine, and clinical care — in Massachusetts as well as pediatricians, pulmonologists, and nurse practitioners. It asks providers to report any case of a person experiencing otherwise unexplained progressive symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, cough, or weight loss, of any severity, and an abnormal chest imaging study associated with vaping. In the cases reported to the CDC, patients experienced coughing, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Symptoms worsened days or weeks before they were admitted to a hospital. Other symptoms reported by some patients included fever, anorexia, pleuritic chest pain, nausea, and diarrhea. All the patients had reported vaping in the weeks and months before going to the hospital. No specific product has been identified in all cases, nor has any product been conclusively linked to the clinical syndrome. According to the state health department, 41% of Massachusetts high school students have tried e-cigarettes at least once. About 20% of them reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days — a rate six times higher than adults. Nearly 10% of middle school students say they have tried e-cigarettes. A 2018 law signed by Gov. Charlie Baker includes e-cigarettes into the definition of tobacco, making it illegal to vape where it is illegal to smoke. The law also raised the minimum legal sale of tobacco products — including e-cigarettes — to 21. | 2true
| Health, General News, Lung disease, Massachusetts, Public health |
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15652 | "Said President Barack Obama ""said he was going to stop (signature strikes)." | April 28, 2015 | "Clarke said, ""President Obama said he was going to stop (signature strikes)."" As far as we can tell, Obama has never said himself that he would stop signature drone strikes, which killed two western civilian hostages. An unnamed administration official implied that signature strikes would eventually be phased out, though without any details. In any case, the drone program in Pakistan, which killed the hostages, was generally exempt from these rules. Clarke’s claim suggests that Obama did something he said he wouldn’t do anymore, but that isn’t the case." | Lauren Carroll | "The White House recently disclosed that the two hostages -- one American and one Italian -- were killed in January by an American ""signature strike"" aimed at al-Qaida terrorists. A signature strike is a type of drone strike, in which the United States targets people they believe to be militants, though they don’t know the exact identity of the target. Some have criticized the government’s use of such strikes because they run a higher risk of hitting innocent parties. Government officials told the Wall Street Journal that signature strikes have been effective for killing high-value targets, especially in regions where it’s hard to locate al-Qaida leaders. But the continued use of signature strikes goes against what President Barack Obama said he was going to do, said ABC News security consultant Richard Clarke, who spent 30 years working in government, including 10 years in the White House, before leaving in 2003. ""When you do these signature strikes, meaning by definition, you don't know who you are killing, you just know the facility looks like an al-Qaida facility,"" Clarke said on ABC This Week April 27. ""When you do signature strikes, that's very risky. And President Obama said he was going to stop them, and clearly he didn't."" Obama has relied heavily on drones -- nearly 2,500 people have been killed in covert drone strikes since Obama took office, according to the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, which tracks strikes. We wondered if Obama had gone back on what he said. Did he say he was going to stop signature strikes? Vague guidelines Clarke didn’t respond to several requests for comment. But we dug through Obama’s statements over the years, as well as campaign materials. We couldn’t find any instance in which Obama literally said he was going to stop using signature strikes. Clarke’s claim might stem from a May 2013 speech Obama delivered at the National Defense University, where he discussed vague drone policies. In the speech, Obama announced that he had signed a ""presidential policy guidance"" document where he codified a ""framework that governs our use of force against terrorists."" Although the event and document were widely seen as a shift to more restrictions on drone strikes, concrete details about the shift were almost nonexistent. The presidential policy guidance document itself is not publicly available, and the related fact sheet does not address drone strikes, much less signature strikes. A heckler in the audience asked specifically what Obama was planning to do about signature strikes, but he did not respond. An unnamed member of the Obama administration debriefed reporters on the shift, and one reporter asked, ""Will signature strikes explicitly be prohibited now?"" ""I don’t want to get into the details of any specific strike,"" the official responded, though he went on to say ""the type of strikes we’ve taken generally"" would eventually be phased out. ""Given the two principal changing circumstances in our effort against terrorism -- the winding down of the war in Afghanistan and the demise of al-Qaida core -- the need for the types of strikes that we’ve taken generally over the course of the last several years will be reduced over time,"" the official said. (Obama has since extended the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.) Following the briefing, the New York Times reported that the codified standards ""could signal"" an end to signature strikes -- not that they would unequivocally. They also reported that officials said signature trikes would certainly continue in Pakistan, where the two men were killed. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the CIA drone program in Pakistan is generally exempt from the 2013 policy guidelines, at least while the United States continues some level of operations in Afghanistan. At the time, Benjamin Wittes, a national security expert and editor of the Lawfare blog, wrote that it was unclear from Obama’s remarks and the coverage whether or not Obama actually narrowed the criteria for targeting people in drone strikes -- because the language was so opaque. Now -- two years later -- Wittes told PolitiFact, ""I don't think it's fair to say that Obama promised to end signature strikes."" Our ruling Clarke said, ""President Obama said he was going to stop (signature strikes)."" As far as we can tell, Obama has never said himself that he would stop signature drone strikes, which killed two western civilian hostages. An unnamed administration official implied that signature strikes would eventually be phased out, though without any details. In any case, the drone program in Pakistan, which killed the hostages, was generally exempt from these rules. Clarke’s claim suggests that Obama did something he said he wouldn’t do anymore, but that isn’t the case." | https://www.lawfareblog.com/2013/05/the-presidents-speech-a-quick-and-dirty-reaction-part-3-did-the-president-narrow-the-targeting-criteria-for-drone-strikes/, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/us/politics/pivoting-from-a-war-footing-obama-acts-to-curtail-drones.html, https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2013/0524/Has-Obama-tightened-US-drone-strike-policy-or-not, https://web.archive.org/web/20081003122814/http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/CounterterrorismFactSheet.pdf, https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/2013.05.23_fact_sheet_on_ppg.pdf, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/background-briefing-senior-administration-officials-presidents-speech-co, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/us/politics/obama-spars-with-activist-during-terrorism-speech.html, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/us/politics/in-terror-shift-obama-took-a-long-path.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&src=recg&pagewanted=print, https://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-kept-looser-rules-for-drones-in-pakistan-1430092626, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/us/us-acknowledges-killing-4-americans-in-drone-strikes.html, https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/the-signature-strikes-program/, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/fact-sheet-president-s-may-23-speech-counterterrorism | 0false
| Afghanistan, Terrorism, PunditFact, Richard Clarke, |
15422 | The House of Representatives just voted 300-131 to remove ‘country-of-origin labeling’ on chicken, pork, and beef sold in the U.S. | July 2, 2015 | """The House of Representatives just voted 300-131 to remove ‘country-of-origin labeling’ on chicken, pork, and beef sold in the United States,"" according to a Facebook meme. The bill in question seeks to repeal mandatory country-of-origin labeling or COOL from ground and muscle cuts of chicken, pork, and beef. The House passed it in June this year with a 300-131 vote, after Canada and Mexico said the consumer rights law was unfair to foreign hog farmers and cattle ranchers and threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs. The Senate has yet to decide on the labeling law’s fate and, at this early stage, there has been support for making COOL voluntary. While country-of-origin labeling isn’t quite dead meat, the House voted for repeal." | Linda Qiu | "Thanks to a little-known congressional bill, it may soon be impossible to tell whether your Fourth of July burger is all-American Angus or beef imported from the Amazon, according to a Facebook meme. ""The House of Representatives just voted 300-131 to remove ‘country-of-origin labeling’ on chicken, pork, and beef sold in the United States,"" the meme says. ""Sorry but you don’t deserve to know where your meat is coming from."" What beef could the House possibly have with the consumer-friendly law? We looked into the vote in question and found an interesting story of international trade disputes, riled up Canadian hog farmers, and ""jingoist fears."" Meat of the matter Under the country-of-origin labeling law, or COOL, supermarkets have to tell consumers where their meat, fish, and nuts are produced with varying degrees of specificity (i.e. ""Born in Canada, Slaughtered in the U.S."", ""Farm-Raised in Vietnam"", or simply a laundry list of all the countries the product has passed through). COOL passed in 2002 but wasn’t fully implemented until March 2009. By then, Canada already had a bone to pick with the law, saying it violated World Trade Organization agreements. A mandatory ""made-in"" stamp discriminated against foreign hog farmers and cattle ranchers and was too costly to boot, according to Canada. Joining Canada’s complaint were a long list of other countries. Between 2011 and 2015, the WTO ruled four times that COOL was inconsistent with trade agreements. The United States made several unsuccessful appeals, but eventually Canada and Mexico asked the WTO for permission to impose retaliatory tariffs totalling $3 billion. The WTO’s decision is pending. In May of 2015, House Agriculture Committee Chair K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, introduced H.R. 2393, a bill to repeal the labeling requirements for ground and muscle cuts of beef and pork -- and threw in chicken for good measure. ""Retaliation by Canada and Mexico will soon become a reality, meaning economically devastating tariffs on a broad spectrum of U.S. exports,"" Conaway wrote in Roll Call. ""Ripple effects will be felt in nearly every industry, every state and every consumer’s wallet. This is why COOL for beef, pork and chicken — nothing more than a failed government experiment — must be repealed."" On June 10, the House passed the repeal bill by a not-entirely partisan vote of 300-131: a third of House Democrats voted in favor of the Republican-backed bill. Saving COOL’s bacon The meme’s wording implies that the country-of-origin labeling law’s fate is sealed, but that’s a bit hammed up. The bill now awaits the Senate’s and, ultimately, President Barack Obama’s approval. In the upper chamber, COOL repeal will be more of a battle. ""The politics are going to be much, much more difficult in the Senate,"" said Victoria Guida, a trade reporter for Politico. ""Part of the reason this passed the House so easily is because so many other industries, outside of the meat world, are freaked out about retaliation. But the Senate tends to be a little more big-picture about policies, and straight repeal is expected to have a tough time."" The Senate Agricultural Committee held hearings on June 25, where Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., called for repeal. In lieu of completely getting rid of the labeling law, top Democrat, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, proposed a voluntary labeling system supported by some Republicans but rejected by Conaway. We didn’t hear back from the White House about what the president plans to do if the bill reaches his desk. If the repeal is greenlit by both the Senate and the White House, country-of-origin still won’t be prohibited from meat packaging. As per Stabenow’s proposal, it could potentially mirror the USDA’s paid grading service of beef (i.e. ""prime choice"" and ""select""), though supporters say that’s not enough. ""The (meat) industry has had plenty of time to do a COOL program, and they didn't. So we have mandatory COOL. That is the solution that provides consumers with what they’re demanding,"" Chris Waldrop of the Consumer Federation of America. What’s at 'steak' At its core, COOL is a consumer rights law, intended to help people make purchasing decisions -- be it supporting American ranchers or boycotting beef associated with Amazon deforestation. Yet it has provoked intense debate. While 90 percent of Americans want country-of-origin labeling, the interest doesn’t necessarily reflect in the dollars spent, says Jayson Lusk, an agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University. ""Analysis of scanner data from grocery stores shows essentially no impact of (mandatory country-of-origin labeling) when buying meat,"" he said. ""Despite this, there are real and demonstrable costs to processors and retailers. Thus, the totality of evidence suggests that COOL does not pass a cost-benefit test."" Canada and Mexico have also argued that the labeling might make people think U.S. products are safer, even when experts say there is little evidence to support or refute that point. ""U.S. companies have been doing a marvelous job of poisoning us for years,"" said Bill Marler, a food-borne illness attorney and publisher of Food Safety News. He pointed out that Malaysia banned American apples earlier this year due to a listeria outbreak, and Mexico rejected Californian lettuce in 2006 after growers found E. coli on the crop. While Marler thinks COOL can feed ""jingoist fears,"" he nonetheless supports it, as he believes in greater transparency in the food system. Like Marler, 283 consumer, agricultural, environmental, labor, and faith-based groups say COOL is about empowering consumers. In a letter ultimately unheeded by Conaway, they urged the House to not bow to the standard scare tactics of trade partners. ""We shouldn't automatically repeal a law passed by Congress because an international trade tribunal tells us it violates trade law. We first need to look at other options aside from repeal,"" said Ben Lilliston of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a sustainable farming advocacy group. He added that COOL laws exist around the world, and United States has willingly paid tariffs when it’s disagreed with past WTO rulings. ""Consumers have a legitimate interest in knowing where their food comes from,"" said Waldrop of the Consumer Federation of America. Our ruling ""The House of Representatives just voted 300-131 to remove ‘country-of-origin labeling’ on chicken, pork, and beef sold in the United States,"" according to a Facebook meme. The bill in question seeks to repeal mandatory country-of-origin labeling or COOL from ground and muscle cuts of chicken, pork, and beef. The House passed it in June this year with a 300-131 vote, after Canada and Mexico said the consumer rights law was unfair to foreign hog farmers and cattle ranchers and threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs. The Senate has yet to decide on the labeling law’s fate and, at this early stage, there has been support for making COOL voluntary. While country-of-origin labeling isn’t quite dead meat, the House voted for repeal." | https://www.meatinstitute.org/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/113565, http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-bans-imports-of-gala-granny-smith-apples-from-the-us, http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/COOL, http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/CFA-COOL-poll-press-release-May-2013.pdf, https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds384_e.htm, http://www.agri-pulse.com/Uploaded/CoalitionLetterOpposingCOOLRepeal6815.pdf, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2393/text, http://www.rollcall.com/news/country_of_origin_labeling_all_cost_no_benefit_commentary-241873-1.html, http://www.international.gc.ca/media/comm/news-communiques/2015/05/18b.aspx?lang=eng, http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/The%20EU%27s%20Country%20of%20Origin%20Labeling%20(COOL)%20Policy_Brussels%20USEU_EU-28_3-19-2014.pdf, http://www.law360.com/articles/666032/house-oks-bill-to-cut-meat-labeling-rules-after-wto-loss, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303755504579206112678746726, https://www.uschamber.com/letter/hill-letter-us-mandatory-country-origin-labeling-cool-rule, http://www.international.gc.ca/media_commerce/comm/news-communiques/2009/350.aspx?view=d&lang=eng, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wine-institute-calls-on-senate-to-take-action-on-house-passed-bill-to-prevent-canada-and-mexico-retaliation-2015-06-11, http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/12/business/fi-lettuce12 | 2true
| Agriculture, National, Trade, Facebook posts, |
36279 | "Beyond Meat"" and ""Impossible Burger"" foods have nearly identical ingredients to dog food." | July 30, 2019 | Are ‘Beyond Meat’ or ‘Impossible Burger’ Ingredients Indistinguishable From Dog Food? | Kim LaCapria | On July 20 2019, a Facebook user shared a photograph of what appears to be a block of text from an unnamed newspaper or a magazine, containing the claim that “meat substitutes” Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger had the same ingredients as dog food.A portion bordered with orange marker contained a section highlighted in blue (italicized below); it read:University of California professor Frank Mitloehner gave pro-real-meat interests an interesting talking point with the observation that the ingredients in the two leading plant-based meatless burgers are almost identical to those in dog food.The brands Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat both contain over 20 highly-processed ingredients commonly used in pet foods. Flavors and coloring are the only ingredients used in vegetable-based burgers but not dog food.Although the post lacked any dates, names of publications, or any lists of ingredients, it proved popular and accrued tens of thousands of shares.The screenshot came from a July 2019 story in trade publication Real Agriculture, which discussed how heavily processed the foods were rather than the ingredients themselves:“When you look at Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat, they have 21 or 22 highly processed ingredients. So processed, that you are hard pressed in identifying the difference between those items, versus let’s say, pet food.”Mitloehner explained to AgriTalk host Chip Flory that this is something that many consumers aren’t aware of, and when given the opportunity, aren’t able to distinguish the difference between the burgers and dog food. Mitloehner took to Twitter to further this point.“Within 24 hours, I had 100,000 people trying to answer that trivia question as to which one of the three is the dog food. The vast majority of the people had it wrong. I find that very interesting,” he says.As indicated in the screenshot, a University of California, Davis professor named Frank Mitloehner was responsible for a rather logically fallacious comparison between meat substitutes and dog food:Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor at the University of California-Davis, was a guest on AgriTalk last [in June 2019] where he shared about his recent discussion comparing the ingredients of plant-based meat alternatives to high-end dog food.“When you look at Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat, they have 21 or 22 highly processed ingredients. So processed, that you are hard pressed in identifying the difference between those items, versus let’s say, pet food.”Mitloehner explained to AgriTalk host Chip Flory that this is something that many consumers aren’t aware of, and when given the opportunity, aren’t able to distinguish the difference between the burgers and dog food. Mitloehner took to Twitter to further this point.“Within 24 hours, I had 100,000 people trying to answer that trivia question as to which one of the three is the dog food. The vast majority of the people had it wrong. I find that very interesting,” he says.Ingredients for the Impossible Burger are prominently available on the brand’s website:Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.Similarly, Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger had an ingredients list on their site. It read:Water, Pea Protein Isolate*, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Cocoa Butter, Mung Bean Protein, Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Apple Extract, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Pomegranate Fruit Powder, Beet Juice Extract (for color)*Peas are legumes. People with severe allergies to legumes like peanuts should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet because of the possibility of a pea allergy. Our products do not contain peanuts or tree nuts.The two “meat substitutes” mentioned in the post had very different ingredients from one another. While both mentioned “water” as a first ingredient, the second ingredients provided respectively were soy protein concentrate and pea protein isolate. Third ingredients respectively were coconut oil and canola oil, and the fourth for both were sunflower or coconut oil. The fifth ingredient listed for the Impossible Burger was “natural flavors,” and for Beyond Meat, rice protein.The screenshot also didn’t specify whether the “talking point” about meat substitutes and dog food was describing wet or dry dog food. We looked at a selection of top-selling wet dog foods to get a broader idea of what is in dog food overall.Purina ONE Smartblend (Chicken and Rice variety):Chicken (Source of Glucosamine), Rice Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal (Source of Glucosamine), Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal, Beef Fat Naturally Preserved with Mixed-Tocopherols, Glycerin, Liver Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Mono and Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Caramel Color, Dried Carrots, Dried Peas, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7)], Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Choline Chloride, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Sulfur. X-4154.Blue Buffalo Life Protection Adult Dog Food (Chicken & Rice variety):Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Barley, Oatmeal, Pea Starch, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Peas, Pea Protein, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Potatoes, Dried Chicory Root, Pea Fiber, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Garlic, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Vegetable Juice for color, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Parsley, Turmeric, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Copper Sulfate, Biotin (Vitamin B7), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Sulfate, Taurine, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Sodium Selenite, Oil of Rosemary.After that, we went over to kibble. Another random pick, Taste of The Wild Grain Free Premium High Protein Dry Dog Food High Prairie Adult (Roasted Bison and Venison), has the following list of ingredients:Buffalo, lamb meal, chicken meal, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), egg product, roasted bison, roasted venison, beef, natural flavor, tomato pomace, potato protein, pea protein, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, taurine, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.As far as wet food goes, the ingredients for Purina ONE Natural High Protein Gravy Wet Dog Food were provided as:Chicken and Turkey Broth, Chicken, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Meat By-Products, Brown Rice, Carrots, Soy Flour, Turkey, Corn Starch-Modified, Spinach, Egg Product, Minerals [Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite], Added Color, Tricalcium Phosphate, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7)], Choline Chloride. E-4211.In all the above dog food products, not only were the first ingredients different, but so were the balances of ingredients. Although there were one or two crossover foods such as rice, pet foods were mainly composed of animal products like broth, organ meat, and just meat. Obviously, the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat — by their very nature — contain no meat.Mitloehner later elaborated that he was trying to make a point about processed foods in general rather than the ingredients in particular, but that failed to make it into the Facebook post quoting him:Seemingly, the ingredients of the hyped and ultra-processed plant based burgers are indistinguishable from dog food. A few hours after posting, 130,000 people found this post interesting and intriguing, not silly.— Frank Mitloehner (@GHGGuru) June 30, 2019The popularity of the Facebook post comparing Impossible Burgers or Beyond Meat to dog food is a clear critique of non-meat eaters, but its claims are false. Ingredient lists for the two items contrasted with the popular dog food varieties (both wet and dry) showed that the first ingredients of the latter were clearly animal products or by-products, and therefore did not match the meat substitutes at all. | https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fare-beyond-meat-or-impossible-burger-ingredients-indistinguishable-from-dog-food%2F, https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/, https://faq.impossiblefoods.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018937494-What-are-the-ingredients-, https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/97/Faulty-Comparison, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/did-u-s-president-donald-trump-say-what-youre-seeing-is-not-whats-happening/, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fare-beyond-meat-or-impossible-burger-ingredients-indistinguishable-from-dog-food%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/steve-jobs-last-words/, https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wild-Protein-Prairie-Premium/dp/B07L97GQW5/ref=pd_cp_199_1?pd_rd_w=L1EJi&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=ZTQD83M9PBGF2N0EMC8P&pd_rd_r=5e4ff9f8-5c46-418b-8b8b-0d78cef109df&pd_rd_wg=CepiA&pd_rd_i=B07L97GQW5&psc=1&refRID=ZTQD83M9PBGF2N0EMC8P, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/kim/, https://twitter.com/GHGGuru/status/1145366832775225344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157174243665993&set=a.81016495992&type=3&theater, https://impossiblefoods.com/, https://www.amazon.com/Purina-Smartblend-Tender-Chicken-Entree/dp/B006FSUUTW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ref_=Oct_MGiftedC_2975359011_1&pf_rd_r=5N7ERS9HZHJHYQF91CEB&pf_rd_p=f2f3000a-85a9-561e-9ab3-639d8014f6b3&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2975359011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=femmedangereu-20&linkId=98340447266a87d9d3c02a8fed8c6692&language=en_US, https://www.amazon.com/Purina-Smartblend-Natural-Chicken-Formula/dp/B008MKI7KU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=femmedangereu-20&linkId=da15d854ab38a0066b07295b2c4491f9&language=en_US, https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Buffalo-Protection-Formula-Adult/dp/B0009YWKUA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FSNN8RS521V5NFCJDMWM&linkCode=sl1&tag=femmedangereu-20&linkId=205277439824d4750a00d437f2e6e487&language=en_US, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fare-beyond-meat-or-impossible-burger-ingredients-indistinguishable-from-dog-food%2F, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Are+%27Beyond+Meat%27+or+%27Impossible+Burger%27+Ingredients+Indistinguishable+From+Dog+Food%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fare-beyond-meat-or-impossible-burger-ingredients-indistinguishable-from-dog-food%2F&via=KimLaCapria, https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wild-Protein-Prairie-Premium/dp/B07L97GQW5/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FSNN8RS521V5NFCJDMWM&linkCode=sl1&tag=femmedangereu-20&linkId=4062cd6f2806dca7f87ea3f08772289f&language=en_US, https://www.realagriculture.com/2019/07/dog-food-or-fake-meat-most-cant-tell-the-difference/, https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/the-beyond-burger/, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fare-beyond-meat-or-impossible-burger-ingredients-indistinguishable-from-dog-food%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/viral-content/ | 0false
| Fact Checks, Viral Content |
21353 | We have had over 40 days this summer where it was unsafe to breathe the air. | September 30, 2011 | How dangerous is it to breathe Atlanta air? | Eric Stirgus | "For many Atlanta-area residents, 2011 will be remembered as the long, hot -- no, veryhot -- summer. The high temperature climbed past 90 degrees on 66 days this summer, according to the National Weather Service. Officials warned it was dangerously hot on some days. How dangerous was it to be outside, you ask? ""We have had over 40 days this summer where it was unsafe to breathe the air,"" said Jennette Gayer, staff advocate for Georgia Environment, a group with goals of protecting the state’s air, water and natural resources. The claim surprised us since we’ve seen no widespread reports of Georgians being hospitalized or claiming harm from breathing. We thought we’d check this out. Gayer made the statement during a recent meeting at Atlanta City Hall. She was there to speak out about the proposed 1 percent sales tax to pay for about 150 transportation projects in the Atlanta region. A referendum is scheduled for July 2012. Gayer’s remarks to the packed audience of about 200 people in the City Council chamber were focused on her desire to see more projects she thinks may improve air quality, such as a commuter rail line between Atlanta and Griffin. ""[W]e need ... more alternatives to cars,"" Gayer told us in an email. Gayer based her comments on the state Department of Natural Resources, which monitors air quality in the Atlanta region from 10 different locations. The state uses federal guidelines to measure the level of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone (at ground level) and sulfur dioxide. The state sets a ratings scale, green for ""good"" to purple for ""very unhealthy."" Some observers contend the ratings are based on flawed conclusions about the impact of pollutants on the environment. Susan Zimmer-Dauphinee, who is in charge of running the state’s monitoring system, said there have been 38 days this year where air quality levels were labeled as ""unhealthy"" or ""code orange."" The unhealthy rating is primarily for groups such as young children, the elderly and those with asthma or other respiratory conditions. So is it stretching the truth to say there have been 40 days this summer when it was ""unsafe"" to breathe the air because the code orange doesn’t include all groups? ""The young, the elderly and people with existing respiratory problems would definitely be most impacted, but more and more research is pointing to even healthy adults experiencing problems,"" Gayer said. Gayer believes the current air quality standards should be strengthened, pointing to arguments from some scientists who lobbied the federal Environmental Protection Agency on that point. The Obama administration earlier this month reversed course on some clean air regulations aimed at reducing smog. Some congressional leaders worried the tougher air quality standards would hurt businesses in the struggling economy. Arthur Winer, former director of UCLA’s Environmental Science and Engineering Program, said Gayer could have been more precise. ""In general, the air quality standards and health alerts are focused on the most vulnerable populations, rather than the general public,"" said Winer, who says he has written more than 200 journal articles and book chapters on air pollution and related topics over the past 30 years. ""However, to be rigorous, it would probably have been better if this person had said ‘there were 40 days this summer in which it was unsafe to breathe the air for small children, the elderly and people with respiratory illnesses like asthma.’ "" To be more technical, the state’s chart shows 18 of those days were in May and early June, before the official start of summer. Gayer said she based her comments at the meeting on Atlanta’s smog season, which begins May 1 and ends Sept. 30. Gayer’s comment was generally accurate -- with an emphasis on generally. But it also leaves out some key details." | http://www.gaepd.org/air/smogforecast/stats.php | 1mixture
| Georgia, Environment, Transportation, Jennette Gayer, |
11151 | PCSK9-Inhibitor Drug Class That Grew Out of UT Southwestern Research Becomes a Game-Changer for Patient with Extremely High Cholesterol | March 3, 2016 | Frank Brown, the subject of this news release, with Dr. Khera, his cardiologist.This news release describes one patient’s response to a “game-changing” new drug designed to help patients manage their cholesterol, and offers a brief history of how this class of drug was developed and how they work. The release offers only anecdotal data on the drug’s efficacy — it offers numbers for only one patient. What’s more, the release doesn’t even tell readers which drug the patient took (though it narrows it down to one of two drugs). It also tells readers nothing about costs or potential harms, and describes high cholesterol as a disease — instead of as a risk factor for disease. High levels of cholesterol, especially high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol relative to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, are widely considered a significant risk factor for heart disease. However, it is only a risk factor — it is not a disease in itself. It is important for news releases to characterize this distinction clearly, particularly when the focus of the release is a drug treatment that costs thousands of dollars and carries health risks of its own. That said, the larger question here is why a health research institution issued a news release that offers only anecdotal data on the health of a single patient taking an unspecified drug. | Matt Shipman,Dan Mayer, MD,Kathlyn Stone | The release does not address cost at all. While the release does not tell us which of the two new drugs the patient took, it does tell us that he took either evolocumab (sold under the trade name Repatha) or alirocumab (sold under the trade name Praluent). Both drugs are given via injection either once or twice a month. According to press materials issued when Repatha was approved by the FDA in August 2015, “The U.S. Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) price of Repatha is $542.31 for one 140 mg single-use prefilled SureClick autoinjector or prefilled syringe, or $14,100 annually for the every two weeks administration.” That’s not chump change. According to press materials issued when the FDA approved Praluent last July, “The U.S. WAC price of Praluent is $40 per day ($1,120 every 28 days) for both the 75 mg and 150 mg doses.” Again, that’s not an insignificant expense. The cost to consumers may vary, depending on each patient’s insurance, etc., but failure to address cost is a significant oversight. This falls short in two different ways. First, the release only tells readers how much one patient’s LDL cholesterol dropped (from 384 to 111). That’s anecdotal data. And, because the release doesn’t tell readers which drug the patient was taking, it is not even clear which drug was responsible for that single patient’s lower cholesterol numbers. Second, the release doesn’t tell readers what this reduction in LDL cholesterol means in terms of the patient’s actual health. Does it reduce the patient’s risk of a heart attack? If so, by how much — a lot? A little? The release does not mention potential harms at all. If anything, it does just the opposite, saying at one point that an observation of a woman with a genetic variation that naturally confers the effects of this class of drugs suggests that “therapies aimed at blocking [the protein targeted by these drugs] would not only be effective, but also safe.” That’s a good anecdote about the inspiration for the drug treatment, but it’s problematic in a release that seems to focus almost exclusively on anecdotes. Particularly since the release does not tell readers that both evolocumab and alirocumab have potential adverse side effects. According to the press materials for evolocumab (Repatha), “In a 52-week trial, adverse reactions led to discontinuation of treatment in 2.2% of Repatha-treated patients.” And the press materials for alirocumab (Praluent) note “Praluent can cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions that can be severe and require treatment in a hospital.” What’s more, there could be less common, but more serious adverse effects that will only come to light after large numbers of patients take these drugs for long time. There is nothing in the release that says for how long the drug was used. These potential health effects are worth noting — especially in a release that focuses solely on the use of a new class of drugs. The release shares incomplete information on one patient’s experience. That is not satisfactory. This is a close call but we think it crosses the line to Not Satisfactory. We stated this above, but it bears repeating: High levels of cholesterol, especially high levels of LDL cholesterol relative to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, are widely considered a significant risk factor for heart disease. However, it is only a risk factor — it is not a disease in itself. The release refers to “dangerously high levels of cholesterol” in its opening paragraph, and it focuses on the story of a patient with familial hypercholesterolemia — a condition that is known to cause premature heart disease. But it never tells readers that cholesterol is only a risk factor and doesn’t give any insight into how common this condition is or how worried the average reader should be about it. “There are many more Frank Browns out there – patients who can’t control their cholesterol with the standard drugs,” the release says. How many? The release doesn’t talk about funding for this individual patient, which is fine. But it does talk about a number of researchers who were involved in developing evolocumab and alirocumab. Were those researchers supported by the relevant drug companies? Does the medical school itself have partnerships with these companies? It’s not clear. If those potential conflicts do not exist, it would have been good to make that clear — particularly in a case like this, where the rationale for the news release is not clear to readers. The release does mention three other drugs that are designed to reduce cholesterol levels. However, the release would have been stronger if it had also mentioned the importance of diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors that can significantly influence cholesterol levels. The release notes that the drugs have been approved by the FDA, and that at least one of them was available to the patient described in the release. The reader can infer that the drugs are available to the public. The release explains what is novel about this particular class of drugs. However, it’s not at all clear why this release is coming out now. The drugs themselves were approved by the FDA last summer and the release does not appear to be related to the publication of research findings. There is virtually no information here that was not available six months ago, other than the anecdotal data on one patient. We would like to give the release a pass here, because we already dinged the release for the way it discusses cholesterol under “Disease Mongering.” However, we can’t. Here’s why: the release refers to this drug class as a “game-changer” in its headline. What does that mean? Even accepting the fact that the headline says the drug was a “game-changer” for only one patient, it’s still pretty fuzzy. Did the drug lower the patient’s LDL cholesterol to optimal levels? No, and the release itself says as much. Did the drug significantly reduce the patient’s risk for future heart problems? It’s not clear, because the release doesn’t address that. If a release is going to use hyperbolic language — whether it’s a “game-changer” or a “breakthrough” or a “holy grail” — it needs to clearly lay out the results to back it up. That is not the case here. | 0false
| Academic medical center news release,cardiovascular disease |
|
5144 | Producers grapple with UW Health’s shift from local food. | In February of this year, Tommy Stauffer of Vitruvian Farms in McFarland went to meet with UW Health. Vitruvian had been selling salad greens, tomatoes and microgreens to the hospital’s cafeterias for more than three years. | Lindsay Christians | “We met with the whole chef team,” said Stauffer, who runs Vitruvian with Shawn Kuhn. “They reaffirmed to me they were going to be keeping us on board, buying the same stuff. They talked about expanding a few things they were not getting locally.” A few weeks later, Stauffer got a brief letter from a University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority employee he’d never met. “A decision has been made to move this business to another vendor,” it said. The termination date was 30 days later, the Capital Times reported. For the past four years, UW Health has touted its wide-ranging commitment to local farms and sustainable sourcing. UW’s goal to source 20% to 30% of its meat, cheese and produce in an “environmentally, economically and socially responsible” way was rare enough to merit stories with headlines like “Wisconsin hospitals want more local food for patients’ plates.” On Instagram and Facebook, the culinary team showcased mushrooms from a farm in Waunakee and beef from Boscobel. In summer 2016, a weekly farmers’ market popped up outside the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research. Purchasing data compiled in 2018 won the hospitals a Circle of Excellence in Food Award from PracticeGreenHealth, an industry organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. Yet this past winter, many of the small scale, local producers praised by UW Health in recent years received letters like the one Stauffer got. In the Four Lakes Cafe at University Hospital, a silhouette of Wisconsin under the words “Made Locally, Served Here” has been wiped clean of farm names and cheesemakers. When an institution the size of UW Health stops buying from a small producer, it affects not only that smaller company’s bottom line. It also impacts these producers’ visibility to a local audience with a vested interest in healthy food. Many of those partnerships came about under the leadership of Ellen Ritter, UW Health’s executive chef, who left the company at the end of 2018 and has not been replaced. “People love to know where their food comes from and making that connection,” Ritter said. “The biggest piece was the economic impact on the farmers and the community.” Megan Waltz, director of culinary services and clinical nutrition at UW Health, said its list of farms is “ever evolving.” Waltz cited efficiency, cost savings and a new accounting system as reasons to shift back to broadline distributors like Sysco (which UW had used all along, in addition to smaller farms). The promotional push now is around antibiotic free meats, sourced primarily through Sysco and UW Provisions. “You only have so much money,” Waltz said. “In a health care institution you have a variety of needs. If you’re spending more money on food, that’s less money for the latest machine for patients.” UW Health has a net revenue of $2.9 billion. Its food budget was around $10 million in 2018. Last year, Vitruvian saw $36,000 in sales from UW Health. The relationship was important enough to Vitruvian that Stauffer offered UW a discounted rate for an event held on their farm. “When I got that stock letter I was so frustrated,” Stauffer said. “It’s one thing for them to say we’re cutting costs everywhere. It’s another thing to not have their chef even call me when we’ve developed this relationship.” UW Health serves about 2.5 million meals per year to employees, patients and their families. Changes on the culinary side first made headlines when, in 2015, it stopped selling sugary drinks. The kitchen got rid of fryers and revamped the salad bar, sprucing up options with local kale and greens, putting the cost of a plant-based lunch below a burger. Salad sales nearly doubled in two years. By February 2017, Nancy Stohs reported in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that UW Health’s culinary services bought directly from 50-60 small Wisconsin farms. Then last year, Culinary Services cut $2.1 million (about 20 from its food budget. One producer that dropped in the first wave of cuts was SuperCharge! Foods, which had been making prepackaged grab-and-go salads and growing microgreens for the salad bar. Jamaal Stricklin said purchases from UW Health had a real impact on his company’s bottom line. “We’re pretty small. A couple thousand dollars a month is a big deal for us,” said Stricklin, SuperCharge’s director of sales. SuperCharge!, like Vitruvian, hopes to work with UW again. The microgreens producer has yet to replace the lost revenue. “I don’t want to close that door,” Stricklin said. “I need to make sure I don’t burn bridges.” Belle Pleva at Paleo Mama had been supplying UW Health with cheesecakes, granola, candied pecans and cheddar crisps at about $600 to $1,000 a month for more than three years. She got her termination letter on March 11. Paleo Mama has been adding stores every month, so it won’t be a huge financial hit. But for Pleva, selling to UW Health was a boon to visibility for her gluten-free, keto-friendly snacks. “A lot of customers have come to me and told me they found our products there,” Pleva said. “We did reach a lot of people and had the potential to continue to reach more. It’s frustrating and sad they decided to make these cuts and eliminate all these local products.” Waltz attributed recent changes to a need for greater efficiency. She’d hoped to get Paleo Mama snacks through L&L Foods, a distributor in Verona. (Pleva said she does not work with a distributor). “We like purchasing through local farms but we have challenges with that because of volume,” Waltz said. “We have limited loading dock space. If you have 40 small farms delivering to a loading dock where they are also delivering medical supplies, we have to be mindful of that.” A partnership with UW Health gave Underground Meats the incentive it needed to develop deli-style salamis and deli meats to fit into UW’s program. Jonny Hunter, founder and co-owner of Underground, said Meats was able to “hit the same price point as the product they were using,” sourced through Neesvig’s. (UW Health now stocks Applegate Farms, available from Sysco.) “It was a good amount, $700 to $1,500 a week, in deli meats and sausage crumble,” Hunter said. “They would use it for sandwiches, for pizza and the salad bar. We knew we could do this type of product, and she (Ritter) gave us the quantity that they would use.” Underground’s products appeared in UW Health’s cafeterias in March 2017. In April of this year, they got a termination letter. Hunter, like Pleva, was less concerned about losing business and more disappointed in the larger changes at UW. “It was really exciting the way they were doing it, as a big institutional buyer,” Hunter said. “It was something I thought could be a model for other companies, other institutions in this area. You can work with small producers, you can support your local economy.” “We were trying to create a local food system,” Ritter said. “Any time you can eliminate the middleman you put more money in pockets.” Hunter said it felt like they were helping each other out. “She was using the size and the customer base of UW Health to support the local food economy and build something that could be modeled elsewhere,” Hunter said. “It adds strength to our local food systems and farmers’ capacity, their durability to survive.” If UW Health does source locally, Waltz wants it to be through distributors, the way most food-related institutions and restaurants work. Distributors take 10-20% on top of already discounted wholesale prices, so it’s not a one-to-one financial swap with direct distribution. But when a company like Cadence Cold Brew partners with a broadline, they get greater reach around and outside the state. Compared to the direct relationships Ritter and her team cultivated, this kind of system has layers of processing. Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen makes applesauce from Wisconsin apples, and Sysco distributes it to UW Health. JRS County Acres buys cage free brown eggs from Amish farms and packs them for distribution by Fifth Season Cooperative in Viroqua. Fifth Season, in turn, is distributed by Sysco. Every business takes a cut. More than a decade after the first big boom of the farm to table movement, it’s unusual for large institutions to commit to the kind of sourcing UW Health was trying to do. Ritter had insisted it was complicated, but possible. Some of the attrition has been to changes on the farms themselves — Peacefully Organic Produce is no longer producing. Twisted Oak founder Heather Oppor said it was difficult to turn a profit on antibiotic-free, free-range pork without selling the whole animal. Twisted Oak made its last deliveries last fall. UW still works with some local bakeries, among them Greenbush Bakery, Just Bakery and Fosdal Bakery in Stoughton. And some farm relationships developed during the years of focus on local sourcing have remained. Rufus Haucke at Keewaydin Farms, a certified organic CSA farm in Viola, dropped off his first UW Health order of 2019 on May 15. In the past, UW Health has purchased cabbage and kale, cherry tomatoes and rhubarb from Keewaydin. It has been a steady buyer for the past two years, he said ($7,000 in 2018, $5,000 the year before). “I’ve been in the business long enough to know that in these institutions, it’s how much the director is involved and passionate about the purchasing,” Haucke said. “Our sales have gone up in the last two years and we talked about them going up again. They have been an important customer.” Mark Bearce founded Kettle Range Meats, an aggregator of beef from about 50 Wisconsin farms, after the closure of Black Earth Meats. In summer 2016 he worked with Ritter on a purchasing plan for UW Health that kept in mind both cost constraints and whole animal butchery. “When we started the program, they were interested in finding a way to optimize their purchasing to use whole animals as much as possible,” Bearce said. “People get used to being able to order 200 cases of rib-eye steaks without thinking about how many animals need to be sacrificed and processed to get 200 cases of steaks. “UW was conscious of the fact when they ordered large quantities they weren’t using the whole animal,” he said. “We tried to optimize how the animal got used, to minimize number that needed to be processed to meet the hospital’s needs.” Bearce and others working in local food systems recognize why it’s hard for schools, large companies and hospitals to work with small farms. “One of the problems is finding a way to meet the needs of bigger customers on a regular basis at the prices that they need,” he said. “Kettle Range fills that gap by consolidating and wholesaling to make it easier.” Becker Family Farms has been selling to UW Health for a couple of years, having worked with St. Mary’s Hospital before that. Matt Becker’s Lodi farm is not certified organic, so it was hard to break into the community supported agriculture market. He decided to focus on grocery accounts like Woodman’s, Hy-Vee and Piggly Wiggly, Capitol Lakes retirement community, and several restaurants. “For wholesale you need to move more product to make it profitable,” Becker said. In January and February of this year when UW Health was paring down the farms it worked with, Becker said they upped their commitment to him. He’s happy about this — it’s more profitable for a farm to sell directly to an institution than to a wholesale market, he said. “That helps us,” he said. “We know that if we’re able to plant certain amount of tomatoes or broccoli, we can say you’re willing to commit to 100 pounds of tomatoes every week. At UW, instead of wholesale, we can get a similar or little better price than what Sysco would charge.” Waltz said UW Health wants its “food environments” to support the wellness of its employees and staff, to “model behaviors we’re asking them to do outside our building.” “You teach people how to eat within a budget,” Waltz said. “It’s a balance of the choices you’re making and we balance that every day. We try to best support local farms, best support people’s health and wellness and well-being, have healthy foods available, fresh foods. But we also need to work within a budget.” Haucke at Keewaydin Farms is glad to work with institutions when he can, for as long as he can. He said UW Health has been an “easy and enjoyable” partner. “Institutions would have a greater impact on our business if they put more of their purchasing power behind us,” Haucke said. “We’re bringing in a pittance compared to what they do serve. I’m happy to get any sort of business I get. “Whatever they do do is better than nothing.” ___ Information from: The Capital Times, http://www.madison.com/tct | https://madison.com/ct/news/local/uw-health-shifts-focus-on-local-food-surprising-farmers-and/article_d90523cd-38c1-5db0-afa7-0c758b698264.html,http://www.madison.com/tct | 2true
| Madison, Wisconsin, Local food, University of Wisconsin, Financial markets, Health, Business |
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2035 | Device treatment may silence ringing in the ears. | January 12, 2011 | A new treatment that retrains part of the brain that processes sound may help silence tinnitus — a ringing in the ears that afflicts 10 percent of senior citizens and more than 40 percent of military veterans, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. | Julie Steenhuysen | They said a device that stimulates the vagus nerve in the neck while simultaneously playing different sounds for several weeks helped eliminate the condition in a group of rats. A trial of the treatment in humans is set to start in Europe this year, said Dr. Navzer Engineer of MicroTransponder, a medical device company affiliated with The University of Texas at Dallas, whose study appears in the journal Nature. Tinnitus is sometimes brought on by hearing loss. It occurs as cells in the inner ear are damaged, often from a loud noise. Current drugs help mask tinnitus, but the condition is incurable. Engineer’s team thinks tinnitus may be caused when too many brain cells become tuned to a specific tone in the brain. So his team set out to train the brain to ignore the nerve signals that cause the ringing sound. To do this, they paired a device that sends electrical impulses to the vagus nerve in the neck with different sounds. Stimulating this nerve releases chemicals such as acetylcholine and norepinephrine that trigger changes in the brain. The University of Texas at Dallas team tested this approach in a series of experiments with rats, using an indirect but accepted method of testing hearing in animals. In one, they stimulated the vagus nerve while playing different sounds 300 times a day for 20 days to a group of eight rats with a form of tinnitus. The tones were close to the frequency of the ringing sound, and the hope was to trick some of the nerve cells into listening to the new tones rather than the ringing tone. When the team checked the nerve responses to different tones, the tinnitus had disappeared in rats exposed to the tones and nerve stimulation, but it persisted in a group of control animals. “Unlike previous treatments, we’re not masking the tinnitus. We are eliminating the source of the tinnitus,” Michael Kilgard of the University of Texas-Dallas, who worked on the study, said in a statement. MicroTransponder is developing a wireless medical device to stimulate the vagus nerve and hopes to test it in people later this year. Cyberonics Inc already sells vagus nerve stimulation devices for people with epilepsy and depression. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded a large part of the research. | 2true
| Health News |
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39784 | An abandoned “ghost ship” full of Ebola-infected rats will make landfall in Florida. | March 17, 2015 | Ghost Ship Full of Ebola Rats Headed Toward U.S. – Fiction! | Rich Buhler & Staff | A fake news website started the false eRumor that an Ebola-stricken ghost ship was headed for the Florida coast. The article first appeared on the website World News Daily Report, and, within days, was shared on Facebook thousands of times. According to the report: A large cargo ship originating from West Africa has the American authorities on high alert as it is approaching the coast of Florida. All 17 crewmembers of the Guinean Luck are reported to have died from the Ebola hemorrhagic fever and the presence of thousands of rats possibly infected with the disease aboard the ship could represent a major threat for the American population. World News Daily Report regularly publishes satirical stories in a way that makes them appear real. The website’s disclaimer, however, says that it, “Assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content.” Fake news websites like the World News Daily Report dupe readers into believing false reports are true by including bits and pieces of factual news stories in them. In this eRumor, for example, the website uses an actual story from 2014 about a ghost ship full of “cannibal rats” that was drifting freely at sea. It should be noted that the rats were not infected with Ebola, and the ship did not set sail from West Africa, as the eRumor claimed. The U.K-based newspaper The Independent reports: A ghost ship carrying nothing but disease-ridden rats could be about to make land on Britain’s shore, experts have warned. The Lyubov Orlova cruise liner has been drifting across the north Atlantic for the better part of a year, and salvage hunters say there is a strong chance it is heading this way. Built in Yugoslavia in 1976, the unlucky vessel was abandoned in a Canadian harbour after its owners were embroiled in a debt scandal and failed to pay the crew. The authorities in Newfoundland tried to sell the hull for scrap — valued at £600,000 ($907,000) — to the Dominican Republic, but cut their losses when it came loose in a storm on the way. British authorities worried that the rat-filled ship would reach landfall in the U.K., but the ship sank on its own in the North Atlantic in January of 2014. Comments | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mystery-of-the-lyubov-orlova-ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-could-be-heading-for-british-coast-9080103.html, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/9-11-attack/, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Ghost+Ship+Full+of+Ebola+Rats+Headed+Toward+U.S.+%E2%80%93+Fiction%21&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fghost-ship-full-of-ebola-rats-headed-toward-us%2F&via=erumors, http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/disclaimer/, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ghost-ship-lyubov-orlova-sinks-3058186, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fghost-ship-full-of-ebola-rats-headed-toward-us%2F, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fghost-ship-full-of-ebola-rats-headed-toward-us%2F, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fghost-ship-full-of-ebola-rats-headed-toward-us%2F, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fghost-ship-full-of-ebola-rats-headed-toward-us%2F, http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/ghost-ship-filled-with-ebola-ridden-rats-heading-for-florida/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/green-beret-sniper-bryan-sikes-destroys-michael-moore-in-letter/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/facebook-to-begin-deleting-inactive-likes-from-business-pages/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/truthorfiction/ | 0false
| 9/11 Attack on America |
16972 | "Brett Hulsey Says opponent Mary Burke told reporters she would have ""required workers to give up bargained-for healthcare and retirement benefits like Gov. Walker." | May 29, 2014 | "Hulsey claimed Burke told Journal Sentinel reporters and editors that she ""would have required workers to give up bargained-for healthcare and retirement benefits like Gov. Walker."" There’s an element of truth here in that Burke did say she backed benefits cuts in the same areas as Walker got, and was confident she could have achieved them. But Hulsey’s phrasing makes it sound like Burke backs Walker’s approach. That’s a huge stretch given that she would have left collective bargaining intact and tried to negotiate the cost-cutting moves." | Dave Umhoefer | "Democrat Brett Hulsey says that any union member who supports Mary Burke ""is like a chicken who votes for Colonel Sanders."" Them’s fightin’ words -- and they’re aimed at a fellow Democrat vying to take on Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the November election. Hulsey, a state representative from Madison and former vice president of a union local at a Sierra Club office, alleges outsourcing of jobs by Trek Bicycle when Burke was a Trek board member. Hulsey is also displeased with Burke’s support of a charter school in Madison, where she is on the school board. But what really miffs Hulsey is Burke saying it was ""reasonable"" and ""fair"" for public employees to pay more toward their state-funded pensions and health insurance in 2011. In his controversial move to sharply limit collective bargaining, Walker and fellow Republicans imposed those cost-sharing moves on state employees and cleared the way for local governments to do the same. It was part of the law known as Act 10. Hulsey is accusing Burke of Walker-like anti-union behavior regarding those benefits and other issues. She supports ""taking"" public servants’ healthcare and retirement benefits, Hulsey claimed in a May 21, 2014 news release. And in a letter to Burke in advance of the South Central Federation of Labor’s annual bean feed, a long-running celebration sponsored by the Madison-based labor union umbrella group, Hulsey wrote: ""You told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that you would have required workers to give up bargained for healthcare and retirement benefits like Gov. Walker."" Is Hulsey right? Burke’s statements on Act 10 Burke, who entered the governor’s race in early October 2013, has been remarkably consistent in her comments on Act 10. As support for his claim, Hulsey cites an April 18, 2014 interview with the Journal Sentinel in which Burke said she would work to restore collective bargaining for public workers while still seeking efficient government. In the interview, Burke said: ""If I had been governor I would have made sure I bargained for the changes that needed to be made to balance the state budget. I think it was only fair to ask for contributions to health care and pensions but I think those could have been negotiated, certainly firmly but fairly."" Walker’s approach, she said, left the state divided and has caused teachers and prospective educators to question whether salaries and benefits will be sufficient to support their careers and pay off student loans. ""Wisconsin walked away from the table and left it in a worse place,"" Burke said. So, Burke staked out a somewhat nuanced position. She defended getting public workers to pay more. She said she’d have negotiated over the pension and health changes, in contrast to Walker’s approach of removing those as subjects of bargaining. And she suggested she could have achieved a result similar to Walker’s by being firm in her ""ask"" for the benefits changes. Could she have? That’s debatable. In 2011, some union leaders at one point said they’d agree to the benefits givebacks. But that was under extreme pressure because Walker had the votes for the stringent limits on bargaining -- and a ban on employers from deducting union dues from employee paychecks. In any event, it’s clear from Burke’s comments that she wanted a similar result on pension and healthcare cost-sharing as Walker, but wouldn’t -- and couldn’t -- have ""required"" workers to pay more. That’s because, she said, she’d have negotiated to try to get that. But her comments also suggest she would have made a high priority of getting those ""fair"" givebacks in exchange for something else. Burke’s comments have been met with disappointment from some quarters on the left and among union leaders, but she’s received endorsements from the largest state employee union, major teachers unions and the state AFL-CIO. They said her support is clear for collective bargaining, which she described as ""something that I believe in and think is right for our state,"" in an appearance on The Devil’s Advocates radio show. Meanwhile, Hulsey is making a full-throated pledge to try to repeal Act 10 as a whole, including the benefits cuts, saying the cuts were not necessary. He has pledged to provide back pay to workers whose wages declined because of the act. Hulsey told us that Burke’s comments -- that she would have negotiated the benefits changes she needed -- amount to an approach that would have ""required"" the cuts of workers, ""just in a more humane way"" than Walker. Our rating Hulsey claimed Burke told Journal Sentinel reporters and editors that she ""would have required workers to give up bargained-for healthcare and retirement benefits like Gov. Walker."" There’s an element of truth here in that Burke did say she backed benefits cuts in the same areas as Walker got, and was confident she could have achieved them. But Hulsey’s phrasing makes it sound like Burke backs Walker’s approach. That’s a huge stretch given that she would have left collective bargaining intact and tried to negotiate the cost-cutting moves." | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQaWezHo2rc, http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/video/?bctid=3483299359001, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI8AH8xw-qM, http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/140521HulseyCampaign.pdf | 0false
| Labor, State Budget, Workers, Wisconsin, Brett Hulsey, |
5787 | Education, climate change, health care on lawmakers’ agenda. | The Oregon Legislature convened Tuesday for the 2019 session, aiming to improve the state’s lagging public schools — and find the revenue to accomplish that, address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promote access to health care and housing. | Andrew Selsky | Democrats who control both the Senate and the House of Representatives say they have stretched out a hand to Republicans to bridge the partisan divide. Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, said lawmakers are building consensus on land use in eastern Oregon. He highlighted a Senate bill on Tuesday that allows counties in the sparsely populated, predominantly Republican region to designate up to 50 acres outside urban growth boundaries for industrial and other employment uses. The bill was sponsored by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, and Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena. Courtney has said he wants legislation to benefit the entire state of Oregon. Rep. Carl Wilson, leader of House Republicans, warned on Friday that they would try to block legislation they deem dangerous to rural Oregon’s economic health. Legislation to cut statewide carbon emissions is a top priority, Dembrow told reporters. Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is the biggest component of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. “You’ll see it as a priority for the governor, the House and as well for the Senate,” Dembrow said. One of the challenges in doing a carbon pricing program is to not cause manufacturers in Oregon to move to other states with no, or more lax, greenhouse-gas emissions standards. “Global warming is a global problem, and so our preference would be to create a program where they can be kept in state, under the program, and put on a steady (emissions) reduction diet over time,” Dembrow said. A third-party analysis will be incorporated into the bill that determined which high-emissions manufacturers wouldn’t be able to compete if the carbon pricing program was instituted too abruptly, Dembrow said. The Legislature’s joint committee on carbon reduction hopes to have draft legislation ready by the end of January, Dembrow said. Gov. Kate Brown has a $2 billion education investment package, in addition to her base budget, in her proposed state budget that would require some type of tax increase. Priorities are for early childhood education, increasing the school year to 180 days, increasing the high school graduation rate, and technical education. Payments into the unfunded liability of the state’s public pension system, known as PERS, will inevitably siphon off some education funding, Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, told reporters Tuesday. “Whatever we invest in our K-12 system, or even our higher ed system, won’t buy us as much— in terms of teachers, in terms of classroom days — because of the ever-increasing percentage of employer payments into the PERS system,” Steiner Hayward said. A health care financing package for the Medicaid recipients is critical and will start in the House, Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, who is the chairwoman of the health care committee, told reporters. Speaking at the opening of the Senate, Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, cited words penned by Langston Hughes that read: “Keep your hand on the plow; hold on.” “I think that’s appropriate for us as we begin this session,” Frederick said. ___ Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky | https://twitter.com/andrewselsky,https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB2/Introduced | 2true
| Legislature, Climate, Climate change, Health, Access to health care, Oregon, Salem, Portland |
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30095 | An advertisement sought paid participants to take part in the Central American caravan to the U.S. | October 26, 2018 | British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said on Monday the European Commission approved its diabetes drug Forxiga for use as an oral supplement to insulin in adults with a rare type of the disease. | Bethania Palma | Forxiga can now be used along with insulin in patients with Type-1 diabetes and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or more when insulin alone has not been able to control blood sugar levels, the company said. Type-1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin hormone. Farxiga or Forxiga, as the drug is known outside the United States, is one of AstraZeneca’s top ten drugs by sales. It generated $1.39 billion in 2018, and is key to the company’s future as it turns itself around. | 0false
| Junk News, honduran caravan |
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29012 | The soft drinks Coca-Cola and Pepsi used as pesticides by farmers in India. | May 19, 2014 | To what extent farmers in India might currently be using soft drinks in place of pesticides, and just how effective that technique might be, are yet to be determined. | David Mikkelson | A meme raised an interesting question. Example: Can this be true? Farmers in India in the state of Chattisgarh use Coke and Pepsi as pesticides because it’s cheaper than pesticides and gets the job done just as well. Pepsi and Coca-Cola strongly disagree that their products can be used as pesticides because they say there is nothing in the drinks that can be used as pest control. But, the Farmers in the Durg, Rajnandgaon and Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh disagree and have successfully used Pepsi and Coke to protect their rice plantations against pests. And if you remember correctly Rajnandgaon recently grew a world record in rice production without the use of GMOs. We know using cola as pesticide isn’t exactly 100% natural or organic but surely it must be safer than traditional poisons. This is a trend that is seen across other parts of India, with farmers using other Indian brands of colas too. The practice of using soft drinks instead of pesticides, which are up to 10 times more expensive, is gaining so much popularity that sales of soft drinks have increased dramatically in many villages. Farmers say the use of pesticides can cost them about 70 rupees ($1.50) an acre. By comparison, if they mix up a bottle of Pepsi or Coke with water and spray it on their crops it costs 55-60 rupees less per acre. When you multiply these savings the farmers are noticing a significant change in earnings and at the same time are noticing the lack of pesticide use is keeping their soil rich. Agricultural specialist Devendra Sharma says some farmers actually think that the drinks are the same as pesticides, but he explains it’s most likely because of the sugar syrups and when they are poured on crops they attract ants which in turn feed on the larva of insects. Pretty interesting huh? How many of you think this is a better idea than pesticide usage? This item about farmers in India spraying crops with the soft drinks Coca-Cola and Pepsi as a pesticide was reported at least as far back as 2004, with the UK newspaper The Guardian reporting that “hundreds of farmers” in the Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh states of that country were supposedly turning to the practice because the beverages were considerably cheaper than industrial pesticides: Indian farmers have come up with what they think is the real thing to keep crops free of bugs. Instead of paying hefty fees to international chemical companies for patented pesticides, they are reportedly spraying their cotton and chilli fields with Coca-Cola. In the past month there have been reports of hundreds of farmers turning to Coke in Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh states. But as word gets out that soft drinks may be bad for bugs and a lot cheaper than anything that Messrs Monsanto, Shell and Dow can offer, thousands of others are expected to switch. Gotu Laxmaiah, a farmer from Ramakrishnapuram in Andra Pradesh, said he was delighted with his new cola spray, which he applied this year to several hectares of cotton. “I observed that the pests began to die after the soft drink was sprayed on my cotton,” he told the Deccan Herald newspaper. Mr Laxmaiah and others say their cola sprays are invaluable because they are safe to handle, do not need to be diluted and, mainly, are cheap. One litre of highly concentrated Avant, Tracer and Nuvocron, three popular Indian pesticides, costs around 10,000 rupees (£120), but one-and-a-half litres of locally made Coca-Cola is 30 rupees. To spray an acre would be a mere 270 rupees. Additional information indicated that the soft drinks were effective in controlling crop pests not by directly poisoning or killing insects (as traditional pesticides do), but by attracting — due to their sugary nature — ants to fed on insect larvae. Moreover, there was reportedly nothing special about Coca-Cola or Pepsi in this regard — a variety of other common brands of cola soft drinks and locally produced beverages allegedly worked just as well: It is clearly not Coke’s legendary “secret” ingredient that is upsetting the bugs. The farmers also swear by Pepsi, Thums Up, and other local soft drinks. The main ingredients of all colas are water and sugar but some manufacturers add citric and phosphoric acids to give that extra bite to human taste buds. A leading Indian agriculture analyst, Devinder Sharma, said: “I think Coke has found its right use. Farmers have traditionally used sugary solutions to attract red ants to feed on insect larvae. “I think the colas are also performing the same role.” The Coca-Cola Company asserted it had identified only a single case of an Indian farmer who might have been using soft drinks for pest management and that its product would be “totally ineffective” for this purpose: A spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta said: “We are aware of one isolated case where a farmer may have used a soft drink as part of his crop management routine. “Soft drinks do not act in a similar way to pesticides when applied to the ground or crops. There is no scientific basis for this and the use of soft drinks for this purpose would be totally ineffective”. The BBC reported similarly, noting that sugar products have long been used for pest control, that soft drinks such as Coca-Cola don’t function the same way industrial pesticides do, and that the beverages are possibly effective in crop management simply because the carbohydrates and sugar they contain “boosts the plants’ immunity”: Agricultural specialist Devendra Sharma says farmers are mistaken in thinking that the drinks are the same as pesticides. He says the drinks are effectively sugar syrups and when they are poured on crops they attract ants which in turn feed on the larva of insects. Mr Sharma says using sugar syrup for pest control is not a new practice. “Jaggery made from sugar cane has been used commonly for pest control on many occasions. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are being used to achieve the same result,” he says. Fellow scientist, Sanket Thakur, has a different explanation: “All that is happening is that plants get a direct supply of carbohydrates and sugar which in turn boosts the plants’ immunity and the plantation on the whole ends up yielding a better crop.” Vikas Kocchar, regional manager for public affairs and communications of Coca-Cola, says claims that the drink can be used as a pesticide have no scientific backing. Anupam Verma, Pepsi sales manager in Chhattisgarh, says sales figures in rural areas of the state have increased by 20%. But he adds: “If there was any truth in these claims then we would rather be selling our product as a pesticide rather than soft drinks. “There is more money in selling pesticides than in selling soft drinks. Their claim smacks of lies. At best it is idle natter.” | 1mixture
| Cokelore, agriculture |
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5747 | California governor has doubts about tougher vaccine rules. | Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has concerns about enacting tougher rules that limit doctors from granting medical exemptions for children’s vaccinations. | The measure would give state public health officials instead of local doctors the authority to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school. It’s being considered by the state Assembly amid growing cases of measles. Newsom told reporters at the California Democratic Party Convention Saturday that although he supports immunization, he has concerns about having government officials sign off on vaccine exemptions. He said as a parent, he wouldn’t want a bureaucrat to make a personal decision for his family. The Sacramento Bee reports Newsom didn’t mention the bill explicitly. Opponents say the doctor-patient relationship will be compromised if it becomes law. California does not allow exemptions based on personal beliefs, but still allows exemptions for children who must avoid vaccinations for medical reasons. | https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231077803.html | 2true
| Immunizations, Health, General News, California, Gavin Newsom, Public health |
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9904 | A prenatal fix to a twin threat | October 25, 2008 | Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome is a serious, progressive condition that occurs almost exclusively in identical twins (because they share the same placenta) when they are in the womb. This story profiled a successful procedure using selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation for Twin-to-Twin Syndrome which resulted in the birth of two healthy babies. However, this piece tends to downplay the likelihood of an unsuccessful outcome, especially for severe cases. It lacks balance in presenting the risk and benefits of another common treatment option and provided no insights from an independent expert. It should have mentioned that treatment for Twin-to-Twin syndrome is an area of evolving research and there is uncertainty over which cases will benefit and to what degree from available treatment options. Further, while seemingly healthy babies may be born, there is less research about their long-term prognosis and potential for serious developmental and health problems. | "Cost of treatment is not mentioned, nor is it mention whether this procedure is covered by health insurance. To some degree, this story both overstates and understates the benefits of selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation. Survival rates of one or both twins are generally reported to be 60-80% and vary depending upon the severity of the case. This piece reports the high end of survival rates, 76-80%. (See Harms of Treatment comments.) In addition, this article states that amnioreduction has a high rate of adverse outcomes, leaving the reader with the impression that selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation is the best option. While the merits of the two techniques are cause for some debate in medicine, some experts believe the two techniques have comparable short-term survival rates and that more study is needed to determine the long-term adverse effects from either procedure. The potential harms of the treatment are not clearly described from the hospital featured or the literature. Article focuses most on the poor outcomes without treatment. Likewise there is not consistent use of the rates of survival of one (higher numbers) versus both twins (lower numbers) or the differential risk of harm to one twin versus the other. The story failed to note that there is conflicting medical evidence as to how the outcomes of selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation compare to other procedures. (See Treatment Options criterion.) No disease-mongering. If anything, the story didn’t adequately address the seriousness of Twin-to-Twin Syndrome and the real possible for devastating outcomes. No independent medical experts were interviewed to provide balance. Much of the story was the anecdotal experience of a couple who had recently had a successful delivery of twins with Twin-to-Twin Syndrome. And one of the surgeons who performed the procedure was also interviewed. Since there is some debate about this approach in medicine, there should have been some reflection of that in the story. Other options including no treatment, amnioreduction, and terminating the pregnancy prior to viability were presented as alternatives to fetoscopic laser photocoagulation. Close inpatient observation with decision to deliver if either twins condition begins to deteriorate is also an option that is not quite the same as ""no treatment"" or ""termination."" Selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation is new, highly specialized procedure that is not available in every state. As the story states, a woman might need to travel to have the procedure. However, there are dozens of experienced clinics (not just 10) across the country, several of which are conducting research on this procedure sponsored by the National Institute of Children’s Health and Human Development. This article correctly states that selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation was adopted to a greater degree in Europe than in the U.S. This procedure has become more widely accepted and offered in the U.S. in recent years, but it is still relatively new and continues to be evaluated. (See Availability of Treatment comments.) There’s no evidence that the story relied solely or largely on a press release, although no independent experts were interviewed in the story." | 0false
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28324 | In 1998, Senator Chuck Schumer was caught taking $1 million in excessive campaign contributions and failing to properly disclose $4.6 million in expenses, for which he was fined $138,000. | January 8, 2019 | "What's true: Schumer's 1998 campaign was assessed a fine of $130,000 by the FEC for ""excessive contributions"" and ""improperly disclosed disbursements."" What's false: The fine was primarily related to accounting issues and did not involve the campaign's accepting contributions from prohibited sources or engaging in other prosecutable activity." | David Emery | U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is a career politician who cut his teeth in the New York State Assembly before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981, where he served nine terms prior to winning a U.S. Senate seat in 1998. As the voice of the opposition party in the Senate, Schumer was frequently at odds with President Trump and the Republicans. These disputes spilled over into social media, where Schumer not only exchanged barbs with the president himself, but was regularly attacked by Trump supporters hoping to discredit him. In December 2018, some of Trump’s followers shared posts asserting that Schumer had been “caught” accepting excessive campaign contributions and failing to properly disclose expenses in 1998: . @SenSchumer #commie #traitor #liar #idiot Chuck Schumer Caught taking 6.4 million in expenses! Fined $138,000. Still in Senate!!! WAKE UP AMERICA!!! — Armed Infidel (@TheLastJuan1) December 30, 2018 In 1998, Chuck Schumer was caught taking $1 million in “excessive contributions.” He also failed to properly disclose $6.4 million in expenses. The consequences of all this: Schumer paid a $138,000 fine. Chuck Schumer is still in the Senate today. pic.twitter.com/jlihemIWPz — I love America (@Shelly51493) December 16, 2018 The proximate source of the accusation appeared to be an 11 December editorial by Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson attempting to refute the argument that Trump’s alleged hush money payments to mistresses during the 2016 presidential campaign constituted grounds for impeachment because they violated campaign finance laws. In defense of Trump, Carlson noted that both Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer paid hefty fines to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for past campaign violations yet suffered no further legal consequences for their actions (emphasis added): There’s no precedent for that argument, to put it mildly. Bill Clinton tried to keep his affair with Monica Lewinsky secret by giving her a government salary. Nobody suggested that was a campaign finance violation. Even when presidents have admittedly violated campaign finance laws, impeachment and felony charges never entered the conversation. Barack Obama, for example, ran for president in 2008. His presidential campaign was found guilty of campaign violations involving nearly $2 million. That’s almost ten times the payments Trump made. No one was prosecuted for that. The Obama campaign got off with a $375,000 fine to the FEC. In 1998, Chuck Schumer was caught taking $1 million in “excessive contributions.” He also failed to properly disclose $6.4 million in expenses. The consequences of all this: Schumer paid a $138,000 fine. Chuck Schumer is still in the Senate today. As we’ve had occasion to explain before, the hush money payments Trump’s attorney admitted making on his behalf and more routine campaign finance violations such as failing to comply with contribution caps or improperly disclosing expenses bear little similarity. Although Obama’s 2008 campaign was indeed fined $375,000 by the FEC for not providing timely notice of contributions exceeding $1,000, the violation was not deemed intentional and did not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense. Neither did the violations alleged in Schumer’s case rise to the level of a prosecutable offense, as enumerated in an FEC audit report released to the public in April 2001. The figures cited by Carlson roughly matched those contained in a summary of the audit published that May: Report of Excessive Contributions In this case, the audit report found that contributions to the Committee totaling $951,454 were in excess of the contribution limits. The Committee refunded, reattributed or redesignated $97,050 of these funds, but not within the time frame required by Commission regulations. The audit report found that $854,404 in excessive contributions still required refunds. Disclosure of Disbursements The Committee improperly disclosed disbursements totaling $6,354,835. The majority of errors consisted of multiple disbursements that were added together and disclosed as a single entry per reporting period for each payee. The Committee filed amended disclosure reports which properly disclosed these disbursements, including the date and amount of each disbursement. As noted by the FEC, the larger figure ($6,354,835 in improperly disclosed disbursements, characterized as “expenses”) comprised amounts that were erroneously reported as lump sum entries instead of being broken out by date and amount as required. The error was subsequently corrected. It’s misleading to say that Schumer was “caught” taking excessive campaign contributions. The contributions were categorized by the FEC as such on a technicality: Schumer’s campaign failed to comply with a rule (later dropped from FEC regulations) stipulating that checks accepted from joint bank accounts be signed by both account holders. A small fraction of those donations were duly refunded, leaving an outstanding $854,404 in contributions that still met the criteria for being “excessive,” FEC auditors concluded. The Schumer campaign committee’s lawyer affirmed to Associated Press in April 2003 that: Schumer ’98 collected roughly $800,000 in $1,000 or less contributions that had only one spouse’s signature, said the lawyer, Lyn Utrecht. “These are violations that are so technical, the FEC repealed them last year,” [Schumer spokesperson Phil Singer] said. “None of the contributions came from prohibited sources like corporations or foreign nationals. We regret any bookkeeping errors that were made.” For the latter violation, the campaign agreed to pay a fine of $130,000 (not $138,000, as later claimed by Carlson and others). However, the suggestion that the violations and subsequent fine ought to have disqualified from remaining in office is unrealistic and naive. “There are always reporting violations in campaigns,” a former FEC commissioner told us in February 2018. Some violations are more serious than others, but even when they result in large civil penalties (as in the cases of the Schumer and Obama campaigns), they are rarely regarded, in the absence of criminal intent, as having any bearing on a candidate’s fitness to hold office. In 1993, for instance, the FEC fined Sen. Bob Dole’s (R-Kansas) 1988 presidential campaign $120,000 for accepting improper corporate donations and exceeding spending limits, yet Dole not only ran for president again but remained in office right up until his retirement in 1996. | 1mixture
| Politics Politicians, chuck schumer |
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26718 | “People Of Color May Be Immune To The Coronavirus Because Of Melanin.” | March 10, 2020 | Melanin is a natural pigment that gives color to skin and eyes. It does not make you any less susceptible to coronavirus. | Tom Kertscher | "As coronavirus spreads across the globe, following closely in its path are specious theories with a virality of their own. ""People Of Color May Be Immune To The Coronavirus Because Of Melanin"" read the headline of one article, from Blackmentravels.com, shared on Facebook. The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) No, dark skin color won’t protect you against coronavirus or the disease it causes, COVID-19. Melanin is a natural pigment that gives color to skin and eyes and helps protect them from damage by ultraviolet light, according to the National Cancer Institute. The article claimed that ""melanin levels do play a significant factor in why Africans and other black people who have been exposed to the virus have not become infected or dead"" at the same rates as other people. The article quotes a study on melanin and individuals. But the ""individuals"" discussed in the study were animals, not humans, and the study looked at their ability to resist parasites, not viruses. AFP Fact Check debunked virtually the same claim. It interviewed Professor Amadou Alpha Sall, director of the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal, a biomedical research centre tasked with analyzing suspected cases of the novel coronavirus in Africa, who said: ""Ethnicity and genetics have no influence on recovery from the virus, and black people don’t have more antibodies than white people."" The fact-checking organization Snopes also knocked down a similar claim about black people being genetically resistant to the coronavirus. Here are 4 real ways to protect yourself. ""The virus doesn’t ‘notice’ skin color and, as far as we know, isn’t being transmitted by a vector like mosquitoes,"" said Richard Watanabe, professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. ""Also, because COVID-19 is new to humans, we’re all being exposed to this virus for the first time. Therefore, our immune systems are developing a defense against COVID-19 for the first time."" Protecting yourself Some coronavirus tips from the World Health Organization: Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or with soap and water. Stay at least three feet away from someone who is coughing or sneezing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Our ruling" | https://factcheck.afp.com/black-people-arent-more-resistant-novel-coronavirus, http://blackmentravels.com/people-of-color-may-be-immune-to-the-coronavirus-because-of-melanin/?fbclid=IwAR16vlBzQJBHNppX1Qbr2-S7Zf67YDHVLl405SYwsiSgnEy9c4ZgM0SocLk, https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/richard-m-watanabe/, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coronavirus-cameroonian-student/ | 0false
| Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, |
10083 | Knee Replacement Getting Easier | May 23, 2006 | This story presented a knee replacement system that is portrayed as greatly reducing recover time and discomfort. This information would be of interest to individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee who may be wondering about the options available for relief of their knee pain. This piece, however, failed to put this medical device in the context of other options available to patients and did not include hard facts, such as costs, the type of patients for whom it might be an option, or how long the device has been shown to last or how long it can be expected to last. This is the sort of information, along with some acknowledgement of other treatment options, that is valuable to consumers for decision making about knee replacement. And CBS afforded plenty of time to discuss such important issues – a rare 5 1/2 minutes. But much of that time was devoted to weepy testimonials from a single patient. Showing one patient standing and walking in the hospital post-op, and then on the golf course shortly thereafter, may not be representive of all patient experiences. We can’t know that because we are given no summary of other patient experiences. In this, and other ways, this story ended up mired in a sand trap. | There was no mention of the costs associated with this type of knee replacement nor the expected lifespan for this device. The patient in this story was presented as being pain free nearly immediately after surgery, without mention of any analgesic medication she may have been taking. This patient was also shown driving a golf ball 2 weeks after surgery, though again, it is not known whether this is a realistic expectation for a few, some, or most patients after this type of knee replacement. There was no mention of potential harms resulting from this procedure. There was no evidence presented other than this depiction of this single case. The suggestion is that the recovery anecdote of this one patient is typical, though no information was included to support this contention. Blanket categorization of recovery from knee replacement surgery as long and painful is an example of disease mongering. People are different and so is their recovery from such surgery. Comments from one patient and one surgeon were included in this piece. But there was no comment from any independent source. Since this television story ran an unusually long 5 1/2 minutes, there certainly was time to include data on the use of the device and input from other physicians. A single-source story on a topic like this is troubling. Other than categorizing traditional knee replacement as requiring ‘a long and painful recovery period’ there was no mention of other treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee. This story did not include discussion about availability of this treatment or whether it was an FDA approved medical device. According to the company website, in 2004 there were more than 500 orthopedic surgeons trained in the use of this device. So it’s availability is limited. There was no mention that this particular type of knee replacement was not an option for all patients who were candidates for standard total knee replacement. Factors that may rule out some patients include variation in knee structure, prior surgery on the same knee, obesity, a recent history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and other unstable medical conditions. This surgical procedure is relatively new; the company website (Zimmer) mentioned that the first MIS Quad-Sparing total knee replacement was in February 2002. (Does 4 years qualify as ‘new’?) It is a story about a less commonly used device for total knee replacement and as such would be of interest to those considering knee replacement. We can’t be sure if this story relied solely or largely on a news release, although the lack of input from independent sources is a concern. | 0false
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36037 | "The 'Old Farmer's Almanac' predicted an ""alarming number of snowstorms"" for the 2019 to 2020 winter season." | November 12, 2019 | Did Old Farmer’s Almanac Predict an Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter? | Kim LaCapria | A November 1 2019 ReturnToNow.net post headlined “Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts An Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter” was shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. and was likely to continue spreading.ReturnToNow.net is classified as “Conspiracy/Pseudoscience” by Media Bias Fact Check, which noted, “we rate Return to Now a pseudoscience website based on promotion of misleading and false information regarding the consensus of science.”The site’s “alarming number of snowstorms” article read:The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a “repeat of last winter’s record-breaking extremes,” including heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures nationwideThe 2020 edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac warns Americans to expect a “bone-chilling,” super snowy, extra long winter this year [in 2019 and 2020].There will be “no fewer than seven big snowstorms from coast to coast,” a press release says.Another Facebook page, “Country Living,” flogged a similar story with an identical title and similarly high shares:The Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts an Alarming Number of Snowstorms Will Happen This Winter (Say it ain’t snow! )Not long after the Farmers’ Almanac suggested it would be a “freezing, frigid, and frosty” season, the *other* Farmer’s Almanac has released its annual weather forecast—and it’s equally upsetting.While the first publication focused on the cold temperatures anticipated this winter, the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts that excessive snowfall will be the most noteworthy part of the season.A link at the beginning of ReturnToNow.net’s article linked not to Almanac content, but rather an Amazon affiliate listing for readers to purchase the book, from which the site would earn commissions. Subsequently, the site linked to a press release [PDF] by Old Farmer’s Almanac, which was undated (but text indicated it should be held until August 27 2019. )It is not apparent exactly when the press release was actually composed, as the date had only to do with an advertising embargo. And the press release was not actually about specific winter predictions — it was a two-sided printable advertisement for Old Farmer’s Almanac 2020.Under a section titled “STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT!,” text proclaimed:The 2020 Old Farmer’s Almanac is warning that this winter, there’ll be s’no escape from shivers, snowflakes, and slush: “Snowy, icy, and icky” conditions, “wet and wild” periods, and “a parade of snowstorms” will transform the landscape.“This winter will be remembered for big chills and strong storms bringing a steady roofbeat of heavy rain and sleet, not to mention piles of snow,” says Janice Stillman, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which was 80.5% accurate in predicting last winter’s wild weather.The 2020 Old Farmer’s Almanac is calling for frequent snow events—from flurries to no fewer than seven big snowstorms, including two in April for the Intermountain region west of the Rockies. This snow-verload will include storms pummeling Washington state and points eastward across the northern-tier states into Michigan. For the Northwest, this could mean a repeat of last winter’s Snowpocalypse that dumped 20.2 inches on Seattle in February.The middle of the country and New England can bank on a slush fund, as “more wet than white” conditions will leave sludgy messes that freeze during the overnights. Meanwhile, much of the Deep South will be saturated by soakers.As winter rages, the tip of the nice-berg will be Florida, the Gulf Coast, and Texas, which will bask in pleasant weather.In the excerpt above, “predictions” included “pleasant weather” for southern states like Florida — claims which are hardly novel or noteworthy. The quotes mentioned “frequent snow events” and “piles of snow” nowhere in particular, adding that “this winter will be remembered” for … snow. In the very next paragraph, “snow events” were predictably predicted for “the Rockies,” Michigan, Seattle, and basically ranged across snowy regions of the United States where snow in general is expected across winter in all years.All in all, the vague “seven big snowstorms” seemed to be a blanket, nationwide prediction. In the context of the Old Farmer’s Almanac 2020 advertisement, the “7 MAJOR SNOWSTORMS” predicted on the first page appeared to be a random, cumulative number for all snowy regions of the United States. And the release added that “much of the Deep South” would be “saturated by soakers,” again with no detail for context about the weather prognostications.Regarding the Old Farmer’s Almanac in general, the Washington Post‘s weather editor Jason Samenow published a 2015 editorial about how meteorologists broadly view its reliability in terms of weather.Out of frustration that some people actually take the Old Farmer’s Almanac seriously, Marshall Shepherd, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia, penned a column for Forbes clarifying what modern weather forecasting actually is – in other words, everything The Old Farmer’s Almanac is not.“[Weather forecasting] is a rigorous and quantitative science steeped in physics, advanced math, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics,” Shepherd wrote.It’s not to say the Old Farmer’s Almanac might not get some parts of its forecast right from year to year, but whether that’s for the right reason we’ll never know.Consider what I wrote about almanacs and the transparency of their predictions in 2013, pertaining to both the Old Farmer’s Almanac and its closest competitor the Farmers’ Almanac: “Both almanacs claim high accuracy rates but have never published evidence backing them up. They lack transparency and keep their methods ‘closely guarded. '”Samenow explained that meteorologists broadly reject it as a source for credible weather claims, adding that it and its competitor use unknown methods to formulate their “seasonal forecasts.” He noted that “the almanacs’ efforts to forecast specific weather events like snowstorms and rain events on individual dates have no credibility or established scientific basis” and are “often wrong,” quoting a portion that was exceedingly similar to the 2020 prognostications quoted from the press release — and just as vague:For example, I looked up the Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast for Washington, D.C. — made some time ago — for the current period, spanning August 16 to 19. “Rain, then sunny, cool,” it predicted. Of course, it is hot with no rain in the forecast until the end of this period, the opposite of the Almanac’s outlook. (It also forecast for August 10-11 a “tropical storm threat, mainly southeast”. Nope! )Looking ahead, the Almanac foresees snow in the period around Christmas for the eastern U.S. “Just about everybody who gets snow will have a White Christmas in one capacity or another,” editor Janice Stillman told the Associated Press.A claim that “just about everybody who gets snow” would “have a White Christmas” was of the sort that any amount of snow in any region where winter snow tends to occur would “validate” it. Samenow then checked August 2015 weather against Almanac predictions for that period, noting that it was “the opposite” of the actual weather.A meteorologist whose tweet was linked, Matt Lanza, noted in replies:Most meteorologists don’t forecast the longer range anyway because it is so difficult, hence why many call out the Almanac.Samenow also referenced an August 2015 post on Facebook by meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan, who lamented the Associated Press reliance on Almanac press release information presented without input from actual scientists. Hanrahan opined that the “regurgitated” forecast had “as much accuracy as a “Magic 8 ball”:Also in August 2015, meteorologist Dennis Mersereau covered then-new Almanac claims about the coming winter in a column for now-defunct Gawker’s The Vane. Mersereau (whose writing can now be found on DAM Weather) described the prognostications as “a bunch of malarkey” in the headline, pointing out that the vague forecasts “appear accurate when applied to any situation”:The Old Farmer’s Almanac is to meteorology what astrology is to astronomy. You know how you just can’t shake that confused, frustrated feeling when Mercury is in retrograde? (Oh wait, that’s in the book, too!) The long-range forecasts put out by the Old Farmer’s Almanac are like horoscopes — they’re just vague enough (and the forecast regions are just large enough) that the predictions appear accurate when applied to any situation … [Their] “secret formula” is more than likely a reliance on climatology than anything else. If it’s snowed for four out of the past five years on February 11 in New York City, they’ll call for periods of snow during that week in February for the Northeast. Instead of predicting the weather, they’re looking at what’s happened in the past and banking on the fact that history will repeat itself.The publication’s accuracy rate is highly debatable — they claim it’s 80% — but people swear by it, for better or worse (mostly for worse). After all, it’s hard to be completely wrong when you assert that snow will fall in the northeast during winter or that thunderstorms will develop in the southeast during spring. You can forecast using climatology with some accuracy, but you’ll often be wrong because the weather is rarely average. Averages are the products of extremes. A 15°F day in January and a 65°F day in January averages out to 40°F—if you were to use climatology and predict a high of 40°F on either of those days, you’d be way off.Mersereau included background information on exactly how Almanac predictions manage to get lumped in with legitimate meteorology, particularly in August of every year when they release their winter forecasts. He explained that advances in meteorology in the past few decades led to stronger long-term forecasting, but very long-range weather patterns were harder to deduce:The science of meteorology has advanced to the point where short term forecasts these days are incredibly accurate. A three-day forecast today is as accurate as a one-day forecast was back in 1980s, and it’s getting better all the time. Back in 2014, the Storm Prediction Center predicted a significant tornado outbreak in the central United States six days before it unfolded.Long-range forecasts — months, not days, in advance — put out by meteorologists are far from perfect, but they’re much better than the paperback Magic 8 Ball that sits in a rack at the end of the checkout lane. You can predict general patterns — El Niño generally brings above-average precipitation to the southern United States, for example — but what actually happens is highly dependent on individual storm systems and the whims of the jet stream … It’s fun to think that you know what’s going to happen months before it actually happens. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is fun to talk about, but it’s not something you want to take seriously as so many are wont to do.Mersereau also made reference to Old Farmer’s Almanac‘s “secret formula,” a metric clearly disliked by meteorologists on a whole. In August 2019, Almanac updated a page on their “methodology,” penned by Almanac editor Catherine Boeckmann, whose contributions had little to do with weather, and who was not described as being a meteorologist in any capacity. Boeckmann hinted at “weather lore” as a part of Almanac‘s prediction arsenal, but maintained that “folklore” did not factor into their predictions:Some think our forecasts are derived from folklore. According to weather lore, a long, hard winter can be predicted by lots of acorns, tough apple skins, and thick corn husks, while a mild one can be predicted by lower bees nests and thin onion skins. Have you ever looked inside a persimmon seed? It may give you clues, too!While we can neither confirm nor deny the reliability of this folklore, we do know that, centuries ago, folks observed such phenomena and noticed corresponding, repeating weather patterns … so at The Old Farmer’s Almanac, we allow that there just might be some truth to it! However, folklore does not figure into the creation of weather forecasts in our annual almanac.Boeckmann indicated that Almanac predictions were based on a “secret formula” devised by the founder of Old Farmer’s Almanac in 1792, methodology locked away in a “black box” in New Hampshire:Our weather forecast methodology stems from a secret formula that was devised by our founder, Robert B. Thomas, in 1792, when George Washington was president. And believe it or not, it has nothing to do acorns, apples, wooly bear caterpillars, or persimmons!Thomas believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun. Notes about his formula are locked in a black box in our offices in Dublin, New Hampshire.In 2016, CNN covered the controversial weather predictions made by Almanac, as well as “misses” in its predictions. Stillman defended the content as “a symbol and manifestation and perpetuation of country values in life.”While Old Farmer’s Almanac‘s black box predictions via a formula from 1792 vaguely predicted “seven major snowstorms” across the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) had very different meteorological positions on the looming winter of 2019-2020. In an October 17 2019 report titled “Winter Outlook: Warmer than average for many, wetter in the North,” NOAA explained:Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast for much of the U.S. this winter according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Although below-average temperatures are not favored, cold weather is anticipated and some areas could still experience a colder-than-average winter. Wetter-than-average weather is most likely across the Northern Tier of the U.S. during winter, which extends from December [2019] through February [2020] … No part of the U.S. is favored to have below-average temperatures this winter.Old Farmer’s Almanac 2020, if you recall, predicted “much of the Deep South will be saturated by soakers,” presumably indicating a wet winter for those states. NOAA said:Wetter-than-average conditions are most likely in Alaska and Hawaii this winter, along with portions of the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.Drier-than-average conditions are most likely for Louisiana, parts of Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma as well areas of northern and central California.The remainder of the U.S. falls into the category of equal chances for below-, near-, or above-average precipitation.Finally, NOAA addressed anticipated snowfall in late 2019 and early 2020, the crux of the circulating articles:NOAA’s seasonal outlooks provide the likelihood that temperatures and total precipitation amounts will be above-, near- or below-average, and how drought conditions are favored to change. The outlook does not project seasonal snowfall accumulations as snow forecasts are generally not predictable more than a week in advance. Even during a warmer-than-average winter, periods of cold temperatures and snowfall are expected.NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center updates the three-month outlook each month. The next update will be available November 21 [2019].To sum up, Return To Now and Country Living each published predictions of an “alarming number of snowstorms” in late 2019 and 2020, courtesy of a press release by Old Farmer’s Almanac. Every August, claims by Almanac about wild winter weather go viral, and in the ensuing weeks and months, meteorologists attempt to explain why such predictions are neither reliable nor based on modern weather science. According to Almanac, that long-term prognostication is not made using modern meteorologist or created by actual meteorologists. (Incidentally, those two articles are also excellent examples of clickbait allowed by Facebook to run rampant on its platform without consequence. )Each year, Old Farmer’s Almanac is guaranteed a windfall of free promotion when it distributes an annual press release advertising its upcoming issue with a “weather forecast” for the coming winter. Although it is true that the Almanac promoted a press release about “seven major snowstorms,” it is not true that any credible meteorologist validated any of the forecasts circulating so broadly on Facebook. Actual meteorologists are, en masse, visibly annoyed by the yearly Almanac publicity blitz, and NOAA predicted a warmer-than-average winter on average. In its cyclically updated report, NOAA explained it “does not project seasonal snowfall” because snow forecasts are generally not predictable more than a week in advance. Consequently, the vaguer claims are on balance not true, since it is not possible to forecast snow in that manner. Moreover, the claims are vague enough that an array of winter weather outcomes could easily be made to retroactively fit those same “predictions,” | https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/a28830907/old-farmers-almanac-winter-weather-predictions-2019-2020/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/world-war-ii-army-discharge-letter-twitter/, https://www.almanac.com/content/how-old-farmers-almanac-predicts-weather#, https://www.facebook.com/WeatherHanrahan/posts/1032300486803581, https://www.almanac.com/sites/default/files/2020_ofa_us_press_release.pdf, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/08/17/meteorologists-smartly-rip-old-farmers-almanac-forecast-for-cold-winter-in-the-east/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/tag/country-living, https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/winter-outlook-warmer-than-average-for-many-wetter-in-north, https://www.truthorfiction.com/facebook-says-we-are-clickbait/, https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/15/health/old-farmers-almanac-weather-prediction-accuracy/index.html, http://www.damweather.com/p/bylines.html, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Did+Old+Farmer%27s+Almanac+Predict+an+Alarming+Number+of+Snowstorms+This+Winter%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fdid-old-farmers-almanac-predict-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter%2F&via=KimLaCapria, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/, https://www.almanac.com/users/catherine-boeckmann, https://returntonow.net/2019/11/01/old-farmers-almanac-predicts-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/kim/, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fdid-old-farmers-almanac-predict-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter%2F, https://twitter.com/mattlanza/status/776270899725172736, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fdid-old-farmers-almanac-predict-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/are-christians-being-told-to-stop-saying-that-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-because-it-offends-muslims/, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fdid-old-farmers-almanac-predict-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter%2F, https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/return-to-now/, http://thevane.gawker.com/the-weather-forecasts-in-the-old-farmers-almanac-are-a-1724440534, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fdid-old-farmers-almanac-predict-an-alarming-number-of-snowstorms-this-winter%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/viral-content/ | 0false
| Fact Checks, Viral Content |
8620 | Too soon to ease anti-virus curbs, Swiss say as new cases decelerate. | April 6, 2020 | It is too early to consider easing measures that restrict the spread of the new coronavirus, Switzerland’s health minister said on Monday, even as neighbouring Austria sketched out plans to start loosening a national lockdown. | The Swiss death toll rose on Monday to 584 from 559 people on Sunday, while the number of positive tests increased to 21,652 from 21,100 on Sunday, a less steep rise than of late. “Of course we look at the others but we decide for ourselves,” Health Minister Alain Berset told a news briefing after visiting health care officials in the southwestern canton of Valais. He said Switzerland would use epidemiological data to decide when it might start easing up on measures — including closing schools, bars and restaurants and banning gatherings of more than five people — set to run until April 19. Hospital stays and infections were still rising in Switzerland, which had not yet seen peak cases of respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the new virus, Berset said. “You cannot forget that even when we are at the peak it does not mean it is over. The peak is only the moment you hope it goes down. When it is really going down then you can imagine measures to loosen up,” he said, urging people to stay home. “Easter and the whole month of April will be somewhat different this year.” The cabinet is set to meet twice before April 19 so has time to gauge the situation before adopting any measures as in Austria, which has fewer COVID-19 infections, Berset said. Austria’s government plans to start reopening shops from next week, saying the country was turning a corner though it widened a requirement to wear face masks. | /article/us-health-coronavirus-swiss-equipment/chinese-masks-or-blue-gold-arrive-for-swiss-hospitals-idUKKBN21O1XJ | 2true
| Health News |
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4787 | Federal lawsuit targets West Virginia foster care system. | The overwhelmed foster care system in opioid-ravaged West Virginia has failed to protect children, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday. | John Ra | The lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of a dozen children against Gov. Jim Justice, the state Department of Health and Human Resources and other state officials. The 105-page complaint describes stories of neglect and harm done to foster children while under the department’s care. Many were in inadequate and dangerous placements, left without necessary services or forced to languish in foster care for years, including a 17-year-old suicidal boy who sleeps in a locked cell at a juvenile detention center. Filed by a Charleston law firm and nonprofit advocacy groups A Better Childhood and Disability Rights West Virginia, the lawsuit said the state’s child welfare system has “significant administrative problems that hinder its ability to operate effectively.” “For years, the state has ignored repeated recommendations about how to fix the damaging West Virginia foster care system,” Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, said in a statement. “Children are being sent to institutions, placed in foster homes without any services, and abandoned by the state.” New York-based A Better Childhood has filed similar lawsuits in several states. DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch said changes were made to the child welfare system starting in 2013 and efforts have increased every year since. Crouch said the lawsuit will cost the state millions of dollars “and was filed by a company that has never contacted us to ask the question: ‘What are you doing to fix these problems?’ We welcome the opportunity to make our case in court.” The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this year, West Virginia agreed to expand mental health services for children after a federal investigation found the state unnecessarily institutionalized kids with emotional or behavioral disorders. In the case of the 17-year-old boy, the lawsuit said he was physically abused by his family and has been under DHHR care since 2012. He lived in group homes and residential care centers before being sent to a juvenile detention center, where he sleeps on a mattress on a cement floor in a locked cell. He suffers from depression, has attempted suicide several times and will be homeless when he ages out of the system within the year, the lawsuit said. In September, the DHHR told lawmakers that 651 foster care children, mostly teen boys, have run away from group care settings or schools in less than a year. “Not only are we failing to provide federally mandated care, but we are also failing to prepare these children for what lies ahead and instead condemning many of them to a life of abuse and homelessness once they age out of foster care,” plaintiffs’ attorney Richard Walters said. The DHHR’s foster care ranks have swelled to about 6,900 children — an increase of more than 60% from the same time in 2015 — as the state grapples with the opioid addiction epidemic. West Virginia has by far the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the nation. The lawsuit said three siblings ages 2, 3 and 4 were placed under DHHR care because of drug-addicted parents, but the children have moved from one foster home to another “due to DHHR’s inability to appropriately develop case plans and to follow department procedures.” West Virginia can no longer use the opioid epidemic as an excuse, the lawsuit said. “The foster care crisis in West Virginia is not an issue that just arose in the last 4-5 years, it’s a systemic problem that has festered in the state for almost 20 years,” said Jeremiah Underhill, legal director of Disability Rights West Virginia. The lawsuit also says the state failed to maintain an adequate number of appropriate foster homes and resorts to quick placements among relatives without vetting or monitoring to ensure children’s safety. The reliance upon kinship caregivers has increased more than 30 percentage points over the past five years. State lawmakers have limited placement of a child in an out-of-state facility unless it’s closer to the child’s family or the child has a health issue that cannot be addressed by an in-state facility. | 2true
| U.S. News, Opioids, Health, General News, Child welfare, Foster care, West Virginia, Charleston, U.S. News, Lawsuits |
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11584 | Protein urine test may signal prostate cancer | October 14, 2010 | This is a story about a study for a test under development, the results of which suggest that it may be better able to predict which diagnosed prostate cancers are aggressive and which are not. This would be an exciting development as indicated by the spokesperson from the UK Prostate Charity. However – the story should have tempered its enthusiasm a bit until the results have been reproduced. A better test would have fewer false positives and be less likely to detect clinically unimportant disease. In addition, it would be useful to remind readers that it is one thing to properly identify disease that is aggressive but more important to be able to identify aggressive disease still sufficiently early in its course that it can be treated before metastasis takes place. | "Not applicable. There was no discussion of cost but since this test is investigational, information about pricing is not expected at this time. Readers could extrapolate that if the MSMB test results are demonstrated to be reliable and reproducible, then it could be expected to reduce the number of men treated for prostate cancer who likely would never suffer ill effects from the disease. However it is appropriate to withhold some enthusiasm until the test’s performance is demonstrated to live up to its potential. And, true to what we expect in this criterion, the story never explained the sensitivity or specificity of the test in absolute numbers; it only used unhelpful general terms such as ""found at significantly lower levels."" How often? How reliably? All the time? The story detailed the harms associated with the current means of testing for prostate cancer. While suggesting that the new MSMB test was able to distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive prostate cancer, the story did not provide details about how well the test was able to do this. In a nutshell, the story mentioned (though it didn’t quantify) the high false positive rate associated with PSA, but it provided no detail on the relative false positive rate of MSMB. It also failed to mention whether the test failed to pick up on a percentage of prostate cancers that were present. The real heart of the evidence was not clearly explained. It is difficult to interpret the comment that men with aggressive tumors are likely to have lower levels of MSMB protein in their urine. That may be true, but does it distinguish men with aggressive tumors from those with non-aggressive tumors? If a substantial proportion of men with less aggressive cancers also have low levels of the protein in the urine, then the test may not be that helpful in discriminating the two groups. The story did engage in a bit of disease mongering with the number of men diagnosed world wide with the disease and reporting that prostate cancer was the second most common cancer cause of death among American men without indicating that in the U.S., the lifetime risk of dying from prostate cancer is 3% . Most problematic was the statement that ""In Britain, around 35,000 men are diagnosed with it and some 10,000 die from the disease."" But no time frame was given – no way to give such estimates. The story included comments from two individuals involved with the study reported on as well as an individual with expertise in the field without links to that study. The story indicated that the current laboratory screening test for prostate cancer (PSA) has low specificity and that because it doesn’t distinguish aggressive disease from that which is less aggressive, it leads to unnecessary treatment. The story was strongly suggestive that the test reported on had the potential to reduce both of these. But it didn’t offer any data-driven comparison – limited though that possibility may have been given the early stage of this research. But it also didn’t compare this test with other urine tests trying to do the same thing. The story was clear that the MSMB test reported on is investigational and not currently available. The story neglected to mention that there are other urine tests (PCA3 for example) that are already available. What’s the relative advantage/novelty of this urine test over those others? The story would have been improved by indicating that the study reported on is among several that have indicated the utility of this protein for the purpose of diagnosing and predicting the aggressiveness of prostate cancer that have been published in the last couple of years. Does not appear to rely solely on a news release" | 0false
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17294 | Marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco. | March 6, 2014 | "When Michael Cerullo said, ""Marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco,"" he was quoting a reputable source. But we could find no evidence that marijuana smoke contains more kinds of cancer-causing chemicals. And evidence on whether marijuana smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals is hazy at best. It depends on whether you are talking about smoke inhaled by the user, or second-hand smoke. On this burning issue, because the statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)" | C. Eugene Emery Jr. | "In the ongoing battle over liberalizing marijuana laws, key questions focus on the risks posed by smoking the psychoactive substance. In the past year, PolitiFact affiliates looked at claims that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol, whether today's marijuana is ""genetically modified"" to have far more THC than in the 1970s and whether nobody's addicted to marijuana (False). In a Feb. 20 commentary in The Providence Journal, psychotherapist Michael Cerullo made several arguments against marijuana legalization but this one caught our attention: ""Marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco,"" he said. Tobacco is deadly enough. We wondered if marijuana was that much worse. Cerullo said the statement came from the 2007 edition of the Drug Guide for Mental Health Professionals, a specialty edition of the widely-respected Physician's Desk Reference. It says, ""Marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco."" But it offers no source and a spokesman for the publisher said the guide is too old to check the source. We also found references to the factoid in material from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and National Institute on Drug Abuse. But none indicated who had actually done the test or where it had been published. Actually, the statement is ambiguous. It could be saying that marijuana smoke has 50 to 70 percent MORE cancer-causing chemicals or has a 50 to 70 percent greater CONCENTRATION of cancer-causing chemicals. On the first point, we couldn't find a comprehensive tally of cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke. It's not even easy to find a list for tobacco smoke, with different sources giving different estimates. (The National Cancer Institute, on its website, pegs the number at ""at least 69."" A 2010 Surgeon General's report gives a similar number, and lists 62.) Without evidence, we would rate that reading of the statement as False. In our quest to see if the concentration of cancer-causing chemicals is greater in marijuana smoke, we consulted Dr. Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a leading researcher on marijuana and tobacco. Only a few studies have compared the smoke content of the two, he said in an email. One was from 1975, the other from 1982. They both found that two of the carcinogens in marijuana smoke were higher than in tobacco smoke. Both are hydrocarbons. In the 1975 study, one was roughly 50 percent higher; the other about 70 percent higher. In other words, they supported Cerullo’s claim. But there's more to the story. The concentrations of other cancer-causing chemicals was lower by as much as 73 percent in marijuana smoke, the studies found. Tashkin said the most recent study, published in 2008, found that the concentrations of carcinogenic chemicals were consistently LOWER in marijuana smoke. ""These differences could be due to changes in the strains of marijuana studied in 2008 compared to those studied in 1975 and 1982,"" Tashkin wrote. (This applies to smoke inhaled directly. In contrast, the 2008 study found that the concentration of cancer-causing chemicals was higher in second-hand marijuana smoke than in second-hand tobacco smoke.) Robert Melamede, a medical marijuana advocate and biologist at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, said the carcinogenic content ""depends on how thoroughly it's burned"" and anyone who says the level of carcinogens is much higher in marijuana ""is using meaningless information to make a meaningless point. A lot of people use vaporizers, and vaporizers don't give you any burnt hydrocarbons."" Ultimately, the most important question is whether smoking marijuana, on top of its other potential hazards, increases the risk of cancer the way tobacco does. The short answer for now is no. Researchers have been looking for evidence that it does, but they've come up empty-handed. The latest marijuana fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse says, ""It is not yet known whether marijuana smoking contributes to (the) risk for lung cancer."" Tashkin said there is speculation that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana ""could counterbalance the impact of the carcinogens present in marijuana smoke."" Our ruling When Michael Cerullo said, ""Marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco,"" he was quoting a reputable source. But we could find no evidence that marijuana smoke contains more kinds of cancer-causing chemicals. And evidence on whether marijuana smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals is hazy at best. It depends on whether you are talking about smoke inhaled by the user, or second-hand smoke. On this burning issue, because the statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)" | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53017/pdf/TOC.pdf, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1311782/pdf/westjmed00082-0044.pdf, http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana-abuse, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060526083353.htm, https://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr042605.html, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/tx700275p, http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/questionsaboutsmokingtobaccoandhealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-cancer-and-health, http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201212-127FR#.Uw-REoXmaOO, http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wqp18c00/pdf;jsessionid=6730047B501A6C53025960B8A8D46CEF.tobacco03, http://adai.uw.edu/marijuana/factsheets/respiratoryeffects.htm, http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/10/study-smoking-marijuana-not-linked-with-lung-damage/, http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov/chat/2007/index.php, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1277837/, http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/cancer-questions/does-smoking-cannabis-cause-cancer, http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation, https://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_info3.shtml, http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Tobacco_Additives.html, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html, http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cigarette_smoke_carcinogens, https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/twelfth/roc12.pdf, http://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/commentary/20140220-michael-c.-cerullo-r.i.-should-weigh-marijuanas-serious-harm.ece, http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/10/1829.full.pdf+html | 0false
| Rhode Island, Drugs, Michael Cerullo, |
7708 | Death toll nears 400 in India's flood-hit Kerala, dozens missing. | August 20, 2018 | The death toll in India’s southern state of Kerala rose on Monday to nearly 400 after its worst flood in a century, as authorities handed out medicine and disinfectants to ward off disease in thousands of relief camps. | Malini Menon, Sudarshan Varadhan | Dozens of people are missing and 1.2 million are sheltering in the camps, state officials said, as water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace. “The death toll has risen to 373,” an official of the state’s disaster management authority told Reuters. Kerala received rainfall more than 40 percent greater than normal for the monsoon season, which runs from June to September. Torrential rain in the last 10 days forced officials to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams. The Indian government classified the floods as a “calamity of severe nature.” Kerala has pitched it as a national disaster, which if accepted by the federal government, is likely to prompt greater commitments of funds for relief and rebuilding efforts. But, without a yardstick for such a declaration, it could be an uphill task, state officials involved with disaster management said. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the flood one of the worst in India’s history, displacing more than half a million people. Federal health minister J.P. Nadda said more than 3,500 medical camps were set up across a region roughly the size of Switzerland, where rains since Aug. 8 have swelled rivers and triggered landslides. “There is a requirement for 90 different medicines and the first installment has reached,” he added. “The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the flood-hit houses, rehabilitation, and prevention of water-borne diseases,” said Mahesh P., a village official in Rayamangalam, about 45 km (28 miles) from Kerala’s financial capital of Kochi. Mahesh oversees four relief camps in his village, which itself escaped flood damage. The camps accommodate people rescued from neighboring areas, which were among the worst affected. The villagers had all pulled together to rescue people and prevent an even bigger disaster, Mahesh said. “The flood has bonded the people like never before, sharing whatever they had.” Chlorine powder to disinfect water and other cleaning material are distributed by the camps Mahesh oversees, along with a basic survival kit consisting of a five-day supply of rice and food, toiletries and clothing. Light to moderate rain was expected across Kerala on Monday, promising respite to rescue workers, who have battled rising waters and mudslides to reach tens of thousands of stranded villagers. In one of the worst-hit areas, Chengannur, about 100 km (62 miles) from Kochi, a long queue of women snaked out of a medical camp at the main relief center. As a helicopter hovered overhead, doctors checked elderly men and women lying on wooden benches in an engineering college. “People are being screened for respiratory infections,” said a camp doctor, Rajesh Parameshwaran, adding that another infection doctors were targeted was leptospirosis, which can strike people wading through stagnant water. Those returning home from the camps as the waters recede face a difficult clean-up. The insides of many homes will have about 60 cm (24 inches) of mud, officials said. Wells, commonly used in Kerala, are contaminated and few places have electricity to pump water. Kochi’s airport has suspended operations until Sunday. National carrier Air India on Monday began flying turboprop planes from the city’s naval airport to the cities of Bangalore and Coimbatore in neighboring states. To assist passengers, India’s aviation regulator asked domestic airlines to cap maximum fares to and from Kerala and nearby airports. Kerala faces no shortage of food, at least. Traders had stocked up before the Hindu harvest festival of Onam on Saturday, the chief minister said. Kerala has canceled all official celebrations of what is usually its biggest festive event. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition Congress party, urged Modi not to discriminate between states controlled by his Bharatiya Janata Party and those such as Kerala, which it does not rule. The state, ruled by the communist party, has received just a third of the immediate assistance of 20 billion rupees ($285 million) it sought from the federal government. | 2true
| Environment |
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37737 | Condom manufacturer Durex created a coronavirus advertisement comparing face masks to condoms. | July 20, 2020 | A COVID-19 themed, purported condom advertisement labeled “Durex have smashed it with this lockdown advert” featuring a comparison between a condom and a mask spread in June and July 2020, but it didn’t appear to be the work of Durex or any agency working on their behalf. Durex did create pandemic-specific advertisements, but the campaign did not feature masks, and it had a completely different hashtag and focus. The creator of the image remains unknown, but Durex never seemed to claim the image for itself despite its global popularity — making it unlikely that it was specifically commissioned or endorsed by the company. | Kim LaCapria | Chances are you’ve seen some version of this purported Durex advertisement in heavy circulation at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring and comparing a face mask with a condom:The screenshot above included commentary from a separate post, “Durex have smashed it with this lockdown advert.”Under the mask on the left, text read “Going Out.” Under the condom, text read “Going In.” Alongside a Durex logo and photographs of a surgical mask and a Durex condom, text at the top read:Protect Yourself & Your Loved OnesIt was clear that the purported Durex advertisement enjoyed considerable exposure on social media, spreading on Twitter:Durex absolutely nailed it with this ad! pic.twitter.com/nVCnBA834Y— F For Effort (@FForEffort1) July 13, 2020And on Instagram:The best marketing is when it's relatable and @durex has killed it with this 😂 #marketing #relatable #business #people #herdmarketingA post shared by Herd Marketing (@herdmarketing) on Jul 15, 2020 at 6:09am PDTEarliest VersionsWe noticed that earlier versions of the purported Durex advertisement frequently featured languages other than English, and some initial iterations looked less like Durex’s branding:Stay home stay safe 🤣😂🔥🔞 🙏👉@total.dirty.memer Follow 🙏[email protected] ☑️Turn on post notifications🔔 ☑️ Follow🗣️ ☑️ Comments📍 ☑️Like👍 ☑️Tag your friends 🔍 ☑️Keep supporting🙏 ☑️ Comments💬 Created by _________________________________ 👉🙏IG&FB @total.dirty.memer _________________________________ #totaldirtymemer #tdm #desimeme #chutiyapa #bakchod #indianmemes #chutiya #desimemes #chutiyapanti #indianmeme #sarcasm #desijokes #hindijokes #memes #meme #india #bcbaba #bollywoodmemes #funny #funnymemes #funnyjokes #trolls #sakhtlaunda #desifun #memesdaily #desi #adultmeme #fuddusperm #stayhome #staysafeA post shared by Total Dirty Memer (@total.dirty.memer) on Jul 7, 2020 at 8:26am PDTLEGENDS #quarantine #quarantinelife #quarentine #quarentena #cuarentena #cuarentenaconcuadritos #durex #love #loveyourself #amor #frasesdeamor #proteccion #mascarillas #staysafe #safe #safetyfirst #sexsy #followforfollowback #follow #follow4followback #followｍe #following #siguemeytesigo #sigueme #fotodeldia #picoftheday #humor #humorespañolA post shared by Prankerstein (@prankersteinoficial) on Jun 16, 2020 at 2:39am PDTLEGENDS #quarantine #quarantinelife #quarentine #quarentena #cuarentena #cuarentenaconcuadritos #durex #love #loveyourself #amor #frasesdeamor #proteccion #mascarillas #staysafe #safe #safetyfirst #sexsy #followforfollowback #follow #follow4followback #followｍe #following #siguemeytesigo #sigueme #fotodeldia #picoftheday #humor #humorespañolA post shared by Prankerstein (@prankersteinoficial) on Jun 16, 2020 at 2:39am PDTOne iteration dated back to June 13 2020.Durex’s COVID-19 AdvertisingAt the same time the meme was circulating, Durex’s various region-specific accounts were sharing advertising campaigns which referenced the COVID-19 pandemic.On May 19 2020, the global account @Durex promoted their #LetsNotGoBackToNormal campaign — but it didn’t include the image of a mask and a condom side by side:When this is all over, let's not go back to normal. Normal just wasn't good enough.#Durex #LetsNotGoBackToNormal pic.twitter.com/5E3Uo00BaY— Durex Global (@durex) May 7, 2020On May 28 2020, TheDrum.com explored Durex’s coronavirus messaging, and a “disruptive” strategy that went a lot deeper than the mask/condom analogy. That coverage explored Durex’s advertising efforts and the brand’s concurrent research into sex and the pandemic:“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to listen to people and respond with content that’s relevant. When lockdown happened we were one of the first brands to push the ‘Stay At Home’ message and we’ve since evolved that into areas like self-discovery and masturbation – which is the safest form of sex in lockdown.”As countries around the world outline plans to ease lockdown restrictions and people begin to look toward some semblance of normality, Durex’s most significant lockdown push has boldly asked people not to go back to ‘normal’ when it comes to sex.Pointing to ‘norms’ such as shaming women who carry condoms, or men not wearing them because they don’t like the ‘feel’, the brand argues that the current crisis represents a unique chance to reset what ‘normal’ looks like.The push is being delivered across owned channels and social, as well as further executions over the coming weeks. OOH mockups have been widely shared online too.“Pre-normal before Covid-19 was one in five women enjoying their first sexual experience. It was a million STIs every day. It was LGBTQ people feeling all sorts of anxieties and pressures. Normal was not good. So we want to challenge those conventions.”That coverage didn’t mention masks at all, and it also didn’t include a reference to iterations of the meme with Durex’s branding in languages other than English. Other advertising industry sites covered Durex’s COVID-19 advertising at length, but always without the mask and condom meme.Official @Durex Account ContentDurex’s various, verified and country-specific accounts continued sharing pandemic-related advertising in June and July 2020. However, @Durex on Instagram did not share the advertisement in the meme, instead posting more in-depth content about sex and COVID-19:With less physical contact, your sexual satisfaction may have decreased. Durex believes everyone deserves good sex! Get the best tips and advice for me-time here https://www.durex.co.uk/blogs/explore-sex/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-masturbationA post shared by Durex UK (@durex) on May 1, 2020 at 9:28am PDTDurex India’s Instagram account also referenced the pandemic in a post in early April 2020, but it didn’t share the condom/mask advertisement:Because it's the most satisfying place to be in right now! #StayingInIsEffingGoodA post shared by Durex India (@durex.india) on Apr 2, 2020 at 8:19am PDTOn July 2 2020, Durex USA’s Facebook page shared a post that did reference condoms as well as face masks:Finally, a July 5 2020 post was shared on the Facebook page @DurexPH, featuring the meme:At first glance, it looked like the advertisement was partly “memed” into existence. But an “about” section on @DurexPH’s Facebook page explained that it was created by fans:Intense Passion (Durex Philippines) Facebook fan page is a platform for fans to share, discuss and to get to know more about Durex, its benefits and effects. Contents which are posted by fans do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Durex Philippines …Previous Viral ‘Condom Ads’A purported condom advertisement satirizing world leaders (including President Donald Trump) went similarly viral in January 2020 and earlier:Did a Brazilian Condom Ad Feature Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-Il?Although variations on that artwork are still spread as a “condom ad,” the imagery was in fact a creative work and not an advertisement as such.TL;DRA COVID-19 themed, purported condom advertisement labeled “Durex have smashed it with this lockdown advert” featuring a comparison between a condom and a mask spread in June and July 2020, but it didn’t appear to be the work of Durex or any agency working on their behalf. Durex did create pandemic-specific advertisements, but the campaign did not feature masks, and it had a completely different hashtag and focus. The creator of the image remains unknown, but Durex never seemed to claim the image for itself despite its global popularity — making it unlikely that it was specifically commissioned or endorsed by the company.Comments | https://t.co/nVCnBA834Y, https://www.facebook.com/durexUSA/photos/a.156756084340981/3704438042906083/?type=3&theater, https://www.truthorfiction.com/did-rep-john-lewis-cosplay-as-himself-at-san-diego-comic-con/, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fis-this-durex-coronavirus-ad-real%2F, https://www.instagram.com/p/CCqfSFsDI67/, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fis-this-durex-coronavirus-ad-real%2F, https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWIlXgpIYh/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://t.co/5E3Uo00BaY, https://www.instagram.com/p/B_puY2KI27a/, https://www.instagram.com/p/B-e7dTBpLFb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.instagram.com/prankersteinoficial/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fis-this-durex-coronavirus-ad-real%2F, https://www.instagram.com/herdmarketing/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsNotGoBackToNormal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, https://www.truthorfiction.com/roy-den-hollander-death-conspiracy-theories/, https://twitter.com/durex/status/1258462714390810628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, https://www.instagram.com/p/B-e7dTBpLFb/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/did-a-brazilian-condom-ad-feature-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-and-kim-jong-il/, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fis-this-durex-coronavirus-ad-real%2F, https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/05/28/selling-safe-sex-why-durex-doesn-t-want-go-back-normal-after-coronavirus, https://www.instagram.com/durex/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/, https://www.instagram.com/p/B_puY2KI27a/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.facebook.com/BiMinistry/posts/3110780209014309, https://www.instagram.com/durex.india/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://twitter.com/FForEffort1/status/1282706014081634312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/kim/, https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/durex-lets-not-go-back-normal-havas-london/1688554, https://twitter.com/hashtag/Durex?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, https://www.creativemoment.co/lets-not-go-back-to-normal-says-durex, https://www.facebook.com/DurexPH/photos/a.1455003991385907/2733366536882973/?type=3&theater, https://www.instagram.com/total.dirty.memer/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.instagram.com/p/CCqfSFsDI67/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZnWoYHg4p/, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Is+this+Durex+Coronavirus+Ad+Real%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fis-this-durex-coronavirus-ad-real%2F&via=KimLaCapria, https://www.instagram.com/p/CBfcLtoK-lm/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/viral-content/, https://twitter.com/FForEffort1/status/1282706014081634312 | 3unproven
| Fact Checks, Viral Content |
11176 | Researchers Make Progress With Insomnia | January 28, 2007 | This story covers a relatively new area of research into the biology of sleep. The story would have been more valuable had it contained some more pertinent background and context. It details the early stage development of a drug being studied as a treatment for insomnia that differs from the currently available drugs used as sleep aids. This story included little evidence other than a brief mention that the drug discussed blocked the receptors in the brain for a protein known as orexin. The story did not accurately present the information in the research paper that it was reporting on. For example, the article suggest that the drug induces sleep when it actually was found to reduce latency to sleep. The study found that at higher doses, the drug decreased time to sleep as compared to placebo. This was not mentioned in the story. The story should have made clear that the early-phase studies were done in a total of 70 healthy adults. There has not yet been any examination of whether this drug has any efficacy for people actually suffering with insomnia. The story mentioned that cataplexy is a potential side effect that may be seen with use of this drug and that the studies to date have not eliminated the chance that it may be a problem. However the story failed to present a sufficiently complete picture of the role of orexin in the human brain for the reader to understand the complexity. Orexins are involved in appetite, regulation of growth hormone and leutinizing hormone as well as sleep. It is a bit simplistic to assume that the blocking of the receptors would only produce sleep. It is also important to note that the study used single doses of the drug in the human subjects. The story did not give an idea how big the potential harms or benefits may be. Several experts in the field were quoted. Though clear that this drug acts differently than those currently on the market they were also clear to point out that the potential for this drug must be viewed with some skepticism until the quality of the sleep induced and the extent to which side effects occur can be established. | There was no estimate for the cost of treatment, however as the drug is not available, this should be considered N/A. There was no quantification of benefits of treatment other than to explain that this drug may promote sleep and may have use for helping people deal with insomnia. But the drug is at an early stage of its testing and so it is premature to assume that since it can promote sleep in a laboratory setting, that it will be a useful treatment for people affected by inadequate sleep. The story mentioned that cataplexy is a potential side effect that may be seen with use of this drug and that the studies to date have not eliminated the chance that it may be a problem. However the story failed to present a sufficiently complete picture of the role of orexin in the human brain for the reader to understand the complexity. Orexins are involved in appetite, regulation of growth hormone and leutinizing hormone as well as sleep. It is a bit simplistic to assume that the blocking of the receptors would only produce sleep. It is also important to note that the study used single doses of the drug in the human subjects. This story included little evidence other than a brief mention that the drug discussed blocked the receptors in the brain for a protein known as orexin. The story did not accurately present the information in the research paper that it was reporting on. For example, the article suggest that the drug induces sleep when it actually was found to reduce latency to sleep. The study found that at higher doses, the drug decreased time to sleep as compared to placebo. This was not mentioned in the story. Lastly – the story should have made clear that the early-phase studies were done in a total of 70 healthy adults. There has not yet been any examination of whether this drug has any efficacy for people actually suffering with insomnia. This story did not include elements of disease mongering. The story quoted two researchers without apparent ties to the company developing the drug or the authors of the paper. Although this was a story about a potential new approach to managing insomnia, it did not contain information on the data demonstrating how attention to sleep hygiene can reduce insomnia, nor did it mention any available treatments for insomnia – other than to say that the drug discussed in this story differed significantly from other sleep aids that are available. The story was clear that the drug discussed is only in testing phases. The story was not explicit that the drug does not appear to currently be undergoing clinical evaluation in the US. There is growing evidence in the medical literature about the utility of blocking the orexin receptor as a means of promoting sleep. This story reported on a drug in development that has shown the potential to act in this fashion. However, rather than being new, the observation that there is a relationship between orexin and sleep has been known for at least five years and this drug is not unique in that there are several orexin blocking compounds that are in similar preclinical testing phases. Because the story used several sources, some of them injecting some cautionary comments, it does not appear that it relied solely or largely on a news release. | 1mixture
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23559 | "Kathryn Starkey ""joined forces with liberal Democrats on a historic sales tax hike." | August 13, 2010 | """Taxin' Kathryn"" Starkey draws fire over 2004 local sales tax" | Jodie Tillman | "A new political mailer from the Committee to Protect Florida attacks State House District 45 candidate Kathryn Starkey of New Port Richey for her record on taxes, citing her role on a water district board and her support of the Penny for Pasco, a 2004 increase in the county sales tax. The committee is headed up by Rockie Pennington, a political consultant for Richard Corcoran, one of Starkey’s two opponents in the Aug. 24 Republican primary. (Fabian Calvo is also on the ballot.) ""Taxin’ Kathryn,"" says the mailer sent in early August 2010. ""With Kathryn Starkey’s record on taxes here at home, how can we trust her -- or afford her -- in Tallahassee?"" We wondered, can you trust the mailer’s claims? We looked at three claims, and this Truth-O-Meter item examines her actions and stance on the Penny for Pasco sales tax. Other items are here on her attendance at river board meetings and here on her actions involving votes on river board tax rates. The tax hike in question is the Penny for Pasco sales tax, a one-cent-on-the-dollar county sales tax increase to build new schools and roads, preserve land and buy public safety equipment. About 52 percent of voters approved the tax in March 2004. By the end of 2009, the extra penny had pulled in about $205 million. The claim that Starkey ""joined forces with liberal Democrats"" to pass the tax has problems. First, Starkey played no strong public role in selling the tax to voters. She publicly endorsed the Penny for Pasco during her successful 2004 campaign for School Board, but she never actively campaigned for it or joined the committee promoting it. Second, where were the liberal Democrats? Pasco’s Citizen Committee, the political action committee that formed to promote the tax, had 14 key volunteers: 10 of them were registered Republicans, the Pasco Times reported then. They included well-known Republicans Allen Altman, Joanne Hurley, Thad Lowery and Bill Phillips. True, the tax got the endorsement of Pasco’s Democratic Executive Committee and not that of the county’s Republican Executive Committee. But consider, too, the prominent Republican politicians who publicly supported the tax: Commissioners Ted Schrader, Ann Hildebrand and Pat Mulieri and then-commissioner Steve Simon, along with then-state representatives Ken Littlefield and Heather Fiorentino. And don’t forget Pasco Sheriff Bob White, another Republican, who was quoted in the Pasco Times calling support of the tax a ""no-brainer."" White said then that his remarks were aimed primarily at how the tax would help the school district, but his endorsement — however nuanced — was political gold for the tax’s backers. One big selling point for Republicans: The sales tax would result in a property tax reduction on the school district side. (Incidentally, that is not unlike Corcoran’s platform in the House 45 campaign to eliminate property taxes and increase the sales tax.) To be sure, there were Democrats who were very involved in the effort. They included Land O’Lakes lawyer Tim Hayes and, most visibly, Ray Gadd, who led the school system’s effort as a Pasco school district administrator at the time. Then-commissioner Peter Altman, a Democrat, was also a vocal supporter. ""I can’t think of a liberal Democrat who was involved,"" said Gadd, who, incidentally, has changed his affiliation to independent. The strongest opponents of the tax included Republicans Bill and Ann Bunting, leaders in the local party. But even they acknowledge that they were more often fighting people with Rs, not Ds, after their names. ""I can’t for the life of me understand how those Republicans supported it,"" said Ann Bunting. Pennington, Corcoran’s consultant, said he linked Starkey with the Penny leaders because her endorsement as a School Board candidate carried weight. He said he also thought Allen Altman, who helped spearhead the campaign, was a Democrat. (Wrong.) Corcoran was equally mistaken that the tax was a strongly Democratic initiative. ""It was overwhelmingly pushed by Democratic leaders,"" he said. (He was also unaware that White — whom he now works for as a contract attorney — endorsed the Penny.) A new tax may be often associated with ""liberal Democrats,"" but that wasn’t the case with Penny for Pasco, particularly when it came to those who were publicly pushing for it. In addition, Starkey was not a key promoter of the tax." | 0false
| Environment, Candidate Biography, Taxes, Florida, Committee to Protect Florida, |
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32183 | Twenty-three states have agreed to enact a total ban on all forms of hollow point ammunition. | October 7, 2016 | Associated Media Coverage expanded their scope into darker yet unfunny fake news items, including claims a transgender bathroom controversy-related shooting resulted in someone’s death (appearing during nationwide debate over the issue), Casey Anthony planned to open a home daycare center, a dead baby was found in a Walmart DVD bin, and Jodi Arias was granted early release from prison. | Kim LaCapria | On 6 October 2016, the Boston Tribune web site published an article reporting that 23 U.S. states had agreed to ban the sale and use of hollow point ammunition effective on 5 January 2017: 23-states have agreed to pass a controversial bill that will create a ban on the future sale and possession of hollow-point ammunition. The ban on the popular ammunition is in effect immediately, however does include a 90-day grace period prior to state law enforcement enforcing the ban. The official compliance date for the hollow-point ammunition ban is January 5th, 2017. Though the ammo ban has created a strong divide among the citizens of the 23 participating states (California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Alabama, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina), it’s said to be widely supported by state representatives. Many politicians and citizens alike have vocalized their disagreement with the ban and feel that denying the public access to hollow-point ammunition is a clear infringement of their second amendment rights, however many feel that the ban is a positive step towards much needed gun control measures … According to the bill, the ban will extend to hollow-point ammunition of all caliber including the most popular ammunition calibers, 9mm Luger, .223 Remington, and .45 ACP. Additionally- law enforcement agencies within the relevant states will also be prohibited from using hollow-point ammunition in their police issued side-arm’s, however will be provided with an extended compliance date of July 2nd, 2017. The article referenced a Maine lawmaker named Jared Holbrook, who does not exist. Neither does a real newspaper called the Boston Tribune either — that name has been appropriated by a fake news site which (by design) many online readers now confuse as a legitimate news outlet on par with the real Boston Globe or Boston Herald newspapers. While the Boston Tribune (like the Baltimore Gazette) sounds like the online arm of a major city newspaper, it is in actuality a news outlet for hoax purveyor Associated Media Coverage, a long-established fake news site that typically spreads fabrications about laws or statutes that would affect a specific subset of the population. Many fake or “satire” news sites include disclaimers informing readers their content is fabricated, but Associated Media Coverage (and the Boston Tribune) do not. The 23-state ammo ban hoax designed to make waves among gun rights enthusiasts was in keeping with prior Associated Media Coverage falsehoods, including claims of an impending motorcycle curfew in March 2016, a motorcycle speed ban in August 2016, a FDA e-juice ban in mid-2016, a codified “two pet maximum” ordinance in multiple jurisdictions (causing many households to believe they would be forced to abandon beloved pets), a 50-state ban on open carry, and the elimination of Wisconsin’s food assistance programs. | http://www.snopes.com/wordpress/charlotte-tells-rioters-anyone-caught-looting-will-lose-welfare-and-food-stamps-permanently/, http://www.snopes.com/tag/the-boston-tribune/, http://www.snopes.com/motorcycle-curfew-in-11-states/, http://archive.is/V3Zz1/image, http://www.snopes.com/jodi-arias-to-be-released/, http://www.snopes.com/motorcycle-governors-january-2017/, http://www.snopes.com/transgender-shot-death-restroom/, http://www.snopes.com/new-federal-gun-law-prevents-open-carry-in-all-50-states/, http://www.snopes.com/states-agreed-to-implement-a-two-pet-maximum-ordinance/, http://www.snopes.com/2016/01/14/fake-news-sites/, http://www.snopes.com/walmart-customer-finds-dead-baby-in-discount-dvd-bin/, http://www.snopes.com/tag/associated-media-coverage/, http://www.snopes.com/fda-banning-e-juice/, https://www.google.com/search?num=50&q=Jared+Holbrook+maine&oq=Jared+Holbrook+maine&gs_l=serp.3...57856.58721.0.58946.6.6.0.0.0.0.93.460.6.6.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..0.5.365...0j0i22i10i30k1j0i22i30k1j33i21k1.c7A2ziQZsFs, http://www.snopes.com/casey-anthony-obtains-license-for-home-daycare-business-in-florida/, http://www.snopes.com/wi-to-eliminate-food-assistance/ | 0false
| Junk News, ammo ban, ammunition, associated media coverage |
4180 | Kentucky issues harmful algae warning for Ohio River. | Kentucky's Division of Water and Department for Public Health are issuing a public health advisory for harmful algal bloom along the Ohio River. | The advisory is for people using the waters for recreation. The advisory area is from the McAlpine Dam near Louisville to the Greenup Dam near Greenup in northeastern Kentucky. State officials also issued an advisory for Briggs Lake near Russellville. The advisory means algal toxins have been found at various locations along the water. Swimming, wading, and other water activities are not recommended during the advisory. State officials say ingested water may increase the risk of gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It can also cause skin irritation. | 2true
| Health, Algal blooms, Kentucky, Algae, General News, Public health |
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5899 | North Carolina confirms 2nd death from Legionnaires’ disease. | North Carolina health officials have confirmed a second death from Legionnaires’ disease linked to a hot tub display at a fair. | The Division of Public Health in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says that as of Wednesday, it has confirmed 134 cases in multiple states and North Carolina counties. The department says the cases are connected to people who attended the Mountain State Fair last month in Fletcher. In addition to the two deaths, 88 people have been hospitalized. According to the department, preliminary findings suggest exposure to Legionella bacteria occurred inside the Davis Event Center at the fair, specifically near the hot tubs and during the last five days of the event. | 2true
| Health, General News, North Carolina, State fairs, Legionnaires disease |
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36706 | A commentary titled, “Getting to Know the Real John McCain” by Burma Davis Posey began making the rounds in August 2017 after Senator McCain voted against the GOP’s plan to repeal Obamacare. | August 10, 2017 | Getting to Know the Real John McCain by Burma Davis Posey | Rich Buhler & Staff | The “Getting to Know the Real John McCain” commentary that began making the rounds in forwarded emails in August 2017 contains a combination of verifiable facts and opinions about John McCain’s first marriage to Carol Shepp McCain. The commentary is largely based on a Daily Mail article that ran in 2008, when John McCain was running for president. The article included rare public comments from McCain’s ex-wife, Carol Shepp McCain, about the couple’s divorce and about John’s mindset after he returned from Vietnam after spending five and a half years as a prisoner of war. We couldn’t track down the original “Getting to Know the Real John McCain” commentary, or verify that a woman named Burma Davis Posey was its actual author. But we can look at some of the biographical details included in the commentary. The commentary’s central theme is that Carol McCain was a loyal wife and mother — and that John selfishly divorced her because of life-altering injuries that she sustained in a car accident on Christmas Eve of 1969. Both John and Carol McCain have agreed that their divorce fell apart because of John’s immaturity, but Carol disputes the idea that her accident was the central cause. For his part, John McCain wrote in his 2002 memoir “Worth Fighting For” that: “My marriage’s collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity. The blame was entirely mine.” For her part, Carol McCain told the Daily Mail in a 2008: “My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn’t the reason for my divorce. My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens…it just does.” And the commentary’s claims about John McCain meeting Cindy and beginning a relationship with her before his first marriage ended appears to be true. John claimed in “Worth Fighting For” that his relationship with Cindy didn’t begin until after he separated from Carol, but others dispute that. A 2008 Los Angeles Times story that quotes a friend of John McCain who was at the reception in Hawaii where John met Cindy said that some people in his social circle believed that the McCains had already separated by the time John and Cindy met based on John’s behavior: By contrast, some of McCain’s friends, including the Senate aide who was at the reception where McCain first met (Cindy) Hensley, believed he was separated at that time. Albert “Pete” Lakeland, the aide who was with McCain at the reception in Hawaii in April 1979, said of the introduction to Hensley: “It was like he was struck by Cupid’s arrow. He was just enormously smitten.” As the pair began dating, Lakeland allowed them to spend a weekend together at his summer home in Maryland, he said. The senator has acknowledged that he behaved badly, and that his swift divorce and remarriage brought a cold shoulder from the Reagans that lasted years. In the end, the “Getting to Know John McCain” commentary draws from a number of credible reports that were published during the 2008 presidential campaign. Many of the biographical details about John McCain and his first marriage are true, but they’re also colored by the author’s unfavorable view of McCain. A number of rumors about John McCain went viral in July and August 2017 as the senator’s battle with brain cancer, and his deciding “no” vote on the Obamacare repeal bill drew attention to him. We investigated claims that Richard Nixon pardoned John McCain and that John McCain started the USS Forrestal fire. | https://www.truthorfiction.com/john-mccain-accidentally-voted-no-obamacare/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/nixon-pardoned-john-mccain/, https://www.amazon.com/Worth-Fighting-Education-American-Maverick/dp/081296974X, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/11/nation/na-divorce11, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Getting+to+Know+the+Real+John+McCain+by+Burma+Davis+Posey-Commentary%21&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fgetting-know-real-john-mccain-burma-davis-posey%2F&via=erumors, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fgetting-know-real-john-mccain-burma-davis-posey%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/government/, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fgetting-know-real-john-mccain-burma-davis-posey%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/politics/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/john-mccain-started-forrestal-fire/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-pork-rectum/, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fgetting-know-real-john-mccain-burma-davis-posey%2F, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fgetting-know-real-john-mccain-burma-davis-posey%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/truthorfiction/ | 2true
| Government, Politics |
13901 | "The folks in Washington"" are ""already forcing you to buy government health care." | July 12, 2016 | "Beruff said Washington politicians are ""already forcing you to buy government health care."" His statement makes a sweeping generalization, but there is some truth to the ""forcing"" part. The individual mandate incentivizes individuals to have health care or face a tax penalty. Of course, the choice is still theirs. The bigger problem is Beruff’s use of ""government health care."" This talking point was flawed around the law’s passage six years ago, and it’s no more accurate now. Just as before, the country’s health care system largely depends on the free market." | Allison Graves | "Carlos Beruff, Marco Rubio’s Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race, says he’s had enough of people in Washington making decisions and controlling people’s lives. Beruff’s new campaign ad, dubbed ""Clean House,"" criticizes government intrusion into American life. ""The folks in Washington have it all figured out,"" Beruff says in the ad. ""They’re going to make your choices and run your life."" He continued: ""They’re already forcing you to buy government health care."" PolitiFact is very familiar with inaccurate statements about the health care law. In fact, four out of seven PolitiFact Lies of the Year have been related to the Affordable Care Act, including that the 2010 law was a ""government takeover of health care."" The Lie of the Year in 2010 debunked statements that suggested the Affordable Care Act represented a ""government takeover of health care."" The main finding was that the plan would increase government regulation, but it would continue to rely on private insurers to provide coverage for most Americans. Beruff’s claim falls into a similar trap because it glazes over private insurers’ roles, but doesn’t go as far as to suggest a government takeover. The individual mandate Beruff’s spokesperson cited the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, which requires most individuals to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty, called the individual shared responsibility payment. That mandate, which took effect in 2014, is due every month an individual doesn’t have health insurance that meets the minimum essential coverage. The penalty is assessed on tax returns, and increases every year a person remains uninsured. No one is forced to buy government health insurance via the individual mandate, but individuals are strongly incentivized to have the minimum essential health coverage to avoid the penalty. Some may consider the individual mandate to be ""forcing"" people to get coverage, but people can choose to remain without health insurance and defer to the fine, said Ben Sommers, an assistant professor of health and economics at the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health. Beruff’s point isn’t flat-out wrong, but his word choice is problematic, said Gail Wilensky, who ran Medicaid and Medicare under President George H.W. Bush. She said she wouldn’t have used the word ""forced"" because the mandate only strongly encourages having health care coverage, and it doesn’t have to be government coverage if your employer offers private insurance. The individual mandate has many exemptions depending on income, membership in groups like Indian tribes, and incarceration. If individuals don’t fall into those categories, the Health Insurance Marketplace lays out 14 categories of hardship exemptions that exempt people from the financial penalty if they cannot afford it. ""Hardship"" exemptions cover homelessness, filing for bankruptcy and foreclosure, and a family member’s death, to name a few examples. Dissecting ‘government health care’ Beruff’s bigger problem is with his characterization of the Affordable Care Act as ""government health care."" Yes, the mandate requires Americans to carry health insurance. But just as before the law, the majority obtain it from private sources, such as their employer or from choosing plans offered in health insurance marketplaces set up by federal or state regulators. The law aimed to dramatically expand public health insurance through the federal-state Medicaid program. But a Supreme Court decision has allowed 20 states, including large ones such as Texas and Florida, to not extend coverage to more low-income residents using federal dollars. In 2014, 66 percent of people had private health insurance, and 55 percent of all people received insurance from their employers, according to a report from the Census Bureau. Any type of private health insurance must meet specific set of rules in the essential benefit package, said Michael Tanner, a health care expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. But it’s still private, not government health care. Still, Tanner said it might be fair to call the coverage ""government designated health care"" because individuals can’t buy just any type of health insurance, he said. Beruff’s spokesperson echoed this argument. Our ruling Beruff said Washington politicians are ""already forcing you to buy government health care."" His statement makes a sweeping generalization, but there is some truth to the ""forcing"" part. The individual mandate incentivizes individuals to have health care or face a tax penalty. Of course, the choice is still theirs. The bigger problem is Beruff’s use of ""government health care."" This talking point was flawed around the law’s passage six years ago, and it’s no more accurate now. Just as before, the country’s health care system largely depends on the free market. | https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/dec/21/look-back-lie-year/, https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/apr/04/charles-krauthammer/charles-krauthammer-anyone-can-get-out-individual-/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyohGoVPFM8, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/dec/16/lie-year-government-takeover-health-care/ | 0false
| Health Care, Florida, Carlos Beruff, |
13432 | "Tom DeLay Says most illegal immigrants draw ""welfare benefits, they’re sending their kids to school, they’re using the public services." | September 28, 2016 | "DeLay said most illegal immigrants draw ""welfare benefits, they’re sending their kids to school, they’re using the public services."" People living in the U.S. without authorization indeed draw on public services including government-supported hospitals. Also, children of all origins attend public schools. But counter to DeLay’s prime point, adults lacking legal residency are barred by law from government programs that fit the ""welfare"" category. Parents still may seek benefits, though, for their child-citizens. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. | Dylan Baddour | "Former Republican powerbroker Tom DeLay recently raised alarm about Houston ""illegal immigrants"" taking advantage of tax-funded benefits. DeLay, seated in what looked like a comfortable spot, took split-screen questions from MSNBC’s Kate Snow--both of them not quite getting facts straight. DeLay initially agreed in the Sept. 1, 2016, interview that ""deportations are up"" under President Barack Obama. Deportations hit a record high under Obama in 2013. However, the counts have since come down. The former U.S. House majority leader once known as the Hammer went on to say the flow of illegal immigrants also has gone way up--a claim that as of that month wasn’t reflective of border-area apprehensions by the Border Patrol. ""I mean, right here in Houston, Texas,"" DeLay said, ""you can go three blocks from here and you have apartment complexes after apartment complexes packed full with illegal immigrants."" He shortly added: ""Most of these illegals are drawing welfare benefits, they’re sending their kids to school, they’re using the public services. Many of them are paying taxes, I grant you that. But the impact,"" he said, ""is monumental."" DeLay’s comments fell in stride with a hot topic of the 2016 presidential race--the impact of unauthorized immigrants. Monumental or not, we wondered if he was right about government-funded benefits drawn by such residents. Some relevant recent fact checks: --In August 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claim there could be up to 30 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. came out ; the U.S. government and independent think tanks put the figure between 11 and 12 million. --The same day, Trump said unauthorized immigration costs more than $113 billion annually from federal, state and local coffers. PolitiFact found, in that Trump cited the highest of all estimates from a range that varied widely, and excluded data on unauthorized immigrant tax payments. --The month before, we found a claim by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton that unauthorized immigrants annually pay $12 billion into Social Security. That amount was paid jointly by unauthorized immigrants and their employers. DeLay offers no backup DeLay, who resigned as majority leader in 2005 after his indictment on Texas campaign finance charges (his subsequent conviction was ultimately overturned), gave us a lot to consider, starting with what he had in mind in mentioning nearby apartment complexes rife with ""illegal immigrants."" For a moment, we contemplated a field trip to see for ourselves, an option that fizzled after DeLay didn’t provide backup information; when we reached him by phone, the line went dead. Dani DeLay Garcia, his daughter who sometimes serves as his spokeswoman, told us by email that he wouldn’t be elaborating. Public schools and paying taxes For our part, we recognized that DeLay was correct about public schools serving children regardless of immigration status. In 2013, we found True a claim that the U.S Supreme Court had decided in 1982 that non-citizen children must get free public schooling through the 12th grade. Unauthorized immigrants also pay taxes, as DeLay said. Tanya Broder, a staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said by phone that ""undocumented immigrants have the same tax obligations as any other resident."" Broder emailed a 2015 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank, which drew on its analysis of state tax laws to estimate that unauthorized immigrants in Texas in 2012 paid about $1.5 billion in state and local sales and property taxes. Earlier, a 2006 report from the Texas state comptroller, applying Pew Research Center population research and comptroller tax models, estimated that unauthorized immigrants in Texas in 2005 paid $1.58 billion in state and local taxes. We focused next on whether unauthorized immigrants draw welfare and tap other public services. Welfare benefits The federal government hasn’t distributed welfare checks to eligible people in poverty for around 20 years; that approach was replaced in the late 1990s by targeted aid programs jointly administered by the federal and state governments that provide assistance with cash, food, housing and health care. That act, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, also barred unauthorized immigrants from drawing benefits. Title IV of the act, subheaded ""restricting welfare and public benefits for aliens,"" states that ""aliens who are not qualified aliens"" are ineligible for ""federal public benefits"" and for ""state and local public benefits."" The act defines qualified aliens as people with certain legal documented immigration status, meaning unauthorized immigrants are not eligible. We confirmed from eligibility rules posted on government websites that unauthorized immigrants aren’t eligible for major aid programs including Medicaid, the joint federal-state health coverage for people in poverty; Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which provides cash assistance to the impoverished elderly or disabled; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which used to be food stamps; housing assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which provides grants for state-administered family assistance programs like child care, cash assistance or counseling. Separately, Broder and Randy Capps of the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank that believes in the benefits of well-managed immigration, each told us federal welfare benefits aren’t available to unauthorized immigrants. By phone, Jack Martin, author of reports on unauthorized immigrants in Texas for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates tighter immigration controls, put it this way: ""Illegal aliens are not eligible directly for welfare assistance"" though, he said, parents living in the country without permission can sign up qualified children for aid. All U.S.-born children are automatically U.S. citizens, even if born to unauthorized immigrants--and Martin was correct, we found, in that Medicaid eligibility rules specify that unauthorized immigrants ""may apply for coverage on behalf of documented individuals."" Eligibility rules for SNAP say that a person who is ineligible because of immigration status ""may choose to apply only for his or her U.S. citizen children in the household."" On the other hand, Broder said, certain federal benefits are available to children regardless of residency status: the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides food aid to care centers for low income children, elderly or disabled adults; the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program, which subsidizes in-school meals for children from low income families; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which provides nutritional supplements and health education for pregnant women, breastfeeding women and their infants up to five years old who are deemed ""at nutrition risk"" by a doctor. Capps agreed those programs are open to unauthorized immigrants but said they’re ""programs that I wouldn’t consider welfare."" Case said the basic nutrition programs qualified as public health spending. Regarding the school lunch program he said: ""I wouldn’t consider it welfare the same way I wouldn’t consider public schools welfare."" Public services Finally, we found validity to DeLay’s assertion that unauthorized immigrants use ""public services."" Capps said there were state-administered public health services available to residents regardless of immigration status while Alex Nowrasteh, an analyst for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, nudged us afresh to the 2006 report from the Texas state comptroller. That report, ""Undocumented Immigrants in Texas: a financial analysis of the impact to the state budget and economy,"" listed nine publicly-funded programs for which unauthorized immigrants in Texas were eligible--public schools plus eight health care programs: emergency medical care for indigent residents; Children with Special Health Care Needs; substance abuse services; mental health services; immunizations; Women’s and Children’s Health Services; public health programs; and emergency medical services such as ambulances. We wondered if the listed programs continue to be open to anyone regardless of immigration status. Seems so; agency-posted eligibility requirements do not say beneficiaries must be legal U.S. residents. SOURCE: Report, ""Undocumented immigrants in Texas: a financial analysis of the impact to the state budget and economy,"" Texas state comptroller Carole Strayhorn, December 2006 In 2005, the report estimated, Texas spent about $58 million caring for unauthorized immigrants through the eight programs--compared to $57.8 billion in total state spending that year. Health Care As the largest health-related service used by unauthorized immigrants, the comptroller identified indigent care at public hospitals. The Texas Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act of 1989 requires Texas counties to fund stabilizing health services for indigent people without insurance. According to the act, county hospitals, public hospitals and hospital districts must admit anyone who earns 21 percent or less of the federal poverty level. That includes unauthorized immigrants, who the comptroller estimated drew $1.3 billion in such services in 2004. The services required under the 1989 act include: ""primary and preventative services,"" inpatient and outpatient hospital services, rural health clinics, laboratory and X-ray services, family planning, physician services, payment for up to three prescription drugs and ""skilled nursing facility services."" We found specifics in a 2010 report from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission titled ""Report on services and benefits provided to undocumented immigrants."" The report listed uncompensated costs incurred at each Texas public hospital in 2008, plus the estimated share of that cost ""attributable"" to unauthorized immigrants. The report estimated that between two and 22 percent of uncompensated costs are attributable to unauthorized immigrants at each of 99 public hospitals statewide, totaling about $717 million in 2008. Our ruling DeLay said most illegal immigrants draw ""welfare benefits, they’re sending their kids to school, they’re using the public services."" People living in the U.S. without authorization indeed draw on public services including government-supported hospitals. Also, children of all origins attend public schools. But counter to DeLay’s prime point, adults lacking legal residency are barred by law from government programs that fit the ""welfare"" category. Parents still may seek benefits, though, for their child-citizens. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. | https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/01/donald-trump/donald-trump-repeats-pants-fire-claim-about-30-mil/, http://www.msnbc.com/kate-snow/watch/border-states-at-forefront-of-immigration-debate-756174915913, http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20101205-an-educated-guess-on-texas-students-in-the-u.s.-illegally.ece, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SMwck-id7RNjA2g1oBQAIDSudy5OjVs5CztwoTb47QM/edit, https://www.dshs.texas.gov/rls/localservices/ihcta.shtm, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/TX, http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Non-Citizen_Guidance_063011.pdf, https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/coverage/, http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/apprototals58-83.pdf, https://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2016/sep/06/gary-johnson/gary-johnson-says-unauthorized-immigrant-border-cr/, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/aug/05/national-border-patrol-council/interior-deportations-down-9-year-low/, https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/adhocrpt/adste.html, https://www.nea.org/assets/docs/NEA_Rankings_And_Estimates-2015-03-11a.pdf, https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-11051.pdf, https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/outreach-and-enrollment/downloads/overview-of-eligibility-for-non-citizens-in-medicaid-and-chip.pdf, http://www.heritage.org/research/testimony/2012/06/welfare-state-69-means-tested-programs-and-940-billion-in-annual-spending, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/23/us/clinton-signs-bill-cutting-welfare-states-in-new-role.html, https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2013/apr/18/wendy-davis/wendy-davis-says-texas-ranks-49th-what-it-doing-pu/, https://hhs.texas.gov/sites/hhs/files//rider59report_2010.pdf, https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2013/sep/25/david-watts/1982-supreme-court-decision-texas-case-said-public/, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/how-undocumented-immigrants-sometimes-receive-medicaid-treatment/, http://www.fosterglobal.com/policy_papers/TexasAnalysisCost-BenefitOfUndocdWorkers.pdf, http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/research-pub/TexasCostStudy_2014.pdf, http://www.gao.gov/assets/230/224907.pdf, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/aug/10/hillary-clinton/undocumented-immigrants-social-security-contributi/, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/01/donald-trump/donald-trump-says-illegal-immigration-costs-113-bi/, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/profile-immigrants-houston-nations-most-diverse-metropolitan-area, https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_11749.pdf | 1mixture
| Immigration, Education, Welfare, Texas, Tom DeLay, |
9016 | Acupressure for menstrual pain | April 6, 2018 | This news release, issued by a university in Berlin, Germany, concludes that use of an app-based acupressure program can achieve a “sustained reduction in menstrual pain” in some women when assessed at 3- and 6-month intervals. The release does a reasonable job of describing the study outcomes, how researchers went about conducting a randomized controlled trial using a “self care” app, and in describing statistically significant pain reduction over six months in some women. Careful readers will likely come away with the idea that acupressure — essentially massage and manipulation applied to certain parts of the torso — is not the final answer to menstrual pain. The release could have done more to make clear that hormone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were still used by the study participants, and to better list the adverse effects. As the release notes, most young women experience cramps, bloating, headaches, backaches, and other discomforts — often severe — at some point of their lives during their monthly menses. An entire industry, pharmaceutical and otherwise, has grown up around this perpetual “market,” with a growing complementary/alternative “self-care” therapy sector that includes yoga, meditation, herbal medicines, and app-based regimens. As the study summary reports, research results on the use of acupressure for menstrual pain relief have been inconclusive or negative, and controlled clinical trials of the technique are extremely rare. Thus, a release with positive results, about a distinctly, albeit limited, controlled trial in more than 200 women, is newsworthy and could encourage the use of smart phone apps for this purpose. That makes it all the more important to include as many important details about the makeup of the study group and the quality of the data as possible. Because acupressure is considered safe, its use as an add-on to drug and other active therapies has the potential to be widely and inexpensively adapted. But potential users of the method also need to be aware that more research, with longer follow-ups, will be needed to determine accupressure’s true effectiveness over time. | Joann Rodgers, MS,Karen Carlson, MD,Kathlyn Stone | The release did not mention it, but the app is “gratis” according to the Luna app website (in German). Most apps of this kind are sponsored and free, and even those that are not free of charge are mostly very inexpensive. The release put the benefits experienced by the treatment and control groups in numerical context: “After three months, 37 percent of participants in the acupressure group reported a 50 percent reduction in pain intensity. After six months, this proportion had increased to more than half of the women in this group (58 percent). Only 25 percent of women in the control group reported a similar reduction in pain intensity at both the 3-month and 6-month marks. Women in the acupressure group also used less pain medication than women in the control group and reported lower levels of pain overall.” The news release leaves the impression that there were no ill effects, but the study summary itself notes that some women in the acupressure group experienced bruising, nausea, dizziness or chest pressure. According to the study, 15 participants experienced an adverse effect. The release states that the study was randomized and controlled and that it included 221 young women that were assigned to one of two treatment groups. Only the treatment group (those doing acupressure) were given instructions on how to administer self-acupressure before and during menstruation. Participants were assessed on their pain levels at 3- and 6-months. Some limitations described in the study but not mentioned in the release: about 90% percent of volunteers had at least 12 years of school education, higher than the average population which would affect the generalizability of the results to the general population. Researchers also stated that the relatively short follow-up time could have resulted in an overestimation of the treatment’s benefit. Although the vast majority of women are estimated to have mild to moderate menstrual pain, and menstruation has often been inappropriately construed as a “disease” always in need of medical intervention, this release presented the issue matter-of-factly, and reasonably. The release doesn’t say how the research was funded. The last line of the release notes the trade name of the app used in the study but not the developer. The release notes that the trial aimed to evaluate whether women achieved greater reduction from acupuncture as an add-on treatment than from “usual care alone.” Usual care was described as pain medication and hormonal contraceptives. The release would have been improved had it made it explicit that the study participants continued to use other pain relief therapies while doing acupressure and that the acupressure study was designed to test the technique’s value as an adjunct therapy. The release links to a website where the app is available in German and where it can be downloaded for free. The release notes that there’s been only limited research into the therapeutic benefits of smart phone apps and that only a few have been randomized controlled trials. It does not claim to be the first to test an app for acupressure and menstrual pain. The release doesn’t engage in unjustifiable language. | 2true
| Acupressure,Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin,menstrual pain |
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4790 | Study: Iowa nitrogen pollution in the water is getting worse. | Nitrogen pollution flowing out of Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico has grown by close to 50 percent over nearly two decades, a new report shows, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent to stem nutrients entering the state’s waterways. | Donnelle Eller | A University of Iowa study shows the state’s contribution to the Gulf dead zone spiked 47 percent to 618 million pounds in 2016, based on five-year running annual averages. “Just based on water quality data, I think we can say we’ve not made much progress over the past 20 years in terms of nitrogen,” said Chris Jones, a research engineer at the UI’s IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering. Environmentalists say the study raises new questions about the effectiveness of Iowa’s approach to improving water quality and its reliance on voluntary ag compliance. “We’ve been pouring state and federal money into cutting nutrient pollution for decades, and this highlights the fact that the voluntary approach is not working,” said Jennifer Terry, executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council. “We’re not headed in the right direction. ... We need to follow the lead of other states and pass some environmental laws that will actually reduce loads and result in cleaner water,” Terry said. The Des Moines Register reports that the news comes as Iowa marks the five-year anniversary of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, a plan designed to cut by 45 percent the nitrogen and phosphorus levels that leave Iowa and feed Gulf hypoxia — or the dead zone. Oxygen levels within the zone are so low that marine life can no longer survive, threatening the Gulf’s seafood industry. Most of the nutrient losses come from farming, although the strategy also targets losses from urban wastewater and industrial operations. Last year, Iowa invested $420 million in those water quality improvements, including helping farmers plant cover crops, build terraces and tackle other conservation practices that hold nutrients in place. But farmers expanding their drainage tile systems — along with increasing hog, cattle and chicken feeding operations, which provide manure to fertilize crops — likely outweigh those conservation efforts, UI scientists say. The nutrient reduction practices “being implemented are a tiny, tiny portion of what needs to be done, and it’s occurring in a system that’s changing,” Jones said. “We appreciate all that is being done with nutrient management and conservation farming. Unfortunately, we’re just impacting too few acres with too few practices,” added Larry Weber, executive associate dean for UI’s College of Engineering. Jones wrote the study with Weber and Keith Schilling, another UI research engineer. Increased nutrient pollution in water creates problems for people and animals beyond the dead zone. High phosphorus levels can lead to toxic algae blooms that can befoul lakes, rivers and streams, potentially killing pets and making people ill. And the federal government limits the amount of nitrates in drinking water to 10 milligrams per liter. Higher levels can be fatal to babies under 6 months old. Increased levels translate to higher costs for utilities for nitrate removal. “We need a dramatic increase, a rapidly-scaled up increase in conservation practices and more funding,” said Cindy Lane, the Iowa Environmental Council’s water program director. Schilling said the study shows that targeting nutrient reduction investment in Iowa can have a significant impact downstream. “Iowa has a dominant role in this Gulf hypoxia issue,” Schilling said. “Let’s invest the resources here, where we really need it. “If we solve Iowa, we solve the Gulf,” he said. The UI study gives Iowans new information in the fight to reduce the nitrogen levels that flow from the state into the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Looking at Iowa Department of Natural Resources data from 23 monitoring stations, the study shows Iowa on average over the past 18 years contributed 29 percent of the total nitrogen headed to the Gulf from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya river basin. The river basin is a massive watershed that includes all or part of 31 states. Iowa’s nitrogen impact was even greater in other watersheds. The state averaged 45 percent of the nitrogen levels going into the Upper Mississippi River basin, and 55 percent of the nitrogen going into to the Missouri River basin. “When you look at the entire Missouri (River) watershed, our land comprises 3.3 percent of the total area ... and Iowa contributes nearly 12 percent of the water,” Jones said. But “we contribute 55 percent of the nitrate,” he said. “The way that pencils out is that the amount of water coming from Iowa has seven times more nitrates than the rest of the Missouri River watershed,” Jones said. If Iowa’s contributions were removed, the Missouri River would have little nitrogen contributions in some years. “We really need to take seriously the Missouri River’s contribution as a driver for Gulf hypoxia,” Jones said. The growing concentration of livestock feeding operations in western Iowa might account for Iowa’s large contribution to the Missouri River nitrate levels, the scientists said. “People tend to dismiss livestock influences, but maybe there’s more to it than people give credit it for,” Schilling said, adding that it would require more study to determine the impact. Iowa’s nitrogen levels, based on running five-year annual averages, have been above the 2003 value for 10 consecutive years, the study says. The scientists say 2003 was the first year the five-year rolling average could be calculated, with data that starts in 1999. The goal of the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force, made up of federal, state and tribal leaders, “will be very difficult to achieve if nitrate retention cannot be improved in Iowa,” the report said. The task force, with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig as chairman, seeks to reduce the dead zone to 1,900 square miles by 2035. The deadline was extended from 2015. Last year, the dead zone set a record, which, at 8,776 square miles, was more than four times the goal size. The report says about 90 percent of Iowa’s nitrogen levels “can be sourced to the 72 percent of the state’s land area that is in crop cultivation.” Iowa, an agriculture powerhouse, is a national leader in corn, soybean, pork, egg and beef production. “This intense production of carbohydrates and protein has resulted in the state being a leading contributor” to the nitrogen loads and Gulf hypoxia, the report said. Naig said farmers understand the important role they play in improving water quality and are scaling up efforts across the state “as we move from demonstration projects to larger, watershed-scale implementation projects. “We recognize that there is still a lot of work to be done, but we are on the right path,” said Naig, who adds farmers are working with more than 250 partners in 65 rural and urban demonstration projects. The UI scientists doubt that increased cropping is the reason for the increased nitrogen impact. Iowa’s cropped area has increased only 4 percent over the past 18 years, while other states’ farmed land has climbed 21 percent, particularly in Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Kansas. About 85 percent of Iowa’s acres are farmed, making it the fifth-highest in the nation, based on the 2012 U.S. Agriculture Census, so there are few acres left that can be brought into production compared with other states. “Iowa’s decline in the share of the region’s soybean area was especially pronounced, dropping from 18.6 percent in 1999 to 14.5 percent in 2016,” the report said. “One would expect our (nitrogen) contributions relative to the other areas would be diminished,” Jones said. “But the opposite has occurred.” Jones said it’s led the scientists to consider other factors. The scientists doubt that Iowa farmers are using significantly more fertilizer. “When we look at nitrogen sales data, it might change a little year over year. But on a per acre basis, that hasn’t changed a lot since 1990,” he said. And with little increase in corn and soybean acres, the scientists speculate that Iowa’s increased nitrogen levels could be coming from more drainage tiles. Or farmers could be using more manure as fertilizer from animal feeding operations. Without Iowa, the Gulf’s overall nitrate loads would have declined 43,400 tons over 18 years, based on five-year running annual averages, the scientists’ data show. Instead nitrate loads grew by 52,000 tons. “It’s pretty clear these loads from the Ohio basin have to be declining,” Jones said. “A lot that is coming from Indiana.” That state’s high level of cover crop adoption by farmers could be the reason, he said, and should be studied. Cover crops such as cereal rye slow the rate of water runoff, reduce erosion and improve soil fertility. Iowa also needs to honestly discuss the impact that drainage tiling has on nitrogen losses, Jones said. Iowa doesn’t collect data on how much underground drainage runs through the state, although officials estimate about 9 million acres are drained through tile. Environmentalists believe the number is much higher. Underground drainage tile helps improve yields by quickly removing excess water from fields. Iowa’s tiling system consists of a network of drainage lines that feed into large pipes. The massive network, first constructed in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, turned once swampy lands into some of the nation’s most productive farmland. But water quickly carried away by the tiling system misses cleansing that would naturally occur by filtering through soil or the roots of trees, shrubs and grasses in riparian buffers along streams. Des Moines Water Works unsuccessfully sued drainage districts in three north Iowa counties in 2015, claiming underground tiles funneled high levels of nitrates into the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for 500,000 central Iowa residents. “We acknowledge that it’s important to track implemented conservation, and we encourage that,” Jones said. “But we also need to have the courage to talk about these things that drive the system in the other direction.” Terry said Iowa is “one of the most heavily tiled states in the nation,” and its 110-year-old law regulating the practice does little to protect water quality. ___ Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com | http://www.desmoinesregister.com,https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2018/06/22/iowa-water-pollution-gulf-mexico-dead-zone-nitrogren-missouri-mississippi-river-quality-nirtate/697370002/ | 2true
| Financial markets, Des Moines, Mexico, University of Iowa, Gulf of Mexico, Water quality, Science, Iowa, Chris Jones, Environment, Pollution |
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10328 | Health Experts Call For Heart Checkups For Kids | December 28, 2009 | The death of a young athlete during exercise is a rare but nonetheless heartbreaking event. Some experts believe that these tragedies can be prevented by subjecting all student athletes to screening with an electrocardiogram (EKG). This story tilts strongly toward those who advocate this view and emphasizes a couple of positive anecdotes from children who benefited from an EKG. However, it provides no data demonstrating that this approach would identify more children at risk than current screening methods based on family history, personal medical history, and a thorough physical exam. Moreover, no attempt is made to balance the story with discussion of the costs and potential harms that frequent use of EKGs would entail. In the end, the story delivered a one-sided view of an issue that demanded a more nuanced treatment. A new screening program for heart abnormalities could potentially save lives but would entail significant costs and carry risks for some children. But one-sided expert arguments and supportive anecdotes do not give readers a balanced view of what is a very complicated story. | "The story cites unnamed experts who make the vague claim that EKG screening would be “too costly.” However, an estimate of the cost of the equipment and the cost per test would have been easy to include and would have provided valuable context to the discussion. Notably, the authors of the study discussed in this article have suggested that the cost of an EKG is as low as $3 under the research protocol they used. However, the cost skyrockets to over $100 if the customary physician billing process is used. The story presents this tension in a one-sided and biased fashion without ever discussing the cost implications sufficiently. The story amplifies the potential benefit of routine screening of high school athletes by focusing unduly on a couple of positive anecdotes. In particular, the reporter describes the experience of one child diagnosed with a serious heart problem for whom the EKG was said to be “life-saving.” This characterization is problematic because we don’t of course know whether this patient ultimately has been ""saved"" (the patient is said to be on a heart transplant list and the outcome of any intervention is as yet undetermined). Similarly, it is impossible to say whether this problem would have been detected by other means even if the child never received an EKG. The author leans heavily on this anecdote but provides no real data to support the contention that global screening of all athletes would identify more students at risk than the current approach." | 0false
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10000 | New Drug Helps Treatment-Resistant Arthritis | September 28, 2010 | This WebMD story offers an interesting approach to covering a clinical trial for a new arthritis drug. It provides many more numbers than the typical story but very little commentary, no cost information, no analysis of the quality of the evidence, and no explanation of how this drug fits into the bigger picture of arthritis treatment. In the hunt for a better arthritis drug researchers, and reporters, have to take care to present the evidence clearly and in context. We wish more stories would include this many numbers to back up information about purported benefits and harms, but stories also need to help readers understand what the numbers mean. That’s where more analysis and strong, independent voices are crucial. | "The story does not discuss costs, which is a shame. Arthritis is a chronic condition, meaning that any drug that gives people significant relief likley will become a lifelong medication. Even if a per-pill cost is low, the cost per year can be huge. Without this information, it is difficult to gauge the true value of the drug. As with the harms, the story provides a long list of comparisons in relative terms to tout the benefits of the drug. This is more helfpul than most stories, but the story could have done a better job by providing some numbers in absolute terms. The first comparison, for example, says, ""67% had at least 20% fewer arthritis symptoms, compared to 35% of patients getting a placebo."" It’s hard to know how big of a benefit this really is. We tried to do the math using the number of people in the study and quickly realized that without the number of symptoms, there is no way to calculate the true size of the benefit here. The story provides more quantification of potential harms than most stories we review. It provides a point by point breakdown of the harms in the same way it breaks down the benefits. It also flags a potentially huge Achilles heel for the drug. ""There’s at least one theoretical concern about R788. Normally, the Syk enzyme helps suppress tumors. Women with breast tumors have low levels of Syk. It’s not clear whether long-term use of R788 will increase cancer risk; longer-term clinical trials will have to evaluate this risk."" This is more than a theoretical concern. Inceased cancer risk is one of the big reasons that drugs end up being pulled from the market after approval. The extent of the evaluation here is describing the scope of the study: ""457 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate treatment received R788 or placebo for six months."" Later the story says, ""For now, R788 looks very promising, the researchers report."" The story needed more analysis of why the results look promising and what may make the results hard to replicate in a clinical setting. The company itself has admitted in the past that the drug failed to show any real beneift, but there was no discussion of that here. The story avoids disaease mongering. There are no independent sources in this story and, indeed, no named sources quoted. High in the story, it says ""Now Harvard researcher Michael E. Weinblatt, MD, reports results from a phase II clinical trial,"" giving the imprimature of independent, academic reserach. But the story includes this helpful paragraph at the end. ""Rigel funded the study, and three of the study’s six authors are Rigel employees. Weinblatt reports receiving grants, fees, or honoraria from a number of drug and biomedical companies, including Rigel."" The story drops readers into this supposed battle between this new drug and methotrexate, but it does not explain why these two drugs are being compared. Nor does it explain, as HealthDay does, that this drug is part of a new class of drugs in various stages of development. The story says up high that results from ""a pilot study"" showed that the drug was promising in reducing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. It then says, ""Now Harvard researcher Michael E. Weinblatt, MD, reports results from a phase II clinical trial,"" making it clear that the drug is not currently available. The lead of the story says, ""An experimental rheumatoid arthritis treatment helps two-thirds of patients getting too little relief from methotrexate."" But the story itself fails to explain how these two drugs interact, if at all. If this drug is truly novel, is it a replacement for the other drug or an enhancement? Have other drugs been tested in this same vein? Are there competitors in trials, too? The story reads a little like a news release, but we could not find a news release that contained this content." | 0false
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17160 | "Paul Broun Says U.S. Reps. Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston have ""even changed votes to what I voted, multiple times." | April 9, 2014 | Broun says campaign rivals following his lead | Eric Stirgus | "To hear one Georgia congressman tell it, he’s the pied piper of some of his colleagues in the U.S. House. ""It’s become a joke in Congress how Dr. (Phil) Gingrey and Mr. (Jack) Kingston have been following my votes,"" U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, told The Daily Beast, a news and lifestyle website. ""They’ve even changed votes to what I voted, multiple times. Members of Congress are laughing about it."" Broun, Gingrey and Kingston, veteran Georgia Republicans serving in the House, are vying for the same seat in the U.S. Senate this year, along with several other candidates. PolitiFact Georgia wanted to find out if Broun is correct or not about Gingrey and Kingston following his lead. All three have attempted to claim title as the most conservative candidate in the crowded GOP field. They have voted the same way all but a handful of times since 2013. Broun, though, has been the most vocal of the three men against some GOP initiatives, usually arguing they are not conservative enough. Since 2013, Broun is the only Republican House member from Georgia who has voted with his party less than 95 percent of the time, according to the website Open Congress. Broun has voted along party lines 87 percent of the time. Gingrey and Kingston have both voted along party lines at a 95 percent clip. Broun directed us to a handful of votes among the more than 700 votes taken by the House since the beginning of 2013 to make his case. Through spokesmen, both Gingrey and Kingston said Broun’s claims were absurd. But this fact-check really got interesting when we interviewed another member of Congress who told us a story about a recent vote concerning Broun and Kingston. On March 6, the House was preparing to vote on an aid package for Ukraine when Broun told his seatmate, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., about his plan to play cloak and dagger in the U.S. Capitol. ""I’m voting no on this, but I’m going to wait until the end to see if (Gingrey and Kingston) change their votes once I vote,"" Massie said, quoting Broun. Gingrey and Kingston voted in favor of the legislation early during the voting period, Massie recalled. With one minute left, Broun followed through with his vote against the bill. As time expired, Massie said he looked up at the electronic board tracking how each member voted and noticed that Kingston voted against the legislation, House Resolution 4152. ""Hey, look at the board!"" Massie said. ""I told you so,"" Broun replied. Massie said he decided to share his story about the March 6 vote with PolitiFact Georgia after Gingrey and Kingston said that Broun was wrong in his assertion. ""To say Paul Broun is misleading would be false,"" Massie told us. Broun and Kingston did vote no, records show. Gingrey voted in favor of the legislation that day. Video is not allowed of the electronic board that records the votes, so there is no way to see if Kingston first voted in favor of the legislation. Video of the vote tally is permitted, and it shows the Republican vote count changed as the time expired from 195 in favor of the bill and 21 against it to 194 to 22. One more no vote was added to the Republican total after time expired. Massie said Broun’s prediction makes a strong argument about Kingston’s motives. ""I cannot tell you why (Kingston) changed his vote, but I can tell you he changed it after Paul Broun voted and Paul Broun predicted it would happen,"" Massie said. Kingston campaign spokesman Chris Crawford said Massie may have been looking at the vote change of another congressman. ""I don’t ever recall him voting for it,"" Crawford said of Kingston. ""I think Congressman Massie is mistaken. Perhaps he mistook something but Jack never voted for that bill."" Former Georgia congressman George ""Buddy"" Darden said some members will change their votes during the 15 minutes they have to vote on legislation. Sometimes, he said, they’ve voted on the wrong legislation. Sometimes, they’re unsure which way they want to vote. Sometimes, they’ll change their vote if an extra vote or two is needed for a bill to pass. Darden, a Democrat, stressed that a member’s vote is not official until it is recorded in the Congressional Record. So did Kingston switch his vote on HR 4152 and did he do it because Broun voted no? ""The only person who knows for sure is Jack Kingston,"" said Darden, senior counsel at the law firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge. About four weeks later, on April 1, the House took another vote on the Ukraine legislation. Records show Broun again voted no, Gingrey again voted yes but Kingston did not vote. Kingston, though, did not vote on other legislation that came before the House afterward, records show. The Broun campaign also directed us to news coverage to support his argument. The first was an article on the popular Washington, D.C., news site, Politico. It was written in March 2013, before Kingston announced he was running for the U.S. Senate. The article was about Broun ""yanking much of the congressional delegation to the right and throwing their votes and the support of leadership into a daily flux."" The Politico article reported that Kingston admitted that Broun’s rightward leanings were changing his voting pattern. Crawford, the Kingston spokesman, noted that the article ""doesn't provide a quote from Mr. Kingston but the impression of the reporter."" Politico reported in that article, Broun voted against a procedural motion concerning legislation to keep the government running. The article reported that the ""dominoes then began to fall. Kingston and Gingrey ended up voting against both the procedural motion and the resolution itself."" Broun’s case against Gingrey focused on news coverage such as the Politico story and a 2013 vote on raising the federal debt ceiling. Broun’s campaign shared a couple of tweets from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Washington bureau account that suggest Gingrey flip-flopped on the debt ceiling vote in 2013 after Broun voiced his opposition to the plan. The first tweet, on Jan. 22, 2013, showed that Gingrey was prepared to vote yes while Broun was the only Georgia lawmaker in the tweet who was planning to vote no. The second tweet, posted on Jan. 23, 2013, showed Broun and Gingrey voted against raising the debt ceiling. Gingrey spokesman Cameron Harley said the congressman’s votes were not being manipulated by Broun’s votes. ""The votes Congressman Gingrey takes on the House floor have always been driven by the conservative Georgia values embodied by his constituency and to suggest that they are driven by Congressman Broun is simply false,"" Harley said. ""There are myriad occasions where their votes have differed, including votes on policy critical to protecting Americans from Obamacare's most egregious provisions while Republicans work toward a full repeal. Furthermore, Congressman Gingrey has voted countless times not to raise the debt ceiling -- a hard stance he took long before announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate. The will of his constituency has always been, and will always be, the only bellwether for his judgement as a public servant."" To sum up, Broun said in the article that fellow congressmen Gingrey and Kingston have ""even changed votes to what I voted, multiple times."" Broun’s case against Gingrey is a matter of perception. In Kingston’s case, it boils down to who do you believe? Broun, Massie or Kingston? It’s a case of ""he said, he said."" In general, the three candidates have voted the same way all but a handful of times since 2013. Broun needed more examples to prove this has happened multiple times. He may be correct about what happened concerning Kingston and the Ukraine vote, but there’s no way to know for sure. And if Kingston and Gingrey changed votes, there’s no way to know whether they did it because of Broun. Thus, his evidence is thin." | http://www.opencongress.org/people/compare, http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-its-own-worst-enemy-ga-senate-race, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll030.xml, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/113-2014/h114, http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/gop-leaders-not-so-peachy-on-paul-broun-votes-89164.html#ixzz2xCs6QRr1, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll149.xml, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/25/paul-broun-is-busy-saving-america.html, http://houselive.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=10532 | 0false
| Georgia, Voting Record, Paul Broun, |
1065 | Vietnam to mobilize military in fight against African swine fever. | May 14, 2019 | Vietnam said it will mobilize its military and police forces to help combat the outbreak of African swine fever that has already resulted in the culling of about 4% of the country’s pig herd. | The virus, first detected in the Southeast Asian country in February, has hit farms in 29 provinces, and prompted the authorities to cull more than 1.2 million pigs. “Soon, soldiers and policemen will take part in efforts to make sure infected pigs are culled in a timely manner, keeping the outbreak from spreading further,” the state-run Tien Phong newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing Vietnam’s deputy agriculture minister, Phung Duc Tien. According to the report, Tien said police will launch an investigation into cases, where local authorities have failed to properly handle the outbreak. “Vietnam had never faced such a dangerous, complicated and costly disease outbreak in its husbandry industry,” agriculture minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said at a conference in Hanoi on Monday. Many provinces had failed to detect outbreaks and cull infected pigs properly due to the lack of funds and space required for burying the dead pigs, the government said on Monday. Pork accounts for three-quarters of the total meat consumption in Vietnam, a country of 95 million people, where most of its 30 million farm-raised pigs are consumed domestically. The disease, which is harmless to humans but incurable in pigs, has also spread quickly across neighboring China, the world’s top pork producer. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in March advised Vietnam to declare the swine fever outbreak as a national emergency. | 2true
| Health News |
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12460 | I think if you look at the entire federal government and the president’s commitment to (fighting opioid addiction), you’ll see that there are actually hundreds of millions of dollars increase on this issue. | May 26, 2017 | "Citing Trump’s commitment to fight the country’s opioid crisis, Price said the government is already spending ""hundreds of millions of dollars"" more to that end. More funding was approved in the recent Congressional omnibus bill to keep the government running, but other policies he’s seeking to pursue -- notably cuts to Medicaid -- could wipe out that increase and then some." | Ella Nilsen | "President Donald Trump has made a lot of promises to solve the country’s opioid crisis, which killed over 33,000 people in 2015 alone. They included the pledge to build a wall on the southern border to stop the flow of drugs from Mexico and Latin America and more money to accelerate new treatment and prevention programs. Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services Tom Price and Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway reiterated Trump’s commitment to end the opioid crisis this month, as they visited New Hampshire - a state that has been one of the hardest hit by drug deaths. Their visit came a week after it was announced that the Trump administration had been planning to gut the Office of National Drug Control Policy, slashing the long-running agency's budget by $364 million, or about 95 percent, in its proposed budget. As it turned out, they did not go through with such a steep cut in Trump’s final budget. Asked about the proposed cuts, Price said, ""I think if you look at the entire federal government and the president’s commitment to this challenge, you’ll see that there are actually hundreds of millions of dollars increase on this issue."" But do Trump’s proposals mesh with Price’s statements about increasing money for treatment, prevention and recovery? Crunching the numbers To get some clarity, we reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services to get a numbers breakdown. A spokesman for HHS responded, pointing to funding in the Congressional omnibus bill, the temporary spending measure to keep the government running that was passed in early May. ""At minimum, the Omnibus provides $213 million in new funding to combat the opioid epidemic across the federal government,"" Alleigh Marre said. ""With all that in mind, the Secretary’s comment that there is a ‘hundreds of millions of dollars increase’ across the federal government, is true."" However, that number includes money that was passed by Congress in 2016, before Trump was president, and doesn’t account for the president’s proposed federal budget. Here’s the breakdown of what’s in that number: $500 million in 21st Century Cures Act grant money, which was passed by Congress under President Obama. $150 million as part of the 2017 omnibus, which includes money for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Health Resources and Services Administration to fight addiction. Marre also highlighted $12.5 million in funding for four new heroin enforcement groups within the DEA and $50 million to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to fund opioid and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. But since Price cited Trump’s commitment to combat the opioid crisis, it’s important to note what money was approved before he took office. Budget and health care bill Beyond these budget increases, however, experts on addiction and recovery say that other proposals by Trump won’t help ease the opioid crisis and could actually make it worse. His budget is asking for almost $400 million in cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which could result in fewer mental health block grants being distributed. And the recently proposed Republican health care bill, which Trump supports, proposes drastic cuts to Medicaid. The House bill calls for $800 billion of cuts to Medicaid in 10 years, on top of the $610 billion cut to Medicaid benefits sought in Trump’s budget. That means Medicaid spending could be cut by 45 percent in 10 years. This has serious implications for people who get health insurance through expanded Medicaid in New Hampshire and elsewhere, many of whom get mental health treatment and substance abuse coverage paid. And that has many treatment advocates in New Hampshire worried. ""We need a system of response that includes access to treatment, recovery, and also, we have to address the supply side through supporting law enforcement in their work. I’m not seeing evidence that that’s actually happening,"" said Linda Saunders Paquette, director of treatment advocacy organization New Futures. It’s worth noting that the president’s budget is just a blueprint; members of Congress have said they are unlikely to approve the spending plan as written. Our Ruling Citing Trump’s commitment to fight the country’s opioid crisis, Price said the government is already spending ""hundreds of millions of dollars"" more to that end. More funding was approved in the recent Congressional omnibus bill to keep the government running, but other policies he’s seeking to pursue -- notably cuts to Medicaid -- could wipe out that increase and then some." | https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget, https://www.statnews.com/2017/05/23/drug-czar-office-trump/, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/23/15680096/trump-budget-opioid-epidemic, http://www.concordmonitor.com/treatment-advocates-say-trump-administration-s-actions-not-matching-its-words-on-opioid-crisis-9743647 | 1mixture
| New Hampshire, Drugs, Federal Budget, Tom Price, |
8308 | Promising 'better days,' Macron extends France's lockdown until May 11. | April 13, 2020 | French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced he was extending a virtual lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak until May 11, adding that progress had been made but the battle not yet won. | Michel Rose, Matthias Blamont, Sudip Kar-Gupta | Following Italy in extending the lockdown but announcing no immediate easing of restrictive measures as in Spain, Macron said the tense situation in hospitals in Paris and eastern France meant there could be no let-up in the country. Since March 17, France’s 67 million people have been ordered to stay at home except to buy food, go to work, seek medical care or get some exercise on their own. The lockdown was originally scheduled to end on Tuesday. “I fully understand the effort I’m asking from you,” Macron told the nation in a televised address at the end of the lockdown’s fourth week, adding the current rules were working. “When will we be able to return to a normal life? I would love to be able to answer you. But to be frank, I have to humbly tell you we don’t have definitive answers,” he said. Schools and shops would progressively reopen on May 11, Macron said. But restaurants, hotels, cafes and cinemas would have to remain shut longer, he added. International arrivals from non-European countries will remain prohibited until further notice. Macron, whose government has faced criticism over a shortage of face masks and testing kits, said that by May 11, France would be able to test anyone presenting COVID-19 symptoms and give nonprofessional face masks to the public. Macron also said he had asked his government to present this week new financial aid for families and students in need. Acknowledging his country had not been sufficiently prepared early on to face the challenges posed by the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Macron appeared to seek a humble tone in contrast to the war-like rhetoric of his previous speeches. “Were we prepared for this crisis? On the face of it, not enough. But we coped,” he said. “This moment, let’s be honest, has revealed cracks, shortages. Like every country in the world, we have lacked gloves, hand gel, we haven’t been able to give out as many masks as we wanted to our health professionals.” The French, long accustomed to being told their high taxes paid for the “best healthcare in the world,” have been dismayed by the rationing of critical drugs, face masks and equipment and have watched with envy the situation in neighbouring Germany. Macron’s acknowledgment of the shortcomings was broadly well-received. “It’s not every day you hear a president offer a mea culpa and dare say ‘we have no definitive answers.’ Reassuring and necessary sincerity,” analyst Maxime Sbaihi of the think tank GenerationLibre said. After a relentless increase until the first week of April, the number of patients in French hospitals’ intensive care units has started to decline, prompting health authorities to call a plateau in the epidemic. But if French hospitals are just about coping, helped by a massive effort to transfer patients by plane, helicopter or even high-speed train from hospitals in the east and Paris to the west, nursing homes have been overwhelmed. By Monday, the coronavirus had claimed 14,967 lives in France, the fourth-highest death toll in the world, with more than 98,076 confirmed cases, according to official figures. “We’ll have better days, and we’ll return to happy days,” Macron said. | /article/us-health-coronavirus-france-toll/french-new-coronavirus-death-toll-rises-by-574-to-14967-idUKKCN21V1SS | 2true
| Health News |
28054 | President Donald Trump said: “I have signed a letter to Congress to make clear that if they send any legislation to my desk that weakens the protection of human life, I will issue a veto … Every child is a sacred gift from God … Every life is worth protecting … We know that every life has meaning and that every life is worth protecting.” | February 5, 2019 | Though the words were rearranged and excerpted, the sections of text enclosed in the quotation marks of the meme were word-for-word reflections of Trump’s remarks. As such, the claim is mostly true. | Alex Kasprak | A popular meme appearing in January 2019 presented a series of statements attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump on the topic of abortion. The meme, with its judicious use of quotation marks, accurately reflected excerpts of Trump’s videotaped remarks to be shown in conjunction with the 18 January 2018 March for Life: However, these excerpts were presented out of order and in one case repeated the same section of text twice, reflecting a certain amount of artistic license. Presented below are Trump’s full remarks, with the relevant sections highlighted and numbered to reflect the four excerpts, and their order, as presented in the meme: I am very proud to welcome tens of thousands of families, students, and people of all faiths and backgrounds to our nation’s capital for the 46th annual March For Life. This is a movement founded on love and grounded in the nobility and dignity of every human life. When we look into the eyes of a newborn child, we see the beauty and the human soul and the majesty of God’s creation (4). We know that every life has meaning and that (4) every life is worth protecting (3, 4), As president, I will always defend the first right in our Declaration of Independence — the right to life. During my first week in office, I reinstated the Mexico City Policy. We have taken bold action to protect the religious freedoms for doctors, nurses, and charities like the Little Sisters Of The Poor We issued a new proposal to prohibit Title Ten taxpayer funding from going to any clinic that performs abortions. We are supporting the loving choice of adoption and foster care, including through the support of faith-based adoption services. And I am supporting the U.S. Senate’s effort to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion in spending bills. Today I have signed a letter to Congress to make clear that if they send any legislation to my desk that weakens the protection of human life, I will issue a veto. (1) And we have the support to uphold those vetoes. Every child is a sacred gift from God (2). As this year’s March For Life theme says, each person is unique from Day One. That is a very important phrase. Unique from Day One. And so true. I want to thank Americans who traveled all across the country to march for life, and I especially want to thank so many young people who give us hope for the future. Together we will work to save the lives of unborn children, so they have a chance to live and to love, to thrive and to dream, and to bless our nation and reach their full and glorious potential. Thank you. God bless you and your families, and God bless America. | 2true
| Politics, abortion, donald trump |
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14184 | There’s no data that says a gun-free zone has saved lives. | May 8, 2016 | ": O’Neill says ""there’s no data that says a gun-free zone has saved lives."" He is correct. There is no definitive data to say that a gun-free zone has saved lives. In part, that’s because the CDC has been blocked from studying anything related to firearms for the last 20 years. And also because ""saved lives"" are hard to quantify. However, there are many anecdotes, scholarly articles and federal studies with data showing that just the presence of guns can cause anxiety and increase aggressive behavior. Plus, there are the teachers who accidentally shot themselves on school grounds. And yes, there are the cases in which the ""good guys"" prevail." | Jacqueline Tempera | "A bill that would stop the state’s more than 3,000 concealed-carry permit holders from bringing their weapons into Rhode Island schools quickly became the center of attention at an April 26 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Sponsored by Sen. Harold Metts, D-Providence, Senate Bill 2761 would make schools ""gun free zones,"" meaning that only ""peace officers"" — defined in state law as people who are sanctioned by the school and have extensive firearms training — could carry weapons in school zones. This roiled Second Amendment enthusiasts who argued against the bill, saying it would put kids at higher risk for acts of terrorism. Legal gun owners, or ""good guys,"" can help disarm a potential attacker if they are on school grounds before police arrive, Michael O’Neill, a pro-bono lobbyist for the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition said at the hearing. Sen. Frank Lombardi, D-Cranston, and Sen. Stephen Archambault, D-Smithfield, both agreed with O’Neill on that point. ""If we're going to issue law-abiding concealed-carry permits to people,"" Archambault said, ""... I'd rather know there's a chance someone can put down a lunatic."" O’Neill added: ""There’s no data that says a gun-free zone has saved lives."" We reached out to O’Neill, and his colleague Frank Saccoccio, also of the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition, to clarify. We briefly spoke with both men. Saccoccio said he’d send us information via email Tuesday night. By Friday, he hadn’t sent us an email, and he hasn’t returned subsequent emails and phone calls. On the other side of the argument, support for the bill comes from school committees across the state, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, the Rhode Island Association of School Principals and the Rhode Island Federal of Teachers and Health Professionals, among others. Is it possible that it's not backed up by data? Is there no data? O’Neill’s statement is tough to refute because it’s so broad, said Linda Finn, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence. There may not be data that gun-free zones have ""saved lives."" It’s hard to disprove a claim like that. Further, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the leading national public health institute — has not extensively researched firearms since 1996, when the National Rifle Association accused the agency of promoting gun control. After the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama signed an executive order reversing the research ban. But nearly four years later, Congress still hasn’t approved the funding. There is, though, ""plenty of data that shows that when guns are present, it increases the likelihood of an injury or death,"" Finn told us. Like when Michelle Ferguson-Montgomery, a sixth-grade teacher and a concealed-carry permit holder in Utah, shot herself in the leg in the school bathroom in September 2014. Or when an Idaho State University professor literally shot himself in the foot with his concealed gun on campus. Then there’s a psychological phenomenon called the ""weapons effect."" Numerous peer-reviewed studies, including one dating back to 1967, show the presence of a weapon, or just a photo of one, leads to aggressive behavior in humans. This is especially true when stress levels are high -- say, in an active school shooter situation. The study ""Does the Gun Pull the Trigger?"" published in ""Psychological Science"" in 1996 showed that ""simply identifying weapons increases the accessibility of aggressive thoughts."" This theory played out for a Barrington sixth grader, according to testimony by his father, Willis Peter Bilderback. Bilderback testified that his son became ""very afraid"" after his teacher told him he had a firearm in his desk. The boy was so shaken that he switched out of the class and had repeated nightmares of ""his teacher attempting to track him down with a gun and kill him,"" according to Bilderback’s testimony. ""The fact that my son believed his teacher had a gun in the classroom turned a nationally recognized blue-ribbon Middle School into a house of horrors for him,"" Bilderback wrote. But do ‘good guys"" help? There is anecdotal evidence to back up O’Neill and Archambault’s idea — some of which is outlined in this Washington Post blog from October 2015. In Chicago in April 2015, an Uber driver with a concealed-carry permit ""shot and wounded a gunman who opened fire on a crowd of people,"" according to a Chicago Tribune report. A similar incident played out in a Philadelphia barber shop. And an FBI ""Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013"" showed that out of the 160 incidents studied, in 21 cases unarmed citizens ""made the selfless and deeply personal choice"" to confront the shooter, and ended the threat. There were seven times that an armed, off-duty police officer, citizen or security guard used a weapon to end the threat. Our ruling: O’Neill says ""there’s no data that says a gun-free zone has saved lives."" He is correct. There is no definitive data to say that a gun-free zone has saved lives. In part, that’s because the CDC has been blocked from studying anything related to firearms for the last 20 years. And also because ""saved lives"" are hard to quantify. However, there are many anecdotes, scholarly articles and federal studies with data showing that just the presence of guns can cause anxiety and increase aggressive behavior. Plus, there are the teachers who accidentally shot themselves on school grounds. And yes, there are the cases in which the ""good guys"" prevail. | 2true
| Rhode Island, Guns, Michael O'Neill, |
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26931 | Viral image says John F. Kennedy "smoked cannabis in the White House, while president, because he suffered from severe back pain and Addison's disease." | February 7, 2020 | One unconfirmed, secondhand report says Kennedy smoked marijuana once at the White House. No evidence is available to back the idea that Kennedy regularly used marijuana at the White House because of his physical ailments. | Tom Kertscher | "Nearly 50 years later, Tommy Chong promoted his drug of choice by invoking one of Nixon’s political rivals and predecessor as president, John F. Kennedy. Chong, an actor and part of the former Cheech and Chong comedy team, made his plug for pot with a Jan. 30 post on Instagram that has more than 70,000 likes. The post features a black-and-white image of Kennedy in a shirt and tie. Kennedy appears to be exhaling smoke while holding perhaps a cigar of some sort. Text below the image claims: ""JFK SMOKED CANNABIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, WHILE PRESIDENT, BECAUSE HE SUFFERED FROM SEVERE BACK PAIN & ADDISON'S DISEASE."" The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Kennedy suffered from a number of serious ailments, including chronic back pain and Addison’s disease (which causes extreme fatigue and other symptoms). He was known for trying to keep them secret. He served less than three years as president before being assassinated in Dallas in 1963. There’s no proof he smoked marijuana to treat his ailments. We asked historians and consulted the history books. A 1998 book on Mary Meyer, one of Kennedy’s mistresses, recounted a 1976 National Enquirer story that said Meyer and Kennedy smoked marijuana once at the White House. The information in the article was attributed to the late Jim Pruitt, who by then was a former Washington Post editor, who said Meyer told him about the encounter. The Washington Post reported on the Enquirer article at the time. According to the Post, Pruitt confirmed his account about the marijuana smoking, said he had given the marijuana to Meyer, and he said the Enquirer had paid him for the story. But none of that goes to the idea that Kennedy regularly used marijuana at the White House in order to fight his ailments. Stacey Flores Chandler, a reference archivist at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, told us the foundation has Kennedy’s medical records from the 1950s and ‘60s as well as records of several of Kennedy's physicians. ""I haven't found any evidence in either the records here or in secondary sources that the president used cannabis as a treatment for any of his medical conditions,"" she told us. Chandler also noted that historian Robert Dallek, who had access to Kennedy’s medical records, wrote about amphetamines, steroids, painkillers and other medications prescribed for Kennedy’s back and Addison’s, but made no mention of marijuana. We messaged Chong’s website but didn’t get a reply. A social media post claims Kennedy ""smoked cannabis in the White House, while president, because he suffered from severe back pain and Addison's disease."" There is an unconfirmed, secondhand account that Kennedy once smoked marijuana at the White House. And he did suffer back pain and Addison’s, according to records. But there is no evidence to support the suggestion that Kennedy regularly smoked marijuana in the White House because of his physical ailments." | https://books.google.com/books?id=7mQsAgT1pewC&q=marijuana#v=snippet&q=marijuana&f=false, https://books.google.com/books?id=V8rSXUORPJsC&q=marijuana#v=snippet&q=marijuana&f=false, https://www.american.edu/soc/faculty/lsteinh.cfm, https://www.bu.edu/amnesp/profile/thomas-whalen/, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jfk-marijuana-use/, http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/M%20Disk/Meyer%20Mary%20Pinchot/Item%2004.pdf, https://www.instagram.com/p/B786CToJo4n/ | 0false
| Drugs, History, Viral image, |
29026 | U.S. farmers are saturating wheat crops with the herbicide Roundup as a desiccant before each harvest, causing an increase in wheat-related ailments. | December 25, 2014 | What's true: RoundUp (glyphosate) is sometimes used as a desiccant to alter the timing of wheat harvests, but that practice is far from common in the United States. What's false: Claims that the practice is both widespread and the cause of digestive ailments are unsupported by credible evidence or accurately reported data. | David Mikkelson | On 13 November 2014, the web site “Healthy Home Economist” published an article by Sarah Pope, which reported that the reason people sometimes (but not always) experience digestive ailments after consuming wheat in the U.S. is that American farmers disproportionately practice spraying wheat the herbicide glyphosate (RoundUp) to modify the time of a wheat harvest: The stories became far too frequent to ignore. Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy. Confused parents wondering why wheat consumption sometimes triggered autoimmune reactions in their children but not at other times.The bad news is that the problem lies with the manner in which wheat is harvested by conventional wheat farmers. Standard, recommended wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as withered, dead wheat plants are less taxing on the farm equipment and allow for an earlier and easier harvest. Using Roundup as a desiccant on the wheat fields prior to harvest may save the farmer money and increase profits, but it is devastating to the health of the consumer who ultimately consumes those ground up wheat kernels which have absorbed a significant amount of Roundup! The Italian Pasta Example Doesn’t Hold Much Water Before digging into the practice of crop desiccation, it is important to realize that the entirely anecdotal example of people sensitive to gluten deriving sickness from American pasta and not from Italian pasta (a thinly disguised version of the appeal to nature fallacy) requires wheat in Italy, as a blanket rule, to contain no wheat processed in a country where glyphosate is used in its production. Such an assertion, however, would be false — making the claim that glyphosate is the cause for different reactions to pasta in the two countries a hard one to make with logical consistency. Italy actually imports up to 40 percent of the wheat used in their pasta-making from other countries, including including those that make use of glyphosate. How Widespread is the Use of Glyphosate as a Desiccant? Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the world and an integral part of the global agricultural system, due dominantly to the widespread adoption of genetically modified glyphosate resistant crops. In its traditional use as a broad spectrum herbicide, it is either sprayed before planting crops to clear a field, or as a maintenance tool after planting if applied to glyphosate-resistant crops. These uses, however, differ from the practice of crop desiccation, which aims to increase the rate at which a plant loses moisture to change the timing of a harvest. The concern with this kind of use, which would occur 7 to 10 days before harvest, is that it would leave increased amounts of glyphosate residue on final product because its application is closer to harvest time. Glyphosate is, indeed, sometimes used for this purpose — the necessity of which is dictated by what crop is being grown and the environmental conditions in which it is being grown — but it is not typically the first choice for the job, as there are other chemicals specifically designed for that use, as discussed by the Alberta Department of Agriculture and Forestry, a region that practices crop desiccation on wheat: True desiccants [such as RegloneTM] are harvest management tools that rapidly kill above ground growth of crops and weeds, allowing for rapid dry down and an earlier harvest. Desiccants will not give long-term weed control and any late moisture may cause both the weeds and the crop to start to re-grow. Pre-harvest glyphosate application is generally used for perennial weed control. It can be used as a harvest management tool for dry down but the effects take much longer to appear. In her post, Pope asserts: According to the US Department of Agriculture, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat [in the U.S.] has been doused with Roundup as part of the harvesting process. This statement is misleading, as it conflates the use of glyphosate in general with the use of glyphosate as a desiccant. The statistic Pope cites, sourced from USDA survey data, actually works against her argument that wheat produced specifically by the United States would be disproportionately affected by pre-harvest glyphosate desiccation, as it shows that the most common wheat produced in the United States (winter wheat accounts for 70 to 80 percent of U.S. wheat production) is the one with the least reliance on glyphosate. While the data on glyphosate use in pre-harvest application is either proprietary or non-existent, the testimony of numerous farmers speak to the fact that glyphosate desiccation is a rare practice in the United States, with its use generally relegated to North and South Dakota. One such piece, republished on Huffington Post, reports: Pre-harvesting wheat with glyphosate (most commonly Roundup) is not something the majority of wheat farmers across the nation do. There is a small sector and region of wheat production that practices this: mainly North Dakota, small parts of South Dakota, and parts of Canada. In the United States, North Dakota represents about 5% of total wheat acres produced. We are, however, the second hard red spring wheat producer in the nation. So the claim that this occurs everywhere is not at all valid or true since only about 5% of the total production practices this pre-harvesting. We ourselves surveyed a number of farmers in the Walla Walla Valley, which has been a large wheat-growing area for many years, and found none who had engaged in — or even heard of — the practice of “desiccating” wheat with Roundup just prior to harvest. While the practice of glyphosate desiccation exists in some regions in the United States, the claim that it is a “common” practice in America is not supported by any correctly described data. The “Research” Behind The Claim The stated evidence for the hypothesis that glyphosate in American wheat is contributing to rising gluten sensitivities is based on two questionable sources of data. The first is the anecdotal claim about those with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States “experiencing no symptoms whatsoever when they try eating pasta on vacation in Italy”. Outside of the factual problems discussed at the top of this piece, such examples are problematic as evidence because they’re non-random, self-selected samples and not scientifically controlled and collected data. The second piece of evidence is research attributed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Stephanie Seneff: According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT who has studied the issue in depth and who I recently saw present on the subject at a nutritional Conference in Indianapolis, desiccating non-organic wheat crops with glyphosate just before harvest came into vogue late in the 1990’s with the result that most of the non-organic wheat in the United States is now contaminated with it. Senef is a controversial senior research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT who, despite a lack of background in any relevant topics, has made a name for herself by connecting both vaccines and glyphosate to diseases ranging from celiac’s disease to Alzheimer’s and autism. The cited paper, a 2013 study in the journal Entropy, makes the following claim: Glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. […] Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. To say this paper lies outside the scientific mainstream would be an understatement. It is speculative and provides no data of its own, cites discredited or even officially retracted work, and even has had an editorial statement of concern affixed to it: The editors would like to issue an Expression of Concern to make readers aware that the approach to collating literature citations for this article was likely not systematic and may not reflect the spectrum of opinions on the issues covered by the article. Even if the paper was valid in its wildly broad and aggressively speculative hypothesis that glyphosate and vaccines combine to create most of the Western world’s health problems, using it as a source for claims of widespread pre-harvest glyphosate desiccation of wheat in the United States is just as problematic, as it does not provide any accurately reported research in defense of that claim. While the health effects of glyphosate on humans is a controversial topic to which different governmental health agencies have reached different conclusions (though most conclude it is not a risk to human health), the notion that differences in the production of wheat between America and the rest of the world are the causes of differing gastrointestinal reactions to similar food items in different locations lacks both supporting evidence and internal consistency. Claims of the widespread practice glyphosate desiccation of wheat in the United States are similarly without merit. Our rating of “mixture” recognizes that, indeed, glyphosate is sometimes used as a desiccant, but that its practice is far from common in the United States. We reject the notion, however, that this “common” practice of U.S. farmers “saturating” wheat crops with Roundup herbicide as a desiccant before each harvest has been causing an increase in wheat-related ailments, as these claims are unsupported even by the research cited in articles making such a claim. | 1mixture
| Food |
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11435 | Sweet news for chocoholics | July 3, 2007 | "This story reported on the latest study, among ""mounting evidence"", that suggests that small amounts of dark chocolate may slightly lower blood pressure. But the story never explained how much blood pressure dropped in the study. It never explained anything about how the research was done. It didn’t cite the source of the new evidence. It didn’t interview anyone involved in the research, nor did it reflect any meaningful input from anyone knowledgeable about this area of research. (CBS did interview a Center for Science in the Public Interest spokesperson, but the clips they chose to use from her interview didn’t add much.) While this report at least hinted that portion size control was an important factor, the story contained a very limited amount of factual information for consumers to use for decision making." | "The story didn’t discuss costs, but most people know the cost of chocolate products, even ballpark costs of more expensive imports. The benefit reported was a ""slightly lower blood pressure in people with hypertension."" But it didn’t say how much. The study was conducted in a group of individuals who were prehypertensive or had stage-1 hypertension; there was no benefit in terms of blood pressure reduction at 6 weeks, however after 12 weeks of dark chocolate consumption, there was a statistically significant nearly 2.5 mmHg reduction in systolic pressure and by 18 weeks, it was nearly 3.0 mmHg lower. Why not tell viewers just how much BP dropped? Although not explicit, this piece did allude to weight gain as a potential problem with advocating consumption of chocolate. It could have mentioned that with the portion of dark chocolate used in the study, no weight gain was seen during the 18 weeks of study. This report did mention that while there have been several published studies which found an association between reduction in blood pressure and consumption of small amounts of dark chocolate, the study which prompted this piece was one not sponsored by chocolate manufactorers. However, it did not include any mention of where this study was published. (It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (July 4, 2007, vol 298). This detail might help viewers weigh the credibility of the health claim being made. The story also failed to give any indication of the kind of study undertaken. No overt disease-mongering. The only ""expert"" interview in the story was with the nutrition director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. But the interview bites they used from her didn’t add much to the piece, so we’re left yearning for some expert interpretation of the findings. This report did not mention other methods for obtaining comparable reductions in blood pressure such as adhering to the DASH diet http://dashdiet.org/, exercise http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/19233.htm, or medications. The study that this story reported on found one particular type of dark chocolate (Ritter Sport Halbbitter) had an effect on blood pressure. While the story was helpful in that it included information about portion size in terms a typical consumer could understand (i.e. about one and a half Hershey’s dark chocolate kisses), it failed to provide information about the availability of the chocolate used in this study. Is it common? Is it found in many other products? This piece appropriately mentioned that the study reported on was part of a growing body of evidence that finds consumption of small amounts of dark chocolate has a blood pressure lowering effect. Does not appear to rely solely or largely on a press release." | 1mixture
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6760 | Vulnerable people disappeared, regulators didn’t know. | Willie Lee Shell, who is deaf and unable to speak, disappeared from Upstate Residential Care three times in two months, according to Anderson police records. The fourth time he disappeared, he was gone for days before anyone called police. | Nikie Mayo | His case is but one in a long history of troubling incidents at the Anderson assisted living facility. Relevant police and state records don’t add up. In South Carolina, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is responsible for overseeing the quality of services at assisted living facilities such as Upstate Residential Care, but records reveal a gap in accountability. Many of the disappearances from the home were never disclosed to regulators, an Independent Mail investigation found. If a resident of Upstate Residential Care leaves for more than 24 hours without notifying the staff, the facility is required to report the incident to DHEC, local law enforcement and the resident’s “responsible party,” said DHEC spokesman Tommy Crosby. But what happens if a vulnerable resident disappears for less than a day? According to state regulations, an assisted living facility’s administrator or someone he designates must notify police immediately if a cognitively impaired resident leaves the home’s premises for any amount of time without notice to the staff. The first time Shell left, Dec. 11, 2013, he was gone from the two-story brick building on South McDuffie Street for 10 hours and 58 minutes before Horace Alexander, the owner of the facility, called police, according to the times clocked on an officer’s incident report. Alexander told police that Shell was “mentally challenged.” Alexander said Shell could communicate only in sign language or writing. Alexander said Shell, then 57, had left the home at 9 a.m. that winter day wearing an orange Clemson University pullover and faded purple sweatpants. Alexander told officers that he didn’t know which direction Shell was traveling or where he intended to go. Less than a month later, on Jan. 6, 2014, Shell left the home again. Alexander told police Shell had left at 6:30 a.m. and had missed the facility’s 7 p.m curfew. Alexander notified police of Shell’s absence at 8:21 p.m. Alexander told officers Shell “becomes agitated and violent if he is told he cannot leave the property to drink.” He told them Shell had left on “multiple occasions” and found people to give him money so he could buy alcohol. A month later, Shell left Upstate Residential Care again, this time at 6 a.m. Police were notified at 10:33 a.m. A worker told police Shell left wearing a black and gray jacket. It’s not clear when or how he returned to the facility the first three times he left. Six months later, Shell left the home for a fourth time. Three days passed before Upstate Residential Care called Anderson police on Aug. 25, 2014, according to a police report. The report offers little information except that he “left walking” on Aug. 22 and hadn’t returned. Police sought the public’s help to find Shell and told media he may have left the home to buy cigarettes. Four days after he disappeared, Shell was found uninjured in Greenville. Upstate Residential Care never reported Shell’s disappearances to DHEC, according to records. DHEC sent an inspector to the home after the South Carolina Governor’s Office of the Ombudsman filed a complaint about the way Upstate Residential Care handled Shell’s fourth disappearance. In agency records, DHEC refers to Shell only as “Resident A.” The dates and details included in DHEC’s records match those in Anderson police records about Shell. On Sept. 9, 2014, DHEC cited Upstate Residential Care for failing to report Shell’s disappearance and for recording that he “rejected his medications” on five days that he was actually missing from the facility. Alexander said Shell had tried to leave the assisted living facility many times, and given that, he thought the time he took to notify police was reasonable. He wrote that his staff was under the impression that Upstate Residential Care Residents “refused their medications if they failed to be on campus at the time the medications were to be dispensed.” “It appears we have become a dumping ground for people who would otherwise be homeless or public nuisances, and in return, we find ourselves the brunt of all complaints,” Alexander wrote to DHEC. When contacted by an Independent Mail reporter, Alexander declined to comment for this article. Anderson police records show that residents were reported missing from Upstate Residential Care at least 10 times in the last five years, with most of those disappearances occurring in 2014. None of the disappearances were detailed in four serious incidents reported by the facility to DHEC. A schizophrenic man who was placed at the home “by mental health” walked away after having an argument with another resident, according to police records. The man was gone for more than three hours before someone from the facility notified police that he had missed the evening curfew. Another schizophrenic man walked away from the home the day after he started living there. He left at 6 p.m. and was supposed to be back an hour later, Alexander told police. Records show that police were dispatched to the facility at 10:25 p.m., more than three hours after the mentally ill man had walked away. Police noted in their incident report that Alexander had “waited a few hours and then notified law enforcement.” On another occasion, an Upstate Residential Care worker called police and said a resident who was “required to take several medications” had left the home the day before to go to AnMed Health Medical Center’s emergency room and had not returned. At least 22 hours passed before the worker called police. In another case, a teenager described as having the mental capacity of a 6-year-old disappeared from Upstate Residential Care twice in two days. According to a police report, Alexander told officers that the 19-year-old was at his facility because he was ordered by the court to be there. Alexander described the teen as having a “history of mental issues such as ADHD, bipolar and mood disorders.” Alexander told police the teen had left the facility with another resident who has a mental health problem and whom he described as “addicted to crack cocaine.” Alexander told police both residents were probably “at a crack house on the south side of town.” Six months after that, police called Alexander about a missing resident instead of Alexander calling police. The woman was standing outside The Little General on South Murray Avenue when officers found her. Someone called 911 after seeing her at the Anderson convenience store asking for help. A police report describes her in the briefest of terms: Asian, “very confused” and having “medical issues.” She had with her a piece of paper that bore the address of Upstate Residential Care. When officers called the assisted living facility a half-mile away, the owner said “it was just discovered” that the 58-year-old woman had walked away. It’s not clear how long she had been gone. Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo or email her at mayon@independentmail.com. ___ Information from: Anderson Independent-Mail, http://www.andersonsc.com | http://www.andersonsc.com | 2true
| Health, Anderson, Assisted living, South Carolina |
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7439 | Tennessee county adding public health jobs with fed funds . | The mayor of Tennessee’s largest county says the health department wants to hire scores of employees from funds provided by the federal coronavirus response assistance package. | Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday a proposed $11.4 million expansion of the health department includes hiring four epidemiologists and about 140 new employees to work on COVID-19 data analysis and contact tracing. More teams will be formed to focus on nursing homes and jail detainees, Harris said during an online news conference. Nurses also will he hired to work on testing. Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has received nearly $50 million from the federal CARES Act. The city also has received federal money. “Most of these positions will only exist while we have the federal funding to pay for them,” Harris said. The proposal has been presented to the county commission. Also in Shelby County, district attorney Amy Weirich said grand juries could begin meeting next week. Grand juries will be seated starting Monday, Weirich said in a statement. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause severe illness, or even death. | 2true
| Health, General News, Tennessee, Virus Outbreak, Memphis, Public health |
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27575 | "Under certain conditions, lionesses can grow manes and develop ""masculine behavior""." | March 6, 2017 | According to New Scientist, this is not an active area of research — so it may be some time before we have more answers about the origin of the phenomenon. | Alex Kasprak | On 1 March 2017, a Reddit user posted a picture of two lions bearing manes and a caption indicating that five “lionesses in Botswana have grown manes, developed a deeper roar to defend off rivals and even fight for territory”: This is a factual statement. Though rare, the phenomenon of female lions growing manes and exhibiting other masculine traits has been documented both in the wild and in captivity. The specific group of lions in Botswana discussed in the Reddit thread is the most thoroughly documented example of the phenomenon, with a two-year observational study of these lions having been published in the African Journal of Ecology on 24 August 2016. New Scientist later recounted that report’s context and findings: Male lions are distinguished by their mane, which they use to attract females, and they roar to protect their territory or call upon members of their pride. Females lack a mane and are not as vocal. But sometimes lionesses grow a mane and even behave a bit like males. However, until now, reports of such maned lionesses have been extremely rare and largely anecdotal. We knew they existed, but little about how they behave. The researchers collected data on five lionesses that had developed manes in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. In addition to the physical appearance of a mane, the researchers also documented behavioral differences, including vocal calls and scent-marking behavior more typical of males. Lead author Geoffrey D. Gilfillan, a researcher at the University of Sussex, observed these changes in the primary target of observations, a maned female with the ID SaF05: “While SaF05 is mostly female in her behaviour — staying with the pride, mating males — she also has some male behaviours, such as increased scent-marking and roaring, as well as mounting other females. Although females do roar and scent-mark like males, they usually do so less frequently “SaF05, however, was much more male-like in her behaviour, regularly scent-marking and roaring.” Despite the frequent copulation, however, SaF05 never once became pregnant — an observation that led the researchers to speculate that the behavioral and physical changes were associated with infertility. A photograph from Botswana of what appeared to be two male lions mating went viral in April 2016, but this photo was later determined to have captured a lion and a maned lioness mating. In discussing that photograph in National Geographic, Luke Hunter, president of the big-cat conservation group Panthera, suggested it was possible the development of maned lionesses could be either genetic or a fetal development: The genetic contribution of the sperm — which determines the sex of the fetus in most mammals — [could be] aberrant, giving rise to a female with some male characteristics. Alternatively and perhaps more likely, the problem may have occurred during gestation if the fetus was exposed to increased levels of androgens—male hormones such as testosterone. Testosterone is likely a big part of the story. As noted in New Scientist, a captive lioness at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa developed a mane back in 2011 that disappeared after her testosterone levels were corrected. Infertility, the story pointed out, is a side effect of elevated testosterone in females as well. While it is unclear what specifically causes the elevated testosterone, Lead author Gilfillan also thinks the cause is likely genetic: Given all five known maned females [in the wild] come from the Okavango region, there must be a genetic component in this population underlying the phenomenon. | 2true
| Science, gender, lionesses, lions |
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26525 | “Non-essential people get to file for unemployment and make two to three times more than normal,” but essential workers still on the job get no pay raise. | April 8, 2020 | Some lower-wage workers collecting unemployment can receive two or three times the amount they were paid on the job. That’s the result of a $600-per-week federal unemployment bonus that’s available from April through July of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak. The stimulus does not raise pay for people still on the job. | Tom Kertscher | "Some people who continue to work through the coronavirus outbreak are upset that they’re getting no additional pay, while some unemployed people are now receiving more in unemployment benefits than they were paid on the job. The frustration was expressed in a Facebook post directed at New York’s Democratic governor. ""OK, so now we have a problem, Mr. Governor Andrew Cuomo,"" the post begins. ""Non-essential people get to file for unemployment and make two to three times more than normal. The average worker bringing home $250-350 a week would be sitting at home getting $900 a week, while us essential workers are at risk putting our lifes (sic) on the line to provide for our families to make the same we always make."" The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It is possible for workers in that pay range to receive unemployment payments that are two or nearly three times higher than what they were paid on the job. That’s the result of a federal stimulus bill signed by President Donald Trump, not due to any action taken by Cuomo. It includes $600 bonuses on weekly unemployment checks. But even with the bonus, higher-income workers who lose their jobs will receive less money on unemployment than they did on the job. As we’ve reported: The federal government’s largest stimulus law — the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act — adds $600 per week, for up to four months, to the regular unemployment checks that people receive through their state government. The bonuses began April 5, 2020 and are available through July 31, 2020. Nationally, unemployment checks usually are about half of what a person earned on his or her most recent job, up to a limit, which is set by each state. Benefits in some states are higher than that. So, to use one of the figures in the Facebook post, take a laid-off New York resident formerly earning $350 per week, or $18,200 on an annual basis. That person would typically get an unemployment check of $198 per week, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute, a New York think tank. Add the $600 bonus, and the total is $798 per week — or more than double that person’s regular pay. At those rates, the laid-off worker would receive about $7,600 more in unemployment aid over the 17-week span of the program than they would have received in earnings if they had been able to stay at work. Nationally, the average weekly unemployment benefit was $385 per week as of January 2020, Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, told PolitiFact. With the stimulus bonus, that person’s benefit would more than double to $985 per week. The stimulus includes a one-time payment of $1,200 that most adults are scheduled to receive sometime in April 2020, along with payments for each dependent child age 17 or younger. But those go to the unemployed as well as the employed. There is no additional pay from the federal stimulus package for people who remain employed. That includes people in essential jobs such as grocery store clerks, delivery workers, food and medical supply-chain workers, and lower-paid hospital staff. If essential workers were laid off, they would have to make less than $798 a week in New York to do the same or better on unemployment. Workers who made more would be made worse off, even with the government stimulus. Although the post alludes to New York, we found no actions taken by New York state to boost pay for such workers. That was confirmed to us by the Fiscal Policy Institute and the Rockefeller Institute of Government, both New York-based think tanks that focus on New York state government; and the Center for New York City Affairs research organization. A spokesman in the governor’s office told us that Cuomo has taken steps, such as waiving a waiting period, to make it easier to collect unemployment. Some states have tried to help certain workers in other ways. For example, New York, Illinois and Maryland are offering child care assistance to certain essential workers. Also, in Saratoga County, N.Y., county officials are defending their decision to pay time-and-a-half to 340 employees deemed essential, the Daily Gazette reported. The cost for the overtime, which is being paid to about one-quarter of the workforce, is $150,000 per week. Several experts noted to us that some federal officials have discussed the possibility in a future stimulus bill of providing additional pay to essential workers. A Facebook post said that ""non-essential people get to file for unemployment and make two to three times more than normal,"" but essential workers still on the job get no pay raise. This dynamic only applies to some workers who have modest incomes. For four months, from April through July of 2020, unemployed people are eligible for $600-per-week federal bonuses that, in some cases, can double or nearly triple what they earned on the job." | https://www.facebook.com/Sim111455/posts/2780438532010513?__tn__=-R, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/06/facebook-posts/big-boost-unemployment-checks-no-pay-hike-workers/, http://www.centernyc.org/staff, https://www.epi.org/people/heidi-shierholz/, https://www.upjohn.org/about/upjohn-team/staff/brad-j-hershbein | 1mixture
| Income, Jobs, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, |
9625 | New Eczema Treatments Could Be Available Soon | June 2, 2016 | This story is an overview about a couple of drugs that treat eczema by preventing the immune system from overreacting. So far, the drugs are faring well in clinical trials, and the companies behind them plan to seek FDA approval later this year. This story is clear that availability of the drugs must await that approval, but the headline—New Eczema Treatments Could Be Available Soon—ignores the uncertainty surrounding FDA drug approvals. (We saw a similar level of excessive optimism in our review of a news release on a different drug: PR release on mid-stage eczema drug trial suggests benefit but doesn’t quantify.) The new drugs may, as sources attest, be “safer and potentially more effective” than existing medications. But the story gives short shrift to explaining the clinical evidence underlying those conclusions and offers no information about potential conflicts of interest among the sources. Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, afflicts millions of individuals and is so severe in an estimated 1.6 million that it limits social life and leads to bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts. Steroid creams help but bring with them long-term side effects. Newer immune modulator drugs may minimize side effects while providing substantial relief. | Sharon Dunwoody, PhD,Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH,Joy Victory | The costs of these two new medications is not addressed. Given their possible availability by 2017, the dearth of cost information is a real disservice. Many currently available treatments are very inexpensive, so it is important to know the costs of the newer medications in order to assess if they are a viable alternative for people and for health systems. The story provides some quantitative comparisons between folks in a treatment group relative to those in a control group: “In late-stage studies, roughly half of patients taking crisaborole had their diseases cleared or nearly cleared, a statistically significant improvement compared with 30% to 41% of patients using moisturizing placebos. The most common side effect was pain where the ointment was applied, experienced by about 4.4% of crisaborole patients and 1.2% of control-group patients.” This is sufficient for a Satisfactory rating. However, it doesn’t say how long the follow-up period was or if the disease clearing lasted, which are very important pieces of information. There is a small bit of information on harms at the bottom of the story for one of the two drugs: pain at the site where the ointment is applied in a small number of individuals. This squeaks by with a Satisfactory rating. But, a reader will be hard pressed to find any information about the possible long-term harms of the injectable drug of interest here–this is concerning because these types of drugs are known to have serious side effects like increased infection or even cancer risk, as this Nature Review article notes. We’re not looking for an exhaustive list, but some acknowledgment that possible long-term harms are plausible and haven’t been studied would have been helpful. Although it becomes apparent midway through the story that someone conducted a study utilizing a control group, this story is strikingly bereft of information about how these clinical trials were carried out. Readers need access to the evidence, with information about study size, population demographics, drop-out rates, etc. We also wanted to see more explanation of what the FDA “breakthrough” designation means, as it’s an often misused term, as we recently pointed out in the blog post “CBS proclaims ‘cancer breakthrough’ – doesn’t explain what FDA means by that term.” Atopic dermatitis, although not lethal, afflicts millions of Americans and carries with it a high social cost. This story makes it clear that several companies are working to develop medicines that can act as immune modulators, and at least one of the doctors appears to be independent of the research. It does not, however, make an effort to link its sources to any of those companies. In at least one case, a dermatology professor on the front lines of eczema treatment research offers information in her employer bio indicating that she is a consultant for one of the companies featured in this story. Steroid treatments are mentioned and their numerous side effects emphasized. It would have been helpful for the story to emphasize the role of non-medical treatment ( water avoidance, moisturizer, etc) since these are mainstays for many people. The story states that the drug companies involved plan to ask FDA for approval later this year. This is a clear enough signal that the drugs aren’t available yet. However, by speculating on how these drugs will be used by doctors, some of the statements imply that the drugs will definitely be approved, e.g. : “Many doctors say they expect the drug to benefit patients whose diseases go undertreated because their fears about steroids cause them to use the drugs less frequently than prescribed.” Many FDA applications for approval can be derailed by unforeseen safety concerns or other issues, and so the passage above could have been toned down to indicate this still all hinges on events that haven’t happened yet. The story notes that, if approved, “crisaborole would be the first new nonsteroidal treatment for eczema in more than a decade.” But at least two immune modulators have been available to treat eczema for some 15 years (in 2001 the FDA approved tacrolimus and a related drug, pimecrolimus, for such use). The story does not acknowledge these existing drugs and makes no effort to compare the patient outcomes of the drugs-in-waiting with those of the already available immune modulators. An existing release from Regeneron takes a deep dive into the Phase 3 trials; the story does not. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/iStock_000022362380_Small.jpg,https://www.healthnewsreview.org/news-release-review/pr-release-on-mid-stage-eczema-drug-trial-suggests-benefit-but-doesnt-quantify/ | 1mixture
| biologic drugs,dermatitis,dermatology,eczema |
28216 | Donald Trump said in the good old days, protesters were harshly dealt with and carried away on stretchers. | March 14, 2016 | It’s mostly accurate to say that Trump made the remarks attributed to him in this image (along with numerous similar statements at multiple other rallies), but the use of the iconic Kent State photograph to accompany those remarks was someone’s editorial choice (in the sense that Trump didn’t literally advocate shooting political protesters nor did he directly reference the Kent State shootings in the course of what many news outlets described as increasingly violent rhetoric). The juxtaposition of Trump’s words with the historically significant Kent State image was illustrative in nature, although Trump has repeatedly stated a desire to see individuals protesting at his campaign events treated roughly (i.e., without “political correctness”). | Kim LaCapria | On 11 March 2016, the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was jarred when a scheduled rally in Chicago was disrupted by protesters, resulting in Trump’s opting to cancel the event at the last minute: The Downstate event came after Trump pulled the plug on a Friday night rally in Chicago as thousands of protesters gathered outside and hundreds more were in the arena after getting tickets online through his campaign. After Trump canceled, citing security concerns, there were scattered skirmishes between supporters and demonstrators inside and outside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion. Security in Bloomington was tight Sunday, with attendees told to leave bags and umbrellas in their vehicles, forcing some to don black trash bags to protect against the rain as they waited to pass through metal detectors. Hundreds of people didn’t make it inside. Also outside was a group of about 100 protesters, who waved anti-Trump signs and chanted “Mr. Hate, leave our state.” In the immediate wake of those events, a number of Facebook users shared the image reproduced above, which overlaid a quote from Trump about protesters over an iconic news photograph of a student fatally shot by National Guard troops during a 4 May 1970 anti-war protest at Kent State University: “I love the old days.” “You know what they used to do (to protesters) like that when they got out of line? They’d be carried away on a stretcher, folks.” The quote reproduced with the image reflected words spoken by Donald Trump, but it was something of a paraphrase plucked from a longer statement, and it referenced an utterance made by Trump well before the chaotic Chicago rally. After a disruption at a Las Vegas political rally that took place on 22 February 2016, Trump told his gathered supporters that: I love the old days, you know? You know what I hate? There’s a guy totally disruptive, throwing punches. We’re not allowed to punch back anymore … I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks. Trump then briefly lauded police before describing the protester as “throwing punches … nasty as hell,” and telling a cheering crowd: The guards are very gentle with him. He’s walking out like big high-fives, he’s smiling … laughing. I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell ya. (Contemporaneous reporting suggested that the individual removed from the 22 February 2016 rally was not “throwing punches.”) The image seen here truncated Trump’s remarks, replacing “to guys like that in a place like this” with “to protesters.” A 23 February 2016 Esquire article pointed out that the euphemisms in Trump’s commentary weren’t entirely apparent to non-attendees: I wonder who the “guys like that” are, and why they don’t belong “in a place like this”? The protester’s identity is not yet clear, nor do we know whether or not they were actually throwing punches. But this is not the first time Trump has responded to dissenting voices at his rallies by encouraging violence. On 12 March 2016, Vox compiled variations of remarks made by Trump at various rallies on multiple dates across the United States and selected eight instances during which Trump made similar comments. Four of those examples were as follows: [1 February 2016, Iowa] “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell. I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise.” [26 February 2016, Oklahoma] “In the good old days, they’d rip him out of that seat so fast. But today, everybody’s politically correct. Our country’s going to hell with being politically correct.” [29 February 2016, Virginia] “Get him out of here please. Get him out. Get him out … Are you from Mexico? Are you from Mexico? Huh? Are you from Mexico?” [4 March 2016, Michigan] “Get out of here. Get out. Out! … This is amazing. So much fun. I love it. I love it. We having a good time? USA, USA, USA! … All right, get him out. Try not to hurt him. If you do, I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry about it … We had four guys, they jumped on him, they were swinging and swinging. The next day, we got killed in the press — that we were too rough. Give me a break. You know? Right? We don’t want to be too politically correct anymore. Right, folks?” The image entered wide circulation following Trump’s canceled Chicago rally and subsequent interest in the GOP candidate’s lamentations that protesters couldn’t be violently ejected from his rallies. The photograph upon which Trump’s words were superimposed was well-known, as described in a 6 May 1990 New York Times article marking the twentieth anniversary of the prize-winning image: The photograph was of Mary Ann Vecchio, then a 14-year-old runaway from the Miami area, kneeling in anguish beside the body of one of four students slain by Ohio National Guardsmen on May 4, 1970. The photograph won a Pulitzer Prize for John Filo, a student photographer who is now deputy picture editor at Sports Illustrated magazine. It became a classic image of the Vietnam War and its repercussions at home. Context for the image and the events it depicts are available via the Kent State University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives. In brief, as described at History.com, the Kent State shooting incident unfolded when: On April 30, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appeared on national television to announce the invasion of Cambodia by the United States and the need to draft 150,000 more soldiers for an expansion of the Vietnam War effort. This provoked massive protests on campuses throughout the country. At Kent State University in Ohio, protesters launched a demonstration that included setting fire to the ROTC building, prompting the governor of Ohio to dispatch 900 National Guardsmen to the campus During an altercation on May 4, twenty-eight guardsmen opened fire on a crowd, killing four students and wounding nine. Following the killings, the unrest across the country escalated even further. Almost five hundred colleges were shut down or disrupted by protests. Despite the public outcry, the Justice Department initially declined to conduct a grand jury investigation. A report by the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest did acknowledge, however, that the action of the guardsmen had been “unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable.” Eventually, a grand jury indicted eight of the guardsmen, but the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. | http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/will-trump-protests-help-or-hurt-inside-story-on-chicago-rally/, http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29635124/gop-hopeful-donald-trump-stands-by-his-campaign, http://www.library.kent.edu/special-collections-and-archives/ksu-libraries-and-media-services-may-4-chronology, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-punch-protester-219655?lo=ap_b1, http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a42370/donald-trump-punch-protester-in-face/, http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/kent-state, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-illinois-primary-election-south-side-irish-parade-met-0314-20160313-story.html, http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/06/us/kneeling-with-death-haunted-a-life.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Vecchio, http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/donald-trump-stands-by-his-campaign-rhetoric/, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/11/donald-trump-campaign-claims-violence-rallies, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/12/11211846/donald-trump-violence-rallies | 2true
| Uncategorized, donald trump |
9599 | Stem cell research aims to put an end to root canals | July 14, 2016 | This story emanates from a research award given to researchers at the University of Nottingham by the UK-based Royal Society of Chemistry to study the use of native stem cells to repair dental tissue. It says stem cells could allow patients to regrow decayed material inside their teeth: “Instead of the current dental materials used on fillings, which are toxic to cells, the new approach harnesses stem cells instead.” The story makes clear that this idea is far from being tested on humans but strays into the realm of stem cell hype by asserting that it might someday offer “significant benefits” to millions of patients and even “put an end to root canals.” This material, according to the researchers, has been studied in cell culture and is about to be studied in rodents. Suggesting at this point that it might offer any benefits is a stretch at best and suggesting that its use in repair of dental caries could “put an end to root canals” is absurd. The story inflates the benefits, ignores the risks and provides no counterbalance by experts in the field. Root canals are commonly performed when an existing dental filing fails. The notion of doing away with root canals makes a tantalizing headline. More than 15 million root canals are performed every year, according to the American Association of Endodontists. A material that could reduce the risk of failure by helping the tooth to repair decayed material, could be an important advance. But headlines should be saved for research that involves humans, and not cell clusters. | Mary Chris Jaklevic,Harold J. DeMonaco, MS,Joy Victory | The story does not address the potential cost of this procedure and how it might compare to a root canal, but this is important to consider since root canals are very expensive, and presumably a procedure involving stem cell regeneration would be, too. According to one consumer information website, a root canal costs between $585 to $1,400 depending on the location of the dentist’s office and the type of tooth. Those estimates do not include restorative procedures such as crowns, posts and cores, and fillings, which can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars more. Benefits are not quantified, which is not surprising since it’s essentially cell culture research and hasn’t even been tested in animals. When there are no direct clinical benefits to quantify about a possible new medical intervention, it’s a sign the research may be too preliminary for a wide audience. And despite the attempts at including provisos into the story, there are more positives presented suggesting benefit than we think are appropriate at this juncture in the research. Here are the statements that we think are a bit optimistic: “What we found is a material that can potentially regenerate components of a patients’ tooth,” Celiz told CBS News. “We’re trying to provide an alternative material, an alternative therapy,” he said, because the current method involves the dentist removing all of the infected pulp tissue, “scraping it out, and it can be very painful.” “CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook put it in simple terms: “The cells in the area of a root canal, in the pulp, those are normally asleep. It’s like this material goes over and just taps it on the shoulder and says, ‘Wake up, wake up,’ and then it starts to repair itself.” And finally, “If successful, a treatment like this could someday offer significant benefits for millions of dental patients each year.” While that last statement may be true, it’s more likely that this research will never pan out clinically, and the story never addresses that likelihood or the long road that this approach faces before it might be widely used. The story does not mention the potential for risks when using stem cells to grow dental tissue. As with many reports on new research, this story suffers from its optimism. The new material has been tested in cell cultures and has yet to even make it to an animal model, so predicting harms is difficult but it is easy to come up with some concerns: Will this material be as durable as existing fillers? Has the material been tested for long-term safety? If the material fails, how will that impact a subsequent root canal? Clearly these questions cannot be answered but we think that any good story should point out the unknowns and not just the potential positives. The story quotes a researcher saying that the idea has been “tested it in cell cultures and we’re moving it along into rodents.” This is extremely preliminary research, to such a degree we’d argue it’s not newsworthy. But at the very least, the story should have dialed back many of its positive statements that overreach on this not-yet-existent treatment and make it sound like the evidence is more conclusive than it is. And the click-baity headline is clearly out of bounds given the state of the evidence. Although the story does not meet the criteria for disease mongering we are a bit troubled by the suggestion that existing fillers are “toxic to cells.” The American Dental Association disagrees, “Dental amalgam is considered a safe, affordable and durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100 million Americans.” The story lacks viewpoints from independent experts, such as someone from the American Association of Endodontists. The story mentions that root canals are the current standard of therapy. The story explains that the research is “still in its early stages, and has not yet been tested in people.” It also quotes a researcher saying, “It’s hard to put timeline on it, but we’re talking years before we test it in humans.” Still, the story could have been more skeptical in its approach, pointing out that the therapy may never pan out. The story suggests that this research is indeed new. This is indeed not the case, stem cells have been studied for dental applications for years. A group in Japan has been developing a stem cell based therapy for dental caries that has progressed in 2013 to animal studies. The story used some statements from the news release without attribution, although they were slightly altered. Example, from the story: When dental pulp disease and injury happen, a root canal is typically performed to remove the infected tissues, explained Dr. Adam Celiz, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham. Instead of the current dental materials used on fillings, which are toxic to cells, the new approach harnesses stem cells instead. And how it appeared in the news release: “Existing dental fillings are toxic to cells and are therefore incompatible with pulp tissue inside the tooth. In cases of dental pulp disease and injury a root canal is typically performed to remove the infected tissues.” | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/iStock_86360231_MEDIUM.jpg,http://www.rsc.org/competitions/emerging-technologies/2016-winners/,https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2016/06/journalists-9-tips-to-combat-stem-cell-hype/ | 0false
| dentistry,stem cell therapies |
9176 | Free lung-cancer screening in the Augusta area finds more than double the cancer rate of previous screenings | March 17, 2017 | The news release reports on a journal article about a lung cancer screening initiative in the Augusta, Georgia, area. The screening initiative found that eight of 264 “high-risk” individuals — or 3 percent — had lung cancer. The release notes 3 percent is “more than double” the 1.1 percent lung cancer rate found among high-risk individuals in a national study launched in 2002. Overall, the release provides some useful information but is unbalanced in its portrayal of screening. It cites survival statistics that inflate the true benefits of screening. And it doesn’t address a common harm of any screening test — the potential for false positive results that would lead to more invasive, stress-inducing tests. Screening involves tradeoffs and potential harms just like any medical intervention. That’s not a message we often hear from the news media but it should be communicated more often. We explored some of the harms of lung cancer screening, including the additional invasive testing that can be prompted by false-positive results, in a recent blog post. | Matt Shipman,Saurabh Jha, MBBS,Kathlyn Stone | The release clearly states that the relevant screening technique would normally cost between $100 and $250, but was free as part of the initiative. The release tells us how many cancers were found with the screening program, but it includes a misleading statement about what this might mean for survival rates. It notes that if lung cancer is identified in its early stages, the “overall survival rate” is 90 percent, whereas five-year survival rates for patients whose cancer is identified in the advanced stages is approximately 5 percent. A 90% vs. a 5% survival rate sounds impressive, but this is likely a significant overstatement of the true difference. Why? As Professor Gerd Gigerenzer of the Max Planck Institute explained in a BMJ editorial, the answer has to do with something called “lead time bias.” He said, “Earlier detection implies that the time of diagnosis is earlier; this alone leads to higher survival at five years even when patients do not live any longer.” This Youtube video by Dr. H Gilbert Welch discusses this issue in more detail. The bottom line is that when cancers are diagnosed at an earlier stage due to screening, patient survival time will be longer than if they were diagnosed later. This may or may not mean their survival was prolonged. They may have been destined to die at the same age regardless of when the cancer was diagnosed. CT scans expose a patient to a significant amount of radiation, which this release doesn’t address at all. Do the benefits of a potential early diagnosis outweigh the risks associated with radiation exposure? That’s for each patient (and his or her physician) to decide. But a patient needs to be aware of those risks in order to make an informed decision. In addition, an important limitation was not addressed in the release (nor was it spelled out in the study abstract). According to a 2017 article in the journal Chest, “A significant limitation of lung cancer screening is the false-positive rate. One of the major concerns with the NLST [National Lung Screening Trial] has been the high false-positive rate of screening with LDCT (27.3%).” The release does a thorough job of laying out the screening procedure, and its rationale, for the Augusta study — and places it in the context of previous screening initiatives. No disease mongering here, when it comes to lung cancer. However, we do have some concerns with the headline and first paragraph. More on that below in the Unjustifiable Language section. While the story doesn’t explicitly state where the funding for the initiative came from, it’s also not clear whether there was any external source of funding. Based on the description, the study comes across as a clinician-driven initiative designed to make use of down time on diagnostic equipment. There does not appear to be a conflict of interest. The focus appears to be on getting lung cancer screenings or not getting them — rather than on the virtues of any particular diagnostic technique (though there is one reference to the use of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) technology rather than conventional chest X-rays). As such, we’ll rate this not applicable. The release makes clear that the relevant diagnostic techniques are in widespread use; that there is limited access to the screening initiative (based on availability); and that there is an effort underway to expand the screening initiative. The release makes clear that the Augusta screening initiative was modeled after a previous national study and after a similar, regional initiative in Massachusetts. The headline states that “Free lung-cancer screening in the Augusta area finds more than double the cancer rate of previous screenings.” That’s the first thing the reader sees, and it’s a real attention-grabber. However, it is misleading. At first glance, many readers are likely to think that the rate of lung cancer in the Augusta area has more than doubled since the last time there was a lung-cancer screening initiative. That would be incorrect, given that this appears to be the first such initiative focusing on the Augusta area. Rather, the rate of lung cancer among “high risk” patients screened in the Augusta initiative was more than double that of high risk patients screened during a national screening initiative launched in 2002. That was cleared up a bit in the first paragraph. However, while the release clearly thinks this information is sufficiently important to merit making it the headline, it doesn’t give readers any information about why the cancer rate may be higher in Augusta. Even if the researchers don’t know, it’s important to just come out and say that. We urge research institutions to provide some discussion of those problems they highlight in news releases — and to take special care when writing headlines to ensure that readers don’t get the wrong idea. | https://www.healthnewsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/harms-of-cancer-screening.jpg,http://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/free-lung-cancer-screening-trends-toward-twofold-increase-lung-cancer-prevalence-underserved-southeastern-united-states/,https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2017/02/the-harms-of-cancer-screening-its-time-to-get-personal/ | 2true
| lung cancer screening,Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University |
32233 | A woman saved multiple lives by using her concealed carry pistol to take down a department store shooter in Virginia. | September 25, 2016 | While Associated Media Coverage may be changing their name to The Boston Tribune, their content is still nothing more than fake news. | David Mikkelson | On 24 September 2016, the Associated Media Coverage fake news site, which has now rebranded itself as the Boston Tribune, published an article reporting that a woman with a concealed carry permit had saved multiple lives by stopping a department store shooter: 37-year old Lisa Harris saved the lives of multiple people after using her concealed carry pistol to take down a department store shooter in Virginia. According to witness statements, the shooter, who has since been identified by police as 41-year old Randall Pierce, entered Bradford’s department store Saturday evening at approximately 5:10 PM. According information provided by Chief of Police Matthew Collingsworth during a press-conference, the security footage provided to investigating officers by the Bradford’s loss prevention department shows an agitated Randall Pierce walking briskly throughout the department store for approximately 6-minutes prior to retrieving a .223 caliber AR-15 assault style rifle concealed under his long-jacket. There was no truth to this report. Associated Media Coverage is a well-known purveyor of fake news that has been shamelessly exploiting recent occurrences of gun violence by publishing fabricated clickbait stories reporting similar incidents (in this case playing on the 23 September 2016 shooting deaths of five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington). Although many readers may now be familiar with Associated Media Coverage’s reputation, the site has recently started publishing articles under the banners of fictitious newspapers such as The Boston Tribune and The Baltimore Gazette: | https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2016/09/boston-tribune.jpg, http://www.snopes.com/tag/associated-media-coverage/, http://archive.is/vEB7E/image, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/authorities-looking-for-gunman-in-burlington/ | 0false
| Junk News, associated media coverage, boston tribune |
5592 | Doctor at Missouri abortion clinic defends patient care. | The top doctor at Missouri’s sole abortion clinic on Wednesday defended its handling of four patients who faced complications — women whose care has been cited by the state as it seeks to revoke the clinic’s license. | Jim Salter | The testimony from Dr. Colleen McNicholas at a hearing that could determine the St. Louis clinic’s fate came as the state faced fallout over a revelation a day earlier from Missouri’s top health official that he kept a spreadsheet that tracked the menstrual cycles of women who obtained abortions. Missouri officials were staying mum, while Democrats and abortion-rights supporters decried what they called government overreach into women’s private lives. During testimony Tuesday, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams said the spreadsheet was compiled at his request. He said the goal was to find women who had what the state calls “failed abortions,” in which a woman is still pregnant after an abortion and needs more than one procedure to complete it. McNicholas told the administrative hearing that the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis followed protocol in all of the instances cited by the state. She said that while a surgical abortion is safer than even a colonoscopy or tonsillectomy, complications do happen. Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, told reporters that the organization learned of Williams’ spreadsheet from his testimony. She did not know how many patients were listed on the spreadsheet. “I think what is deeply disturbing about that is the fact that Director Randall Williams is using his position of authority and power to push a political agenda in order to try to end access to safe and legal abortion in the state of Missouri,” Rodriguez said. Williams declined an interview request, and spokeswomen for him and Gov. Mike Parson didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. But Wednesday night the health department emailed a statement denying Williams compiled spreadsheets tracking menstrual cycles, claiming that his testimony was misinterpreted. According to the statement, which was titled “DHSS denies false allegation,” the department investigated concerns about missing reports into failed surgical abortions by using “legally-obtained information which was required by law and which Planned Parenthood routinely submits.” The Associated Press also submitted open records requests seeking additional information. Williams testified that the spreadsheet contained information accessible by the state through its annual inspection, performed in March. It also included medication identification numbers, dates of procedures and the gestational ages of fetuses, The Kansas City Star reported. The spreadsheet did not include patients’ names. The state has said it is concerned about patient care, and Williams called safety “the North Star” of the licensing process. Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Democrat, called for an investigation to determine whether patient privacy was compromised or laws were broken. State Auditor Nicole Galloway, who is running for governor in 2020, called for Williams to be fired. The spreadsheet was developed after an inspector raised concerns about an abortion that took five procedures to complete. That led to an investigation that found four overall instances where women underwent multiple procedures to complete their abortions. Among those cases was one where the doctor missed that the patient was pregnant with twins, requiring two procedures five weeks apart, according to Williams’ testimony. Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute, a national research group that supports abortion rights and tracks abortion legislation, told the AP she hasn’t heard of another case where a state agency has tracked menstruation as part of regulating a clinic. Dr. Jennifer Conti, a San Francisco-area abortion provider, said in an interview that tracking periods is not a reliable way to determine when a pregnancy has ended and suggested that data was used to avoid having to obtain women’s consent for access to addition information. “It’s very odd and it feels like an invasion of privacy,” said Conti, who is a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health. The state moved to revoke the clinic’s license in June, prompting a court fight that was turned over to the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission, which is conducting the hearing. A ruling isn’t expected before February. Missouri would become the first state since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, without a functioning abortion clinic if the license is revoked. Three clinics near Missouri offer the procedure. Two are in Illinois suburbs of St. Louis, and one is in a Kansas suburb of Kansas City. ___ Associated Press reporters Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report. | /bee200b597b946c8bd55128426599ae6,/a8ab074ab27d4a58814c7ffec1d9b4cb | 2true
| Michael Brown, St. Louis, General News, Abortion, Health, U.S. News |
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18585 | Ted Cruz Says the Democrats told the Catholic Church that they’ll use federal powers to shut down church charities and hospitals if the church doesn’t change its beliefs. | March 28, 2013 | Cruz, alluding to Obamacare’s contraception insurance coverage mandate, said Democrats told the Catholic Church they would use federal powers to shut down its charities and hospitals if the church doesn’t change its beliefs. We found no sign of such a statement -- or anything close. The Catholic bishops have said that potential accumulated fines resulting from refusals to carry out the contraception mandate will cause some institutions to shut down. Perhaps. However, such prospects do not reflect a direct threat from Democrats or the government. To the contrary, the administration has moved to widen the mandate’s exemption for religious employers and provide a workaround for those who act as their own insurance providers -- with the goal of allowing affected parties to continue their work without violating or changing their beliefs. This claim proved both incorrect and ridiculous. | Sue Owen | "Democrats are ""fighting a war on religious liberty,"" U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz told the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 16, 2013. In his keynote speech at the event (commonly known as CPAC) held annually by the American Conservative Union, the Texas Republican equated current events to Democrats telling the Catholic Church, ""Change your religious beliefs or we'll use our power in the federal government to shut down your charities and your hospitals."" Reading that as a reference to the administration of President Barack Obama, we asked Cruz’s office for backup information. Cruz spokesman Sean Rushton, saying Cruz also was referring to congressional Democrats who voted for the health care overhaul known as Obamacare, emailed us links and articles from conservative and religious sources criticizing government decisions on how churches and affiliated organizations are to comply with the law’s mandate that insurance plans cover preventive care -- including an administration interpretation that this includes birth control without employees paying any out-of-pocket costs. None of the articles Rushton sent, though, showed Democrats or the government saying they would shut down churches’ hospitals or charities for failing to comply. A Feb. 10, 2012, PolitiFact story gave the backdrop: 2010’s health care overhaul required most health plans to cover recommended ""preventive health services"" without co-pays or deductibles. But the law left to the administration to decide which women’s health services to include. In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services ruled that insurance plans would have to cover sterilization and all birth control approved by the Food and Drug Administration, from condoms to hormone shots to ""morning-after"" pills, starting in August 2012 at the earliest. But according to Catholic precepts, contraception is against moral law. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says that if contraceptives must be offered without a co-pay, that means the cost is spread among employers and all insured employees -- meaning that Catholics would end up paying for birth control. Those rules were finalized in 2012, and more changes have been proposed as of 2013, amid much public debate. In the 2012 rules, which are still in force, the government exempted some religious employers and gave them a year’s grace period before the requirements took effect. To qualify for the ""religious employer"" exemption, a group had to be a nonprofit that served and employed people who shared its religious tenets and had as its purpose inculcating religious values. But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the governing body of the Catholic Church in this country, said that definition was too narrow because it ruled out many universities, hospitals and charitable groups, such as those that serve non-Catholics. Changes that the government proposed Feb. 1, 2013, would widen the definition of ""religious employer"" and, according to a Reuters news story posted that day, require that arrangements be made for people who work for self-insured religious organizations to get contraception coverage through private insurers. Rushton said the proposal did not go far enough and sent us material from the conservative Heritage Foundation including a Feb. 9, 2013, article saying that the ""so-called fix would only apply to certain religious nonprofit organizations, leaving many others — such as business owners, individuals, and non-religious nonprofits — without any recourse from the mandate."" Bishops’ spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh told us by email that ""massive fines for non-compliance"" would force some groups to close, and the proposed changes would not fix the situation. ""If they fail to provide coverage for contraception or sterilization in their health plans,"" Walsh wrote, ""they’re subject to an assessment of $100 a day per employee. ... And if they drop their health plans to avoid the mandate, they’re subject to an annual penalty of $2,000 per employee,"" she wrote, citing the sections of U.S. law that spell out the fines: 26 U.S.C. § 4980D(b) and 26 U.S.C. § 4980H(a), (c)(1). ""For a lot of nonprofit entities, such fines could run in the millions of dollars and would render their operations unsustainable,"" Walsh said. She did not give instances of the government threatening to directly close an institution. We searched for such communication to the church and came up empty. New York’s archbishop, Timothy Dolan, said in a Feb. 9, 2012, ""CBS This Morning"" interview that Obama had backed down from promises made during a November 2011 meeting at the White House. For his part, Obama said his administration sought to protect religious freedom with its rules for carrying out the mandate. The president said in a Feb. 10, 2012, press conference: I spoke directly to various Catholic officials, and I promised that before finalizing the rule as it applied to them, we would spend the next year working with institutions like Catholic hospitals and Catholic universities to find an equitable solution that protects religious liberty and ensures that every woman has access to the care that she needs. … The result will be that religious organizations won’t have to pay for these services, and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly. Dolan wrote in a March 2, 2012, letter to fellow bishops that ""the (p)resident announced that the insurance providers would have to pay the bill, instead of the (c)hurch’s schools, hospitals, clinics, or vast network of charitable outreach having to do so.... since a big part of our ministries are ‘self-insured,’ we still ask how this protects us."" White House staff, Dolan wrote, told bishops’ conference staffers that reconsidering the mandate and widening the exemption were off the table. Cruz’s spokesman, Rushton, said companies facing similar contraception-providing requirements have sued and gotten injunctions delaying their fines. But once those delays and the religious groups’ grace period expire, he said, ""unless they win in court or the mandate is changed, these institutions will be fined out of existence."" When we inquired, White House spokesman Eric Schultz didn’t speak directly to Cruz’s claim that government shutdowns had been threatened, but he emailed materials including a Catholic Health Association release issued Feb. 13, 2013, that said the group of nonprofit health systems was pleased with the new definition of ""religious employer"" and called the changes ""substantial progress."" Schultz also sent a Feb. 1, 2013, press release from the nonprofit advocacy group Catholics United that said the changes were a victory for the Catholic church. Alternately, Rushton said, ""The idea is, such organizations may choose to cease certain activities rather than violate their conscience."" He sent us a Feb. 28, 2012, news story from the conservative Cybercast News Service that quoted the Chicago archbishop, Cardinal Francis George, predicting his area’s Catholic hospitals and health care institutions would close within two years. At that time, George said, he saw four choices: turn secular, pay ""exorbitant"" fines that are ""not economically sustainable,"" sell out to a non-Catholic operator or shut down. Our ruling Cruz, alluding to Obamacare’s contraception insurance coverage mandate, said Democrats told the Catholic Church they would use federal powers to shut down its charities and hospitals if the church doesn’t change its beliefs. We found no sign of such a statement -- or anything close. The Catholic bishops have said that potential accumulated fines resulting from refusals to carry out the contraception mandate will cause some institutions to shut down. Perhaps. However, such prospects do not reflect a direct threat from Democrats or the government. To the contrary, the administration has moved to widen the mandate’s exemption for religious employers and provide a workaround for those who act as their own insurance providers -- with the goal of allowing affected parties to continue their work without violating or changing their beliefs. This claim proved both incorrect and ridiculous. !" | http://blog.heritage.org/2013/02/09/catholic-bishops-recognize-failures-in-obama-admins-accommodation-hhs-mandate/, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2010-title26/html/USCODE-2010-title26-subtitleD-chap43-sec4980H.htm, https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/01/us-usa-healthcare-contraceptives-idUSBRE9100ZL20130201, https://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7398092n, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cardinal-george-catholic-hospitals-will-be-gone-two-lents-under-obamacare-regulation, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-fg29xo70gRsY5xpnfcDhKUF3tSlpVM4TLCwoqp3URA/edit?usp=sharing, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title26/html/USCODE-2011-title26-subtitleD-chap43-sec4980D.htm, http://www.catholics-united.org/content/press-release-catholics-celebrate-hhs-mandate-fix-all-around-victory, https://www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines/, http://conservative.org/cpac2013/, http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Dolan-to-all-bishops-HHS.pdf, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/feb/10/health-care-law-catholics-birth-control/, http://www.chausa.org/CHA_Seeks_Members_Input_On_HHS_Proposed_Rule_for_Contraceptive_Services_.aspx, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/02/10/remarks-president-preventive-care, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_BuHBSruVAzggPhR7V1FRlB8Xr1rerBey-JyMMN7g8k/edit?usp=sharing, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311531-20 | 0false
| Health Care, Religion, Sexuality, Texas, Ted Cruz, |
938 | France will end healthcare refunds for homeopathic drugs. | July 9, 2019 | France will end social security reimbursements for homeopathic drugs and the new policy - which has drawn the fire of alternative medicine advocates - will take full effect in 2021, the healthcare minister said on Tuesday. | Earlier this year the French health watchdog recommended the move, citing what it said was the insufficient effectiveness of the drugs after an investigation into how they affected conditions such as anxiety or foot warts. Healthcare Minister Agnes Buzyn told Le Parisien newspaper that there would be a phase-out period before 2021. The government initially aims to cut refunds for the drugs from 30% of their cost to 15% as of January 2020 as a first step, she added. “That will give manufacturers time to get organised,” Buzyn said. France has long had a stronger attachment than many other countries to homeopathic drugs, which aim to treat patients with highly diluted substances, and is home to the world’s biggest maker of the alternative medicine, Boiron . Boiron criticised the plan earlier on Tuesday as rumours of the health ministry decision circulated, and it said it would fight the edict. “Depriving French people of their freedom to choose (their treatment) is totally misaligned with the demands and needs of patients,” Boiron said in a statement, adding it had been due to meet Buzyn this Thursday and was shocked by the decision. Stopping the refunds would hit the company and the broader sector involved in manufacturing the alternative drugs, Boiron said. Some 60% of its own business came from France, and its suppliers and staff might be affected, it added. The impending move had sparked various online petitions calling for the welfare refunds to stay in place, including one on Change.org last year as the policy review loomed that drew over 46,000 backers. A dedicated online campaign platform against the reimbursement changes - set up by Boiron, other firms and several patient and medical professional groups - obtained over 1.2 million signatures. Buzyn said she took full responsibility for a measure that might prove unpopular, and denied that the primary aim of the plan was to save 127 million euros ($142.30 million) in social security payouts. She estimated that some 7 million French people, or just over 1% of the population, had used homeopathic drugs in 2018. Boiron said in its statement that over half of people in France used the medicines. | 2true
| Health News |
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25083 | John McCain has given erratic and inconsistent answers on when troops should return from Iraq. | July 11, 2008 | The southern Iraqi city of Basra is struggling to cope with a growing drug problem that has overcrowded prisons and strained police resources, only months after violent protests over poor municipal services. | Angie Drobnic Holan | Basra’s prison system is clogged up and creaking. On a recent day in one police station, Reuters reporters saw about 150 men, their heads shaved, squatting in two small, cramped holding cells. Arrests of drug users and dealers have shot up in the past year, further stretching prison services and police in a sign that the problems with municipal resources that prompted protests in Basra last summer have not gone away. “Drugs spread because the youth are lost, they have no money, they are sick of life. It’s escapism,” Major Shaker Aziz, a senior member of Basra police narcotics unit, told Reuters. “Prison authorities tell us: ‘Ninety percent of inmates are convicted on drug charges, stop sending them.’ So we keep them here,” Aziz said of the holding cells. The situation in prisons, worsened by a lack of treatment centers for recovering addicts, highlights the contrast between the wealth Basra province produces - its oil contributes over 90 percent of state revenues - and its poor living conditions. Once known as the Venice of the East, Basra city, which has a population of 4 million, lacks clean water and does not have enough electricity to power air conditioners in the scorching summer heat. Unemployment is widespread, especially among youth. Thousands protested against the conditions, unemployment and corruption last summer, when searing heat made matters worse and hundreds were treated in hospital after drinking unclean water. Protesters set ablaze government buildings and political groups’ headquarters, and clashed with police. Officials fear a repeat of the violence this year, and while the drug problem is a concern in several areas of Iraq, Basra suffers from it the most. Basra is struggling even though Iraq declared victory in the four-year war against Islamic State in 2017, and the city never fell to the militant Sunni Islamist group. The number of drug arrests has risen year-on-year since 2015, Aziz said. By March, police had picked up 15 kilograms (33 lb) of illegal drugs this year, half of 2018’s entire haul. Some 50 to 60 people are arrested each week on drugs-related offences, compared to more than 1,000 all last year, he said. Methamphetamine, known popularly as crystal meth, is the most widespread drug, said a police spokesman, Colonel Bassem Ghanem. Opium, cannabis and pill abuse are also common. Basra’s police department says 97 percent of drug users arrested in 2018 were unemployed, and more than two thirds were 25 or younger. All the drugs come from abroad, said Colonel Ismail al-Maliki, who heads the Basra police narcotics unit. Basra Police Chief Rashid Fleih said in November that 80 percent of drugs entering the city come from Iran. Tehran denied this but officials still point the finger indirectly at Iran, using euphemisms such as “neighboring countries”. Preventing drug trafficking is a serious challenge for Iran which borders Afghanistan, the world’s largest opium producer, and Pakistan, a major transit country for drugs. Iraq once had the death penalty for users and dealers but passed new legislation in 2017 under which judges can order rehabilitation for users or sentence them to jail for up to three years. In the absence of rehab centers, they are jailed. Under the new law, the health ministry was given two years to provide rehab centers. Local health officials pledged to reopen and upgrade a 44-bed rehabilitation center this month but the police say 44 beds is not enough. “All of Basra’s oil and we can’t afford rehab?” said Aziz. Asked about the situation, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said it has pledged $5 million for a rehab center. Inside a training complex on the edge of Basra province, police have re-purposed a building as a makeshift rehab center for users nearing release. About 40 men live in comparatively comfortable conditions, sleeping six per room with access to television, a gym and books. Clerics, officers and teachers lecture on the sinfulness and dangers of drug use. Experts say recovering users need treatment and rehabilitation when they first stop using, not towards the end of sentences. Prisoners say they suffer the worst withdrawal symptoms during the first 20 days, unable to eat or sleep. “This is just a model, to get the health ministry to build real centers,” said Ghanem, the spokesman. Prisoners interviewed by Reuters were chosen by police, who sat in on interviews. Some were handcuffed. One user-turned-dealer said he was recruited a year after he started buying, wooed by the idea of free crystal meth. “I paid 50,000 dinars ($40) per gram as a user. I only paid 20,000 ($16) as a dealer. I would sell some and smoke some. I was smoking for free,” he said. He described a network of dealers that went up to a “big boss” whom he would not identify to police out of fear for his life. He faces a minimum of five years in jail. Some said they were falsely arrested. Asked if the police offered suspects lighter sentences if the provided them with information, one police officer said they rarely needed to. “They always cooperate,” he said, asking not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss the matter. | http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8245636/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDbLbKfC9IE, http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/Speeches/e8114732-e294-4a0d-b0b6-e5fa16857f61.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFknKVjuyNk&feature=related, http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-08-231T, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eejYoz3Nl0 | 0false
| National, Iraq, Democratic National Committee, |
526 | Fired Zimbabwe state doctors reject offer to return to work. | November 29, 2017 | Zimbabwe state doctors who were fired for going on strike have rejected a government offer to return to work, their union said on Friday. | The doctors went on strike on Sept.3 to protest against poor wages, in some cases less than US$100 a month. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, which responded to the job boycott by firing 448 doctors and pursuing disciplinary action against more than 1,000 others, on Thursday offered to reinstate them if they returned to work within 48 hours. Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a decade that has seen resurgent inflation soaring to three-digit levels, eroding salaries and bringing back bitter memories of the hyperinflation era of a decade ago. According to the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), the last wage offer by the government would see the doctors earning a total package, including allowances, of Z$3,900 (about US$240) per month. “Sadly, the moratorium has come without a new offer on the table having been communicated to us,” ZHDA said, explaining its rejection of the offer. The strike by junior and middle-level doctors has paralyzed state hospitals, used by Zimbabwe’s poor majority. Even before the strike, the hospitals had already been struggling with shortages of drugs and other basic products. Critics say President Emmerson Mnangagwa has failed to keep promises he made in last year’s election campaign to revive the economy by pushing through reforms, attracting foreign investment and rebuilding collapsing infrastructure. On Thursday Parirenyatwa Hospital, the country’s biggest, was deserted, with only a handful of desperate patients being attended to by nurses. Sheila Muzanenhamo, who lives in one of Harare’s poorest townships, Epworth, grimaced as she explained how she had been turned away from the hospital because there was no doctor to attend to her. “I have been here since dawn, hoping to get assistance but the nurses said they could not help me,” said Muzanenhamo. “They told me to go to private doctors, but I have no money to pay for that.” | 2true
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35328 | Prolonged use of COVID-19-related face masks cause health problems due to breathing in too much exhaled carbon dioxide. | May 8, 2020 | What's true: Breathing in excessive carbon dioxide is dangerous for the body. Some people with preexisting respiratory illnesses may face health issues only with prolonged use of tight-fitting masks, such as respirators. What's false: However, people wearing cloth or surgical masks are in little to no danger of breathing in unhealthy amounts of carbon dioxide. | Nur Ibrahim | During the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic in the spring of 2020, questions arose about protective measures. Social media users shared related images, and in one case, a newspaper column claimed that continual or prolonged use of face masks resulted in breathing too much of one’s own exhaled carbon dioxide, which can lead to health concerns. “Dr. Dennis A Castro B” wrote in the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, for instance, that prolonged use of face masks causes hypoxia: Breathing over and over exhaled air turns into carbon dioxide, which is why we feel dizzy. This intoxicates the user and much more when he must move, carry out displacement actions. It causes discomfort, loss of reflexes and conscious thought. It generates great fatigue. In addition, oxygen deficiency causes glucose breakdown and endangered lactic acid rise. The post does not specify what kinds of masks cause these issues (though the article image does show N95 respirator masks), nor does it indicate whether this affects people with respiratory conditions more. It should be noted that hypoxia is a condition in which the tissues of the body are starved of oxygen. Another post on Facebook argued that prolonged mask usage caused hypercapnia, a condition arising from too much carbon dioxide in the blood. Symptoms of hypercapnia include dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, feeling disoriented, flushing of the skin, and shortness of breath. Severe symptoms include a loss of consciousness, coma, hyperventilation, twitching muscles, and seizures, among others. Preexisting respiratory illnesses like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause both hypercapnia and hypoxia. But research articles and experts suggest that such extreme symptoms are unlikely to occur in most people. Dr. Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, an epidemiologist and lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at University of New South Wales Australia, says the risk of hypoxia and hypercapnia are unlikely to take place with cloth and surgical masks, because they are not tight-fitting: Some people with pre-existing respiratory illnesses (like asthma, COPD), may face breathing difficulty with use of certain types of tight fitted masks, called respirators. [There is] less chance of hypoxia as they may discontinue using masks in that case. Risk is very low with cloth and surgical masks as they are not tight around [the] face. He also argued that in the case of prolonged usage of any of these masks, “Dizziness [was] less likely, but fatigue may occur.” The N95 respirator is an example of personal protective equipment (PPE) usually worn by health workers to protect the wearer from airborne particles and from liquid contaminating the face. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that the general public use these masks because health workers and other medical first responders need them more. A team of Stanford engineers is developing an N95 face mask to counteract the side effects of oxygen deficiency. In an interview, John Xu, a mechanical engineer behind the effort, said: N95 masks are estimated to reduce oxygen intake by anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. That’s significant, even for a healthy person. It can cause dizziness and lightheadedness. If you wear a mask long enough, it can damage the lungs. For a patient in respiratory distress, it can even be life threatening. And their focus is on getting these masks to healthcare workers first. We are targeting this to anyone who has to wear a mask for the long term, first responders, doctors, nurses and even patients who don’t want to infect others. In the near term, we hope to get these into healthcare workers as soon as possible. The general public is unlikely to wear masks for a prolonged period other than for short stints outside of homes, according to Reuters. A CDC representative spoke to Reuters: The CO2 will slowly build up in the mask over time. However, the level of CO2 likely to build up in the mask is mostly tolerable to people exposed to it. You might get a headache but you most likely [would] not suffer the symptoms observed at much higher levels of CO2. The mask can become uncomfortable for a variety of reasons including a sensitivity to CO2 and the person will be motivated to remove the mask. It is unlikely that wearing a mask will cause hypercapnia. The CDC recommends that the general public wear cloth masks, leaving N95 respirators and surgical masks to healthcare workers. They also offer exceptions for who should be wearing them: Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. With these recommendations comes the additional guidance that face masks should not be a substitute for social distancing. The CDC also responded to Snopes about the impact an N95 respirator would have on healthcare workers: Hypoventilation (deficient ventilation of the lungs) is a primary cause of significant discomfort while wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR). However, studies [indicate] that hypoventilation did not pose a significant risk to healthcare workers over the course of less than one hour of continuous N95 use. When healthcare workers are working longer hours without a break while continuously wearing an N95 FFR, CO2 may accumulate in the breathing space inside of the respirator and continuously increase past the 1-hour mark, which could have a significant physiological effect on the wearer, including headache, altered cognitive judgement, and increased breathing frequency, among other symptoms. To fix the problem of breathing too much CO2 that has built up within the respirator facepiece, a worker can simply remove the respirator. Some facilities practice oxygen supplementation during these breaks from respirator use, but there really is no need for this as the oxygen in the environment is more than enough to relieve most of the symptoms listed above. The Vanguard piece also says it is dangerous to use masks in cars: | 0false
| Medical, COVID-19 |
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10087 | FDA Questions Using Avodart to Cut Prostate Cancer Risk | November 29, 2010 | Tens of trillions of global investment dollars are pouring into companies touting robust environmental, social and governance credentials. Now short-sellers spy an opportunity. | 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’s 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’ sustainability credentials. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg last week spoke of CEOs masking inaction with “creative PR”. 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 “sustainable” 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 “greenwashing”. “Greenwashing is absolutely rampant now,” 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. “From the short side, it’s quite interesting.” 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. “When things go well, companies report quite well on those, when things don’t go so well it gets awfully quiet,” 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. “There’s no perfect ESG rating out there,” 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’s 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’s joint chief investment officer Slater said the Sydney-based money manager’s 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’s 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 “morality short” 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. “I’m really skeptical of ESG,” 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. “ESG is the paper straw of investing,” he says. “I definitely want to find companies like that because I know they’re out there and I want to help put them down.” | 1mixture
| Cancer,Wall Street Journal |
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10246 | Weight Loss Pill Also Lowers Blood Pressure | May 4, 2010 | Although highlighting the effect of this product on blood pressure, the story did not explain how much blood pressure dropped. The story also didn’t say how common the side effects are or how often people have to discontinue the medication due to side effects. It would have been helpful to remind readers of the possible pitfalls that may be ahead and that little is known about the long term use of this product in terms of both weight loss and potential risks that might result. Obesity and high blood pressure are very common conditions. There are few treatment for obesity that have been demonstrated to be enable people to lose weight and maintain that loss. | There was no discussion of costs. The story included quantitive information about weight loss over time. It did not quantify the impact on blood pressure. The story mentioned specific side effects of this particular medication combination. To be most informative to readers, the story should have mentioned that the potential for long-term harm is not known. And the rate at which people stopped taking the drug due to side effects should have been included. While indicating that several studies had been conducted in more than 4,500 people with various characteristics, the story never mentioned whether the studies are considered definitive or not; it also did not mention that the results of these studies have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. And while reporting that weight loss appeared to be dose dependent, there was no discussion of how weight loss compared with those in control groups. Lastly – as the focus of the story appeared to be on an effect on blood pressure, it would seem that the story should have included some detail about the magnitude of the change. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story mention that the study author and Dr. Aronne received funding from the manufacturer of this drug. It also included a quote from the president of the American Society of Hypertension who does not appear to have a financial tie to this product. There was no information about how well this product works in comparison with other approaches to weight loss. It’s pretty clear from the story that the combination of the two drugs is not yet available. The story reported that the drug was a combination of two commercially available medications. It does not appear that the story relied solely or largely on a news release. | 2true
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33737 | Text transcribes a press conference given by actor and former Marine R. Lee Ermey. | July 25, 2005 | The anonymous author of this item adopted the common technique of grabbing attention by putting his words into the mouth of a colorful, well-known figure, and — as often happens — some readers took the abstraction a little too literally. | David Mikkelson | The late Ronald Lee Ermey (better known as R. Lee Ermey), who passed away on 15 Aprli 2018, was a former U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant who served from 1961 to 1971 (including tours in Vietnam) and took up acting after he was retired from active duty on a medical disability. (He was later awarded the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant.) Ermey’s most memorable role was playing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the punishing Drill Instructor featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket, and he became a familiar face on television through of the History Channel’s Mail Call program, in which he answered viewer questions about the weapons and technology used throughout history by the armed forces. A widely circulated bit of online text from 2004 mimicked the vulgar, shouting, take-no-prisoners style Ermey employed for his role in Full Metal Jacket: Pretty neat … Marine Gunny’s view of matters … USMC PRESS CONFERENCE R. Lee Ermey, for the few of you that missed it, was the host of The History Channel’s Mail Call and played the D.I. in the movie Full Metal Jacket. R. Lee is a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant and a very plain speaker as you will soon read. So, for your entertainment, here is Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey at his first press conference as unofficial US Press Secretary. The main topic of discussion is the Marine in Iraq who shot the Iraq insurgent to death. We pick up as the reporter asks about how this potential war crime will affect our image in the world: Ermey: “What kind of a pansy-assed question is that?” Reporter: “Well, I think….” Ermey: “THINK, nancy boy? Get this through that septic tank on top of your shoulders moron, I DON’T GIVE A F*CK WHAT YOU THINK, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME??? That Marine shot an ENEMY COMBATANT SH*THEAD, SO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND DEAL WITH IT BEFORE I MAKE YOU MY OWN PERSONAL PIN CUSHION! Next question. You in the blue suit.” Reporter 2: “Don’t you think that the world’s opinion of our operations is important?” Ermey: “Oh sure! You don’t know the times I have cried myself to sleep worrying about what some g*ddamned French pansy thinks! Oh, the days I have had to weep because some sh*t eating terrorist f*cker might be mad at us because we went into whatever godforsaken hole in the sh*t that he lives in and killed him. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF DUMBASS QUESTION IS THAT, YOU PETER PUFFING JACKASS?? WE ARE THE MOTHER F*CKING USA, AND WHEN YOU ATTACK US WE ARE GOING TO COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND BLOW YOUR STINKING CAMEL-LICKING CARCASS INTO PIECES SO SMALL WE WILL BE ABLE TO BURY YOUR SORRY ASS IN A THIMBLE! I know what you are thinking. You are probably afraid, thinking that I have such an extreme attitude and that I need to be more sensitive to other people’s feelings. well, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, YOU POLE SMOKING PANSY! I DON’T GIVE TWO SH*TS WHAT YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE THINKS! THIS IS A DAMNED WAR, AND IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE THAT YOU SHOULD GO HOME AND SUCK ON MAMMA’S TIT. DO YOU HEAR ME YOU RUNT?? NOW GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY PRESS ROOM BEFORE I GO CRAZY AND BEAT THE LIVING SH*T OUT OF YOU! Next question, you with the ugly-assed tie. Look at that thing. It’s hideous.” Reporter 3: “Aren’t you going against the freedom of the press by …” Ermey: “FREEDOM?? WHAT IN BLUE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FREEDOM? I HAVE SWEATED MY ASS OFF IN JUNGLES, BEING SHOT AT FOR THIS NATION. WHAT IN THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, YOU LITTLE SH*T SUCKING WEASEL? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PUT YOUR ASS ON THE LINE FOR ANYTHING? AND YET YOU HAVE THE UNMITIGATED TEMERITY TO SHOW UP HERE AND MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK THE ACTIONS OF A MARINE WHO WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF AND HIS UNIT FROM ATTACK BY SOME MURDEROUS AL-QUEDA SYMPATHIZER!!! YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT NUMBNUTS? I AM CONCERNED ABOUT A BUNCH OF GRABASSTIC, DISORGANIZED MORONS WITH CAMERAS AND MICROPHONES DOING THEIR BEST TO PORTRAY OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN AS WAR CRIMINALS! I AM CONCERNED ABOUT CHICKEN SH*T PANSIES THAT WANT US TO NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS AND THEN WHINE ABOUT THEIR PISS ANT “FREEDOMS!” Reporter 3: “I …” Ermey: “Did you have a big bowl of stupid for breakfast this morning numbnuts? I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD OUT OF THAT COMMIE CRYHOLE IN THAT SH*TPILE YOU CALL A HEAD! AND THAT GOES TRIPLE FOR THE REST OF YOU PANSY-ASSED MORONS! NOW GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY PRESS ROOM BEFORE I SHOVE MY BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS THAT YOU CHOKE TO DEATH ON MY SHOELACES.” Despite its attribution, there was no connection between the actor and this “press conference” transcript. This piece (which began showing up in our inbox in December 2004) is a commentary about the controversy over a November 2004 incident during which a U.S. Marine corporal shot and killed an apparently wounded and unarmed Iraqi insurgent while storming a mosque in Fallujah, Iraq — an event that drew extraordinary worldwide coverage because it was captured on videotape by an NBC cameraman. (Military investigators eventually concluded that the Marine corporal had acted in self-defense and within military law, so no charges were brought against him.) | https://web.archive.org/web/20020802200820/http://www.historychannel.com/mailcall/, http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000388/ | 0false
| Politics Soapbox, ASP Article |
3635 | Officials warn of exposure to rabid bat at Omaha school. | Health officials in Omaha are notifying parents that some students at a city middle school may have been exposed to a rabid bat was found on school grounds. | The Douglas County Health Department said Wednesday that the bat was found on the ground at Morton Middle School on Friday afternoon. The bat was sent to a state lab and tested positive for the infectious disease. A small group of students at the school were seen around the bat, and officials are urging anyone who had any physical contact with the bat to contact their doctor as soon as possible. Rabies is a viral disease transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal that affects people. It is almost always fatal if not treated before symptoms appear. | 2true
| Animals, Omaha, Rabies, Health, Bats |
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36409 | "Black soldiers were lynched after World War I during the ""Red Summer"" of 1919." | April 17, 2019 | Were Black WWI Veterans in Uniform Lynched During the Red Summer of 1919? | Kim LaCapria | In February 2019, the following image appeared (archived here), with the description “victorious black soldiers returning to the U.S. from World War I are lynched while still in uniform.” An attached image showed a black man being dragged from a streetcar by several white men, captioned “the massacre they don’t teach you about in history.”However, the photograph did not appear to show a man in a military uniform. A reverse image search revealed that it was attributed to the Associated Press in June 1943, not 1919. A caption read:A man is dragged from a street car on June 21, 1943, during fighting near Detroit’s downtown section.That photograph was seventeenth in a gallery titled “Detroit in the 1940s,” the sum of which were described by The Atlantic in 2015:The early part of the 20th century saw the city of Detroit, Michigan, rise to prominence on the huge growth of the auto industry and related manufacturers. The 1940s were boom years of development, but the decade was full of upheaval and change, as factories re-tooled to build war machines, and women started taking on men’s roles in the workplace, as men shipped overseas to fight in World War II. The need for workers brought an influx of African-Americans to Detroit, who met stiff resistance from whites who refused to welcome them into their neighborhoods or work beside them on an assembly line. A race riot took place over three days in 1943, leaving 34 dead and hundreds injured. After World War II ended, the demand for workers dried up, and Detroit started plotting its postwar course, an era of big automobiles and bigger highways to accommodate them.A June 2003 Detroit Metro Times piece about the 1943 riots included elements of the backstory presented on Facebook:As the night [of June 20 1943] wore on, a police riot erupted in the ghetto. Hostile officers charged through the streets, beating senseless many innocent blacks, some of whom were in military uniform. When confronted, police didn’t hesitate to use deadly force. […][White Detroit residents] began stoning blacks who were driving to work, breaking windows. They caused a car to crash and the black driver to stumble out. As the man lumbered to safety, his car was set on fire. Mobs ranged up and down Woodward, pulling black motorists from cars and beating them senseless while their autos were turned over and torched.By midmorning [on June 21 1943], whites crowded streetcar stops, waiting to drag black straphangers off trolleys and beat them. When motormen tried to pass through without stopping, the mobs yanked the streetcars off the wires. Blacks trying to flee found themselves falling right into the hands of the waiting mob.Although the image is real and black veterans of World War II were attacked in the 1943 Detroit riots, the photograph did not show any events related to World War I or 1919. However, while the description of this particular photograph is inaccurate, it does describe real events. The same nativist frenzy that swept in massive changes to immigration laws just a few years later also sparked and fed horrifying violence against black Americans in what came to be called the Red Summer of 1919:During the Red Summer of 1919, white mobs attacked African Americans in six cities, deadly episodes of collective violence that often lasted for days. Chicago’s riot, one of the worst, lasted a week and claimed the lives of 38 men (23 black, 15 white). The mobs, in Chicago and the other cities (Charleston, S.C.; Bisbee, Ariz.; Longview, Texas; Washington, D.C.; and Knoxville, Tenn.), sought to drive African Americans from industrial jobs or from majority white neighborhoods; to punish blacks for their prosperity; and to “protect” white women against the alleged assaults of black men.Why, then, were African Americans blamed for the Red Summer? During Chicago’s riot, for example, a local newspaper printed a false report that “a group of twelve discharged negro soldiers, all armed, terrorized small groups of whites in various parts of the south side this afternoon.” In fact, these men had tried to protect black residents because the city’s police were unable to halt white mob attacks. This wasn’t just a problem in Chicago. During all six riots of the Red Summer, local authorities failed to restore law and order. In some instances police abetted the violence by protecting white rioters or joining in the attacks. Denied protection of the law, African Americans took up arms to defend themselves. Especially in Chicago and Washington, newly returned black veterans of World War I organized and carried out this armed resistance. Calling themselves New Negroes, these veterans and other African Americans fought to stop the violence and to demand — and receive — long denied constitutional rights. Many white observers unjustly blamed the summer’s violence on blacks’ armed resistance.A primary archival source for the violent lynchings in the “Red Summer” appeared to be an October 1919 New York Times item [PDF], “FOR ACTION ON RACE RIOT PERIL; Radical Propaganda Among Negroes Growing, and Increase of Mob Violence.” Its author claimed that 1919 race riots were caused in part by the World War I, as here had been “no trouble with the Negro before the war when most admitted the superiority of the white race.”The article went on to claim that due in part to the war, black American no longer focused on the sacrifice of “white men’s lives” in ending slavery:PBS published an undated entry in its “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow” series about the 1919 race riots, detailing some of the events:On the afternoon of July 27, 1919, a stone-throwing melee between blacks and whites began after a black youth mistakenly swam into territory claimed by whites off the 29th Street beach in Chicago. Amidst the mayhem, Eugene Williams, a black youth, drowned. When a white police officer refused to arrest the white men involved in the death, and instead arrested a black man, racial tensions escalated. Fighting broke out between gangs and mobs of both races. Violence escalated with each incident, and for 13 days Chicago was in a state of turmoil. By the time the riot ended, 23 blacks and 15 whites were dead, 537 injured, and 1,000 black families were left homeless. The Chicago riot was part of a national racial frenzy of clashes, massacres, and lynchings throughout the North and the South. All of the incidents were initiated by whites. In Washington, D.C., from July 19 to 23, four whites and two blacks were killed; whites were astonished that blacks dared to fight back. The NEW YORK TIMES lamented the new black militancy: “There had been no trouble with the Negro before the war when most admitted the superiority of the white race.”As noted in the New York Times article from October 1919, one of many outbreaks of violence occurred in July 1919 in Norfolk, Virginia. A homecoming ceremony for black soldiers returning from World War I was attacked by a white mob; six people were shot. The role of the war and the return of soldiers was examined in the 2011 book Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. A November 2011 review summarized its focus:Black servicemen fighting in Europe encountered a white population often less hostile than American whites. The talk of a “New Negro” appeared in print and was heard on the streets. Civil rights protests erupted in the North and South. It was not unreasonable for African-Americans to think — or at least hope — that wartime gains would be maintained and even extended.Instead of rewarding black Americans for their military service or even acknowledging their patriotic sacrifice, however, white Americans resolved to restore the pre-war status quo. Southern states cracked down hard on black protest organizations. The summer of 1919, argues journalist Cameron McWhirter, witnessed the “worst spate of race riots and lynchings in American history.” From April to October, American cities exploded in an orgy of violence whose extensive bloodshed led Johnson to name it the “Red Summer.” “Though no complete and accurate records on the eight months of violence were [ever] compiled,” McWhirter notes, “at least 25 major riots erupted and at least 52 black people were lynched” in those months. “Millions of Americans had their lives disrupted. Hundreds of people — most of them black — were killed and thousands more were injured. Tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes.”A February 2019 Facebook post claimed that “victorious black soldiers returning to the U.S. from World War I [were] lynched while still in uniform,” alongside a photograph of 1943 race riots in Detroit. However, the deadly “Red Summer of 1919” is a part of American history, the product of racism and race-related tensions exacerbated by World War I. Many black civilians were killed, but in at least one instance a homecoming event for black soldiers was marred by racist violence in July 1919. Although the image is misleading, the claim is accurate. | https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fwere-black-wwi-veterans-in-uniform-lynched-during-the-red-summer-of-1919%2F, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fwere-black-wwi-veterans-in-uniform-lynched-during-the-red-summer-of-1919%2F, https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-xpm-2011-11-18-sc-ent-books-red-summer-mcwhirter-20111118-story.html, https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/the-summer-of-43/Content?oid=2176439, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Summer, http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2015/02/the-red-summer-of-1919/, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2146574, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Were+Black+WWI+Veterans+in+Uniform+Lynched+During+the+Red+Summer+of+1919%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fwere-black-wwi-veterans-in-uniform-lynched-during-the-red-summer-of-1919%2F&via=KimLaCapria, https://www.truthorfiction.com/they-pushed-her-facebook-post/, https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/01/detroit-in-the-1940s/384523/#img17, https://archive.fo/ENU7u, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act, https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_red.html, https://books.google.com/books/about/Red_Summer.html?id=2ogt4871j3sC, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fwere-black-wwi-veterans-in-uniform-lynched-during-the-red-summer-of-1919%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/kim/, https://www.scribd.com/document/406625605/NYT-1919-Red-Summer, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/07/23/detroits-history-mob-violence-riot/491863001/, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fwere-black-wwi-veterans-in-uniform-lynched-during-the-red-summer-of-1919%2F, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161375700900058&set=a.10157346823680058&type=3&theater, https://www.truthorfiction.com/are-these-presidents-obama-and-trumps-statements-on-the-notre-dame-fire/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/fact-checks/viral-content/ | 2true
| Fact Checks, Viral Content |
6358 | Flight attendant may have exposed passengers to Hepatitis A. | Health officials in North Carolina say more than a dozen people may have been exposed to hepatitis A on a recent flight. | News outlets report the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it was notified on Oct. 1 that a flight attendant had a confirmed case. The Mecklenburg County Health Department says it contacted 18 Charlotte-area passengers who were on the American Airlines flight Sept. 21 from San Francisco to Charlotte. Spokeswoman Rebecca Carter says those passengers have since been vaccinated. American Airlines released a statement saying it’s in close contact with the CDC and public health officials and will coordinate with them on any required health and safety related measures. Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by contaminated food or water. | 2true
| Charlotte, Health, General News, North Carolina, Hepatitis, Liver disease |
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11560 | German doctors declare “cure” in HIV patient | December 15, 2010 | The quote marks around the word “cure” in the headline were a sign of the cautious approach of this story. Instead of allowing a sense of hyperbole to permeate, as we saw in other coverage of the same study, we were glad to see many of the appropriate caveats included. The story should have been more specific about the enormous hazards of bone marrow transplants and told readers of their high cost. The word cure, even when surrounded by quote marks certainly gets one’s attention. Applied to a story about HIV and AIDS, it is an attention-grabber. Despite the arguable hyperbole on the part of the German researchers, the story is interesting because it adds to the suggestion that the CCR5 mutation may represent an approach to eradication of the virus. This story, like others on the topic, spent a fair amount of time explaining the difficulty in broadly applying stem cell transplants to AIDS patients and leukemia patients and talked with the appropriate experts. It serves as a good lesson, in many ways, for reporters covering studies with limited results and stacked odds of long term success. | The story makes no mention of costs. With an estimated cost of $150,000 to 200,000, the cost of a allogenic bone marrow transplant is significant enough to be mentioned. We’re giving this one a pass here. The story makes quite clear that it is a report on the experience of only one patient and that while the researchers say there are now no signs of HIV infection in this individual, the tests don’t completely rule out the possibility that the virus is lurking somewhere. In particular, the comments of Dr. Gallo to place the apparent benefit in this single patient into context. The story notes that bone marrow transplants are risky and in fact , “…can kill people.” But it should have told readers that for some types of leukemia, up to 40 percent of patients die have receiving a bone marrow transplant from a donor. What’s more the list of serious complications is harrowing. According to the National Cancer Institute, leukemia patients treated with a bone marrow transplant may have less than a 50-50 chance of successful treatment and even when the treatment works, it is often very painful and may cause serious to kidneys, liver, heart and lungs. So even though this story does tell readers that transplants are risky, it fails to provide numbers that would make clear just how perilous this course of treatment is. The story does a great job on this point, emphasizing the almost unique circumstances of this case and that the results could not be replicated in most people with HIV. By making good use of the right experts, it is able to show what a long shot this treatment really would be for most patients. “AIDS researchers have rejected the approach on any kind of scale for patients with HIV. A bone marrow transplant is a last-ditch treatment for cancers such as leukemia. It requires destruction of a patient’s own bone marrow — itself a harrowing process — and then a transplant from a donor who has a near-exact blood and immune system type. Months of recovery are needed while the transplant grows and reconstitutes the patient’s immune system.” The story does not engage in disease-mongering. The story does point out the staggering number of people worldwide (33 million) infected with the AIDS virus. We would have liked to have seen some mention of the number of people who more closely resemble this patient, having both HIV infection and a type of leukemia that might be treated with a bone marrow transplant. The story’s main expert source was Dr. Robert Gallo of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, who helped discover the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. His comments offered context and appropriate cautions. While the story does not discuss potential conflicts of interest, the researchers declared in their journal article that they had no competing financial interests and the work was supported by non-commercial institutions. The last sentence in the story reads “Cocktails of strong drugs can suppress the virus, keeping patients healthy and reducing the chance they will infect others, but there is no vaccine.” We would have liked to have seen a little more on this point. The fact is, HIV infection is becoming more and more like a chronic disease because of the success of antiretroviral (ARV) therapies. The death rate from AIDS has plummeted, even in developing countries, over the past two decades. This means that, while a vaccine or another therapy that eliminated the virus post-infection would be a boon for humankind, it is not the only approach worth hailing. We would like to see more ink devoted to innovative attempts to stop the spread of HIV and to broadly apply ARVs in countries that already have a high concentration of infected adults and less attention given to one offs like this study. We would have rated this as satisfactory if the story did not mention the vaccine issue. That expands the criterion into prevention and therefore into public health measures as comparators. The story makes it clear that it is based on the findings in one patient and that it couldn’t be applied broadly. The story shows that bone marrow transplants are available and points out the unique aspects of the procedure in this single patient; that is, while bone marrow transplants are available, marrow from recipients with the CCR5 mutation is not. The story apppropriately points out the uniqueness of the report. The patient presented with leukemia and HIV and a donor was available who happened to have te CCR5 mutation. The story did not rely on a news release. | 2true
| """cure"",Reuters Health" |
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3551 | Mississippi will phase out warehouses for nutrition program. | Mississippi will close distribution centers for a federal nutrition program in the coming year and will move to a system that could be simpler to use. | Sometime before Oct. 1, the state will start using electronic benefits transfer cards that will allow recipients on the Women, Infants and Children program to buy food at grocery stores and pharmacies Most states are already doing that, and Mississippi is among the few still using a warehouse distribution system, the Commercial Dispatch reported. WIC provides “nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care” to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children up to age 5 who are considered to be at nutritional risk, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program serves almost half of all infants born in the United States. WIC foods include “infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C-rich fruit or vegetable juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, dried and canned beans/peas, and canned fish.” Katie Peterson, a mother of two young children, picked up packages of food recently at the WIC warehouse in Oktibbeha County. “I don’t have a lot of free time, so coming down here can be kind of difficult at times,” Peterson said. “They often run out of stuff too, so when I’m here, I’ll have to skip a couple things that are on my list.” Peterson said picking up WIC-approved food at a grocery store “would be wonderful.” Each state’s health department operates the WIC program, with funding and guidelines from the USDA. The federal agency decided all 50 states must start using electronic cards for WIC recipients by Oct. 1. Each county in Mississippi has at least one WIC warehouse. Liz Sharlot, spokeswoman for the Mississippi State Department of Health, said there will be no need for WIC warehouses once the cards are in place. Oktibbeha County resident Mariam Reynolds, a mother of three, said she got WIC products from grocery stores when she lived in Birmingham, Alabama. “You can go to the grocery store any time to get what you need, and you’ve probably got better options,” Reynolds said. Selection and availability were not a problem for Peterson and her family when they lived in Illinois, which administers its WIC program at grocery stores, she said. “If I need milk and eggs, and they don’t have eggs (at the warehouse), I either have to get the milk and skip the eggs or just get nothing at all,” Peterson said. WIC’s transition from warehouses to grocery stores is still in the early stages of searching for and authorizing grocery stores and pharmacies as vendors, so nothing is final yet, but “the wheels are in motion,” Sharlot said. | https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=78148 | 2true
| Health, Nutrition, General News, Starkville, Mississippi |
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27516 | In July 2017, it was announced that Finnish researchers would begin human trials of a Type 1 diabetes vaccine in 2018. | July 21, 2017 | The American biopharmaceutical company Provention Bio, which is based in Lebanon, New Jersey, is funding the continuation of Hyöty and Knip’s research, after reportedly receiving $28.4 million in financing, which it will disburse between the Type 1 diabetes vaccine trials and a second project. | Dan MacGuill | On 19 July 2017, the Finnish news web site Yle reported that a group of Finnish researchers had developed a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes, and that human trials were set to begin in 2018: A vaccine for type 1 diabetes developed by Finnish researchers will be tested on mainly Finnish human subjects in late 2018, researchers announced on Tuesday. The scientists first found that the prototype works effectively and safely on mice, and now say that the vaccine could be in mainstream use within eight years if the coming rounds of tests prove successful. One skeptical reader asked us to check out the story. Yle is Finland’s public broadcasting corporation (akin to NPR or the BBC). T he names of the lead researchers and their universities are real, the announcement of vaccine trials is real, and the story is true. On 18 July 2017, the University of Tampere in Finland announced that Professor of Virology Heikki Hyöty and his team of researchers had identified a particular strand of enteroviruses (viruses transmitted through the intestines) linked to Type 1 diabetes, and developed a vaccine against them. “Already now it is known that the vaccine is effective and safe on mice,” Hyöty said. “The developing process has now taken a significant leap forward as the next phase is to study the vaccine in humans.” The university’s statement continued: In the first clinical phase, the vaccine will be studied in a small group of adults to ensure the safety of the vaccine. In the second phase, the vaccine will be studied in children and the aim is to investigate both the safety of the vaccine and its effectiveness against enteroviruses. In the third phase, the aim is to investigate whether the vaccine could be used to prevent the onset of Type 1 Diabetes. However, it can take about eight years in order to certainly know whether the vaccine prevents Type 1 Diabetes. Hyöty added that the vaccine would not cure existing cases of Type 1 diabetes, but that if it is successful, it would protect from other infections caused by enteroviruses including the common cold and meningitis. Another pioneer in this research, Professor Mikael Knip from the University of Helsinki, told Yle that the vaccine could have massive financial and public health benefits: It is estimated that the additional cost of care for one child with diabetes over their lifetime is about a million euros. This vaccine could prevent at least half of new cases, which amounts to some 250 million euros in annual savings. | 2true
| Medical, diabates, finland, medical research |
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9861 | Study: Dark chocolate improves blood vessel health | March 29, 2007 | "This news report describes a study which suggests that dark chocolate might be healthy for the heart. It provides some background on flavonols, the constituent in dark chocolate that might be beneficial, notes some of the potential harms associated with this ""chocolate therapy,"" and includes interviews with three experts who are mostly enthusiastic about the study’s findings. Yet the story fails to examine the rigor of the new evidence. The researchers enrolled 39 people. Were there enough subjects to muster the statistical power needed to answer their question? Could the improvements in blood flow be the result of chance? Did the researchers account for other factors that might affect arterial blood flow? What are the true benefits of improvements in blood flow to an arm? Is there research to suggest that they correspond to any outcome of clinical significance, such as rates of heart attack, stroke, or death? What else could patients do to derive the same apparent benefit without the fat and calories of chocolate? Could they take a low-cost, fat-free, calorie-burning walk once a day? The story answers none of these. The study appears to be one small, preliminary step in the investigation of a scientific hypothesis. Readers should not be left with the impression that consuming chocolate every six hours is a sound, scientifically proven, good idea." | "Thought there was no discussion of cost, most people have a general idea how much cocoa costs. The story fails to describe the improvement in blood flow in absolute terms, instead noting only relative or percent improvement (e.g. 37% compared to baseline for consumption of artificially sweetened cocoa). The reported 37% improvement is much greater than that reported in a press release from the American College of Cardiology (2.4% over baseline); the reason for the discrepancy is unclear. The story notes that chocolate is laden with fat and calories, potentially harmful in people who are already overweight or obese. This story is based on the preliminary results of a small, unpublished study presented at a national cardiology meeting. The researchers fed three different foods (two types of chocolate and a placebo whey powder) to 39 people during three separate 6-week trials, and then after each trial used ultrasound to measure arterial blood flow in the arms of their subjects, a test that purportedly “corresponds well to heart disease.” Unfortunately, the story says little about the methodological shortcomings inherent in such a research design. Are there enough subjects in the study to muster the statistical power to answer the question being asked—or could the improvements in blood flow be the result of chance? Did the researchers account for other factors that might affect arterial blood flow, such as exercise routines? Is there research to suggest that the observed differences in arterial blood flow correspond to any outcome of clinical significance, such as rates of heart attack, stroke, or death? This news report says nothing about such potential limitations. We suspect many observers would say that this study simply raises an interesting question, but certainly doesn’t answer it. Despite the researcher’s assertion–""This tells you that it (cocoa) is cardio-protective""–the data seem only to show that cocoa simply relaxes smooth muscle in the arm." | 2true
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31100 | "In August 2017, NASA scientists declared that Mexico's ""Our Lady of Guadalupe"" artifact is ""living." | August 11, 2017 | We contacted NASA to ask about the rumor, but have not yet received a response. However, the legend’s trajectory over the years indicated that its origins lay not with NASA, but with an unreliable and unsupported item published in 2011, three decades after Callahan’s analysis appeared in print). | Kim LaCapria | In August 2017, two links circulated on social media that suggested that NASA had announced it had deemed Mexico City’s Our Lady of Guadalupe tilma (a cloak or mantle made of cactus fiber upon which her face is said to be imprinted) to be “living”, in that the image reacts to outside stimuli. Social media users shared links from RCatholics.com and Matrix Drops, the former dated 7 August 2017 and the latter with no easily discernible date. Together, the viral items suggested that indeed a discovery of some sort had taken place in early August 2017: The Matrix Drops link was not published in 2017, but instead dates back to at least 2015. It may have been shared in lieu of RCatholics.com’s iteration (complete with a “breaking news” graphic) which didn’t even mention NASA, but had a passage claiming that it has qualities that are “humanly impossible” to replicate: Phillip Callahan, a biophysicist at the University of Florida, discovered that the differences in texture and coloration that cause cause Our Lady’s skin to look different up close and far away is impossible to recreate[.] The tilma has shown characteristics startlingly like a living human body. In 1979, when Callahan, the Florida biophysicist, was analyzing the tilma using infrared technology, he apparently also discovered that the tilma maintains a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the same as that of a living person. Callahan’s original analysis is not readily available, but reviews of the decades-old infrared photography examination of the piece carried out by him did not conclude that the material was metaphysical in origin. A 2010 Skeptoid item summarized Callahan’s findings less sensationally (transposing the date of the research in 1979 [PDF] with its publication in 1981), adding that subsequent analysis did not support any supernatural elements: The most notable examination was a three hour infrared photographic session by Philip Callahan in 1981, who did note multiple layers of paint covering changes to the hands and crown, but came away with more questions than answers. Callahan found, for example, that most of the entire painting seemed to have been done with a single brush stroke. He recommended a series of more tests, but the only one allowed by the Church was a spectrophotometric examination done by Donald Lynn from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The only result released of his examination was that “nothing unusual” was found. Until the claim was picked up by RCatholics.com on 7 August 2017, no one attributed details like the tilma’s purported temperature to Dr. Callahan or his 1979 research. Matrix Drops cited a 20 December 2011 story for its claims that “NASA scientists” had determined the Virgen de Guadalupe to be alive. That material cited an unlinked source and appeared to form the basis of both circulating claims (translated) It was found that the retinas of Mary’s eyes, like the human eye, expand and contract. Scientists have also found that the temperature of the cloth is always 36.6 degrees, the body temperature of a healthy person. The picture was also examined with a stethoscope, at which time scientists found a heart rate of 115 at her belly, corresponding to a pulse rate of a fetus. NASA engineers have also found that the paint with which the image was made does not exist and never existed anywhere on earth – writes Tsn.ua’s internet news portal. The claim that “NASA scientists” had affirmed the supernatural nature of the sacred image dates back as far as a 2001 column penned by Peggy Noonan, but the 2011 iteration appears to have been a complete fabrication with no supporting evidence for its extraordinary claims. Research carried out by Callahan for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA, a religious organization) in 1979 in no way amounts to evidence in 2017 that the piece is “living,” has a heartbeat, or maintains a temperature identical to that of the human body. NASA released no research in 1979 or at any other time about the artifact, and even Callahan’s believer’s lens of interpretation made no claims that the materials from which it was created were of no known origin. But in 2002, Skeptical Inquirer noted that subsequent study had unraveled some of the tilma’s mysteries: … infrared photographs show that the hands have been modified, and close-up photography shows that pigment has been applied to the highlight areas of the face sufficiently heavily so as to obscure the texture of the cloth. There is also obvious cracking and flaking of paint all along a vertical seam, and the infrared photos reveal in the robe’s fold what appear to be sketch lines, suggesting that an artist roughed out the figure before painting it. Portrait artist Glenn Taylor has pointed out that the part in the Virgin’s hair is off-center; that her eyes, including the irises, have outlines, as they often do in paintings, but not in nature, and that these outlines appear to have been done with a brush; and that much other evidence suggests the picture was probably copied by an inexpert artist from an expertly done original. In fact, during a formal investigation of the cloth in 1556, it was stated that the image was “painted yesteryear by an Indian,” specifically “the Indian painter Marcos.” This was probably the Aztec painter Marcos Cipac de Aquino who was active in Mexico at the time the Image of Guadalupe appeared. In 1985, forensic analyst John F. Fischer and I reported all of this evidence and more in “a folkloristic and iconographic investigation” of the Image of Guadalupe in Skeptical Inquirer. We also addressed some of the pseudoscience that the image has attracted. (For example, some claim to have discovered faces, including that of “Juan Diego” in the magnified weave of the Virgin’s eyes-evidence of nothing more than the pious imagination’s ability to perceive images, inkblot-like, in random shapes) (Nickell and Fischer 1985). Recently our findings were confirmed when the Spanish-language magazine Proceso reported the results of a secret study of the Image of Guadalupe. It had been conducted – secretly – in 1982 by art restoration expert José Sol Rosales. Rosales examined the cloth with a stereomicroscope and observed that the canvas appeared to be a mixture of linen and hemp or cactus fiber. It had been prepared with a brush coat of white primer (calcium sulfate), and the image was then rendered in distemper (i.e., paint consisting of pigment, water, and a binding medium). The artist used a “very limited palette,” the expert stated, consisting of black (from pine soot), white, blue, green, various earth colors (“tierras”), reds (including carmine), and gold. Rosales concluded that the image did not originate supernaturally but was instead the work of an artist who used the materials and methods of the sixteenth century (El Vaticano 2002). In addition, new scholarship (e.g. Brading 2001) suggests that, while the image was painted not long after the Spanish conquest and was alleged to have miraculous powers, the pious legend of Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego may date from the following century. Some Catholic scholars, including the former curator of the basilica Monsignor Guillermo Schulemburg, even doubt the historical existence of Juan Diego. | 0false
| Superstition, nasa, peggy noonan, rcatholics.com |
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11535 | Drug may slow growth of early prostate cancer | February 16, 2011 | This story is a very measured discussion of early stage prostate cancer and the results of a new study that confirms that active surveillance is a viable option for men and that for those choosing active surveillance, taking a medication currently used in the treatment of BPH may be helpful, but does not appear to be necessary. The story framed the take-home message early and ended the same way. Early quote: “”We’re identifying men who are not likely to need even a pill,” said Dr. Maha Hussain, a University of Michigan cancer specialist. Ending quote: “If it was me, I’d choose active surveillance,” said Dr. Howard Sandler, a prostate cancer specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. One quibble we have is that the story didn’t challenge the statements that referred to “active surveillance” or “watchful waiting” even after the drug was in use. That’s no longer wait-and-see. That’s active treatment. Thousands of men each year may be diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. News stories that provide accurate, clear, and concise information about the disease and its treatment options are priceless. | The story provided explicit information on cost. The story reported on the possible benefit of the drug to slightly reduce the incidence of prostate cancer progression; it also mentioned that it might help with anxiety for those who decided to forego immediate invasive treatment. Most meaningfully, it also included early in the story the expert perspective that “most of these men do very well with no treatment at all.” We wish the story had indicated whether the differences were statistically significant and clinically significant in the percentage of men whose cancer progressed or the percentage of men in whom cancer was not found upon repeat biopsy. For example, to say that “cancer got worse” – what does that mean? Is it a worsening of clinical significance? Unlike the competing HealthDay story, this story was sure to include a discussion of harms. Noting that the researchers had indicated that no new additional harms or side effects had been observed, the story then went on to detail the common known side effects. The story did not, however, discuss the issue that the use of this drug, in the new context described, could result in men taking it daily for decades and the possibility of longer-term harms have not yet been studied. Nonethless, a satisfactory job. The story indicated that the study being reported on was to be presented at a meeting and that there had been a teleconference before the fact to provide the media with information coming out of the meeting. Unlike the competing HealthDay story, the AP story appeared to include independent perspectives from people they interviewed outside the teleconference setting. The story did an adequate job explaining the evidence. And the independent perspectives helped a great deal. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Unlike the competing HealthDay story, the AP story did appear to include perspectives of some experts who were not on the teleconference and some who were not directly involved in the study discussed. The true choices of choosing active surveillance or “watchful waiting”, of taking a drug, or of “rushing to have treatmetns that can leave them with urinary or sexual problems was very clear. The story clearly indicated that it was describing another use for a medication that is already available to consumers. The story was explicit that it was reporting on a possible new indication for a drug already in the market place. It was clear from the story that a news conference ahead of the meeting was the genesis of this story; that said, other experts in the field appear to have been consulted for this piece. | 2true
| Associated Press,Cancer |
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26498 | "DeAnna Lorraine Says of COVID-19 that Dr. Anthony Fauci ""was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large." | April 13, 2020 | A Trump supporter’s tweet misleadingly portrays advice that Dr. Anthony Fauci gave publicly on Feb. 29. On that date, Fauci said rules Americans would come to know as social distancing were not yet warranted. However, just about every other sentence of his remarks was filled with caveats indicating that the situation could change. He did not suggest that there was “nothing to worry about” or that the virus “posed no threat to the public.” | Louis Jacobson | "President Donald Trump raised eyebrows April 12 when he retweeted a supporter who had used the hashtag #FireFauci, a reference to Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top public health officials who has regularly joined the president on the podium in the White House press room. The tweet that Trump shared was posted by DeAnna Lorraine, a pro-Trump Republican candidate who garnered 1.8% of the vote in an all-primary challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In the primary, Lorraine finished behind Pelosi, two other Democrats and one other Republican. The tweet came hours after Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper that lives could have been saved if the country had ""shut everything down"" from the beginning. On April 12, Lorraine tweeted, ""Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives. Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. Time to #FireFauci…"" Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up. Thank you @OANN https://t.co/d40JQkUZg5 When we looked closer at Fauci’s public statements on Feb. 29, we found that Lorraine’s tweet is significantly exaggerated. (Lorraine did not respond to an inquiry.) Feb. 29 was a key moment in the course of the virus’ spread, because it was right around the time that public health officials began to suspect that the novel coronavirus had started to infect Americans through ""community spread."" Community spread means that the virus would be spreading from person to person within a particular community, rather than through cases linked to someone who had brought the virus from a known hot spot elsewhere. On Feb. 28, Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said it was possible that a reported case in California ""could be the first instance of community spread — meaning the illness was acquired through an unknown exposure in the community."" But it could also be that the patient was exposed through contact to a traveler who was infected, Messonnier said. The immediate risk to the general American public remained low, she said. The following day, a health official from Washington state, where there were four presumptive cases of COVID-19, joined a CDC press briefing and said the state was ""starting to see some spread in the community"" and the public risk was increasing. ""Should we start to see more spread in Washington, we might consider recommending measures like cancelling large public events,"" said Kathy Lofy, a Washington state health official. Fauci is interviewed on NBC's ""Today Show"" on Feb. 29 We found two televised appearances by Fauci on Feb. 29. One was an interview in the morning with Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander on NBC’s Today Show. The other was a press briefing with Trump and other officials that afternoon. On the Today Show, Fauci did say that the lack of widespread, confirmed community spread meant that it was not yet time for radical responses like shutting down large gatherings and businesses. But he did not go as far as the tweet described. He didn’t say that ""there was nothing to worry about"" or that coronavirus ""posed no threat to the U.S. public at large."" Instead, his message was that the nation needed to remain vigilant for a possible worst-case scenario. Here are the relevant portions of that interview: Alexander: ""So, Dr. Fauci, it’s Saturday morning in America. People are waking up right now with real concerns about this. They want to go to malls and movies, maybe the gym as well. Should we be changing our habits and, if so, how?"" Fauci: ""No. Right now, at this moment, there’s no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day by day basis. Right now the risk is still low, but this could change. I’ve said that many times even on this program. You’ve got to watch out because although the risk is low now, you don’t need to change anything you’re doing. When you start to see community spread, this could change and force you to become much more attentive to doing things that would protect you from spread."" Welker: ""Dr. Fauci, quickly, how does this all end?"" Fauci: ""You know, it ends if you -- it depends on the nature of the outbreak. I mean, this could be a major outbreak. I hope not. Or it could be something that’s reasonably well controlled. At the end of the day, this will ultimately go down. Hopefully we could protect the American public from any serious degree of morbidity or mortality. That’s the reason why we’ve got to do the things that we have in our plan."" With the benefit of a month of hindsight, this may seem like a less-than-ringing endorsement of the types of social distancing policies that would soon become required far and wide. Even so, the tweet exaggerates its case. Fauci repeatedly emphasized the difference between the situation on Feb. 29 and what could happen in the future. In just this two-paragraph exchange, Fauci used the phrases, ""right now, at this moment,"" ""this could change,"" ""you’ve got to watch out,"" and ""this could be a major outbreak."" Fauci offered a similar message in the afternoon press conference. He said, ""The country as a whole, because we get asked that all the time, still remains at low risk. But when we say that, we want to underscore that this is an evolving situation, and in real time we will keep you apprised of what is going on, just the same way as we are doing it today."" Later in the briefing, Fauci said, ""We need to prepare for further challenges, and we will have them. You will hear about the additional cases that will be coming on. You should not be surprised by that, but to realize that that is something that is anticipated when you get community spread."" Lorraine tweeted that Fauci ""was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large."" This is misleading. Fauci did say on Feb. 29 that rules Americans would come to know as social distancing were not yet warranted. However, just about every other sentence of his remarks was filled with caveats indicating that the situation could change. He did not indicate that there was ""nothing to worry about"" or that the virus ""posed no threat to the public.""" | https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-conference-2/, https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/04/12/anthony-fauci-coronavirus-covid-19-shutdown-tapper-sotu-vpx.cnn, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/08/john-bel-edwards/louisiana-governor-right-there-was-no-suggestion-m/, https://twitter.com/DeAnna4Congress/status/1249457858686656512, https://www.today.com/video/dr-fauci-on-coronavirus-fears-no-need-to-change-lifestyle-yet-79684677616, https://ballotpedia.org/DeAnna_Lorraine | 0false
| Public Health, California, Coronavirus, DeAnna Lorraine, |
6931 | Los Angeles County identifies additional case of measles. | The number of cases of measles among Los Angeles County residents this year has risen to seven. | The county Department of Public Health said Thursday a new confirmed case is linked to an outbreak of four cases reported last month and is not associated with the University of California, Los Angeles, or California State University, Los Angeles. Both universities recently had quarantines for students staff who may have been exposed to measles. Health officials say they have not identified any public exposure locations associated with the new case. In addition to the cases involving county residents, there have been five cases among non-residents who traveled through the county. Authorities are urging people to get immunized and to learn symptoms of the extremely contagious illness. | 2true
| Los Angeles, University of California, Health, Measles, California, Public health |