instruction:
Generate an explanation for the given claim using the provided supporting material from the paragraph. Please consider the following points while generating an output. 1) The claim will always have supporting proof in the paragraph, and the paragraph will have a clear point of view supporting the claim. 2) There can be instances where direct correlation to the claim is not available. Make use of the sentences in the paragraph to provide a corresponding output supporting the claim. 3) The explanation should be at least one and at most twelve sentences long.
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Paragraph: “Johnny carries a lot of clout in our league when you hear the other coaches,” Brey said as he prepares for his 20th season at Notre Dame. “We take him for granted - he just rolls out of bed and goes 15 (points) and 12 (rebounds) like it’s nothing.” The 6-foot-9 senior Mooney averaged team highs of 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds last season for the Fighting Irish, who lost 63 games to injuries and illnesses during a 14-19 campaign that included just three wins and a last-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. “They had their back sides handed to them . we’re older, we’re healthier, we’re better,” Brey said. The return to health of guards Robby Carmody, Rex Pflueger, Nikola Djogo and forward Juwan Durham, the maturation of sophomores Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin, Nate Laszewski and Chris Doherty, and senior T.J. Gibbs making amends for his junior slump have created excitement for the season opener Nov. 6 at North Carolina. “The guys are playing at a higher level, sharing the basketball and feeding off each other,” Mooney said. “Coming off last year, no one’s giving us a shot. So we have to play with a chip on our shoulder to get the job done and prove these people wrong.” Hubb, who started 29 games at point guard, thinks Mooney’s leadership is just fine, even if his coach would like more confidence from his standout. “He’s a role model for everyone on this team,” said Hubb, who averaged 8.1 points and nearly four assists last season. RALLYING AROUND REX Things went south quickly for the Irish after Pflueger, averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds at the time, tore left knee ligaments last December. The injury came at the same time his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died early in September and the team attended her memorial service in California. “Some of the stuff they’ve gone through with Rex and his mother’s situation — that’s kind of done some things to our team’s dynamic,” Brey said. “It speaks highly of our coaching staff and players,” said Pflueger, now a grad student working on his MBA who is not being rushed to be ready for the opener. “It’s an act of kindness you don’t see often.” MEDIC In addition to Pflueger missing the final 23 games following knee surgery, Carmody missed his final 24 and Djogo his final six with torn labrums that were surgically repaired. The 6-foot-11 Durham, who missed six games with leg issues, averaged 2.3 blocks when healthy in 27 games. THE HUBB Brey likes what he sees in the 6-foot-3 Hubb at the point. “He moves more confidently and is more vocal,” Brey said. “He and T.J. (Gibbs) have been pretty good.” BEAT THE CLOCK Instead of the usual 30-second shot clock, Brey used a 20-second version during the preseason. “That way we have to play quick and you can’t think too much. You’ve got to make a decision,” he said. SCHEDULE Besides North Carolina, the Irish host Boston College on Dec. 7 in the pre-holiday portion of the 20-game ACC schedule. Notre Dame also has non-conference games with Maryland, UCLA and Indiana before starting the final 18 games of league play at Syracuse Jan. 4. Brey said he and Orange coach Jim Boeheim talked about the league’s big three — North Carolina, Duke and defending champion Virginia — on the summer scouting trail. “He said, ‘You know, we’re all playing for fourth,’” chuckled Brey, whose team is picked seventh. “He never minces words, obviously.” __ More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Claim: Mooney and healthy teammates have Brey, Irish encouraged.
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As long as John Mooney keeps putting up double-doubles and his teammates stay healthy, coach Mike Brey feels pretty good about Notre Dame’s chances this season.


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Paragraph: Tuesday is the final day of Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month, and the state CDC says it’s recommending prevention, screening and treatment. The agency says Maine has seen “dramatic increases” in gonorrhea and syphilis in the last five years. Gonorrhea cases increased nearly 200 percent, to 686, from 2014 to 2018. Syphilis cases have risen by almost 600 percent, to 104, in that same timeframe. Acting Maine CDC Director Nancy Beardsley says the health consequences of sexually transmitted infections are serious enough that residents “know the facts about STDs and get tested if they believe they are at risk.” Claim: Maine stresses test as sexually transmitted infections surge.
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The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is calling on residents to get tested for sexually transmitted infections amid a spike in cases of gonorrhea and syphilis in the state.


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Paragraph: Though modest, it was the first such price drop in 45 years, according to nonpartisan economic experts at the federal Department of Health and Human Services, who deliver an annual report on the nation’s health care spending. The price drop was for retail pharmacy prescriptions, not medications administered in hospitals or doctor’s offices. HHS experts said the last time retail prescription drug prices declined was in 1973, when they went down by 0.2%. The price drop comes amid questionable prospects for major legislation to curb prescription drug costs. Nonetheless, it was a nugget of decent news in a sobering, broader report on rising U.S. health care spending. The HHS report found that spending on prescription medicines at pharmacies accounted for 9% of the total $3.6 trillion national health care tab in 2018. Total U.S. health care spending grew by 4.6% last year, averaging $11,172 per person. In the real world, U.S. spending is concentrated on the sickest patients, with 5% of the population accounting for half of costs. Because of strong overall economic growth last year, health care spending as a share of the national economy declined slightly, from 17.9% in 2017 to 17.7%, the report found. Legislation pending in Congress to curb drug costs would mainly benefit older people on Medicare, who are the biggest consumers of medicines. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is forging ahead with a floor vote next week on her bill authorizing Medicare to negotiate prices for the costliest drugs, including insulin. Under her bill, private insurance plans would be able to get Medicare’s prices as well. But President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are solidly opposed to Medicare negotiations. Instead Trump is backing a bipartisan Senate bill that would require drugmakers to pay rebates to Medicare if they hike prices above inflation. As a candidate Trump had called for allowing Medicare to negotiate directly. Both bills would cap what Medicare recipients must pay annually in out-of-pocket costs for their prescriptions. The HHS report made no forecast of future prescription drug prices. It’s unclear if the 1% price decline seen last year may be the beginning of a sustained trend or was merely a temporary pullback by drug companies getting pummeled by Trump and lawmakers of both parties. Thursday’s report found that nearly 9 out of 10 prescriptions dispensed are for generic drugs, which puts downward pressure on prices. Even though prices of brand-name drugs increased more moderately, they still accounted for most of the spending on prescriptions — nearly 79%. The government’s findings on prices for brand-name drugs dovetailed with  an analysis earlier this year by The Associated Press. In the first seven months of 2019, drugmakers raised list prices for brand-name prescription medicines by a median of 5%, the AP found. That was down from about 9% or 10% over those months the prior four years. The AP’s findings suggest that an easing in drug prices may continue this year. Reducing prescription drug costs remains one of the top priorities for consumers. The White House claims that Trump has already delivered historic price cuts, but a recent Gallup poll found that 66% of adults believe the president has made little or no progress. The government study was published online by the journal Health Affairs. Claim: US report: Prescription drug prices down slightly last year.
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Prices for prescription drugs edged down by 1% last year, a rare result driven by declines for generics and slow, low growth in the cost of brand-name medications, the government said Thursday.