TASK DEFINITION: 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.
PROBLEM: Paragraph: The Alaska Section of Epidemiology said in an update this week that it has requested help with response efforts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, KTVA-TV reported Wednesday. The number of cases is the highest reported in the state since at least the 1970s, said Susan Jones, a program manager with the state Division of Public Health. “It actually can be before that but that’s as far back as we have saved data,” Jones said. Out of the 75 cases, 64 occurred in Anchorage and 66 were men, according to the state. Of the nine women, two were pregnant at the time of diagnosis. The ages of people infected ranged from 18 to 76, with 20 cases recorded in the 25 to 29 age group. Health officials also found a probable case of congenital syphilis in an infant born in March whose mother had been diagnosed last year. Symptoms of the sexually transmitted infection in its early stages include genital sores, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, and fever, according to the CDC. The disease in the tertiary stage can damage internal organs and result in death. According to the CDC, most people with untreated syphilis do not develop symptoms of the last stage, but tertiary syphilis could develop decades after infection. “It’s easy to acquire syphilis by having sex with somebody with infection, it’s easy to have the disease and not be aware of it, and it’s also easy to treat if we catch it early,” Jones said. Syphilis can be treated with an antibiotic injection. ___ Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com Claim: Alaska hit with largest syphilis outbreak in 40 years.

SOLUTION: Alaska health officials have recorded 75 cases of syphilis in the state this year, marking the largest outbreak of the infectious disease in at least four decades.

PROBLEM: Paragraph: "Emily's List is stoking the abortion debate in Colorado's 6th Congressional District race with a fundraising email saying Republican incumbent Mike Coffman ""co-sponsored a bill to redefine rape."" Emily's List -- a political organization that supports the election of Democratic women who support abortion rights -- has endorsed Coffman's opponent, state Sen. Morgan Carroll, an Aurora Democrat. Its mailer focused on reproductive rights, abortion and Roe v. Wade. In the email, titled ""2016 goal: A Congress that fights for women and families,"" Emily's List said, ""We wish Congress was less like this"" -- citing Mike Coffman's co-sponsorship of the 2011 bill -- ""and more like this … Morgan Carroll sponsored a bill to make emergency contraception available to sexual assault survivors."" We wanted to check the accuracy of Emily's List's characterization of Coffman's role in the legislation. Coffman did co-sponsor the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act, which attempted to redefine a ban on federal funding for abortions to exempt ""forcible rape"" -- and not rape in broader terms. Critics said the ""forcible rape"" language could rule out other forms of sexual assault that are considered rape, including statutory rape, attacks where women are drugged or threatened, and date rapes. Facing a backlash from women's groups, Republicans amended the bill in committee to remove the word ""forcible"" and make the exemption for ""rape."" Coffman wasn't on this committee and didn't vote on the removal. ""The bill was amended in committee, and Congressman Coffman supported the amended bill on the floor,"" a Coffman campaign spokesman later said. Congressional records show that Coffman voted for the amended bill in a floor vote, which passed the House but not the Senate. In recent years, Coffman has tempered his position on abortion in one of the country's most competitive ""swing"" districts, which is nearly evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents. In 2012, he said, ""I am against all abortions, except when it is necessary to protect the life of the mother."" But a year later, Coffman said that while he supported a House bill to limit late-term abortions, ""I strongly support the exceptions for rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother that have been included in this legislation."" Coffman's Democratic opponent, Morgan Carroll, had blunt criticism of his co-sponsoring the 2011 bill's original ""forcible rape"" language. ""Rape is about the lack of consent -- not the degree of force -- and this definition takes us backwards,"" Carroll told Denver7. ""I unequivocally support a woman's right to make her own decisions about her own body, including her health care,"" she said. Coffman's spokeswoman complained that political opponents have repeatedly raised the 2011 bill and ""will twist the facts any way they can in an attempt to mischaracterize and demonize Rep. Coffman."" Our ruling Emily’s List said that Coffman ""co-sponsored a bill to redefine rape."" The record shows Coffman did co-sponsor the bill to redefine a ban on federal funding for abortions to exempt ""forcible rape."" Yet he later voted on the floor for an amended version that had removed the ""forcible"" modifier from the bill. Given the totality of his actions on the legislation, we're rating this claim . Correction: This story has been corrected to note that Coffman did not serve on the committee that removed the word ""forcible"" from the bill." Claim: "As part of legislative fights over abortion rights, ""Mike Coffman co-sponsored a bill to redefine rape."

SOLUTION: "Emily’s List said that Coffman ""co-sponsored a bill to redefine rape."" The record shows Coffman did co-sponsor the bill to redefine a ban on federal funding for abortions to exempt ""forcible rape."" Yet he later voted on the floor for an amended version that had removed the ""forcible"" modifier from the bill. Given the totality of his actions on the legislation. Correction: This story has been corrected to note that Coffman did not serve on the committee that removed the word ""forcible"" from the bill."

PROBLEM: Paragraph: On May 18 2020, a photograph purportedly from a COVID-19 anti-lockdown protest began circulating, which showed a white woman holding a sign reading “muzzles are for dogs and slaves” alongside an illustration of a black woman wearing a mask or a face covering:Inside the mind of white conservatives. pic.twitter.com/wflisE1mUX— Chad Loder (@chadloder) May 18, 2020In the above tweet, the woman is holding what appeared to be a box top with the image of the black woman on the left, and the “muzzles and slaves” verbiage on the right. The image was the first Google result for “slave mask,” and it led to a Wikimedia Commons page featuring a woman who was called Escrava Anastacia (“Slavewoman Anastacia”):That same image was featured on the full page for Escrava Anastacia, who is an unofficial saint venerated in Brazil:A slave woman of African descent, Anastacia is depicted as possessing incredible beauty, having piercing blue eyes and wearing an oppressive facemask. Although not officially recognized by the Catholic Church, Anastacia is still an important figure in popular Catholic devotion throughout Brazil. She is also venerated by members of the Umbanda and Spiritist traditions. She has also been portrayed in Brazil in books, radio programs and a highly successful television miniseries bearing her name.That page goes on to say that Escrava Anastacia lacks an official history, and that the details of her life story vary but in all versions, “she is enslaved and cruelly treated by her owners” and “Anastacia stoically bears these traumas and treats all people with love.” According to that same Wikipedia page, she eventually died of tetanus:Eventually, she is punished by her owners by being forced to wear a muzzle-like facemask, which prevents her from speaking, and a heavy iron collar. The reasons given for this punishment vary: some stories report her aiding in the escape of other slaves, others claim she resisted the amorous advances of her master, and yet another places the blame on a mistress jealous of Anastacia’s beauty. After a prolonged period of suffering, all the while performing more miracles of healing and peace, Anastacia dies of tetanus from the collar. It is often claimed that she healed the son of her master and mistress, and forgave their cruelty as she died.In a section about the hagiography of Anastacia, the page emphasizes her portrayal wearing a mask:While there are reports of black Brazilians venerating an image of a slave woman wearing a facemask throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, the first wide-scale veneration of the Saint began in 1968 when the curators of the Museum of the Negro, located in the annex of the Church of the Rosary of the Brotherhood of St. Benedict in Rio, erected an exhibition to honor the 80th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil. Among the displays was an engraving of a female slave wearing a punishment facemask. The image soon became the object of popular devotion and members of the Brotherhood began collecting Anastacia stories in the early 1970s.As for the sign, it was real and unaltered. It appeared on May 16 2020 in two separate images attached to a post on KymKemp.com, and at :03 in this video. A woman shown in one photograph was identified as Larkin Small, 37:Larkin Small said it was her first time ever coming to a demonstration and that this is what it took to get her out of her house at the age of 37.For the more widely circulating version of a woman in sunglasses holding the sign, a caption read:Gretha Stenger came out to stand with people who were deeply concerned about the Stay-at-Home orders and their repercussions.One of many comments on the post read:The sign that Larkin Small and Gretha Stenger are holding made me nauseous. Although I do not agree with the position of this protest, I do support the right of people to raise their voices for something they believe in, but the blatant ignorance and racism that the sign reflects is outrageous. Equating enslaved African American with dogs, and humans being chained and muzzled with a mandate to wear masks–WTF?? ?The post itself covered a small May 15 2020 protest in Eureka, California, at the Humboldt County Courthouse. Some of the additional signs visible read:Pan-Demic caused entirely by Dem-PanicSocial-ISM DistancingCOVID-19 has a 99% survival rate. Why are we locked up?An image of a woman holding a sign reading “muzzles are for dogs and slaves” at a COVID-19 anti-lockdown rally in Eureka, California was one of many similar signs from weeks of astroturfed and inauthentically organized and promoted demonstrations that have gone viral. Previous iterations included one urging leaders to “sacrifice the weak,” an anti-Semitic “the real plague” sign, Nazi imagery, and myriad iterations with poor spelling.Update, May 19 2020, 1:37 PM: Stenger, one of the women depicted, provided a statement to a local news outlet after her “muzzles are for dogs and slaves” sign went viral, and claimed she did not make the sign herself:“Holding that sign up at the lockdown protest was a grave mistake and I ask forgiveness from all those who I have caused pain. As I had no sign of my own, it was handed to me by another protester and a photographer took the picture before I considered the racist implications. My intent was to take a stand for the freedom of all human persons and I mistakenly held a sign that conveyed the opposite. Please know that I respect the dignity of all people and I sincerely regret any suffering it has caused.”Stenger did not directly address several of the Times-Standard’s questions about the ongoing stay-at-home order or the equivalencies drawn between that and slavery.The outlet was unable to reach Small for comment.Comments Claim: "A COVID-19 protester held a sign that said ""muzzles are for dogs and slaves,"" alongside an illustration of a masked woman of color."

SOLUTION:
‘Muzzles are for Dogs and Slaves’ COVID-19 Protest Sign