TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: “They are heroic, I think there is no other way to describe what they are doing at this moment,” said Howard Catton, a British nurse who is the ICN’s chief executive officer. Infection rates of 9% and 12-14% have been reported among health workers in Italy and Spain, respectively, and deaths among nurses there and in Iran and Indonesia, he said. “We have no doubt that the rate of infections is related in part to the lack of PPE - personal protective equipment,” he told Reuters at the ICN offices along Lake Geneva. “There is a global shortage and nurses obviously are at a higher risk given the people that they are caring for.”  The federation represents 130 national associations and more than 20 million registered nurses. The World Health Organization has called repeatedly for countries and manufacturers to step up production of masks, gloves, gowns and other equipment for vulnerable health workers amidst critical shortages. Nearly 700,000 people have been infected worldwide in the outbreak that began last December in China and has claimed more than 33,000 lives, according to the WHO. Catton said there had been problems with supply chains in hard-hit Italy and Spain, describing their health systems as “very close to being overwhelmed”. Nurses worldwide take samples from COVID-19 patients, give them medicines and oxygen, and help incubate those in serious condition. “They are working under intense pressure, often long hours, some working back-to-back shifts for days on end, even sleeping over in the hospital, the facility, in which they work.”  Some nurses have been forced to re-use their gear or make their own masks and gowns, he added. “Wearing personal protective equipment when it is available is not easy either...Simple things like going to the loo and eating are of course much more difficult,” he said. Nurses across Africa and South Asia could be at greater risk as the virus moves to poorer settings. “We are very concerned that those countries that have weaker, more fragile health care systems could very quickly become overwhelmed by this virus if it takes hold in their countries,” Catton said. Nurses in Zimbabwe, fearing for their own safety, have been on strike due to a lack of information and protective gear, he said.

SOLUTION: Heroic nurses need full protection against coronavirus, association says.

PROBLEM: Five cases of H7N9 bird flu infections have been diagnosed in central Anhui province since Dec. 8, and two people have died, state media reported. In Shanghai, officials said this week that a man was diagnosed with H7N9 and is being treated in a city hospital. Another case has been reported in Xiamen in coastal Fujian province, where poultry sales have been halted. In rural Jinzhai county in Anhui province, local officials on Thursday announced a two-week closure of a meat market after a shopkeeper was diagnosed with H7N9. The provincial government also issued a warning on social media urging residents to avoid buying and slaughtering live chickens themselves. A major H7N9 bird flu outbreak in humans first struck China in March 2013, killing more than 40 people and devastating the poultry industry. The strain is less virulent than the H5N1 strain that the World Health Organization says has killed more than 370 people.

SOLUTION: Bird flu infects 7 people in China this month, killing 2.

PROBLEM: It was joined by 22 states, the District of Columbia and two cities in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, building on a similar lawsuit it filed in September a day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration withdrew California’s waiver. The latest lawsuit challenges the EPA’s attempt to revoke part of a waiver it granted California in 2013 permitting the state to impose its greenhouse gas and zero emission vehicle standards. It asks the court to rule that California’s rules are protected under the federal Clean Air Act. The coming court battle will help mold a major aspect of the nation’s climate policy because 13 other states and the District of Columbia have adopted California’s standards. Federal law generally sets the rules for how much vehicles can pollute. But California has been allowed to impose tougher rules since the 1970s because it has the most cars and problems meeting air quality standards. The EPA said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in September that the stricter rules were making vehicles more expensive and less safe because consumers had difficulty buying newer, safer vehicles. “California’s Clean Car Standards are achievable. They not only work, many other states around the country have chosen to adopt them,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat, said Republican President Donald Trump “continues to weaponize federal agencies in his war against public health and clean air.” He noted several major automakers this year voluntarily agreed to the state’s regulations despite the effort the roll them back. The filing also asks the court to review NHTSA’s September decision. Joining California in the lawsuit are attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia; as well as the cities of Los Angeles and New York. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring criticized the administration for not only rolling back federal climate change efforts, but “threatening states’ rights to implement their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions and encourage clean car jobs and technology.” ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that 22 states and the District of Columbia have joined California’s suit, not 23 states.

SOLUTION:
23 states widen challenge to Trump administration car rules.