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: "Coronavirus infections are on the rise in Texas, with some areas experiencing a more dramatic increase than others. In Central Texas, Austin and its surrounding counties have reported an increase in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations. Hays County, which sits to the south of Austin, has been hit particularly hard. On June 19, the county reported more active cases than Austin's Travis County a remarkable feat considering that Travis County's population is five times that of Hays County. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat whose district includes parts of both counties, shared two tweets about the Austin area, including one highlighting the impact of the virus in Hays County. ""Hays County is one of the only places in Texas with more trouble: an incredible 845% increase in cases since June 7,"" he wrote. There's no question Hays County has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, but is Doggett's figure accurate? Hays County increase tied to activities In response to a question from PolitiFact Texas, Hays County spokeswoman Kim Hilsenbeck shared a press release outlining the impact of the coronavirus in the county since the onset of the pandemic. During April and early May when local and statewide orders to stay at home were in place the number of new daily cases in the county ranged from zero to ten. In late April, Gov. Greg Abbott initiated the first phase of a plan to reopen the state's economy and allowed the statewide stay-at-home order to expire. He also allowed restaurants, retail stores, malls and movie theaters to reopen at limited capacity. In subsequent phases, Abbott allowed barbershops and salons to reopen with limited capacity and other restrictions. He also allowed rivers, parks and other natural areas to reopen. County health officials said they believe the gradual reopening of businesses might have contributed to an increase in COVID-19 cases. ""Through contact tracing, our health department staff were able to see the rapid increase in COVID-19 totals seemed to coincide with activities such as working at or going to restaurants and bars, activities such as floating the river, and attending large public gatherings,"" the release reads. Hilsenbeck also highlighted Mothers Day (May 10), Memorial Day (May 25) and protests against racism and police brutality as significant events in May. By the end of May and early June, the number of new cases in the county started to rise. On May 27 there were 18 new cases. On June 8, there were 43 new cases. More recently, the number of new daily cases in Hays County has ranged from 100 to 200. In April and May, the majority of new cases in the county were primarily in Kyle among people older than 30 who were Hispanic. But since early June, the group experiencing the largest increase in new COVID-19 cases is 20 to 29-year-olds in San Marcos. The number of people who identified as Hispanic has decreased. ""While not all 20-29-year-olds are college students, San Marcos has a large student population because of Texas State University, many of whom are now back in town following a period of virtual learning throughout the spring,"" the release reads. Examining data on new cases Doggett spokeswoman Kate Stotesbery said the figure he shared came from a graph published by an Austin-area television station. The graph shows the number of new coronavirus cases that have been reported each day in Hays County since April, plus a line showing the 14-day average of daily new cases. An arrow pointing upwards is overlaid on the graphic, with text on top that reads: ""845% 14-day average since June 7."" But Doggett's remark on Twitter is missing that detail that there has been an 845% increase in the 14-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the county since June 7. The increase in the actual number of cases is much higher. On June 7, the cumulative number of cases in the county was 385 and the number of new daily cases had been fluctuating. There were 24 new cases on June 2, 14 new cases on June 4 and zero new cases on June 7. By June 21, the cumulative count of cases in Hays County was 1,608, with 57 new cases reported that day. Looking at the 14-day average of new cases, it was 8 on June 7 and 87 on June 21. But the 7-day average is a more commonly used measurement by government agencies and news outlets to assess changes in the number of new cases in the area. The change in that figure during this period is substantially higher. Using weekly averages instead of daily tallies offers a more accurate picture of change over time, as it reduces the impact of daily spikes. From June 7 to June 21, Hays County experienced a roughly 1,569% increase in the 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases from 8 cases on June 7 to 134 on June 21. Our ruling Doggett said that Hays County had experienced ""an incredible 845% increase in cases since June 7."" Doggett was actually speaking about an increase in the 14-day average of new COVID-19 cases a less common measurement of the increase in COVID-19 cases in an area but his figure is accurate."

SOLUTION: Hays County in Central Texas has seen an "incredible 845% increase in (COVID-19) cases since June 7."

PROBLEM: The story does not mention the costs of screening or follow-up tests or treatment to the individual or, collectively, to society. Those costs are significant. This story uses several different statistics and expert perspectives to explain what the researchers found in their examination of the effects of mammography screening. It not only include the relative risk reduction (10 percent) and an absolute risk reduction statistic (among women in their 50s, a decade of screening would boost the likelihood of avoiding a fatal breast cancer from 995.6 out of 1,000 to 996 out of 1,000), but it also offered comments from different experts about how they would personally value effects of that size. The story notes that screening mammography exposes women to false alarms scares as well as the risks and harms of treating tumors that actually would not have become life-threatening. This story explains how this study is different from earlier research on mammography. It points out both advantages of the study methods (comparing women in regions with screening to those without as Norway rolled out a national program over a 9 year period) and limitations (an observational study like this is not as powerful as a randomized trial, and the study might have found more benefits to screening if it had lasted longer). The story also noted the uncertainty in the numbers the researchers reported and that the real differences might be different. The story does not exaggerate the risk of breast cancer or the need to be screened for it. The story includes comments from several independent sources offering a variety of perspectives. It does not mention that the study was funded by the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Research Council of Norway. The story notes that improved treatments appear to have reduced the breast cancer death rate even among women who did not have regular screening mammograms. Not being screened was clearly acknowledged as an alternative, something not all competing stories explicitly addressed. The availability of mammography screening is not at issue. This story does point out that the women who were screened in Norway had access to special treatment teams. And it noted that these treatments are available at "many major medical centers in the United States." Mammography is not new, but this story does a good job of explaining what is new about the way these researchers examined the effects of screening. The story includes comments from several sources and does not appear to rely on a news release.

SOLUTION: Mammograms' Value in Cancer Fight at Issue

PROBLEM: Although Michael Jackson was seldom out of the public eye for long, in late 2002 and early 2003 he was the subject of even more intense media attention than usual. Granted, his deep-seated proclivity for strange behavior (wearing masks in public, undergoing bout after bout of plastic surgery to the point that his nose was rumored to be about to fall off, naming one his son's Prince Michael and then a second one Prince Michael II, ongoing whispers about his sexual molestation of young boys, life at his fantasy home of Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez area) kept him perpetually in the spotlight, but two media events caused the unrelenting arc light of celebrity to burn a bit more brightly in the early 2000s: the January 2003 network television broadcast of a British documentary about Jackson's bizarre private life (followed a month later by "Michael Jackson, Unmasked," a network special devoted to a study of the pop star's career through examination of the changes to his face), and a November 2002 incident which drew the ire of parents everywhere when Jackson exuberantly dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, from a fourth-floor hotel balcony in Berlin. A third incident added to this glare: the publication of the 1993 declaration given by 13-year-old "J. Chandler" in a lawsuit against Michael Jackson, in which he alleged the singer had sexually molested him. That suit was settled out of court in January 1994 for an undisclosed amount of money (thought to be between $15 and $40 million, an astounding figure to an ordinary person but a drop in the bucket to Jackson, whose personal fortune was then estimated at $1.7 billion). No criminal charges arising from those allegations were filed against Jackson, and both parties signed a confidentiality agreement as a condition of the settlement. In February 2003, the expose web site The Smoking Gun published the four-page declaration that kicked off the 1993 suit against Jackson. In it, "J. Chandler," self-described as a 13-year-old boy then in the eighth grade, detailed his involvement with the singer and the escalation of their friendship (which began in May 1992 and ended in July 1993) into realms of sexual contact. In addition to listing graphic details about the sexual encounters that occurred between them on a number of occasions, the boy made statements about Jackson's crying when the youngster attempted to halt certain activities. Penetration does not appear to have been among the claims made by the boy, but incidents of oral and manual sex were: Michael Jackson had me suck one nipple and twist the other nipple while Michael Jackson masturbated. On one occasion when Michael Jackson and I were in bed together, Michael Jackson grabbed my buttock and kissed me while he put his tongue in my ear. I told him I didn't like that. Michael Jackson started to cry. We're not going to reproduce the whole thing here, but a copy of this declaration can be viewed at The Smoking Gun's archives. In a British documentary aired in early February 2003, Jackson, then 44, again denied ever having inappropriate relationships with children, although he admitted sharing his bed with boys.

SOLUTION:
The court declaration given by the 13-year-old boy Michael Jackson allegedly molested in 1993 has surfaced.