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: The test examines more than 2 million spots in a person's genetic code, seeking variants that individually nudge a person's obesity risk up by a tiny amount. The researchers drew on previously published data about those variants to create a risk score. A high score didn't guarantee obesity, nor a low score rule it out. But middle-aged people with scores in the top 10 percent were 25 times as likely to be severely obese as those in the bottom 10 percent, scientists reported in a paper released Thursday by the journal Cell. Those two groups were separated by an average weight difference of about 29 pounds (13 kilograms), researchers said. Analysis showed the genetic propensity to obesity began having an effect on weight around age 3. Up to about age 8, "you might be able to make a difference in the kids who are born susceptible to obesity," said one author of the study, Dr. Sekar Kathiresan of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. But it will take further research to see whether intervening would work, Kathiresan said. The results for middle age came from a study of about 288,000 people. Overall, the risk-score research included data from more than 300,000 people at various ages. Severe obesity was defined as a body mass index of 40 or more. Results show genetic inheritance "plays a large role in how heavy one gets," Kathiresan said. The risk score probably takes about half of a person's genetic propensity into account, he said, and it shows similar accuracy in predicting ordinary obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or more. Even if one inherits a propensity for obesity, he said, "you still have control over your fate. You're not fated to be obese, but it's very clear those individuals who've inherited susceptibility have to work that much harder to keep the weight off." Among study participants with the highest scores, he noted, 17 percent were of normal weight. Other analyses show that people who remain lean despite an inherited propensity for obesity tend to eat better and have more physical activity than others with a high score who got fat. "So you can do something about it," he said. Ruth Loos, a professor of environmental medicine and public health who did not participate in the study, said the risk score explains more of people's genetic tendency than previous studies did. But she doubted it would be useful in a doctor's office. It is "never going to be a good predictor," said Loos, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York. She noted that in one test of the score's predictive power, only 58 of the 371 subjects scoring in the top 10 percent ended up severely obese. And many other severely obese people didn't score in the top 10 percent, she said. Simply asking about family history of obesity would probably work better, she said. The large role of lifestyle in obesity means a purely gene-based predictor will never be perfect, she said. Kathiresan, a cardiologist, said the risk score is best seen as a risk indicator, like high cholesterol. Most people with high cholesterol don't get heart attacks, he said, but they do run a higher risk than others. Jason Boardman of the University of Colorado Boulder said genetic variants might affect body size indirectly, through an impact on lifestyles or other social and behavioral traits. Other research suggests the effect of genes on size depends on what kind of social and physical environment a person lives in, including such factors as access to unhealthy foods, he said in an email. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

SOLUTION: Study: Genetic test predicts middle-aged obesity risk.

PROBLEM: "This pandemic is not only a public health crisis, it is also fueling an economic crisis the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression," Hancock said at a news conference. Denver has seen steep declines in sales, lodging and other taxes since the pandemic hit Colorado two months ago, and the state is still under a safer-at-home order that has placed restrictions on businesses. City leaders say the drop in tax revenue is affecting the fund that pays for police and fire services, as well as street maintenance. American cities, from Puyallup, Washington, to Miramar, Florida, have also furloughed employees to save money in the face of dire economic forecasts. In April, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a spending plan he called "a document of our pain" that includes service cuts and furloughs for nearly 16,000 workers. Under the proposal, city employees would take 26 furlough days, the equivalent of a 10% pay cut, in the coming year. The spending reductions in Los Angeles are likely to be a sign of what's to come at city halls across the nation, as jobless lines grow and local treasuries see steep drops in tax revenue. Denver's planned furloughs, which do not apply to uniformed employees like firefighters, police officers and sheriff's deputies, will save the city about $16 million. The city also is reducing travel, hiring and purchases, and it is asking departments to cut 7.5% from their budgets. About 3,000 of Denver's 12,000 employees are uniformed workers. "I want everyone to know that we have worked to exhaust every other tool we had before taking this step," said Hancock, who repeated his call for lawmakers to include cities in the next federal stimulus package. "The reality is this: If cities can't recover, there will be no national recovery," he said. Brendan Hanlon, the city's chief financial officer, said he thought the fallout from the 2008-2009 Great Recession was astonishing, but the current crisis will be harder to address. "I could have never imagined seeing the numbers that we're seeing right now and the gravity that it means to the services that we provide to the public every day here in Denver," he said. The city last instituted furloughs in 2011. A survey by the National League of Cities found nearly universal agreement that cities would be hit hard by revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus outbreak, and in many cases furloughs and layoffs would be used to close budget gaps.

SOLUTION: Denver to furlough thousands of workers amid coronavirus.

PROBLEM: "I could not go to the DRC (Congo) without coming to meet the brave inhabitants of this beautiful territory," U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said. "There are major concerns about health. There is measles, malaria, cholera and now the terrible drama of Ebola. We are fully on the side of the Congolese people to try to meet all these challenges." Guterres also pledged the U.N. peacekeeping forces' support with the armed forces of Congo in the fight against extremism "that is threatening not only Congo but Africa and the world." He is on a three-day trip to Congo. He stopped in Goma earlier and on Monday will meet with Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi. "It is important for the people of Beni to know that we have heard their cries of distress. The United Nations as a whole is committed to supporting the Congolese authorities, local communities and civil society actors in the fight against insecurity," he said while in Beni, adding that he will discuss these issues when he visits Kinshasa on Monday. Guterres' trip comes as Ebola cases are about the topple 3,000 along with nearly 2,000 deaths in eastern Congo since the outbreak was declared a year ago. Health authorities have faced major challenges trying to stem the spread of the disease amid insecurity and mistrust from communities. Traumatized by Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces rebels since October 2014, residents of Beni say they do not trust the U.N. peacekeepers, who they say have done little to protect them from rebel attacks. The region is home to numerous rebel groups vying for control of the mineral-rich land. "Imagine rebels attacking in the evening but we try to call MONUSCO but they arrive in the morning with cameras," said Nzanu Nzoli a former resident of the town of Eringeti who traveled to Beni to flee the attacks. "The visit of Antonio Guterres will not change the current state of our situation in Beni because before him we had already received the promises of the Congolese government and the U.N. ... But it will soon be five years without action. ... Nothing will change." Others in the area said a visit from the head of the U.N. could boost military operations. "I believe that with his visit ... Antonio Guterres will learn about the current situation of the rebels, and the evolution of Ebola. Often he receives reports but he will feel the situation, so I hope for a favorable outcome," said Kambale Mundoleko, an Ebola survivor near Beni in Mangina who lost her entire family. Upon his arrival in Mangina, Guterres visited an Ebola treatment center and also witnessed the unloading of four Ebola patients.

SOLUTION:
UN chief visits Congo Ebola region, pledging support.