Nobel for quantum "parlour trick" that could make super computers.

Explanation: A French and an American scientist won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for finding ways to measure quantum particles without destroying them, which could make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more powerful than any seen before.

Serge Haroche of France and American David Wineland, both 68, found ways to manipulate the very smallest particles of matter and light to observe strange behavior that previously could only be imagined in equations and thought experiments. Wineland once described his own work as a “parlour trick” that performed the seemingly magical feat of putting an object in two places at once. Other scientists praised the achievements as bringing to life the wildest dreams of science fiction. “The Nobel laureates have opened the door to a new era of experimentation with quantum physics by demonstrating the direct observation of individual quantum particles without destroying them,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded them the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize. “Perhaps the quantum computer will change our everyday lives in this century in the same radical way as the classical computer did in the last century.”  Haroche said he was walking in the street with his wife when he recognized the Swedish country code on the incoming call to inform him of the award. “I saw the area code 46, then I sat down,” he told reporters in Sweden by telephone. “First I called my children, then I called my closest colleagues, without whom I would never have won this prize,” he said. Asked how he would celebrate, he said: “I will have champagne, of course.”  He told Reuters he hoped the prize would give him a platform “that will allow me to communicate ideas, not just in this field of research but for research in general, fundamental research”. Wineland was asleep at home in Boulder, Colorado, when the phone call from Stockholm arrived before dawn on Tuesday morning, he said at a press conference. (His wife answered.) Physics is the second of this year’s crop of awards; scientists from Britain and Japan shared the first prize on Monday, in medicine, for adult stem cell research. The prizes, which reward achievements in science, literature and peace, were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of Swedish dynamite millionaire Alfred Nobel. “This year’s Nobel Prize recognizes some of the most incredible experimental tests of the weirder aspects of quantum mechanics,” said Jim Al-Khalili, professor of physics at the University of Surrey in Britain. “Until the last decade or two, some of these results were nothing more than ideas in science fiction or, at best, the wilder imaginations of quantum physicists. Wineland and Haroche and their teams have shown just how strange the quantum world really is and opened up the potential for new technologies undreamt of not so long ago.”  Quantum physics studies the behavior of the fundamental building blocks of the universe at a scale smaller than atoms, when tiny particles act in strange ways that can only be described with advanced mathematics. Researchers have long dreamt of building “quantum computers” that would operate using that mathematics - able to conduct far more complicated calculations and hold vastly more data than classical computers. But they could only be built if the behavior of individual particles could be observed. “Single particles are not easily isolated from their surrounding environment, and they lose their mysterious quantum properties as soon as they interact with the outside world,” the Nobel committee explained. “Through their ingenious laboratory methods Haroche and Wineland, together with their research groups, have managed to measure and control very fragile quantum states, which were previously thought inaccessible for direct observation. The new methods allow them to examine, control and count the particles.”  Both scientists work in the field of quantum optics, studying the fundamental interactions between light and matter. The Nobel committee said they used opposite approaches to the same problem: Wineland uses light particles - or photons - to measure and control particles of matter - electrons - while Haroche uses electrons to control and measure photons. In one of the strange properties of quantum mechanics, tiny particles act as if they are simultaneously in two locations, based on the likelihood that they would be found at either, known as a “superposition.”  It was long thought that it would be impossible to demonstrate this in a lab. But Wineland’s “parlour trick” was to hit an atom with laser light, which according to quantum theory had a 50 percent chance of moving it, and observe the atom at two different locations, 80 billionths of a meter apart. In a normal computer, a switch must either be on or off. A quantum computer would work with switches that, like the particles in Wineland’s experiment, behaved as if they were in more than one position at the same time. An example is a computer trying to work out the shortest route around town for a travelling salesman. A traditional computer might try every possible route and then choose the shortest. A quantum computer could do the calculation in one step, as if the salesman travelled each route simultaneously. Wineland is a dedicated experimentalist, not bothered by the bizarre philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, such as the notion that reality does not exist until an observer measures it. “You can find debate on this, but I’m not sure we’re so special in the universe” as to have the power to bring reality into being, he told Reuters. His realism extends to applications of his work. “I wouldn’t recommend anybody buy stock in a quantum computing company,” Wineland told reporters, but he said he was optimistic that it might be possible to build one eventually. He plans to be part of the quest. Asked if his science career was nearing an end, he said he had no plans to retire “until they drag me out of here for being too old”. ($1 = 6.6125 Swedish crowns)


Princeton revising polices over mental health disabilities.

Explanation: Federal law enforcement officials have reached an agreement with Princeton University to resolve concerns about the school’s treatment of students with mental health disabilities.

Health, New Jersey, Mental health, Princeton University

The deal announced Monday by the Justice Department and federal prosecutors in New Jersey also involves Princeton’s policies regarding requests for reasonable modifications, withdrawals and leaves of absences. Princeton will revise its policies to explicitly describe what accommodations students with disabilities may request and how those requests will be evaluated. It also will revise the websites for its disability services and dean of undergraduate students offices to direct students to relevant policies and procedures for requesting reasonable accommodations. Princeton also will provide annual training — focusing on mental health disability discrimination — for faculty and staff responsible for evaluating and/or deciding reasonable accommodations requests from students.


Clout-chasing teenagers are participating in the "coronavirus challenge" on TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms, sharing attempts to infect themselves and contract COVID-19.

Explanation: Is a ‘Coronavirus Challenge’ on Social Media Prompting Teens to Infect Themselves With COVID-19?

Amid wall-to-wall reporting on a novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in late March 2020, articles breathlessly claimed that a “coronavirus challenge” or “COVID-19 challenge” was spreading on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, inciting innumerable teenagers to attempt to contract the virus for internet clout.West Virginia outlet WSAZ’s March 25 2020 “Social media challenge has teens trying to get COVID-19” followed what has become a template among local news stations about purported “social media challenges” and “teen challenges,” most of which are prima facie nonsense.According to the article (and reporting like it), social media challenges were motivation enough to cause dangerous behavior in teenagers — in this case, licking doorknobs and floors to contract COVID-19. Inevitably, the articles begin with the outlet simply claiming that teenagers are engaging in the purported social media challenge of the day, typically without any presented evidence anyone is actually doing the thing they claim is happening:A new social media challenge could have your child licking different public objects to possibly get the coronavirus.The “Coronavirus Challenge” is circulating on the social media platform, TikTok and has led users to put their tongue on public toilets, doorknobs, grocery store carts and more.It’s easy to get the impression outlets cannot easily substantiate the claims, in part because they rarely include any evidence anyone is doing a “coronavirus challenge” or “COVID-19 challenge.” In these reports, after a few sentences describing the purported parameters of the challenge (licking “different public objects to possibly get the coronavirus”) and not explaining why teenagers might want to contract COVID-19, outlets immediately quote adults who state the obvious — that it would be “stupid” to try and purposely catch a novel coronavirus amid a global pandemic:“I’m just thinking, kids are really stupid,” Doug McGowan said. “They don’t understand the implications of what that could do to somebody. They may be immune to it or not showing signs of a problem, but they could take it home and infect their parents if they get it, and their parents could take it and infect somebody else.”McGowan said children might think they can’t get COVID-19 because a majority of the severe cases are in older patients with preexisting conditions. He also said there is a lot of misinformation about the virus on the internet that people could believe.“You will see one site and it will say this is good for you and you will see another site and it will say this is bad for you,” McGowan said. “You really don’t know what to believe. I try to watch the news and see what the doctor recommendations are.”Are teens “really stupid,” or are the adults taking the claims at face value in fact behaving stupidly? No one ever seems to ask why a teenager or person of any age would want to risk suffering or death (or lick a doorknob in a public location during a pandemic), and outlets and the people they consult never seem to engage in critical thinking.WSAZ consulted a person named Doug McGowan, who opined that young people might feel immune to COVID-19 or complications of it, citing misinformation on the internet and — ironically — badly sourced claims causing confusion. But if McGowan was a public health authority, a social media expert, or anything other than a random person off the street, WSAZ didn’t bother to explain or clarify why his position on doorknob licking during the coronavirus pandemic was newsworthy. The article just went on to quote a Dr. Sherri Young on well-known recommendations to avoid COVID-19:“When we are doing things in our community, we have to do them very intelligently, so bring your wipes with you, bring your hand sanitizer with you,” Young said. “If you are touching things on a shelf or using that shopping cart, wipe that cart down before you go to the store.” “If you are sick, have someone else go get your groceries,” Young continued. “That is a really good moral responsibility right there, if you are sick have someone else go out and get that grocery shopping done for you.”WSAZ added that TikTok responded with a blanket statement about removing videos potentially harmful to public health from its platform. TikTok did not validate claims that its users were actually licking public objects as part of a “coronavirus challenge” en masse:It is a violation of our Community Guidelines, which prohibits content that encourages, promotes or glorifies dangerous challenges that might lead to injury.Numerous outlets reported on video of a person — one person — who is seen licking a toilet seat before saying “coronavirus challenge.” That clip featured a single Instagram user and generated reams of coverage in “trending” news, but it was not anywhere close to evidence anyone but that one individual licked anything and called it a COVID-19 or coronavirus challenge:WTF!! Really!! Licking toilets now!! pic.twitter.com/C2iaRHxHHa— Gabe Slaybaugh (@GabrielSlaybau1) March 23, 2020At least one other user, a young woman, also licked a toilet seat and called it a “coronavirus challenge.” As for why either of those social media users engaged in the stunts, the second user shed light on why media outlets ought to avoid feeding claims of the sort:In a subsequent clip, [Eva] Louise reassured her viewers that she was “totally fine” and that she has yet to be infected with Covid-19.In a separate Instagram story, Ms Louise said that she had posted the TikTok video so as to be featured on news outlet CNN, adding that she had “cloroxed” the toilet seat prior to licking it.She then claimed to have made US$4,000 (S$5,690) over her viral stunt.To recap, the second person disinfected a toilet seat, licked it, and then slapped a “coronavirus challenge” label on the video. She stated outright her goal was to be featured on CNN, and further claimed that successfully gaming the media had earned her $4,000.Like Louise, the second toilet-licking Instagrammer racked up a bit of engagement with his “coronavirus challenge” stunt. British tabloids snapped into action, publishing dire warnings about how people “could die” if they licked toilet seats — giving the one or two Instagram and TikTok user more of the engagement they craved:Shocking videos have emerged showing influencers across different platforms performing the stunt, despite official advice urging the public to follow a variety of health measures to stop the killer pandemic’s spread. One influencer, who Metro.co.uk has chosen not to name, appears to have started the ‘challenge’ on TikTok, by licking what seems to be an airplane toilet seat while a man sings ‘its corona time’ in the background. Asked why she did it, she told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was tired of that bitch corona getting more publicity than ME. I’m the real celebrity.’Predictably, within days, the same person (Larz) was back, claiming that he had tested positive for COVID-19 as a consequence of licking a toilet seat:I got diagnosed with Coronavirus 😥A post shared by  LARZ (@larz) on Mar 25, 2020 at 6:27pm PDTCalling the supposed “coronavirus challenge” a “craze,” the New York Post and other tabloids reported Larz’s Instagram video as if it were verified news. The Sun added Twitter commentary from Piers Morgan, and covered the unverified claim that Larz had contracted COVID-19 as if it were necessarily true:[Larz] turned to the camera at one point and said: “coronavirus challenge.” He has reportedly since become ill.“I think this is called karma – he’s got coronavirus,” Morgan said on Good Morning Britain, according to The Mirror. Morgan also questioned why this “moron” is being treated. “He should be in jail, not taking up a vital hospital bed,” the commentator tweeted.Fame-hungry social media users were far from the only culprits in the spread of “coronavirus challenge” disinformation. Even as those users openly admitted their motivations were attention and money (in that order), credulous outlets reported on their TikTok and Instagram posts, throwing in a few “reportedlys” and “allegedlys” in place of actual verification of claims to further feed into the cycle — as social media platforms benefited handsomely from all the “engagement.”The COVID-19 pandemic was not the first time “influencers” trolled the media, nor was it the first time that news organizations ginned up imaginary challenges to create an engagement frenzy. The Blue Whale challenge, the #DontJudgeMe Challenge, the “Charlie Charlie” challenge, and the Momo challenge were all widely covered when they went viral.The Momo challenge in particular was driven by click-seeking media outlets, attracting news covering in the same way ancient urban legends (like razor blades on slides) converts folklore ostension into news:In this example, individuals who heard and believed the referenced urban legend felt it important to “raise awareness” of the purported risk described in unfounded circulating urban legends. To do so, they falsely claimed to be party to or even be perpetrating incidents of the legend, thereby lending credence to an otherwise untrue — but popular — story. As is often the case, once a frightening urban legend reaches critical mass, people will begin to “act it out,” or else claim they participated in an event or know someone who did because they truly believed it would help others take the claims seriously.There were also fairly harmless but widely-covered efforts like the broom challenge, and attempts to leverage virality for the greater good, like the 100 Million Masks Challenge to bolster PPE during the coronavirus pandemic. Although tabloids and figures like Piers Morgan weren’t immune to boosting “good” viral stories like the PPE-related challenge we linked, they seemed to prefer wasting airtime and engagement on a non-existent stories about teenagers’ tendencies to go out and lick things.We’d also like to note that while numerous outlets reported that Larz got COVID-19 from licking a toilet seat, none seemed to include Centers for Disease Control information about likelihood of coronavirus transmission.The CDC explains:Spread from contact with contaminated surfaces or objects[:] It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.Person-to-person spread The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). • Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. • These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.Following on from that, it seemed the chance someone was infected from licking a toilet seat seems fairly small.But once again, instead of reporting useful information about COVID-19, tabloids chose to focus on a debatably fake “coronavirus challenge” rumor; the CDC indicated that the virus was far less likely to be transmitted across surfaces than between people. Many reported that one toilet-licker fell ill based solely on their unreliable word, while the first “coronavirus challenge” creator said flat-out she did it to get on CNN and added that it had netted her at least USD$4,000.


According to (Barack) Obama’s newest unconstitutionally enacted law, health care professionals are now required to violate HIPAA privacy laws and submit medical data to the government," which is "then used as justification for gun confiscation.

National, Health Care, Privacy Issues, Guns, Mr. Conservative,

Three of the biggest hot buttons in politics these days are health care, privacy and guns. Put all three of them together and you get an explosive claim. A reader recently asked us to look into a blog post at the website Mr. Conservative, with the provocative headline, "Obama Quietly Uses Executive Orders For Two New Gun Control Laws." "Just a few weeks ago," the post said, President Barack Obama "quietly used executive action — one of his new favorite pastimes — that has got gun owners’ feathers in a ruffle. According to Obama’s newest unconstitutionally enacted law, health care professionals are now required to violate HIPAA privacy laws and submit medical data to the government. The illegally obtained data is then used as justification for gun confiscation by the federal government." Mr. Conservative’s claims don’t have to do with Obama’s health care law. Obamacare explicitly bars the collection of information about "the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition" or the maintenance of "records of individual ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition." Rather, at issue is a proposed rule that would clarify some currently murky interpretations of privacy restrictions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which set limits on who can share and receive private health information about individuals. The provision cited in the blog post is designed to make clear that state authorities are allowed to share certain information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is used to screen potential gun purchasers. Under existing federal law, several factors can prevent someone from buying a gun. Most of these have to do with law-enforcement issues, such as a prior felony conviction or a record of domestic abuse. Another one -- the one that’s important for this discussion because it intersects with the health care system -- is involuntary commitment to a mental institution. The instant background check system is supposed to streamline the process of gun purchasing by quickly weeding out those who cannot legally buy a gun. But such a system is only as good as the databases it’s linked to. If someone is ineligible to purchase a gun but their information didn’t get into the right database, then the background check won’t stop the purchase. Several analyses have shown that these databases are far from complete. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, privacy is a key reason cited by states that haven’t provided data about involuntary commitments. The federal government’s argument is that these states are being needlessly cautious. The government says the kind of data being sought for background checks isn’t subject to HIPAA’s privacy restrictions. The HHS proposal would explicitly clarify that point. Let’s take a look at the claim phrase by phrase. • It’s an "unconstitutionally enacted law." Like the old-timey drink known as an egg cream -- which includes neither egg nor cream -- this provision isn’t a law, it isn’t enacted yet and it’s not unconstitutional. A law is a bill passed by Congress and signed by the president; that doesn’t describe this provision. Nor is it an "executive order," the term used in the headline. Executive orders are directives written and personally signed by the president. Instead, it’s an administrative regulation. Specifically, it’s a notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, it’s a policy proposal emerging from a federal agency, with a specified public comment period before the agency decides whether to enact it -- or scrap it. So while it’s fair to say the Obama administration is behind it, it would be incorrect to say it’s already "enacted." It’s currently in the comment phase, and it may not ever be enacted. As for "unconstitutional," the Supreme Court, for one, doesn’t consider the regulatory process to be problematic constitutionally. "Some people do question the constitutionality of the administrative state, but as far as the Supreme Court is concerned, it's been settled law for almost 100 years that Congress can delegate rulemaking authority to federal agencies," said Kermit Roosevelt, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. • "Health care professionals are now required to violate HIPAA privacy laws to submit medical data to the government" The information reportable to NICS doesn’t concern physicians’ medical records about diagnoses of mental illness, prescriptions, or treatment recommendations. Rather, the relevant information for gun-buying purposes -- and thus for providing data to NICS -- are decisions by "a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority." As HHS put it when it released the proposed rule, "Seeking help for mental health problems or getting treatment does not make someone legally prohibited from having a firearm, and nothing in this proposed rule changes that. Furthermore, nothing in this proposed rule would require reporting on general mental health visits or other routine mental health care, or exempt providers solely performing these treatment services from existing privacy rules." Importantly, HHS added that "the proposed modifications would merely permit, and not require, covered entities to report to the NICS." That directly conflicts with the blog post’s claim. So, let’s recap: "Health care professionals" is misleading -- it’s courts, boards and commissions, not doctors, who would be submitting to NICS. "Are now" is wrong because, as we noted, this is a proposal and is not in force yet. "Required" is wrong because state entities would be able to submit to NICS, but would not be required to do so. "To violate HIPAA privacy laws" is at best misleading because HIPAA already didn’t block the transfer of this kind of data; the proposed rule simply makes that point extra clear. And "to submit medical data to the government" is misleading because only involuntary commitment data is sought by NICS, not detailed treatment records. • It’s "justification for gun confiscation" The idea that Obama wants to take away Americans’ guns is a durable one among his critics. But it’s unclear the extent to which the HHS proposal would make this scenario more likely. On the surface, all NICS does is prevent ineligible people from newly purchasing a gun. It says nothing about taking away the guns they already own. But if someone is unable to purchase a gun, it also means they’re unable to own a gun. The question is how aggressively this is enforced. Critics of the proposal say that increasing the flow of mental-health information to NICS could promote rise in confiscation. If enacted, the proposal "would make it clear that the ATF and other federal agencies could troll this database for persons with Alzheimer's, PTSD, ADHD, etc.," said Michael Hammond, legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, a group that has been critical of the HHS proposal. In the group’s official comments to HHS on the proposal, it cited a letter from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that says that 140,000 veterans have been added to the NICS list over the years. Coburn and Gun Owners of America say too many of these veterans are being caught up in the dragnet. In addition, California in 2013 passed a law that allocated $24 million to enforce the confiscation of firearms from people who are not allowed to own them, using a variety of databases; about 30 percent of these people were mentally ill. While NICS only accepts into its database the official determinations of mental incompetency, Hammond warned that there’s no universal standard for incompetency determinations. They may be "made with little more than a psychiatric diagnosis and perhaps a star-chamber proceeding, in which a supposedly incompetent person is deemed competent to have waived all of his or her rights," Hammond said. "This would mean that the names of persons who had received little due process" might find their information newly added to NICS, leaving them open to confiscation. But even if these are legitimate concerns, others don’t see the HIPAA proposal as a harbinger of massive gun confiscations. Mark Heyrman, professor at the University of Chicago Law School, called any kind of large-scale gun confiscation effort based on the HHS action "implausible." Jay Corzine, a sociologist who studies gun policy at the University of Central Florida, agreed, saying the proposal strikes a "reasonable" balance. Federal law "proscribes possession of a firearm by persons in these groups and could conceivably lead to seizure of firearms owned prior to their change in status," he said. "This currently occurs in selected situations -- domestic violence cases in some states for example. Not very many people would be impacted, however, and the idea that this is the opening move in a planned campaign for large-scale gun confiscation is far-fetched at best." Our ruling The post we’re checking said that, "according to (Barack) Obama’s newest unconstitutionally enacted law, health care professionals are now required to violate HIPAA privacy laws and submit medical data to the government," which is "then used as justification for gun confiscation." The elements of this claim range from misleading to flat-out wrong. The one area of reasonable concern is that some jurisdictions may lack full due process for declaring someone mentally incompetent, potentially putting some people at risk of seeing their guns confiscated. But this depends on how proactively the authorities enforce gun laws. Experts say widespread gun confiscation is implausible. The rule isn’t a law, it isn’t enacted and it isn’t unconstitutional according to Supreme Court jurisprudence. It isn’t a requirement, and it doesn’t involve routine diagnostic data compiled by "health care professionals" such as doctors.


Mike Coffman Says state Sen. Morgan Carroll's votes made "it easier to sue doctors, small businesses, even nurses. Putting her own shady interests first.

Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman pulls no punches in an ad accusing his Democratic opponent,  Morgan Carroll, of using her role as a state senator to benefit her "shady interests" as a trial lawyer. "Meet Morgan Carroll, state senator, who’s also Morgan Carroll, personal injury lawyer," the narrator says in the ad that aired Sept. 20. "Morgan Carroll the lawyer has worked for some of the sleaziest firms in the state. And they love frivolous lawsuits." The ad shows photos of Carroll on billboards next to slimy-looking lawyers. The narrator says the state senator’s votes resulted in "making it easier to sue doctors, small businesses, even nurses. Putting her own shady interests first." Coffman’s radio version of the ad goes further, accusing Carroll of "using her position in the state Senate to line her own pockets" and speaking about an "odor of corruption," the Denver Post reported. We took a hard look at Coffman’s TV ad claim that Carroll's votes resulted in "making it easier to sue doctors, small businesses, even nurses"to serve her "shady interests." Carroll became an attorney in 2000, and spent the first decade of her career working with her mother. Their firm mostly represented clients with disabilities, Carroll campaign spokesman Drew Godinich told PolitiFact. In an ad of her own, Carroll recalls that she was a girl when her dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and she watched him get sicker as medical costs wiped out his retirement savings. "It's why I've dedicated my career to fighting for people with disabilities, helping people stay in their homes and receive the care they need," she says. More recently, Carroll worked for two big personal injury law firms whose TV commercials are well-known to Coloradans. She spent two years at the Sawaya Law Firm, then moved to Bachus & Schanker. The Bachus & Schanker website says, "Morgan Carroll specializes in representing people in personal injury, Workers' Compensation, Social Security Disability and employment law." Godinich said Carroll primarily was doing legal research at the firm until about four months ago when she took time off to devote herself to the race against Coffman for Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, a crescent-ring of Denver suburbs. The Coffman ad focuses on two bills Carroll worked on. One of them is the Good Samaritans in Health Care Act of 2006, which Coffman says Carroll opposed to make it "easier to sue"doctors and nurses. The Republican-sponsored bill granted immunity from civil liability to doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who volunteer at free medical clinics to help people in need. The Coffman ad is misleading. Carroll, who at the time was a House member, voted against the bill in committee after she and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association raised concerns that the proposed immunity was too broad and could shield a medical professional when a patient was harmed by gross negligence. However, Carroll voted for the bill after it was amended on the floor to grant immunity to medical volunteers from civil liability when an "act or omission of a volunteer" resulted in injury, except in cases of gross negligence, reckless misconduct and even violent crimes -- acts that would prevent a volunteer from receiving immunity under the federal Volunteer Protection Act. Ultimately, Carroll supported passage of the law that made it harder -- not easier -- to sue volunteer doctors, nurses and other health-medical professionals -- unless there was evidence of gross negligence. Coffman’s claim that Carroll made it easier to sue small businesses, refers to the "Job Protection and Civil Rights Enforcement Act of 2013. "Carroll was a primary sponsor of the bill. State law already allowed someone who prevailed in a complaint about employment discrimination or unfair employment practices before the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to sue for back pay, future pay, or to be reinstated or hired if they were improperly fired or denied a job. Carroll’s bill allowed victims of employment discrimination who win a lawsuit to also receive compensatory and punitive damages in cases where it was proved an employer engaged in intentional discrimination. In addition, the bill allowed an employee to be awarded attorney’s fees and costs. But if a judge found a lawsuit was frivolous -- or unjustified -- the court could award attorney’s fees and costs to the employer. The bill capped the maximum compensatory and punitive damages at $10,000 for a business with fewer than five employees, and $25,000 for an employer with five to 14 workers, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Council’s fiscal analysis. The bill and the Legislative Council noted that while federal antidiscrimination laws allow compensatory and punitive damages, those laws don’t protect workers who are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or if their employer has fewer than 15 employees. Carroll’s state bill allowed people to seek the increased damages when their employer had less than 15 employees or there was discrimination based on sexual orientation. So the legislation, which became law, didn’t make it "easier to sue" small businesses -- people could already do that -- but it did allow people the opportunity to win greater financial damages. What about Coffman’s accusation that Carroll engaged in a conflict of interest by voting on bills that financially benefited her work as a trial lawyer? We checked the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission’s records and found no evidence of an ethics complaint having been made against Carroll. The Legislature’s ethics rules state that a lawmaker has a personal or financial interest in legislation "if the passage or failure of such bill, measure, or question will result in the member deriving a direct financial or pecuniary benefit that is greater than any such benefit derived by or shared by other persons in the member's profession, occupation, industry, or region." But a lawmaker will not be deemed to have a personal or financial interest in a bill that "affects the entire membership of a class to which the member belongs." In a part-time "citizen legislature" like Colorado’s, this generally allows a doctor/lawmaker to vote on a health care bill, a teacher to vote on an educational bill, and a builder to vote on a construction bill. Our ruling Coffman says Carroll’s votes on state legislation made "it easier to sue doctors, small businesses, even nurses. Putting her own shady interests first." Carroll voted in committee against a bill to grant immunity from civil liability to doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who volunteer at free medical clinics. But Carroll voted for the bill after it was amended on the floor to shield most medical volunteers from lawsuits — except in cases of gross negligence. Carroll did sponsor and vote for an anti-employment discrimination bill that didn’t make it easier to sue small businesses, because existing law already allowed such suits. But her bill did allow for the awarding of compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees against employers of all sizes, including small businesses. Coffman accuses Carroll, who has worked as a lawyer handling disability, employment, workers’ compensation and personal injury cases, of being sleazy and shady with conflicts of interest. But there's no evidence she violated state ethics laws.


Beta-Propiolactone is in vaccines and is known to cause cancer, suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory, skin and sense organ poison. It may be present in trace amounts of some vaccines. It is potentially carcinogenic, but only in much larger amounts than would be in a vaccine. The antibiotics gentamicin sulfate and polymyxin b are in vaccines and can cause allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Traces of these antibiotics can end up in certain vaccines, but would only cause a reaction in someone severely allergic. Genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA in vaccines can be incorporated into the recipient’s DNA causing unknown genetic mutations. Modified DNA can be used in the production of some vaccines, but is very unlikely to end up in the final product. Even if it did, there’s no evidence it can cause mutations. Glutaraldehyde is in vaccines and is poisonous if ingested and causes birth defects in animals. There are trace amounts in some vaccines from manufacturing, and not enough to cause harm. Formaldehyde is in vaccines and causes cancer in humans among other issues and is banned from vaccines in most European countries. It’s not banned in Europe. There are only trace amounts in certain vaccines and not enough to be carcinogenic. Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions. Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone’s strongly allergic to it. Human and animal cells from sources like aborted foetuses are in vaccines and are linked to childhood leukaemia and diabetes. They may be used in certain vaccines’ production, but are unlikely to make it to the final product. Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism. Thiomersal isn’t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical. MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe. It’s not banned in Europe. It’s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There’s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans. Neomycin sulphate, an antibiotic, is in vaccines and can lead to epilepsy, brain damage and allergic reactions. Trace amounts of this antibiotic may end up in certain vaccines. If you are allergic to it could cause an allergic reaction. Phenol / phenoxyethanol is in vaccines and is used as antifreeze. It is toxic to all cells and can destroy the immune system. These chemicals have been used in vaccines as preservatives. They are not in antifreeze. Polysorbate 80 and 20 are in vaccines and cause cancer in animals and are linked to autoimmune issues and infertility. Tiny amounts of Polysorbate 80 is in a type of flu vaccine. There isn’t evidence ingesting it is linked to these issues in humans. Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system. We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK. Claim 1 of 14


If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold. These are the symptoms for the common cold, but they don’t rule out Covid-19. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose. Some Covid-19 patients do get pneumonia, and one of the symptoms is a dry cough. A runny nose doesn’t rule out Covid-19. The new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun. There’s no evidence for this. There’s evidence that similar viruses transmit less well in the heat, but many countries with reported Covid-19 cases are experiencing temperatures higher than this. If someone with the new coronavirus sneezes, it travels about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne. Environmental factors impact how far droplets from a sneeze can travel, but it is likely to be several metres. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap. It’s not yet known exactly how long the virus survives on surfaces. It can survive for 6-12 hours on fabric and will be killed by normal laundry detergent . There’s no evidence the virus can survive in clothing and be transmitted this way. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice. There’s no evidence that the temperature of liquids consumed can protect you from viruses. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes. There is no evidence yet on how long the virus can survive on the skin. But it is important to regularly wash your hands. You should gargle as a prevention with salt in warm water. There’s no evidence this will prevent or cure the virus. Covid-19 starts with a sore throat lasting 3-4 days. It then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and the lungs, causing pneumonia, which takes about 5 or 6 days. With pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty breathing. The nasal congestion makes you feel like you’re drowning. This is a roughly accurate description of the most common symptoms, although not everyone with Covid-19 gets pneumonia. The symptoms may not come in this order or at these times. There have been no reports of sufferers experiencing nasal congestion that makes them feel they are drowning. Claim 1 of 11


Baby illness can be scanned in mother's blood: study.

Explanation: Parents may soon be able to find out if their unborn child is prone to any inherited diseases, researchers said on Thursday, after developing a non-invasive technique to draw the entire gene map of the human fetus.

A nurse takes care of a newly born baby inside a nursery station at a government Fabella hospital in Manila October 1, 2010. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco By analyzing a sample of the mother’s blood, which contains DNA from the fetus, scientists in Hong Kong and the United States were able to identify all the DNA strands that belong to the child and piece them together. “Before this work, people only could look for one disease at one time but now you can construct a screen for a number of diseases which are prevalent in any particular population,” said lead author Dennis Lo, professor of medicine from the Chinese University in Hong Kong. The research team’s breakthrough was discovering that the mother’s plasma holds the entire foetal genome. Previously, only part of the baby’s DNA was thought to be in the mother’s blood. “Now that we know (the) entire foetal genome is in there, you can look for any disease that is genetically inherited.”   The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on Thursday, recruited a couple undergoing prenatal diagnosis for a hereditary blood disorder, beta-thalassemia. “In the mother’s blood, 90 percent of the DNA is her own ... and 10 percent is the baby’s. Half of the foetal genome is from father and half from mother,” Lo said. The team found the fetus inherited a beta-thalassemia mutant gene from the father, meaning the baby was a carrier of the disease. Lo described the process as akin to putting together a jigsaw puzzle with millions of pieces — only in this case, 10 times as many pieces from a much larger jigsaw were mixed in with it too. “The whole genome is fragmented into millions of pieces and by this exercise, we assemble it back,” Lo said. “It’s like assembling a jigsaw puzzle with millions of pieces. But to make it more challenging, you mix in 10 times (the number of pieces) from another jigsaw puzzle, that’s the mother’s own DNA. And you are trying to assemble the child’s.”   Experts who were not involved in the study called for caution. “It is too early to apply the technology widely as we are not yet able to interpret many of the results that can be generated accurately,” said Christine Patch, chair of the British Society for Human Genetics. “We do not randomly test pregnancies for a long list of ... conditions that may only manifest in adult life on the basis that individuals may not want to know that information when they are older.”


Sen. Harry Reid voted "against declaring English our national language, twice.

Explanation: Sharron Angle says Sen. Harry Reid twice voted against making English the national language

Immigration, National, Message Machine 2010, Sharron Angle,

The Sharron Angle campaign calls its ad"The Wave." But you may know it as the ad that prompted Joy Behar of ABC's The View to say: "I'd like to see her do this ad in the south Bronx. Come here, b----. Come to New York and do it." Condemned in some Democratic and Hispanic circles as"racist,"the ad portrays Angle's opponent in the Nevada Senate race, Harry Reid, as a friend to illegal immigrants. Here's the text of the ad: "Waves of illegal aliens streaming across our border joining violent gangs, forcing families to live in fear. And what is Harry Reid doing about it? Voting to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits, tax breaks and college tuition, voting against declaring English our national language twice and even siding with Obama and the president of Mexico to block Arizona's tough new immigration law. Harry Reid....it's clear whose side he's on, and it's not yours." In a fact-check of a previouscampaign ad, we dealt with Angle's claims that Reid voted to give illegal immigrants Social Security benefits (Barely ) and special tax breaks (False). Here, we're checking the claim that Reid voted against "declaring English our national language, twice." During a big push for a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2006, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., proposed an amendment (S.AMDT.4064) "to declare English as the national language of the United States and to promote the patriotic integration of prospective U.S. citizens." The amendment would have required all official government functions, including steps toward citizenship, to be conducted in English. It also sought to establish that there is no entitlement to receive federal documents or services in languages other than English, unless required by law. Arguing for the amendment, Inhofe said providing multilingual assistance costs the government more than $1 billion per year. Under the Inhofe's proposal, immigrants seeking to become permanent legal residents would have had to prove they had learned English. Reid made an impassioned speech from the Senate floor on May 18, 2006, denouncing the bill as "racist" and "divisive." Here's a sampling of some of his comments to give you a flavor of Reid's position:  -- "While the intent may not be there, I really believe this amendment is racist. I think it is directed basically to people who speak Spanish." -- "I think we should make sure that people who are 911 operators can immediately switch to somebody who can speak Spanish." -- "Today, as I speak, the language of America is English. We want people to integrate, to learn English, but they need tools to do this no matter what their native language. This amendment takes some of those tools away, and we need all of those tools." -- "The fastest growing component of adult education in America today is English as a second language. This will slow that down. This amendment impacts English speakers, reporting of crimes, reporting of diseases, involvement in commerce. Next, is it going to impact upon the right to vote?" -- "This amendment is divisive. We should be here to unify our country, not divide it by ethnicity or language differences. I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. Everyone who speaks with an accent knows that they need to learn English as fast as they can. Success in America means the ability to speak English. That is the way it is now. We don’t need this amendment. Speaking English is critical to the functioning of anyone in our country. It is the language of our government, of our nation, and as I have indicated before, air traffic controllers and diplomacy. This amendment, I believe, is unconstitutional. It raises serious concerns that American citizens could lose some of their rights." -- "This amendment directly conflicts with several provisions of federal law, I believe, that guarantee the right of non-English-speaking students to learn English in our public schools." -- "This amendment conflicts with provisions of federal law that require language materials or assistance to be provided to voters in some areas of non-English languages, where there is evidence of educational discrimination resulting in high illiteracy and low registration turnout." -- "There has been substantial evidence of harassment, intimidation, even violence against language minority voters. This provision makes a blatant violation of the 14th and 15th amendments and criminal provisions of the Voting Rights Act more likely to occur." -- "By the very terms of this amendment, persons accused of crimes would be denied the ability, I believe, to receive information material in their native language to assist in their own defense. This clearly violates the due process clause of the fifth amendment of our Constitution." -- "I have talked about public health. This amendment will stand in the way of efforts made to facilitate the transmission of vital information necessary for the receipt of health care and public safety, including informed consent by non-English-speaking patients." -- "I hope we reject this amendment. It is bad policy. It is un-American. It turns back the clock on the substantial gains that language minority citizens have made. I hope that there will be a resounding vote against this. I have no problem going home today and telling the people of the State of Nevada: English is the language of America. We are not going to change that with this amendment. This is divisive, it is mean spirited. I think it is the wrong way to go." So tell us how you really feel about the amendment, Senator. Needless to say, Reid voted against it, but with the help of 11 Democrats, the amendment passed 62-35. Interestingly, the Senate also passed a subsequent amendment (S.AMDT.4073) proposed by then Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., "to declare that English is the common and unifying language of the United States, and to preserve and enhance the role of the English language." Reid voted for that amendment, which passed by a vote of 58 to 39. The immigration reform bill did not pass that year, however, and when a second stab at comprehensive immigration reform was undertaken in 2007, Inhofe again proposed an amendment (S.AMDT.1151) "to declare English as the national language of the government of the United States, and for other purposes." Reid again voted against it, though the measure passed 64-33. But that immigration reform bill never came to pass either. To this day, no "official language" exists at the federal level. The bottom line here is that Reid twice voted against amendments to "declare English as the national language of the Government of the United States," even as he voted for an amendment "to declare that English is the common and unifying language of the United States." The ad says Reid twice voted against declaring English our national language. Reid not only voted against the bills, he was quite vocal in his opposition. We rate the ad's claim .


Women "are still paid 82 cents for every dollar a man earns in Texas.

Economy, Women, Workers, Texas, Wendy Davis,

Texas women are paid less than men, Wendy Davis stresses. In a March 10, 2014, tweet, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee pointed out that her Republican opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott, passed up a chance to say whether he would have vetoed a Davis-sponsored measure related to ensuring equal pay for Texas women that didn’t make it into law. Davis, a Fort Worth state senator, wrote: "While @GregAbbott_TX dodges questions on the Texas Equal Pay Act, women are still paid 82 cents for every dollar a man earns in Texas." We’ll leave it to Abbott and Davis to debate the 2013 measure vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. But we wondered: Are Texas women still paid 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man? We found that pay gaps persist, though comparisons can be dicey. Comparing women and men doing 'same' job In August 2013, we rated a related Davis claim: "Texas women make an average of $8,355 less per year than men doing the very same job." That’s not necessarily correct for individuals doing the same job. In 2010, $8,355 was the general gap between median salaries of full-time working Texas men and women, according to federal estimates, and the 2012 gap was nearly $500 less than that. Significantly, the research cited by Davis did not drill down to salaries for men and women doing the same jobs. In contrast, 2013 survey results indicated a $2,000 gap between the median pay for Texas men and women with comparable professional experiences holding the same or similar jobs. Annual U.S. Census Bureau surveys But Davis’ recent "82 cents" claim wasn’t specific to people doing the same jobs. Responding to our request for back-up information, Davis spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña pointed us to an April 2013 "fact sheet" from the National Partnership for Women & Families, an advocacy group for workplace fairness and other issues. The sheet opens: "In Texas, on average, a woman who holds a full-time job is paid $35,301 per year while a man who holds a full-time job is paid $43,160 per year. This means that women in Texas are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $7,859 between men and women who work full time in the state." That statement is footnoted to the one-year American Community Survey undertaken in 2011 by the U.S Census Bureau and a bureau chart indicating median earnings in the past 12 months by sex by work experience for residents 16 and older. These aligned with the partnership’s fact sheet. Latest available estimate Kliner pointed out, too, that comparable results based on the 2012 ACS were posted online by the bureau in September 2013. The 2012 estimates indicate that median earnings for Texas men who worked full time year-round in the past 12 months were $44,802; for Texas women meeting these criteria, median earnings were $35,453 — or 79 cents for every dollar earned by men who worked full time. Because Davis said women "still" earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, we calculated the comparable figure for previous years, according to the bureau’s surveys. We found the comparable figure to be 80 cents in 2006, 2009 and 2010, 79 cents in 2007 and 78 cents in 2008. Separately, we downloaded a bureau chart showing slightly different estimated median earnings for full-time male and female civilian workers in Texas based on the bureau’s 2012 survey. The resulting chart indicated a median wage for full-time working men of--$45,166 for men, $35,518 for women. By this metric, we calculated, civilian full-time female workers in Texas earned an estimated 79 cents for each dollar earned by full-time male workers. In 2011, a bureau chart suggests, the comparable figure was 81 cents. Kliner told us the partnership relies on bureau estimates not limited to civilian workers because it believes that delivers a more complete view of the workforce. "It is also the chart that has been used historically, so it allows for comparisons over time," she wrote. Upshot: The latest available estimate is that Texas women working full time earned 79 cents for every dollar earned by such men in 2012. That was a penny better than in one of the previous six years, the same or a penny less than the result in four of the years and three cents less than the 82 cents estimated for 2011 and relied upon by Davis. Experts note caveats Experts we queried agreed with our math while offering caveats. By email, Lloyd Potter, the state demographer, pointed out that any focus on earnings for full-time workers leaves out part-time workers. Women, he wrote, are more likely to be employed part-time. Still, Potter said, "if we just looked at part-time workers, again, you’d probably find women earn less." In our 2013 fact check, we noted there’s a range of how many hours full-time workers log, and men are more likely than women to be on the job for 41 hours or more per week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because more men work overtime, that should translate into higher earnings for them -- because they are paid more, or because their longer hours lead to more job success -- and contribute to the wage gap. Though more nuanced analysis shows that job differences explain much of the pay gap, experts agree that much of it still cannot be accounted for. That’s where sexism comes in, some say. "Finally," Potter said, "the differential quoted probably is not adjusted for educational attainment or work experience." It is not. "If it were, we’d probably find the differential would shrink (toward equality) as women tend to have less work experience than men though educational attainment is fairly comparable among adults across sex." Austin economist Stuart Greenfield similarly said by email: "In the aggregate, Sen. Davis’ statement is absolutely, positively correct," though he said that "when one controls for work experience, education, and other factors, the earnings’ differential is reduced." National comparisons Greenfield also pointed out a Dec. 2, 2013, Bureau of Labor Statistics press release summarizing median-pay changes among full-time workers over the years: "In Texas, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings trended upward from 1997 to 2004. It then fluctuated from 2005 to 2009 before climbing to a series high of 85.6 percent in 2010. However, in the last two years the Texas women’s to men’s earnings ratio has declined 6.0 percentage points to its lowest level since 2001." According to the 2012 survey results, Texas women fared better compared to men in their state than women in 24 states. Arizona placed first; women working full time earned 87 cents for every dollar earned by men. (For more than a decade, the graph indicates, Texas women fared better than their male counterparts in the state compared to women versus men in the nation as a whole, though conditions dipped in Texas compared to the nation in 2011 and 2012. We asked Cheryl Abbot, a regional economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to speak to why this was so. See her reply here.) Jennifer Lee, a researcher for the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities, which focuses on programs serving low-income Texans, said of the 79-cent pay difference estimate suggested by the 2012 survey: "This is how the ‘wage gap’ is usually calculated. If you expand who you’re looking at to include all employed individuals (whether or not they work full-time or year-round), women earn 71 cents for every dollar that a man earns," Lee said by email. Lee reminded us of a February 2007 paper by Cornell University labor economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn, "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone Far Enough?" The paper states that 53 percent of the gender wage gap stems from variation in job, industry and union status between the genders. According to the paper, major reasons for such wage gaps include: Occupational and industry category (49% of the reason) – Lee said that many women are concentrated in particular occupations. Occupations that are heavily female, such as health care support or personal care and service occupations, tend to pay low wages, she said. For example, home health aides in Texas, who are largely female, earn on average $17,430 per year, Lee said, while women also represent 63% of workers earning minimum-wage or less in Texas. When you break down earnings data by occupation, she said, this gap persists in almost all occupations. Labor Force Experience (10.5%) – A portion of the gap is explained by factors related to work experience, such as interruptions in work for child care, Lee said. Unexplained (41%) – Lee said a large portion of the gap is unexplained by women’s choices. This could be because of conscious or unconscious biases (research shows this is particularly acute against mothers), Lee wrote, while other research shows that different attitudes around wage negotiations may contribute to the gender wage gap. Lee added: "A lot of people see occupational choices and time off from work as women’s choices. And while this is true, I think it’s important to realize that the choices we make are heavily influenced by the environment in which we make choices, the choices that are available, and how those choices are presented. So while it’s true that more women work in low-wage jobs, there may be reasons why women don’t choose to work in some higher-wage occupations. Similarly, mothers may choose to take time off work to care for young children, but perhaps they wouldn’t if child care were more available or affordable." Our ruling Davis said that Texas women are still paid 82 cents for every dollar a man earns in the state. Her figure, based on a 2011 federal survey, reflects median earnings for adults who worked full time in the past 12 months, leaving out part-time workers. It’s also outdated in that according to the latest available survey, taken in 2012, Texas women earned 79 cents for every dollar earned by men (again working full time in the past 12 months), less than what Davis said. We rate this claim as . – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.


Facebook post Says Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, George Soros and Jeffrey Epstein are connected with Moderna, Inc., and its efforts to create the coronavirus vaccine.

Explanation: The connections the post claims are wrong. Fauci is more than 14 years older than Gates and had already graduated from Cornell and was working at the NIH when Gates was in college. Gates did not attend Cornell and did not room with Fauci. IG Farben is not connected to Moderna. Fauci was never CEO of Moderna. Epstein was not the primary stockholder of Moderna when he died.

Drugs, Health Care, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,

In an online conspiracy circulating on Facebook, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, billionaire investor George Soros, and financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are all linked in the ongoing pursuit of a coronavirus vaccine. An Aug. 2 post lists a series of accusations against the four men and claims their partnership was decades in the making. "As many of you heard, Moderna is in stage 3 of their vaccine testing. If all goes well it'll become federal law to get the vaccine," the post begins. Then follows a series of unfounded claims, including: Fauci was the first CEO of Moderna. Fauci and Gates were roommates at Cornell. "It was at Cornell that Bill Gates designed the RFID (Radio-frequency identification) and patented it under US2006257852." "Moderna was a pharmaceutical company that started in Germany under the name IG Farben. IG Farben is infamous for it's mass production of Zyklon-B, the primary gas used to kill millions during the Holocaust." After World War II, IG Farben was "dissolved and its assets sold off by a Nazi turned American by the name of, you guessed it, George Soros." "Soros rebranded the company as Moderna." Jeffrey Epstein was "primary stockholder of Moderna until his death...His role in Moderna is where he made his fortune and established his connections." "Let that sink in," the post ends. It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) This post is filled with many accusations, none of them accurate. Let’s take them one by one: No, Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna Inc. does not trace its lineage to Germany. It was founded in 2010 with the mission of studying a technology known as mRNA to develop new pharmaceuticals and launched operations in 2011. Moderna is in phase 3 of a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine. IG Farben––formally known in German as Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft––was a chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate established in 1925 and made up of four other German companies: BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Bayer AG, Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft, and Agfa-Gevaert Group, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The company did create a synthetic oil and rubber plant in Auschwitz and used inmates for drug experiments during World War II, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. But after the war, the Allied powers charged top executives with war crimes, and the company was divided into three: Hoechst, Bayer and BASF. We find no indication that IG Farben has any connection to Moderna. Moderna did not respond to our inquiries. Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health has taken a leading public role in the coronavirus pandemic. He was never CEO of Moderna. He graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1966 and began working for the NIAID two years after graduating, according to multiple sources including the Cornell Daily Sun and the NIH. He has spent the rest of his career in the public sector. Fauci was named director of the institute in 1984 and has overseen research to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis and malaria. Gates and Fauci were not roommates at Cornell. First, Fauci was 14 when Gates was born in 1955. Second, Gates didn’t attend Cornell. He studied for two years at Harvard University beginning in 1973. By that time, Fauci was already working for the NIH. Gates later dropped out of Harvard and founded Microsoft. Mario Cardullo was the first to patent the tag in 1973. And while the patent number "US2006257852" cited in the post is a real patent, it’s not for the RFID tag. It’s a patent related to the disease known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS). PolitiFact, along with other fact-checkers, has debunked claims that George Soros was a Nazi. Soros survived the Holocaust. When the Nazis invaded Hungary, Soros’ father obtained a false identity for Soros and sent him to live with an agricultural official who passed him off as his Christian godson, according to the New York Times. Soros also did not buy the assets of IG Farben and disguise the company under Moderna. In 1945, when the Allied powers split up IG Farben, Soros was a teenager. Epstein began working at Bear Stearns in 1976 and was promoted to partner in 1980, according to the Miami Herald. In 1982, he opened his own money management firm called J Epstein and Co., where he "would manage the individual and family fortunes of clients with $1 billion or more," according to a 2002 New York Magazine profile on Epstein. In the late 1990s, he renamed the firm to Financial Trust Company and moved the headquarters to the U.S. Virgin Islands to receive a tax break, according to the New York Times. When Moderna was established in 2010, Epstein was serving a one-year probation after being convicted of sex offenses in 2008, contrary to the post. In 2012, he created a start-up business, Southern Trust, to develop algorithms and mine DNA and financial databases, according to the New York Times. The company managed to pay a tax rate of about 3.9% after generating a $300 million profit in 2013, and its corporate filings show no clients, according to the article. He would also start his own international bank, but it’s unclear whether it had any customers. Neither Epstein, nor his management firm, are listed as one of the primary stockholders in Moderna, according to CNN Business and the Wall Street Journal. We found no indication that Epstein was one of the primary stockholders in Moderna when he died on Aug. 10, 2019. He was awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges when he committed suicide in his prison cell. A Facebook post claims that the vaccine developer Moderna is connected to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, George Soros and Jeffrey Epstein. But none of the supposed connections are founded. We rate this .


NJ targets pollution in poorer areas with 6 lawsuits.

Explanation: New Jersey on Friday sued a mix of companies and individuals over a half-dozen polluted sites across the state, mostly in poor and minority communities.

Newark, Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey, General News, Environment, Lawsuits, Pollution

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe announced the lawsuits seeking to collect fines and recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs outside Newark’s Historic Courthouse. The cases involve a former metal-finishing plant in Newark, two dry cleaners in Trenton, a dump with 10,000 cubic yards of waste in Camden, a scrap yard in Kearny and a gas station in East Orange. Attempts to reach the defendants were not successful. Grewal highlighted in particular Nanes Metal Finishing plant in Newark, which operated from 1966 until 1994. He said the site led to the discharge of chemicals into the groundwater that are linked with kidney dysfunction as well as respiratory illness. The state is seeking to recoup $500,000 in cleanup costs that it incurred. It’s the latest in a string of environmental lawsuits the Democratic administration of Gov. Phil Murphy has pursued. Grewal has said previously that under Republican Chris Christie such suits had essentially ceased. Grewal said the state is trying to send a message that polluters won’t be tolerated. Friday’s development focused on communities where the median household income is well below the state average, which stood at about $76,000 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census. The communities are also mostly nonwhite, according to the attorney general’s office. “I want to send a clearer message to those polluters who’ve harmed our resources and our environmental justice communities that we’re going to pursue you, we’re going to hold you accountable, just like we’re holding these six companies accountable,” Grewal said. New Jersey has about 13,000 cases in its polluted site remediation program, according to state figures from August 2019. The cases cover a range of polluted sites, from less to more serious. Grewal said his office and the DEP chose the six locations based on a number of factors, including the ability of defendants to pay, but also areas that have been long neglected, in particular in the state’s poorest areas.


Studies have demonstrated that cooking with aluminum foil can result in the ingestion of aluminum, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

Explanation: More recent studies have come to light that may end up reinvigorating the debate, but both the connection of aluminum to Alzheimer’s and its mechanism for causing the disease are far from settled science. That being said, it’s incredibly unlikely you are exposing your brain to high concentrations of aluminum by cooking with aluminum foil in the first place.

Medical, aluminum, aluminum foil, alzheimer's

For decades, scientists have alleged a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease, and whether such a link exists has been the subject of a long-standing debate within the scientific community. (Indeed, when silent film great Rudolph Valentino passed away from a perforated ulcer in 1926, rumor held that his demise was caused by his consuming food prepared in aluminum cookware.) The more specific claim about the health dangers cooking with aluminum foil often pops up in viral news stories, such as one published on clickbait site awm.com under the headline “Doctors Now Have Warning: If You Use Aluminum Foil, Stop It or Face Deadly Consequences,” which made the following argument: Simply put, if you cook with aluminum foil, you are playing with your health. The first thing you need to know is that aluminum is bad for your brain. It is a neurotoxic heavy metal that has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease for years. This claim rests on three assertions. First, that cooking with aluminum foil will liberate aluminum and be transferred to your food in a form that can be ingested; second, that this aluminum will reach your brain in concentrations high enough to be significant; and third, that high concentrations of aluminum in your brain put you at increased risk of Alzheimer’s. Will cooking with aluminum foil liberate aluminum? Yes, acids typically dissolve metals, and aluminum is no exception. A 2012 study published in the International Journal of Electrochemical Science, which is often cited in viral news stories because of its more alarmist claims about Alzheimer’s, investigated how much aluminum was liberated through the process of cooking food in foil. Not surprisingly, researchers found the amount varied depending upon factors such as temperature and acidity, but that some aluminum did, in fact, leach into food cooked in foil: Aluminum foil used in cooking provides an easy channel for the metal to enter the human body. The increase in cooking temperature causes more leaching. The leaching is also highly dependent on the pH value of the food solution, salt, and spices added to the food solutions. How much of that leached aluminum would stay in your body? Not much — most research on the topic agrees that it’s much less than 1%. A 2011 report published in the journal Neuroscience stated that “healthy humans and laboratory rats absorb between 0.06% and 0.4% of ingested Al”. Could some of that ~0.4% of leached aluminum make it to your brain? Based on studies that directly injected rats with high doses of aluminum, the answer is yes, but not much. According to the World Health Organization, once the aluminum does make it into your bloodstream, a very small percentage (of an already small percentage of ingested aluminum) actually ends up in your brain: “Approximately 60, 25, 10, 3 and 1% of the aluminium body burden is in the bone, lung, muscle, liver and brain, respectively.” The amount of aluminum you would need to eat on a regular basis to see much of a buildup in your brain is unrealistically large. But, for the sake of argument, let’s say some of that leached aluminum does get into your brain. Will it increase your risk factor for Alzheimer’s? The debate over a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s has gone on for decades, originally inspired by the observation that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients have high concentrations of aluminum compounds and that a major symptom of the disease is the buildup of plaque that contains aluminum compounds. At the moment the field remains mixed on the role of aluminum as a possible risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Both the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada and the international Alzheimer’s Association’s official stance is that aluminum is not a risk factor for the disease. A 2008 CDC toxicology report describes the scientific consensus as follows: Although a possible association was proposed over 40 years ago, this association is still highly controversial and there is little consensus regarding current evidence. A number of studies have found weak associations between living in areas with elevated aluminum levels in drinking water and an increased risk (or prevalence) of Alzheimer’s disease; other studies have not found significant associations. In contrast, no significant associations have been found between tea consumption or antacid use and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease; although the levels of aluminum in tea and antacids are very high compared to drinking water, aluminum from these sources is poorly absorbed. The available data do not suggest that aluminum is a causative agent of Alzheimer’s disease; however, it is possible that it may play a role in the disease development.


Philippines to cull 200,000 fowl after bird flu outbreak.

Explanation: The Philippines will cull at least 200,000 birds after confirming its first avian flu outbreak, but no animal-to-human transmission has been reported, officials said Friday.

Health, Philippines, Flu, Animal health, Bird flu, Manila, Rodrigo Duterte

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said he ordered the culling of all fowl within a kilometer (0.6 mile) of six affected farms in northern Pampanga province’s San Luis town. The area has been declared a quarantine zone with a 7-kilometer (4-mile) surveillance area also established around the farms. Pinol said he was informed Thursday that 37,000 birds have died from avian influenza subtype H5, which can cause illness and deaths in both animals and humans. Experts believe the ducks to be the virus carrier, he added. He said he has informed President Rodrigo Duterte, the Department of Health and will report the outbreak to the World Organization for Animal Health. Pinol said farmers did not immediately report the deaths, which spiked in July, because they thought were from ordinary poultry disease. Alene Asteria Vytiaco, an official of the Bureau of Animal Industry, said they will send samples collected from the farms to the World Organization for Animal Health and the Australian Animal Health Laboratory for further testing. ___ This version corrects that the Philippines is ordering fowl, not fouls, to be culled.


Drug for refractory psoriatic arthritis shows promise in clinical trial

Explanation: This relatively thorough news release summarizes the results of a 24-week randomized trial of the biologic drug ixekizumab (marketed as Taltz) in patients with psoriatic arthritis. While the release hits most of the key points that any journalist might ask when writing about this study, it offers too little discussion of harms and no mention of the drug’s cost. People with psoriatic arthritis often have painful, red, scaly patches on their skin and they may not be effectively treated with TNF inhibitors (drugs commonly used to treat inflammatory conditions). If only half of psoriatic arthritis patients get better with TNF inhibitors then another option would be most welcome for those that have found no relief. The drug under study, ixekuzumab, appears to be effective in reducing symptoms of joint tenderness and swelling, and if it can provide these benefits at a reasonable level of safety, this could be a great advance. At the same time, if the goal of treatment is to prevent long-term complications of psoriatic arthritis (severe joint and bone damage and functional disability), we are still left wondering if this potential new treatment represents a benefit beyond 6 months for psoriatic arthritis sufferers.

No cost information was provided, even though the drug is already on the market for another condition. According to GoodRx, one 80 mg auto-injector of the drug costs around $4,700. We are told that “19.5 percent of patients who received only the placebo injections were judged to have met the trial’s specified clinical endpoint — at least a 20 percent reduction in the number of tender and swollen joints — the response rate among those getting the real drug every four weeks was 53.3 percent. Those getting the drug every two weeks didn’t do any better and were slightly more prone to side effects, such as a mild reaction at the injection site.” This is an adequate discussion of the drug’s benefits. We learn that “few serious adverse events were reported for patients receiving the drug, or the placebo” but a close reading of the actual abstract shows that 7 percent of patients taking the drug every two weeks (versus 3 percent on placebo) had serious adverse events. If the absolute effects on benefits are reported why are not the absolute effects of the harms? We think it is important to at least list the major adverse events that occurred during the trial. We learn that this is a randomized, blinded, three-armed, multi-site study that lasted 24 weeks, which is a sufficient description of the quality of evidence. We wish the release had mentioned that it remains uncertain how patients on the drug would fare long-term, beyond the 6 months of the trial. There is no disease mongering. The release provides strong context on the condition as well as how the drug is believed to work. The release states that the manufacturer paid for the trial and the key spokesperson, the principle investigator served as a consultant to Eli Lilly. There was a good explanation about the alternatives — drugs like the TNF inhibitors already on the market such as adalimumab, etanercept and infliximab — but that “only about half of psoriatic arthritis patients who are given TNF inhibitors get better.” We also learn that “another approved monoclonal-antibody that targets IL-17, secukinumab, was approved in 2016 for psoriatic arthritis.” The release notes that the drug has been FDA approved and is available for patients with psoriasis and that Lily has applied for FDA approval for use in patients with psoriatic arthritis as well. The release does an acceptable job of describing the drug’s place in the treatment landscape. It does not make an outward claim of novelty, but it appears to be the first such randomized trial for this type of arthritis. There are no examples of unjustified language.


Lawmakers ready for ‘fast and furious’ session.

Explanation: Figuring out how to fund delayed pay raises, clamping down on pipeline protesters, and legalizing hemp in a way to prevent people from getting stoned will top South Dakota lawmakers’ agenda this year.

Legislature, Sioux Falls, Mental health, Health, South Dakota, Kristi Noem, Bills, General News, Laws

Lawmakers won’t have much time to act. They are scheduled to be in session just 37 days over two months, meaning Republicans who control the Legislature will have to reach deals quickly with Gov. Kristi Noem. “It’s pretty fast and furious,” Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer, R-Dell Rapids, said. “It’s a really packed, crazy session.” With limited time in the Capitol, many lawmakers have put issues familiar from last year at the top of their to-do lists, Lawmakers have also spent the last year studying the state’s mental health and addiction resources and have several bills aimed at expanding treatment in rural areas, where they say there is an alarming rate of suicide. Looming over the session will be the ongoing struggles from some of the worst flooding in state history last year. STATE BUDGET When Gov. Kristi Noem presented her proposed budget in December, she warned the Legislature that things were looking lean. She recommended the state hold off on raising salary funding for teachers, state employees and medical providers. But lawmakers said they are looking for a way to give raises. Lawmakers said they will be watching the revenue figures closely throughout the session. They’ve already received some good news — revenue is now $5.1 million over estimates. It will cost more than that to fund the pay increases. The Bureau of Finance and Management estimates that each percentage-point increase in funding will cost about $16 million. That may be tough to find in the budget. The state will receive about $20 million less starting in July when the state can no longer tax internet access because of a congressional mandate. The state’s agriculture industry is coming off a difficult year of flooding and trade uncertainty. The state overhauled its education funding formula three years ago to boost teacher pay. The new law included a half-cent increase in sales tax and promised to increase funding every year by 3% or the inflation rate, whichever is less. For the last two years, though, the state has not met those requirements due to cash flow problems. Democratic legislative leaders argue that the law requires the funding increases. Republicans are often quick to point out that the state’s constitution requires a balanced budget. Noem is also requesting funding for treatment of meth addiction, a Health Sciences building at the University of South Dakota, an upgrade of the state’s emergency-response radio system, and grants to expand broadband internet access. She has proposed a $4.94 billion budget, one of the smallest state budgets in the nation. HEMP The nearly year-long fight between the governor and lawmakers over industrial hemp may resolve quickly in the session. Noem, until now a hemp opponent, has said she won’t veto  a bill legalizing industrial hemp if lawmakers can meet four “guardrails” for the law. She wants hemp to be tightly regulated and for legislators to come up with a way to pay for the hemp program. She also wants law enforcement to have the ability to search hemp fields and facilities. Lawmakers said their plan already meets most of Noem’s criteria and they would be ready to bring it up early in the session. The bill would allow farmers to grow hemp as long as they plant more than 5 acres and keep the THC content of the plant below 0.3%. THC is the compound that produces a high in marijuana. The proposed law would also allow hemp to be processed into CBD oil and other products. Producers would need to obtain a license from the state and a permit to transport it. KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE AND ‘RIOT-BOOSTING’ LAWS The Legislature will take on another issue of last year as it addresses potential demonstrations against the Keystone XL pipeline. Noem has  resurrected the topic of “riot boosting” after parts of a law created last year were nullified by legal proceedings. Many Republicans say they will support her renewed push to prosecute those who “urge” riots. The Legislature last year passed two bills in a matter of days to address potentially disruptive demonstrations against the pipeline. One of the laws aimed to prosecute people who directed or encouraged rioting, known as “riot boosting.”  The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state, arguing that the 2019 legislation violated freedom of speech. A federal judge in September blocked portions of the statutes, and the state agreed not to enforce parts of the laws in a settlement. Noem has already floated draft bills that she says would permit free speech while prosecuting people who “urge” force or violence if it is “imminent.” The proposed legislation would get rid of language the ACLU argued was too broad and could have been used against people encouraging rioters on social media. Instead, Noem’s draft legislation attempts to limit riot boosting prosecution to people who directly urge force or violence and provides protection for peaceful protests. Last year, the riot boosting laws sparked blowback from Native American groups that felt they were being targeted due to their opposition to the pipeline. Noem and lawmakers have said they will be taking more time this year to dig into the legislation and hear from people affected by the bills. A proposal to create an emergency fund for cleanup in the event of a spill is also in the works. The company operating the pipeline would have to pay for the fund. TREATING MENTAL HEALTH Lawmakers say they are alarmed at South Dakota’s suicide rate, especially in rural areas. They will bring a series of bills aimed at improving the state’s mental health resources. The bills aim to make mental health care available across the state through virtual consultations. Lawmakers want to make it possible for counselors or mental health care professionals to help people through phone calls, text, or video consultations. In order to do that, they say they will need broadband internet access in rural communities. Farmers have indicated that many are struggling financially after a rough year of weather and international trade disruptions. South Dakota led the nation in unplanted acres last year after storms and flooding hit many parts of the state. Lawmakers said they will be looking for ways to help farmers recover and encourage growth in the state’s economy.


France struggling to curb rate of coronavirus pandemic, health official says.

Explanation: France is struggling to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, its top health official Jerome Salomon said on Monday, as authorities consider whether to implement a partial lockdown.

Salomon expressed his regret that many Parisians had ventured out in large numbers on Sunday despite official advice to stay at home and a government shutdown on bars and restaurants around the country. “A lot of people have not understood that they need to stay at home, and this low level at which people have adhered means that we are not succeeding in curbing the outbreak of the epidemic,” Salomon told France Inter radio. He added it would be “catastrophic” if France were to reach a stage on deciding whether to save the lives of certain patients over that of others. “This morning, I appeal to all French people to mobilize in the fight,” he said. The number of deaths in France from the coronavirus increased by more than a third on Sunday to 127 and over 5,400 have been infected. Sources told Reuters on Sunday that France is preparing an order that would put its inhabitants under partial lockdown to combat the pandemic, a move that would tighten further restrictions on public life.


Zambia says new cases dropping in deadly cholera outbreak.

Explanation: Zambia has struggled to contain one of its deadliest cholera outbreaks in years, sending soldiers into a slum last week to keep order, collaborating with the World Health Organization on a vaccination program and even declaring a week of prayer.

Southern Africa, Cholera, Zambia, Africa, Health, Lusaka

Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya this week said there has been a “drastic reduction” in the number of new cases in the outbreak which has killed more than 70 people in the southern African nation since October, most of them in the capital, Lusaka. The provision of fresh water, education in waste disposal and personal hygiene and other preventive measures are being taken, the minister said. “The cholera outbreak is being contained,” Chilufya said. WHO is assisting with the vaccination of Lusaka residents against cholera after the delivery of enough doses to immunize one million people. There are plans to vaccinate another one million people in “cholera hotspots” nationwide later this year, WHO said. The United States has provided chlorine drops to purify 120 million liters of water, and six experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in Zambia to work with local health officials, the U.S. Embassy said. A team from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has also traveled to Zambia, treating cholera victims at an emergency clinic set up in a Lusaka stadium. Last week, the Zambian military moved in after some residents in the densely populated Lusaka slum of Kanyama rioted over the removal of market vendors, a measure designed to improve hygiene. The army deployed after police struggled to control rioters who destroyed property and looted shops. The cholera outbreak forced schools to close and public gatherings such as church meetings to be curtailed, though the government says it plans to ease the restrictions. Zambia’s religious affairs minister, Rev. Godfridah Sumaili, declared a week of prayer and fasting under the slogan: “Kick out cholera from the land.” Some Zambians said the observance, set to end on Sunday, is a distraction from alleged government failures to provide public toilets in slums, improve the garbage collection system and address water shortages in Lusaka. Cholera is caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and can kill within hours if untreated. ___ Follow Christopher Torchia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torchiachris


Aid groups descend on Indonesia quake zone; deaths reach 102.

Explanation: Humanitarian organizations descended on Indonesia’s Aceh province Thursday as the local disaster agency called for urgent food supplies and officials raced to assess the full extent of damage from an earthquake that killed more than 100 people.

Aceh, International News, Indonesia, AP Top News, Science, Asia Pacific, Earthquakes

Volunteers and nearly 1,500 rescue personnel concentrated their search on the hard-hit town of Meureudu in Pidie Jaya district near the epicenter of the magnitude 6.5 quake that hit before dawn Wednesday. But the small number of heavy excavators on the scene meant progress was slow. Humanitarian assessment teams fanned out to other areas of the district. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the death toll had risen to 102 and warned it could increase. Search teams were using devices that detect mobile phone signals within a 100-meter (yard) radius to help guide their efforts as they scoured the rubble. The disaster agency said more than 750 people were injured. “We have to move faster to search and rescue possible survivors,” said Iskander Ali, a Pidie Jaya official. Those killed included very young children and the elderly. Mohammad Jafar, 60, said his daughter, granddaughter and grandson died in the quake but he was resigned to it as “God’s will.” He was getting ready for morning prayers when the earthquake hit. He said he and his wife managed to push their way out through the debris. Another man said he found his 9-year-old daughter alive beneath a broken wall at his neighbor’s house. Thousands of people are homeless or afraid to return to their houses. Nugroho said more than 11,000 people have been displaced and are staying at shelters and mosques or with relatives. About 10,500 homes were damaged and dozens of mosques and shop houses collapsed. Killer quakes occur regularly in the region, where many live with the terrifying memory of a giant Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake that struck off Sumatra. The magnitude-9.1 quake triggered a devastating tsunami that killed more than 100,000 Acehnese. Sulaiman, a Disaster Mitigation Agency official in Aceh, said staple foods for women and babies are most urgently needed. He said medicines are sufficient because assistance is coming from the army, police, state-run companies and local governments. “What’s badly needed now are staple foods such as rice, cooking oil, salted fish and other foods,” said Sulaiman. He said people had complained about a lack of clean water, but the problem has been tackled and electricity supply is returning to normal in many areas. Nugroho, at a news conference in Jakarta, listed as urgent food and clothing, specialist doctors for victims suffering fractures, medical equipment, temporary shelters and heavy excavation equipment. The Indonesian government sent 50 tons of urgent aid to Aceh, including 10 generators, tents, folding beds, baby supplies and body bags. “Every aid and civil society organization is piling into the area with as many boxes of rice, instant noodles, blankets and other aid as they can shift,” said Paul Dillon, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, which has an assessment team in northern Aceh. It will take at least two more days before there’s a fuller picture of how many people are displaced, he said. The military is setting up an emergency field hospital and sending two dozen doctors, and the Health Ministry is sending a medical team and medicines. The Red Cross sent aid such as water trucks on Wednesday and humanitarian group CARE is leading an assessment team of four international aid groups to avoid duplication of efforts. Aid groups and others are also appealing for donations. Pope Francis, who was speaking at St. Peter’s Square for a Catholic holiday, said he wanted people to know he was praying for the victims of the earthquake, their loved ones and those left homeless. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered about 19 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Sigli, a town near the northern tip of Sumatra, at a depth of 17 kilometers (11 miles). It did not generate a tsunami. Aftershocks have rattled the area. The world’s largest archipelago, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. The 2004 quake and tsunami killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Aceh. ___ Wright reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the name of the Aceh disaster mitigation agency official is Sulaiman instead of Iskander.


Dominican hospital under scrutiny after 14 newborns die.

Explanation: A medical association in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday demanded improvements at one of the country’s main public hospitals, where at least 14 newborns died over the weekend.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Health, Latin America

Waldo Ariel Suero, president of the Dominican Medical Association, has said the alleged the deaths occurred because of patient overcrowding, lack of equipment and bad conditions. He said that the Our Lady of Altagracia Maternity Hospital in Santo Domingo does not have enough incubators and that only three of 10 operating rooms are in use. The hospital has been undergoing renovations since 2014, and the association said it should be temporarily closed, with patients and doctors transferred to other hospitals. Dominican health officials said late Tuesday that the deaths were simply a result of complicated pregnancies and denied Suero’s allegations. Nelson Rodriguez, director of the National Health Service, said some of the babies were born prematurely, had respiratory or neurological problems or congenital cardiac malformations. He said Dominican Republic still has a high infant mortality rate, with 80 percent of deaths blamed on premature births. It is the second time officials raised concerns about a string of hospital deaths in the Dominican Republic. In October 2014, President Danilo Medina dismissed the health minister at the time and the director of the main pediatric public hospital after 10 children died one weekend due to failures in the care and quality of the health center.