In 2007, 2.5 million grandparents were responsible for most of the basic needs of one or more of the grandchildren living with them.
Source: Census Bureau
Year: 2009
Dying on a Wait List?
Perhaps the most emotional of the health care ads we’ve seen in recent months is the one featuring Canadian Shona Holmes, who warns of the dangers of a government-run health care system. Holmes tells viewers: "I survived a brain tumor. But if I’d relied on my government, I’d be dead. … As my brain tumor got worse, my government health care system told me I had to wait six months to see a specialist. In six months,
August 6, 2009
The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game took place during the World Fair in Chicago on July 6, 1933.
Source: MLB.com
White House Fact-Checking
We welcome competition – or rather, colleagues – in the fact-checking business. But the latest entrant to our line of work is an entity we’ve actually fact-checked, and will continue to fact-check. Regularly.
The White House, according to its official blog, is encouraging people to send along any health care rumors or claims, mainly of the "scary" chain e-mail variety, that seem "fishy." In its first installment of these debunking efforts, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the Health Reform Office,
Insurance Co. Profits: Good, But Not Breaking Records
When President Obama said at his July 22 news conference that health insurance companies were making record profits "right now," we thought he might have insider access to corporate earnings data. After all, most of the top publicly traded companies were on the verge of filing their reports, but only one had done so at the time Obama spoke.
Obama, July 22: Now, you know, there had been reports just over the last couple of days of insurance companies making record profits.
Michelle Obama’s Staff
Q: Does First Lady Michelle Obama have an “unprecedented” number of staffers?
A: A spokeswoman for the first lady says that Michelle Obama currently has a staff of 24. That may indeed be the largest of any first lady, but Hillary Clinton, with 19 staffers, and Laura Bush with at least 18 and perhaps more, weren’t far behind.
August 5, 2009
Maine Gov. John Baldacci has declared August Maine Lobster Month.
Source: Maine Lobster Council
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of July 28-August 3
This week, readers sent us comments on Facebook trolls, bias and the uninsured. In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive.
Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
August 4, 2009
The world’s ocean surface temperature for June 2009 was the warmest on record, surpassing the previous record in 2005. The ocean surface temperature was 1.06 degrees Fahrenheit more than the 20th century average of 61.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: NOAA
Abortion and the Health Care Bills
If you don’t keep your eye on the health care overhaul bills making their way through Congress, it’s easy to find your knowledge quickly outdated. We posted an article Friday dealing with accusations by some conservative groups that the bills would mandate government-funded abortions (they wouldn’t). That very evening, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a new bill. Government-funded abortions still wouldn’t be possible under this version – in fact, it’s the only bill that explicitly prohibits the use of taxpayer money to pay for the procedure,