Q: Did Newt Gingrich ask his former wife to sign divorce papers on her deathbed?
A: No. Jackie Battley is still alive, and the couple was already in divorce proceedings at the time of the 1980 hospital visit. But she was recovering from surgery to remove a tumor, and the former House speaker admits that they “got into an argument.”
Stories by D'Angelo Gore
Staff Writer, FactCheck.org
George Soros’ Gun Grab?
Q: Does George Soros own the company buying many firms that make guns and ammunition?
A: No. Contrary to a fanciful claim made in a viral email, the Freedom Group is not linked to the liberal billionaire. The National Rifle Association says the real owners are “strong supporters” of gun rights.
Republican Majority Campaign
Republican Majority Campaign is a conservative group headed by a California attorney who was featured in an infomercial that asked “Where was President Obama born?”
A ‘Risky’ Trio for Seniors?
An ad approved by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska twists the facts about what three potential GOP opponents have said about Social Security and Medicare.
While showing a photo of an elderly couple, the ad accuses Jon Bruning of embracing a Medicare plan that could “raise your rates and cut your benefits.” But only those 54 years old or younger would have been affected by the plan.
It says Deb Fischer “would also cut Medicare.” But that’s based on her support for a bill that specifically exempted Medicare spending,
Idaho Newspaper’s Inspired Effort
The Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho, says it likes to check the many press releases it receives for “both spin and accuracy” before publishing them. We applaud that effort. In fact, a release from Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho was recently the subject of a full-page fact check for the paper’s Sunday opinion page.
The Times-News received an Oct. 4 press release announcing that Crapo had joined Republican Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois to introduce legislation capping the capital gains and dividend tax rates at 15 percent.
Change in Military Funeral Protocol?
Q: Did Obama order the military to drop the words “on behalf of the president of the United States” when presenting the flag to the next of kin at funerals?
A: A chain email that makes that claim is wrong. Spokespersons for the Defense Department and the armed forces say that no change was ordered.
Obama’s Solyndra Problem
President Obama exaggerated when defending his administration’s approval of a $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, a now-defunct solar company.
Obama referred to Solyndra’s loan at an Oct. 6 press conference as “a loan guarantee program that predates me.” That’s not accurate. It’s true that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a loan guarantee program for clean-energy companies developing “innovative technologies.” But Solyndra’s loan guarantee came under another program created by the president’s 2009 stimulus for companies developing “commercially available technologies.”
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Labor union representing 1.6 million employees including health care workers, corrections officers and sanitation workers. Leans Democratic.
Ending Spending
A fiscally conservative group founded by J. Joe Ricketts, a businessman who also founded Ameritrade.
Default ‘Danger’ Revisited
President Obama's communications director said we’ve "never" been in danger of defaulting before. That's not true. Congress has come close to failing to raise the debt ceiling before defaulting more than once in recent years, under both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer appeared on CNN's "John King USA" on July 26, and he told guest-host Jessica Yellin that "in the 200-plus years of our country, we've never been in a situation where we have been in danger of defaulting on our obligations."