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Says "the jurisdictions with the strictest gun control laws, almost without exception … have the highest crime rates and the highest murder rates.

January 7, 2013

guns

ted cruz

Ted Cruz is a U.S. Senator from Texas, first elected in 2012. Cruz also was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He is the former solicitor general for the state of Texas, previously serving as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a domestic policy advisor on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, according to his campaign biography.

texas

an interview on PBS

Cruz said that "almost without exception," locales with the tightest gun laws have the highest crime and murder rates. This point might hold for some places. However, we found multiple exceptions -- among cities, states and nations -- making this .

The amount of the revenue required by the state (for the construction of high-speed rail) is around 10 percent.

November 8, 2010

stimulus;transportation

bill nelson

Bill Nelson was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida in 2000. He lost re-election to Gov. Rick Scott in 2018. Nelson previously served in the Florida Legislature, Congress and as state Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner.  

florida

an Orlando rail conference

The federal government to date has pledged $2.05 billion to the line compared to $280 million from the state. That puts the state on the hook for about 12 percent of the costs so far. But there is still a $325 million or so hole that needs to be filled. Depending on how the state, the federal government and possibly the private sector split that cost, the state's share could increase, or decrease. Until those checks are written, we think it's appropriate to rate this .

The brutal fact is, when it comes to education, America is slipping" behind other nations.

January 9, 2013

education

bob mcdonnell

Bob McDonnell is the Republican governor of Virginia until January 2014. McDonnell was elected over Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds. McDonnell previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to 2006 and as state Attorney General from 2006 to 2009. McDonnell graduated from the University of Nortre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind., with a bachelor's degree in 1976. He then served in the U.S. Army on active duty from 1976 to 1981 and in the reserves until 1997, retiring as a lieutenant colenel. He received a master's degree in business adminsitration from Boston University in 1980 and a master's and law degree from Regent University, Virginia Beach, in 1989.

virginia

a speech

McDonnell said that "when it comes to educating our young people, America is slipping" in worldwide rankings. The international test results he referred to have been administered every three years since 2000. There’s a tiny element of to McDonnell’s : America’s math standing dipped last decade when compared with other nations in the OECD. But even that overlooks the fact that U.S. math scores, after a mid-decade drop, rebounded in 2009, when the last test results were published. And when all countries that took the exam in 2009 are considered, the U.S. ranked in the top half in math for the first time. McDonnell ignored critical facts that paint a different picture of America’s performance. During the last decade, the U.S. edged up in the rankings on reading and remained at the 50th percentile in science among OECD nations.    "Slipping" implies lower scores and rankings. That’s not the case. The U.S. has never ranked near the top in education test scores and, with a possible exception for math, has not lost ground to other countries. We rate McDonnell’s .

Says Erv Nelson voted "yes on the pro-amnesty SJR 21, a bill urging Congress to provide citizenship for those residing illegally in our country.

March 24, 2016

immigration

victoria seaman

Victoria Seaman is a Republican Assemblywoman in Nevada. She's running for a state Senate seat in 2016.

nevada

campaign literature distributed at a candidate forum

Seaman says Nelson voted "yes on the pro-amnesty SJR 21, a bill urging Congress to provide citizenship for those residing illegally in our country." To be clear, the "bill" was actually a resolution that holds no teeth. It calls for a pathway to citizenship for people not legally in the country. But it's too vague to blankly say it falls under the "amnesty" umbrella, and just doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of the immigration debate. We rate the .

Says Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were both born Aug. 23.

January 27, 2020

fake news;sports;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

She was born May 1, 2006. "Happy 13th birthday my Gigi! I love you beyond measure baby #teen #daddysgirl #tauro #mambacita ," Bryant posted on Instagram , May 1, 2019. Both father and daughter died the same day, but they were not both born on Aug. 23. We rate the post .

The FEMA health care workers replacing the noncompliant nurses and doctors are NOT required to get vaccinated via the CDC.

October 18, 2021

public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

national

an Instagram post

Jaclyn Rothenberg, director of public affairs at FEMA, confirmed that the agency’s employees are not replacing recently dismissed unvaccinated doctors and nurses in the first place, and called claims stating otherwise "unequivocally ."   "We work closely with each state to identify resource requirements to fight COVID-19 based on their needs," Rothenberg wrote in an email.  She said that FEMA, in partnership with the departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense, has deployed medical staff at the request of states to alleviate some of the pandemic-induced stress on health care systems. "These deployed medical staff abide by the vaccination and other preventive measures requirements established by the receiving facility," Rothenberg added. We rate this post .

We're 48th in K-12 funding and 50th in higher education.

September 11, 2013

education

nan rich

Nan Rich won a seat on the Broward County Commission in 2016. She served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000-2004 and then was elected to the Florida Senate. She served as leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus 2010-2012 and then was term limited. Rich lost a Democratic primary for governor in 2014.

florida

a "Tampa Tribune" blog

Rich said, "We’re 48th in K-12 funding and 50th in higher education." There are lots of different valid ways to measure education funding. One way is to compare how much money a state provides for education per pupil, and by that measure Florida ranked 48th according to the Census. That’s a valid way to look at the numbers because it was in the context of Rich criticizing the governor who signs the state budget. However, it’s one of several ways to measure school spending. For higher education spending, the National Education Association ranked Florida 50th for state and local expenditures in 2009-10. But other more recent analysis we reviewed showed Florida higher than 50th. One measure showed Florida ahead of about 20 states. We rate this .

The form students fill out to get college financial aid is "longer than the form to get U.S. citizenship.

October 11, 2007

education

bill richardson

Bill Richardson is the former governor of New Mexico, having served two terms in that position from 2003-2011. Richardson is also a former congressman, U.S. secretary of energy, and ambassador to the United Nations. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, and was President Barack Obama’s initial nominee for secretary of commerce in 2009.

national

Manchester, N.H

Nope. By our count, Form N-400 from the Department of Homeland Security has 110 questions (first and last name count as one, not two). And though it doesn't include worksheets like FAFSA, it has its share of complicated questions. It's no easy task to document every trip of 24 hours or more outside the United States in the past five years. At a score of 110-102, we rule Richardson's statement .

Says former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that "if the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society" because "they'll serve the masters gladly and passively.

July 18, 2014

economy;labor;workers

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

national

a meme on social media

The meme says Greenspan said that "if the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society" because "they'll serve the masters gladly and passively." Those words actually come from a sarcastic critique of Greenspan’s words by Noam Chomsky, not from Greenspan himself. We rate the .

Says that when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, federal spending as a share of the Gross Domestic Product leapt from 18.2 percent in 2001 to 25.2 percent in 2009 -- the largest such increase in any eight-year period since World War II.

August 21, 2012

debt;economy;federal budget;voting record

john cornyn

John Cornyn is a U.S. senator from Texas, former Texas attorney general and former justice on the Texas Supreme Court. He earlier served as a Bexar County state district judge.

texas

a Facebook post

Cornyn said that when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, federal spending as a share of the GDP leapt from 18.2 percent in 2001 to 25.2 percent in 2009 -- the largest such increase in any eight-year period since World War II. Those percentages and the to a post-war record are correct. However, Democrats were in control of Congress solely in the last few years of the period and held the presidency for only eight of the 108 cited months. All told, Cornyn’s has the math right but errs significantly by laying all the blame on Democrats. We rate it .

Says Tri-Rail shows the potential problems with investing in high-speed rail.

February 27, 2011

state budget;stimulus;transportation

rick scott

Rick Scott, a wealthy Florida businessman, was first elected Florida's 45th governor on Nov. 2, 2010 and re-elected Nov. 4, 2014. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is running for re-election in 2024.

florida

an interview with CNN

If Scott were on a crusade to end public subsidies for all forms of transportation, that would be one thing. Transportation systems -- including roads, buses, ports and trains -- more than not require government help. But Scott is trying to isolate the problem to trains when citing Tri-Rail's revenue problems as a reason for nixing high-speed rail in Central Florida. It may be a convenient talking point, but the two systems are hardly alike. In the end, high-speed fail might fail and the projections for ridership might be too rosy. But people shouldn't use Tri-Rail as any more than they should cite any other form of mass transit. We rate this .

Photo shows "Biden's inaugural stage being built on the White House North Lawn.

November 23, 2020

elections;facebook fact-checks

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

The National Park Service has also issued a permit for the construction of the inaugural facilities in Lafayette Square, which includes the stand where the new president watches the parade and a media riser, the Washington Post reported.  But the image that’s being shared on Facebook doesn’t show Biden’s inaugural stage being built, as posts .  We rate them . This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here , for more.

Since the Fed was created in 1913, "the U.S. Dollar has lost 98% of its purchasing power.

November 15, 2010

economy;financial regulation;income

virginia tea party patriots

Virginia Tea Party Patriots is a statewide tea party federation of local Tea Party groups.

virginia

a letter to Congress

Using the Consumer Price index, as many economists recommend, we find the dollar fell by 95 percent since 1913. So the Tea Party, despite its disputed methods, wound up with a figure that’s in the ballpark. But in bemoaning the drop in value of a dollar, the Tea Party omits a huge mitigating factor: salaries have grown enormously since 1913 and consumers have more to spend. If the Fed’s historic handling of inflation is to be blamed for the drop in the dollar, it must be credited for the rise in wages. We rate the . 

ANTIFA is now carrying chain saws, and cutting down utility poles, and starting more fires.

September 13, 2020

fires;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

oregon

a text post

All points to a mix of weather, downed power lines and fires set by people trying to enjoy the outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic. "Many of the fires currently burning in Oregon are still under investigation, so I don’t have confirmation of cause," said Joy Krawczyk, a public affairs manager for the Oregon Department of Forestry. "That being said, I haven’t seen or heard anything that indicates that the statewide wildfires we’re battling are the result of a coordinated, politically-driven arson campaign." The Facebook post is . We rate it .

The Internal Revenue code has ballooned to a 5,600-page, 4 million-word complicated mess that is seven times as long as the Bible with none of the good news.

April 15, 2013

taxes

leonard lance

Leonard Lance is a Republican congressman representing New Jersey's 7th district.

new jersey

a press release

Lance said, "The Internal Revenue code has ballooned to a 5,600-page, 4 million-word complicated mess that is seven times as long as the Bible with none of the good news." It’s generally accepted that the code is about 4 million words in length, according to previous published reports and the publisher of the 2013 winter version of the tax code. Lance also based his figure of 5,600 pages on previous reports from publications such as the Harvard Business Review. Opinions also differ on the code’s length when compared with the Bible, given the many versions, translations and texts of it. And while the tax code isn’t seven times as long as the Bible, even given a standard word count for the good book, we get Lance’s overall point: the tax code is long and complex. We rate his . To comment on this story, go to NJ.com .

Report proves that COVID-19 vaccines caused 300,000 excess deaths in 2022.

March 31, 2023

public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

Instagram posts said a report proves that COVID-19 vaccines caused 300,000 excess deaths in 2022. Experts said the report lacks and that its conclusions are based on "loose correlations and assumptions."  A majority of the excess deaths in the U.S. since the pandemic began can be attributed to the virus itself.  We rate the .

Twitter has suspended the account of Afghanistan's elected President… and have allowed the Taliban to keep their accounts.

August 19, 2021

afghanistan;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

Twitter has not suspended the accounts of either acting president Amrullah Saleh or his predecessor Ashraf Ghani. The two Twitter accounts @Afghpresident and @AfgGreenTrend are currently suspended. Twitter likely suspended the accounts pending verification of who controls them. Taliban spokespeople have active accounts on Twitter, but they have not broken any of Twitter's rules and are still allowed on the platform. We rate this .

Says 40 years ago, the U.S. placed Texas under Voting Rights Act for failing to print ballots in Spanish.

September 9, 2012

civil rights;elections

terral smith

Terral Smith, an Austin lawyer, represented Austin in the Texas House in 1981-1991 before serving as legislative director for Gov. George W. Bush.

texas

the Austin American-Statesman

Smith said that "about 40 years ago, the federal government placed Texas under the Voting Rights Act because Texas failed to print ballots in both English and Spanish." The amendment made 37 years ago was intended to -- and did -- bring Texas elections under the Voting Rights Act. English-only ballots were a "trigger" alongside other conditions. We rate Smith’s statement as .

Says Bill Gates said, "We need to develop a digital certificate that shows who has received all the vaccinations. Only those with all the required vaccinations may travel, visit churches, participate in sports and music events, get a job, etc.

August 2, 2020

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

Later, he talked about wanting to "convince people, at least over 80 percent, to take this vaccine." He also addressed conspiracy theories and falsehoods that have spread about him and the coronavirus.  "I hope it doesn’t create vaccine hesitancy," he said. "I hope the conspiracy stuff dies down." We rate this post .

57% of the jobs created" in Austin "from 2009 to 2013 do not pay families a living wage.

September 3, 2014

city budget;city government;poverty

steve adler

Attorney Steve Adler won election as mayor of Austin in December 2014, drawing 67 percent of the vote in a December 2014 runoff. He was sworn in Jan. 6, 2015. He sought re-election in 2018.

texas

a campaign web page

Adler said: "57% of the jobs created from 2009 to 2013 do not pay families a living wage." To be precise, that’s the estimated share of net jobs added in the multi-county Austin area (not Austin alone) pegged as having median wages less than the living wage for an adult with one child. Families vary in size, though, as do related living wages. We rate this statement, which lacks clarification, . – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Says Matt Wand has sided with anti-choice activists "to restrict access to reproductive health care services.

October 24, 2012

abortion;message machine 2012;women

democratic party of oregon

The Democratic Party of Oregon says it "promotes the election of Democratic candidates at every level across the state of Oregon with technical, financial and volunteer support."

oregon

a campaign mailer

We realize that for some advocates, this issue isall or nothing; either you’re with us or against us, on both sides. We take a middle road. The statement is partially accurate -- Wand did side with Oregon Right to Life on legislation that would have affected providers -- but it leaves out important details. The legislation did not target all providers and, in fact, would not have affected a significant provider in the metro area. We rate the statement .

We spend in tax loopholes annually $1.1 trillion. That's more than we spend on our defense budget in a year, on Medicare or Medicaid in a year.

May 31, 2012

taxes

jeanne shaheen

Jeanne Shaheen is a Senator from New Hampshire.

new hampshire

an interview with the editorial board of 'The Telegraph.'

"(Loophole) is a very common term used on both sides, but I think, when people look behind what those expenditures were, that's not what comes to mind," added Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities . Our ruling: The official definition aside, we think loophole conjures images of a narrow tax break that gives a special -- and, in many cases, unfair -- advantage to a specific constituency. But we don't think the entire list of tax deductions, exemptions, credits fits that definition. She's right about the total cost of those "expenditures," but her definition of loophole is a big stretch. We rate Shaheen’s .

When it comes to how many of the 35 different federal welfare benefits each state can offer, "the average in the country is about 12 to 14. Why are we giving every one?

October 30, 2019

welfare

david dipietro

New York Assemblymember David DiPietro is a Republican and lives in East Aurora in Erie County. He represents the 147th District. 

new york

an interview

No one disputes New York has a generous safety net. But DiPietro makes it sound like most states don't offer even half of the optional welfare programs or services that New York does. A basic tenet of PolitiFact is that the burden of proof is on the person making the . DiPietro didn't respond to requests for information to support his . We wanted to know the source of his , but he declined to talk to us. This is an important issue to New Yorkers, and also one that can be prone to exaggeration by those with strong feelings on welfare. So we checked with experts who study welfare and Medicaid benefits. They could not locate the source of his specific . In our research, we found a nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation study that compared Medicaid benefits across the country. It found 44 states offered an average of 26 optional benefits. That's considerably more than the "12 to 14" optional welfare benefits that DiPietro claims the average state provides. What's more, the two states that offered the fewest optional benefits - 15 - still offered more than what DiPietro claimed to be the average number among other states.  Our analysis of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families also did not support his .  We rate his . 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger "admits Trump won" the 2020 presidential election.

August 15, 2022

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

illinois

a Facebook post

"Kinzinger on fight with Trump: ‘Yeah, he won. In the short term at least,’" The Hill’s headline said.  Axios ran something similar : "Kinzinger on Trump battle: ‘He won, in the short term at least.’" But the description of this Facebook video takes Kinzinger’s comments out of important context, and could mislead viewers to believe Kinzinger was admitting Trump won the election.  We rate that .

The Alamo has been consistently listed as one of the most disappointing landmarks in our nation.

October 16, 2017

history;tourism

george p. bush

George Prescott Bush, formerly a corporate lawyer, won election as Texas land commissioner in 2014. He's renominated to seek a second term in 2018.

texas

the "Alamo Truth" website funded by George P. Bush's political campaign

The campaign-funded website says: "The Alamo has been consistently listed as one of the most disappointing landmarks in our nation." We’re persuaded that plenty of visitors have commented on the Alamo’s surprising small size and how quickly a visit can pass, fueling disappointment. Of late, though, it looks like only the Business Insider and the Thrillist listed the Alamo among the nation’s most disappointing landmarks. On balance, we rate this . – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Says President Barack Obama could "basically" legalize all immigrants here illegally "by the sign of a pen.

August 13, 2013

immigration

marco rubio

Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016 and then dropped out and won re-election to the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and took office Jan. 5, 2011. Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and is a former Speaker of the Florida House. He served on the West Miami City Commission from 1998 to 2000. He is from Miami and holds a law degree from the University of Miami.

florida

a radio interview

Rubio said that absent immigration reform from Congress, Obama "will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago, where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen." Could Obama offer deferred action for the entire population of undocumented immigrants? His executive powers over deportations are strong, but most experts say that’s an extreme scenario and susceptible to legal challenges, not to mention political fallout. More likely is that Obama could extend deferred action to more subsets of the undocumented population, pushing them lower on the priority list and into a deal-with-you-later category. That might be relief for them, but it’s also a legal limbo that falls short of legalization. We rate the statement .

Congresswoman Martha McSally voted to let companies sell your internet data to the highest bidder without your consent. Then she got paid $42,000 by the very corporations she allowed to sell your personal info.

April 3, 2018

voting record;privacy issues

arizona democratic party

Arizona Democratic Party.

arizona

a website

The Arizona Democratic Party launched a website that claimed, "Congresswoman Martha McSally voted to let companies sell your internet data to the highest bidder without your consent. Then she got paid $42,000 by the very corporations she allowed to sell your personal info." McSally’s vote did not allow companies to sell internet data — that was already legally allowed. Still, experts said companies generally don’t sell data to third parties such as advertisers, rather use the data to deliver companies’ ads. McSally’s campaign received about $42,000 after the March vote from political action committees tied to telecommunications companies. McSally also received contributions from those groups prior to the vote. We rate Arizona Democratic Party’s statement .  

The city of Charlotte passed a bathroom ordinance mandate on every private-sector employer in Charlotte.

April 17, 2016

lgbtq;states

pat mccrory

Pat McCrory, a Republican, was governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. Previously, he served as mayor of Charlotte.

national

an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press"

McCrory said, "The city of Charlotte passed a bathroom ordinance mandate on every private-sector employer in Charlotte." This is an exaggeration. The ordinance would have applied to place of public accommodation, like hotels and stores and other places selling goods and services to the public. While that is a big category, the ordinance would not have applied to private clubs, nonprofits or organizations with viewpoints that would have been at odds with the law, nor would have it really impacted business that don't deal with customers.  The talking point contains an element of but the scope of the law. We rate his statement . Update: After we published this fact-check, we heard back from Josh Ellis, McCrory's spokesman. It has been updated to include his comments. The ruling remains unchanged.  https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/2d1960bf-248e-4286-ac92-d47880bff82d

The flu shot is "designed to spread cancer.

February 28, 2018

fake news;health care;punditfact

meddaily

Meddaily is a website that posts alternative health news.

a headline

"Even with current vaccine effectiveness estimates, vaccination will still prevent influenza illness, including thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. Persons aged ≥6 months who have not yet been vaccinated this season should be vaccinated," the CDC wrote in February. Meddaily stated that the flu shot is "designed to spread cancer." Experts say this is nothing more than a conspiracy theory. We rate this headline . '

My opponent in November of 2008 sent a missive to the White House, to President Obama-elect, and said, 'Here's how you need to sell cap-and-trade to the American people.'

May 19, 2010

cap and trade;climate change

rick perry

Rick Perry is the U.S. Energy Secretary and was governor of Texas from late December 2000 through 2014. He was re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He unsucessfully ran for president in 2012 and 2016.

texas

a speech

Our conclusion: White's e-mail is not close to the "how-to" guide Perry claims. Indeed, White's message urges the incoming administration not to push a carbon emissions proposal until after it has advanced other energy-related ideas. Nowhere does the e-mail offer guidance on pitching cap and trade. Perry floats a politically potent but , characterization. !

The bulk of the people who are shot with a weapon — other than these drug gangs taking on one another — end up being shot with their own weapon.

April 1, 2012

guns

joe biden

Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law. 

national

an interview on "Face the Nation"

Biden said "the bulk" of people who are shot with a weapon are shot with their own weapon. The numbers that back up that statement refer only to fatal shootings, including a high proportion of suicides. CDC figures show, and our experts verified, that the majority of gun deaths are suicides, and the majority of suicides are committed with a person’s own gun or a gun owned by someone in the household. Although the numbers for non-fatal shootings are rough, such assaults typically don't involve the use of the victim's gun, experts told us. Biden cited a statistic but left out the important detail and context that he was talking only about fatal shootings, which would include suicides. That meets our definition of .

The American people will be appalled to learn the health care bill exempts (congressional) leadership and committee staff.

March 23, 2010

health care

tom coburn

Tom Coburn is a former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma and a physician.

national

comments to reporters

But the CRS report provides more wiggle room; it states "it appears possible" that the language could be interpreted that way. It would have been more accurate to say that the language "may exempt" some staffers. Furthermore, it is that Coburn's original amendment language was as restrictive as the provision that ended up in the final version of the bill. However, on two occasions, Coburn tried to fix the problem. All that said, we find Coburn's to be .

Says "47 additional counties used the same software that caused a 'glitch' in Antrim County (that switched 6,000 votes from Trump to Biden in that county)" and votes in the state are "potentially fraudulent.

November 17, 2020

elections;facebook fact-checks

ted nugent

Ted Nugent, who lives near Waco, performed after Gov. Rick Perry's 2007 inauguration. He is an ardent supporter of Second Amendment gun rights. In 2014, he stumped with Texan Greg Abbott for governor and chaired Republican Sid Miller's campaign for state agriculture commissioner.

a Facebook post

Michigan resident Ted Nugent said in a Facebook post that "47 additional counties used the same voting software that caused a ‘glitch’ in Antrim County" and said that votes in the state are "potentially fraudulent."  Nugent’s post contains an element of — Dominion Voting Systems was used in several Michigan counties and in Antrim, which experienced an early tally in favor of Biden — but it ignores the critical fact that the "glitch" was a human error limited to that county and that the technology itself didn’t simply switch votes. There is no indication of fraud.  We rate it .  This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here for more.

I brought down crime more than anyone in this country -- maybe in the history of this country -- while I was mayor of New York City." -

October 21, 2007

crime

rudy giuliani

Rudy Giuliani is the former mayor of New York City. He was born in Brooklyn in 1944 and previously served as a federal prosecutor, as well as an associate attorney general under President Reagan. He graduated from Manhattan College and earned a law degree from New York University Law School. He has been married since 2003 to Judith Nathan and was married twice before. He has two children, Andrew and Caroline. He withdrew from the presidential race on Jan. 30, 2008.

national

Orlando, Fla

Meanwhile, independent studies generally have failed to link the tactics of the Giuliani administration with the large decrease in crime rates. Rather, many criminologists believe the decline in New York, as in Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and elsewhere, was the result of a complex mix of social and demographic changes, including a break in the crack cocaine epidemic, an improving economy, and longer prison terms for career criminals. Giuiliani's push for better policing tactics and policies were likely part of it, but not to the extent he claims, experts say. His numbers do look good, and the decline in crime rates sure picked up speed when he was in charge: After falling about 12 percent from 1990 to 1993, violent crime dropped 56 percent over the next eight years. But most big cities, and the nation as a whole, followed a similar pattern: A slow fall beginning around 1990 or 1991, followed by a sharp drop over the next decade.

Seventy-four percent of Rhode Islanders support [a] national popular vote [for president] because they, as I, believe in one person-one vote.

June 13, 2013

elections;history;polls and public opinion

raymond gallison

Raymond E. Gallison Jr., a Democrat from Bristol, R.I., is a lawyer who has been a State Representative since 2001.

rhode island

a House floor debate

Rep. Raymond Gallison said, "Seventy four percent of Rhode Islanders support [a] national popular vote because they, as I, believe in one person, one vote." In the first half of his statement, he was correctly quoting a single five-year-old robocall poll from a special interest group in which respondents only had two options to choose from. Those who didn't know or didn't care either had to either pick an answer -- without the ability to hear arguments pro or con -- or just hang up, as most people do with such surveys. Nonetheless, other surveys have shown a high level of support for a national popular vote, even if it's not quite as high as the percentage quoted by Gallison. The second half of his statement implied that Rhode Islanders had been polled about their reasons for supporting the proposal. But the 2008 survey -- the one Gallison relied on -- never even posed that question. We can think of a few other reasons (such as wanting to bring more campaign money into Rhode Island) why residents might want a national popular vote. Because his statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context, we rate it . (If you have a you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)

BLM Fresno riots will begin at 4 p.m. in River Park on 06/02/20

June 1, 2020

civil rights;criminal justice;race and ethnicity;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

california

a Facebook post

He declined to recommend a curfew, saying his community "just successfully had one of the largest peaceful demonstrations in this country." Our Rating A post suggests that a Black Lives Matter Group in Fresno has planned a riot for Tuesday afternoon with the goal of destroying infrastructure and sending a message to police.  Black activists in Fresno have denounced the riot post, discouraged people from attending and said it was not organized by a Black Lives Matter group. Fresno police are investigating the threat, but do not see fit to issue a curfew for the city at this time.  We rate this post .

There's no statistical evidence that" a waiting period for handgun purchases "reduces violence whatsoever.

April 21, 2015

crime;public health;guns

van wanggaard

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, was elected to the Senate in 2010. He lost his seat in a recall election in 2012, but won the seat back in a regular election in 2014. He is a retired traffic investigator with the Racine Police Department and a former member of the Racine County Board of Supervisors.

wisconsin

a legislative floor debate

Our rating Wanggaard said, "There’s no statistical that" a waiting period for handgun purchases "reduces violence whatsoever." There is research to indicate that handgun waiting periods are linked with lower suicide rates. But we did not find that waiting periods coincide with less violence being committed by one person against another. If such emerges, we may revisit this item. As it stands, Wanggaard’s statement is accurate but needs clarification -- our definition of .

Says she is a registered nurse.

August 30, 2012

candidate biography

laurie monnes anderson

Laurie Monnes Anderson is a Democratic state senator from Gresham.

oregon

voters' guide

Renewals are allowed within 60 days of expiration.) We understand that people forget to renew their professional licenses, although it’s hard for us to fathom someone forgetting for three years. Monnes Anderson is not a registered nurse, per the Oregon State Board of Nursing. She was a registered nurse from July 1985 to December 2009 but cannot to have been one at the time she submitted Voters’ Guide statements for the primary election in May or for the general election in November. We rate the statement , and note that her GOP opponent, Hansen, has an up-to-date professional license .

Says President Barack Obama's own administration has done five environmental impact assessments of the Keystone XL pipeline, "all of which have said it would have a minimum impact on the environment.

January 4, 2015

environment;energy;jobs

john thune

John Thune is a U.S. Senator who represents South Dakota.

national

comments on "Fox News Sunday"

Thune said that the administration had done five studies that all found that the Keystone XL pipeline would have a minimal impact on the environment. The State Department produced five documents, but in reality, all were versions of the same analysis. The State Department did conclude that the pipeline by itself would have no significant impact on the extraction of oil from Canada. However, that was the finding of one government department. The Environmental Protection Agency raised questions, based on the price of oil. The State Department’s final analysis also included the caveat that the pipeline would have a minimal impact on tar sands extraction only if oil prices remained above $75 per barrel. Since then, oil prices have fallen well below that point. Thune’s overstates the number of separate studies the administration has done, glosses over the differences of opinion within the administration, and fails to account for the caveat included in the State Department’s analysis. We rate the . Help fund PolitiFact's Kickstarter to live fact-check the 2015 State of the Union and GOP response.

A list shows over 14,000 dead people voted in Wayne County, Michigan.

November 5, 2020

tweets

Twitter is a messaging service where people often discuss politics. Individual messages are called Tweets.

michigan

a tweet

A tweet claims that this election, over 14,000 dead people in Wayne County voted. There is no to support this . While the list contains the names of over 14,000 individuals, they are not all Wayne County residents. Several of the individuals did not receive or cast an absentee ballot. At least one woman listed seems to still be alive. There is no that Michigan clerks counted ballots fraudulently cast on behalf of dead people. We rate it . Reporting contributed by Ashley Nerbovig

If a 12-year-old girl became pregnant because of rape or incest, "Tim Michels would force her to deliver the baby.

October 19, 2022

abortion;children;elections;health care

tony evers

Tony Evers, a Democrat, was elected Wisconsin governor in November 2018. His term begins in January 2019. Evers has served as the Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction, a non-partisan position, since 2009. He previously worked as a teacher and school district administrator.

wisconsin

Campaign ad

In fact, after Michels said he’d sign a bill allowing them, his campaign staff repeatedly said his personal beliefs on the subject hadn’t changed — that is, that he still doesn’t personally support them.    Our ruling  The television ad from Evers’ campaign said Michels would force a 12-year-old girl to give birth if she became pregnant as a result of rape or incest.  Michels long opposed adding exceptions for rape and incest into Wisconsin’s abortion ban, though he recently said he’d sign a bill adding them. But that scenario appears unlikely, and his campaign has said his personal beliefs on the issue remain the same.  We rate this .   

The House did vote against engagement in Kosovo, and Bill Clinton kept fighting anyway. And, then, ultimately, a vote did pass.

September 1, 2013

history;legal issues;foreign policy;military

peter king

Peter King is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving a district in New York. He is a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.

national

an interview on "Fox News Sunday"

King said that "the House did vote against engagement in Kosovo, and Bill Clinton kept fighting anyway. And, then, ultimately, a vote did pass." King is right that the House failed to pass an authorization for military action in Kosovo, and that Clinton continued to pursue the air campaign despite the legislative setback. However, it’s not a slam dunk that "ultimately, a vote did pass." The House did pass a spending bill covering the costs of the Kosovo campaign, but not an authorization along the lines of what is required by the War Powers Resolution. On balance, we rate the statement .

Lifetime earnings of someone with a college degree is over a million dollars more than those entering the workforce without one.

February 7, 2023

education;workers

stanley litow

Stanley Litow is a professor and innovator in residence at Duke University and an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He is author of the book, "The Challenge for Business and Society: From Risk to Reward" and serves as a trustee of the State University of New York system.

new york

a news release

Litow said, "Lifetime earnings of someone with a college degree is over a million dollars more than those entering the workforce without one." Multiple analyses show that a bachelor’s degree can provide more than $1 million in added income over a lifetime compared with not having one, although one study showed dollar figures that, while substantial, did not quite reach $1 million. Also, the income differential can vary based on factors including undergraduate major, gender, race, ethnicity and industry of employment We rate this statement .

According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, under Obamacare, 7 million people will lose their employer-sponsored insurance.

August 12, 2013

federal budget;health care;public health

ted cruz

Ted Cruz is a U.S. Senator from Texas, first elected in 2012. Cruz also was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He is the former solicitor general for the state of Texas, previously serving as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a domestic policy advisor on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, according to his campaign biography.

texas

a radio commentary

Cruz said that according to the CBO, "under Obamacare, 7 million people will lose their employer-sponsored insurance." Not exactly. This is a refraction of the budget office’s forecast, which says that in four years--2017 and 2021 through 2023--seven million fewer workers will have employer-based plans than if Obamacare were not law. In any year, it makes sense to expect some workers to lose employer-backed coverage. Things change. But the office’s 10-year forecast does not estimate how many workers will "lose" employer-sponsored plans. Conversely, it indicates that compared to 2013, more workers will have employer plans in all but one year of the decade. This skews a single cherry-picked number from a multi-variable presentation. While there is an element of --fewer workers will have employer-supported plans than if Obamacare had not passed into law--the CBO report also indicates many Americans will obtain coverage from other sources. We rate the statement as .

Pelosi cries like a kid after Trump's lawyer proves her client 'innocence.'

April 1, 2023

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former president will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right. "  Twitter users and Habba criticized Pelosi’s tweet, because the presumption at trial is that a person is innocent until proven guilty.  But there were no tears as the junk headline promised. We rate this post is .

Says Rudy Giuliani filed for Nancy Pelosi's impeachment.

June 20, 2019

corrections and updates;impeachment;facebook fact-checks

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

The first line of that story reads, "Rudy Giuliani walked into the 1st Circuit Court of Writs today and filed Articles of Impeachment for Nancy Pelosi." And when you click on the hyperlink the site provides for the words, "1st Circuit Court of Writs," it takes you to a Google Translate page that states basically everything we know to be about this story: "Nope. No such thing. "  That’s because Bustatroll.org is a subsidiary of ‘America’s Last Line of Defense," a satirical publication.  We rate this Facebook post !

You go to a store, they don't have bread.

March 29, 2022

agriculture;economy

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

an interview with Just the News

Trump said stores "don’t have bread." His office didn’t provide any examples, and industry data shows no major issues. A particular baked good might be missing briefly from a grocery store’s shelf, but stores carry many varieties of bread. If one is unavailable, customers generally have many other options. We rate this .

Images show Highland Park shooter had antifa connection

July 4, 2022

crime;facebook fact-checks;illinois

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

national

a Facebook post

Videos from Crimo’s now-deleted YouTube channel showed him cheering for former President Donald Trump’s motorcade, according to NBC . A Facebook post claimed that Crimo, the man apprehended for the mass shooting in Highland Park, had posted an antifa flag on Instagram. The photo is unverified. And PolitiFact found no credible to suggest that the account in the Facebook post belonged to Crimo or he had any ties to antifa.  We rate this . 

Says more Republicans than Democrats voted for the Wall Street bailouts.

October 10, 2010

economy;financial regulation

kurt schrader

Kurt Schrader is a congressman representing Oregon's 5th District. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008.   He was elected to the Oregon State House of Representatives in 1996 and the Oregon Senate in 2003. He is a veterinarian and an organic farmer.

oregon

a radio show

There’s not much use arguing with official numbers. Schrader’s right on this: The Wall Street bailout -- one of this election year’s go-to boogeymen -- was, at least in part, the product of the Bush administration. But, he’s definitely when it comes to counting votes: 86 more Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of the program’s ultimate passage. A spokesman for the campaign now says Schrader simply misspoke. PolitiFact Oregon rates this statement .   Comment on this item.

If you log into the government's Cash for Clunkers Web site (cars.gov) from your home computer, the government can "seize all of your personal and private" information, and track your computer activity.

July 31, 2009

environment;pundits

kimberly guilfoyle

Kimberly Guilfoyle is a co-host of The Five.

national

the Glenn Beck show

That much is implied by the fact the government felt the need to remove the language. So in that sense, we think the DOT bears some blame for the confusion. Had she said from the start that this just applied to dealers completing transactions, we might be more generous in our ruling. But we think anyone who saw the July 31 program — in which she claimed "seriously, they can get all your information" — would be left with the clear impression that anyone who logged into the cars.gov site was opening their computer to Big Brother. And that's .

Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted.

November 4, 2020

elections;pennsylvania;michigan

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

wisconsin

a tweet

Trump said, "Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted." In some states, Trump did initially lead, only to see Biden surge back and take the lead. But in others, Biden led and Trump came back from behind to take the lead. The allegation of "surprise ballot dumps" is flat . Officials had been warning about delays in counting for months. Variations in the ballot counting were due to the normal tabulation playing out, and it didn’t have to do with anything improper by Democrats. We rate the statement .

While Romney was a director of the Damon Corporation, the company was defrauding Medicare of millions.

January 20, 2012

corporations;health care;crime;medicare;message machine 2012

afscme

AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is the largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States.

florida

a television ad

The ad claims that, "While Romney was a director of the Damon Corporation, the company was defrauding Medicare of millions." That's , but Romney was never implicated personally with the fraudulent activity at the company, and it was one of many companies with which Bain was involved. It’s also difficult to assess whether Romney knew about the fraud or should have known, and what he did to stop it. So the statement is correct but leaves out context. We rate this statement .

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown shows someone can be bipartisan in Congress because he "votes about 66 percent with his own party.

October 16, 2012

bipartisanship;congress;voting record

brendan doherty

Brendan Doherty, former head of the Rhode Island State Police, ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2012 in Rhode Island's 1st District as a Republican.

rhode island

a TV debate

Republican Brendan Doherty, attempting to illustrate how he would not be a lock-step Republican if elected to Congress, cited the example of Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, saying that Brown "votes about 66 percent with his own party." Voting records show that Doherty is correct. Even when you look just at key votes where the political stakes were higher and members of the two parties came down on different sides of the issue, Brown's party-line score was 71 percent, still pretty close to the 66 percent mark. We rate Doherty's . (Get updates from PolitiFact Rhode Island on Twitter: @politifactri . To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)

It is ironic that (First Energy Corp. is) going to have a name on our (football stadium) where we (Cleveland Public Power) supply the electricity.

January 15, 2013

city budget;energy;infrastructure

mike polensek

Mike Polensek is a longtime member of Cleveland City Council, serving for more than three decades. He represents Ward 11 in the northeast part of Cleveland along the Lake Erie shore.

ohio

a television interview

"If they want to call it Reddy Kilowatt Stadium, and make Reddy Kilowatt the mascot" -- referring to the old stick figure mascot used by the Illuminating Co. and Ohio Edison and many other power companies -- "there's nothing we can do." First Energy didn’t opt to put Reddy’s name in lights, though. Cleveland Browns Stadium is now "FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns." And, it is powered by Cleveland Public Power. On the -O-Meter, Polensek's statement gets a power rating of .

Out of 150,000 tenured teachers in the last 10 years, only 17 have been dismissed for incompetence.

April 29, 2011

education

chris christie

Chris Christie announced June 6, 2023 that he is running for the Republican nomination for president. Christie was the governor of New Jersey and a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. As governor, Christie won office in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Prior to that, he was U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2008. 

new jersey

a speech at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

But state records back up his statement about the 17 cases involving inefficiency or incompetence charges. Still, his underlying point is largely correct. The state has tens of thousands of teachers and only 17 have lost their jobs through dismissals or resignations in the past decade following charges of incompetence or inefficiency. We rate his statement . To comment on this ruling, join the conversation at www.NJ.com .

U.S. has biological weapons labs in Ukraine.

March 9, 2022

foreign policy;military;facebook fact-checks;ukraine

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

a post on Instagram

A spokesperson for the Chinese government said the U.S. has biolabs in Ukraine.   The originated with the Russian government and has been previously debunked by U.S. government officials and weapons control advocates. Following Zhao’s March 9 remarks, U.S. government officials strongly refuted the claims again, saying the narrative was being used to lay the groundwork for further violence in Ukraine. 

We have $60 billion in 2010 in Medicare fraud.

March 11, 2012

health care;medicare

brendan doherty

Brendan Doherty, former head of the Rhode Island State Police, ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2012 in Rhode Island's 1st District as a Republican.

rhode island

a TV news show

Brendan Doherty said there was $60 billion in Medicare fraud in 2010. The is, nobody really knows how much money is spent on fraudulent Medicare claims. Even the government agency that regulates Medicare has not -- and apparently cannot -- come up with a firm figure. While experts say the amount of fraud in the entire health care system could range from $69 billion to hundreds of billions of dollars, only the GAO study isolated improper payments for Medicare specifically. Its $48-billion estimate, which also includes wasteful spending, is $12 billion -- or 20 percent -- less than Doherty’s number for fraud alone. Doherty’s campaign didn’t pull the $60 billion number from thin air. Staffers found multiple reports using that figure from credible media outlets. But those media outlets used it inaccurately. It’s understandable why Doherty believed those reports -- especially for a number that’s pretty squishy -- but if stamping out waste and fraud is indeed one of the core issues of his candidacy, he at least should have gotten his information from a first-hand source. We rate Doherty’s statement . (Get updates from PolitiFactRI on Twitter . To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)

Ninety percent of people born in the 1940s ended up doing better financially than their parents. But those born in the 1980s, the much-maligned Millennials, have only a 50-50 chance of doing better (financially) than their parents, despite being the best-educated generation in our history.

October 11, 2017

economy;education;jobs;the 2018 california governor's race

delaine eastin

Delaine Eastin is a Democratic candidate for California governor. She served in the State Assembly from 1986 to 1994 and then as State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1995 to 2003.

california

an op-ed

Delaine Eastin recently claimed millennials "have only a 50-50 chance" of doing better financially than their parents, while those born in the 1940s had a 90 percent chance of doing better than their parents. Her is supported by a 2016 Stanford study, " The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility since 1940 ." Stanford researchers found stronger economic growth combined with a broader distribution of that growth during the Baby Boomer generation drove greater upward mobility for people born in the 1940s. They said financial success has become more concentrated in recent decades, leaving millennials with much lower odds of doing better than their parents. Even after accounting for changes, such as inflation and millennials starting work at older ages, they found today’s younger generation faces comparatively smaller odds of earning more than their parents. Other research, notably by the advocacy group Young Invincibles, agreed with the Stanford findings. We rate her .  – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing. Click here for more  on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Obama did in fact unconstitutionally spy on Trump throughout the presidential election.

February 1, 2018

fake news;crime;punditfact

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a story

"This is, as I said before, Soviet dictator-level wrongdoing." There is no that Obama himself ordered wiretapping to spy on Trump during the election and is now headed toward an indictment. Trump tweeted in 2017 that Obama had ordered surveillance on him. While there have been media reports about intelligence investigations into Trump’s associates’ possible Russia ties, there is no proof that Obama himself ordered wiretapping of Trump. We rate this story .

Jan. 6 defendants "are being held in prison without being charged.

March 13, 2022

elections;jan. 6

kari lake

Kari Lake, a former anchor for Fox 10 News in Phoenix, was the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona in 2022. She lost the general election to Katie Hobbs.

arizona

an interview with 60 Minutes Australia

Lake said Jan. 6 defendants "are being held in prison without being charged." Lake did not cite any particular defendants during her interview, and her campaign didn’t respond to our request for . The U.S. Attorney’s Office publicly shows online the charges filed against more than 775 defendants, including violent offenses such as using deadly weapons or assaulting police officers. Many of the defendants have pleaded guilty. We found no of defendants being imprisoned without being charged.  We rate her . PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check. RELATED : The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance RELATED : Tucker Carlson’s conspiracy theory about FBI and Jan. 6 continues to be RELATED : All of our fact-checks about Jan. 6 Capitol attack  

There are 3 million jobs that go vacant each month in this country.

February 13, 2013

jobs

dave joyce

Former Geauga County prosecutor who was elected to Congress in 2012.

ohio

a radio interview

Alcoa Inc. CEO Klaus Kleinfeld provided a counterpoint to Capelli’s views. Kleinfeld said he believes manufacturing jobs pay "very, very well," and that Alcoa is making efforts to fill the skills gap as are many other businesses. Asked why there’s still a skills gap if manufacturing is attempting to close it, Kleinfield replied: "This is not a society where you can tell somebody what - where to go, or where to - what education to get, right?’ Joyce’s that 3 million jobs go vacant each month is accurate. We rate his statement .

However, it took $19.5 million in Oregon Lottery funds for the Port of Newport to eventually land the new NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific.

March 15, 2012

jobs

oregon lottery

The Oregon Lottery provides money for economic development and schools.

oregon

a website

NOAA itself says Newport had the lowest cost bid, and that was in large part due to the Lottery. But Johnson is correct that many other factors played a role and for the Lottery to suggest that its money was the final piece is incomplete. The statement is partially accurate -- Lottery money made the lease competitive -- but it leaves out important details. Astoria dropped out; Newport’s bid was better on technical fronts than the others; legislative leaders pulled together to set aside the dollars and bonding authority. We rule the statement .  Return to OregonLive to comment on this ruling.

President Donald Trump "can't say anything (about the U.S. Capitol riot) because the platforms have removed him.

January 17, 2021

technology

hogan gidley

Hogan Gidley was formerly the national press secretary for Donald Trump's reelection campaign. Before that, he was deputy press secretary in the Trump White House.

national

a Fox News interview

Gidley said Trump "can’t say anything (about the U.S. Capitol riot) because the platforms have removed him." That’s . Trump has many tools available to him, including the ability to go on TV or call reporters to the White House briefing room. He has made public remarks since the riot. We rate Gidley’s statement .

In 2016, an officer was assaulted in America on an average of every 10 minutes.

May 15, 2018

crime

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

a speech

Trump said a police officer is assaulted every 10 minutes in 2016. That math works out if you divide the number of minutes in a year by the FBI’s count of line-of-duty assaults. There are a few points to remember about this particular statistic. This count doesn’t just isolate incidents where a wound was inflicted, such as a shooting and stabbing, so incidents such as shoving and kicking are also considered an assault. Also, a criminologist warned that the "crime clock" method does not really tell you that much, because it does not factor in the growing U.S. and police populations. Trump's statement is accurate but requires additional context. We rate it .

When public schools face increased competition, they get better and kids learn more.

April 6, 2017

education;government regulation

jeb bush

Jeb Bush was a Republican candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He served two terms as the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is also the brother of former President George W. Bush and the son of former President George H.W. Bush. 

new hampshire

an op-ed

In urging the passage of a New Hampshire bill to establish education savings accounts, Jeb Bush said "when public schools face increased competition, they get better and kids learn more." Some research shows positive gains in public schools when choice is offered, but researchers say those studies typically only show minor effects, and that the specifics of the programs matter a lot. In Florida and Ohio, where vouchers were targeted to certain types of students, researchers found minor improvements in public school performance. In Chile, where vouchers were universally available, public school test scores got worse. But Bush cited "a large body of research," and ESA programs like the ones being proposed in New Hampshire have only very recently been implemented in Arizona and Nevada, and haven’t been studied. To imply that competition will lift all boats -- especially in the context of this legislative proposal -- isn’t supported by the research. We rate this .

The city of Atlanta has $56 million in its reserves.

November 30, 2010

kasim reed

Kasim Reed is Mayor of Atlanta.

georgia

a speech

The spreadsheets show Reed's seems on the money. But, as Lusby noted, the city's fiscal year 2010 books haven't been audited. Farooqui said "there is no reason to believe the numbers will change dramatically" after the audit. Since there's additional information that may come from the audit, we reserve the right to change the ruling if there is significant information that shows the city's numbers were on target or . For now, we'll be a little conservative here and rate Reed's statement as .

Says 95 percent of people caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border said in a survey "we are coming because we've been promised amnesty.

June 23, 2014

immigration

ted cruz

Ted Cruz is a U.S. Senator from Texas, first elected in 2012. Cruz also was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He is the former solicitor general for the state of Texas, previously serving as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a domestic policy advisor on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, according to his campaign biography.

texas

a press conference

Cruz said a survey indicates 95 percent of people caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border said "we are coming because we’ve been promised amnesty." This statement accurately recaps a statistic in a document made public by another senator: 95 percent of 230 adults and unaccompanied children interviewed recently by the Border Patrol gave as the main reason for their journeys the U.S. government issuing permisos , which the document defines as notices to appear in immigration court enabling recipients to stay in the country at least until then. But that’s not "amnesty," as in an absolution enabling people to stay indefinitely without risk of penalty, and indeed "amnesty" goes unmentioned in the survey summary. Also, as unsaid by Cruz, the immigrants listed other reasons for coming, including crime and violence in home countries. The document, with its anonymous origins, doesn’t specify how many individuals singled out these other factors. Another study, in which the United Nations earlier surveyed twice as many immigrants, pointed to gang violence as the vital factor. We rate this , which is partly accurate but leaves out relevant details, as . – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Mariah Carey faked getting her COVID-19 vaccine because the needle can't be seen coming out of her arm.

April 15, 2021

public health;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

In the very beginning of Carey’s clip , too, a woman can be heard telling another person that when pushed all the way, "the needle will retract back. "  A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) Retractable needles are used to help protect patients and health care workers from injury. "Needlesticks and other sharps-related injuries which expose workers to bloodborne pathogens continue to be a significant hazard for hospital employees," the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says on its website.  In a display of the many different types of needles, the agency explains how retractable syringes work: "After the needle is used, an extra push on the plunger retracts the needle into the syringe, removing the hazard of needle exposure." We rate this post .

Says Scott Bruun supports allowing corporations to secretly funnel millions of dollars to front groups to finance attack ads.

September 17, 2010

campaign finance

jeff merkley

Jeff Merkley is a Democratic senator from Oregon. He was elected in 2008. Merkley won his first campaign for the Oregon Legislature as a representative in 1998. He was elected Democratic leader in 2003 and speaker of the House in 2007. He studied international relations at Stanford University and earned a graduate degree in public policy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

oregon

a fundraising letter

Bruun’s campaign spokeswoman Alee Lockman wrote in e-mails that Bruun supports "transparency & reporting in campaign finance" but disagrees with the way the Disclose Act "is set up." "He is, of course, open to bipartisan discussions about campaign finance regulations, but as he is not in Congress yet, he can’t speculate on what hypothetical legislation he may or may not be presented with," she wrote. Bruun has said he favors Oregon's system, which has no limits on contributions but requires full disclosure of donor information. In sum, as over the top as Merkley’s statement may be, PolitiFact Oregon finds it to be Half  . Comment on this item.

Video shows U.S. Capitol Police gave protesters OK to enter.

May 16, 2021

crime;facebook fact-checks;jan. 6

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

national

a Facebook post

Social media posts are describing a video clip of Capitol police officers with a group of pro-Trump rioters on Jan. 6 as that officers allowed the mob inside the building. The officers in the video are attempting to de-escalate the situation by telling the rioters, who already breached the building, to remain calm and peaceful. There is overwhelming that shows the mob forcefully entering the Capitol, with many attacking police officers in the process.  We rate this !

Graph shows Gretchen Whitmer stole the Michigan gubernatorial election.

November 9, 2022

elections;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

michigan

an Instagram post

There’s no these votes are part of some "drop and roll" fraud. Rather, it’s Michiganders making a choice in their 2022 gubernatorial election. In this case, a majority of Michiganders chose the Democratic candidate, Whitmer.  Dixon conceded the race the morning of Nov. 9.  We rate claims that Whitmer stole the election !

Video shows Joe Biden saying "we can only re-elect Donald Trump.

March 7, 2020

elections

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

a tweet

A White House video showed 13 seconds of Biden speaking at a campaign event when he said "we can only re-elect Donald Trump." Biden did make that statement as he stumbled over his words. But the video snippet omitted what Biden said immediately before and after, which removes his meaning. Biden’s overall point was to call for Democratic Party unity and to run a positive campaign, rather than intra-party attacks. The video stripped that out. The video employs deceptive editing via omission . We rate it .

When I came into office, our vaccination rate in Texas was 65 percent. When I left two weeks ago, it was 95 percent.

February 5, 2014

corrections and updates;health care;public health

rick perry

Rick Perry is the U.S. Energy Secretary and was governor of Texas from late December 2000 through 2014. He was re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He unsucessfully ran for president in 2012 and 2016.

texas

an interview with the Texas Tribune and Washington Post

Perry said: "When I came into office, our vaccination rate in Texas was 65 percent. When I left two weeks ago, it was 95 percent." These percentages trace to reported immunization rates for different populations of youngsters. And by inappropriately pairing the figures, Perry left the impression of great progress on his watch when there actually was less dramatic improvement--with kindergartners almost uniformly getting all their shots, as required by law, as they did before his reign. With all this in mind, we rate the statement . – The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. UPDATE, 3:48 p.m., Feb. 12, 2015 : After this story published, a reader prompted us to notice that a Perry spokesman had told the Texas Tribune the ex-governor used "incomplete numbers." We amended our fact check to note that. This did not affect our rating of what he said.

Says San Antonio has "the lowest per capita income of any major Texas city.

January 29, 2020

income;population

henry cisneros

Henry Cisneros, a former secretary of Housing & Urban Development and former mayor of San Antonio, is a businessman in the Alamo City.

texas

a meeting

Cisneros said that San Antonio has "the lowest per capita income of any major Texas city." San Antonio is among the six most populous Texas cities with the lowest per capita income. El Paso has consistently recorded a lower per capita income than San Antonio. We rate this .

Says Gov. Rick Scott allowed Republican legislators to cut his teacher pay raise proposal by 60 percent.

April 30, 2013

education;state budget

allison tant

Allison Tant is the chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party. A former lobbyist who lives in Tallahassee, she was elected to the post in January 2013. 

florida

a Florida Voices column

Tant said Scott only got 60 percent of the teacher pay raise he wanted. The final budget compromise adds thousands of noninstructors into the pay raise mix, which could affect the number of teachers who get raises or at least how much those raises are. Still, we don’t know what that will mean on a statewide level because teacher pay is worked out by local districts and their unions. Still, this isn’t even what Tant was trying to analyze. She just used a mismatched number. We give the Democrats props for coming clean with their . But we rate Tant’s statement .

Congressman Kasich wants to use our tax dollars to give secret bonuses to his corporate friends.

October 13, 2010

economy;jobs;message machine 2010;state budget;transparency

ted strickland

Ted Strickland was governor of Ohio from 2007 through 2010. He lost his bid for re-election in 2010 to Republican John Kasich.

ohio

a campaign video

While the words in the ad did come out of Kasich’s mouth, they are from edited video that links statements out of context. Without that context, viewers have no way of knowing that some of the lines clearly were said in jest, and they are instead presented as if Kasich is serious. And Kasich  clearly says during his conversation with reporters that bonuses would go to workers for JobsOhio and that they could not be secret, but would instead be public. Taking comments from different parts of conversation and linking them together to bolster a message is more than just , it’s deceptive to a point of . For a statement like this -- "Kasich wants to use our tax dollars to give secret bonuses to his corporate friends" -- there’s only one answer: !

People who are vaccinated for the coronavirus "cannot spread it to you.

October 7, 2021

public health;coronavirus

joe biden

Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law. 

Elk Grove Village, Ill

Biden said that people who are vaccinated for the coronavirus "cannot spread it to you." That’s overstating the case. Multiple studies show that a vaccinated person is significantly less likely to pass the coronavirus to someone else than an unvaccinated person is, but the transmission risk is not reduced to zero. We rate the statement .

Right now, Texas doesn't have an income tax and Oklahoma's lowering their income tax rates, and guess what their severance tax is? Sky high.

March 21, 2013

state budget;taxes

john kasich

John Kasich is the governor of Ohio. A Republican and a former congressman, he defeated Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in 2010 and was reelected in 2014. He ran for president in 2016.

ohio

a television interview

As for the other part of his , while "sky high" is somewhat subjective, the reality of the tax structure now is that the significantly higher tax rates on gas and oil in Texas and Oklahoma, when compared to Ohio, can generate revenues that are -- well -- sky high.   Texas and Oklahoma are among the leaders for natural gas, but not tops. Oklahoma also has one of the highest oil rates. And at current prices, Texas’ tax on oil, the lower of the two states, would yield more than 20 times what Ohio’s current per-barrel tax raises. On the -O-Meter, Kasich’s rates .

In the infrastructure bill that just passed the House, "only 10% is actual infrastructure.

November 6, 2021

congress;federal budget;infrastructure

lisa mcclain

Lisa McClain, a Republican, represents a Michigan district in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

michigan

a tweet

McClain said that in the infrastructure bill that just passed the House, "only 10% is actual infrastructure." This is a version of a Republican talking point that was months ago and has been rendered even more since then. Because Biden and congressional Democrats split their agenda into an infrastructure-only bill and a separate measure that dealt with social safety net spending, the bill that passed the House was almost entirely pure infrastructure spending. We rate the statement !

President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this (police reforms) during their eight-year period.

June 16, 2020

criminal justice;crime;public safety

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

a speech

Trump said, "President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this during their eight-year period." The record shows that is not . After the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and related racial justice protests, Obama established a task force to examine better policing practices. The Obama administration also investigated patterns or practices of misconduct in police departments and entered into court-binding agreements that require departments to correct misconduct. We rate Trump’s statement .

Vermont had to "scrap" its single-payer health insurance program because it was "going bankrupt.

September 14, 2017

health care;government regulation;public health

sean duffy

Sean Duffy is a Republican member of the U.S. House, representing Wisconsin's 7th District in the northwestern part of the state. The former Ashland County district attorney was elected In November 2010, taking the seat previously held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Dave Obey of Wausau.

wisconsin

a Facebook Live town hall

Our rating Duffy said Vermont had to "scrap" its single-payer health insurance program because it was "going bankrupt." Vermont adopted legislation for single-payer in 2011. But by 2014, Vermont’s governor abandoned the plan, saying the tax increases it needed would have been too high. In short, single-payer in Vermont didn’t go bankrupt; it was never even funded or implemented. We rate Duffy’s statement .

Former President Donald Trump is the "current sitting" commander in chief.

March 20, 2023

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

Trump did declare himself a "wartime president" in March 2020 as the country tried to stop the spread of COVID-19, then relatively new on the scene.  But only Congress can declare war , and plenty of administrations have mobilized the U.S. National Guard without the expectation that they’d stay in office after they were voted out, as Trump was. The Constitution, meanwhile, clearly states that the president "shall hold his office during the term of four years. "  In a March 18 Social post, Trump even referred to himself as a "former president. "  We rate claims that Trump is still president and commander in chief !

Says Donald Trump "is going to go out and carpet bomb" the Middle East.

July 27, 2016

human rights;iraq;foreign policy;military;terrorism

joe biden

Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law. 

national

an appearance on MSNBC

Biden said that Donald Trump "is going to go out and carpet bomb." Trump has made it clear that he's not going to be reluctant to bomb ISIS, but the candidate has not, as far as we could find, called for a practice that includes bombing civilians, which is what carpet bombing can entail. It was another GOP candidate, Ted Cruz, who called for carpet bombing. We rate Biden's as . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/f4590925-b207-4146-81aa-f6940c99f7c6

Video shows the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a "completely peaceful protest.

June 1, 2021

congress;facebook fact-checks;jan. 6

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a blog post

The Justice Department has charged more than 400 people in connection with the riot, according to the George Washington University Center on Extremism. The charges against the alleged rioters include violence with a deadly weapon, assault, disorderly conduct, and unlawful possession of firearms. Charging documents say that rioters grabbed a police officer, dragged him and struck him. One rioter used a metal flagpole to attack a police officer.  We rate this post !

Says William Taylor and George Kent, the public witnesses in the House impeachment inquiry, are "Never Trumpers.

November 13, 2019

candidate biography

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

a fundraising email

Trump said Taylor and Kent are "Never Trumpers."  Both are career foreign policy officials who have served under presidents of both parties. Neither man signed one of the pre-election letters opposing Trump, and leading Never Trumpers told PolitiFact that they never heard of them associating with the group. Both received their current high posts by appointment from the Trump administration. We rate the statement .

[When I was mayor] Providence was one of the five renaissance cities of America, according to USA Today in those days. Money magazine said it was the fifth best city to live in in America. In addition to that, All Cities Almanac said in 1994, I believe, that it was the safest city in America.

September 30, 2014

candidate biography;city government;debates

vincent "buddy" cianci

Vincent "Buddy" Cianci is a talk-radio host and ex-convict who spent more time serving as mayor of Providence (21 years from 1975 to 2002) than anyone in the city's history. He is the author of "Politics and Pasta: How I Prosecuted Mobsters, Rebuilt a Dying City, Advised a President, Dined with Sinatra, Spent Five Years in a Federally Funded Gated Community, and Lived to Tell the Tale." He was defeated in the 2014 mayoral election when he ran as an independent.

rhode island

a TV debate

In the debate with Democrat Jorge Elorza and Republican Daniel Harrop, Cianci said that Providence was described as a renaissance city during his most recent stint in office and that it was also rated the safest city in America and one of the best places to live. The details are a bit off on a couple of those claims -- where they were made, the actual ranking -- but Cianci is pretty much on the mark. We rate his statement . (If you have a you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)

Wendy Davis is "fighting to bring ... Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas.

November 7, 2013

elections;states;guns

greg abbott

Greg Abbott won election as governor of Texas in November 2014, carrying 59 percent of the vote. Abbott was re-elected in 2018. Abbott, a former member of the Texas Supreme Court, served three terms as the state's attorney general before being succeeded by Ken Paxton in early 2015.

texas

a donation web page

Abbott said Davis is "fighting to bring" "Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas." Like Bloomberg, Davis supports background checks for all buyers at gun shows. She has opposed campus-carry measures, but voted to allow concealed weapons locked in vehicles while warning the author not to take it any farther. She has opposed letting the state tell cities or colleges they can’t regulate guns on their property, but voted to let the state pursue injunctions against cities that overstep limitations currently in state law. She joined most of the Senate in voting for three laws simplifying concealed-handgun permit applications. Davis has taken some actions Bloomberg might approve, and others he might not. However, she doesn’t appear, so far, to be "fighting" for tighter gun control if elected governor. We rate Abbott’s partly accurate statement as . – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

In America today, women on average are paid 80 cents on the dollar of what men are paid for the same work.

May 22, 2019

jobs;women;workers

kamala harris

Kamala Harris is the vice president of the United States. Harris was elected as a senator from California in 2016. She previously was California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017. From 2004 until 2011, she was the district attorney of San Francisco. Harris received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Howard University and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. In 2019, she ran for the Democratic nomination for president and dropped out in December. On Aug. 11, 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden named Harris as his running mate.

california

an interview on CBS's "Late Show with Stephen Colbert"

Harris said, "In America today, women on average are paid 80 cents on the dollar of what men are paid for the same work." The 80 percent figure compares pay for all working women to pay for all working men, so it’s for Harris to characterize it as a comparison between women and men doing the same work. Research has shown a pay gap for women and men doing the same work, but it’s narrower than 80 cents on the dollar. We rate the statement .

The Iraq war has been "our longest war.

March 22, 2010

history;iraq;military

bob schieffer

Bob Schieffer is the host of CBS' Face the Nation. He announced April 8, 2015, that he would be retiring in the summer of 2015.

national

comments on CBS's Face the Nation

"Maybe [Schieffer] figures Iraq will be the longest by the time we eventually leave, which of course is still possible," said Lance Janda, a historian at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. So it's clear that this is not a black-and-white question. Still, we think there's enough to say that the Iraq war was not America's "longest war." According to official Defense Department dating, the Revolutionary War, Vietnam and Afghanistan were (or are) all longer. So we rate Schieffer's statement .

In his election as governor, "We won cities that no Republican had ever won.

October 31, 2022

elections;history

glenn youngkin

Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected Virginia's governor in November 2021. He defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who was governor from 2014 to 2018. Youngkin was reared in Richmond and Virginia Beach and won a basketball scholarship at Rice University, where he earned an engineering degree. He earned a MBA from Harvard University. Youngkin worked 25 years at the Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm based in Washington with $230 billion in assets. He retired in 2020 as CEO after taking the company public. His net worth is estimated at $254 million, according to The Washington Post. Youngkin's 2021 campaign for governor is his first bid for public office.

virginia

a campaign rally,

"  State voting records disprove him. Youngkin won 14 Virginia cities. Each of those cities had been previously won at least once by a Republican gubernatorial candidate since 2009. Each had been won at least twice by a Republican gubernatorial candidate since 1993. We rate Youngkin’s statement .  

In North Carolina, "you can be charged with a class H felony for wearing a mask and concealed carrying.

June 23, 2020

guns;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

north carolina

a Facebook post

A viral Facebook post says "you can be charged with a class H felony for wearing a mask and concealed carrying" in North Carolina. The state’s top Democrat, top Republican and leading gun rights group agree: the is and unfounded. We rate this .

Contractors hired by government officials to frame Donald Trump are "behind the fake news in mainstream media" and recent protests.

August 15, 2020

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

The theory is baseless. Black Lives Matter protests arose from anger and grief over police killings of unarmed black men. Mueller didn’t find that Trump knowingly conspired with the Kremlin . And news coverage that scrutinizes the president and his actions isn’t " news" courtesy of some government contractors, but simply journalism. We rate these claims .

Local Government debt in Texas has increased nearly 40% in the past 5 years.

May 15, 2019

debt

donna campbell

Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels physician, won election to represent Texas Senate District 25 in November 2012. In 2010, she was the Republican nominee for the U.S. House seat held by Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Austin.

texas

a tweet

Campbell said local government "debt in Texas has increased nearly 40% in the past 5 years." Campbell's staff said she was referring to an increase in the amount of debt issued by local governments, which has increased about 38% in the past five years. But experts said her tweet was imprecise and left the impression that she was referring to outstanding debt, which has increased about 17% in the past five years. Plus, experts said looking at an increase in overall debt issued by local governments is not the best way to analyze how debt impacts tax rates. We rate this .

We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower.

September 17, 2019

impeachment

adam schiff

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. He represents California's 28th congressional district and was first elected to Congress in 2001. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Stanford University.

national

an interview on MSNBC

Schiff said, "We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower." The New York Times and other news organizations later reported that the whistleblower sought guidance from a House Intelligence Committee staffer before formally lodging the complaint. We rate this statement .

BLM rioters just burned down a black church in a black community with a BLM sign out front.

August 25, 2020

crime;race and ethnicity;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

wisconsin

a Facebook post

The church is located in the city’s historic downtown area. It’s not really residential, Carlson said, though it is relatively close to what would be considered a Black neighborhood.  "But I wouldn’t say that we’re in the middle of a Black community," he said. "We’re more in the commerce district." We rate this Facebook post .

Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill -- background checks and waiting periods.

June 25, 2015

voting record;guns

generation forward pac

A pro-Martin O'Malley political action committee

national

an attack ad

An attack ad said, "Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill --  background checks and waiting periods." The Brady bill imposed a five-day waiting period for would-be purchasers of handguns. Between 1991 and 1993, Sanders voted against it five times. He did, however, vote for a version of the bill that imposed instant background checks, and against an amendment that repealed state background checks. Experts noted Sanders’ votes were representative of Vermont’s gun owners and gun laws. Since the 1990s, his record on gun control is mixed.   We rate the ad’s .

Rhode Island has a [inmate] recidivism rate of over 60 percent.

June 6, 2013

criminal justice;economy;crime

harold metts

Harold M. Metts is a Democratic Rhode Island state senator, representing Providence. He retired  after 31 years working in Providence schools as a teacher, coach and assistant principal. He was first elected to the Senate in 2004 and was a state representative from 1984-1998.

rhode island

a speech on the floor of the Rhode Island Senate

State Sen. Harold Metts said, "Rhode Island has a recidivism rate of over 60 percent." For better or worse, recidivism rates are usually calculated based on how many former inmates are found guilty of a subsequent crime and end up back in prison within three years. The most recent data from the Department of Corrections cover two years and the rate is 42 percent. The most recent study to look at a three-year period, which covered inmates released in 2004, put the rate at 54 percent. The only way to get above 60 percent is to use the older study and look at an entirely different category: the number of ex-convicts who were brought back to the ACI because they had been charged with a new crime or with violating their probation. But that percentage is flawed as well because it includes at least some people who would never have seen a jail cell if they had been able to afford bail. Metts offered his "over 60 percent" as a definitive statistic. It's not. Although most of the measures we saw offered a lower number, those studies only followed the former inmates for three years or less, an artificial cutoff that makes it easier to collect statistics yet doesn't reflect the fact that anyone who goes back to prison after three years is still regarded as a recidivist. The bottom line: the longer inmates are followed, the higher the percentages get. And they get close enough that we regard Metts' as . (If you have a you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)

The Massachusetts Supreme Court...defined marriage as simply, quote, the establishment of intimacy ... I guess that would mean if you really had affection for your horse, I guess you could marry your horse.

March 14, 2010

lgbtq;marriage

j.d. hayworth

J.D. Hayworth is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and host of a conservative talk radio show. He challenged Sen. John McCain for renomination in the 2010 Republican Senate primary, but was defeated.

national

a radio interview

Hayworth prefaced his statement by saying he was making an point. We'll give him that. It's , all right. It's also . We give this one a, quote, !

There are more oil rigs in operation in the United States than the rest of the world combined.

October 16, 2012

environment;corporations;debt;economy;energy;federal budget;gas prices;infrastructure;government regulation

david cicilline

David Cicilline was elected to the 1st Congressional District in 2010. Before that, he was mayor of Providence, beginning in January, 2003. A Brown University graduate, he received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

rhode island

a debate

David Cicilline said, "There are more oil rigs in operation in the United States than the rest of the world combined." He said that information comes from "the best available data" in February. He's relying on a count that excludes some of the largest producers of oil and gas in the world, calling that the "best available data." It's not. The best available data would take into account reliable that two thousand rigs are in operation in China and Russia, a number that would allow the world total to overwhelm the U.S. total. Just because you haven't counted something, doesn't mean it's not there. For that reason, we rate Cicilline's . (Get updates from PolitiFact Rhode Island on Twitter: @politifactri . To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)

The same deputy who got shot through her jaw in Saturday's shooting is the same officer seen on video laughing and smirking at the scene of security guard Andres Guardado's death after he was shot and killed by LASD officers on June 18th, 2020.

September 14, 2020

crime;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

(We are choosing not to repeat her name since we have not confirmed it.) This timeline squares with the reported timeline of service for the deputies who were shot.  The Daily Mail  spoke with the deputy’s father and published photos from her graduation ceremony. They show she is not the same woman who appears in the Instagram screenshot at the scene of the Guardado shooting. We rate this post .