Q: Were the police in Charlottesville, Virginia, told to “stand down” to allow the violent clashes that occurred on Aug. 12?
A: The police chief, mayor and city spokeswoman say there is no truth to that claim. Others have criticized what they describe as slow police action.
Q: Is the man who drove his car into a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia, a Hillary Clinton supporter, and funded by George Soros?
A: There is no evidence to support either claim. In fact, the driver is a registered Republican, and his former teacher said he supported Donald Trump during the presidential campaign.
Q: Does a video corroborate a belief by Charlottesville police officers that the driver in the fatal car attack at a white nationalist rally “was not acting maliciously”?
A: No. Police have charged James Alex Fields Jr. with multiple offenses, including second-degree murder and “aggravated malicious wounding.”
Q: Did the man who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, meet with former President Obama in the White House?
A: No. A satirical website confuses the driver with the organizer of the rally, who is rumored to have been a past Obama supporter.
This year, SciCheck writer Vanessa Schipani has appeared on NBC10 in Philadelphia several times to discuss some of her stories.
President Donald Trump claimed that his administration is “spending a lot of money on the inner cities.” But there has been little change in spending so far, and his first budget proposes to cut or eliminate funding for some programs that benefit cities.
President Trump answered critics who said he waited too long to condemn the white nationalists who staged a protest in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned violent. We put into context some of his statements.
Q: Did President Trump cancel funding to build Barack Obama’s presidential library?
A: No. That story originated on a satirical news site. All presidential libraries have been constructed using private or non-federal funds.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo misrepresented the facts when he suggested the Trump administration was responsible for changing China’s policy on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.