On former Sen. Fred Thompson’s radio show, former lieutenant governor of New York Betsy McCaughey said that the House’s proposed health care bill contained a provision that would institute mandatory counseling sessions telling seniors how “to do what’s in society’s best interest … and cut your life short.” House Minority Leader John Boehner made a slightly more measured …
July 29, 2009
The president’s aircraft, Air Force One, has a doctor on board at all times and has a medical suite that can function as an operating room.
Source: WhiteHouse.gov
The Last Word? We Wish.
We at FactCheck.org are grateful to the Obama birth certificate conspiracy theorists for hundreds of thousands of page views to our "Born in the U.S.A." article from last November, and to our other items debunking some of their more outrageously false claims. We’re less grateful for their thousands of sometimes abusive e-mails claiming that we’re perpetuating a dangerous falsehood, among the more printable comments. Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, is also fed up.
Michelle’s European Vacation
Q: Did Michelle Obama and her daughters use taxpayer money to take a European vacation?
A: The first lady, her mother and her children did stay in Europe for a private vacation after the president completed an overseas trip on official business. However, no taxpayer money was used for the first family’s personal expenses.
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of July 21-July 27
This week, readers sent us comments on social networking, health care and birth-certificate doubters.
In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Welcome to Our New Look
You might have noticed that things look a little different around here.
We’ve given the site a bit of a makeover. Some of the effects are pretty obvious, like the rotating picture gallery on our homepage. That’s where we’ll feature our newest and most-talked-about content. You can click the picture or the article title to go to the full story. And don’t worry if you didn’t click fast enough. The content will cycle back around. Or if you’re impatient,
July 28, 2009
Residential property burglaries accounted for 67.9 percent of all burglary offenses in 2007 in the U.S.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program
July 27, 2009
There were an estimated 2,179,140 burglaries in the United States in 2007.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program
July 26, 2009
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage was originally 25 cents per hour on Oct. 24, 1938.
Source: Department of Labor
July 25, 2009
As of July 24, the federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour.
Source: Department of Labor