NATIONAL NEWS

Not real news: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Nov 17, 2017, 11:25 AM

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)...

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts:

NOT REAL: Second Roy Moore Accuser Works For Michelle Obama Right NOW

THE FACTS: The woman named as an accuser of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore in a story by the Last Line of Defense doesn’t work for Michelle Obama. In fact, it’s unclear that she’s a real person. The article claims a woman named Fiona Dourif told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow last week that she was groped by Moore in 1957. No one by that named appeared on Maddow’s show. An actress with the same name called out the story on Twitter , saying she has nothing to do with Moore. The story is linked to a photo of former Alabama U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance. An Obama family representative tells the AP the claim that the woman worked as a housekeeper for the Obamas is completely false.

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NOT REAL: Trump Abruptly Shuts Down Dogs for Wounded Warriors Program, Leaving Vets High and Dry on Veteran’s Day!

THE FACTS: Officials at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, did issue a stop work order to an animal therapy group contracted with the hospital, but it came on Oct. 27, more than two weeks before Veteran’s Day. The order to the Warrior Canine Project came from hospital officials, not the White House. Hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dean says it’s looking to restructure its animal therapy contracts to improve patient care. She adds that therapy dogs continue to be available for patients at Walter Reed.

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NOT REAL: British Intelligence Seizes Clinton Foundation Warehouse, $400 Million In Cash

THE FACTS: Several websites have posted a story claiming the Clinton Foundation was leasing a British warehouse owned by a man on the U.K.’s terrorist watch list, quoting an unnamed assistant to Chelsea Clinton stating that the facility was “rented through an agency.” Foundation spokesman Brian Cookstra tells the AP the story is “totally false.” He adds: “We don’t rent a warehouse in the UK, the quote from ‘Chelsea Clinton’s assistant’ is made up, and nothing in this story seems to be based in reality.” A photo included with the story is a picture from Britain’s The Sun newspaper that shows unrelated police activity in Kent, England.

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NOT REAL: English actor Ian McKellen dies aged 78

THE FACTS: McKellen is alive and actively working despite a story from a website appearing to mimic Britain’s Daily Mail reporting he died after a lengthy hospitalization for pneumonia. The story first published last year has recirculated in recent days. McKellen has starred in several projects on stage and screen this year alone, including the British sitcom “Vicious.” The show’s Twitter account posted a photo of McKellen and co-star Derek Jacobi Saturday with the note: “In case you were wondering, we’re still alive.”

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NOT REAL: Iceland Mandates Mental Health Warnings On All Bibles

THE FACTS: No warnings are required to be put on Bibles sold in the island nation. A widely-shared hoax story from the website Patheos offers a clue to the joke by naming the prime minister of the country as Andrew Canard. Canard is a seldom used word that means a fabricated report. The actual prime minister of Iceland is Bjarni Benediktsson.

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This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

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Find all AP Fact Checks here.

National News

Associated Press

The Latest | Qatar is ‘cautiously optimistic’ after cease-fire talks with Israeli intelligence chief

Qatari officials were “cautiously optimistic” after talks with Israel’s intelligence chief in Doha aimed at trying to reach a cease-fire, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday at a news conference, stressing that an Israeli ground operation in Rafah would set back any talks. Meanwhile, incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa laid out wide-ranging […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Oregon man found guilty of murder in 1980 cold case of college student after DNA link

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man living in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, has been found guilty in the 1980 cold case murder of a 19-year-old college student. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio on Friday found Robert Plympton, 60, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Barbara Mae Tucker, the Multnomah County District […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Discrimination lawsuit brought by transgender athlete sent back to Minnesota trial court

A Minnesota appeals court has sent the lawsuit brought by a transgender athlete back to a trial court to determine whether she was illegally denied entry into women’s competitions because of her gender identity. JayCee Cooper, a transgender woman, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 after the organization denied her 2018 request for participation. She alleged […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Cleanup continues in Ohio following tornados, severe weather that killed 3

LAKEVIEW, Ohio (AP) — The three people killed when several tornados roared through Ohio last week all died from storm-related injuries, authorities announced Monday. Darla Williams, 70, and Marilyn Snapp, 81, both lived in the Geiger Mobile Home Park in Lakeview, while Neal Longfellow, 69, lived in nearby Orchard Island. The two communities were among […]

13 hours ago

Associated Press

Chinese billionaire pleads guilty to straw donor scheme in New York and Rhode Island

NEW YORK (AP) — A Chinese billionaire pleaded guilty Monday to violating federal election law by funneling illegal straw donations to a New York City official, a member of the U.S. House and a congressional candidate. Hui Qin, a Chinese film magnate with homes in Manhattan and Long Island, admitted to using his fortune to […]

14 hours ago

Associated Press

Movie armorer challenges conviction in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie set armorer is challenging her conviction on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” court records released Monday show. Defense attorneys for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed filed a request for a new trial […]

14 hours ago

Not real news: A look at what didn’t happen this week