Speaking today in Joplin, Missouri, VIce President Joe Biden overstated the deaths there in the 2011 tornado by 160,839:
"161,000 brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents lost," said the vice president.
But as Reuters reported in 2011, the death toll was in fact 161:
The death toll from the May 22 tornado in Joplin, Missouri has been revised down to 161 with the discovery that one assumed victim died of other causes.
The city said in a statement that Kenneth J. Henson, a resident of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, did not die in the tornado. Jasper County Coroner Rob Chappel discovered the error while he was helping other officials compile a list of tornado victims for a six-month memorial service, the city said.
"Through this recent review, we are confident that the current list of 161 is accurate," the city said. The city gave no explanation for the Henson mix-up, and Chappel could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.