Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter Institute

Mounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.

Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to.

"You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations," she said.

For example, the A. flavus fungi that she used to write this message from Santa grows very quickly. "The next day, after looking at this plate, it didn't say 'Ho Ho Ho.' It said 'blah blah blah,'" Mounaud said.

The message also eventually turned green, which was the color she was initially after. "It was a really nice green, which is what I was hoping for. But yellow will do," she said.

The hat was particularly challenging. The fungus used to create it "was troubling because at different temperatures it grows differently. The pigment in this one forms at room temperature but this type of growth needed higher temperatures," Mounaud said.

Not all fungus will grow nicely together. For example, in the hat, "N. fischeri [the brim and ball] did not want to play nice with the P. marneffei [red part of hat] ... so they remained slightly separated."

Published December 21, 2012

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Critics Slam NRA's Call for Armed School Guards

Gun control advocates slammed the National Rifle Association today for its proposal to create a force of armed security guards at schools across the country as a response to the Connecticut school shooting.

"It is beyond belief that following the Newtown tragedy, the National Rifle Association's leaders want to fill our communities with guns and arm more Americans," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said.

Criticism mounted after the NRA addressed for the first time last week's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., in which Adam Lanza, 20, used a semiautomatic weapon to open fire on students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 26 at the school.

NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre this morning dismissed the notion that the pro-gun group of about 4 million members would support any kind of gun-control laws, instead saying that "the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who represents the district encompassing Newtown, reacted angrily to the comments after attending the funeral of another victim from last Friday's massacre.

"Walking out of another funeral and was handed the NRA transcript. The most revolting, tone deaf statement I've ever seen," @ChrisMurphyCT tweeted.

LaPierre argued that the answer to gun violence in schools is an armed security force that can protect students, made up of trained volunteers stationed at every school across the country.

"It's not just our duty to protect [our children], it's our right to protect them," LaPierre said at a news conference. "The NRA knows there are millions of qualified active and reserved police, active and reserve military, security professionals, rescue personnel, an extraordinary corps of qualified trained citizens to join with local school officials and police in devising a protection plan for every single school."

He was interrupted twice by protestors who stood in front of LaPierre's podium holding signs and shouting that the NRA "has blood on its hands" and that the NRA is "killing our kids."

The protestors were eventually escorted out of the room.

Lautenberg, who has introduced legislation that would ban large-capacity ammunition magazines, called the NRA "irresponsible."

"The NRA points the finger of blame everywhere and anywhere it can, but they cannot escape the devastating effects of their reckless comments and irresponsible lobbying tactics," Lautenberg said.

Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona, said, "The NRA could have chosen to be a voice for the vast majority of its own members who want common sense, reasonable safeguards on deadly firearms, but instead it chose to defend extreme pro-gun positions that aren't even popular among the law-abiding gun owners it represents."

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

National Rifle Association Calls for Armed Security at Schools Watch Video

President Obama Launches Gun-Violence Task Force Watch Video

President Obama on Gun Control: Ready to Act? Watch Video

The Violence Policy Center, a gun-control advocacy organization, said the NRA's idea of arming security guards at schools would not stop school violence.

"The NRA plan, which cynically allows for the continued sale of the assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines marketed by its gun industry corporate donors, has already been tried, and it did not work," the group said in a statement released today.

It pointed to the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, in which two armed police officers were at the school when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire. The officers exchanged gunfire with the killers, but were unable to stop them from their rampage.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi conceded that the issue is "complicated, but she said the NRA's call for an escalation "is not a positive force" in the renewed gun-control debate.

"For the NRA and others to sort of shield themselves by saying it's the mentally ill or something, and therefore we have to have more armed cops in the schools or more guns in the school -- what are they -- are they going to have [a gun] on the teacher's desk?" Pelosi wondered.

"'Wait a minute, man with a gun; I have it locked up someplace. Wait until I go get it.' I mean, this ... just doesn't make sense; we've got to reduce violence."

LaPierre had dismissed the notion that banning so-called assault weapons or enacting gun-control laws would stop school violence. He instead cast blame for gun violence in schools on violent entertainment, including video games, and the media.

"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them with a wall of attention they crave while provoking others to make their mark?" he asked.

LaPierre announced that former U.S. congressman Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas would lead the NRA's effort to advocate for school security forces. Hutchinson specified that the NRA, with about 4 million members, is calling for volunteers to act as the armed guards, rather than requiring funding from local or federal authorities.

"Whether they're retired police, retired military or rescue personnel, I think there are people in every community in this country who would be happy to serve if only someone asked them and gave them the training and certifications to do so," Hutchinson said.

NRA leaders have held off on interviews this week after refusing to appear on Sunday morning public affairs shows. They said they would grant interviews beginning next week to discuss their position.

NRA News anchor Ginny Simone said Thursday that in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, membership surged "with an average of 8,000 new members a day."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the NRA is partially to blame for the tragedy.

"We're not trying to take away your right to advance the interests of gun owners, hunters, people who want to protect themselves," Bloomberg told "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden in an interview Thursday. "But that's not an absolute right to encourage behavior which causes things like Connecticut. In fact, Connecticut is because of some of their actions."

The guns used in the attack were legally purchased and owned by the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, whom Adam Lanza shot to death before his assault on the school.

In the aftermath of the shooting, many, including Bloomberg, have called for stricter regulations on the type of weapons used in this and other instances of mass gun violence this year.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has said she intends to introduce a bill banning assault weapons on the first day of next year's Congress -- a step the president said he supports.

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Britain's Cameron visits troops in Afghanistan

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday paid a pre-Christmas visit to British troops serving in Afghanistan, insisting that the "high price" paid by servicemen had been worthwhile, his office said.

Cameron told reporters that Afghan security forces were "doing better than expected" as he defended plans for the British force to be cut to 5,200 next year, according to his office.

The premier, who was touring Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, said he was confident that the draw-down of nearly half of British troops, announced in parliament on Wednesday, would not pave the way for an increase in terrorist activity.

"The fact is they (Afghan security forces) are doing better than expected," he said.

"This is withdrawal. This is draw-down based on success, not on failure."

He added that the move was "being done for good military reasons and it has been done in a proper way.

"We're confident it can be done while making sure Afghanistan does not return to become a haven of terrorism which is of course why we came here in the first place," stressed the prime minister.

Britain has the second largest force in Afghanistan after the United States and has lost 438 troops in Afghanistan since the operation began to topple the Taliban in October 2001 following the 9/11 attacks.

Brigadier Bob Bruce, commander of Task Force Helmand, backed the prime minister's comments, saying standards had "risen markedly" over the last year.

"The Afghans working with us now really are in control," he told the BBC. "The insurgency is still there. It's not gone but it doesn't dictate things."

Cameron joined in a carol service and played table-football with soldiers during Thursday's flying visit. He also announced 230 million in extra funding for equipment.

This will go toward providing additional Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detectors, more military working dogs and an upgrade to armoured vehicles.

The leader claimed that Afghanistan was now a "far better place than it was when we came here in 2001", but admitted it remained a "deeply challenged country".

"We have paid a very heavy price but I think the reason for coming here in the first place, which was to stop Afghanistan being a haven for terror... I think it was the right decision," he explained.

He said on Wednesday that there was no final decision on how many troops would stay in Afghanistan after the end of combat operations in December 2014 but said some would remain to help return equipment to Britain and to deal with logistics.

Britain would also honour its commitment to help set up an officer training academy for the Afghans, as well as contributing military assistance and aid programmes, he added.

The US military currently has about 66,000 troops on the ground as part of a NATO-led force of roughly 100,000.

- AFP/fa

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Rajya Sabha passes UAPA amendments amid protest

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed a bill that makes economic offences, including circulation of high quality counterfeit currency, a terrorist act.

The Rajya Sabha passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2012 by voice vote while several parties, including Left, JD(U), RJD and LJP walked out in protest. The bill was already passed by Lok Sabha.

In the Rajya Sabha, discussion on the bill generated much heat. Besides protests by opposition parties, some MPs of the Congress and its allies, the RJD and the National Conference, warned the government against misuse of the anti-terror law, especially against Muslims.

The CPM moved an amendment seeking to take trade unions out of the purview of this Act, but it was defeated.

CPM MP Sitaram Yechury likened the bill to POTA that the Congress-led UPA-1 government had repealed. The Left parties were proving outside support to the UPA government then. "We repealed the POTA together... by bringing this bill, you have brought back the same draconian measures (of POTA) that we repealed together," Yechury said.

The bill reverses the logic of jurisprudence by saying a person will be considered guilty until proven innocent, said Yechury.

In response, minister of state for home R P N Singh said, "This bill has nothing to do with other laws (like POTA). It is to prevent counterfeit currency that is weakening our economy."

Member after member cited instances where Muslims arrested in terrorist cases were released after years in jail when the courts called them innocent.

While Singh assured the bill was not against any religion, Shivanand Tiwari of JD(U) said even POTA was religion neutral but the 'draconian' law was misused. D Raja of the CPI asked the government to "defer the bill for wider consultation before passing it in hurry".

Md Adeeb, Independent MP from Uttar Pradesh, cited instances of misuse of existing anti-terror laws and asked the government to ensure accountability of policemen who frame innocent people.

Besides economic offences, the bill expands the definition of terrorist act to include acts involving detention, abduction, threats to kill or injure, or other actions so as to compel an international or inter-governmental organization to comply with some demand.

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Hollies Get Prickly for a Reason

With shiny evergreen leaves and bright red berries, holly trees are a naturally festive decoration seen throughout the Christmas season.

They're famously sharp. But not all holly leaves are prickly, even on the same tree. And scientists now think they know how the plants are able to make sharper leaves, seemingly at will. (Watch a video about how Christmas trees are made.)

A new study published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society suggests leaf variations on a single tree are the combined result of animals browsing on them and the trees' swift molecular response to that sort of environmental pressure.

Carlos Herrera of the National Research Council of Spain led the study in southeastern Spain. He and his team investigated the European holly tree, Ilex aquifolium. Hollies, like other plants, can make different types of leaves at the same time. This is called heterophylly. Out of the 40 holly trees they studied, 39 trees displayed different kinds of leaves, both prickly and smooth.

Five holly leaves from the same tree.

Photographs by Emmanuel Lattes, Alamy

Some trees looked like they had been browsed upon by wild goats and deer. On those trees, the lower 8 feet (2.5 meters) had more prickly leaves, while higher up the leaves tended to be smooth. Scientists wanted to figure out how the holly trees could make the change in leaf shape so quickly.

All of the leaves on a tree are genetic twins and share exactly the same DNA sequence. By looking in the DNA for traces of a chemical process called methylation, which modifies DNA but doesn't alter the organism's genetic sequence, the team could determine whether leaf variation was a response to environmental or genetic changes. They found a relationship between recent browsing by animals, the growth of prickly leaves, and methylation.

"In holly, what we found is that the DNA of prickly leaves was significantly less methylated than prickless leaves, and from this we inferred that methylation changes are ultimately responsible for leaf shape changes," Herrera said. "The novelty of our study is that we show that these well-known changes in leaf type are associated with differences in DNA methylation patterns, that is, epigenetic changes that do not depend on variation in the sequence of DNA."

"Heterophylly is an obvious feature of a well-known species, and this has been ascribed to browsing. However, until now, no one has been able to come up with a mechanism for how this occurs," said Mike Fay, chief editor of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society and head of genetics at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. "With this new study, we are now one major step forward towards understanding how."

Epigenetic changes take place independently of variation in the genetic DNA sequence. (Read more about epigenetics in National Geographic magazine's "A Thing or Two About Twins.")

"This has clear and important implications for plant conservation," Herrera said. In natural populations that have their genetic variation depleted by habitat loss, the ability to respond quickly, without waiting for slower DNA changes, could help organisms survive accelerated environmental change. The plants' adaptability, he says, is an "optimistic note" amidst so many conservation concerns. (Related: "Wild Holly, Mistletoe, Spread With Warmer Winters.")

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Obama, Boehner Not Far Apart on 'Cliff'? Not Really

Dec 20, 2012 5:09pm

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

There are some in Washington and around Capitol Hill who keep saying that House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama really aren’t that far apart on the “fiscal cliff” and there will be a deal despite Boehner’s proposal to hold a vote on his “Plan B.”

Let’s deconstruct the two parts of that thinking.

Boehner and Obama really aren’t that far apart?

Not really.

The differences are more significant than just tax rates.  Republicans say the Democratic offer is really $800 billion in spending cuts and $1.3 trillion in tax increases.  That is because the inflation adjustment applies to tax rates* as well as Social Security — resulting in less than $100 billion in added tax revenues.

Democrats count that as a spending cut.  Republicans say that is a tax hike.  So the real difference, from their perspective, is $450 billion.  The $400,000 vs. $1 million threshold for tax rates hikes is just one part of this.  Republicans want more spending cuts and fewer tax increases.

Related: Read More About the Fiscal Cliff

Obama and Senate Democrats are fond of saying they are this close (fingers close together).  They say Boehner should just accept the president’s offer.

But, as I asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., earlier today: If you are this close why not just accept Boehner’s offer?  He dodged, saying that Boehner’s offer wasn’t really an offer and likened him to Lucy and the football — you’ll recall the routine in which the “Peanuts” character would pull away the ball at the last second and leave Charlie Brown kicking at nothing but air.

Both sides like to talk about Lucy and the football, but that is another story.  Will there be a deal?

They should be able to do a deal.  I know where the deal should be.  So do you.  But, really, they aren’t quite as close as the nifty charts like this one from the Washington Post suggest. And this is about much more than the $400,000 tax-rate threshold.

*By lowering the government’s calculation for inflation, the income level for the top rates would rise at a slower rate, putting more and more people into the top rates.

SHOWS: World News

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Megaupload New Zealand extradition case delayed again

WELLINGTON: A US bid to extradite Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom from New Zealand for alleged online piracy has been delayed for a second time and will not be heard until August next year, his lawyers said on Thursday.

The extradition case, launched after Dotcom's arrest in January for alleged online piracy, was originally due to go to court in August, then pushed back to March next year amid legal wrangling over evidence disclosure.

A spokeswoman for Dotcom's Auckland-based barrister Paul Davison said the court had rescheduled the hearing again to August 2013. She did not provide a reason for the change.

Police are investigating New Zealand's foreign intelligence agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), for illegally spying on Dotcom ahead of his arrest in a raid on his Auckland mansion in January.

Prime Minister John Key earlier this year issued a public apology to Dotcom, acknowledging the German national should have been off-limits to the agency because he holds New Zealand residency.

It was the latest in a string of setbacks for the case against Dotcom, who remains free on bail in New Zealand, including a court ruling that the search warrants used in the raid on his mansion were illegal.

The 38-year-old's Megaupload file-sharing empire, which at its peak had 50 million daily visitors and accounted for four percent of all Internet traffic, was shut down after the raid and Dotcom has indicated he will seek damages.

Dotcom denies US allegations the Megaupload sites netted more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than $500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

The US Justice Department and FBI want Dotcom to face charges of racketeering fraud, money laundering and copyright theft in a US court, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years if convicted.

- AFP/de

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Sonia's lunge helps Congress grab promotion quota bill

NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi restored the Congress stamp on 'promotion quota' bill just when BSP chief Mayawati had all but cornered the glory, as she took centrestage in the drama triggered by Samajwadi Party to stall the quota bill in Lok Sabha.

SP MP Yashbir Singh snatched the papers from personnel minister V Narayanasamy's hands when the government decided to initiate the discussion in the din. The "deplorable" act triggered a bout of push and shove that brought Congress and protesting SP MPs to blows.

But it was Sonia's desperate lunge at the delinquent Samajwadi MP that dominated the proceedings. Sonia, who sits at the edge of the well in the front row, in a reflex action, went for Singh's arm to retrieve the paper, in the process being caught in the melee caused by sloganeering Samajwadis. Congress MPs told TOI that the party president also seemed annoyed with Narayansamy for not keeping a second copy of the Bill.

The scene brought Congress MPs to the well, with many MPs asking her to come back but in vain. While it all happened in a jiffy, Vilasrao Muttemwar pursued Singh in a rage. It invited vocal allegations that he had punched the Samajwadi Party MP, himself a dalit from the reserved Nagina constituency. Muttemwar denied the charge while adding that he had merely gone to protect his boss. "It is my duty," he told TOI.

The melee postponed the bill for the day as a stunned Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the proceedings, pushing the drama to the last day of the session. Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath told reporters the incident was condemnable and asserted the government would take up the bill again on Thursday.

Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav backed his rampaging contingent and played down the outrage over snatching of papers by saying it was "not the first time such a scene had happened".

Inaction on part of Sonia and her troops on Wednesday would have marked a blow for Congress that has already come across as a reluctant player who has been forced to follow Mayawati's lead on the promotion quota bill.

Failure to clinch the bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday- a very strong possibility, considering the reluctance of the BJP to commit its support- will again make it vulnerable to attacks from the BSP chief. Sonia's reflexes may have saved the day for Congress on Wednesday, underlining her cruciality for the party at a time when political parlours remain abuzz with speculation about the elevation of son Rahul. It also helped Congress differentiate itself from the BJP which on Wednesday appeared wracked by upper caste resentment in its ranks against the "promotion quota".

Her presence in the Lok Sabha when the bill was taken up in the post-lunch session after two adjournments forced by the protesting Samajwadis did indicate seriousness. But it was her act of taking on the hostile SP member with screams of "give it back" that underlined the eagerness of the leadership to pass the legislation crafted to restore reservation in promotions for SCs and STs.

Sonia's political smarts may mitigate the loss in the war of credits at the hands of the volatile BSP supremo who put her indelible stamp on 'promotion quota' by taking it up in the monsoon session and then pursuing it right to the end of the winter session.

In fact, the government had appeared happy to hide behind Samajwadi protests to consign the legislation to the deep freeze, until Mayawati's stunning allegation that Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari and the Centre were complicit in the disorder designed to derail the legislation led to its dramatic passage in the upper House. The success of the bill was roundly attributed to her commitment.

The scene appeared changed after Wednesday's drama as Congress surfaced with a triumphant spin to Sonia's march into the well. Personnel minister Narayanasamy said, "It shows the importance she gives to this bill."

In the Congress vs SP faceoff, BJP appeared squeezed out of the action, this time appearing to be hiding behind the Samajwadis. The saffron outfit has been in the throes of a mutiny of sorts, with upper caste members questioning the backing for quota on the ground that it would put off the party's core constituency.

While the BJP is unlikely to revise support for the bill that can have consequences for its pull among dalits and tribals, the party's silence during the drama and the active engagement of senior leaders with Samajwadis crying manhandling, projected it as indifferent, if not hostile.

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Detecting Rabid Bats Before They Bite

A picture is worth a thousand words—or in the case of bats, a rabies diagnosis. A new study reveals that rabid bats have cooler faces compared to uninfected colony-mates. And researchers are hopeful that thermal scans of bat faces could improve rabies surveillance in wild colonies, preventing outbreaks that introduce infections into other animals—including humans.

Bats are a major reservoir for the rabies virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Previous research shows that bats can transmit their strains to other animals, potentially putting people at risk. (Popular Videos: Bats share the screen with creepy co-stars.)

Rabies, typically transmitted in saliva, targets the brain and is almost always fatal in animals and people if left untreated. No current tests detect rabies in live animals—only brain tissue analysis is accurate.

Searching for a way to detect the virus in bats before the animals died, rabies specialist James Ellison and his colleagues at the CDC turned to a captive colony of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Previous studies had found temperature increases in the noses of rabid raccoons, so the team expected to see similar results with bats.

Researchers established normal temperature ranges for E. fuscus—the bat species most commonly sent for rabies testing—then injected 24 individuals with the virus. The 21-day study monitored facial temperatures with infrared cameras, and 13 of the 21 bats that developed rabies showed temperature drops of more than 4ºC.

"I was surprised to find the bats' faces were cooler because rabies causes inflammation—and that creates heat," said Ellison. "No one has done this before with bats," he added, and so researchers aren't sure what's causing the temperature changes they've discovered in the mammals. (Related: "Bats Have Superfast Muscles—A Mammal First.")

Although thermal scans didn't catch every instance of rabies in the colony, this method may be a way to detect the virus in bats before symptoms appear. The team plans to fine-tune their measurements of facial temperatures, and then Ellison hopes to try surveillance in the field.

This study was published online November 9 in Zoonoses and Public Health.

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Scammers Could Profit Off Sandy Hook Tragedy

Scammers may be looking to cash in on the public's generosity following the Sandy Hook massacre, the Better Business Bureau warned.

"It is a challenge to be on guard because public sympathy and emotions are running high," said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a group that helps charitable donors make informed decisions.

Weiner said it's difficult for scams to be detected in the first week following every national tragedy, however he suspects unscrupulous people are already out there, eager to cash in on the massacre.

How to Help Newtown Families

False websites or phone calls soliciting help for the victims' families are two of the easiest and most common scams Weiner said he sees.

"They're hard to identify because people don't know they've been taken and they're not going to know until down the road," he said.

Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Newtown Children Return to School After Sandy Hook Massacre Watch Video

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting: Victims Laid to Rest Watch Video

Connecticut School Shooting: Children Among Multiple Fatalities Watch Video

After the Sandy Hook massacre, countless Facebook pages for the victims, listings on crowdfunding sites and community drives have been established to solicit donations.

Timeline: Tragedy At Sandy Hook

While many of them may be legitimate, Weiner warns people to do their research.

"You really have to be watching out for newly created things. There may be some well-intended effort, but you have no way to look at their track record," he said. "I can tell you from experience there are some cautions associated with it."

Any fundraising effort that makes vague statements, such as "we're going to help the victims and families," is another red flag to watch out for, Weiner said.

Whether it's fundraising for the Aurora theater victims or a local terminally ill child, Weiner said the BBB sees these kinds of scams "time and time again" and actively investigates them.

"It is a challenge to be on guard after a tragedy," he said. "But you shouldn't give to any organization without checking them out first."

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.

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