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Heres how you can clone your pets like Barbra Streisand did
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After her beloved dog Samantha died in 2017, Streisand used cells taken from her dogs mouth and stomach to clone two new puppies. - photo by Herb Scribner
Barbra Streisand didnt play around when it came to getting herself a new dog.

After her beloved dog Samantha died in 2017, Streisand used cells taken from her dogs mouth and stomach to clone two new puppies.

She recently posed with those two puppies Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett for the cover photo of Variety.

Streisand jokingly suggested that Variety use the caption Send in the Clones" for the photo. Variety didn't use her suggestion.

They have different personalities, Streisand said in the story. Im waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her [Samanthas] brown eyes and seriousness.

Streisand said she has a third dog, who is a distant cousin of Samantha. She often poses with all three dogs in her Instagram feed.

According to The New York Times, people can clone their dogs for $50,000 through the company ViaGen Pets, based in Texas. If you just want to hold onto your animals genes, you can pay $1,600.

Cloning takes roughly 60 days, which is about the length of a dogs pregnancy, according to the Times.

ViaGen Pets said on its website that the animals wont be direct clones, but close.

Cats and dogs delivered by cloning have the same genes as their donor pets and will be the closest match possible to the donor, ViaGen said on its website. This is best described as identical twins born at a later date.

The company said cloning animals isnt science fiction.

People have a hard time wrapping their brain around that it is a real technology, said Melain Rodriguez, the client services manager for ViaGen, according to KDKA. That it is not science fiction. Its not like what you see on TV or in the movies.

The technology has one vocal detractor. PETA doesnt want celebrities cloning their animals, according to a statement sent to Page Six on Tuesday, saying that cloning doesnt help solve problems centered around animal homelessness.

We all want our beloved dogs to live forever, but while it may sound like a good idea, cloning doesnt achieve that instead, it creates a new and different dog who has only the physical characteristics of the original. Animals personalities, quirks, and very essence simply cannot be replicated, and when you consider that millions of wonderful adoptable dogs are languishing in animal shelters every year or dying in terrifying ways when abandoned, you realize that cloning adds to the homeless-animal population crisis. And because cloning has a high failure rate, many dogs are caged and tormented for every birth that actually occurs so thats not fair to them, despite the best intentions. We feel Barbras grief at losing her beloved dog but would also love to have talked her out of cloning.
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New Medicare cards are in the mail and scammers are on the prowl
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun mailing new Medicare Health Insurance ID cards. The program no longer uses Social Security numbers to identify people. - photo by Lois M Collins
The federal government is beginning to send out new ID cards to the 58 million Americans who benefit from Medicare. But since many of the people who will receive them don't know they're coming or why, scammers are already gearing up to take advantage.

An AARP survey shows as many as three-fourths of Americans 65 and older have no idea the cards are coming, so some individuals may be duped with claims that they're supposed to pay a fee or provide personal information that will be used, instead, to defraud them.

The new cards are the first reissue in years, and the most striking part of the redesign is that the cards no longer carry the beneficiary's Social Security number. Congress mandated the removal of that number as an identifier for Medicare beneficiaries by next April. Instead, the card has a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number, an 11-digit combination of numbers and letters.

The new Medicare cards are now being mailed out in batches, starting with the Eastern seaboard and moving west. Most Medicare beneficiaries will receive their cards over the next six months, as long as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has their correct mailing address. Once the cards are in hand, people can share the new identification number with their health care providers. During a transition period, either card is valid.

The old cards, which used Social Security numbers as the personal identification number, should be destroyed.

AARP recently launched an education campaign to warn consumers about scams related to the new Medicare cards.

The membership organization's "Fraud Watch" consultant, Frank Abagnale reformed con man, scammer and the subject of the movie and book "Catch Me If You Can" tells senior citizens the only time they need to carry the actual Medicare card is to health care appointments. Otherwise, it should be left in a safe place. If they want to carry one in their wallet or purse, he says, make a copy and black out the first seven numbers.

Since the cards were announced, scammers have already:

  • Called seniors and asked for their bank account information so that money on their old card could be returned. There is no money on the old card and CMS never asks for personal information over the phone.
  • Offered to send the new card after Medicare beneficiaries pay a $25 fee to cover expenses related to the card. The card is free.
  • Said the card will be mailed out as soon as the older person verifies his or her Social Security number, mailing address and other personal information. CMS already knows the beneficiary's Social Security number and it's no longer being used in conjunction with health care.
AARP and the Federal Trade Commission will hold a free online seminar about the cards and the fraud attempts they have spawned on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. EDT. Register at: www.aarp.org/FraudWebinar. CMS also offers a "frequently asked questions" guide to the new cards.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network says consumers can sign up for its Watchdog Alert emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling. Abagnale also hosts a weekly podcast for AARP, called The Perfect Scam.
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