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THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Debris from a fire fills the backyard next to the house where the night before a man used a can of spray paint and a lighter as a makeshi blowtorch to kill a spider. ByPhuongLe theAssociatedPress SEATTLE A man who used a can of spray paint and a lighter as a make- shift blowtorch to kill a spider in his laundry room started a blaze that caused $60,000 worth of damage, Seattle fire officials said Wednesday. The man and his mother got out of the house, and no injuries were reported in the fire that broke out in the West Seattle home Tuesday night, said Kyle Moore, a spokesman for the Seattle Fire Department. Moore said the man used the spray paint and lighter as "a self-made blowtorch to kill a spider in the laundry room" of a rental house. "I don't want to encour- age people to do this, but that's what he did," Moore said Wednesday. "The spi- der tried to get into the wall. He sprayed flames on the wall, lit the wall on fire, and that extended up to the ceiling." Fire crews were called to the home in the home just south of Seattle just before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters initially fought the fire from outside after someone reported hearing ammunition go off in the house. Crews eventu- ally went inside the house after confirming from ten- ants that there was no am- munition inside. The man initially tried to put water on the fire, but he wasn't able to put it out and the blaze quickly spread into the attic. On Wednesday, portions of the house were boarded up with plywood, and a blue tarp covered part of the roof. The owners of the house declined tocomment. "There are safer, more effective ways to kill a spider than using fire," Moore said. "Fire is not the method to use to kill a spider." The Red Cross is provid- ing temporary shelter for the home's two residents, whom authorities have not identified. As for the spider, Moore said: "I'm pretty sure the spider did not survive this fire. The whole wall went." 'Blowtorch'usedtokill spider starts house fire HOUSE FIRE "I'm pretty sure the spider did not survive this fire." — Kyle Moore, spokesman for Seattle Fire Department By Thomas Beaumont The Associated Press DES MOINES, IOWA New Jersey's Chris Christie in- sists it's his role as Republi- can Governors Association chairman that's bringing him to Iowa this week, to raise money for other poli- ticians, including Gov. Terry Branstad, a five-term in- cumbent with lots of cam- paign cash already. Iowa, of course, is an im- portant early-voting state in the presidential nominating calendar. But Christie told The Associated Press, "I'm not gearing up to run up for president. I'm gearing up to winasmanygovernor'sraces as I can this November and then we'll make decisions about running for president after that." Branstad, for one, doesn't need Christie's fundraising help. Branstad is sitting on $4 million in his campaign account and has outraised his little-known Demo- cratic challenger by 10-to-1 this year. In truth, there's much more to Christie's scheduled visit Thursday for the em- battled governor and poten- tial 2016 White House con- tender, and for Iowa. For Christie, the trip will mark a return to the type of public politics for which he was so well known be- fore allegations of a po- litical payback scandal at home enveloped him and prompted a self-imposed lower public profile. Christie's full day of events holds the promise of bringing wide attention to Iowa's 2016 presidential caucuses, so central to the state's national identity. For Christie, the visit should convey a clear mes- sage to activists and do- nors that he considers him- self politically viable, even amid continuing investiga- tions in New Jersey. "What helps him the most is the fact that he's doing a good job as chair- man of the RGA, keeping his nose to that," said Ron Kaufman, a Republican na- tional committeeman and adviser to 2012 presiden- tial nominee Mitt Romney. Allegations in January that members of Christie's administration ordered traf- fic lanes to be closed on the George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York undermined what had been a triumphant re-elec- tion in November and his as- cension in December to the RGA post. The voluble Christie had until recently kept an un- usually lower profile while he traveled the country rais- ing tens of millions for the RGA. Last month he began to re-emerge, visiting New Hampshire, the first-voting presidential primary state. He plans to return later this month. But Wednesday, he said that he was far from de- cided about 2016. "I'm going to be very de- liberative about this," he said. "It's pretty nice to be asked. It's enormously flat- tering. But being flattered isn't enough of a reason to run." Christie's busy day in Iowa was to include fund- raisers for Iowa GOP offi- cials, a stop at a Cedar Rap- ids restaurant and a state fair-type rally in the eve- ning in Davenport. Back home, however, his incoming chief of staff, Re- gina Egea, was to testify be- fore a legislative committee about the bridge scandal. Branstad, speaking in general about that issue, said, "Unless something else comes out we're not aware of, I don't think that's what's going to be a significant issue going for- ward." POLITICS Ch ri st ie v is it s Iowa, claims it's for fundraising By Matthew Perrone The Associated Press WASHINGTON The same federal scientist who found forgotten vials of smallpox at a federal lab earlier this month also uncovered over 300 additional vials, many bearing the names of highly contagious viruses and bac- teria. Food and Drug Adminis- tration officials said Wednes- day the undocumented col- lection contained 327 care- fully packaged vials, listing various pathogens, including dengue, influenza and rick- ettsia. Last week the govern- ment only announced that it had recovered six glass vials of smallpox dating from the 1950s. "The fact that these mate- rials were not discovered un- til now is unacceptable," said Karen Midthun, of FDA's center for biologics. "How- ever, upon finding these ma- terials our staff did the right thing — they immediately notified the appropriate au- thorities who secured the materials and determined there was no exposure." FDA scientists said they have not yet confirmed whether the newly dis- closed vials actually con- tained the pathogens listed on their labels. The agency is conducting a nationwide search of all cold storage units for any other miss- ing samples. Investigators destroyed 32 vials containing tissue samples and a non-con- tagious virus related to smallpox. FDA DISCOVERY 300 vials of various diseases discovered Found by same person who unearthed smallpox in lab By Anne Flaherty The Associated Press WASHINGTON You've prob- ably decided who gets the house or that family heir- loom up in the attic when you die. But what about your email account and all those photos stored online? Grieving relatives might want access for sentimental reasons, or to settle finan- cial issues. But do you want your mom reading your ex- changes on an online dat- ing profile or a spouse go- ing through every email? The Uniform Law Com- mission, whose members are appointed by state gov- ernments to help standard- izestatelaws,onWednesday endorsed a plan that would give loved ones access to — but not control of — the de- ceased's digital accounts, unless specified otherwise in a will. To become law in a state, the legislation would have to be adopted by the legis- lature. If it did, a person's online life could become as much a part of estate plan- ning as deciding what to do with physical possessions. "This is something most people don't think of until they are faced with it. They havenoideawhatisaboutto belost,"saidKarenWilliams of Beaverton, Oregon, who sued Facebook for access to her 22-year-old son Loren's account after he died in a 2005 motorcycle accident. The question of what to do with one's "digital assets" is as big as America's elec- tronic footprint. A person's online musings, photos and videos — such as a popular cooking blogor a gaming av- atar that has acquired a cer- tain status online — can be worth considerable value to an estate. Imagine the trove of digital files for someone of historical or popular note — say former President Bill Clinton or musician Bob Dylan — and what those files might fetch on an auc- tion block. "Our email accounts are our filing cabinets these days," said Suzanne Brown Walsh, a Cummings & Lock- wood attorney who chaired the drafting committee on the proposed legislation. But "if you need access to an email account, in most states you wouldn't get it." But privacy activists are skeptical of the proposal. Ginger McCall, associate di- rector of the Electronic Pri- vacy Information Center in Washington, said a judge's approval should be needed for access, to protect the privacy of both the owners of accounts and the peo- ple who communicate with them. "The digital world is a dif- ferent world" from offline, McCall said. "No one would keep 10 years of every com- munication they ever had with dozens or even hun- dreds of other people under their bed." Many people assume they can decide what happens by sharing certain passwords with a trusted family mem- ber, or even making those passwords part of their will. But in addition to poten- tially exposing passwords when a will becomes public record, anti-hacking laws and most companies' "terms of service" agreements pro- hibit anyone from accessing an account that isn't theirs. That means loved ones tech- nically are prohibited from logging onto a dead person's account. Several tech providers have come up with their own solutions. Facebook, for example, will "memori- alize" accounts by allowing already confirmed friends to continue to view photos and old posts. Google, which runs Gmail, YouTube and Pi- casa Web Albums, offers its own version: If people don't log on after a while, their accounts can be deleted or shared with a designated person. Yahoo users agree when signing up that their accounts expire when they do. But the courts aren't con- vinced that a company sup- plyingthetechnologyshould get to decide what happens to a person's digital assets. In 2005, a Michigan probate judgeorderedYahootohand over the emails of a Marine killed in Iraq after his par- ents argued that their son would have wanted to share them. Likewise, a court eventually granted Wil- liams, the Oregon mother, access to her son's Face- book account, although she saysthecommunicationsap- peared to be redacted. Enter the Uniform Law Commission. According to the proposal, the personal representative of the de- ceased, such as the executor of a will, would get access to — but not control of — a person's digital files so long as the deceased didn't pro- hibit it in the will. The law would trump access rules outlined by a company's terms of service agreement, although the representative would still have to abide by other rules including copy- right laws. DIGITAL FILES What happens to online accounts when you die? RICK BOWMER ‑ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Karen Williams, who sued Facebook for access to her 22‑year‑old son Lorenís account a er he died in a 2005motorcycle accident, looks at a portrait of her son at her home in Beaverton, Ore. The Uniform Law Commission on Wednesday was expected to endorse a plan to automatically give loved ones access to ó but not control of ó all digital accounts, unless otherwise specified. Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 527-2151 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •SHOFFORTHODONTICS • DOLLING INSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • HOOKER CREEK INC. • CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMPANY • LEPAGE COMPANY INC. • MODERN CLEANERS • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • WALMART • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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