Text and Twitter messages falsely claiming a 3-year-old boy was abducted by a man driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse, license number 98B351, are currently circulating in California and Oregon. Police in both states say the plate number is invalid and no such Amber Alert is in effect.

How to check Amber Alerts:

Official Amber Alerts can be verified by checking the Active Amber Alerts page of the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Twitter examples:

AMBER ALERT! 3 yr old boy taken by a man driving a 2006 mitsubishi eclipse, plate # 98B351

AMBER ALERT! 3 yr old boy taken by a man driving a '06 mitsubishi eclipse Oregon plate # 98B351. KEEP IT GOING happened this morning.

Read more:
• Amber Alert Message a Hoax
• Hoax Amber Alert Text Messages and Email Showing Up in Oregon
• State Police Chase Amber Alert Hoax

What is the origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern? Why do children go trick-or-treating on Halloween? Who came up with "bobbing for apples"? While the modern celebration of Halloween still bears traces of its Celtic origins, it has come down to us as a cross-cultural stew of folk traditions, all pertaining in some way to death and the supernatural. Find answers to your questions about the history and lore of this one-of-a-kind holiday.

(UPDATED) First, the facts:

1. The Montgomery Animal Shelter in Montgomery Township, NJ is NOT closing.

2. The three animal shelters run by the SPCA in Montgomery County, PA are NOT closing.

3. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Clarksville, TN is NOT closing.

4. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Montgomery, AL is NOT closing.

5. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Troy, NC is NOT closing.

6. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Rockville, MD is NOT closing.

7. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Conroe, TX DID close this past Monday — at least insofar as the Humane Society was forced to move out due to lack of funding and the facility was taken over by the local police department — but all of its adoptable animals were rescued by members of the community before the shelter changed hands.

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A gallery of odd and arresting viral images -- some real, some fake, some persistently enigmatic -- as circulated on the Internets. Start here...