December 5 top stories
It is December 5. Here are today’s top stories.
House explosion in Virginia
Videos on social media showed that a house in Arlington, Virginia exploded last night when police officers approached it to serve a search warrant. The blast was huge.
[Video clip of blast] Credit: 6ixBuzzTV
Police said they went to the home because the resident was shooting 30 to 40 rounds of a flare gun from the home into the neighborhood.
Police said they couldn’t contact the suspect and that a barricade situation took place with the suspect shooting several rounds from a firearm before the explosion happened.
Neighbors said they could feel the concussion from the blast, even those who lived several blocks away.
Police said they are investigating the circumstances of the explosion. The suspect is unaccounted for — they may have perished in the explosion. Three police officers received minor injuries.
Arlnow.com reported that according to public records, a man named James Yoo is the resident and had been posting paranoid writings on his LinkedIn account, railing against the FBI, CIA, and his neighbors.
American tourist killed in shark attack in Bahamas
Boston.com reported that a female tourist from Boston was killed on Monday by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas.
The victim is not yet identified. She was paddleboarding near New Providence island, where the capital, Nassau is located. She was paddleboarding with a man who was not injured.
A lifeguard rescued both people with a boat and the woman sustained serious injuries to her right side and died at the scene. It is not known what kind of shark was involved.
WCVB.com reported that the woman just got married on Sunday and that the attack happened near a Sandals resort.
House Speaker says Biden admin lacks clear strategy on Ukraine
The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Biden administration has not delivered a clear strategy in Ukraine. He said Republicans haven’t seen a plan on how to resolve the conflict or a plan to ensure there is accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers.
The Biden administration said Congress needs to move forward with approvals for additional funding for weapons and assistance for Ukraine and if they failed to do so, it could “kneecap” (really hurt) Ukraine and increases the chance of Russian victories.
Speaker Johnson said he wants any aid packages to also include funding for U.S. border security and support for stricter laws on migrants and asylum seekers. Democrats don’t support this idea, so it’s going to be a tough process for Congress to reach an agreement on funding Ukraine in the future.
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Man killed by tiger in Russia
CBS News said in a forest in a remote part of eastern Russia, a man whose dog was attacked and dragged away by a Siberian tiger followed the tiger’s tracks to find his pet but was himself attacked and killed by the tiger. Police said the body of the man was found with signs of an animal attack. His body was found near the remains of his dog. Siberian tigers are the largest living cat on the planet and can weigh up to 700 pounds and are 9 to 12 feet long. Local authorities said they will investigate the incident and make a decision on whether to remove the tiger from the wild.
Profiles of 7M people on 23andMe hacked
BBC News reported that hackers have been able to gain access to personal information from about 6.9 million users of genetic testing company 23andMe, using customers’ old passwords. This affects over half of 23andMe’s customers. Some of the information compromised includes family trees, birth years and geographic locations. The stolen data does not include DNA records. 23andMe is now informing all affected customers and will be forcing customers to change their passwords and improve their account security.
YouTuber Trevor Jacob jailed after crashing plane as publicity stunt
Trevor Jacob, an experienced pilot and skydiver, was jailed for six months after he pleaded guilty to charges related to lying about intentionally crashing his plane to try and become famous on the internet. Jacob is a former Olympian who competed as a snowboarder in the 2014 Winter Olympics. He took off on a small plane from Lompoc, California in November 2021. The plane had several cameras mounted on it. About 30 minutes after taking off, Jacob jumped from the plane, claiming that the plane lost power. He filmed himself skydiving and the plane crashed in a remote location. Jacob then notified federal authorities about the crash and he was told that he was responsible for preserving the wreckage for an investigation and needed to tell them where the plane was located. Jacob lied that he didn’t know where the plane was and arranged for a friend to use a helicopter to pick up the plane wreckage. He then cut up and destroyed the airplane and disposed of it in various locations. Jacob then posted a YouTube video of the whole incident and it included a promotion for a company that sponsored him. Federal prosecutors said the stunt risked causing much more damage. Jacob, in addition to his jail sentence, had his FAA license stripped. He said the entire experience has been very humbling and that he is excited about continuing to grow as a person during his six-month term in prison.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/house-explodes-arlington-virginia-after-flare-gun-shot/story?id=105379136
https://www.arlnow.com/2023/12/04/part-of-bluemont-trail-closed-due-to-man-shooting-off-flare-gun/
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/04/white-house-congress-ukraine-funding
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiger-attacks-dog-kills-owner-in-russia/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67624182
https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms-hackers-stole-ancestry-data-on-6-9-million-users/
https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms-hackers-stole-ancestry-data-on-6-9-million-users/