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Video of Woman ‘Boxing’ Dog Sparks Animal Cruelty Investigation

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  • A viral video shows a woman in Idaho repeatedly punching a German Shepard while wearing boxing gloves, with one hard punch even prompting the dog to yelp.
  • Someone off-camera can be heard saying, “Boxer and animal. Where’s Sarah McLachlan?,” referencing the singer and animal rights activist whose songs have been featured in ads for the ASPCA. 
  • The Idaho Human Society launched an animal cruelty investigation into the incident and said prosecutors could choose to charge the woman with a misdemeanor for beating and harassing animals. 
  • The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six months behind bars and as much as $5,000 in fines.

Video Spreads on Social Media 

The Idaho Humane Society launched an animal cruelty investigation into a woman who was seen punching a dog while wearing boxing gloves in a video that was reportedly posted on Snapchat.

In the clip, which has since been reshared on other social media sites, the woman is seen repeatedly punching a German Shepherd in the face as if she were boxing with another person.

“Boxer and animal. Where’s Sarah McLachlan?,” someone in the background can be heard saying, referring to the singer and well-known animal-rights activist whose songs have been featured in ads for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

After one especially hard punch, the dog can be heard yelping. “I hit him so hard I felt that through…,” the woman says before the clip ends. 

Warning: the video may be disturbing to some viewers.

Animal Cruelty Investigation 

The Idaho Humane Society said it launched an official investigation into the video after it received an overwhelming number of calls and emails reporting the incident. 

In a Facebook post shared Monday, the organization said the individual was identified and a Humane Officer was sent over to discuss the situation. It added that the investigation is pending review at the local prosecutor’s office for a charging decision. 

Prosecutors could choose to charge the woman under Idaho statute 25-3518: Beating and Harassing Animals. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six months in jail and as much as $5,000 in fines, according to The Idaho Statesman.

Internet User Start Digging

While the organization did not name the woman, internet users and media outlets have identified her as London Miner. Some online have begun doxing her, going so far as to share her home address, phone number, and workplace information. Others have created social profiles dedicated to gathering information about her and keeping track of this case.

As people began drawing attention to the video, a screenshot allegedly between Miner and one of her Snapchat followers surfaced showing her defending her behavior by saying, “He is my dog. He plays ruff and loves playing. I’m the same weight as him. U really think I’m strong enough to hurt him? No.” 

When the follower replies with, “That doesn’t look good and you know that,” they are met with the response: “Do u think I care.”

Source: Heavy

However, another individual messaged a Twitter user that shared the video, claiming that they are the dog’s owner. Still, this person expressed a similar defense, saying, “He plays hard. A girl gonna hit him a little bit and you guys wanna press some girl hitting him with gloves. Never got hurt and was playing the entire time. I’d never let my dog get hurt.” 

That account has since been deleted, but on top of that, Heavy reported that Miner’s father is an officer who has worked for the Ada County Sherrif’s Office for over a decade. 

Screenshots of a Facebook comment he allegedly posted have also surfaced. The comment explains that the dog is okay but adds, “That dog beats the crap out of our dogs and they all play much harder than that. It’s very silly. But now we are all dealing with people threatening to come to my house and ‘cut’ ‘fuck her up.’” 

Source: Heavy

It’s difficult to verify whether or not any of these screenshots are actually from individuals connected to the incident. Regardless, the Idaho Humane Society has stressed that this situation is being addressed. 

The organization asked people to please stop reaching out to them about the clip since it is currently being dealt with. It said the flood of calls reporting the same video “delays other urgent cases from receiving immediate attention.”

“We need other calls, emails, and messages to get through as we are the only animal control agency for the county. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter,” it added in its statement. 

See what others are saying: (Independent) (Idaho Statesman) (Heavy)

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Schools Across the U.S. Cancel Classes Friday Over Unverified TikTok Threat

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Officials in multiple states said they haven’t found any credible threats but are taking additional precautions out of an abundance of safety.


School Cancelled

Schools in no fewer than 10 states either canceled classes or increased their police presence on Friday after a series of TikToks warned of imminent shooting and bombs threats.

Despite that, officials said they found little evidence to suggest the threats are credible. It’s possible no real threat was actually ever made as it’s unclear if the supposed threats originated on TikTok, another social media platform, or elsewhere. 

“We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we’re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok,” TikTok’s Communications team tweeted Thursday afternoon. 

Still, given the uptick of school shootings in the U.S. in recent years, many school districts across the country decided to respond to the rumors. According to The Verge, some districts in California, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas shut down Friday. 

“Based on law enforcement interviews, Little Falls Community Schools was specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat,” one school district in Minnesota said in a letter Thursday. “In conversations with local law enforcement, the origins of this threat remain unknown. Therefore, school throughout the district is canceled tomorrow, Friday, December 17.”

In Gilroy, California, one high school that closed its doors Friday said it would reschedule final exams that were expected to take place the same day to January.

According to the Associated Press, several other districts in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania stationed more police officers at their schools Friday.

Viral Misinformation or Legitimate Warnings?

As The Verge notes, “The reports of threats on TikTok may be self-perpetuating.”

For example, many of the videos online may have been created in response to initial warnings as more people hopped onto the trend. Amid school cancellations, videos have continued to sprout up — many awash with both rumors and factual information.

 “I’m scared off my ass, what do I do???”  one TikTok user said in a now-deleted video, according to People. 

“The post is vague and not directed at a specific school, and is circulating around school districts across the country,” Chicago Public Schools said in a letter, though it did not identify any specific post. “Please do not re-share any suspicious or concerning posts on social media.”

According to Dr. Amy Klinger, the director of programs for the nonprofit Educator’s School Safety Network, “This is not 2021 phenomenon.”

Instead, she told The Today Show that her network has been tracking school shooting threats since 2013, and she noted that in recent years, they’ve become more prominent on social media. 

“It’s not just somebody in a classroom of 15 people hearing someone make a threat,” she said. “It’s 15,000 people on social media, because it gets passed around and it becomes larger and larger and larger.”

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Associated Press) (People)

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Jake Paul Says He “Can’t Get Cancelled” as a Boxer

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The controversial YouTuber opened up about what it has been like to go from online fame to professional boxing.


The New Yorker Profiles Jake Paul

YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul talked about his career switch, reputation, and cancel culture in a profile published Monday in The New Yorker. 

While Paul rose to fame as the Internet’s troublemaker, he now spends most of his time in the ring. He told the outlet that one difference between YouTube and boxing is that his often controversial reputation lends better to his new career. 

“One thing that is great about being a fighter is, like, you can’t get cancelled,” Paul said. The profile noted that the sport often rewards and even encourages some degree of bad behavior.

“I’m not a saint,” Paul later continued. “I’m also not a bad guy, but I can very easily play the role.”

Paul also said the other difference between his time online and his time in boxing is the level of work. While he says he trains hard, he confessed that there was something more challenging about making regular YouTube content. 

“Being an influencer was almost harder than being a boxer,” he told The New Yorker. “You wake up in the morning and you’re, like, Damn, I have to create fifteen minutes of amazing content, and I have twelve hours of sunlight.”

Jake Paul Vs. Tommy Fury

The New Yorker profile came just after it was announced over the weekend Paul will be fighting boxer Tommy Fury in an 8-round cruiserweight fight on Showtime in December. 

“It’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye,” Paul tweeted. “DEC 18th I’m changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady.”

Both Paul and Fury are undefeated, according to ESPN. Like Paul, Fury has found fame outside of the sport. He has become a reality TV star in the U.K. after appearing on the hit show “Love Island.”

See what others are saying: (The New Yorker) (Dexerto) (ESPN)

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Hackers Hit Twitch Again, This Time Replacing Backgrounds With Image of Jeff Bezos

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The hack appears to be a form of trolling, though it’s possible that the infiltrators were able to uncover a security flaw while reviewing Twitch’s newly-leaked source code.


Bezos Prank

Hackers targeted Twitch for a second time this week, but rather than leaking sensitive information, the infiltrators chose to deface the platform on Friday by swapping multiple background images with a photo of former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. 

According to those who saw the replaced images firsthand, the hack appears to have mostly — and possibly only — affected game directory headers. Though the incident appears to be nothing more than a surface-level prank, as Amazon owns Twitch, it could potentially signal greater security flaws. 

For example, it’s possible the hackers could have used leaked internal security data from earlier this week to discover a network vulnerability and sneak into the platform. 

The latest jab at the platforms came after Twitch assured its users it has seen “no indication” that their login credentials were stolen during the first hack. Still, concerns have remained regarding the potential for others to now spot cracks in Twitch’s security systems.

It’s also possible the Bezos hack resulted from what’s known as “cache poisoning,” which, in this case, would refer to a more limited form of hacking that allowed the infiltrators to manipulate similar images all at once. If true, the hackers likely would not have been able to access Twitch’s back end. 

The photo changes only lasted several hours before being returned to their previous conditions. 

First Twitch Hack 

Despite suspicions and concerns, it’s unclear whether the Bezos hack is related to the major leak of Twitch’s internal data that was posted to 4chan on Wednesday.

That leak exposed Twitch’s full source code — including its security tools — as well as data on how much Twitch has individually paid every single streamer on the platform since August 2019. 

It also revealed Amazon’s at least partially developed plans for a cloud-based gaming library, codenamed Vapor, which would directly compete with the massively popular library known as Steam.

Even though Twitch has said its login credentials appear to be secure, it announced Thursday that it has reset all stream keys “out of an abundance of caution.” Users are still being urged to change their passwords and update or implement two-factor authentication if they haven’t already. 

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Forbes) (CNET)

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