The family of a 13-year-old boy attacked by a rabid beaver in Maryland is describing the animal as a large adult measuring about four feet long.

The July 26 attack was the first of three involving rabid beavers that led to the closure of Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, according to the family’s GoFundMe page. The boy was identified by WUSA 9 as Dominick Cebula.

Dominick had been swimming in a designated area and looking at fish beneath the water when the beaver suddenly lunged at his chest and latched onto him, his family said in the online fundraiser.

His mother and younger brother witnessed the unprovoked attack from the shore, the family said.

“This 4-foot-long beaver (not a cute little cuddly beaver — this thing was as big as his 8-year-old brother) came out of nowhere from the deep of the lake, beelined straight toward D, and began biting and attacking him,” Dominick’s aunt, Leigh Cebula, said.

“He did not provoke it, poke it, or mess with it in any way. This was completely unprovoked.”

Dominick’s father, Jeff Cebula, told WUSA 9 that the animal shook its head and would not release its grip.

“He grabbed its head and a leg, and he tried to get it off of him,” Jeff said. “At that point, he kind of felt that it was locked onto him. And then it started shaking its head, kind of like a dog would do.”

Dominick eventually managed to pull the beaver off his chest and tried to back away with his hands raised, his dad said.

The beaver then lunged at him again and bit his right hand, prompting Dominick to fight it off a second time.

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He was promptly airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where doctors began treating his wounds and administering rabies post-exposure treatment.

“It was so traumatic. He was life-flighted to Johns Hopkins because the paramedics were worried his lung was punctured, luckily it wasn’t,” Dominick’s mother, Alishia Cebula, told News Media.

The boy is now recovering well after undergoing surgery earlier this month.

“He is doing much better. He just had surgery on 9/4 to repair a severed nerve in his finger,” Alishia said. “He had a lot of appointments, especially with the rabies vaccines he had to get. Thank God for the vaccine. 

“Luckily, we’re getting to the end of this traumatic event.”

Leigh added that the incident happened in an area where the family had swum for years and had never spotted beavers before.

Following the attack, the beaver was euthanized after testing positive for rabies. Swimming access to Hunting Creek Lake at the park was closed soon afterward.

The incident marked the first in a series of three attacks at the park.

On Aug. 5, a 19-year-old fisherman was bitten in the ankle by a beaver.

Less than three weeks later, a 10-year-old girl at Seneca Creek State Park was also attacked while wading with an organized group.

Paramount executives are reportedly “deadly serious” about pulling the company out of California as the entertainment giant remains locked in a dispute with the state over its proposed multibillion-dollar merger.

CEO David Ellison has threatened to leave Paramount’s Hollywood base of roughly a century if California officials continue pursuing an antitrust lawsuit aimed at stopping the company’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Sources inside Paramount told Deadline that the studio is “deadly serious” about exiting the Golden State.

The potential move appeared to become more tangible on Wednesday, with Ellison’s October 1 deadline for reaching an agreement fast approaching.

According to Deadline, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Attorney General Rob Bonta were told that Paramount had already placed a deposit on moving trucks.

Bass and Bonta told TMZ that Paramount had been preparing to announce its California departure yesterday, though no announcement was ultimately made.

The clash follows an antitrust lawsuit filed by Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general challenging Paramount’s $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Bonta accused the studio of resorting to “blackmail” in an effort to pressure the public into backing the deal in recent months, Deadline reported.

A Paramount exit from Hollywood could deliver a severe economic blow to California, potentially putting thousands of jobs at risk.

A report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp’s Institute for Applied Economics obtained by Politico found that Paramount’s move could result in the loss of 28,990 to 57,9880 full-time jobs. 

The state is also at risk of losing between $10.6 billion and $21.2 billion in annual economic output. State and local tax revenue may also drop by around $585 million to $1.17 billion per year.  

While Bonta told the outlet they would not comment on Paramount’s plans, he said: ‘It’s no secret that Paramount has been making this threat, despite its alleged commitment to California and Hollywood.’

‘What Paramount decides to do is Paramount’s choice alone. We’ll continue to apply the law without fear or favor and continue to be open to coming to the table for good faith discussions,’ the attorney general added. 

State GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin told the California Post that Bonta ‘wants to play antitrust crusader while California jobs hang in the balance.’

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‘If Paramount walks and thousands of jobs go with it, he won’t get to blame Hollywood, the buck stops with him. Stop grandstanding, negotiate the protections and make a deal,’ she said. 

But Bonta said that Paramount was being unreasonable during negotiations, according to TMZ. 

With no deal on the table, Ellison threatened to move Paramount to Texas, Georgia or Tennessee by October 1.

A spokesperson for City Hall told Deadline that the mayor has been ‘focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in LA, including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy.’

‘She’s been engaged on this issue and will continue to fight to make sure LA is home to Hollywood,’ the mayor’s office continued. 

Paramount’s exit from California joins the trove of companies seeking to relocate from the blue state. 

The likes of KB Home, Chevron, Charles Schwab, Oracle, Palantir and many more have already made their exits, as well as Elon Musk’s Tesla, SpaceX and X.

All of those businesses, other than SpaceX and X which are not currently publicly traded, have market caps in the hundreds of billions of dollars, or even north of one trillion dollars in the case of Tesla. 

Thiel’s decision to abandon California and move Palantir first to Colorado and then Florida came in response to last year’s ‘billionaire tax’ threat. 

Charles Schwab’s departure for Texas cited the high cost of doing business in California as a major factor in their decision to leave.  

The Daily Mail reached out to Mayor Bass’s Office, Attorney General Bonta and Paramount for comment.  

Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane’s encouraging NFL debut has been interrupted after the team placed him on injured reserve Wednesday.

Lane underwent surgery Wednesday after suffering a wrist injury in the first half of Baltimore’s 41-23 season-opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The former USC standout must now miss at least the Ravens’ next four games.

The earliest Lane could return is Baltimore’s Week 6 road matchup against the Cleveland Browns.

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter struck an optimistic tone Wednesday, telling reporters that Lane “definitely has a really good chance of coming back here pretty quick,” offering hope that the rookie’s absence could be limited to the minimum injured reserve stay.

“The minimum IR stay is what we’ll be shooting for,” Minter told reporters at the Ravens practice facility. “I know he’ll attack it and he’ll be back as soon as it is. Whatever the number [of weeks] is, you try to slice a week or two off of that from a player’s competitive standpoint. I know he’ll be chomping at the bit to get back.”

Lane nearly recorded the first touchdown of his NFL career in Week 1, hauling in what appeared to be a 4-yard scoring catch before a holding penalty wiped it off the board.

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The Ravens selected Lane in the third round of this spring’s NFL Draft, and he quickly emerged as a player to watch during training camp.

In an Instagram Story posted after the Colts game, Lane made clear he plans to return with urgency, writing, “Save your pity I will be back believe that.”

Veteran Ravens receiver Rashod Bateman said he shared some perspective with Lane after the injury.

“You never know how your career will go. That’s part of that sport,” Bateman said, according to the Ravens’ team website.

“I spoke to him, gave him some words of encouragement. He’s definitely beating himself up about it, but there’s only so much he can control. That’s what I had to teach myself.”

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or TCOLE, will strip the Trinidad Police Department of its authority to appoint and retain licensed officers effective Friday, escalating a months-long controversy involving the small Texas city’s police force.

In a Sept. 9 letter sent to Mayor Dennis Haws, TCOLE said the department had “failed to meet minimum standards” and could not show that it provided a public benefit to the community.

State regulators identified shortcomings in fundamental police resources, including bullet-resistant vests and secure evidence storage. They also said the department was missing 18 mandatory policies, with gaps involving use of force, vehicle pursuits, officer conduct, active-shooter incidents and investigations into misconduct.

During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Interim Police Chief Cameron Beckham faulted prior leadership for the department’s condition. He also challenged portions of TCOLE’s assessment, saying many of the cited problems had already been corrected.

“Piss-poor management is what I’m just going to say,” Beckham told council members.

The Trinidad Police Department has drawn heightened scrutiny since May, when resident Jennifer Combs was arrested on a felony charge of making a false alarm or report after she posted online about concerns over the city’s water supply.

In a May 20 Facebook post, Combs said she was collecting photos, videos and firsthand accounts from residents dealing with water issues. Her goal, she said, was to document the complaints and urge state investigators to test water inside residents’ homes. Combs spent 23 hours in jail before a Henderson County grand jury declined to indict her.

Citizen journalist Winston Noles was subsequently arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct while protesting outside City Hall. That charge was later dismissed.

Former Police Chief Charles Gregory resigned in June. Combs has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city and Gregory alleging political retaliation. Prior News Media reporting also documented that former Trinidad Municipal Judge Shellena Bivens was dismissed after throwing out Noles’ charge.

Henderson County District Judge R. Scott McKee also later questioned the “accuracy, completeness, and reliability” of information Trinidad officers provided while seeking a search warrant connected to Combs’ arrest.

The Texas Rangers confirmed in July that they had opened an investigation involving Trinidad but did not disclose its scope.

Haws told News Media that city leaders will meet with their attorney Friday morning to discuss their next steps. He said the meeting could involve several options rather than being focused solely on keeping the department open.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Haws said the early meeting time would leave the city time to pursue measures such as an injunction or appeal if advised by counsel.

“We are going to work through this process according to the law and at the direction of our attorney as we go through it,” Haws said.

TCOLE’s letter also states that revocation does not relieve Trinidad of continuing obligations involving personnel records, 2026 traffic-stop data and unresolved misconduct investigations.

News Media reached out to TCOLE for further comment.