Legendary Hollywood star Dick Van Dyke described the harrowing escape he and his wife Arlene made from the fire raging in Malibu in southern California this week. Speaking to NBC News, the 98-year-old actor said they were able to get their animals and themselves safely away from the wind-driven Franklin fire thanks to some neighbors who he said saved his life. “I wasn’t ready. This time I messed up … I have a fire hose that hooks up to my pool, and shoots like a 70-foot stream of water,” the actor said. “Well, I wasn’t ready. I went out.” “It was snarled, and I’m out there laying on the ground trying to undo this fire hose, and the fire’s coming over the hill,” he added. “What I did was exhaust myself. I forgot how old I am, and I realized I was crawling to get out. It was coming from over the hill, you could see it.” Dick Van Dyke says neighbors “saved me” during the Malibu wildfires. He had to evacuate his home a few days before his 99th birthday. “I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up. Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out… pic.twitter.com/HJBOe46XyE — Variety (@Variety) December 12, 2024 “I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself and couldn’t get up. Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back,” the screen legend continued. ““[They] got me out of here, or I wouldn’t have done it. I don’t think I would have made it. They also came back, and my little guest house had started to flame up in the back. They put that out. So they saved my life and my house.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE In a post earlier this week on Facebook, Van Dyke said he and his wife had safely evacuated their homes after the blaze swept through the area. “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo [their cat] escaped as we were leaving,” the famed actor, who turns 99 on December 13, wrote. “We’re praying he’ll be OK and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires,” he added. The brush fire started around 11 p.m. on Monday night and thanks to the strong Santa Ana winds, had burned 4,037 acres and was just 7% contained, as of Thursday morning, NBC News noted. Actor Jane Seymour, Cher, and other celebrities were also impacted by the fire.   “While the Franklin Fire continues to burn in Malibu and has gotten extremely close to our home, we remain evacuated and we are safe,” Seymour wrote on Instagram Wednesday, along with sharing pictures showing the flames close to her home. “To everyone fighting the flames and keeping us safe, thank you. Your courage is extraordinary.” A publicist for Cher, Liz Rosenberg, told the Associated Press that the singer/actress had left her home as ordered and was staying in a hotel. Barbara Streisand also has a home in the area and a spokesperson for her told The New York Times she didn’t have to evacuate yet. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Related: Cher, Dick Van Dyke And Other Celebs Forced To Evacuate Homes Amid Malibu Fire

San Francisco police identified the man accused of assassinating United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week several days before he was caught at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. The news comes as authorities claimed that 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was not previously on law enforcement’s radar when he was arrested on Monday after a customer at the fast food restaurant recognized him based on photos that had been released by police last week. Sources told the San Francisco Chronicle that an officer in the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Victims Unit recognized Mangione on December 5 as being the person in the photos released by law enforcement. The officer recognized him because his family contacted the department to report that he had gone missing after they had not heard from him for several months. The unit reported his identity to the FBI on December 5, the report said, the very day that the photos were released. It was not clear how the information was passed to the FBI or if the FBI received or acted upon it, the report added. The New York Times reported late on Thursday that the suspect disappeared from family and friends over the summer after deciding to go on a lengthy trip to Asia. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE During the trip he reportedly expressed alarm over how people have become over reliant on things like smart phones and social media, the report said. He also bemoaned capitalism and loved the writings of terrorist Ted Kaczynski, commonly known as the “Unabomber.” Authorities found a notebook on him after he was arrested that included a passage where the writer mentions taking out “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.” Thompson was gunned down in Midtown Manhattan on December 4 while he was on his way to the UnitedHealth Group’s Investor’s Conference. “It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents,” Mangione allegedly wrote in the notebook. The suspect considered using a bomb but wrote in his notebook that it “could kill innocents,” CNN reported. According to authorities, Mangione was also in possession of a 262-word manifesto where he allegedly called out “United” and wrote, “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Wednesday that a water bottle and Kind snack bar wrapper recovered by police near the crime scene contained fingerprints that match those of Mangione. Tisch also noted that three shell casings recovered at the scene of the crime matched the homemade gun found on Mangione when he was arrested. The 9mm shell casings from the scene of Thompson’s assassination had the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” written on them, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. It was initially reported that the words on the shell casings were “defend,” “deny,” and “depose” before police clarified. Zach Jewell contributed to this report. 

Federal authorities released a statement on Thursday about recent drone sightings in New Jersey that have garnered national media attention, saying that images and videos that have gone viral online are of lawfully operated manned aircraft. The joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation comes after alleged sightings of large drones flying over New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” the statement said. “The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.” The statement said that historically what they have found when they get reports of suspicious drone activity is that the flying objects are actually “manned aircraft or facilities.” “We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” the statement said. “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE DHS and the FBI said that they take the threat that drones pose seriously which is why law enforcement and other agencies are continuing to investigate and monitor the situation. “To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage,” the statement confirmed. “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claimed this week that the denying health insurance claims was “an act of violence” similar to the health insurance CEO who was assassinated in New York City last week. Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks on Capitol Hill while speaking to a reporter from CBS News about the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “I think that this collective American experience — which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world — all of that pain that people have experienced is being concentrated on this event,” she said. “And it’s really important that we take a step back — this is not to comment, and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified — but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them. “People go homeless over the financial devastation of a diagnosis that doesn’t get addressed or, you know, the amount that they’re gonna have to cover with a surprise bill and things like that,” she claimed. “And when we kind of talk about how systems are violent in this country in this passive way, our privatized health care system is like that for a huge amount of Americans.” She then claimed that she did not have health insurance until she got elected to Congress as she complained about having had to “sit in a free clinic” in the past for medical care. WATCH: AOC to @BrownJaala on the murder of Brian Thompson “This is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that ppl interpret and feel & experience denied claims as an act of violence…” pic.twitter.com/52aIINUDlH — Alan He (@alanhe) December 12, 2024

Hosts of “The View” made it clear that they weren’t happy that President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might crack down on weight loss drugs like Ozempic. During Thursday’s episode of the ABC talk show, cohost Whoopi Goldberg unleashed a rant against RFK. Jr. whom she said plans to crack down on the off-label use of Ozempic by people who want to manage their weight because Americans are “addicted to drugs and weight loss should come from diet and exercise.” “Why should a numbers cruncher with no medical background have any say? I don’t understand why you want to be in my business!” Goldberg said, as her cohosts Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Haines agreed. The View is upset that RFK Jr. is looking to crack down on the off-label use of Ozempic to manage their weight. Whoopi scoffs at the idea that weight loss should come from diet and exercise. “I don’t understand why you want to be in my business!” she whines. pic.twitter.com/QSETmQRb58 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) December 12, 2024 Goldberg argued that managing weight wasn’t just about food and said sometimes people are “born genetically larger.” “I want to say this to [RFK Jr.] because you’re setting folks up for shame,” Whoopi said. “That’s what you’re trying … maybe you don’t know you’re doing … I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “I’m gonna say you don’t realize what you do to people when you say [what you said] because it doesn’t work for everybody. I’m going to show you sir, because I weighed close to 300 pounds less than two years ago and without the Mounjaro, this would not have happened,” she added, before she stood up and showed off her slimmer physique. “You cannot take it out of people’s hands if it could help,” Goldberg continued. “If we can keep people healthy. If we can get rid of diabetes. If we can get rid of all the things, cardiovascular, what’s wrong with trying to do that?” Joy Behar interjected, “Nothing,” before Whoopi continued calling out RFK Jr. and said he was wrong about weight loss drugs. Drugs to manage weight have become a hot topic as a growing number of people seek their weight loss benefits. However, some unpleasant side effects of taking these types of drugs include gastrointestinal problems, including abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. There is also a potential risk of thyroid tumors and cancer associated with [Novo Nordisk’s] Ozempic, another popular option, according to studies done with rodents, as The Daily Wire previously reported. A recent head-to-head study between two popular weight loss drugs, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, showed that users lost more weight using Zepbound. According to the study, which was sponsored by Lilly, people using Zepbound lost 20.2% of their body weight over 72 weeks, while Wegovy users lost 13.7%. In pounds, that means Zepbound users lost an average of 50 lbs, while Wegovy users lost 33. Amanda Harding contributed to this piece. Related: Weight Loss Wars: New Study Weighs In On Effectiveness Of Popular Obesity Drugs