Community Corner

‘I Am Made From Him’: DNA Kit Delivers Truth To 2 Families

Here's your 5-minute read to start the day: teen duct-taped to plane seat; professor charged with arson; woman killed trying to save cat.

Bethesda resident Sarah Libby got an unusual notification from 23 and Me after she submitted her DNA. It led her to some shocking truths about her paternal grandfather, pictured above with a cousin Libby never knew existed. (Photo Courtesy of Sarah Libby)

ACROSS AMERICA — Hoping to learn more about her family medical history, Bethesda, Maryland, resident Sarah Libby decided to try out a 23 and Me kit in April.

What she found was nothing short of Pandora’s box. What she found was a whole other family.

The day Libby got her health reports back, she also got an unusual notification. It didn't have anything to do with her health — it was an unknown familial match. She had a cousin named Sarah O’Connor.

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It turns out both Libby and O’Connor shared a grandfather, a man named Terrance O'Connor from County Cork, Ireland. He left both families, and decades later, they finally met. It wasn’t a curse, In fact, they found comfort in one another — a solace they never knew they needed.

Before talking to O'Connor, Libby had never even seen a photo of her grandfather.

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"I just cried because here's this man that is made up of my blood, you know I have his eyes," Libby said when she saw the photo. "I am made from him. I have no idea who he is."

Now, the two families aren’t taking their new connection for granted; they're embracing it. Read the full story on Bethesda Patch

Teen Duct-Taped To Plane Seat

A 13-year-old boy became the latest airline passenger to be duct-taped to his seat after he reportedly became violent this week and tried to kick out a plane window. The boy, who was on an American Airlines flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, became unruly about an hour into the trip, according to reports. Flight staff and several passengers were captured on video trying to restrain the teenager. Read the full story on Los Angeles Patch

Professor Accused Of Starting Wildfires

A college professor was charged with arson after U.S. Forest Service agents said he set several fires in Northern California near the Dixie Fire, which became the state's single largest wildfire in history this week. Gary Stephen Maynard was arrested Saturday in Lassen National Forest, near where he is suspected of igniting the fires. Read the full story on San Francisco Patch


Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was suspended from YouTube for seven days after making misleading statements about the effectiveness of masks against the coronavirus. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

More Reads

A ‘Badge Of Honor’: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was suspended from YouTube this week after claiming cloth masks were ineffective against the coronavirus. Rand was defiant, calling the act a “badge of honor,” via Across America Patch.

Woman Killed Saving Cat: A hit-and-run driver struck and killed a 60-year-old woman who was trying to help a cat lying down in a South Los Angeles road, via Los Angeles Patch.

Dog Fighting Ring Busted: Ten Long Island men — including a man known as the "Godfather of Dog Fighting"— have been busted for running an interstate dog fighting ring from which nearly 100 dogs were rescued, via Shirley-Mastic Patch

Special Delivery: A Maryland police officer went above and beyond when he personally delivered a pizza he found in a crashed delivery car, via Bowie Patch

Fred Eyes Florida: Tropical Storm Fred officially became the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and could affect Florida by Friday, via Tampa Patch

Shark Spotting: Two great white sharks were spotted swimming in shallow waters close to shore off a popular Cape Cod beach, via Barnstable-Hyannis Patch.

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