Administration asks Supreme Court to lift judge’s block on deportations under Alien Enemies Act
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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court a second time to urgently lift U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking the deportations of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.
“Only this Court can stop rule-by-TRO from further upending the separation of powers — the sooner, the better,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in an emergency application to the court.
The appeal follows Wednesday’s 2-1 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Boasberg’s order and defending his jurisdiction in the matter.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(BELLVILLE, Texas) — Police are searching for a prisoner who escaped custody while undergoing testing at a hospital in Bellville, Texas, on Thursday.
The inmate, Salvador Saucedo, has red hair and tattoos and isn’t handcuffed. He was wearing an orange shirt and blue pants when he escaped, according to the Bellville Police Department.
He is missing his front teeth and has face tattoos, according to the Austin County Sheriff’s Office.
Saucedo was in custody on charges of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.
Saucedo escaped from custody at Bellville Hospital shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday, police said.
He has not been seen since, according to law enforcement.
Authorities from the Bellville Police Department, Austin County Sheriff’s Office and Waller County Sheriff’s Office have multiple units searching for him, including K-9s, drones and a helicopter.
It is unknown if Saucedo is still in the Bellville area or not. Bellville is about an hour west of Houston.
Anyone who sees the suspect is being asked to call 911 or call the Waller County Sheriff’s Office at 979-826-8282 or the Austin County Sheriff’s Office at 979-865-3111.
(NEWTON COUNTY, Ind.) — A 41-year-old mother of three was found alive in her wrecked car in Indiana after being trapped for six days, authorities said.
A man was operating equipment for a drainage and excavation company on Tuesday when he spotted a car off a roadway, out of view from passing traffic, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said.
He called his supervisor, Jeremy Vanderwall, who’s an assistant chief at a local volunteer fire department, and the two checked the car and found Brieonna Cassell inside, the sheriff’s office said.
“She was she was very conscious, very alert, very aware of how severe her injuries were,” Vanderwall told ABC News.
“She said, ‘I didn’t think anybody was gonna find me. I thought I was gonna die in this ditch,'” Vanderwall recalled.
Cassell was flown to a hospital in Chicago, which is about 75 miles north of Newton County.
Cassell had been trapped since Thursday night when she fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road into a deep ditch under a bridge, according to her father, Delmar Caldwell.
She suffered serious injuries to her legs and wrist, and her phone was dead under the passenger seat, Caldwell told ABC News.
Cassell could hear cars going by and she screamed, but no one could see or hear her, Caldwell said.
“I’m sure that was demoralizing,” Vanderwall said.
“She was stuck in the car and could not get out. But she was able to reach the water from the car,” Caldwell said. “The only way she was able to survive was using her hoodie and dipping it into the water in a ditch and sucking the water, or bringing the the water into her mouth from the ditch.”
“To have the wherewithal to use her shirt to get water, knowing that she had to have water to survive … just survival skills, man,” Vanderwall added.
On Tuesday morning, “she had given up hope of being found,” Caldwell said. “And then, by the grace of God and the prayers and everything, she was found.”
“Everybody that helped to find her and the volunteers and everything … it was a wonderful miracle,” Caldwell said.
Cassell is now in “good spirits” and “eating a lot,” he said.
Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran called Cassell’s survival “an incredible testament to her will to live.”
The sheriff also commended Johnny Martinez, the passerby who found Cassell’s car.
Vanderwall said Martinez could spot the car because he was driving a tall tractor.
“I myself had traveled that road at least three to four times since she crashed and did not see her,” Vanderwall noted.
Caldwell said his daughter’s missing person report was well-known in the area, so Martinez knew who Cassell was when he found her.
“In my book, Mr. Martinez is a hero, and we can never thank him enough for his keen eye and quick action,” the sheriff said in a statement.
Vanderwall added, “If he hadn’t seen her and hadn’t pushed for me to go back and check on her, she could have laid there for who knows how much longer, and the outcome might not be the same.”
Female giant panda Qing Bao eats bamboo in her enclosure at the National Zoo on January 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao made their long-awaited public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., ahead of Lunar New Year next week.
Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3, are emerging from quarantine and are featured in the newly relaunched giant panda cam, which consists of 40 cameras that will be operated live between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
The superstar pandas traveled from China and arrived in the U.S. on Oct. 15, 2024. National Zoo members had the opportunity to see the pandas in a special preview held between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, a period that gave the giant pandas time to acclimate to their new home.
“Bao Li and Qing Bao have already won the hearts of our staff and volunteers, and we are excited to welcome panda fans back to the Zoo — the only place in the nation where you can see giant pandas for free — and celebrate the newest chapter of our giant panda breeding and conservation program,” Brandie Smith, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Zoo, said in a news release.
“They’re very active and they’re just a lot of fun and obviously super cute,” zookeeper Mariel Lally told ABC News previously about the two pandas.
The National Zoo will host a series of public events and programs celebrating the giant pandas between Jan. 25 and Feb. 9, including a Lunar New Year event. Some Washington, D.C., hotels are even offering panda-themed packages with amenities such as stuffed toy pandas, roundtrip transportation to the zoo and panda-themed beverages.
Panda enthusiasts can see the giant pandas for free at the National Zoo, the only zoo in the U.S. where visitors can see the animals free of charge.
