Mahmoud Khalil ordered released by federal judge

(MACON COUNTY, AL) — A runaway kangaroo caused a car crash that ended up shutting down an Alabama highway, police said.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency responded to a two-vehicle crash in the southbound lane of Interstate 85 near the 46 mile marker in Macon County, Alabama, when a kangaroo interrupted traffic, according to a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Authorities ended up shutting down both the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 85 in an attempt to recover the runaway kangaroo, which may have caused the two-vehicle accident but was uninjured in the collision, officials said.

“Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division along with the animal’s owner conducted a recovery of the kangaroo,” police said.

The kangaroo was eventually recovered, and the roadway was opened back up but police did not say how it managed to escape from the owner or how the marsupial ended up running away onto a busy highway.

According to the Associated Press, the kangaroo’s owner, Patrick Starr, said that the animal’s name is Sheila and that she escaped from her enclosure near to where his family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, though Sheila, Starr said, is a personal pet.

The kangaroo was treated by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, according to the Associated Press.

“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated anymore. She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Starr said. “She’s a sweet pet. I’m glad she’s back home, and I’m glad everybody slowed down a little bit,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — After generations of stigma and secrecy around sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), or what the public calls UFOs, investigators probing hundreds of unsolved cases say the second Trump administration could be a turning point for transparency.

“We’re trying to get as much of the raw evidence out as we can without putting our partners’ equities at risk,” said Jon Kosloski, director of the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the government-wide task force leading research into mysterious sightings.

“The office has hired additional personnel and we’re investing in automated security review software that can redact the sensitive information from videos,” he said of an effort to release more currently classified material related to the probes.

Congress established the Resolution Office in 2022 to “detect, identify and attribute” mysterious objects of interest in the air, outer space, and underwater, with special focus on mitigating potential threats to military operations and national security.

More than 1800 cases have been reviewed by the Pentagon so far, with the vast majority ultimately resolved as likely balloons, drones, debris or animals based on a comprehensive review of available data.

Kosloski says “several dozen” cases remain anomalous even after rigorous analysis of evidence. They continue to receive new reports of anomalies by military service members and the general public every month.

“It’s a potential problem, a national security problem, safety of flight issue,” Kosloski told ABC News. “We seem to have the full support of the administration” in pursuing answers.

Trump vows greater transparency

President Donald Trump has famously been a UFO skeptic. “It’s never been my thing. I have to be honest,” he told podcaster Joe Rogan in an October 2024 interview. “I have never been a believer.”

But the president, who has full access to all government secrets as commander in chief, has also hinted on several occasions that there may be more information than has previously been revealed about alleged extraterrestrial life and unusual technological capabilities.

“I won’t talk to you about what I know about it but it’s very interesting,” Trump told his son, Donald Trump Jr., in an online video during the 2020 campaign. “But Roswell’s a very interesting place with a lot of people that would like to know what’s going on.”

Since taking office a second time, Trump has vowed “radical transparency” across government. Last month, he ordered the release of all remaining classified files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr.

Some UFO enthusiasts across the political spectrum are pushing for a similar release of government files related to extraterrestrial mysteries.

“When you have only certain information that’s shared with the American people, that’s when conspiracy theories happen. And it’s, in my opinion, that conspiracy theories can be detrimental,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in April as she opened the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.

Lawmakers from both parties have proposed legislation to force government agencies to disclose more information on UAPs, but Congress has yet to pass it.

“The issue is when we mix secrecy with a stigma, and that we create such a stigma around a phenomenon that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for agencies, for people to look at the issue seriously,” said former Associate NASA Administrator Mike Gold, who served on the agency’s UAP Independent Study Team.

Gold, who is now part of the UAP Disclosure Fund, an independent group of scientific and national security experts, says Congress must fund more aggressive analysis of troves of existing government data.

“If we study UAP, not only can we help with national security,” Gold said, “but even if we don’t discover something exotic, what’s the worst case scenario? We discover an incredible new physical phenomenon?”

Whistleblowers, advocates allege secret evidence long denied

Critics of the Pentagon effort led by Kosloski say it has been hobbled by “staffing shortfalls,” bogged down by “bureaucratic confusion,” and mired in “excessive secrecy.”

In recent testimony before Congress, whistleblowers insist the government is still hiding evidence of non-human intelligence, which top officials have long denied.

Kosloski has accelerated the release of intensive investigations, publishing unclassified resolution reports for some of the most high-profile cases, detailing the technical and intelligence analysis behind the conclusion.

“Our hope is to be able to triage them, identify those that have the best scientific data, the nexus with national security interests and the true anomalies behind them, and focus our attention on those really anomalous cases,” Kosloski said.

Last year, the Pentagon completed a historic review of 80 years of records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena, concluding there is “no evidence that any U.S. government investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology.”

“That stands true,” said Kosloski.

Government and private UAP investigators say it will take substantially more data to resolve the most persistent mysteries on file.

As for whether he can categorically rule out the existence of an intact spacecraft or part of a spacecraft in government possession, Kosloski said he has not been able to corroborate any claims but promised to push for public release of any likely findings of non-human intelligence.

“There’s no precedent for that, obviously, but I think that we would take that up through the Secretary of Defense and allow him to make that decision.”

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(LOS ANGELES) — Erik and Lyle Menendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them immediately eligible for parole — a vindication years in the making for the brothers and their family.

But that doesn’t mean an automatic release from prison.

Here’s a look at what’s next:

The new sentence

Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were arrested in March 1990, were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they committed the murders in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s resentencing hearing, Judge Michael Jesic granted them a new sentence of 50 years to life in prison, which follows the recommendation made in October by then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Gascón recommended the brothers’ sentences of life without parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which is 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they’re eligible for parole immediately under California law.

Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations took into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the brothers’ conduct in prison, saying they rehabilitated themselves and started programs to help other inmates.

In November, Gascón lost his reelection bid to Nathan Hochman, who in March filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.

The brothers, who appeared via video at Tuesday’s hearing, addressed the judge directly.

“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez told the judge. “I give no excuses.”

He also admitted to committing perjury by lying in court in the ’90s. He apologized to his family for years of lies and the shock and grief of the crimes.

“I committed an atrocious act,” Erik Menendez told the judge. “My actions were criminal, selfish and cowardly. … No excuse.”

He admitted to lying for years and apologized.

What’s next — resentencing case

It could take months before Erik and Lyle Menendez are assigned a parole date for the resentencing case. They are eligible for that parole date right away, as inmates with a sentence of 25 years-to-life or longer can get their hearing during the 25th year of incarceration, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The brothers will likely each have their own individual hearings in front of a three-member parole board at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, the San Diego prison where they’re both housed, according to ABC News legal analyst Matt Murphy.

Murphy said the California Board of Parole’s newly completed risk assessment — which was conducted as a part of the brothers’ separate clemency path — does raise serious red flags that the parole board will take under consideration.

The risk assessment concluded that Erik and Lyle Menendez pose a moderate risk to the community if they’re released, noting that the brothers didn’t follow rules in prison so there’s a likelihood they won’t follow the law outside of prison.

The assessment revealed the brothers possessed illegal cellphones. Erik Menendez had a phone as recently as January of this year, which Hochman stressed was during the resentencing effort when he should have been on his best behavior.

“Cellphones are very dangerous in prison because they can be used to commit crime — they can be used to put hits on people, they can be used to intimidate witnesses,” Murphy explained.

For most prisoners, being caught with a cellphone is enough to be denied parole, Murphy said.

Erik Menendez also allegedly bought and traded drugs and allegedly helped inmates commit tax fraud years ago, according to the assessment.

“Simply because they’re eligible does not mean they’ll be released,” Murphy said. “A majority of life prisoners serving time for murder with parole dates are not released if they’ve had problems in prison.”

The parole board is also likely to weigh if the brothers have taken full responsibility, Murphy said.

The brothers admitted to the crime and admitted to lies in court Tuesday, and their family said they’ve “apologized to all of us” and “spent the last 35 years becoming better men worthy of a second chance.” But the DA insists that they’ve still “failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit.”

The psychologists also found Lyle Menendez to be narcissistic. The brothers will undergo further psychological evaluations beyond the risk assessment, Murphy said.

If granted parole, they’d be eligible for release immediately after the decision is finalized, which takes about five months, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If parole is denied, the denial could be for either three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years, according to the department.

What’s next — clemency case

In the meantime, the brothers have a special parole hearing on June 13 regarding their bid for clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. As they did Tuesday, the brothers are expected to appear via video from prison.

The clemency path is separate from the resentencing path. The brothers’ defense team submitted the request for clemency in October 2024 and Newsom can grant clemency at any time.

After the June 13 hearing, Newsom will “submit that report to the judge for the resentencing, and that will weigh into our independent analysis of whether or not to move forward with the clemency application to support a commutation of this case,” the governor said in March on his “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast.

The bigger picture

In an exclusive statement to ABC News hours after the resentencing decision, Erik Menendez said he hopes his case can serve as “one step on the path of widespread justice reform that will give us and so many hopeless souls in prison the continued hope to earn personal redemption.”

“My goal is to ensure there are no more people spending 35 years in prison without hope,” he said. “That possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today.”

The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, agreed, saying their case “encourages people who are incarcerated to make the right decisions, to take the right path.”

But Murphy said he’s concerned the brothers’ win on Tuesday shows the success of victim-blaming.

The brothers have “continued to insist that they believe that Kitty Menendez posed a threat of imminent death or great bodily harm to them, which was rejected by every single appellate court,” Murphy said. Now Murphy predicts “every lifer in the state of California is going to ask for their resentencing.”

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