(WASHINGTON) — The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C, caused panda-monium on Christmas Day when it released a video of it’s newest celebrities, Bao Li and Qing Bao.
In the video, the giant pandas are seen rolling in grass, climbing trees and being “unbearably cute.”
The young pandas were brought to the zoo this past fall.
Bao Li, pronounced as BOW-lee, is a male and was born Aug 4. 2021. According to the National Zoo website, “Bao” means precious and treasure in Mandarin Chinese. The name “Li” refers to vitality and strength, and “Bao Li” means an active and vital power.
Qing Bao, pronounced ching-BOW, is a female and was born Sep 12. 2021. Her name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin Chinese. According to the National Zoo website, “Qing” describes the lush and mountainous habitat of pandas. “Bao” reflects how cherished and adored she is.
The pandas are set to debut to the public on Jan 24, 2025, in their renovated habitat on Asia Trail.
(NEW YORK) — A week after cellphone users across the U.S. reported a flurry of racist text messages, members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities are now receiving text messages saying they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, according to a new statement from the FBI.
The messages follow reports of African American and Black residents receiving racist texts in the days after the 2024 election that they were selected to “pick cotton on a plantation,” according to the FBI. Cellphone users in at least nine cities — New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Huntsville, Texas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama — reported receiving the messages.
The new message also include some emails, the FBI said in its statement.
TextNow, a mobile provider that allows people to create phone numbers for free, said last week it discovered “one or more” of its users allegedly sending out racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the service quickly shut down the accounts.
The FBI has said it is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.
Recipients of these messages include high school and college students.
“Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division,” the FBI said in its Friday statement. “We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners, and community, academia, and faith leaders.”
Anyone who receives these messages — or any threats of violence — is encouraged to report them to the FBI.
(TACOMA, WA) — Two individuals drove a flatbed truck through the front doors of a store in Washington state in what appears to be a failed ATM robbery, according to surveillance footage recently released by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Police are now seeking the two would-be robbers who quickly fled the scene after failing to remove the automated teller machine from the Walgreens where it was installed.
The attempted robbery took place just before 5 a.m. on Dec. 9, according to ABC News’ Washington affiliate KOMO.
It involved a flatbed truck backing into and shattering the front windows of the entryway to a Walgreens in Pierce County.
Once the truck has successfully smashed its way into the store, two individuals can be seen getting out and running toward the ATM.
The two individuals, who are wearing reflective garments and balaclava-style masks during what the police have labeled a “commercial burglary,” then attempt to loop a cable around the machine. However, they appear to be unsuccessful in their attempts to dislodge it.
Realizing that they have not been successful, the individuals then decide to give up and instead flee the glass-spackled scene, according to the store’s security video.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is now seeking information from the public about the crime.
(UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — The body of a missing grandmother who was swallowed by a sinkhole and fell into an abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania was recovered Friday following a dayslong search, officials said.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was found in the mine Friday at approximately 10 a.m., Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson confirmed to ABC News. Her body will be transported to their facility for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, he said.
The challenging excavation began Tuesday in Unity Township, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, after Pollard was reported missing by a family member. She had not been heard from after going out to search for her cat, police said.
The sinkhole is believed to be tied to the mine and formed while Pollard was walking in the area looking for her cat, officials said.
The dangerous search effort shifted to a recovery mission on Wednesday, when authorities surmised it was unlikely Pollard could still be alive based on the conditions underground, including oxygen levels. Search efforts had also not found any sign of life, according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani, who said at the time it would be a “miracle” to find Pollard alive.
Despite the difficulties posed by the search, including the amount of dirt and unstable conditions of the mine, Limani said they would not stop searching until they found Pollard.
“I know we had a lot of hopes,” Limani said during a press briefing Wednesday evening, calling the development “difficult.”
Authorities said Thursday evening that they believed the excavator had reached the area where Pollard ended up.
Pollard was last seen Monday evening, police said. A couple hours after she was reported missing, her vehicle was located shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday with her 5-year-old granddaughter safe inside, though Pollard was nowhere to be seen, police said.
While searching for Pollard in the area, troopers found an apparent sinkhole with an opening about the “size of a manhole” 15 to 20 feet away from the vehicle, according to Limani.
Local firefighters, a technical rescue team and the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety worked alongside an excavation team to remove dirt to access the sinkhole.
Search crews were able to make entry into the mine area amid the search, though the integrity of the mine was compromised by the water used to break up the ground, Limani said. Parts of the mine started to buckle and collapse, he said.
Crews stopped accessing the mine on Wednesday due to the danger of collapse, with the search effort shifting to cameras.
Amid the search for Pollard, Limani told reporters Thursday that they have not found her cat, Pepper. Pollard’s family also has not seen the cat, he said.
The area where the sinkhole formed has a “very thin layer of earth” and appears to have been deteriorating “for a long time,” Limani said.
Authorities were mapping other depressions in the area to prevent future accidents.
“People down here should be not afraid to walk around in their yards,” Limani said.
The mine last operated in 1952, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The depth to the coal seam in this area is approximately 20 feet, a department spokesperson said.
Once the scene is clear, the department will investigate the site “to determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” the spokesperson said.
