Sheila the runaway kangaroo causes car crash, shuts down Alabama highway
(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.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Maryland says she’ll go ahead with Friday’s hearing in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador in error, after the Trump administration sought to delay the heating until next week.
The Justice Department on Friday morning asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to reschedule the hearing for Wednesday, April 16, two days after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is scheduled to meet with the White House — but the judge, in a filing, kept the hearing date as scheduled.
Judge Xinis scheduled the hearing after the U.S. Supreme late Thursday affirmed her earlier ruling ordering the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States after he was mistakenly sent to an El Salvador prison last month.
Judge Xinis had also ordered the Trump administration to file, by 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, a supplemental declaration from an individual with personal knowledge acknowledging the current physical location of Abrego Garcia and what steps the administration will take to facilitate his immediate return.
Attorneys for DOJ requested the deadline for the supplemental declaration be moved to next week, but in her filing the judge moved the deadline back by only two hours.
The Supreme Court on Thursday largely upheld Judge Xinis’ ruling last week ordering the Trump administration to bring Abrego Garcia back.
“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the Supreme Court’s unsigned order stated.
Abrego Garcia — despite having protected legal status preventing his deportation to El Salvador, where his attorneys say he escaped political violence in 2011 — was sent to that country’s notorious CECOT mega-prison following what the government said was an “administrative error.”
The Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyers and his wife deny, and argued in legal filings that because Abrego Garcia is no longer in U.S. custody, the courts cannot order him to be returned to the U.S. nor order El Salvador to return him.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump administration has emphasized its role in carrying out foreign policy, which was also cited in the high court’s order.
The Supreme Court said the lower-court judge should “clarify” her earlier order “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesman said: “As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs. By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”
Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, the attorney for Abrego Garcia told ABC News that “the rule of law prevailed.”
“The Supreme Court upheld the District Judge’s order that the government has to bring Kilmar home,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “Now they need to stop wasting time and get moving.”
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK CITY) — A federal court in California sided with environmentalists, striking down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) attempt to withhold protections for the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act.
The Central District of California ruled on Monday that the FWS decision to not provide ESA protections for the Joshua tree is unlawful and sidesteps climate science.
Known for its twisted stalks and unusual outline, the Joshua tree is native to the arid southwestern U.S. and thrives in harsh desert environments.
In 2015, WildEarth Guardians, an environmental nonprofit group, petitioned the FWS to list Joshua trees as a threatened species, but a second 2023 species status assessment by the FWS found that neither Joshua tree species — Yucca brevifolia and Yucca jaegeriana — requires protections.
The FWS said it looked at threats from wildfire, invasive grasses, climate change and habitat loss and fragmentation. It found that none of the threats rose to the level to meet the definition of a threatened or endangered species throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges, according to the assessment.
“Through our scientific assessment, the Service determined that Joshua trees will remain an iconic presence on the landscape into the future. Although the two species do not need the protections of the Endangered Species Act, the Service cares deeply about Joshua trees and their roles in the desert environment,” said Service Pacific Southwest Regional Director Paul Souza in a statement in 2023.
“We are coordinating closely with partners to ensure the long-term conservation of these species, including the National Park Service and other Federal agencies, and the State of California, which is also considering measures for the protection of Joshua trees.”
However, multiple studies have shown that shifts in climate in the Mojave Desert is a major contributor to weather events that threaten Joshua trees, including wildfires.
“The agency’s decision, for a second time, reflected a massive disconnect from what the best available science shows — that climate change and wildfire will prevent Joshua trees from successfully recruiting new generations over the coming years,” Jennifer Schwartz, managing attorney for WildEarth Guardians, said in a statement sent to ABC News.
After the FWS analysis was released, WildEarth Guardians sued the FWS “for its failure to follow federal law” in denying protections for the Joshua tree.
The Central District of California ruled in favor of the environmental nonprofit’s claims, writing in the decision “that the Service has not provided a rational explanation as to why climate change alone does not threaten the species to become threatened or endangered.”
“The Service provides no explanation as to why it did not use current trends and standards regarding greenhouse gas emissions as a basis for its decision, when this data currently is available,” the decision states.
The court also noted that when assessing the “foreseeable future” of the Joshua tree, the FWS only looked to the middle of the 21st century, while the end of the 21st century is the commonly used timeline for most scientific assessments.
“It is essential that the Service considers climate change’s effect on habitat suitability in relation to young Joshua trees, and not just the persistence of stronger, adult Joshua trees,” the order states.
The federal court has instructed the FWS to reconsider whether the Joshua tree should receive ESA protections with more scientific analysis.
The ruling “serves as yet another reminder that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must completely grapple with the ongoing and incoming threats from human-created climate change,” Casey Bage, legal fellow for WildEarth Guardians, said in a statement sent to ABC News.
Bage noted that the science “is clear” in this case.
“We must face these facts head-on in order to protect Joshua trees — and other species — to give them the fighting chance that they deserve,” Bage said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(KANE COUNTY, Ill.) — Two males, including one juvenile, are facing hate crime charges after allegedly physically attacking a 19-year-old woman and calling her “derogatory” names at a McDonald’s in Illinois, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The incident occurred on May 13, when police responded to a report of a fight at a McDonald’s in Carpentersville, Illinois, which is about an hour outside of Chicago.
Once on the scene, officials determined the incident “involved an aggravated battery against a female victim,” Carpentersville Police Department said.
The female victim, 19-year-old Kady Grass, told ABC News the attack, which led to her suffering a broken nose and bruises on her shoulders, was based on her sexual orientation.
“Even if they don’t agree with the LGBTQ community, they have no right to make it physical or bully you into something. There was no right to do this to me just because they didn’t like that I date women instead of men,” Grass told ABC News last week.
One of the suspects involved in the attack, 19-year-old John Kammrad, was arrested on May 17, and the juvenile — whose “identify is being withheld in accordance with state laws protecting minors’ privacy” — turned himself in to police on May 16, officials said.
On Tuesday, the state’s attorney’s office announced that Kammrad was charged with three counts of aggravated battery, mob action and a hate crime. The juvenile was also charged with a hate crime, in addition to mob action and aggravated battery charges, prosecutors said.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces, and no one should be attacked because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, as is alleged in this case. We must make it clear that Kane County is a community that welcomes all,” the county State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said in a statement.
Grass said the attack began when she and her 13-year-old cousin were grabbing food at the McDonald’s and Grass decided to use the bathroom. Both the restroom stalls were full, so she walked out right away, when one boy out of a group of three began calling her a derogatory name, she told ABC News.
She said she “mumbled” under her breath but walked away and told her cousin to “not give them another reason to talk to us.”
One of the boys, the juvenile who was later charged, approached Grass again, saying they “wanted to fight” her and they should “take it outside,” she said. Grass said she then proceeded to go outside the McDonald’s, but “no one came out.”
When she returned inside to her cousin, she told Grass she overheard the males and said “they have a gun and they are going to kill you.” Grass later found out that it was an “empty threat” as police did not find a gun in the suspects’ possession.
Kammrad then approached Grass and said, “You’re a woman, you’re not tough,” to which Grass replied: “I know I’m a woman, I’m a lesbian,” she told ABC News.
She said she then looked at the juvenile, who “had this look in his eyes” and began to smile at her.
“I had a bad feeling about what was going to happen,” Grass said.
Kammrad proceeded to get close to Grass, so she placed her hand on his chest to signal he should “keep his distance,” she said.
The confrontation then escalated into a physical fight, with one male punching her in the front and the other hitting her in the back, she said. A manager at the McDonald’s attempted to break up the fight, but he also “got hit in the process,” Grass said.
In an attempt to protect herself, Grass closed her eyes and fell to the ground, which led to the two males stomping on her head, causing her to become unconscious, she said.
“They were trying to kill me,” Grass said last week.
She sustained severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital, where “she was treated and subsequently released,” police said.
Grass told ABC News Chicago station WLS on Tuesday that she was “fighting really hard for these hate crime charges.”
Kammrad’s plea setting is scheduled for June 27 at 9 a.m., according to court records. He is currently being held in the DuPage County Jail for “separate, unrelated charges,” officials said.
It was not immediately clear whether Kammrad has appointed an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
