(NEW YORK) — A pet owner has caught a rare case of the bubonic plague, health officials in central Oregon say, and it’s believed they may have caught it from their cat.
The Deschutes County Health Services confirmed the case of the plague in a local resident last week. The resident was likely “infected by their symptomatic pet cat,” health officials said in a Feb. 7 press release.
“All close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and provided medication to prevent illness,” Dr. Richard Fawcett, Deschutes County health officer, said in the release.
The case is the first example of the bubonic plague in Oregon since 2015, according to the state’s health authority, and plague is “rare” in the state.
Deschutes County Health officials said the case was “fortunately” identified and treated in its early stages, “posing little risk to the community.”
“No additional cases of plague have emerged during the communicable disease investigation,” health officials said in the release.
How does bubonic plague spread?
The plague spreads to humans or animals through a bite from an infected flea or by contact with an animal sick with the disease, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
To prevent the spread of the plague, Deschutes County Health Services urged residents to avoid all contact with rodents and their potential fleas, and to never touch sick, injured or dead rodents.
Residents should also not allow pets to approach sick or dead rodents or explore rodent burrows, county health officials said.
What are symptoms of bubonic plague?
Symptoms of plague usually begin in humans two to eight days after exposure to an infected animal or flea, according to the health authority.
Symptoms may include a sudden onset of fever, nausea, weakness, chills, muscle aches and/or visibly swollen lymph nodes called buboes, the state health authority said.
Is bubonic plague treatable?
The plague is a very serious illness but is treatable with antibiotics, usually taken for seven to 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If left untreated, people can still die from the plague, the CDC says.
The bubonic plague dates back to the Middle Ages, when it killed millions in Europe, before the age of antibiotics. At the time, people didn’t realize the plague was carried by the fleas who lived on rats.
According to the CDC, the plague was first introduced in the United States in 1900 by rat-infested steamships. It is most common in the western U.S.
In August 2020, a California resident tested positive for a case of the plague, marking the first human occurrence of the disease in the state in five years.
The resident in South Lake Tahoe who tested positive for the plague was an avid walker, and officials believed they may have been bitten by an infected flea while walking their dog along the Truckee River Corridor, El Dorado County said in a statement at the time.
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin left the hospital on Tuesday afternoon after being admitted to the intensive care unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier in the week, the Pentagon said.
Austin was put under general anesthesia on Monday for a non-surgical procedure to treat an “emergent bladder issue,” his doctors have said in a statement.
Austin was forced to cancel a planned trip to Brussels this week as a result of the medical episode.
Austin’s hospitalization was the secretary’s third since his diagnosis of prostate cancer in December.
Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said earlier Tuesday that “we anticipate Secretary Austin will be released from the hospital later today. So, we will provide an update on when that occurs, and when he resumed his full duties and functions.”
She said it’s not believed that the bladder issue was related to his cancer diagnosis.
(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) — A murder suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a Tennessee deputy has been caught following a nearly weeklong manhunt, authorities said.
Kenneth DeHart was detained in Knoxville on Tuesday, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said on social media while sharing a photo of a large police presence outside a residence.
The 42-year-old fugitive was wanted on first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder charges in connection with the shooting of two Blount County deputies on Thursday, state police said. He also faces one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon.
The shooting occurred during a traffic stop in Maryville Thursday evening, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said. “Erratic driving” prompted the stop, authorities said. Blount County deputy Greg McCowan, 43, was killed and deputy Shelby Eggers, 22, was shot in the leg, the sheriff’s office said. She has since been released from an area hospital.
More than $100,000 in reward money was being offered for information leading to the fugitive’s arrest, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. That includes a $40,000 reward offered by Smith & Wesson, a firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had posted billboards across the Southeast region amid the search for the suspect, who was on the agency’s most-wanted list.
Maryville is located about 17 miles south of Knoxville.
In the wake of the shooting, the suspect’s brother and girlfriend were arrested in connection with the case on the charge of accessory after the fact, according to officials and court documents.
The suspect’s brother — Marcus DeHart, 41 — was taken into custody Friday “for aiding the defendant after the commission of the homicide,” Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond said during a press briefing. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
His attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and argued that the bond was “excessive” during a court appearance on Monday. A bond hearing in his case has been scheduled for Thursday.
The suspect’s girlfriend — Carrie Matthews, 32 — was also booked into custody in Sevier County after local deputies interviewed her about Kenneth DeHart’s whereabouts, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. While being interviewed at her residence Thursday night, Matthews took a call from someone purportedly named “Janeisha” who was later determined to actually be Kenneth DeHart, according to the affidavit. Matthews allegedly told the caller, “They’re here,” which the affiant claimed warned Kenneth DeHart “of impending apprehension or discovery,” according to the affidavit.
She was released from custody on Monday after a judge granted the request for a $350,000 bond with GPS monitors, according to ABC Knoxville affiliate WATE.
Attorney information for Matthews was not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) –An Indiana man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly posting threats to kill Jewish people and U.S. government officials who expressed support for Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, newly unsealed court records show.
An FBI arrest affidavit says Jeffrey Stevens, 41, admitted in interviews with law enforcement that he leveled the threats in posts to the CIA’s website as well as in a Facebook direct message to the Fort Wayne Police Department.
“I am going to shoot every pro-israel US government official in the head, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are the pathetic CIA,” Stevens allegedly said in a Nov. 17 post to the agency. “I am going to kill all of you.”
In his message to the Fort Worth Police Department, Stevens allegedly wrote, “I am going to kill every Jew in [Fort] Wayne, and there is nothing you can do about it,” the charging docs say.
Stevens, according to his arrest affidavit, tried to explain the posts to law enforcement by telling them he has a “drinking problem.”
His arrest is the latest in a wave of threats cases brought by the FBI in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed at least 1,200 people. In the Gaza Strip, at least 28,473 people have been killed by Israeli forces since the attack, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Pierre Thomas in December, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco revealed the FBI had seen a surge of “more than 1800” reports of threats and tips in some way related to the conflict, with more than 100 criminal investigations opened as a result.
Stevens has not yet entered a plea in his case and did not have an attorney listed for him as of Tuesday afternoon. The government has moved for him to remain detained pending trial, citing what they argue is his danger to the community and risk of fleeing prosecution.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Tuesday — with more than 20 Republicans defying former President Donald Trump who fervently spoke out against the bill, which now faces an uncertain future in the House.
The Senate voted 70-29 to approve the bill early Tuesday, with 22 Republican senators supporting it.
Trump, whose opposition to the initial national security supplemental led to its demise, criticized the foreign aid bill, saying in a social media post over the weekend that the United States should only loan money to foreign allies.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a national security hawk who once supported the foreign aid, voted no on the bill Tuesday and echoed Trump’s comments that any aid should be a loan — even though much of the money would go to American companies to replenish U.S. arms supplies.
The bill now heads to the House, however, Speaker Mike Johnson, in a statement Monday night, strongly suggested he may not take the Senate bill on the floor for debate or a vote because it does not address the southern border. The Senate agreement did not include any additional money for the southern border after an attempt to pair them collapsed last week.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Tuesday morning news conference that he hopes to impress upon Johnson how urgent it is for the House to act on the bill. Schumer said he hopes to speak to Johnson directly in the coming days.
“My message [to Johnson] is this is a rare moment where history is looking upon the United States and seeing if we will stand up for our values, stand up to bullies like Putin and do the right thing,” Schumer said. “I will say to Speaker Johnson I am confident that there’s a large majority in the House who will vote for this bill. I am confident there are many Republicans in his caucus, I know I’ve spoken to a whole bunch of them who feels strongly we ought to pass this bill and I will urge Speaker Johnson to step up to the moment and do the right thing.”
Schumer said House Republicans would be giving a “enormous gift to Vladimir Putin” if they do not act.
“The responsibility now falls on Speaker Johnson and House Republicans to approve this bill swiftly. And I call on Speaker Johnson to rise to the occasion. To do the right thing. Bring this bill to the floor. As I said, given the large majority, robust majority here in the Senate it is clear that if that bill was brought to the floor, our bill is brought to the floor, it will pass. But if the hard-right kills this bill, it would be an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin.”
Schumer was asked a number of questions about possible House amendments to this package. While he didn’t fully rule out considering a House-amended version of the bill, he did repeatedly state that he believes the House ought to pass the Senate version.
Asked if the he would view a House amendment to the national security supplemental changing the payments to Ukraine and Israel to loans as a non-starter — per Trump’s suggestion, Schumer said “we ought to stick with this bill.”
“I mean, no one even knows how this loan program would work. Because Donald Trump says something doesn’t mean Republicans should march in lockstep to do it,” Schumer said.
In a speech at the White House Tuesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said the House should “immediately” vote on the Senate bill.
“I urge Speaker Johnson to bring it to the floor immediately, immediately,” Biden said. “There’s no question that if the Senate bill was put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass. It would pass. And the speaker knows that.”
Biden said it’s a “critical act for the House to move on” and must be done soon to show that America can be “trusted.”
“This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians, and to our partners and, to our allies around the world. America can be trusted,” the president said. “America can be relied upon. And America stands up for freedom. We stand strong for our allies, we never bow down to anyone and certainly not to Vladimir Putin. So, let’s get on with this.”
The White House warned Tuesday that failure by the House to pass additional aid for Israel and Ukraine would call into question American leadership on the world stage.
“It sends messages not just to allies and partners, but to potential adversaries as well, that the United States can’t be counted on. That we’re not interested in being a leader on the world stage,” National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told ABC News’ Mary Bruce.
Israel is in a fight literally for their lives and the Ukrainians are too for their democracy. So, I think it sends a strong signal to the whole world … that perhaps certain members of Congress aren’t willing to show and demonstrate the kind of American leadership on the world stage that President Biden has,” Kirby added.
After the vote, Schumer praised the bipartisan effort that led to the bill’s passage.
“These past few months have been a great test for the U.S. Senate, to see if we could escape the centrifugal pull of partisanship and summon the will to defend Western Democracy when it mattered most,” Schumer said in brief remarks on Senate floor. “This morning, the Senate has resoundingly passed the test.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to advance the bill, issued a statement praising the passage as an affirmation “reaffirming a commitment to rebuild and modernize our military, restore our credibility, and give the current commander in chief, as well as the next, more tools to secure our interest.”
“History settles every account,” McConnell added. “And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”
ABC News’ Lauren Peller, Morgan Winsor, Sarah Beth Hensley and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A major winter snowstorm is hitting the northeastern United States on Tuesday and could wreak havoc on roadways from New York City to Boston.
The fast-moving storm is expected to last only from Tuesday morning to Tuesday afternoon, but it could bring up to 1 foot of snow to parts of the Northeast.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Feb 13, 2:11 PM
New England snowfall totals
In Farmington, Connecticut, a whopping 15.5 inches of snow has been recorded so far.
Foster, Rhode Island, has seen 10 inches of snow, while Dudley, Massachusetts, recorded 8.8 inches.
Boston, where schools were closed as the city braced for 4 to 8 inches of snow, has recorded just 0.1 inch.
Feb 13, 2:00 PM
Snow totals near New York City
Tuesday’s storm dumped 4.9 inches of snow at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport and 4.2 inches at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Sussex, New Jersey, recorded 15 inches of snow.
In Manhattan, Central Park recorded 3.2 inches of snow — the park’s highest daily snowfall in more than two years.
New York City is under a travel advisory.
Bridgeport, Connecticut, has seen 7.6 inches of snow and the snow is still falling.
ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Feb 13, 12:04 PM
More than 139,000 power outages in Pennsylvania
More than 139,000 customers are without power in Pennsylvania amid the fast-moving snowstorm.
In Philadelphia, public schools opened on a two-hour delay.
Feb 13, 12:00 PM
1,500 flights canceled
More than 1,500 flights have been canceled Tuesday, with airports in New York City and Boston hit the hardest.
Feb 13, 9:21 AM
Over 1,400 flights canceled
More than 1,400 flights have been canceled Tuesday, with airports in New York City and Boston hit the hardest.
Feb 13, 8:18 AM
Snow totals so far
The storm is hitting fast, with some in the Northeast waking up to massive snowfalls.
Jim Thorpe in eastern Pennsylvania has recorded 10.5 inches of snow so far, while Port Jervis, by the New York-New Jersey border, has seen 8.5 inches.
Feb 13, 8:07 AM
‘Avoid travel if possible’
The wet, heavy snow slamming the Northeast is bringing dangerous conditions to the roads.
Snowfall rates have reached 1 to 2 inches per hour Tuesday morning.
“Use extra caution or simply avoid travel if possible this morning,” the National Weather Service in New York advised.
Feb 13, 7:12 AM
Over 1,000 flights canceled
More than 1,000 flights have been canceled Tuesday, with airports in New York City and Boston hit the hardest.
Feb 13, 5:52 AM
50 million Americans on alert for heavy snow
Some 50 million Americans are on alert for heavy snow in the northeastern United States on Tuesday, as a storm is forecast to hit the region in the morning hours before exiting by the afternoon.
It’s the first time in two years that the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for New York City.
Rain began changing to snow early Tuesday and much of New York City was already under snow by 5 a.m. ET. The freezing line hadn’t quite made it to Philadelphia at that time but was expected to soon.
Since this is a wet snow falling into temperatures that are generally at or above freezing, the initial accumulation on the ground will melt before it starts to stick.
Snowfall rates are expected to be moderate, from 1 to 2 inches per hour, with heavier bands mixed in at times.
Winds are forecast to gust 20 to 40 miles per hour, blowing the snow and reducing visibility. However, due to the wet nature of the snow, blizzard-like conditions were generally not expected and should only be short-lived if they occur at all.
Coastal flooding was also expected to be an issue from Washington, D.C., to Delaware to New Jersey and Long Island and then from Cape Cod to Boston and Portland.
Feb 13, 4:00 AM
New York City, Boston close schools
New York City’s public schools, the largest system in the country, will be closed Tuesday, with classes moving to remote learning, Mayor Eric Adams announced.
This marks the first time in two years that New York City has been under a winter storm watch.
Boston Public Schools will also be closed Tuesday.
(NEW YORK) — A Russian judge convicted a Texas man on Tuesday of abusing his two sons between 2014 and 2018 in the United States, even though the law enforcement officials in suburban Houston who previously investigated the allegations never found cause to file charges.
David Barnes, 66, was sentenced to 21 years in a high-security Russian penal colony. His attorney, Gleb Glinka, said he is planning to appeal.
“Frankly I’m horrified,” Glinka told ABC News outside the courthouse. “There was almost no evidence that the court could base that verdict on.”
Barnes, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, has been detained in Moscow since January 2022. His bench trial began in the fall of 2022 but occurred on nonconsecutive days and did not conclude until Monday. Barnes testified in his own defense near the end of the trial.
He was arrested by Russian authorities a few weeks after his family said he traveled to Moscow to see his children and apply for visitation rights in a Russian family court.
Barnes’ children had allegedly been taken out of the U.S. in 2019 illegally by his Russian ex-wife Svetlana Koptyaeva during a custody dispute, causing Interpol to issue global yellow warning notices to announce that the boys were missing.
“I didn’t steal anyone,” Koptyaeva said outside the courthouse on Tuesday. “I was just protecting my kids.”
A warrant for felony interference with child custody against Koptyaeva was issued by Montgomery County prosecutors.
A criminal complaint said Koptyaeva “failed to comply with any condition for travel outside the United States with the children” and that an FBI agent believed that she initially flew with the children from Houston to Istanbul.
Barnes was subsequently designated by a Texas court as the children’s primary guardian, though the designation has been unenforceable due to the children disappearing from the U.S.
Koptyaeva had previously gone to law enforcement in Texas to allege that Barnes had abused the children there, but officials in the Lone Star State investigated the claims and found no basis to file charges against him.
In 2018, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services found insufficient evidence to support the accusations of abuse and closed the case, while in 2023, Kelly Blackburn of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office told ABC News, “At this time, there are no accusations out of Montgomery County that we are aware of that would allow Mr. Barnes to be held in custody.”
“I do know that everyone that heard and investigated the child sexual abuse allegations raised by Mrs. Barnes during the child custody proceedings did not find them to be credible,” Blackburn said on Tuesday. “Mrs. Barnes’ Interference with Child Custody case is still pending and the warrant for her is still active.”
After Barnes arrived in Russia, Koptyaeva reported the allegations from Texas to police in Moscow. Koptyaeva later testified as part of the trial.
She told ABC News via email that the children were abused by Barnes, alleging they experienced “suffering and pain” and that she left the U.S. with them for their protection. Barnes has denied the allegations.
Unlike with other Americans who have been held in Russia, all of Barnes’ previous court appearances were closed to the press and U.S. embassy representatives. ABC News was granted access to the reading of the verdict on Tuesday.
Barnes appeared in a cell in the courtroom, telling an ABC News reporter that although trips to court have been very exhausting, he feels that justice will triumph.
Although the trial in Russia centered around allegations from Texas, officials based in the state had no involvement in the prosecution.
“No one from Russia has ever reached out to our office regarding David Barnes,” Blackburn said.
Barnes’ relatives in Alabama were expecting this outcome given the rarity of not guilty verdicts in Russia, but they fear what will happen next. They said they hope Barnes could be included in a prisoner exchange similar to the ones that allowed Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner to return to the U.S. from Russia after they were each convicted.
American Paul Whelan was sentenced to a Russian penal colony in 2020 and remains in custody, while Evan Gershkovich was arrested last year and is currently awaiting trial.
(NEW YORK) — What is a day in the life of an Alaskan polar bear like? Researchers recently found out after strapping collar cameras to several bears.
Scientists have long hypothesized what would happen to polar bear populations in the Arctic as sea ice continues to melt at unprecedented rates. But now they have visual evidence of just how hard it will be for polar bears to find sustenance as the sea ice disappears.
Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt their preferred prey — seals that are stock full of fat and blubber that provide polar bears the energy they need to survive the elements of the Arctic.
As the sea ice experiences mass melting, the polar bears have no other choice but to gravitate toward land. And researchers are now witnessing how the species is adapting to land-dwelling after fastening cameras equipped with GPS trackers and cameras onto 20 bears living in the western Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada, Anthony Pagano, research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center, told ABC News. The bears were studied during a three-week ice-free period from 2019 to 2022, Pagano said.
The researchers monitored the daily energy expenditure, changes in body mass, diet, behavior and movement, finding that polar bears could be at risk of extinction during Arctic ice-free periods when they are forced to find food on land — despite their ability to adapt their diets, hunting and foraging behaviors, a paper, published Tuesday in Nature, found.
The collar monitors indicated that individual polar bears chose different strategies to reduce energy loss during the ice-free periods, including fasting, reducing movement and resorting to eating berries and birds. The strategies were chosen independent of age, sex, reproductive stage or initial fat levels, according to the paper.
“The bears seem to be doing different things, regardless of their body condition,” Pagano said. “There is no real clear explanation for why a particular bear might be more active or less active.”
Some of the bears were “highly sedentary” and rested and fasted for the three-week monitoring period, Pagano said. However, most of the bears were “highly active” and moved about the landscape, feeding on a number of terrestrial foods, including bird carcasses, caribou carcasses, grass, seaweed and berries, he added.
“Regardless of which behavior strategy the bears were using, they all lost weight at similar rates, which highlighted that those bears were more active,” Pagano said.. “Basically, they were compensating for their higher activity levels through the terrestrial foods they were eating, but they weren’t getting any net benefit from that.”
On average, the bears lost about 1 kilogram, or about 2.2 pounds, per day, Pagano said.
The findings suggest that polar bears obtain little benefit from foraging on land when it comes to prolonging the predicted time to starvation, as 19 of the 20 bears studied lost mass during that time, the researchers said.
If sea ice were available, the bears would typically gain weight because they have access to their preferred prey, Pagano said. Polar bears have perfected an efficient strategy called “still hunting” in which they rest near a breathing hole a seal will scratch open in the ice and wait there until a seal comes up to breathe — when they pounce, he added.
At first glance, polar bears may not seem too different from their terrestrial cousins, like brown and black bears, Whiteman said. But from an evolutionary standpoint, polar bears have become “backed into a corner” by becoming specialized on the marine mammal prey, he said.
The food available on land is much less energy-dense, and the bears exert much more energy to catch terrestrial prey, Pagano said.
“Those terrestrial food sources these polar bears are taking in basically does them no good,” Whiteman said.
In recent years, sea ice has begun to break up sooner in the springtime and summertime and does not re-form until much later in the fall. The availability of sea ice is about a month shorter than it was about 30 years ago, according to recent research.
“With climate change and sea ice loss, the fear that is slowly being realized is that ultimately polar bear populations will shrink in size and then in some places they will start to disappear entirely,” Whiteman said.
This particular population of bears is spending about three weeks longer on land than they were in the 1980s, Pagano said.
“With forecasted declines in sea ice, the longer bears are on land, the more weight they’re going to be losing, and they’re at greater risk of starvation in the future,” Pagano said.
While most of the modeling so far indicates that many of the polar bear populations are at risk of future climate warming, bears at the southern extent of their range are at greatest risk, Pagano said.
Younger bears are likely at the greatest risk of starvation, particularly subadults and dependent cubs, as they are not able to accumulate as much stored energy relative to adult bears that are larger and much more skilled at hunting, Pagano said.
Not all of the video footage captured on the collar cams contained bad news, Pagano said. Personalities were on full display as researchers documented adult males play fighting with each other, both on land and on water.
“We were pretty blown away by the video footage,” Pagano said. “There was a real variety of behaviors that the bears were exhibiting.”
Outfitting the bears with the collars is a feat in itself. Typically, female bears are collared, because the devices typically won’t fit around a male’s neck, Whiteman said.
From a helicopter, the bears are typically sedated using a dart once the researchers determine they are in a safe enough space. Once the bear is immobalized, the collars are then fastened and are programmed to detach at the end of the study period, Whiteman said.
“Fortunately, polar bears are such large animals that you can put a fairly robust collar on them with a solid battery to power something like a video camera and be pretty confident that it’s not influencing their behavior,” he said.
Drastically lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the main culprit behind global warming, is the key to ensuring the survival of the species, the experts said.
“It’s really a matter of mitigating CO2 emissions,” Pagano said.
Kalahari Lion (Panthera leo). CREDIT: Digital Vision/Getty Images
(LONDON) — Wildlife authorities in Kenya are intensifying the search for Olobor, an iconic lion of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya.
The well-known lion, a member of the Black Rock lion pride, has reportedly been missing since mid-January.
“KWS [Kenya Wildlife Service] tasked the top management of the reserve together with ‘Mara Predators’ — a research team whose work is monitoring lions — to look for Olobor,” the KWS said in a statement Monday.
The update comes after reports circulated that the famous lion was possibly a victim of human-wildlife conflict, allegedly killed by a cattle herder in the reserve. However, according to the KWS, intelligence and investigation teams found “neither evidence nor information was gathered to prove the allegations.”
“We reassure the public that we will provide an accurate account of Olobor when the facts are established and proven,” the KWS said.
One of Maasai Mara’s most iconic lions, Olobor and the five-member Black Rock lion pride are a famed attraction of the Kenyan game reserve.
There are an estimated 2,589 lions in Kenya, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife’s 2021 wildlife census.
Researchers say high densities of people living adjacent to the greater Maasai Mara ecosystem have resulted in lions coming into increasing contact with people and livestock.
“Although male lions will always be known as the king of the beasts, they certainly do not live the life of kings,” the Lion Recovery Fund, an initiative created by the Wildlife Conservation Network in partnership with Re:wild that aims to “double the number of lions in Africa,” said in September.
“They lead extremely vulnerable and brutal lives where safety is never guaranteed,” the fund said. “And while male lions certainly pose great danger to each other, humans remain the greatest threat that a lion will ever face. Human-lion conflict, retaliatory killing and poaching are the primary pressures from humans that put the future of lions in jeopardy.”
(NEW YORK) — Dramatic new body camera footage showing Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Houston, Texas, opening fire through a window while responding to a reported break-in has been released.
In the new body-worn video of the incident released by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which spans about four minutes in total, two officers can be seen approaching an upstairs Houston apartment in the early hours of Feb. 3. After encountering a window screen out of its window frame and set aside in front of the apartment, an officer can be seen knocking on the door before announcing, “Sheriff’s Office.”
The video shows that she then moves away from the door, joining the other officer at the top of the staircase.
A car alarm then begins to go off, and one of the officers says something to the other, and the two begin shooting. One of the officers re-loads their weapon and continues firing before the two retreat downstairs and notify colleagues through their radios that shots were fired.
The video contains a narrative of events from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office that reads that at 2:10 a.m. local time on Feb. 3, 2024, deputies responded to a call at 90 Uvalde Road. “The caller reported someone was inside her apartment,” the text on the video says.
At 2:14 a.m., the first officer responded, met the caller and a maintenance worker and “made sure the apartment was safe and secure,” per the video text.
A second deputy arrived to assist when a “resident of a neighboring apartment approached the deputy and reported that someone had broken into another nearby second-floor apartment,” according to text captions on the video.
According to the Sheriff’s Office account in the video, the deputies went to investigate the reported break-in and saw “the front window screen removed, broken glass and the blinds raised, near the front door.” The deputies knocked, and one of them announced their presence. It is unclear from the body camera footage where the glass was broken.
The woman, who was later identified as Eboni Pouncy, a friend of the woman who lived in the apartment, sustained a total of five gunshot wounds to the leg and torso, according to her attorney, Ben Crump, who reacted to the release of the video on Monday, calling it “evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force.”
None of Pouncy’s vital organs were struck by bullets, but the long-term effects of her injuries are yet to be determined, according to Crump. He told ABC News that Pouncy is traumatized by the incident.
Pouncy’s friend, who was with her the previous night, said that she had forgotten her keys to her apartment. The friend told Pouncy to break the window so they could enter, she said at a news conference last Friday.
The two had been in the house for about 20 minutes when they heard a loud banging on the door, Pouncy’s friend said. Pouncy grabbed her gun and went to the door before she was fired upon by the deputies, according to the friend.
On Monday, Crump said Pouncy, 28, was the woman struck by the bullets. He told ABC News she was shot five times in the torso and legs and is lucky to still be alive today.
“This newly-released body cam footage is evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force used against her,” Crump told ABC News in a statement Monday. “We demand that the deputies involved be immediately held accountable for the terrible injuries.”
“The shooting of Eboni Pouncy should have never happened,” Crump’s statement continued. “The video shows the deputies that responded to Eboni’s friend’s house shot first and asked questions later. It is concerningly clear by the video and Eboni’s injuries that deputies were not justified in shooting her five times.”
Since the incident, both officers have been placed on administrative leave, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s department and local district attorney are investigating, and the case is being referred to a grand jury.
In cell phone video acquired by KTRK, an ABC-owned station, officers can be heard directing Pouncy’s friend to come down the stairs after the shooting.
“I live here. Please don’t shoot,” she responds before officers order her to the ground and handcuff her.
Pouncy was taken to the hospital by paramedics for her injuries.
