(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) — Doug Emhoff, the former second gentleman of the United States, said on Tuesday that he had been dismissed from the board of trustees of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Emhoff was dismissed from the board by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has the power to appoint and remove members.
“President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News.
According to the museum, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which serves as the board of trustees of the museum, has 55 president-appointed members, as well as members from the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the departments of Education, Interior and State.
Emhoff was appointed in January to the council by then-President Joe Biden.
“Let me be clear: Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized,” Emhoff said in a statement to ABC News.
“To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous,” he continued, “and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”
The dismissal of Emhoff from the board is the latest example of Trump removing people from what were traditionally nonpartisan roles appointed by presidents and other officials.
In February, Trump announced he would be removing board members from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — and also installed himself as chair.
The New York Times was the first to report that a number of board members — including Emhoff — had been dismissed from the Holocaust Memorial Museum, which the White House confirmed to ABC News.
Emhoff, who is Jewish and has talked extensively about the Holocaust and antisemitism, has previously spoken in support of Israel, and he supported Biden’s efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war.
In remarks to Jewish supporters on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, he framed then-Vice President Kamala Harris as “somebody who knows our community, will continue to support us and Israel, and make sure that just the world is free of hate, including antisemitism.”
The Holocaust Memorial Museum gave a statement to ABC News on Tuesday, saying, “At this time of high antisemitism and Holocaust distortion and denial, the Museum is gratified that our visitation is robust and demand for Holocaust education is increasing.”
“We look forward to continuing to advance our vitally important mission as we work with the Trump Administration,” the statement continued.
(TOULUMNE COUNTY, CA) — The parents of a 1-year-old child have been arrested after the child tested positive for fentanyl and THC in California, authorities said.
The incident occurred on April 22 when deputies from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) responded to a report of a medical emergency where a 1-year-old child had reportedly choked and temporarily stopped breathing at a residence near Dutch Mine Road in Jamestown, California, according to a statement from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office.
The child was revived on scene, police said, before being taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and later released to their parents.
“The following day, Wednesday, April 23, just before 4:00 in the afternoon, TCSO received a report from Child Welfare Services stating that the child had been brought back to the hospital for a second time on Tuesday by their parents—22-year-old Rory Kerr and 32-year-old Denaun Davis—after becoming unresponsive,” authorities said in their statement regarding the case. “During this visit, the child was administered CPR, successfully resuscitated, and later transferred to an out-of-area hospital for treatment related to Fentanyl poisoning after testing presumptively positive for Fentanyl and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).”
TCSO Detectives “immediately launched an investigation,” authorities said, working on it through the evening into the early morning hours the next day before issuing multiple warrants for the parents of the child.
“Detectives executed the search warrant and located numerous items of drug use paraphernalia containing narcotics residue, along with a used Narcan, inside the motorhome where the family lived,” police said.
During their investigation, officials discovered evidence that one of the child’s parents had administered Narcan during the medical emergency, police said.
Davis and Kerr were arrested and taken to the Dambacher Detention Center, where they were booked on felony child abuse charges, including abuse likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
The child involved in this case has since been placed in protective custody.
“We want to remind the public that while Narcan (naloxone) is a critical and often life-saving tool in reversing the effects of opioid overdoses, including those caused by Fentanyl, it is not a substitute for proper medical care,” TCSO said. “Narcan is temporary in nature and can wear off while dangerous levels of narcotics remain in the body. If you or someone else has been exposed to a suspected overdose, it is essential to seek immediate medical attention—even if Narcan appears to have worked. Being honest and forthcoming with emergency responders and healthcare professionals about potential drug exposure is critical to receiving appropriate and timely treatment.”
“We want to thank our community partners including Child Welfare Services and Adventist Health Sonora for their assistance and clear lines of communication which were critical to life-saving measures and a successful investigation,” police said.
This remains an active investigation, and no further details will be released at this time.
Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw the test of a supersonic cruise missile fired from a new battleship — the destroyer Choe Hyon — this week, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
In a report published on Wednesday, KCNA said the first test firing of the Choe Hyon’s weapons systems were conducted on Monday and Tuesday. The platforms tested included a supersonic cruise missile, a strategic cruise missile, an anti-aircraft missile and a 127mm shipboard automatic gun.
Kim toured the vessel and observed the weapons tests, KCNA reported. The North Korean leader said that “it is important to establish a proactive and aggressive defence system on the premise of powerful attack capability,” KCNA wrote.
Kim also said there was a need for “accelerating the nuclearization of the navy,” KCNA said.
The 5,000-ton destroyer was unveiled last week. During a ceremony to launch the vessel at the port of Nampo on the country’s western coast, Kim said the ship’s construction represented “a breakthrough” in North Korea’s naval modernization.
Kim also said he “intends to build a blue-water operational fleet” — meaning a force capable of operating in open ocean rather than solely in the coastal waters around the Korean Peninsula.
The launch of the Choe Hyon comes as North Korea — which has traditionally lagged behind its neighbor and rival South Korea in terms of naval technology — deepens military cooperation with Russia, amid the latter’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent standoff with the West.
U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean officials have warned that Moscow may repay Pyongyang’s support for its invasion — which over three years of war has graduated from ammunition supply to the deployment of frontline troops — by sharing military technology.
North Korea has also continued and expanded its ballistic missile testing program, intended to enhance its nuclear strike capabilities.
In March, Pyongyang fired a series of short-range ballistic missiles days after the conclusion of U.S.-South Korean military drills that Pyongyang said it considered an invasion rehearsal.
(WASHINGTON) — A Catholic school in Oklahoma is asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for it to become the nation’s first religious charter school funded directly by taxpayers.
Oral arguments will be heard in the landmark case on Wednesday, pitting claims of religious freedom against efforts to maintain strict separation of church and state.
The justices will be weighing whether the First Amendment, which prohibits a government role in establishing religion while also protecting an individual right to practice religion, means only nonsectarian organizations can qualify for Oklahoma’s charter schools program or whether faith-based groups are also eligible.
The case turns in large part on whether the state’s charter schools meet the definition of “public” schools and, as such, operate as extensions of state government.
“The claim in this case is not that government schools are allowed to be Catholic or religious. This is a claim that, in Oklahoma, charter schools are contractors,” said Rick Garnett, a constitutional law professor at the University of Notre Dame.
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which was created by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa in 2023, argues state funding for charter schools is made generally available to qualified organizations and that the state cannot discriminate on the basis of religion.
A series of recent Supreme Court decisions has made clear that taxpayer-funded public benefit programs, from school vouchers to state-run scholarships, must be equally available, even if a person or organization has a religious affiliation.
“It’s a pretty settled rule of the Supreme Court that once a government opens up a benefit program, it can’t discriminate on the basis of religion,” Garnett said of the school’s argument.
Oklahoma argues that its charter schools are part of the public school system and, under state law, must be “free, open to all, funded by the State, subject to state control, nondiscriminatory and nonsectarian.” Forty-five other states and the federal government have similar guidelines.
The state’s highest court ruled last year that taxpayer-funded religious schools would violate both the state and U.S. constitutions.
“In Oklahoma, the charter school law defines charter schools as public schools, so the case is sort of closed there,” said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“This school is run by the Catholic diocese in Oklahoma, and they say they will conduct themselves as a Catholic school according to the morality codes of a Catholic schools, which, read between the lines, means that they will discriminate against LGBTQ kids and families,” Laser said.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, said the state supports school choice and access to private religious education, including through the use of tax credits and state-funded tuition assistance. But in court documents, Drummond argued that charter schools are not simply “contractors” receiving a benefit.
“They are free, open to all, subject to anti-discrimination laws, created and funded by the State, and subject to continuing government regulation and oversight as to curriculum, testing, and a host of other matters,” the state said in its brief to the justices.
The state warned that a decision in favor of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would have “sweeping consequences” nationwide, upending charter school programs and the education of millions of students.
Advocates for the school say not allowing the Catholic school to receive charter school funding amounts to religious discrimination.
A decision in the case is expected by the end of June.
(WASHINGTON) — Government data to be released on Wednesday is expected to show a sharp economic slowdown over the initial months of President Donald Trump’s second term as a flurry of tariff proposals stoked uncertainty among businesses and consumers, analysts told ABC News.
The measure of gross domestic product, or GDP, will likely be lowered by a surge of imports as firms stockpiled inventory to avoid far-reaching tariffs, though the trend did not reflect economic weakness, analysts said.
The government’s GDP formula subtracts imports from exports in an effort to exclude foreign production from the calculation of total goods and services.
The report will detail GDP over the first three months of 2025, offering the first look at a top gauge of economic health since Trump took office.
The data covers a period before the so-called Liberation Day tariffs went into effect in early April.
Analysts widely expect a steep decline in economic performance at the outset of this year, though they disagree over the severity of the slowdown.
Some analysts believe the data will show the U.S. economy tipped into a contraction over the most recent quarter, which would likely intensify warnings on Wall Street about a possible recession.
Bank of America Global Research and BNP Paribas both expect the economy to have grown at an annualized rate of 0.4% over a three-month stretch at the start of 2025, which would mark a sharp decline from a rate of 2.4% at the end of last year.
S&P Global Ratings expects the data to show the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3% at the outset of this year. A forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which excludes gold imports, shows the economy shrank at a 1.5% annualized rate.
“We anticipate a marked slowdown in the U.S. economy during the first quarter, driven by increasing policy uncertainty surrounding trade, tariffs, and immigration,” S&P Global Ratings said in a note to clients.
The data may be skewed by a flood of imports as companies sought to circumvent tariffs, S&P Global Ratings said. The GDP measure deducts imports to exclude foreign-made goods and services, so a one-time import surge could blur the finding.
“The first-quarter GDP reading may not provide an accurate reflection of underlying economic conditions because it’s significantly influenced by the frontloading of imports,” S&P Global Ratings said.
Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of decline in a nation’s inflation-adjusted GDP. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a research organization tasked with formally identifying a recession, uses a more complicated definition that draws on a range of indicators.
Despite flagging consumer sentiment and ongoing market turmoil, some key measures of the economy remain fairly strong.
The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level and job growth remains robust, though it has slowed from previous highs. Meanwhile, inflation cooled in March, putting price increases well below a peak attained in 2022, data showed.
The sturdy data offers at best partial reassurance, some economists previously told ABC News.
Measures of the economy like inflation and hiring are released one month after the data is gathered, and they often reflect slow-moving shifts in business or consumer behavior, the economists said. As a result, such measures can prove outdated, especially when the economy is in flux.
Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the “solid condition” of the U.S. economy, but he cautioned about signals of a potential slowdown.
(LONDON) — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned Wednesday that “a whole series of nuances” needs to be addressed before Russia will agree to any U.S.-brokered peace deal to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking with journalists, Peskov appeared to downplay hopes of a quick peace agreement — which President Donald Trump said this weekend he wants to secure within two weeks.
President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said, “said that he supports this initiative — the establishment of a ceasefire, he supports it, but before going for it, a whole series of questions need to be answered and a whole series of nuances need to be resolved,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.
Peskov was responding to suggestions — including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — that Putin is not genuine about his professed desire to agree a peace deal.
Zelenskyy again urged greater international pressure on the Kremlin on Wednesday, citing the latest round of drone strikes in which 45 people were injured in Kharkiv — including two children — and one person was killed in Dnipro.
“Russian drones continue flying over Ukrainian skies all morning,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “And this happens every single day. That’s why pressure on Russia is needed — strong, additional sanctions that actually work. Not just words or attempts at persuasion — only pressure can force Russia to agree to a ceasefire and end the war.”
“Pressure from the United States, Europe and everyone in the world who believes war has no place on Earth,” the president wrote.
Zelenskyy said that more than 100 Russian attack drones were launched at Ukrainian targets overnight into Wednesday, with a total of 375 drones launched so far this week.
Ukraine’s air force said its forces shot down 50 of the 108 drones launched, with another 22 lost in flight without causing damage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
ABC News Guy Davies and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Savior. Ungodly. Patriotic. Un-American. Great. Sad.
A hundred days into his presidency, all are words Americans used to describe President Donald Trump’s performance in office.
Responses run the full spectrum of possible assessments. On the positive side of the ledger in this ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll: “Excellent.” “Awesome.” “Outstanding.” “Strong.” “Best president ever.”
And among the more negative comments: “Disaster.” “Chaotic.” “Appalling.” “Horrible.” “Atrocious.” “Catastrophic.”
As reported Sunday, Trump has a 39% job approval rating in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates with fieldwork by Ipsos. That’s the lowest job approval rating at or near 100 days in office of any president dating back to 1945 (as far back as data are available).
Invited to use one word to express their personal reaction to Trump’s performance as president so far, some focused on their feelings: “Frightened.” “Excited.” “Horrified.” “Relieved.” “Worried.” “Angry.” “Confused.” “Happy.” “Devastated.”
Others couldn’t restrain themselves to a single word, with fuller comments further illustrating Americans’ sharply divided opinions:
“He’s doing a fantastic job of accomplishing all that we want him to and voted for him to do!”
“He’s a convicted criminal, he’s a horrible con man who thinks he’s a great businessman and he’s tanking the economy for some ‘give it to the libs’ reason. I did not vote for this.”
“Someone needs to step in and rein him in. He is overstepping his authority. What is really frightening is that the Republican leadership knows he is wrong and will not stop him. Fear of losing their own power.”
“He doesn’t hesitate to support our best interests. He stands strong, and doesn’t give in to those who try and take advantage.”
“He is not taking into consideration the seniors that are on Social Security only which don’t have the discretionary income to handle the drastic cost of groceries and other necessities.”
“He is a horrible human being who cares about no one but himself and is ruining our democracy and all this country stands for.”
“He is courageously taking fast action to do what is best for our country economically and with the infrastructure.”
“Total embarrassment. Too bad so many believed and for some reason still believe in him.”
“He is a bad seed.”
“Trump seems even more unhinged than last time, but what were we all expecting? I’m not surprised, but I am displeased.”
A few others reserved judgment, at least for the time being:
“Don’t know yet, need more time to see the actual results.”
“We will see how this turns out.”
Groups
Among people who disapprove of Trump’s job performance, some characterizations were notably negative: “disgusting,” “disappointing,” “chaotic,” “incompetent,” “disaster,” “horrific,” “terrible” and “horrible.”
Others: “idiotic,” “embarrassing,” “criminal,” “crazy,” “appalling,” “pathetic,” “outrage.” Still others described him as “dictator,” “fascist,” “authoritarian,” “unconstitutional.” And some commented on Trump as a threat: “destructive,” “dangerous,” “frightening,” “reckless.”
Among Trump approvers, on the other hand, common reactions included “excellent,” “great,” “good,” “strong,” “outstanding,” “awesome,” “fantastic” and “amazing.” Others were positive, but less effusive: “acceptable,” “alright,” “decent,” “fair,” “fine,” “OK.” Some approvers were decidedly unenthusiastic: “so-so,” “mediocre,” “meh.”
Some commented on the speed or extent of his actions: “fast,” “hasty,” “quick,” “hectic,” “rollercoaster,” “sprinting,” “too much.” Several said they were “surprised”; others, “hopeful.” Some commented on Trump’s style: “bold,” “aggressive,” “determined.”
In any case, one said: “Better than Biden, so far.”
Methodology
This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® April 18-22, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,464 adults. Partisan divisions are 30%-30%-29%, Democrats-Republicans-independents.
Results have a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points, including the design effect. Error margins are larger for subgroups. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, with sampling and data collection by Ipsos. See details on ABC News’ survey methodology here.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Measles cases are continuing to spread throughout the U.S. with outbreaks in at least six states.
Public health experts have previously said lagging vaccination rates are to blame for the rise in cases, at least partly due to vaccine hesitancy and vaccine fatigue left over from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, even a small uptick in MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination could prevent millions of infections, according to new research.
The study, published in JAMA last week, used a model to simulate the spread of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases across the U.S., evaluating different scenarios with different vaccination rates over a 25-year period.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses — the first at 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says. Most vaccinated adults don’t need an additional dose.
At current vaccination rates, the model predicts measles could once again become endemic — constantly present — in the U.S. with an estimated 851,300 cases over 25 years. If vaccination rates decline by just 10%, the model estimates 11.1 million cases of measles over 25 years.
CDC data show vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2023 to 2024 school year, 92.7% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 93.1% seen the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019 to 2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That result — that we’re already at this tipping point for measles in the U.S. — was a really striking finding that somewhat surprised us as well,” Dr. Nathan Lo, study co-author and an infectious diseases physician at Stanford Medicine, told ABC News.
“We continue to see measles outbreaks, but, by doing the study … you start to crystallize that result that even under the current levels of vaccine decline, there is a very feasible scenario where, over time, our country has measles return where it’s a common household disease again.”
Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, who was not involved in the study, said the findings are a “well-thought-out worst-case scenario.”
“I’m not entirely sure that would actually happen because … the general level of vaccination remains pretty high, but there are pockets of unvaccinated children, and what you’re seeing now is the fact that this virus has been reintroduced several times from other parts of the world,” he told ABC News. “I think it’s a bit of a worst-case scenario but, as a worst-case scenario, it’s scary and, in that sense, reasonable.”
However, the model estimated that just a 5% increase in vaccination would lead to only 5,800 cases over the same 25-year period.
This is because when more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, most are protected from measles through community immunity, also known as herd immunity, according to the CDC.
“My hope is that this study can provide that data to parents to say, ‘This is the benefit of continuing to vaccinate your child. This is the kind of alternate reality that we’re preventing. And yes, the risks aren’t here right now, but perhaps not too far off,'” Lo said.
Schaffner said there are pockets of the U.S. where MMR vaccination rates are 80% or less and vaccination rates would need to increase substantially in those areas to reduce the number of cases long-term.
However, “if we increase the level of vaccination by a small amount that would reduce the risk of other small outbreaks here and there,” Schaffner said.
The study also found that a 50% drop in vaccinations would lead to an estimated 51.2 million cases over 25 years, but Lo thinks that would only occur if there were a large-scale policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services or the CDC to reduce or remove the childhood vaccine recommendation.
As of Friday, the CDC has confirmed nearly 900 measles cases in at least 29 states. That number is likely an undercount due to delays in states reporting cases to the federal health agency.
In western Texas, an outbreak has been spreading with 663 reported cases of measles, according to new data published Tuesday by the state Department of State Health Services. At least 87 people have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, an outbreak lasting 12 months or more would threaten to end measles elimination status in the U.S. The Texas outbreak began in January of this year.
To drive vaccination rates up, Lo and Schaffner recommend that parents who haven’t vaccinated their children yet speak to their pediatrician to address their concerns.
“We have to provide recommendations and let people know the facts that these vaccines are very effective and that they are safe,” Schaffner said. “But we have to do more to try to reach out and provide reassurance, and this has to be done very much on a local basis.”
For example, when it comes to the community affected in Texas, Schaffner said they need local influencers they trust to turn to.
“Speak with your local physician, health care provider, the person who cares for your children,” Schaffner said. “Have a conversation with them, and that’s our best hope for regaining some of this trust which public health had and which has slipped away.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court appears poised to rule narrowly in a closely watched dispute over when federal law enforcement can be held liable for mistakes that harm innocent victims.
Justices heard arguments on Tuesday in a case from Atlanta involving a 2017 pre-dawn FBI raid of the wrong house that traumatized a family and left thousands of dollars of damage.
Lower courts tossed out the victims’ claims for compensation because of sweeping legal immunity for government officials.
Much of the debate, while highly technical, focused on an exception to the immunity clause that Congress added to the Federal Tort Claims Act in 1974.
“If you really, really meant to drop the pizza off at the right address, it doesn’t matter. You still need to give a refund if you drop it off at the wrong address,” argued Patrick Jaicomo, an attorney representing the family.
A Trump administration attorney insisted officers exercising discretion in performance of their duties should not be subjected to lawsuits and second-guessed by courts.
“The officers here made a reasonable mistake,” said Frederick Liu, an assistant solicitor general.
Several justices did not appear to be buying the argument.
“That is so ridiculous,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said. “Congress is … providing a remedy to people who have been wrongfully raided, and you’re now saying, ‘No, they really didn’t want to protect them fully.'”
Most law enforcement agencies don’t keep track of wrong-house raids or publicly report data, according to legal experts. Civil rights advocates estimate that are hundreds of cases of wrong-house raids nationwide each year, and most victims are not compensated for the physical or emotional harm that often results from them.
When Liu argued the FBI agents in the case did not violate any government policy despite the mistake, Justice Neil Gorsuch shot back incredulously.
“No policy says, ‘Don’t break down the wrong door? Don’t traumatize the occupants’? Really?” Gorsuch asked Liu.
“It’s the United States’ policy to execute the warrants at the right house,” Liu replied.
“I should hope so,” Gorsuch responded.
Despite sympathy for the plaintiffs, many of the justices appeared wary of a broad ruling that might open the floodgates to litigation against the government.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who is the justice most often in the majority, suggested the Supreme Court is likely to provide a limited decision and return the case to lower courts for further consideration.
A decision in the case is expected by the end of June.
