PETA Fights SeaWorld
Attorneys for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are scheduled to argue in federal court Monday against SeaWorld San Diego on behalf of some of the theme park's killer whales.
PETA filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld last October, demanding that five orcas be released immediately on grounds that the 13th Amendment banning slavery should apply to animals.
"All five of these orcas were violently seized from the ocean and taken from their families as babies," said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk upon filing the suit. "They are denied freedom and everything else that is natural and important to them while kept in small concrete tanks and reduced to performing stupid tricks. The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery, and these orcas are, by definition, slaves."
SeaWorld executives have called the suit a "baseless" publicity stunt offensive to those the amendment was written to protect.
Baby Born on Freeway
A father delivered his son along a San Diego freeway early Monday, with some coaching from a 911 dispatcher, authorities said.
The baby was born at 1 a.m. along the side of northbound Interstate 15, just north of Adams Avenue, according to a San Diego fire-rescue dispatcher.
The father told Fox 5 that he was driving his wife to the hospital when she said she couldn't wait any longer, so he pulled over and called 911. The baby, named Jeremiah, is the couple's third child.
Border Construction
Construction on a new, technologically-advanced border crossing for pedestrians began Sunday at the Otay Mesa port of entry.
The pedestrian Ready Lane, scheduled to open Feb. 23, is expected to make the border crossing safer and more efficient, according to a statement released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The new Ready Lane will be similar to the vehicle Ready Lanes that are already in place. Pedestrians will be able to scan pre-approved federal documents to expedite the inspection process.
The vehicle Ready Lanes have proven effective at increasing the number of people passing through each gate by 20 to 25 percent, according to the CBP's statement. When travelers approach a kiosk, they will scan their document, allowing it to be read electronically before they approach the inspection booth. This allows the CBP officer to receive the traveler's information in advance, allowing for faster processing while enhancing overall security, the statement reported.
Documents that may be used include the U.S. passport card, Trusted Traveler cards like the SENRI, FAST and Global Entry, and the newest versions of the legal permanent resident and laser visa/border crossing cards issued after 2008, according to the statement.
A similar pedestrian processing system is already in place and being tested in El Paso, Texas at the Paso del Norte pedestrian crossing. The results from the El Paso and Otay Mesa instillation will help determine if the systems merit widespread and national usage.
Construction will be limited to overnight hours only to limit the impact on travelers.
-City News Service
