Illinois: Derailment forces evacuation of 500

A freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Sunday in the middle of the town of Tamaroa, and authorities evacuated 500 of the town’s 800 residents. One chemical leaked and caught fire.

No injuries were reported after 16 to 21 cars of a northbound Illinois Central-Canadian National train derailed in the morning, authorities said.

Residents up to a mile from the scene were evacuated because the train was carrying vinyl chloride, formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid, Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman said.

All three chemicals are hazardous to breathe and could cause death in high concentrations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many emergency workers were kept away from the trains because of the danger, Kellerman said.

Los Angeles : Firefighters rescue tipped-over elephant

An 8,000-pound elephant in a pond at the Los Angeles Zoo couldn’t get up, and it took the fire department to get her back on her feet.

Handlers found Tara, who is in her 40s, in the shallow pond at the zoo Saturday morning and she appeared unable to get to her feet.

“Well, Tara’s not one who lies down on a regular basis,” mammal curator Jennie McNary said. “I think she was in a position where it was difficult for her to get up.”

Firefighters and zoo animal handlers used a tow truck, crane and a forklift to move Tara. It took them nearly three hours to get two thick straps around the massive mammal to lift her.

Tara was not hurt, zoo officials said.

Denver: Bill would give pets status as companions

Several Colorado lawmakers are supporting legislation to elevate the status of cats and dogs from property to companions.

The measure would allow people in Colorado to sue veterinarians and animal abusers and seek damages for “loss of companionship,” up to $100,000.

Colorado has more than 2 million dogs and cats in 1.6 million households. Current law classifies them as property, and pet owners can seek only “fair market value” in a lawsuit.

If passed, it would be the first such companionship law in the nation, said lawyer Josh Pazour.

A related ordinance, making pet owners guardians so pets will not be seen as property, was recently passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Colorado already is among 14 states legally recognizing dogs and cats as beneficiaries and allowing people to leave money and property to their pets.

Illinois: School halts sale of research pigs

A university livestock program has stopped selling former research pigs to market after the announcement of a federal investigation into whether the animals had been genetically modified.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took the step late last week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said more than 300 pigs sold to market should have been destroyed.

The research involved increasing pigs’ natural levels of some growth proteins already present in meat. None of the manipulated pigs was sold, but 386 of their offspring were sold to a livestock dealer after tests verified the piglets hadn’t inherited changed genes, the school said.

Federal health officials said the pigs might have entered the nation’s food supply but posed no health risk. If the FDA determines its bioengineering research rules were broken, it could impose fines or suspend other university research.