Mid Day Distraction

Oh that crazy Hoekstra and his turtle fences!! Background here.

Turtle named for Obama freed on Independence Day

No piddling school or airport for this president, he gets a loggerhead turtle!

KEY WEST, Fla.— A sea turtle named after President Barack Obama that was rescued just before Inauguration Day has been set free on Independence Day.

Obama the loggerhead sea turtle was found ailing off a Key West beach on Jan. 19, the eve of the inauguration. Suffering from an intestinal impaction, the 200-pound female was nursed back to health with a diet of squid and mineral oil at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

Turtle Hospital administrator Ryan Butts said the turtle was set free Saturday on a Key West beach as about 100 people watched. He says it was appropriate to give the loggerhead its liberty on the Fourth of July after being rescued at a historic moment.