Quinceanera Stunning Photos

Stunning pictures of hundreds of teenage girls marching through the streets of Mexico City in ball gowns for mass 'Quinceanera'

Hundreds of girls celebrating their fifteenth birthdays attended a mass ‘Quinceañera’ celebration in Mexico City yesterday.

Every year, the mayor of the Mexican capital hosts a ‘coming of age’ celebration to which he invites girls from the city, a tradition dating back to the Spanish colonial era when girls had their official debut in society at the ages of 15 and 16.

It marks the transition from childhood to adulthood and is common in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Party: Fifteen-year-old girls pose for a group picture at the Franz Mayer museum before a mass 'Quinceanera' birthday celebration in Mexico City on Saturday, April 28, 2012

Coming of age: Girls dressed in evening gowns pose for a photograph at the Monument of the Angel of Independence

Cinco de Mayo

As opposed to what many people think, Cinco de Mayo (literally, 5th of May) does not commemorate the independence of Mexico. It celebrates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, less than a hundred miles from Mexico City under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza. The will of the people were strong. The Battle was important because 4,000 Mexican soldiers defeated a much better-equipped French army composed of 8,000 men that had not been defeated for almost 50 years and which at the time was considered to be the best army in the world.

Mexico's Cinco de Mayo 2012

Get ready for fun on the 150th anniversary of Mexico's Cinco de Mayo victory.

First, a capsule history: Ending a 300-year occupation, Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821. The country was free, but broke. So it had to borrow lots of money, mainly from European nations. In 1861, almost broke again, Mexico stopped paying part of its debts, which prompted its European lenders – spearheaded by France – to land a fleet at Veracruz later that year. After all kinds of broken deals and treaties, the next year the French army set out for Mexico City on a route from Veracruz that took them to Puebla along the way.

It was May 5, 1862, and it was going to be a glorious day for the French army and Napoleon III. There they were, in the middle of Mexico, all decked out in their finest uniforms and ready to charge up the hills to the city of Puebla. Soon, as bugles blared and with fleur de lis battle flags proudly waving overhead, they'd be slashing their way through the city's defenders in what one general called “the grande advance.”

Never mind that the French troops would have to get past two forts bristling with guns atop two opposite hills in front of the city. They'd also have to cross a quarter-mile-long trench between the forts packed with enemy troops and lined by sharp-spiked maguey cacti.

It would have been much easier to attack Puebla on the relatively undefended back side of the city, as urged by veteran Legionnaires among the 6,500 French troops gathered for the battle. But they were mostly commanded by civilians, typically noblemen with little combat experience, or none at all.

The decision to attack from the front was because going around to the back would have been “beneath the honor and dignity of France,” as a historian put it.

So off the troops went, charging up the hills short on artillery shot (someone miscalculated how much they'd need) and with ladders too short to scale the walls of the forts (another goof). What's more, it began raining, turning “the grande advance” into a muddy mess besides swelling the water in moats around the forts, making it even harder to get to the walls.

As bugles sounded the order to retreat, Mexico racked up its first (and according to the history books, its last) victory over a foreign army. A little over 460 French soldiers died in the battle vs. 83 Mexican losses.

The victory was short-lived, however, because the French – this time with a bigger army – came back to Puebla the next year, and after a pitched battle hoisted their fleur de lis over the city.

Still, the date of the initial victory is celebrated each year. Ironically, it's not a big deal in Mexico (other than in Puebla), although huge celebrations are held in cities across the U.S.

Where is Puebla? It's about 80 miles east of Mexico City, a drive of 1 to 2 hours depending on the traffic.

More info on the battle: A great source is a 30-page-long account of the battle in the 1995 book, Chapultepec, by Norman Zollinger (Forge Books).

More info on the Cinco de Mayo celebration: Dozens (perhaps hundreds) of cities in the U.S. stage events to mark the victory. 

Tuna Scrape with Salmonella

At least 200 people in 21 states and Washington, D.C., now have been sickened by raw scraped tuna contaminated with not one but two rare strains of salmonella, government health officials reported Thursday.

Tainted tuna scraped from the backbone of the fish has been linked not only to the salmonella Bareilly strain, but also to salmonella Nchanga infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The two genetic fingerprint patterns of the strains have been grouped into a single outbreak strain, CDC officials said.

At least 190 people have been confirmed with salmonella Bareilly infections, and another 10 have been infected with salmonella Nchanga. Twenty-eight victims have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

A frozen yellowfin tun product, known as Nakaochi Scrape, produced by Moon Marine USA Corp. is the likely source of the outbreak.

Earlier this month, Moon Marine recalled 58,828 pounds of the frozen tuna product. It wasn't for sale to individual customers, but may have been used to make sushi, sashimi, ceviche and similar dishes in restaurants and grocery stores.

The outbreak could continue to grow. Illnesses that occured after March 27 might not be reported yet because of the time frame between when a person becomes ill and when it's reported to authorities.

At least two people have filed lawsuits against Moon Marine, a Cupertino, Calif., firm. The women, both from Wisconsin, said they became ill after eating tainted seafood.

The CDC's most recent estimates suggest that for every salmonella infection detected, perhaps 29.3 go unreported. Using that multiplier, 5,860 people could have been affected so far by the tainted tuna outbreak.

Houston, Tx.

HOUSTON -
For the first time in recent years, Mexico's tourism board is fighting back against warnings issued by the U.S. government regarding travel to Mexico.
Mexican government officials insist major tourist destinations are safe and that travel warnings from the federal government and the Texas Department of Public Safety are unnecessarily alarming.
Nonetheless, from the beaches and nightlife, to the stories of shootouts, carjackings and kidnappings; for many students going to Mexico for Spring Break is no longer such an easy decision.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to put myself in that position," said one University of Houston student.
"We've thought about it, and we're just prepared to cover our tracks and lay low, I guess," student Turner Harris said.
The U.S. Department of State issued travel warnings for 18 different places in Mexico. These warnings involve the violence associated with warring drug cartels in border towns, interior states and desolate stretches of roads between major cities. These numbers are up from last year's travel warnings. Both the State Department and Texas Department of Public Safety even punctuated this year's travel warnings with statistics showing the numbers of Americans murdered in Mexico jumped from 35 in 2007 to 120 in 2011.
Students Local 2 spoke with at the University of Houston are taking these warnings to heart. Dresdynn Warnell is heading to South Padre Island for Spring Break, but said her plans no longer include hopping the border to party in Matamoros.
"(I'm) still in Texas, so my mom, my parents, won't worry so much," said Warnell.
"I did think about it, but the violence is really not where I'm going to be," said Harris, whose planning a canoe trip down the Rio Grande River.
None of the travel warnings include the major tourist spots like Cancun or Cabo San Lucas. The state department did warn tourists to "exercise caution and stay within tourist areas" in Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa.
"The security levels in Acapulco have plummeted," said Mason Wilder, an intelligence analyst for ASI Global, a Houston-based company specializing in security, as well as kidnap and ransom services for international travelers. "It's really turned from a vacation friendly destination to almost a drug cartel war zone."
The city of Puerto Vallarta is also not listed by the U.S. government as a danger zone, even though last month 22 cruise line passengers were robbed at gunpoint while on their way to a nature hike.
The state department's advisories do warn travelers to stay in the heavily populated tourists zones of these cities, urging tourists to not go off the beaten path, especially at night.
Also, U.S. government officials warn travelers to not project even the slightest appearance of wealth. Wilder said an under-reported crime in Mexico is a so-called "express kidnapping." Wilder said this generally happens when tourist are conned into taking a ride in an unmarked cab.
"(They'll) steal all their valuables and take them to several ATMs to make them withdraw their daily limit," said Wilder. No Major problems noted in Baja California, B.C., Mexico

Tucson Ambush

TUCSON, Authorities in southern Arizona have identified the second man killed in an ambush on a truckload of illegal immigrants in Eloy. Pima County sheriff's officials released the identity of 40-year-old Juan Baltazar Lopez of Guatemala on Tuesday.
Authorities say Lopez was riding in a truck that was ambushed April 8 by an unknown number of people dressed in camouflage and armed with rifles.
He and another man, 39-year-old Gerardo Perez-Ruiz of Toluca, Mexico, were killed.
Border Patrol agents and police officers from Eloy and Coolidge had responded to a report of shots fired that night in a wash known for human smuggling activity.

Dog Virus Parvo

Parvo Virus Some stray dogs had to be euthanized after being infected with a potentially deadly virus.

"It's highly contagious to many types of dogs. It's not contagious to cats," said Annette Lagunas, Director of Operations for HSOY. "Cats, though they have their own viruses, they are not susceptible to the k9 Parvo virus that we're seeing now," she said.

According to the Humane Society of Yuma Parvo virus cases in dogs have noticeable increased in the last few weeks. They say there is always a spike this time of year.

"They say Yuma doesn't get cold enough to truly kill the vaccination through out the year," said Lagunas. "So we see it all year around but there's times when it gets worse and right now it just seems to be worse," she said.

The Parvo virus only affects dogs. However, it can be externally carried by humans or any other object before eventually infecting your four legged friend.

"Even us can bring it home on our shoes, on our clothes," said Lagunas. "It's not an easy virus to kill. So… many of the household cleaners that you have will not kill this virus," she said.

HSOY officials want to educate the community about how to protect their pets and prevent this harmful virus from spreading any further.

"You definitely want to work with your veterinarian and ensure that your animal is fully protected before they go into the community or before you bring another animal into your home," said Lagunas.

Humane Society officials say some of the symptoms to look out for are dogs becoming lethargic, loss of appetite and diarrhea.

The Parvo virus can easily be prevented with a vaccination. If your pet is already infected it can be treated if caught at an early stage.

The Humane Society of Yuma offers Parvo virus vaccination for dogs at their spay-neuter clinic in Yuma located at 3780 South 4^th Avenue, Suite H1. They offer vaccinations Tuesday-Friday from 12pm-2pm and the second Saturday of every month from 8am-10am. For more information call (928) 247- 9115.

4/16/12 12 Bodies Ciudad Juarez

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico—Forensics tests have confirmed that 12 sets of skeletal remains found near the U.S. border are those of girls and women, authorities announced Monday, fueling fears that young women in the Ciudad Juarez area may once again the targets of serial slayings.
The sets of bones were found in January and February in fields in the Juarez valley, east of Ciudad Juarez, and experts have discovered an alarming similarity in the victims' ages. Of those for whom identities have been established, two were 15 years old, one was 16, two were 17 and one 19.
The special prosecutors' office for crimes against women in northern Chihuahua state did not immediately identify the cause of death in the cases, in part because little but bones were found. The remains were in such bad condition that experts have not yet established whether some of the bones might belong to additional victims.
Three of the 12 bodies had previously been identified as women's, but the gender of the other nine bodies was established by DNA and forensics tests.
Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was the scene of a series of eerily similar killings of more than 100 women, most of them young, beginning in 1993. Those possible serial or copy-cat killings, with similar victim profiles and killing methods, appeared to taper off by late 2004 or early 2005.
But Victoria Caraveo, the leader of the activist group Women of Juarez, said the new discoveries could mean that an entire band of killers may be at work.
"This could be a well-organized gang," Caraveo said, "with some people kidnapping them, others mistreating, using or raping them, and others dumping the bodies," Caraveo said.
The DNA profiles matched those of six women and girls who had been reported missing in 2009 and 2010. Some had reportedly left home, while another was on her way to work at a border assembly plant, or maquiladora. The identities of the other six victims are still under investigation.
In the cases from 1993 to 2004, the victims were usually young, slender women, often maquiladora workers, who were abducted, often sexually abused and strangled before their bodies were dumped in the desert.
Caraveo said one thing is the same as in the previous cases. She said authorities have failed to conduct thorough, timely investigations into women's disappearances, both then and now. She said that, so far in 2012, 18 young women have disappeared in Ciudad Juarez.
The failure of state officials to solve the earlier crimes led to creation of a special federal prosecutor's office to probe those and similar killings.
In November, the Mexican government formally apologized for having failed to protect some of the victims of the earlier killings.

Yuma Outdoor Market Place Closed

Yuma's Outdoor Marketplace Forecloses

YUMA, AZ - A security guard roams the parking lot at Yuma's Outdoor Marketplace to keep anyone off the property including the owner, according to the security guard on duty.

Friday evening News 13 went over to the market place, which is closing down for the season and not planning to reopen at the present location. There, the security guard told us the property foreclosed and the bank took over. He says Southwest Management became in charge and they were hired by the bank to watch the property because the previous owner threatened to harm the property.

Early Friday News 13 talked to the owner Dan Dinwiddie who had the market place sign outside the property lit up asking for the recall of Yuma's Mayor Al Krieger, that sign was turned off later that evening.

Dinwiddie told us he is forming a recall committee against Mayor Krieger. He says for the past year he's been investigating what he calls unfair business practices against him and is taking it to the attorney generals office in phoenix. Dinwiddie says the city has targeted him forcing him into chapter 11.

Prior to the sign about the mayor's recall, the market place had another sign asking the public to boycott two local doctors.

Dinwiddie says they unfairly were able to secure the bank note on the property. He says a restraining order forced him to take his first message down and he will fight that order.

We tried contacting the owner again Friday night for comment about the current situation, but he was not available.

Dole Recall Bagged Salad re: Salmonella risk

April 15, 2012

MONTEREY, Calif. — Dole Food Co.'s fresh vegetables division is recalling 756 cases of bagged salad, because they could be contaminated with salmonella.
The bags of Seven Lettuces salads were distributed in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The company said the bags are being recalled, because a random sample tested by the State of New York came back positive for Salmonella. No other Dole salads are included in the recall.
The recalled salads are stamped with a use-by date of April 11, 2012, UPC code 71430 01057 and product codes 0577N089112A and 0577N089112B, the company said.
The product code and use-by date are located in the upper right-hand corner of the package, while the UPC code is on the back of the package, below the barcode.
Dole said that it's coordinating with regulatory officials and that no illnesses have been reported.
Consumers should throw out the recalled salads. Dole said it's also contacting retailers to make sure the bags in question are not available for sale.
The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of eating the contaminated food. The illness can be severe or even life-threatening for infants, older people, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

Unknowing Drug Mule's

SAN DIEGO, California | Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:34pm EDT

(Reuters) - The Mexican help wanted ads offer a quick $500 for a simple job - drive a car into California on an errand for an "important business" organization.

But the new boss may be a drug cartel and the cargo may not be vital papers, or even money, but illegal narcotics. Hidden in the car could be marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine's that, if found by law enforcement, could land the driver in prison for many years.

The drug traffickers' ruse has snared more than 40 people since the start of last year, arrested as they cross the border at the two bustling ports of entry from the industrial powerhouse of Tijuana, Mexico.

The unwitting drug mules tell investigators on both sides of the border the same story: They responded to ads in Tijuana and were simply doing their new employer's bidding.

"They are hiring these people for supposedly legal work as couriers, in sales, vehicle delivery and currency exchange houses," said Alfredo Arenas, of the State Preventative Police in Mexico's northern Baja California.

"When they cross over the border, (the vehicles) are loaded with drugs," he added.

The cartels' new trick was first spotted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents early last year after a run of drug seizures at the ports of entry at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. The ads seeking drivers were appearing as late as last week.

"In one case, a man we caught told us his wife insisted that he search the car before he crossed the border, but he didn't search the gas tank and that's where the smugglers had hidden the narcotics," U.S. Immigration and Customs Supervisor Lester Hayes said.

"There's often a willful blindness. People who know it doesn't sound right but they figure the less they know the better," he added.

The powerful Mexican cartels based in Tijuana attempt to smuggle billions of dollars worth of drugs each year through ports of entry, clandestine tunnels, and by sea, using ever changing wiles to try to confound U.S. border police.

'SMUGGLERS TRAP'

In some cases the frightened drivers said they were promised a job would be waiting for them in California if they drove the car there from Mexico, said Millie Jones, Special Agent in Charge at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Once they arrived in the United States they were told they did not get the job and were paid to leave the car.

Offering jobs to bilingual men and women with U.S. passports or visas is just the latest way Mexican cartels use unsuspecting border crossers to ferry narcotics to U.S. markets.

Last year, federal police in El Paso, Texas, uncovered a cartel ring that made duplicate keys for the vehicles of commuters who frequently crossed north from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to work or study in the West Texas city.

Unknown to the owners, cartel operators had unlocked the car trunks, often while the owners slept, and loaded them with sacks of marijuana which they planned to remove once the car was parked stateside.

That scheme lead to the arrest of one accused trafficker.

In a bid to curb the new trend snaring drivers using the Tijuana-San Diego corridor, investigators have taken the unusual step of placing Spanish advertisements in the same Tijuana newspapers in which the smugglers advertise.

"Warning! Drug traffickers are advertising jobs for drivers to cross to the United States. Don't be a victim of the smugglers' trap," reads one the advertisements, which the Immigration and Customs agency is running for 30 days at a cost of $2,000.

Besides warning potential recruits that if the job sounds too good to be true, it probably means trouble, the ads include a toll-free number and website information as federal agents try to track down the smugglers behind the recruiting efforts.

"We'll pay for information about how they're doing this and we're hoping to hear from people who didn't take the job because it didn't sound right," said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the U.S. immigration and customs agency.

(Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Jackie Frank)

recalls plus April 10 - 13 2012

• All Recalls
• Press releases about recalled products issued within the last 60 days are published on this page with the most recent press release displayed at the top of the list. To view press releases by product area, please select the Food, Drugs, Animal Health, Biologics or Medical Devices tabs above.

Date	Brand Name	Product Description	Reason/ Problem	Company	Details/ Photo
04/13/2012	Harry and David	Premium Kansas City Style Barbeque almonds	Undeclared Peanuts	Harry and David
04/13/2012	Moon Marine USA Corporation (also known as MMI)	Frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA	Associated with a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly infections	Moon Marine USA Corporation (also known as MMI)
04/13/2012	Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Hannaford, Food Lion	Taco Dinner Kits	Undeclared Milk	Mission Foods
04/12/2012	Full Circle	Concierge Snack Nut Blend	Undeclared Soy and Milk	John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc.
04/11/2012	Pacific Isles	Dried Mackerel & Dried Round Scad	Uneviscerated fish that may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores	H.C. Foods Co.
04/11/2012	Fisher	Vanilla Bean & Cocoa Mocha Almonds	Undeclared Soy	John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc
04/11/2012	Mastiha Shop	Pasta, Pies, Eggplant and Garlic Spreads	Undeclared egg, milk, treenuts and wheat	Mediterra S.A.
04/10/2012	Pacific Isles	Dried Mackerel & Dried Round Scad	Uneviscerated fish that may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores	Seng Ong Wholesale, Inc.
04/10/2012		dried uneviscerated fish	Contaminated with Clostridium bacteria	Minnesota Department of Agriculture
04/10/2012	Import Foods Wholesale Inc.	Smoked Croaker, Smoked Barracuda, Smoked Big Eye, Smoked Red Snapper	Uneviscerated fish that may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores	Import Foods Wholesale, Inc.

Lock car by hand

How to Lock Your Car and Why

I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!! Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation.
I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight to the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into cars.
Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar happening....
While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase...you name it.
He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic -- there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device. They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run.
Solution ---- The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car -- that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen. This is very real. Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this note on.
Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them -- and bingo, someone has our code... and whatever was in our car.

Quechan Tribe

Quechan Indian Tribe part of government lawsuit settlement

WASHINGTON D.C.- The Quechan Indian Tribe is part a more than $1 billion settlement with 41 tribes and the United States.

In the lawsuits filed against the U.S. by the tribes, it alleges the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury mismanaged monetary assets and natural resources held in trust by the government for the benefit of the tribes.

Wednesday's announcement followed a 22-month-long negotiation.

These settlements resolve claims dating back more than 100 years.

Mexicali, B.C.--Enrique Iglesias April 27

Mexicali, B.C.--Enrique Iglesias is ending his Euphoria world tour in Mexicali. April 27, 2012

The international Spanish singer will perform some of his hit songs such as "Tonight I'm Loving You", "Hero", "Cuando Me Enamoro", "Experiencia Religiosa" and many others.

"It will be a super show. We've been following feedback on the internet, comments, videos," Tizoc Favela of Bekza espectaculos said. "There will be 65 feet of runway for the young man to sing into the crowd."

A news conference was held in Mexicali to announce concert details and promoters said the theme will be like a huge festival.

"That lets people to not get bored and when the DJ ends they can go buy something, stretch and have a break while musicians move off stage," Favela said.

Promoters said about 24,000 people are expected to attend the concert here in Mexicali at Casas Geo stadium.

A local DJ, a singer from Argentina and Fanny Lu will open the show before Iglesias.

They said Iglesias is expected to hit the stage by 10:30 p.m., however they encourage you to buy your tickets as soon as possible.

Officials said gates will open at 7 p.m. the day of the concert.

Tickets for the concert are available on www.ticketmaster.com

Prices range from $35 dollars to $200 dollars.

Livestock pro-growth hormones, antibiotics & more

We’ve probably all heard about ‘superbugs’, those drug-resistant strains of bacteria thought to be caused by the overuse of antibiotics in modern life. I was surprised to find, however, that current research shows that these highly-drug resistant bacteria are NOT primarily a result of overuse of antibiotics by humans, but by livestock. Currently, over 70% of the antibiotics in the U.S. – over 30 million pounds a year – are used in animal agriculture for non-therapeutic purposes.
After languishing in limbo for 35 years, a proposal by the FDA that would ban the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed is finally getting a hearing. A federal judge ordered the FDA to follow through on proceedings begun in 1977, but which were never actually completed.
Why does this matter to me, and you? “Livestock are commonly fed a cocktail of pro-growth hormones, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals to help them grow faster and prevent infection in the crowded spaces where they spend their lives. Among several concerns, opponents of this practice say profligate antibiotic use can force microbes to mutate and become more dangerous. This is apparently what happened with CC398.” (A strain of MRSA)
One advantage of my empty nest is that I now have the luxury, and budget, to shop for the food I want! I follow the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists from the Environmental Working Group when deciding the best choices for organic, pesticide-free, produce. Organic meat can be significantly more expensive, however. At a minimum, I look for ‘hormone and antibiotic free’ selections.
Huge challenges exist, and will continue to grow, in feeding the expanding world population. By selecting organic, hormone and antibiotic free groceries for our own tables, however, we will ensure the growers and ranchers working to bring us these healthier alternatives can continue to thrive.

Smart Phone Warning

Hackers are increasingly turning their attention to smart phone and if users are not protected, they could steal private information, security experts said.

"The hackers are beginning to see that the smart phones are easier to break into than computers now,” Rey Anzaldua said. “So you're starting to see a lot more hacking activity directed towards the mobile and smart phone arena."

Anzaldua is an assistant professor at the University of Phoenix in Mission.

He is finishing his doctoral dissertation on computer security, and also works for the U.S. Navy.

"Generally, people have not made the leap yet that their smart phone is really a smart computer," he added.

According to Anzaldua, all the apps and features in the smart phones open the way for third parties to steal user’s personal information.

As an investigator, he said he has averaged two calls a month from people looking to protect their smart phones, but that number could grow.

"As people migrate to that and use that as your primary computer, yeah I’m going to start getting a lot more calls," he admitted.

He offered advice for smart phone users; if you haven't thought about security, now is the time.

"Put an antivirus on their smart phone and they're available from all the major manufacturers and people that supply antivirus," he recommended. “If you use your smart phone for banking or as a modem, encryption is the way to go on that."

But his best advice for users is that if they don't want their information, like credit card numbers, stolen from the smart phone, then avoid using them on the phone.

Mexican state of Chiapas.

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico — Authorities say two government workers and the police officer escorting them have been killed in a shootout with gunmen who apparently tried to rob money used for a social welfare program in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

State spokeswoman for the Social Development Department Adriana Bravo says the head of a federal anti-poverty program, an employee of a government savings bank and the officer were shot dead. Agents are trying to track the armed men down and are investigating if they stole any money.

The attackers ambushed a group of workers and a police unit Monday, surprising them with high-caliber weapons from a hillside as they headed to distribute money to Indian people near the village of Zinacatan, in the highlands of Chiapas, Bravo said. The officers repelled the attack.

Human Smuggling Sentencing

Officials say 34-year-old Rafael Valles of the McAllen area was sentenced Tuesday to more than 10 years in federal prison. A Mexican citizen, 32-year-old Refugio Reyna-Huerta, received an eight-year prison term.

Both pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants.

Investigators say a February 2010 traffic accident near Falfurrias led to the death of a person from Mexico. Authorities say the victim was among 17 illegal immigrants being transported in a fleeing pickup when the truck rolled.

Seven other convicted members of the smuggling ring received prison terms Tuesday ranging from nearly two years to more than six years.

Two men received stiff sentences for running an illegal-immigrant smuggling business that was exposed when a Toyota Tundra carrying 17 of their clients crashed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston announced today.

Toxic Nail Polishes used in Salons in Ca.

California regulators have found some nail polishes used and sold in salons that are advertised as free of a so-called "toxic trio" of chemicals have high levels of agents known to cause birth defects.

A Department of Toxic Substances Control report to be released Tuesday determined that the mislabeled nail products have the potential to harm thousands of women who work in more than 48,000 nail salons in California, and their customers.

The report found that 10 of 12 products that claimed to be free of the chemical toluene actually contained it, with four products having dangerously high levels.

The DTSC's report also found that 5 of 7 products that claim to be free of the trio - formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, or DBP - actually contained one or more of them.

Somerton Fuel Spill

SOMERTON, AZ - Highway 95 and Avenue G was closed down for several hours this afternoon as the Somerton Cocopah Fire Department and several other agencies responded to a gas spill.

The Somerton Fire Department says at 3:30 they first responded for what they thought was a vehicle accident but upon arrival found a farm nurse tank that was carrying diesel fuel on its side leaking.

Fire officials say a tractor was pulling the tank and as they turned to go west bound on Highway 95 the tank tipped over.

Fire fighters began to secure an area around the tank to prevent it from spilling further into the roadway. However, they say 35 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled on the road.

During clean up fire fighters used a micro-organism foam called micro blast to attack hydrocarbons and stop the flammability, the substance also controls the vapors.

El Golfo Easter Weekend

El Golfo de Santa Clara, Son., is expecting larger crowds than usual this weekend since the Easter holiday falls on the calendar at the same time as spring break for many schools and colleges.
Alonso Montes, tourism development director for San Luis Rio Colorado, said more than 6,000 visitors are expected to pack the beach at El Golfo, a Mexican fishing village that has become a popular destination for vacationers in recent decades.
While Mexicans traditionally visit El Golfo for Easter, a larger percentage of this weekend's visitors could come from the Yuma area and other U.S. communities along the border, given that the holiday coincides with spring break, he said.
“This isn't typical, and that raises our expectations of a jump in visitors,” Montes said.
The city of San Luis Rio Colorado will have extra police officers, firefighters and Red Cross workers on duty in and around El Golfo to ensure safe travel by visitors, he added.
With the exception of one stretch of roadway, the highway that extends from San Luis to Riito and on to El Golfo has been refurbished, providing motorists with generally smooth traveling conditions, Montes said.
The unimproved portion is located at Kilometro 68, about 40 miles south of the border, he said. “That's a stretch that didn't get finished, so we are asking motorists to drive carefully.”
Montes added that visitors have the option of taking the toll road that starts on Highway 2 on the east side of San Luis and extends in a straight line to El Golfo, unlike the other highway that winds through the farming valley south of the border city.
The toll road is in better shape and will cut visitors' travel time by nearly half, said Montes, who noted, however, that the Mexican government recently hiked the one-way toll to 105 pesos, or a little more than $8.
On their return from Easter weekend visits to Mexico, travelers should expect longer than typical waits in car lines at U.S. ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
CBP says travelers can help speed up the wait by making sure they have required border crossing documents ready in advance to present to CBP officers. They are required to present a passport, passport card or other document allowed under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
All passengers in a vehicle returning from Mexico should be awake at the time they reach the port of entry, CBP says, and all cell phone conversation should be concluded.

Public Reaction Closes Meat Plant

Beef processor AFA Foods Inc., part-owned by NBA great Magic Johnson, has filed for bankruptcy protection and blamed, in part, bad publicity over "pink slime," according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The company has two processing plants in Vernon, as well as five others nationwide, according to the report.
The beef product known as pink slime or lean finely textured beef is seen on a tray during a tour March 29 of the Beef Products Inc. plant in South Sioux City, Neb., where the beef product is made. The governors of Iowa, Texas and Kansas and lieutenant governors of Nebraska and South Dakota toured the plant to show their support for the company and the several thousand jobs it creates in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
The beef product known as "pink slime" or lean finely textured beef is seen on a tray during a tour March 29 of the Beef Products Inc. plant in South Sioux City, Neb., where the beef product is made. The governors of Iowa, Texas and Kansas and lieutenant governors of Nebraska and South Dakota toured the plant to show their support for the company and the several thousand jobs it creates in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
According to CBS News Los Angeles, one of the Vernon plants is shutting down in the wake of the public response against the sterilizing meat filler. Roughly 850 workers at AFA, which is owned by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Yucaipa Cos. and Johnson, are facing layoffs, the report said.
AFA supplies beef to Safeway, Wendy's, Wal-Mart, Burger King and Carl's Jr., CBS said.
ABC News reported that the company, based in King of Prussia, Pa., secured $56 million in financing to continue operating during the bankruptcy process.