USA ( NSA Continues Telephone Metadata Spying )

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released the following statement Friday:

“On March 28, 2014, the Director of National Intelligence declassified and disclosed publically that the U.S. government had filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that, on March 28, 2014, the FISC renewed that authority. The DNI also announced that the Administration was undertaking a declassification review of the FISC’s March 28th Primary Order.

“On June 20, 2014, the DNI declassified and publically disclosed that the U.S. government had filed an application with the FISC seeking renewal of the authority granted in March to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that, on June 19, 2014, the FISC renewed that authority. The DNI also announced that the Administration was undertaking a declassification review of the FISC’s June 19th Primary Order and an accompanying Memorandum Opinion.

“Following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, the DNI has released in redacted form the March 28, 2014 Primary Order, signed by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer. Separately, following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, the FISC published in redacted form the June 19, 2014 Primary Order and an accompanying Memorandum Opinion, signed by Judge James B. Zagel, re-authorizing the collection of bulk telephony metadata under Section 215. The most recent authorization expires on September 12, 2014. These Primary Orders and Memorandum Opinion re-affirm that the bulk telephony metadata collection is lawful.

MEXICO CITY ( 39 Migrants Rescued from Ranch in Northern Mexico )

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities rescued 39 migrants who were allegedly being held captive at a ranch in the northern state of Sonora and arrested four suspects, the federal Attorney General’s Office said.

The director of the AG’s office’s Criminal Investigations Agency, Tomas Zeron, said intelligence work and the monitoring of drug- and migrant-smuggling routes led authorities to the ranch, located near the U.S.-Mexico border in the municipality of Altar.

In addition to agents in the AG’s office, Mexican army soldiers and state police also took part in operation, which freed 26 Mexicans and 13 foreigners who were trying to reach U.S. soil.

Among the detainees was a man responsible for the ranch who allegedly extorted money from the migrants, demanding payments of up to $7,000.

Authorities also confiscated drugs and weapons at the property.

Honduras ( Two Dead in Shooting at Church in Honduras )

TEGUCIGALPA – Two people were killed and four others wounded when several armed men burst into a church in western Honduras and began shooting, the National Police said on Wednesday.

The attack occurred Tuesday night during a service at a Protestant church in Santa Rosa de Copan, a police spokesperson told reporters.

Alex Castillo, 37, and Sebastian Guillen, 18, were killed.

Four other people, three of them women, were admitted to a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds, the spokesperson said, without offering any details on their condition.

Honduras, one of the most dangerous countries in the world, suffers 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people, compared with a global median rate of 8.8 murders for every 100,000 residents.

MEXICO CITY ( One Cop Dead as Gunmen Attack Police Patrol in Mexico )

One Dead as Gunmen Attack Police Patrol in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – One Federal Police officer was killed and three others wounded when gunmen ambushed them on a highway in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Mexican authorities said.

The assault took place around 10:00 a.m. Thursday on the road linking San Fernando and Reynosa, according to a statement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group, a federal-state law enforcement task force.

Armed men traveling in several pickup trucks intercepted the police vehicle and began shooting.

The wounded officers were flown to a hospital in Monterrey, the largest city in northern Mexico.

The body of the dead officer was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas’ capital.

Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, has long been the scene of conflict among rival drug cartels and between the gangs and security forces.

The federal government said last month it was deploying more security forces in Tamaulipas and planned to purge law enforcement agencies in an effort to rein-in violence blamed on the Gulf and Los Zetas drug cartels.

TUCSON Arizona ( Shots Fired from Mexican Helicopter over Arizona, U.S. Says )

TUCSON Arizona – Shots were fired from a Mexican government helicopter that strayed into Arizona airspace, the U.S. Border Patrol said on Friday, adding that no one was hurt.

“A Mexican law enforcement helicopter crossed approximately 100 yards north into Arizona nearly 8 miles southwest of the Village of San Miguel,” Customs and Border Protection officials in Tucson said.

“The incident is currently under investigation,” the CBP said.

The incursion occurred at 5:45 a.m. Thursday over the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation.

Two Border Patrol agents were in the vicinity at the time.

More than 5,000 Border Patrol agents are deployed in southern Arizona.

The Mexican helicopter was engaged in a counter-narcotics operation, a Border Patrol spokesman said.

Mexican officials contacted their U.S. counterparts to apologize for the incident, the leader of the Tucson Sector unit of the Border Patrol agents union, Art Del Cueto, said.

But Mexico’s Milenio television cited unnamed defense officials as denying any incursion into U.S. airspace.

While Mexican army and law enforcement helicopters were active near the border as a part of a major anti-drug operation, none of them entered the airspace over Arizona, the sources told the network.

The press office at Mexico’s defense department said it was working to gather information on the episode before issuing any statement

Arizona ( Indian Rez " Mexico Fires shots at Agents " on T. O. Rez ) Real Story ?

"A Mexican law enforcement helicopter crossed approximately 100 yards (100 meters) north into Arizona nearly 8 miles (13 km) southwest of the Village of San Miguel," U.S. border officials in Tucson said. "The incident is currently under investigation." A spokesman for Mexico's federal prosecutor said the incident had "apparently involved an army helicopter" but declined to elaborate. Mexican army officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Shawn Moran, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents some 17,000 border agents, said the shots were fired at a Border Patrol vehicle.

Arizona ( Indian "Rez " Shots fired " by Mexican Army helicopter on Tohono O'odham Rez ) ?

 

U.S. authorities are investigating two shots that were fired from a Mexican helicopter when it crossed the border into Arizona, although no injuries or damage to U.S. property were reported, the U.S. Border Patrol said on Friday.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a statement, said the incident took place early on Thursday at the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation reservation in southern Arizona.

"A Mexican law enforcement helicopter crossed approximately 100 yards north into Arizona nearly eight miles southwest of the Village of San Miguel," U.S. border officials in Tucson said.

"The incident is currently under investigation," they added.

A spokesman for Mexico's federal prosecutor said the incident had "apparently involved an army helicopter," but declined to elaborate. Mexican army officials could not immediately be reached for comment.