Tennessee mother and 2 yr old feared kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico

by lucio using material from el manana and face book

A search is underway for two American citizens believed to have been kidnapped while in the border city of Matamoros, México.   

Matamoros is the location of  the last verifiable sighting.

Tennessee residents, twenty-four year-old Kelly Jean Shumake and her two year-old daughter went missing, on December 30th. Family members have filed a report with  police, of  the  disappearance,  prompting a multi-agency investigation. 

The family traveled to Brownsville, then to Matamoros, to distribute posters and file missing person’s reports there.

J.J. Treviño,  Brownsville police spokesman, confirmed that a complaint was received and filed regarding  the search for an American woman and her child, and he confirmed a complaint was also filed  in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

"We cannot do much in these cases, it isn’t  under our jurisdiction, so this limits us in investigation, we reply on what is provided to us." said Trevino.

The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros recently released a warning to American citizens traveling to or through the state of Tamaulipas, given recent reports of express kidnappings happening near commercial areas in broad daylight.

U.S. Priest Who Scuffled with Colleague to Enter Treatment

NEW YORK – A Catholic priest in New Jersey accused of attacking another cleric with a metal crucifix entered a one-year program of probation and counseling, the U.S. press reported.

Successful completion of the pre-trial intervention program will enable the Rev. Frank Hreno, 51, to have the charges against him dropped.

The incident occurred last April during an argument between Hreno and 37-year-old Rev. Emeka Okwuosa at the Vocationist Fathers Retreat and Conference Center in Florham Park, New Jersey.

The two priests were quarreling about an automobile that Hreno had leased.

Okwuosa said Hreno struck him on the arm with a metal staff 1.2 meters (almost 4 feet) long bearing a crucifix, leaving a cut that required 29 stitches.

Because it was Hreno’s first offense, the judge was amenable to his entering the pre-trial intervention, defense attorney Peter Gilbreth told the Daily Record newspaper.

Paris Shooting Attack: Kourachi Brothers Are Dead

Shortly after 5 p.m. in France, two simultaneous hostage standoffs came to dramatic conclusions amid gunshots and explosions. 
The mayor of the town of Dammartin-en-Goële announced that Said and Cherif Kourachi – the brothers suspected of being behind Wednesday's attack in Paris on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 – were themselves dead. 

Early Friday, the two had been trapped in a Dammartin-en-Goële printing plant within a vast warehouse complex. The town is near Charles de Gaulle Airport, 25 miles north of Paris. 

The mayor also said that a hostage, believed to be female, whom the brothers had taken before the standoff, is unhurt and has been freed. 

Also on Friday, a gunman opened fire at a kosher supermarket in eastern Parisand took at least five people hostage. Police officials say at least four people, including the shooter, are dead. 

Police said the gunman, who has been identified as 32-year-old Amedy Coulibaly, had links to the Kourachi brothers. They also blamed the hostage-taker for Thursday's murder of a French policewoman who was gunned down during an unrelated traffic stop on a Paris street. One of the two suspects in that shooting, a female identified as 26-year-old Hayat Boumeddienne, is still at large. 

Paris - police searching neighborhood for suspects (video )

Bomber takes out 35 at Yemeni police academy

SANAA: A suicide bomber driving a minibus killed at least 35 people on Wednesday as cadets gathered to enroll at a police academy in the heart of Yemen’s capital Sanaa, authorities said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Yemen’s local Al-Qaeda branch, targeted in frequent US drone strikes in the country, has carried out similar attacks in the past.
At the scene of the blast, the dead and wounded lay on a sidewalk against a wall. Water sprayed by firefighters to extinguish the blaze mixed with their pooled blood. A charred taxi cab smoldered near what remained of the minibus, meters from a gate for the police academy, located in a residential area.

The bomber struck as lines of cadets waited outside the academy, preparing to enroll, witnesses said.
“We were all gathering and ... (the bomber) exploded right next to all of the police college classmates,” eyewitness Jamil Al-Khaleedi told The Associated Press. “It went off among all of them, and they flew through the air.”
The head of police in Sanaa, Abdul-Razak Al-Moayed, said the bomber killed at least 35 people. Another security official said at least three civilians died in the blast. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists.
Tribal leaders and Yemeni officials say the rising power of the Houthis, their advance into Sunni areas and the backlash over drone strikes has caused Al-Qaeda to surge in strength and find new recruits.

Saudi Boys face 5 years in prison - For running over Dog 10 times

Two young Saudi boys were convicted for brutally torturing and killing a dog. They face up to five years behind bars or a fine of SR500,000.


Jabir Al-Shehri of the Ministry of Agriculture said on Saturday that the punishment is in line with the Saudi law and also with the unified code of merciful treatment of animals adopted by all Gulf states.
The two young boys were captured on film running over the dog more than 10 times until it died a painful death. The clip, which went viral on social media networks, was made by one of the boys with his mobile phone while the other drove the vehicle.
The clip drew widespread outrage and shock. “This animal is a God’s creation and its torture is a violation of the Islamic teachings,” said one of the participants in a social media group. “Islam recommends merciful treatment of animals.”
Al-Shehri said the vehicle’s number plate, which was clearly visible in the clip, was an important lead that helped security forces to arrest the culprits.

Iran: US ‘cannot be trusted’ in N-talks

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader said Wednesday the United States cannot be trusted to lift sanctions in a future nuclear deal and that Tehran should instead develop an “economy of resistance.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who makes the final decisions on all matters of national security, including the nuclear program, said the US will only make more demands if Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment.
“The Americans are impudently saying that even if Iran backs down on the nuclear issue, all the sanctions will not be lifted at once. They are saying that clearly. It shows that this enemy cannot be trusted,” Khamenei told visitors at his Tehran residence, in remarks carried by state TV.
His comments came ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and world powers scheduled to begin later this month in Geneva. Tehran and the six-nation group — the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — hope to agree on a framework by March and a final agreement by June 30.
Khamenei remains deeply skeptical about US intentions, and has said he doubts the talks will succeed in lifting crippling international sanctions. “Officials should not pin hopes on foreigners and should know that one step in retreat prompts the enemy to advance. You should take the instrument of sanctions out of the enemy’s hands. If you pin hopes on the enemy, sanctions will remain in place,” he said.
Khamenei said Iran should develop an “economic of resistance” in which it boosts local production of strategic goods and reduces its reliance on oil exports, which would make the sanctions less painful.