Can you hear me now?

Could this be the catalyst, Ms. Napolitano?

4 US citizens found strangled in Tijuana
The Associated Press
7:09 p.m. May 14, 2009 San Diego Union Tribune

TIJUANA, Mexico — The bodies of four U.S. citizens were found strangled, beaten and stabbed in a van in this border city, two days after they reportedly left their Southern California homes for a night at the Mexican clubs, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The victims, ages 19 to 23 years old, were found tied up on Saturday, but their deaths were not reported earlier because they were under investigation, said Fermin Gomez, an assistant state prosecutor in Baja California.

U.S. consular officials in Tijuana said the victims – two men and two women from the San Diego and Chula Vista areas – were U.S. citizens. The state attorney general's office in Baja California said one of the women was Mexican.

Their deaths are the latest in a string of violence in Tijuana that authorities blame on a bloody turf war between drug cartels.

Bernard Gonzales, a spokesman for the Chula Vista Police Department, said a friend told the women's parents they were headed to nightclubs in Tijuana on Thursday night. They were reported missing the next day when they did not answer their cell phones.

Gomez said relatives of one of the victims told authorities they knew drug traffickers, and that one of the women had cocaine in her system.

The victims were Brianna Hernandez, 19; Carmen Jimena Ramos; Oscar Jorge Garcia, 23; and Luis Antonio Gamez III, 21, said Charles Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. consulate in Tijuana. Ramos was believed to be 20 years old, but her age had not been confirmed.
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Note: The comments below are not real, at least not yet.

Response from the White House: It has been determined that these citizens were strangled with bandanas purchased at a WalMart store in San Diego. Speaker Pelosi is introducing emergency legislation banning the sale of bandanas to people under 50. The CPSC is drafting a regulation requiring that bandanas be perforated every three inches, thus causing them to tear away if used as a weapon.

Response from Governor Schwarzenegger: Effective immediately, all bandanas sold in California will have a serial number. Bandana owners will be required to purchase a Bandana Owners Identity Card (BOIC) and wait three days for a background check before purchasing. All bandanas will have an imbedded RFID tag allowing it to be tracked. Arnold has demanded that bandanas be added to the list of cargo items being screened in southbound shipments.

International responses: France has declared itself a bandana-free zone. China has denied ever producing bandanas for the US market. The United Nations has established a new department to study the question.