1 Mexicali Mayor Victor Hermosillo staunchly defended his police officers, saying they simply were maintaining public order.

2 The chase came to an abrupt halt when nine Mexicali police cars stopped the Jetta and its occupants.

3 He describes harsh conditions of child labor in the Mexicali Valley, the deplorable housing outside factories in cities such as Tijuana, and corporate retaliation faced by union organizers.

4 Officials said power was knocked out in Baja California's two largest cities, Mexicali and Tijuana, which have a combined population of 2.5 million people.

5 The advice said: "Cases have been reported in Mexico City, together with the states of Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Mexicali and Baja California."

6 The Associated Press, citing the Baja California state civil protection director, Alfredo Escobedo, said a multistory parking structure collapsed at the Mexicali city hall but no one was injured.

7 By the time I arrived on the scene, the entire family -- more than 20 people -- would gather at her grandmother's house in Mexicali, Mexico, on Christmas Eve.