SAN YSIDRO, Dec. 22 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mexico-bound travelers, business owners and residents know the intersection of Camino de la Plaza and Camiones Way at Interstate 5 as one of the worst around.

It's the last U.S. freeway exit and entrance, where many frustrated drivers heading to Mexico are known to make erratic lane changes, block the intersection and cut others off. Locals say they've seen more than a few fights.

December 11 (ENLACE) Navidad registra más muertes que otros días Los fallecimientos por causas naturales no descansan durante las fiestas decembrinas. De hecho, aparecen con más frecuencia, tal vez porque sus víctimas retrasan la atención médica hasta que es demasiado tarde.

Dec. 26 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
International Internet: Of all of the links between San Diego and Tijuana, one of the most important may be Cox Communications' fiber-optic cable that delivers high-speed Internet access – and Padres' games – south of the border.

TECATE, Dec. 24 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Tecate shelter squeeze: As night fell, a group of men gathered around this city's small migrant shelter. The men let their backpacks fall to the ground and dusted off their clothes after a day of wandering through town or working odd jobs.

TIJUANA, Dec. 17 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Slaying suspect arrested in Tijuana: Authorities here have arrested a woman in connection with the slaying of retired La Jolla chiropractor Jerald Lautin, who was found dead inside his Pacific Beach home Oct. 17.

TIJUANA, Dec. 20 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mexican featherweight Soto has bus-load of ability: Humberto Soto got into boxing because he hoped to earn enough to buy a bus.

Dec. 19 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Casinos draw migrant smugglers: The casinos that have sprung up throughout San Diego County are islands of light and activity tucked into the backcountry, attracting seniors, tourists, even truckers with Vegas-style gambling, buffets and shows.

Dec. 14 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Ridge sees need for 3rd border crossing: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday that he sees a need for a third border crossing in the San Diego region to accommodate record amounts of traffic and commerce at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.

Dec. 12 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Woman's ordeal in Mexican prison over: More than a year and a half after being arrested in Ensenada for possessing prescription medicines without a prescription, Dawn Marie Wilson is free.

Dec. 11 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Results are seen in new checks at U.S. border: A new high-tech method of checking visitors to the United States has started to yield results at California border crossings.

Dec. 11 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Nine teenagers in county shelter leave with parents: The nine teenagers who were taken to the Polinsky Children's Center on Thursday night after Mexican authorities closed a group home in Baja California were all released to their parents by early afternoon yesterday.

Dec. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
First segment of state Route 905 makes its debut: A new freeway overpass, the first segment of construction on the long-anticipated state Route 905, is officially open.

Dec. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Photo, fingerprint checks at border: Authorities began to photograph and fingerprint some of the visitors entering the United States through the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings yesterday.

OTAY MESA, Dec. 9 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Dog sniffs out load of marijuana: A drug-sniffing dog working near the border yesterday zeroed in on a rental truck filled with about 1,000 pounds of marijuana, authorities said.

TECATE, Dec. 9 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mexicans arrest fleeing suspect: Mexican authorities arrested a suspected drug smuggler Monday night who was fleeing the Border Patrol, U.S. authorities said.

NOGALES, Ariz., 2:03 a.m. Dec. 7 (AP)
New digital fingerprint scans expand to border crossings in Arizona, California: Foreigners entering the United States zipped through the lines at the main port here and several other locations in Arizona and California as a new digital screening program went into effect.

Dec. 7 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Lawsuit over sewage treatment resolved: A long-running lawsuit over sewage treatment at the U.S.-Mexican border has finally been resolved.

Dec. 7 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Four men linked to immigrant smuggling arrested in county: Federal officials here say they have busted an immigrant-smuggling ring that specialized in shuttling people from Eastern Europe through California's border crossings with Mexico and then on to the East Coast.

TIJUANA, Dec. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Owner says copies of 'Gringo Gazette' stolen: The owner of an English-language publication in Baja California filed a report with Mexican authorities last week about the theft of 8,000 papers and a threatening e-mail.

TIJUANA, Dec. 2 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Well-known Tijuana lawyer dead: A Tijuana defense attorney who represented drug trafficking suspects and police officers accused of crimes was found dead, apparently strangled, state investigators said.

TIJUANA, Dec. 1 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Tijuana's new mayor puts PRI in power again: A gambling tycoon who has vowed to fight crime, corruption and drug use takes over as mayor today, putting the once-powerful Institutional Revolutionary Party back in charge at City Hall after a 15-year absence.