John Williams’ Snack Attack Steaks: Helping Christy Rec Neighbors & Philly City Eating Better by Van Stone frontpagenews1@yahoo.com (267) 293-9201.

John Williams’ Snack Attack Steaks: Helping Christy Rec Neighbors & Philly City Eating Better by Van Stone frontpagenews1@yahoo.com (267) 293-9201.

John Williams’ Snack Attack Steaks Logo

John A. Williams, creator of “Snack Attack Steaks,” is expanding his fight against eating unhealthy snacks throughout the Philadelphia communities by working with rec centers and schools boosting the participation in healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner programs. And Williams will be setting up steak shops and culinary workshops for residents who use the nearby Christy Rec center in West Philly boosting healthy snack participation closely aligned with many city of Philadelphia city council wellness policy goals.

John and his Snack Attack Steaks desire to help the city of Philadelphia increase daily nutritional intake of chicken steaks, lamb steaks, veggie burgers, etc., during regular and after-school hours so that teachers and students will aspire to healthy lifestyle practices. The Christy Rec center building is a target for city leader support to promote eating better.  “This is my snack alternative service that will work for the city,” Williams says. He enjoys helping voter’s lives as well.

Help is here.  John A. Williams and many in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania community have pitched in to help Philadelphia become an eating-better city. Williams ran for the seat of city Committee Person and the community voted him in on Primary Election Day 2014.  

Committeeman Williams became a committee person partner with another elected official, the Committee Person Patricia A. Thomas to help leaders build up family in the neighborhood.  And John wants to work as an unhealthy snack problem solver for the growth of the city in the 5^th district where City Council President Darrell L. Clarke represents North Central Philadelphia and Strawberry Mansion.  And also to help Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell's 3^rd District Philadelphia as well. “There’s a need for my snack attack in West and North Philly,” he says.

  

John A. Williams serves Philadelphia’s residents as a Committeeman of the Democratic 32^nd Ward in the 24^th District; he has been a Block Captain for over 30 years in North Philadelphia’s 1900 block of 31^st street.

In fact, John A. Williams, who is often called "Johnny" or "The Mayor of 31^st Street" by his good friends, is dedicated to the role of deterring blight and graffiti, random-crime, and unhealthy snacking.  And he wants to help winning heroes and charity in the community.  Van Stone Productions (VSP) is one of the charities Johnny wants to help.  Partly because of this he will establish his own brand of restaurants to boost education and call attention to the culinary arts.

“The James G. Blaine Academic Plus school at 30^th and Berks St will be a great teaching center for culinary education about healthy steaks also,” he said. The Christy Rec Center at 56^th and Christian St has room for a great how-to steaks food preparation program as well.  

“Cooperation is the name of my goal when serving,” says Johnny as he takes turns attacking unhealthy snacks trouble.  But faced with serious threats in the form of unhealthy breakfast and lunch outside of the cafeteria in West or North Philly, Williams keys in on the fact that the city as a whole still needs all the help it can get. “My snack attack steaks can help us make the city a better place,” Johnny said.

School Reform Commission Makes Bold Move To Avoid More Cuts

School Reform Commission Makes Bold Move To Avoid More Cuts

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The ball is back in the city of Philadelphia and the state’s court.

The SRC won’t adopt a budget for next school year until it has secured adequate funding for Philadelphia schools on both the local and state level.

They say more cuts are out of the question.

As a teaching coach in the Philadelphia School District, Leshawna Coleman sees the struggles every day, struggles that are caused by a lack of funding.

“As a general rule, virtually no school has a nurse at this point.”

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Officials: Syrian suicide bomber was an American

Officials: Syrian suicide bomber was an American 
  

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An American from Florida launched a suicide bombing against Syrian government troops earlier this week in what is believed to be the first time a U.S. citizen has been involved in such attacks since the start of the Syrian civil war, U.S. officials said Friday.

The man's name is Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that provided no other details about him. Abu-Salha was thought to be the first U.S. citizen to be involved in a suicide bombing in Syria's three-year civil war, she said earlier.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told reporters in Miami that the American suicide bomber was from Florida.

At least 160,000 have died in the fighting between government forces and opposition forces seeking the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Opposition forces had identified the man who carried out a May 25 truck bombing outside a restaurant in the government-held northwestern city of Idlib as Abu Hurayra al-Amriki and said he was a U.S. citizen. The name al-Amriki means "the American."

It's unknown how many people died in the bombing. Opposition rebels with the al-Qaida-linked insurgency al-Nusra Front said Abu-Salha's truck was laden with 16 tons of explosives to tear down the al-Fanar restaurant in Idlib, a gathering site for Syrian troops.

Asaad Kanjo, an opposition activist based in the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province, said he heard that Abu-Salha arrived in Syria a few months ago and tore up his American passport upon arrival.

Kanjo said even a local commander with the Nusra Front was surprised about Abu-Salha, quoting him as saying that people do all they can to try go to the U.S. to get an American passport, and this man came here and got rid of his.

"From what I heard, I believe he was an American of Arab origin. People said that he spoke Arabic with a foreign accent, and he used to speak classical Arabic," Kanjo said.

He added that Abu-Salha was a member of the Nusra Front but was not a commander. "Most probably he came to carry out this attack," Kanjo said.

The truck bombing was one of four by suicide bombers who attacked over the course of a day in the area in Idlib province.

Montco Couple Charged After Phony US Currency Found In Their Home

Montco Couple Charged After Phony US Currency Found In Their Home

 

ROSLYN, Pa. (CBS) — A Roslyn couple has been charged with possessing counterfeit US currency after 265 phony $10 bills were found in their home.

Abington police say they searched the home after a phony bill was passed at Rita’s Water Ice, on Easton Road in Glenside, last Thursday evening.

“She paid with an apparent $10 bill. After she had left, people in store realized that it was a counterfeit bill, reported it to Abington police,” said Deputy Chief John Livingood.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Yaritza Reyes: Miss Dominican Republic

US honors veterans over Memorial Day weekend

US honors veterans over Memorial Day weekend 

Marine veteran, retired Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers salutes riders in the annual Rolling Thunder 'Ride for Freedom' motorcycle rally in Washington, Sunday, May 25, 2014.

  

NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. Marine Corps' chaplain, speaking Sunday to a congregation that has tied gold ribbons on the church's fence in honor of fallen soldiers since the Iraq War began, lauded the sacrifice of veterans around the world as President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan for Memorial Day.

"What they have done has allowed us to be here," Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben told the roughly 200 worshippers at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, including active duty servicemen and women in town for the annual Fleet Week celebration.

Memorial Day, she said, was a time to remind ourselves of the meaning of sacrifice and to put personal struggles and difficulties in perspective.

Across the nation, citizens were marking Memorial Day with somber ceremonies, flag pl5nting at cemeteries, parades and even barbecues - an American pastime that Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal said should be enjoyed this weekend.

"I'm in the service so that they can enjoy that," said McNeal, 39, who is stationed in Suffolk, Virginia, and is in town for Fleet Week. "They made the sacrifice so everyday citizens don't have to worry about the evils of the world."

Thousands of memorial ribbons are tied on the storied church's fence. There are gold ribbons for service members killed in Afghanistan, green ribbons representing prayers for peace and blue ribbons for the people of Afghanistan.

Obama arrived at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan to speak with troops and visit soldiers being treated at a base hospital. At least 2,181 members of the U.S. military have died during the nearly 13-year Afghan war and thousands more have been wounded.

On Saturday, Democratic congresswoman Tammy Duckworth served as grand marshal of Chicago's Memorial Day Parade and struggled to hold back tears during a wreath-laying ceremony to honor fallen soldiers. She lost her legs and partial use of an arm when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in Iraq in 2004.

More than 300 Junior ROTC students from Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville marched in the city's parade. Afterward, still dressed in their uniforms, they chatted, bantered and ordered ice cream from a vendor's truck while waiting for a bus that would take them back home.

Their instructor, 1st Sgt. Stephen Roberts, an Army veteran, said the students practice all year to march in the parade.

"They enjoy it a lot," Roberts said. "We tell them about it at the beginning of the year. Our rifle, our drum teams, our flags, they practice every day. They come in on their own accord. They do their own practices. It means a lot to them. They're very proud to do this."

In Massachusetts, Boston Marathon survivor Jeff Bauman and his rescuer, Carlos Arredondo, helped plant tens of thousands of flags Saturday at a cemetery to honor soldiers.

Obama directed all government agencies in the United States to fly their flags at half-staff on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

Last 2 victims in California rampage identified

Last 2 victims in California rampage identified 

Richard Martinez who says his son Christopher Martinez was killed in Friday night's mass shooting that took place in Isla Vista, Calif., breaks down as he talks to media outside the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Headquarters on Saturday, May 24, 2014, in Santa Barbara, Calif.

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) -- A gunman went on a rampage Friday night near the University of California, Santa Barbara that left seven people dead, including him. Here are the stories of the six victims, who were all students at the university.

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KATHERINE BREANN COOPER

Her friend Courtney Benjamin said Cooper, 22, was a painter with an outgoing side. The resident of Chino Hills, California, was about to graduate with a degree in art history.

"She was a self-proclaimed princess and I love her for that," Benjamin said. "And I know she has a crown on her head today."

Andrew Notohamiprodjo was Cooper's ballroom dance teacher three years ago and later supervised her as a teaching assistant in ballroom dance. Cooper was looking forward to graduating but planned to stay in town another year, he said.

"She was a lot of fun, super forward," he said.

Cooper graduated from Ruben S. Ayala High School in Chino Hills in 2010.

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CHENG YUAN HONG

One of Elliot Rodger's roommates, Hong was among the first three killed. Sheriff's officials had mentioned at a Saturday press conference that Rodger contacted authorities to report his roommate had allegedly his stolen candles. Santa Barbara District Attorney Joyce Dudley says Hong was that roommate.

Hong, 20, was charged with petty theft, and Dudley said he pleaded guilty.

Hong was from San Jose, California.

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GEORGE CHEN

Chen, 19, was among the three young men found dead with multiple stab wounds in Rodger's apartment, the Santa Barbara sheriff's office said. Chen, also from San Jose, was listed on the lease for the apartment along with Hong and Rodger.

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WEIHAN WANG

Wang, 20, of Fremont, California, was among the three young men Rodger killed, authorities say. Investigators were trying to determine whether he was also a roommate or was visiting at the time of the attack.

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CHRISTOPHER ROSS MICHAELS-MARTINEZ

Michaels-Martinez, 20, was an English major from Los Osos, California, who planned to go to London next year and to law school after graduation, his father, Richard Martinez, said at a Saturday press conference.

He pulled out a photo of his son as a small child in a Chicago Cubs baseball uniform and said they used to call him "mini-Sammy Sosa," referring to the former Cubs star.

"Chris was a really great kid," Martinez said. "Ask anyone who knew him."

Friends said Michaels-Martinez, who served as residential adviser at a dorm last year, was the kind of guy who would welcome strangers into his home.

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VERONIKA ELIZABETH WEISS

Weiss, 19, was first-year student from Westlake Village, California.

"She was always a happy person," said Eric Pursley, who worked with Weiss at a Target store in Thousand Oaks last year.

Weiss was a water polo player at Westlake High School who earned league honors during her senior year, according to the Thousand Oaks Acorn newspaper

Legal fight over gay marriage spreads to 30 states

Legal fight over gay marriage spreads to 30 states 
 

William Roletter, left, and Paul Rowe, press close to one another after they had their photo made with their newly acquired marriage certificate, Wednesday, May 21, 2014, at City Hall in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania became the final Northeastern state and the 19th in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday he would not appeal a federal judge's ruling that overturned the state's 1996 ban.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Federal lawsuits filed this week in Montana and South Dakota leave just one state - North Dakota - with a gay marriage ban that's not facing some form of legal challenge.

State marriage bans have been falling around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Now, in 30 states, judges are being asked whether gays should have the right to marry.

"Even though it's happening all around us in other states, this is us, this is real," Nancy Rosenbrahn of Rapid City, South Dakota, told The Associated Press Thursday.

She and Jennie Rosenbrahn married in April in Minneapolis, and were among the six couples who sued in South Dakota Thursday to overturn that state's gay marriage ban.

In 19 states and the District of Columbia, gay couples can already wed, with Oregon and Pennsylvania becoming the latest to join the list this week when federal judges struck down their bans and officials decided not to appeal.

But opposition in some places remains strong. A spokesman for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said he will vigorously defend the state's constitutional ban against the lawsuit brought by four gay couples.

In Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert said at a news conference Thursday he also is committed to defending his state's ban, and he blasted decisions against doing so by leaders in other states.

"For elected officials, governors or attorney generals, to pick and choose what laws (they) will enforce I think is a tragedy, and is the next step to anarchy," Herbert said. "We have an obligation as a state to defend those laws."

Here's a look at where things stand with other legal challenges across the country:

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Arkansas

A state judge in Arkansas' largest county earlier this month struck down the state's gay marriage ban, saying the state has "no rational reason" for preventing gay couples from marrying. The state Supreme Court brought the marriages to a halt and is weighing state officials' appeal.

Idaho

State officials announced this week they will appeal last week's decision from a federal judge overturning the state's same-sex marriage ban. The appeal goes to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Indiana

State attorneys have asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to review a federal judge's recent order requiring Indiana to recognize the out-of-state marriage of a lesbian couple in which one woman is terminally ill. That ruling applies just to one couple - not to others who were legally wed elsewhere and are seeking to have Indiana recognize their marriages.

Kentucky

After a federal judge ordered Kentucky to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, attorney general Jack Conway said he would not defend the state's law. But, the state has hired outside attorneys to handle the case and is appealing to 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which has not yet scheduled a hearing.

Michigan

The 6th Circuit is reviewing Michigan's same-sex marriage ban that was overturned by a federal judge in March following a rare trial that mostly focused on the impact of same-sex parenting on children. Arguments have not been scheduled.

Nevada

Eight gay couples are challenging Nevada's voter-approved 2002 ban that was upheld by a federal judge in 2012. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco hasn't scheduled arguments yet. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is refusing to defend the ban.

Ohio

The 6th Circuit appeals court is reviewing two gay marriage cases from Ohio. The first involves recognizing gay marriages on death certificates, and the second involves an order for Ohio to recognize all out-of-state marriages. Arguments have not been scheduled in either case.

Tennessee

A federal judge ordered the state to recognize three same-sex couples' marriages while their lawsuit against the state works through the courts. Tennessee officials are appealing the preliminary injunction to the 6th Circuit.

Texas

A federal judge declared the state's ban unconstitutional, issuing a preliminary injunction. The state is appealing to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans.

Utah and Oklahoma

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is reviewing same-sex marriage bans that were overturned by federal court judges in these two states. The appeals court heard arguments on both cases in April, and a ruling is expected soon. Utah and Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly passed the bans in 2004.

Virginia

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard arguments this month about Virginia's overturned ban and is expected to rule soon. Virginia's attorney general, Mark Herring, is one of seven in the country who has refused to defend a state gay marriage ban. A county clerk who was sued in Virginia is defending the ban.

Elsewhere

Other states with court cases demanding recognition of gay marriage are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Most lawsuits challenge same-sex marriage bans or ask states to recognize gay marriages from other states.

Dozens charged in child porn case in NYC area

Dozens charged in child porn case in NYC area 

In this Jan. 23, 2014 photo, Mount Pleasant, N.Y. police Chief Brian Fanelli and his wife Sonja exit Federal Court in White Plains, N.Y. A five-week investigation has resulted in charges against at least 70 men and one woman in the New York City area in what officials called one of the largest-ever roundups locally of people who anonymously trade child porn over the Internet. Authorities decided to launch the operation after the arrest of Fanelli, who pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges of knowingly receiving and distributing child pornography.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Seemingly respectable members of the mainstream - a police officer, a paramedic, a rabbi, an airline pilot, an architect, a Boy Scout leader - were caught using the Internet to collect and trade child pornography, federal officials said Wednesday.

The six were among 70 New York City-area men and one woman charged as the result of a five-week investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some of the defendants, using search terms like "real child rape" and "family sex," had downloaded thousands of disturbing images on their computers inside suburban homes they shared with their families. The lone woman was accused of allowing another suspect to videotape her son.

Federal and state officials who announced the arrests on Wednesday called it one of the largest local roundups ever of people who seek to anonymously share the porn online - and a stark reminder that they come from all walks of life.

"This operation puts the lie to the classic, stereotypical profile that child predators are nothing more than unemployed drifters," said James Hayes, head of ICE's New York office.

Authorities say an alarming number of the defendants held positions of trust that gave them access to young children. The Boy Scout leader also coached a youth baseball team. The rabbi home-schooled his children and others. Another person used hidden cameras to secretly film his children's friends.

The operation was meant to send a message to producers and consumers of child porn "that they are going to be identified, that they are going to be found," Hayes said. "Those people need to look themselves in the mirror and do whatever they need to do to stop this activity."

Authorities say advances in technology and computer capacity have allowed child-porn collectors to easily amass vast troves of images and to exchange files with each other directly. The New York effort resulted in the seizure of nearly 600 desktop and laptop computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices containing massive amounts of storage.

Agents were still examining the devices to locate and catalog evidence, an arduous task that could result in more arrests. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also will have analysts review the images to see whether it can identify children using databases of known victims.

"We refer to each of these images as a crime scene photo because that's exactly what they are," said John Ryan, the organization's chief executive officer.

Authorities decided to launch the operation after the arrest in January of the Mount Pleasant, New York, police chief, who pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges of knowingly receiving and distributing child pornography. Court papers allege that Brian Fanelli told investigators he began looking at child porn as research before it grew into a "personal interest."

In May, agents on computers created a digital dragnet with the same tactics used in the Fanelli case: Agents posed as collectors of child porn who wanted to anonymously trade it through file-sharing programs others use to share pirated hit music and movies. Once given access to personal libraries of child porn photos and videos, the agents identified the numeric IP addresses of the sources of the material.

The next step as was to subpoena Internet service providers to obtain names associated with the IP addresses. The investigators narrowed the list down to 100 people who were the most active and recent traders, and obtained search and arrest warrants.

Police: Woman found 10 years after kidnapping

Police: Woman found 10 years after kidnapping

The home of suspect Isidro Garcia, the top floor, left apartment "G" is photographed in Bell Gardens, Calif., on Wednesday, May. 21, 2014. Garcia was arrested Wednesday for allegedly kidnapping a 15-year-old girl in Santa Ana in 2004 then repeatedly physically and sexually assaulting her over the course of 10 years. He was booked for kidnap for rape, and lewd acts with a minor and false Imprisonment.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A woman who disappeared as a teenager a decade ago was reunited with her family after she went to police and told them her mother's ex-boyfriend drugged and kidnapped her in 2004, forced her to marry him and fathered her child.

Isidro Garcia, 41, of Bell Gardens, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping for rape, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment, the Santa Ana Police Department said.

Police described a decade during which the woman - abused mentally, physically and sexually by her captor - was moved at least four times and given multiple fake identities to hide her from family and authorities.

According to police, Garcia told her that her family had stopped trying to find her, and that if she tried to contact them they would be deported to Mexico. At first she was locked up, but she eventually began to lead what appeared from the outside to be a normal life.

"Even with the opportunity to escape, after years of physical and mental abuse, the victim saw no way out of her situation," police said in a written statement.

Neighbors were stunned, describing the couple as seemingly happy. They doted on their young daughter and liked to host parties at their apartment in the working-class community of Bell Gardens, about 20 miles from where she originally disappeared.

"He treats her like a queen. He does his best to do whatever she wants," next-door neighbor Maria Sanchez said in Spanish.

The now-25-year-old woman, whose identity is not being released, first contacted authorities Monday - the same day Garcia was first arrested. Police said she came forward to police after finding her sister on Facebook.

Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said his department's investigation concluded the following:

The girl arrived from Mexico in February 2004 to join her mother and sister in Santa Ana, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. She had entered the United States illegally and spoke no English.

Garcia was her mother's boyfriend. After one fight between the girl's mother and Garica in August 2004, the girl's mother left the house and the girl, then 15, went to a nearby park.

Garcia followed the girl. When he caught up with her, she said she had a headache and wanted to go home.

Garcia began threatening the girl and gave her five pills that he said would help her headache but instead knocked her out.

When the girl awoke, she was locked in a garage in Compton, a city between Santa Ana and Los Angeles.

The mother "filed a police report and for 10 years (police) did due diligence. But they were changing their names and dates of birth and physical locations so that made it exceedingly difficult," Bertagna said.

"You're talking about a 15-year-old girl that's in a new country," he said. "She's got nowhere to go."

In 2007, Garcia got documents from Mexico that gave the girl a new name and date of birth. Using those documents, he married her at a courthouse. He fathered a girl with her in 2012.

Garcia secured two jobs for them on a night cleaning crew so he could keep watch over her. She tried to escape twice but was severely beaten.

Recently, she found her sister on Facebook and they started to communicate. She also learned that her mother had indeed tried to find her, going to a Spanish-language television station and newspaper in 2004.

She started reflecting on her own child's situation and realized she needed to leave, Bertagna said. On Monday, she went to police in Bell Gardens and reported that she was a victim of domestic abuse. She also told them of her abduction.

Police arrested Garcia on Monday during a traffic stop in Bell Gardens. On Tuesday, Santa Ana police arrested him on the kidnapping and other charges, and also interviewed him.

Garcia was expected to be arraigned Thursday.

Neighbors near Garcia's apartment in Bells Gardens said they were shocked by the news. They knew the suspect as Tomas Madrano and described him as a devoted family man who worked hard to provide for his wife and daughter.

They said the couple was known in the neighborhood: He worked at a food-service company down the street from their apartment while she worked as a janitor at a nearby business. The couple attended church a block away, and they were known for parties where they would hire mascots and hold a raffle for children in the neighborhood.

"I'm astounded she waited so long to say something," said Rita Salazar, who lived across the street from the couple and said she never saw any signs of trouble.

The case comes just over a year after kidnapping and rape victims Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, three women who had gone missing separately about a decade earlier while in their teens or early 20s, were rescued from a house in Cleveland.

Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped from her Utah bedroom at 14 and held captive for nine months, told The Associated Press that outsiders cannot know what victims are going through and should not question why the woman didn't escape sooner.

Smart, now 26, faced similar questions after her 2002 ordeal. She was repeatedly sexually assaulted and her captors moved her around Utah and California while threatening to kill her family if she tried to save herself.

"We don't know what these evil people are holding over them - whether it's their families' lives, their lives, whatever it is," Smart said. "We just don't know."

A prominent psychiatrist who helped define Stockholm syndrome, in which victims of abduction begin to sympathize with their captors, said determining why a victim resists possible escape even when an opportunity is available is not an exact science.

Dr. Frank Ochberg said the relationship can sometimes involve a "trauma bond," whether it's a physically abusive marriage or a kidnapping situation.

People in this situation become "infantilized, dominated. They end up being attached to the person who dominates them, much like a child," Ochberg said.

Small gifts of kindness from a captor, such as a bit of food or a trip to the bathroom, can create positive feelings within the victim.

"Someone takes away the fear, the isolation, and we have positive feelings," he said. "That could be the beginning of a trauma bond."

In other cases, it can be more rational. "They know the risks of escape, and they don't want to take the risk," Ochberg said.