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The U.S. government offered former Panamanian Gen. Manuel Noriega exile in Spain before his 1990 surrender to U.S. authorities and arrest on drug trafficking charges, a former high-ranking State Department official tells NPR. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to former Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson, who reveals that Noriega rejected the offer.

Senior Field Correspondent Michel Marizco (Tucson) has reported along the Southwest border for the past decade, most of that in Arizona and Sonora. Before joining the Fronteras Desk, he produced stories in the field for CNN Madrid, the BBC, 60 Minutes Australia, and the CBC. His work now focuses on transnational trafficking syndicates, immigration, federal law enforcement and those weird, wild stories that make the U.S.-Mexico border such an inherently fascinating region. He is a contributing author on Shared Responsibility: U.S.-Mexico Policy Options for Confronting Organized Crime and an occasional writer at High Country News. In his spare time, he works with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, assisting in the ongoing investigations of journalist killings in Mexico.

Brooke Williams is an investigative reporter for Investigative Newsource, a nonprofit journalistic enterprise embedded within the KPBS newsroom. Together they produce investigations and data analysis. Williams has practiced investigative journalism on both coasts. Prior to the opening of the institute, Williams was a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, where she covered Indian gambling and investigated finances at the city of San Diego, which was facing a near-bankruptcy crisis. In 2005, Williams was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists and won a Freedom of Information award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for an investigation into the city’s land holdings. In 2009, she won first place for investigative reporting and “best in show” awards from the San Diego Press Club and first place for investigative reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists for a series of stories that led the federal government to launch a criminal investigation into two companies that hauled away debris after the devastating wildfires of 2007. Prior to working for the Union-Tribune, Williams was a writer for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization in Washington, D.C. She wrote a chapter in the “Buying of the President,” a national bestseller, and worked on “Windfalls of War,” an investigation of defense contracts, which won a George Polk Award. Williams graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2001. She enjoys modern dance and ballet and practices yoga.

KPBS remembers Gloria Penner, Senior Political Correspondent and host of "KPBS Midday Edition- Roundtable" on Fridays at noon. Gloria was the host "San Diego Week" from 2008-2011 and also hosted the first hour of KPBS Radio's "These Days" from 1995 to 1999. She served as the host of KPBS TV's "Full Focus" from 2003 to 2007. Gloria first joined KPBS Television in 1969 as director of community relations. Subsequently, she oversaw production of television programs for nine years. From 1993 to 1995, she was the host and writer for "KPBS Weekend Edition," a locally produced television program featuring highlights from the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. National credits include reporting and producing assignments for "Nightly Business Report" and the "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour." She played an active part in KPBS’ election coverage for 30 years. She has moderated scores of town hall meetings on candidates races and propositions for KPBS, "Envision San Diego," and the League of Women Voters. She conducted scores of interviews with congressional, state and local candidates; and reported for television documentaries on issues and candidates. Her awards include 7 Emmys, 5 Golden Mikes, 2 Gracies from the American Federation of Women in Radio and Television, The San Diego Press Club’s Harold Keen Award for excellence in journalism, the John Swett Award from the California Teachers Association, and many honors from the Society for Professional Journalists and the San Diego Bar Association. An annual Gloria Penner Award for Civic Service was established in 2003 by the League of Women Voters of San Diego County, and Gloria was the first recipient. Gloria earned her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. She did graduate work in English at New York University and earned her Master’s Degree in English from Syracuse University. She started her radio career in San Francisco in the 1950s as an associate producer on a program called Housewives Protective League. Her first job in television came after a move to Washington, D.C. where she was associate producer of the Washington segment of the "Today Show." After a stint in Hawaii and a return to Washington, D.C., she relocated to San Diego and took a few years off for family life. Gloria is survived by her husband Bill Snyder of La Jolla; two sons, Brad Penner of San Diego and Steve Penner of Tucson, Arizona.