Latinx

NPR News investigation: Ciudad Juarez is ground zero for Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war against his country's ruthless drug cartels. But there's strong evidence that federal forces there appear to be favoring Mexico's largest, oldest and most powerful cartel, the Sinaloa.

Analysts say the deaths of Americans in Juarez last weekend may put more pressure on the Obama administration to act. The U.S. already gives hundreds of millions of dollars to Mexico for its drug fight.

Violence has exploded in Mexico's northeastern border cities, just across the Rio Grande from South Texas, as two drug mafias engage in a vicious new fight for turf. Gunfights have killed dozens of people, and communities up and down the river fear it's just the beginning.

Authorities say most of the nearly 800 people who died were in communities along a 435-mile stretch of Chile's Pacific coast that was swamped by giant waves after last week's 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in Santiago on Tuesday, pledging that the U.S. is "ready to help in any way" following the 8.8 magnitude quake and tsunami that struck on Saturday, devastating coastal areas. Meanwhile, Bachelet said the city of Concepcion was under control since thousands of troops had been deployed for security after widespread looting.

Police fired tear gas and imposed an overnight curfew to control looters who sacked virtually every market in the hard-hit city of Concepcion, as terrifying aftershocks turned more buildings into rubble and forced thousands to set up tents in parks and grassy highway medians.

After a record January, aid groups say donations for Haiti have slowed to a trickle — but the need hasn't gone away. A new study puts recovery and rebuilding costs as high as $14 billion.

After waiting for more than a week for relief deliveries that still haven't reached many in the capital, hundreds of desperate Haitians scoured stores in the main commercial district searching for food and items they could sell.

Climate scientists say Colombia's glaciers could disappear within 15 years. Wet highland areas that provide much of the country's fresh water are getting warmer and drier. And each year, flooding becomes more severe. The coastal area of Tumaco has become an example of how environmental and security pressures are undermining previously stable communities.

2007 Selection for One Book, One San Diego