KUNM

Latin America

4:01 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

In A Drug War, Mexican Forces Accused Of Abuses

Credit Yuri Cortez / AFP/Getty Images

Federal policemen escort the armored car carrying a member of Los Zetas drug cartel on June 17. The security forces have been accused of abuses in the fight against the drug cartels.

Credit Alfredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images

Mexican soldiers at a ceremony in Ciudad Mier on Dec. 8. The military and other branches of the security forces have now battled the cartels for five years. While most of the violence is blamed on the cartels, human rights groups say the security forces have also been linked to abuses.

By Jason Beaubien

In Mexico, the last five years of President Felipe Calderon's drug war have been marked by brutal violence, unsolved kidnappings and tens of thousands of deaths. Most of violence has come from the drug gangs, but some of these atrocities have been committed by the Mexican military and police.

Human rights groups say that as state security forces battle the drug cartels, they've tortured, abducted and killed criminal suspects and even innocent civilians.

3:05 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

After Kim's Death, No Signs Of Power Struggles

By Louisa Lim

The body of Kim Jong Il, the deceased leader of North Korea, now lies in state in the capital, Pyongyang. His sudden death has raised concerns about possible power struggles. But so far, all outward signs suggest that the North Korean leadership is lining up behind his son, Kim Jong Un.

Women's Health Today

3:03 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

Stellar Medicine: A Journey through the Universe of Women’s Health

By Giovanna Rossi Pressley

Listen

Fri. 12/23 8a: We interview Dr. Saralyn Mark, sex and gender based health expert and NASA medical adviser. She'll discuss her new book "Stellar Medicine: A Journey Through Women's Health".

3:02 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

Scores Dead In Syria; Thousands Of Women Protest In Egypt

Credit Amr Nabil / AP

Hundreds of Egyptian women march at Cairo streets, angered by the recent violence used against them in clashes with police.

By Roman Garcia

Originally published on Tue December 20, 2011 3:07 pm

A day after Syria said it would allow Arab League observers into the country, the deadly clashes with government forces continued. Al Arabiya reports that activists said at least 100 Syrian army defectors were killed or wounded and 36 people were killed in clashes with police.

2:29 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

Marriage Economy: 'I Couldn't Afford To Get Divorced'

Credit iStockphoto.com

By Shankar Vedantam

Lindsay Reynolds lives in Waterloo, Wis. Even before the recent economic downturn, Reynolds and her husband struggled to make ends meet. They quarreled, especially over money.

"We never had enough income to pay bills, to pay rent. We were constantly late on rent," Reynolds says. "He always wanted to go do things. He wanted to go buy things. And I said, 'No, we can't. We have to be fiscally responsible.' "

2:07 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

'We The People': NPR Readers Would Ratify Four New Amendments

Credit ASSOCIATED PRESS

The people have spoken: NPR readers would add four new amendments to the Constitution.

By Debra Rosenberg

In "Reconstituting The Constitution: How To Rewrite It," we invited readers to share their own thoughts on how we might change the founding document for 2011. Now the people have spoken.

1:52 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

A Mighty Release This Is: Star Wars Video Game Is EA's Most Expensive

Credit EA

Part of the packaging of "Star Wars: The Old Republic."

By Roman Garcia

Originally published on Tue December 20, 2011 1:59 pm

1:48 pm

Tue December 20, 2011

A Quest To Seek The Sublime In The Spiritual

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Credit istockphoto.com

A globe Buddha is visible against the sunset in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma).

Credit Chuck Berman / Twelve Books

Eric Weiner is a former NPR correspondent and also the author of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.

By Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner's most recent book is Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine.

Surveys show religious people are happier than the secular? Why is this? Is it — as an atheist friend quipped — that "ignorance is bliss?" Not long ago, that's what I would have concluded. Like many people of my ilk — cerebral East Coaster, highly skeptical, and, yes, latte drinking — I reflexively viewed the religious as less sophisticated. And, if I'm brutally honest here, somehow less intelligent, or at least more narrow-minded. I don't feel that way anymore.