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.

Nadine is a Senior Field Correspondent (Phoenix) who focuses on stories throughout the southwest and issues that directly affect Arizona’s Latino community. She is an Emmy-nominated journalist and a Telly Award winner. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and earned a Masters in Education from Northern Arizona University.

She comes from a lengthy background in communications. Her broadcasting career includes Arizona’s PBS station KAET-TV. She was a producer and correspondent for the public affairs programs Horizon and Horizonte. While in Chicago, she hosted on-air bilingual pledge drives for WTTW Channel 11 (PBS), making her the only bilingual pledge host at the time. She was a general assignment reporter for Tribune Company’s ChicagoLand Television News, Univision affiliate WCIU-TV Channel 26 and WYCC-TV. She also worked for Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field), the home of the Chicago White Sox and United Center (Chicago Bulls) Scoreboard Operations. She co-produced a bilingual television parenting program on both Chicago’s Telemundo and WYCC-TV Channel 20.

Aside from her broadcasting career, she served in various roles in public relations, community outreach, and marketing. Her extensive public sector experience extends to several departments of the City of Chicago, Mayor’s Advisory Council on Latino Affairs, and the U.S. Congress. Other professional experience includes Vice President of Community Outreach for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. Currently, she mentors and teaches public radio writing and reporting to inner city students and participates in journalism workshops for high school students throughout the Phoenix area. Her goal is to teach journalism in a higher education institution, while continuing her mentorship initiative.

She was born in Puerto Rico to Puerto Rican and Belgian parents, and raised on Chicago’s southside in La Villita (a predominantly Mexican community). This diverse background taught her valuable lessons in various Latino cultures and informs her insight into issues of great interest to Latino families and business community.

The Two-Way
4:57 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

Iran Steps Up Rhetoric In Drone Crash

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A picture released by the official website of Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Dec. 8 shows Iranian Revolutionary Guard Brig. Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh (right) looking at a U.S. spy drone that crashed in Iran on Dec. 4.

In an interview with the official Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's foreign minister urged Afghanistan to stop further drone flights by the United States in Afghan territory. Ali Akbar Salehi also warned that any further incursions would be seen as hostile acts.

"We have called on the Afghan government to seriously pursue the case and under no circumstances let such events happen again as such events will be regarded as unfriendly," said Salehi.

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The Two-Way
4:17 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

Puerto Rican Mayor Causes A Stir With Wild Christmas Card

Credit Jorge Santini
A Santini family portrait.

We are late to this news, but because it's just now picking up steam in the mainland United States, we'll share it. This was the official Christmas card of Jorge Santini, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, this year:

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It's All Politics
3:59 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

Iowa Gov. Branstad On GOP White House Contest: 'It's A Wide Open Race'

Iowa's popular Gov. Terry Branstad hasn't endorsed any of the Republican presidential candidates crisscrossing his state yet.

Which means he can at least claim to be above the intramural GOP fray scheduled to end in a few weeks when his state's Republican voters attend caucuses to choose their preference for their party's White House nominee.

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Europe
3:58 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

After Protests, Russia's Putin Takes To The Airwaves

Credit Alexey Druzhinin / AFP/Getty Images
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) speaks during a phone-in TV program in Moscow on Thursday. With widespread fraud alleged in recent parliamentary voting, Putin faced much more critical questioning than usual.

Originally published on Thu December 15, 2011 4:10 pm

For the first time in more than a decade running Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is facing serious opposition to his rule. And that meant he faced tougher than usual questions Thursday at his annual question-and-answer session that lasted more than four hours on Russian television.

"Do you think the elections are honest and their results are fair?" the TV moderator asked him, reading an emailed question.

"The election results absolutely reflect the balance of power in the country," Putin said.

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Leaving Iraq
3:28 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

U.S. Flag Comes Down, And Iraq War Is Officially Over

Originally published on Thu December 15, 2011 6:22 pm

After nearly nine years of war in Iraq, a subdued flag-lowering ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday marked the official end of one of the longest U.S. military missions in American history.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta watched over what's known as the casing of the colors — when the U.S. military flag is put away and sent back to the United States. The flag will then be retired and perhaps later go on display at the Pentagon.

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World
3:21 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

New Iranian Sanctions, And Fears They Could Backfire

Credit Xu Liang / Xinhua /Landov
Reporters interview Iranian Minister of Petroleum Rostam Ghasemi before the start of the 160th meeting of the OPEC Conference in Vienna, Dec. 14. The global market for oil complicates the issue of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Originally published on Thu December 15, 2011 5:40 pm

The U.S. Congress has approved legislation that targets the Central Bank of Iran and is intended to make it more difficult for that country to sell its oil abroad.

But the latest sanctions could backfire. Reduced oil supplies on the world market could mean higher prices, and therefore Iran could actually make more money from its oil even if it sells fewer barrels.

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The Salt
3:10 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

When The Formerly Rich Need Help Buying Food

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Food stamps aren't "stamps" anymore — they're debit cards. But they won't get you a trip to Hawaii.

The image of rich folks using food stamps to buy filet mignon is becoming the 21st-century version of the Reagan-era "Welfare Queen."

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NPR Story
3:01 pm
Thu December 15, 2011

Iowa Gov. Discusses GOP Presidential Field

It's a big night in Iowa: The Republican presidential candidates are holding their final big debate prior to the Iowa caucuses, which take place on Jan. 3. Melissa Block talks with Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad about various candidates' strengths and weaknesses. In short, he says there's a lot of excitement, and he's reserving judgment on who the winner will be.

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