Monica Ortiz Uribe

Mexico said farewell to Pope Francis from the border city of Juárez. His journey across the country followed the well worn path taken by millions of immigrants to reach the doorstep of the U.S.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, life changed along U.S.-Mexico border towns as border security became a top priority. There's been a thaw, and runners again ran a 10K between El Paso and Juarez.

In Texas, an El Paso-based gang has spread across the U.S., and has also sent some members to Mexico for training with the Zetas. They became a transnational gang due to the drug trafficking industry.

Mexico and the United States are supposed to share water according to a 70-year-old treaty that aims to protect each nation's needs. But prolonged drought is testing that relationship. Mexico is behind by 38 percent on its deliveries.

Benjamin Alire Saenz won this year's PEN/Faulkner award for his latest collection of short stories, Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club.The real-life Kentucky Club is just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, and Saenz joined a reporter there to talk about life in two countries.

At a new school for midwives, students learn old arts, like massaging bellies, while also studying gynecology, obstetrics and nursing. Officials hope a new generation of professional midwives will help reduce the pressures on Mexican hospitals overwhelmed by births that, in the past, would have taken place at home.

Narcotraffickers battling over turf in northern Mexico's border town of Nuevo Laredo have left a trail of bodies and a populace afraid to speak. Last week, nine corpses were dumped near the outskirts of the city. Making matters worse, 131 inmates escaped from a prison in about two hours outside Nuevo Laredo.

In Las Cruces, a candy shop whips up nut brittle made with red and green chili powder almost daily. Luis Flores' parents started in the candy business four decades ago. Today, you'll find his spicy brittle in farmer's markets and gift shops across the Southwest.

From member station KJZZ, Monica Ortiz Uribe reports on the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, where residents fear the presidential election will not bring an end to the violence.

Josefina Vazquez Mota is the first woman from a major political party to run for president. She has pledged to crack down on corruption but is having trouble distancing herself from President Felipe Calderon. He's from the same party, and his drug war has failed to halt cartel violence.