Mexico a dangerous place for journalists

The number of journalists killed while on the job or in retaliation for their work declined worldwide in 2017, but one country remains increasingly perilous — Mexico.

So far in 2017, 42 journalists worldwide have been killed, compared with 48 a year earlier, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonpartisan group that tracks press freedoms.

Iraq and Syria were the deadliest places for journalists this year, with eight killed in Iraq and seven in Syria. But outside war zones, Mexico is the most dangerous place for journalists.

According to the committee, six Mexican journalists were killed in retaliation for their reporting, often of corrupt government officials or drug cartels. But according to news reports and the group Reporters Without Borders, six additional Mexican journalists died in 2017.

The motivation for their slayings remains unclear, but they also often wrote about crime and corruption.

One journalist was shot Tuesday. Many of the 12 were killed in public. Some in front of their own children. Often, they were slain in broad daylight. Two were gunned down the same day.

Mattis tells troops to prepare for N. Korean war

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — “Storm clouds are gathering” over the Korean Peninsula, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declared Friday. And as diplomats try to resolve the nuclear standoff, he told soldiers that the U.S. military must do its part by being ready for war.

Without forecasting a conflict, Mattis emphasized that diplomacy stands the best chance of preventing a war if America’s words are backed up by prepared armed forces.

“My fine young soldiers, the only way our diplomats can speak with authority and be believed is if you’re ready to go,” Mattis told several dozen soldiers and airmen at the 82nd Airborne Division’s Hall of Heroes, his last stop on a two-day pre-holiday tour of bases to greet troops.

President Donald Trump has made repeated threats about U.S. military action.