1990

President Bush mobilizes hundreds of thousands of American troops in Saudi Arabia to go to war against Iraq. Nelson Mandela is freed from a South African prison after 27 years.

Noah Adams and commentator Andrei Codrescu report from Romania in the aftermath of the revolution there.

On the Nov. 6 show, Maria Hinojosa spoke with members of a youth gang or "crew" called FTS (for Fight To Survive). Weeks earlier an FTS member known as Rock Star was charged with murder in connection with the subway-platform stabbing death of a young Utah tourist. Hinojosa talked to Rock Star's crew mates, including a teen nicknamed Shank, about their routine of assault and robbery.

Shank: "We were supposed to get picked out [of a police line-up] if we did the assault, but luckily the guy didn't see who did it, so we got off scot-free... I'm good at this..."

Hinojosa: "Shank talks about this violence openly in the same tone he might use to talk about school or a baseball game. I'm taken aback at first, but as Shank continues to describe how he feels and why he does what he does, I realize he understands it quite well. He's angry about his own family violence, angry about seeing too few realistic opportunities for his future, and angry at himself for not being strong enough to give up his habit of assault..."

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