Serene Careaga

New Hampshire Public Radio's Word of Mouth asks the serious holiday questions like is "Die Hard" a classic Christmas film? Also, they explore the science of giving and uncover the shocking history of Monopoly.

KUOW has assembled advice from health care professionals and child advocates on how to manage the many emotions that may arise from tragic events, like the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

The assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya shocked the American public. African extremist groups like Ansar Dine, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and Boko Haram threaten to further destabilize a fragile continent. America Abroad will take listeners to Mali, Nigeria, and Kenya's Swahili Coast to learn about these groups, the threat they present, and how African countries are — or aren't — combating them.

Jacksonville, Florida is a lot of things: a military town. A church town. A beach town. And it can be all those things because Jacksonville is the largest city in the whole country: 841 square miles of sprawl, highways and strip malls dotted with tiny, unique neighborhoods. How does a place this huge and diverse lurch forward to keep pace with the rest of the country? The quick answer: often, it doesn’t. But once in a while, in small surprising ways, this place can be an incubator for innovation. In host Al Letson’s hometown episode, State of the Re:Union asks: is Jacksonville is moving backward, stuck in neutral, or shifting towards progress?

Medical marijuana is available in 18 states, and the vote on November 6 legalized the possession of pot in Colorado and Washington. With the highest incarceration rate in the world, and more than $2 trillion dedicated to fighting the "war on drugs," we continue to fill our prisons with drug offenders. Is it worth it? From the series Intelligence Squared U.S., the motion is Legalize Drugs.

Panelists:

Paul Butler, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

This story is developing and will be updated as details emerge.

National Weather Service is reporting a record-breaking 2.16 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours, and has issued winter storm advisories and flood warnings for parts of the Puget Sound region. Heavy rains in the area are posing a number of potential hazards, from mudslides to highway closures.

Commuters are being urged to check their routes as rain continues to fall.  Sound Transit's northbound Sounder service from Seattle to Everett has been canceled for Monday evening. North Cascades Highway is temporarily closed due to heavy snow and avalanche danger.

Deborah Wang spoke Sarah Miller with Seattle Public Utilities on Monday afternoon about the emerging problem of standing drainage water.

"With 80,000 drains in the city of Seattle, we can't be everywhere. We do clean the drains regularly," Miller explained. "However, when the trees drop their leaves, that happens in a relatively compressed period of time. Much as we get out there to clean the drains throughout the year this problem is exacerbated because the leaves drop at the beginning of November and then plug those drainage outlets."

Miller has been urging Seattle residents to adopt their local drains, to clear them of leaves and debris.

UPDATE at 5:00 p.m. on November 19:

Amtrak's Cascades passenger train service between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, has been temporarily canceled. A 48-hour moratorium due to mudslide danger was issued Monday afternoon and may be lifted by Wednesday. Amtrak Cascades announces cancelations and disruptions through their Twitter feed.

There is bipartisan consensus that unleashing America's entrepreneurial potential is vital to reviving the economy. Yet, there are many challenges facing today’s entrepreneur, from local regulatory and tax burdens to federal visa restrictions. Explore the topic in depth in the first part of a new America Abroad series: American Entrepreneurship in a Global Economy.

Chuey Cazares has lived all of his 21 years in Alviso, a tiny hamlet jutting into the salt ponds at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. Chuey works as a deck hand on a shrimp boat off Alviso's shores.

Just in time for Halloween and this year's election, The Truth offers a special hour of horror stories that take place within the world of electoral politics. The Truth is a podcast that makes movies for your ears. The stories are entirely fictional, created with rich sound and professional-level acting, from Peabody-award winning producers Jonathan Michell and Kerrie Hillman.