KQED's The California Report

California's long-delayed and over budget high-speed rail project is under threat again by the Trump administration. During his first term in office, Trump tried, without success, to claw back nearly a billion dollars in federal aid for the project, which one day is supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now this second Trump Administration is launching an investigation into high speed rail. That could jeopardize $4 billion in funds that the feds have committed for constructing the project’s first segment in the Central Valley. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Lawmakers at the state capitol are rolling out proposals to lower Californians' electricity bills, including by taking aim at the rate-increases from investor owned utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison. But saving money for some ratepayers may come at the expense of other Californians. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED The Los Angeles fires have renewed concerns about how well prepared California is to support older people and people who have disabilities during natural disasters. Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has returned home to Los Angeles after losing to Donald Trump in the November election. The question now is what will she do next? Many pundits are speculating about a possible run for California governor. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Insurers have already paid out around $7 billion in claims to people who lost homes or suffered property damage in the LA fires. Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters Another fire flared up Tuesday night at a Monterey County battery storage facility, one month after a massive blaze damaged it and caused major health concerns in the region. Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During Donald Trump’s first term in office, his administration pursued a controversial policy of forcibly separating migrant family members, including young children, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden Administration then set up a task force to help reunite those families. But with Trump’s return to office, one of his first executive actions dissolved that Biden family reunification task force. This has legal experts and immigrants’ rights advocates worried. Guest: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom California’s U.S. Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, are both “demanding answers” from the Trump administration about the abrupt cutoff of federal funding meant to expand zero emission vehicle infrastructure in the state Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent decades, Dr. Bronner’s evolved from a niche soap company to a powerhouse home brand with a worldwide following. But a recent wrongful death lawsuit makes some troubling allegations against the San Diego County-based company. The lawsuit alleges the company has turned a blind eye to an internal culture of drug use. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS Riverside County’s firebrand sheriff is the first high-profile Republican to join the 2026 race for California governor. Chad Bianco kicked off his campaign on Monday at a banquet hall in Riverside. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tiny town of Scotia, California on the state’s remote redwood coast was built up entirely around a large sawmill. An attached biomass plant that burns the wood waste for electricity stands in the middle of a climate debate in the region. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Some college aid experts in California are tying a recent drop in student aid applications to fears around immigration enforcement. Reporter: Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American society often feels divided. But sometimes, even the most surprising things can bring us together. For a small Central Sierra Nevada community, residents recently found themselves rallying around an unlikely source. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Communities across California are waking up this morning to the damage left behind from Thursday's powerful storm system. The brunt of the damage was in Southern California. We'll learn on Friday the results of a strike vote by 20,000 University of California healthcare and other workers. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial Intelligence is being touted as the next big advancement to take almost every industry into a new direction, and at one of the world's largest agriculture expos, AI evangelists see the new tech as the next big advancement in farming. Authorities in Southern California have issued evacuation warnings for parts of Los Angeles County that were scorched by wildfires last month, as heavy rains in the region increase the risks of dangerous mudslides in those areas. Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, an atmospheric river is pounding the region, causing roadway flooding and blackouts across the region. The National Weather Service said the storm could bring down as much as an inch of rain per hour in some parts of the Bay Area, as well winds reaching up to speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of people are attending this week's World Ag Expo in Tulare County. There’s plenty to choose from, depending on what you’re looking for. And for many in the farming industry, a big issue right now is bird flu. Guest: Lucas Fuess, Senior Dairy Analyst, Rabobank California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, is asking for help paying customer claims due to the Eaton and Palisades fire. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The flames have died down at the Moss Landing battery storage plant in Monterey County, after a massive fire last month. But the environmental impacts may be just beginning. In neighboring Elkhorn Slough, a sanctuary for endangered wildlife, researchers have already found heavy metal concentrations up to a thousand times higher than before the fire. Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED Starting Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers will begin removing fire debris from private properties that were damaged or destroyed in the January wildfires in Los Angeles. The federal agencies will enter the properties of residents who submitted a Rights of Entry form. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a growing club you don’t want to be a part of. They’re the people who’ve lost their homes and had their lives turned upside down because of natural catastrophes. But getting through these events, whether they’re fires or floods, also means you can be a source of hope for others in their moment of crisis. One group is linking these extreme weather survivors, the veterans with the newcomers. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED On Tuesday, the Bay Area city of Fremont is expected to vote on a new ordinance that would make it a crime to “aid or abet” an illegal homeless encampment. Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After three straight years of growth, the rate at which Californians are buying electric vehicles is flattening. That’s according to data from the California Energy Commission. Slowing demand for EVs could be a big barrier to California reaching its ambitious EV goals. Reporter: Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters A major lithium project in Imperial County is moving forward again, after a judge rejected a legal challenge by two environmental justice groups. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS Does the state of California stop many of its residents from spelling and pronouncing their names correctly? It does. Because in California, diacritical marks can't be used to spell names on many official documents. Guest: State Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much water is too much for California’s levees? That’s the question many water experts have been asking since President Donald Trump ordered the release of billions of gallons of water from Central Valley dams – and as big storms produced by an atmospheric river drenched much of the state. Guest: Emily Zentner, The California Newsroom A UCLA report finds the Los Angeles area wildfires have caused between $95 and $164 billion in total property and capital losses. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leaning on hospitals to continue offering gender-affirming care for youth, calling President Trump’s recent executive order that threatens to stop funding treatments wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 16,000 structures were lost in last month’s wildfires in LA. Residents there are now beginning the difficult process of deciding whether they can — or even want to — rebuild. For those who do, experts and survivors of past wildfires say there are ways to build in some resilience against future fires. In Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park, that’s what many residents did after the 2017 Tubbs Fire decimated their neighborhood. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Big water releases from two Central Valley dams are leaving farmers flummoxed. It’s the result of an executive order from President Trump that’s supposed to help fight wildfires in Los Angeles. But the water is unlikely to reach its intended destination. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schools and colleges are some of the places where the fear of President Donald Trump’s pledge of “mass deportations” is hitting hardest. That’s especially after the administration reversed a policy keeping immigration agents away from schools, churches and other "sensitive locations." In California there are laws to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. But some lawmakers want to go further to protect classrooms. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED In the wake of the devastating Los Angeles fires, State Farm, the largest homeowners’ insurance company in California, is seeking an emergency rate hike from the state. Those fires resulted in more than 8,700 claims made to State Farm and more than a billion dollars, so far, in payouts. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With more than 800 miles of coastline, you’d think that one problem the Golden State wouldn’t have to worry about having enough sand -- beach sand. But up and down the coast, many beach cities, like San Clemente in Orange County, are facing a growing problem: their sand is disappearing. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Many federal workers in California are suspicious of the Trump administration's offer of pay and benefits, in return for resigning from civil service. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans are tuning into a new season of so-called eagle TV, a camera trained on the nest of two beloved eagles in Big Bear, east of Los Angeles, that live streams 24-7. Last year ended in heartbreak when the eagles’ eggs did not hatch. Fans around the world are hoping for a better ending this time. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR A federal judge has ruled that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement can resume detaining immigrants at one of its largest California facilities near the Mojave Desert. The ruling lifts a COVID-era ban on receiving immigrants at the Adelanto Detention facility. California's western monarch butterfly population has dwindled to a near record low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to launch what he called “the largest deportation program in American history,” targeting more than 11 million people. While many question the president’s ability to make good on that promise, the prospect has California’s grape growers and vintners on edge. Reporter: Tina Caputo In a new executive order, President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to revise its policies toward transgender service members, saying they do not meet the standards of military service. Reporter: Andrew Dyer, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Altadena residents who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire still need to get their mail. And right now that means waiting sometimes hours at a post office in Pasadena. It's a scene of grief, hope and strong community. Reporter: Robert Garrova, LAist A judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration's attempt to freeze federal funds. That’s after several lawsuits were filed, including by the state of California. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began gathering hazardous materials this week from the Eaton fire at a park in eastern L.A. County. That's upset some of the surrounding cities. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sunday that he says will help Southern California fight future wildfires. The order directs federal agencies to bypass state and federal environmental rules, to send more water from California’s Delta. Trump has said this move will help protect against wildfires, by bolstering Southern California’s water supplies. But this order won’t actually do that. Guest: Alastair Bland, CalMatters A new strain of bird flu has been detected for the first time in the United States. It was found in Merced County. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Just one week into President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been seen conducting operations in San Jose. Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump has wasted no time signing executive orders that threaten the safety and livelihood of thousands of migrants living in California. That's left many in the Central Valley feeling mixed emotions. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report President Trump wants to deport undocumented immigrants who are accused of crimes. But working with immigration enforcement could mean skirting around California's sanctuary law. Our partner, CalMatters, asked all 58 California sheriffs if they’ll agree to work with ICE. Reporter: Nigel Duara, CalMatters Meanwhile, some schools in California are informing families of their rights, when it comes to immigration. Reporter: Billy Cruz, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices