KQED's The California Report

Immigrant-serving groups across the Bay Area are condemning a Trump administration travel ban that will bar most of the citizens of 19 countries from entering the U.S. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Immigration lawyers and advocates say at least 15 people, including some children, were arrested outside of ICE offices in San Francisco this week. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has approved a temporary restraining order blocking efforts to restart the Refugio Oil Spill pipeline. Reporter: Amanda Wernik, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fallout from the recent ICE raid on a San Diego restaurant continues as union leaders condemn the raid on Buona Forchetta, calling it cruel and an attack on workers. Reporter: Alexander Nguyen, KPBS One of the fiercest critics of the restaurant raid has been a San Diego City Councilman, who has called it terroristic and fascist, earning the condemnation of the Trump Administration. Guest: Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Councilman A second man has been identified as a suspect in the bombing of a fertility clinic last month in Palm Springs. Authorities arrested him late Tuesday and say he supplied large amounts of chemicals that were used by the FBI’s primary suspect to make explosives. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR The Trump Administration says California's high speed rail program has “no viable path” to completion. They want to pull federal funding within 37 days. But supporters of high speed rail want to fight the move. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an important day for the future of solar energy in California. Three environmental groups are set to go before the state Supreme Court to challenge a state policy on solar panels. Guest: Malena Corollo, CalMatters and The Markup The California Air Resources Board has launched a mobile monitoring program to collect pollution data from neighborhoods suffering from poor air quality. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us have become accustomed to giving up some personal data to access financial services accounts, like Social Security numbers and the places we were born. But a growing number of financial institutions are also asking for customers’ voice samples. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Bay Area members of Congress are pushing the Trump administration to rehire National Weather Service workers it cut from its Sacramento and Hanford offices. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Anyone entering a California prison could be subject to a canine search under a new policy that rolls out statewide this week. That’s according to a department of corrections memo obtained by our partner, CalMatters. Reporter: Cayla Mihalovich, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Los Angeles, the clock is ticking down, faster and faster it seems, to July 14th, 2028. That's the opening day of the Summer Olympics Games, followed shortly by the Paralympic Games. And as that date draws closer, the scale of the challenges that face Los Angeles to get ready is starting to sink in. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report A transgender female athlete took home two gold medals and one silver medal at this weekend’s statewide track and field championships held in Clovis. It marked a rare moment for high school sports in California. But not everyone is celebrating. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, The Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown pelicans are in trouble again — and this time it involves infant birds. This spring marks the third starvation event in four years for the iconic California seabirds. Scientists are still looking for answers. Reporter: Anna Guth, KQED Overdose deaths are falling nationwide—but in California, they continue to rise. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED People applying to California’s community colleges will soon be required to verify their identities when they submit their applications. The board that governs community colleges made the decision after multiple reports of scammers applying and getting into schools. Reporter: Adam Echelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is home to a quarter of the nation’s unhoused population. That’s around 187,000 people. As the state grapples with homelessness, tensions are hitting a high point between Governor Gavin Newsom and local leaders when it comes to funding solutions. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio A family in Bakersfield is facing deportation, despite entering the country legally to obtain care for their young daughter. Lawyers for the family say the 4-year-old girl could die if she's forced to leave the US. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though the Trump administration has made it impossible to ask for asylum at the southern border, the U.S. is bound by international law to protect migrants who are likely to be tortured by their own governments if they go home. It’s called the United Nations Convention Against Torture. But it turns out that the administration has quietly dismantled access to it for thousands of people. Guest: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom Temperatures in the state are expected to sizzle this week, reaching a peak on Friday. Hot and dry conditions mean increased wildfire danger. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May marks the beginning of harvest season when some 800,000 farmworkers in California get to work picking food that lands on tables around the world. Though agriculture is a nearly $60 billion industry in the state, many farmworkers on the Central Coast don't have enough to eat. Reporter: Katie Brown, KAZU A school board in Temecula, that’s been embroiled in controversy for the last two years, wants to revive a contentious policy to require schools to notify parents if their child is transgender. They’re meeting Tuesday to brainstorm ideas to get around a state law that prohibits such policies. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday is Memorial Day. For many people, this holiday marks the unofficial start to the summer season. And no summer is truly complete without the perfect summer music playlist. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report A race known as the “triathlon of the art world” is underway this Memorial Day weekend in Humboldt County. Founded in 1969, it’s a local tradition, where teams race homemade human-powered art vehicles over 50 miles of land, sand, water, and mud. Reporter: Anna Vignet, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six people are presumed dead after a private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning. Sound Talent Group, a music talent agency based in the San Diego area, confirms that it lost three employees in the crash, including co-founder Dave Shapiro. California is suing the federal government for blocking the state’s ability to set its own clean air rules. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED The decision to take down a climate security website at Monterey’s Naval Postgraduate School signals broader self-censorship there around climate research and scholarship. It comes in the wake of the U.S. Defense Department’s call to eliminate so-called “climate distraction” in the military. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU The state legislature is considering two new bills aimed at improving conditions for incarcerated workers. Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing an extension of the state's landmark climate program known as cap-and-trade. The program limits greenhouse gas emissions and raises money from polluters. And the governor has some controversial ideas for how to spend that money. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED The US senate is moving ahead with plans to block California’s electric vehicle mandate. Late Wednesday night, Republicans sidestepped the filibuster and voted using a simple majority to clear a path to revoke California’s unique clean air rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyers for San Francisco and Santa Clara counties are back in court Wednesday. They’re fighting with the Trump administration over new rules around homelessness funding. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Teachers in Temecula can teach about race without fear of running afoul of the school board, at least for now. This comes after a California Appeals Court ruled the district’s ban on Critical Race Theory is unconstitutionally vague. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR A group of state lawmakers is calling for the legislature to reject Governor Newsom’s proposal to fast-track a controversial project that would send more Northern California water south. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part of President Trump's self-described big, beautiful bill includes congressional Republicans' plans to change Medicaid. The proposal would cut billions from the safety net program. Many Republican lawmakers see this as a needed savings to slash what they see as waste in the system, but recent estimates show millions of Americans stand to lose their health insurance, including in Republican health districts like Kern County. (Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law enforcement authorities are seeking help to piece together the timeline of their primary suspect in the explosion at a Palm Springs fertility clinic over the weekend. Authorities identified 25 year old Twentynine Palms Guy Edward Bartkus in connection with the bombing and said he was likely killed in the blast. (Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR) President Donald Trump said he will announce tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in the next few weeks. While big drug companies seem to have plans to weather the storm, independent pharmacists in California are trying their best to prepare with limited information. (Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KFF Health News) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the state legislature works to tackle a $12 billion budget deficit, a bill aimed at delivering vital resources right to farmworkers’ front doors is being put on hold. It’s modeled after an existing program run by Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, a nonprofit based in Half Moon Bay. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report The federal government and the ACLU are facing off in district court Friday over the future of a program offering legal services to undocumented families. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across California, families have had to fight, sometimes for years, just to learn what happened to their loved ones in police custody. Darryl Mefferd wasn't under arrest when he died after an encounter with Vallejo police in 2016. Local officials ruled his death an accidental drug overdose and for years, that's where the story ended. But new records and never before seen body camera footage are challenging that version of events. Guest: Geoffrey King, Executive Editor, Open Vallejo Facing a massive $12 billion dollar budget deficit, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised budget on Wednesday. It includes scaling back safety-net health insurance for undocumented immigrants, cutting coverage for weight loss drugs like Ozempic and reducing home health services. But the governor also wants to fast-track a contentious project lawmakers have debated in California for over half a century. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s budget season at the State Capitol, which means grassroots advocates from around California come to plead for the funding they need for key community programs and projects. But, participating in the budget process and public committee hearings can be a heavy lift – especially for those outside Sacramento’s high-powered lobbyist class. (Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, the population of homeless people has aged, with about 20% of them now 55 or older. Many have never been homeless before. (Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio) Conservative activists are welcoming an announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom this week pushing cities to ban homeless encampments across California. Advocates for unhoused people are condemning the move as cruel and counterproductive. (Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a federal agency that funds programs in libraries nationwide. In March, President Trump signed an executive order to slash the agency’s funding. And California's Braille and Talking Book Library, which serves the state's blind and print-disabled community, could be hit by these cuts. Reporter: Jasmine Ascencio, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Over the weekend, Catholic churchgoers attended the first Sunday mass since the election of the first pope with Creole ancestry. Reporter: Billy Cruz, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices