Some Mixtec farmworkers in Watsonville have trained as doulas to support other Indigenous women during pregnancy and childbirth.

A tribal group in central California is celebrating the return of thousands of acres of land back from the state.

Reporter: Cresencio Rodriguez Delgado, KVPR

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Christmas is two days away which means Santa Claus is pulling overtime. He’s at the mall taking photos and he’s project managing toy production. This story is all about the work of being Santa. So, if you’re listening with a child who’s expecting a visit from jolly old Saint Nick this year, you may want to turn down the volume.

Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW

California is preparing for another storm system that could bring dangerous conditions to large portions of the state.

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In Humboldt County, a rural volunteer fire station is struggling to meet its community’s needs. They’re hoping a state budget allocation to expand Calfire staffing might offer some support, but nothing has materialized yet. Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED

The Trump administration continues to drastically shrink the immigration courts in Northern California – leaving just a few judges to handle a massive backlog of cases.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

California transportation officials say they’ve paused a plan to resume issuing thousands of commercial driver’s licenses, under federal pressure. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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The holiday season brings many traditions for families across California. One that is tried and true - decorating your home with a Christmas tree. While most families buy artificial trees these days, there are still some places in the state where you can not only get a living tree, but even cut it down yourself.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

Roughly 2,000 people meander through Old Monterey every December to tour California’s oldest government building and other Alta California adobes. Monterey State Historic Park interpreter Aaron Gilmartin helped coordinate the immersive event.

A panel of federal judges could rule soon on whether California’s new congressional maps can stay in place. That’s after a three day court hearing in Los Angeles ended Wednesday.

Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

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Fresno Yosemite International Airport may be considered small, but more than 2 million travelers passed through it last year. And the city of Fresno is moving to expand the airport and accommodate a growing customer base for a growing region. In 2023, the airport broke ground on a new terminal. And that terminal opened just in time for Christmas and New Year travel.

Reporter: Samantha Rangel, KVPR

Officials in the Bay Area city of Dublin voted unanimously this week to oppose using a closed federal women’s prison as an immigration detention facility, or for any type of incarceration.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

Regulators are set to consider cutting the profits California's major utilities can make.

Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist

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The Newsom administration confirmed it’s backtracking on a plan to indefinitely revoke thousands of commercial drivers licenses held by immigrants. That’s welcome news to the drivers and their families.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

As Jewish communities around the globe struggle to comprehend the deadly mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, in Kern County, the losses are hitting especially close to home.

Reporter: Jonathan Linden, KVPR

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For the last six weeks, children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone have been inexplicably stuck in federal custody at shelters across the country. The Trump administration has stopped releasing these kids to their families and loved ones. It’s not saying why. But sources in the government agency that’s in charge of unaccompanied kids — and lawyers who help them —  say they’ve never seen anything like this.

Guest: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom

Federal authorities say they’ve thwarted a plot to bomb five locations around Southern California on New Year’s Eve. The FBI has arrested four people who they say belong to an extremist anti-government group.

Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR

After a Supreme Court decision that allowed authorities to penalize people for sleeping outdoors, the City of Fresno was one of the first to enact its own anti-camping law. Now, a class action lawsuit is challenging its legality.

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Santa Cruz and Monterey counties largest food banks report a third of residents can’t consistently afford healthy food. And in this rich fishing region, some of the freshest catch is helping fill those empty bellies.

Reporter: Katie Brown, KAZU

Doctors are petitioning California to prohibit the use of a popular countertop material linked to the death of dozens of stoneworkers.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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ICE has released an immigrant from Ukraine who was arrested after her green card interview last week. She says she was held for days inside a federal building in downtown San Diego.

Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS

We're getting into the cold, wet part of the year, and for many people that means it's time to nestle indoors and stay cozy. But for some, the rain spells a special opportunity - to embark into the woods and forage for wild mushrooms. Over 1500 of these enthusiasts got together recently at a fungus fair in Humboldt County.

Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED

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Catholic bishops from across California held mass at the Adelanto ICE Detention Center near the Mojave Desert on Wednesday. This is part on of an outreach effort to immigrants who have been caught up in the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown here in California.

Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR

Farmworkers across the country are suing the Trump administration. They want to axe a recent change to the guest worker visa program, known as H-2A, that cuts farmworker pay by 25%.

Reporter: Joshua Yeager

Housing advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass over their orders banning duplexes in burn zones.

Reporter: David Wagner, LAist

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