KQED's The California Report KQED

There are stars exploding all around us. They burst, flash and fade. Some leave visions of their spectacular journeys in telescopes. A high school student recently turned supernovae data into a piece of music.
Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week that shuts off asylum to most migrants who enter the country illegally. But it has critics on both sides of the political divide.
Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS
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Los Angeles' tourism industry, still trying to rebound from the pandemic, has gotten a gift in the form of Shohei Ohtani. Japanese fans have come by the thousands to see the superstar play for his new team, the Dodgers.
Reporter: Josie Huang, LAist

Votes in the election to recall the controversial conservative school board president in Temecula are still being counted. Early results show the effort to recall Joseph Komrosky winning by a 54-46 percent margin.
Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR
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With two-thirds of California’s unhoused population living unsheltered, cities are increasingly turning to tiny homes to get people off the streets quickly. Now lawmakers are considering a plan to make it easier to build them.
Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED

For the second time, state labor officials have rejected the University of California's request to get a court order to stop the UC academic workers strike. This comes as workers from three more campuses are going on strike this week.
Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report
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Republicans in California have struggled to gain power at the state capitol, but they’ve found more success recently on school boards. Conservatives have made gains in these local seats -- but now they’re facing pushback in the form of recall elections -- including two underway right now in Riverside County and the Bay Area.
Reporters: Guy Marzorati, KQED and Madison Aument, KVCR
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Reaction was not surprisingly mixed to Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, marking the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial. Republicans are still standing strong behind Trump, while many Bay Area residents said they were surprised and pleased by the verdict.

Analysts say that Trump’s guilty verdicts may not sway his GOP base, but they could change how swing voters view him and the coming November election. 
Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

Looking to fix the state’s insurance crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a bill to speed up insurance premium rate reviews this week. Under the bill, the Insurance Department would have up to 120 days to review insurers' requests and provide a rate estimate.
Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters

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175 tiny homes for the unhoused are expected to be unveiled in South Sacramento this fall. That’s a year past Governor Gavin Newsom’s projected launch. But it turns out, it’s the only project delivering on the original promise.
Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio

Classes will once again be held online at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday as a group of pro-Palestinian protesters say they plan to continue to block the main entrance to the campus. On Tuesday, both roads leading into campus were blocked, leaving many stranded for hours.
Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU

At UC Davis, a dozen students held a peaceful demonstration on campus on Wednesday, in support of the 125 Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza.
Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio
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