KQED's The California Report

As the Trump administration continues its aggressive mass deportation campaign, immigration lawyers are increasingly turning to a law the founding fathers established to protect against a king. The use of habeas corpus petitions has skyrocketed in recent months. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Governor Gavin Newsom has shut down four prisons, with a fifth closure on its way. He’s said those changes, along with some other reductions, are saving the state around $900 million a year. But according to a new report, the state’s corrections department is still running a huge deficit. Reporter: Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Lake Tahoe, a mother bear and her cub — known as Hope and Bounce — have been breaking into homes. Now, wildlife officials want the mother euthanized, but bear advocates are fighting to save her. Reporter: Maria Palma, KUNR In California, dozens of stoneworkers have died and nearly 50 underwent lung transplants because of cutting engineered stone, popular in kitchen countertops. On Thursday, the state board that adopts workplace safety rules considered next steps. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new California law requires the phaseout of certain ultra-processed foods from school meals starting next year. These foods, which could include deli meat or soda, have attracted mainstream attention recently as the federal administration’s Make America Healthy Again campaign has named eliminating them a key issue. But while federal officials have expressed interest in creating a standard definition for ultra-processed foods, it hasn’t happened yet. This law marks the first in the country to give that phrase a statutory definition. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio A property management company with hundreds of buildings in California will have to pay $7 million as part of a settlement agreement in an antitrust lawsuit announced this week. Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Cal State University trustees have approved a proposal for higher pay for executives, including university presidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Asbestos, lead, coal dust. All of those posed big health hazards to workers before legal protections finally rolled out. Now, thousands of stoneworkers in California who make our kitchen and bathroom countertops are breathing in something so toxic, nearly 50 had lung transplants. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Farmworker communities and environmental groups across the state are calling for stronger protections from a pesticide they say endangers public health. Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles County's jail system is in the middle of one of its deadliest years on record. According to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, there have been more than three dozen in-custody deaths so far this year, and many have involved overdoses. Now, new reporting from CalMatters reveals that access to critical opioid addiction treatment has been quietly scaled back. Guest: Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters The Trump administration is suing California over a new law that bars local and federal law enforcement from wearing masks while on duty. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Oceanside in San Diego County, there’s a small nonprofit that’s become a steady place of support for Marines and veterans working through the hardest parts of coming home. The group trains dogs to work alongside service members, helping them rebuild routines, confidence, and a sense of stability. But now the program is facing a financial hit. A major source of federal funding is set to run out at the end of the year and it’s unclear how many people the nonprofit will be able to keep serving without it. Reporter: Heidi de Marco, KPBS A federal judge in San Francisco says the Trump administration cannot immediately cut the University of California’s funding or threaten fines over claims of discrimination. In Los Angeles, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in the ongoing case involving immigration raids across the region. The ruling says the federal government likely violated the Fifth Amendment by denying immigrants access to attorneys at a detention facility in downtown Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress ended the shutdown this week, but it didn’t reach a deal on health care. Roughly two million Californians who buy insurance through the state’s marketplace now face steep price hikes after the Trump administration refused to extend enhanced federal tax credits. And some Californians can’t afford to keep their coverage. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED The federal Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 50, the ballot measure approved by California voters last week, that will redraw the state's congressional maps.  Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Lawyers representing victims of the Eaton Fire say Southern California Edison is using delay tactics in court. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heavy rain and winds are forecast throughout California as a strong atmospheric river makes its way down the Golden State. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report For the first time in 30 years, the U.S. has not sent a delegation to the United Nations annual climate summit. President Trump has called climate change a hoax and his administration says attending would mean pursuing vague climate goals. But delegates from California and its cities, including Governor Newsom, are there, attempting to fill the void. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED A former top aide to California Governor Gavin Newsom was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on 23 counts, including bank and wire fraud. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Palisades and Eaton fires are a sober reminder of just how flammable many urban and suburban homes are. Some survivors are responding by planning to build differently. Instead of the usual wood framing, these homeowners are opting to choose a material many of us associate more with freeways and skyscrapers - concrete. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Many survivors of this year’s Los Angeles County fires are calling for the resignation of State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Members of the grassroots organization Eaton Fire Survivor Network say the recovery process is moving too slowly, in large part because of the insurance industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

45 years ago, a Sacramento woman founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her 13-year-old daughter was struck and killed in Fair Oaks. MADD would go on to advocate for some of the nation's toughest DUI laws in the 1980s. But a new investigation from our California newsroom partner CalMatters found our home state now has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country, and that's led to a spike in alcohol-related roadway deaths. Guest: Robert Lewis, CalMatters California has filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration, over its attempts to stop states from giving out SNAP benefits. Reporter: Carly Severn, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices