KQED's The California Report

Governor Gavin Newsom continues his campaign across the state, as he looks to fight off the recall election. Meanwhile, top candidates to replace the governor are also spreading their message, a week before election day.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDCalifornia lawmakers wrap up their legislative session at the end of this week. And there are still a flurry of bills that may be in the pipeline.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio California is one of just a handful of states that has laws on the books meant to protect workers from excessive temperatures. But, people are still getting sick and dying from excessive heat and the state agency that's supposed to protect workers has been understaffed for years.Reporter: Jacob Margolis, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to COVID-19 testing, one increasingly popular option is at-home test kits. But do they really work?Guest: Katherine Wu, Staff Writer, The AtlanticCrews continue to build containment around the Caldor Fire in the Sierra foothills. But some communities are still in limbo as it's not safe enough for residents to return to their homes.Over Labor Day weekend, up to 2 million Californians lost emergency unemployment benefits created to help get them through the pandemic. As people who still haven’t found work try to move forward with less support, some fear they may never recover.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With major wildfires burning across California, fire crews from across the state and other parts of the country are now on the front lines trying to contain them. That includes migrant workers, who are working under some of the most challenging conditions.Reporter: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQED Democrats and Republicans are trying to gather support as the recall election nears. Candidates are trying to make their case to replace Governor Gavin Newsom, who is fighting the recall effort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Firefighters have taken advantage of lighter winds as they look to get a better handle on the Caldor Fire burning in the Sierra foothills. But thousands remain evacuated from their homes.Like in so many other fire-scarred areas, one year after wildfires devastated communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains, residents are still struggling. One problem? Strict county building codes that stop fire victims from rebuilding quickly. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU On Saturday, some 2,000,000 Californians will lose emergency federal unemployment benefits that were created to help get them through the pandemic. And as of now, the state has no plan to provide any meaningful extensions for the people losing out, although the state has started to issue a new round of stimulus checks.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the recall election less than two weeks away, one of the big issues is Governor Gavin Newsom's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. And if a Republican replaces him, the state could be in for major changes when it comes to coronavirus rules and mandates.Reporters: Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer, KQED The Caldor Fire continues to challenge firefighters battling the massive blaze. Some residents on the western flank of the fire are finally being allowed back home.This week marked the formal withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan after two decades -- bringing to an end American involvement in the war. In recent weeks, the world has seen images of Afghans desperately trying to leave the country, and many comparisons have been made to the fall of Saigon.Guest: Ngoc Nguyen, Ethnic Media Editor at Kaiser Health News and a journalist who has covered the Vietnamese American community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes in South Lake Tahoe this week because of dangerous conditions brought on by the Caldor Fire. If the fire does hit the city, many residents are wondering what they'll return to when the fire is under control.Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Another political hot potato has been tossed into the recall election that’s just two weeks away now. State parole board commissioners recently recommended that Sirhan Sirhan, who shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968, be paroled from prison. Reporters: Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer, KQED Republicans in the California Legislature held an informal hearing on wildfire prevention Tuesday on the steps of the state Capitol. Democrats in the Legislature have indefinitely postponed a similar hearing, saying they don’t want to pull critical firefighter personnel away during a busy wildfire season.   Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Caldor Fire continues to spread quickly across the Sierra Foothills. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate South Lake Tahoe on Monday, as the fire continues to make its way towards the city.Guest:Ezra David Romero, KQEDCalifornia public health experts consider heat-related illness and death to be fully preventable. And California is one of the few states in the country with laws on the books meant to protect workers. But Californians continue to get sick and die.Reporter: Jacob Margolis, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was rapid growth for the Caldor Fire on Sunday as it moves closer to the Tahoe Basin. Even more concerning -- the area is under a red flag warning over the next two days, with low humidity and wind gusts expected across the fire zone.Guest:Tamara Wallace, Mayor of South Lake TahoeMore than 8 in 10 residents of Imperial County -- east of San Diego -- are Latino, the highest percentage in the state. The county along California’s southern border also saw the state’s largest voting swing between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections -- in favor of Republican Donald Trump.  Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Over the weekend, the remains of U.S. military personnel killed by a suicide bomber outside of Kabul's international airport arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Four Marines from California were killed in the attack.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mustafa, who didn't want to reveal his last name because he still has family in Afghanistan, was able to get his wife and daughter out of the country, and they just made it to Modesto this week. He described the whole experience as chaotic, but is glad to have resettled in California.Guest: Mustafa, Afghan TranslatorTwo San Diego County families, who were visiting relatives in Afghanistan, have been evacuated from the country amidst the chaos of the Taliban takeover. They are among several groups in the county, including two dozen students who attend the Cajon Valley Union School District, who found themselves stranded in Afghanistan.   Reporter: Alexandra Rangel, KPBSAs the Caldor Fire continues to burn its way east, the first evacuation warning has been issued for the Tahoe basin, specifically Christmas Valley in the South Lake Tahoe area. Efforts to loosen zoning rules in single family neighborhoods to create more housing have long been a contentious issue in California. But legislation that could create more multi-family housing took a big step forward in Sacramento Thursday.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week the U.S. Supreme Court said the Biden administration must restart a controversial policy from the Trump administration, requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided. And while that battle is not over, the Biden administration is moving forward with its own plan that would change how asyum cases are decided. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQEDSpot fires continue to hamper crews battling the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County. But a shift in weather over the next few days could lead to calmer conditions over the fire zone.At a debate appearance Wednesday night in Sacramento, California voters got a chance to learn a bit more about the most prominent Democrat running for governor in the recall election, Kevin Paffrath. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDA new report has found that California’s more rural, Republican-voting counties have higher violent crime rates than more urban, Democratic areas. Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices