For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, Valley farmers are looking to agave as a new revenue stream on their land. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR California’s highest court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments yesterday. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR The Trump administration ended a long standing agreement that kept ICE out of workplaces that the U.S. Department of LABOR is investigating. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across the US, communities are mobilizing in the fight against data centers. And they’re turning to Monterey Park in LA County, which this year became the first city in the US to ban them. That was entirely due to the efforts of a group of residents called, appropriately, No Data Center Monterey Park. So, what advice do they have? Reporter: Brandon Reynolds, KCRW The California Supreme Court will hear arguments today in two separate lawsuits over the Riverside County sheriff’s seizure of hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Counties up and down the state are reporting decreases in their homeless populations. Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Senators are expressing grave concern over a plan by Shasta County’s top elections official to hire former Colorado clerk Tina Peters who was convicted in an election interference case in 2024. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED Hayward State Senator Aisha Wahab is the Bay Area's newest member of Congress after winning a special election for the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Health Net, one of the largest Medi-Cal insurers, is planning to cancel assisted living benefits for members by the end of this year. Reporter: Kristen Hwang, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of Ukrainians across the Bay Area are waiting anxiously for a decision today from the Trump administration on whether they’ll be able to stay – or told to go back to a war zone. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED California is experiencing hotter days more frequently each year… while many families are struggling to get access to AC. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom says California will fight the Trump administration’s push to open national forests up to commercial use. Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED Before any of the cities, cars and highways that came to dominate California’s landscape, the vast open land was home to many animals, plants and natural ecosystems. Today, much of the geography has been engineered for human development – and with it… a host of non-native species and insects. But just outside Fresno, there’s an effort to bring the native ecosystem into balance with the new. Reporter: Cresencio Rodriguez Delgado Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge in Oakland heard opening statements in a lawsuit brought by four states against Meta. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED A national survey by a California advocacy group found that 70 percent of teenagers are using Artificial Intelligence to complete their schoolwork. Reporter: Jose Velazquez, KQED It’s been five years since the Caldor Fire nearly burned down the entire community of Grizzly Flats, a remote canyon town nestled in El Dorado County. Since then, residents say they’ve received little to no help from the federal government and the community is working to become whole again. Reporter: Riley Palmer, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices