A record-baking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack. Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.

The United Farm Workers sued the Trump administration in November over new wage rules.

The shattered legacy of Latino labor rights icon César Chavez has been particularly devastating among advocates who have long fought to raise awareness about sexual harassment and abuse against women farmworkers, which remains both widespread and underreported.

While Cesar E. Chavez and Dolores Huerta's names were once inseparable, elected leaders and community members are initiating efforts to rename some buildings, schools and streets after Huerta alone.

Budget analysts say the high-speed rail project faces billions of dollars in funding gaps and no clear path to reach Los Angeles or San Francisco. The fate of its first Central Valley segment is also in jeopardy.