KUNC-FM: Kirk Siegler

A wild herd of bison has been roaming the rugged Santa Catalina Island since the 1920s, when the animals were brought there by a film crew shooting a movie that was never made. With no natural predators, the bison population quickly exploded.

Thousands of seasonal workers come to California's Salinas Valley each year to pick crops, and many of them seem destined for a life in the fields. Now, a training program run by ALBA Organics is giving these workers the skills they need to be their own bosses.

For decades, the Watts neighborhood has been notorious for gang violence and strained relations between residents and police. But violent crime and homicide have fallen dramatically in recent years, and a community policing effort is helping to ease tensions between cops and the community.

July 10 is the 100th anniversary of the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, and a large crowd is expected in Death Valley to celebrate it. In fact, summer is the area's busiest tourist season. Many of these "heat tourists" come from Europe, eager to feel temperatures they don't get at home.

Near the city of Prescott, Ariz., crews are starting to make some progress on the 8,500 acre Yarnell Hill Fire. The blaze claimed the lives of 19 elite firefighters on Sunday. Tuesday night, several thousand people gathered at a football stadium for a vigil to remember the firefighters.

Wildfire-ravaged Colorado is experiencing its most destructive fire season ever. Large blazes have destroyed more than 600 homes and claimed the lives of six people. The recovery process is only just beginning for the scores of people who lost their homes.

For the second year in a row, Colorado Springs has been beset by wildfire. As NPR's Kirk Siegler reports, the city and its emergency response crews are doing their best to take the threat in stride.

Nevertheless, the fire that started on Tuesday is being called the most destructive fire in Colorado's history.

In California, activists and environmentalists are seeking to halt construction of a new $500 million rail yard next to the Port of Los Angeles. Activists say the massive project would mean even more pollution for nearby neighborhoods that already have some of the worst air in the country.

Hundreds of volunteers have come to Moore, Okla., to help the community following Monday's tornado. Some are helping clear debris, others bringing out water and supplies to people whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and whose lives are in disarray. One group of volunteers is cooking more than 10,000 meals a day.