Kirk Siegler

Progress is being made toward bringing water to thousands of Central Valley residents in underserved communities where wells have run dry. The question is how long this solution will last.

#NPRreads is a weekly feature on Twitter and on The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers throughout our newsroom share pieces that have kept them reading. They share tidbits using the #NPRreads hashtag — and on Fridays, we highlight some of the best stories.

This week, ...

The Los Angeles City Council is set to give final approval to 2 ordinances that would make it easier for police to clear homeless encampments. At the same time, homelessness is increasing.

Due to warm ocean temperatures, tens of thousands of red crabs are invading beaches in Southern California.

Lawmakers in hard-hit Western states are pushing for suspensions to the Endangered Species Act to free up stored water. But an entrenched partisan divide over the law continues to be a hang-up.

Federal officials are warning of another long and costly wildfire season in the parched West. They're also renewing calls on Congress to change how the federal government pays for fighting fires.

Last month's oil spill along the coast near Santa Barbara could be more far reaching than originally thought. The number of dead wildlife being recovered continues to grow by the day.

Drought-stricken Central Valley farmers are pointing fingers at the Sacramento Delta, where water still flows reliably. There's more pressure than ever to change a long-standing water rights system.

Texas-based Plains All American Pipeline is reported to have a number of previous infractions. One of the company's pipelines also spilled an estimated 10,000 gallons near Los Angeles a year ago.

An estimated 105,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a pipeline along the California coast near Santa Barbara. Crews are working to contain a 9 mile wide sheen in the Pacific Ocean.

Two former top officers in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department face federal charges that they obstructed a probe into inmate abuse and corruption inside the nation's largest jail system.

At least 70 ancient sites in the Kathmandu Valley were damaged or destroyed in last month's quake. Archaeologists and others are trying to protect and recover as much as they can, as fast as possible.

Earthquake victims in Bhaktapur need food, water and shelter. They assert that the government is not delivering.

U.S. and Canadian transportation officials announced Friday new, tougher standards for tank cars that haul explosive crude oil. But some safety advocates say the regulations don't do ...

A trip along an important road link between Nepal's capital Kathmandu and China illustrates how hard it is to distribute aid — or even reach some of Nepal's remote mountainside villages.

Nepal's prime minister declared three days of national mourning after Saturday's earthquake. The death toll could exceed 10,000. For many, the mourning began right after the disaster,...

Tens of thousands of victims have descended on Nepal's capital from remote, hard-hit mountainside villages that have seen little assistance. Already-strained hospitals are stretched even thinner.

Some harrowing stories are emerging about people who are trapped among the rubble from the massive earthquake that hit Nepal this weekend.

Early next month, California plans to finalize its emergency water conservation plan. Cities are under the gun to cut their water usage from anywhere between 15 and 40 percent.

Near Las Vegas, levels in the nation's largest reservoir have dropped 140 feet since 2000. Water deliveries to Nevada, Arizona and California may soon be rationed — and farmers would feel it first.