Northern California

Krysten Leach was born in Korea, but she didn’t grow up eating that country’s food. Now she grows traditional Korean vegetables and herbs at her farm in California — which has become a destination for other Korean adoptees.

98-year-old James Benet left the United States in his 20s to fight on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans were backed not only by foreigners, like Benet, but also by Mexico and the Soviet Union. After his side lost, Benet came back to a United States where he was immediately viewed as a communist.

In Alabama and Mississippi, immigration reform is at the forefront of political debates. Controversial laws that limit opportunities for immigrant students in several Southern states have prompted immigrant allies to develop a 21st century “underground railroad” of assistance for their undocumented neighbors.

Environmental and indigenous groups have banded together to sue the Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Services for harming marine mammals with sonar. According to the plaintiffs, the Navy’s military exercises have fatally impacted federally protected species. Now they are calling for limits on the Navy’s access to this biologically rich area.

University of California Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said she ordered the campus police force not to use force against students demonstrating on campus. Instead, last Friday’s confrontation ended up with police pepper spraying a crowd of students. Now, come threats of lawsuits, firings and several investigations.