Richard Gonzales
Richard Gonzales is NPR's National Desk Correspondent based in San Francisco. Along with covering the daily news of region, Gonzales' reporting has included medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development occurring in Northern California relevant to the rest of the country.
Gonzales joined NPR in May 1986. He covered the U.S. State Department during the Iran-Contra Affair and the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Four years later, he assumed the post of White House Correspondent and reported on the prelude to the Gulf War and President George W. Bush's unsuccessful re-election bid. Gonzales covered the U.S. Congress for NPR from 1993-94, focusing on NAFTA and immigration and welfare reform.
In September 1995, Gonzales moved to his current position after spending a year as a John S. Knight Fellow Journalism at Stanford University.
In 2009, Gonzales won the Broadcast Journalism Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He also received the PASS Award in 2004 and 2005 from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for reports on California's juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.
Prior to NPR, Gonzales was a freelance producer at public television station KQED in San Francisco. From 1979 to 1985, he held positions as a reporter, producer, and later, public affairs director at KPFA, a radio station in Berkeley, CA.
Gonzales graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social relations. He is a co-founder of Familias Unidas, a bi-lingual social services program in his hometown of Richmond, California.
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The death of a pedestrian struck by the self-driving vehicle in Arizona last year highlights safety concerns and calls for regulating the testing of such vehicles.
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He won awards for his depictions of rural Louisiana featuring universal themes of hard work, sacrifice and resilience. His book The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman became a much-honored TV movie.
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The next hurdle is a federal trial in December in which a coalition of state attorneys general are challenging the merger as anti-competitive.
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California voters approved the sale of recreational marijuana in 2016. But the legal market is still struggling to compete with the illicit market.
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About 10,800 residents are under evacuation orders because of the Maria Fire, one of two wildfires threatening Ventura County. Farther north, the Kincade Fire is 70% contained.
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The group cites rising insurance costs. The reaction from adult volunteer leaders ranged from annoyance to skepticism, mainly about the timing of the announcement.
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Gen. Frank McKenzie says even without an apparent leader ISIS may be disjointed, but "they will be dangerous."
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A month after signing an agreement with El Salvador to cooperate in limiting asylum seekers at the southern border, the U.S. extends protections for Salvadorans to legally work in the U.S.
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The Kincade Fire continues to menace Sonoma County, but firefighters are gaining optimism. In Los Angeles, the dramatic Getty Fire wildfire erupted near the busiest highway in the U.S.
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Houston got on the board first and led throughout the game as Washington stranded 12 runners. The Nationals lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.