It's 5:45 a.m. and I'm nudged out of sleep by the voice of NPR's Renee Montagne, announcing the news of the world. I reluctantly pull the covers off, get out of bed and turn the volume down on the radio, cutting Renee off in mid-sentence. My husband stirs, opens one eye and gives me his "You're crazy" look before burrowing back under the covers like a crab retreating to its shell.

Are the violent protests over the cartoons of Mohammed justified? Tom Fudge speaks with the former director of the Islamic Center of Washington to find out why he thinks they're not.

The California State Senate has agreed to keep providing assistance to low-income residents who are having trouble with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. The Assembly is expected to follow suit. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.

Giant camels, massive tortoises and sabertoothed cats lived in the Anza-Borrego Desert region about 7 million years ago. Host Tom Fudge speaks to editors of a book that chronicles 7 million years of evolution in our regional desert.

A controversial decision to relocate a County Detox Center in Pacific Beach is before the San Diego city council this afternoon. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

A new renewable energy project in San Diego boasts many firsts. It's the largest wind project on Native American land in the country and the first large-scale wind farm in San Diego in more than two decades. Reporter Rebecca Tolin has more.

A new state audit is critical of California's Education Department for mishandling a program that's supposed to help the state's 52,000 Native American students. KPBS reporter Beth Ford Roth has more.

Host Tom Fudge speaks with bestselling author Josh Tickell, one of the nation's leading experts on biodiesel fuel, about his new book "Biodiesel America."

San Diego is home to the nation's first alternative fuel depot. Host Tom Fudge speaks with Mike Lewis from Pearson Ford Fuels about what fuels they offer, and where the idea for an alternative fuel depot came from.

State Controller and gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly is trying to unite Californians with their valuables. California currently holds 4.8 billion in unclaimed property. Host Tom Fudge speaks with Westly about his statewide campaign to find owners of the unclaimed property.