San Diego’s beaches are crowded as summer finally heats up, and many of the beachgoers are from Arizona. Tourism officials were worried controversy over that state’s new immigration law might put a dent in the number of Arizonians visiting the city.

Brush fires sparked by lightning strikes burned across several remote, rugged East County locales today, scorching dozens of acres but threatening no developed areas.

This three-part series chronicles the career and contributions of Secretary of State George Shultz, the key shaper of foreign policy in President Ronald Reagan’s administration. In the second episode, Philippines dissident Nimoy Aquino is assassinated and the island nation is thrown into turmoil. The administration continues to be concerned with the Nicaraguan Contras and with the release of hostages in Iran. As Reagan is sworn in for his second term, Shultz works to set up a summit meeting with the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

A fire of unknown origin raced up a steep, brushy hillside between Interstate 8 and University Heights today, forcing evacuations of homes and businesses but causing no reported structural damage.

BP says a new cap has stopped oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April. The energy giant has been slowly dialing down the flow as part of a test on a new cap, and engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the broken well holds.

With triple-digit temperatures forecast in parts of San Diego, the county Health and Human Services Agency today urged the public to check on the elderly and disabled to make sure they are staying cool.

This Culture Lust Weekend we think you should "Get Weird" with Traffique, be witty with Wilde, and get out to all the amazing art shows happening around town.

The city of San Diego was awarded $16.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for emergency preparedness and anti-terrorism efforts, it was announced today.

Christopher Nolan began his career on the indie circuit but then found mega-mainstream success with a pair of Batman films. Now he returns to more personal themes but holds on to a big studio budget with "Inception" (opening July 16 throughout San Diego). Listen to our KPBS Film Club of the Air discussion.

Filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko makes films about complicated relationships. Her latest film, "The Kids are All Right" (opening July 16 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) looks to a lesbian couple whose two children decide to meet their sperm donor.

A California lawmaker is responding to a recent series of slayings by trying to seal the autopsy reports of murdered children. The bill by Republican state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta was approved unanimously Thursday by a Senate committee.

"History Detectives" host Elyse Luray pilots an airplane to relive the memory of one of America’s first, and youngest, barnstormers. Pilot “Cromwell Dixon” lost his life at 19 when his airplane crashed. Then, details in “Bartlett’s Sketchbook” suggest the scenes illustrate the first ever US-Mexican border survey. Host Eduardo Pagán wonders whether the sketchbook made that journey, and if it belonged to Bartlett?

In a weekend of much-buzzed about art exhibits, "Survey Select" is a must-see. We'll also find out what's happening at this year's Gay Pride festival (Devo!) and hear some music from the alt-country singer behind "True Blood" theme song, Jace Everett.

A brush fire sparked by military training exercises at Camp Pendleton is 100 percent contained, having blackened about 3,000 acres, base officials announced today.

Proms are a right-of-passage for high school students. We'll look at the experience of one young woman whose school cancelled the prom because she wanted to take her girlfriend.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs has just eased the rules by which veterans can document stressors contributing to PTSD. The new regulations will lead to more disability claims and are applicable to all veterans. We explore the ramifications of the new regulations and what treatment is available for veterans in San Diego.

The heat wave is expected to last through the weekend; the hot, dry conditions are already increasing the threat of wildfires.

The U.S. soccer team won over plenty of Americans during the World Cup, but San Diego didn't need any convincing. San Diego is a soccer hotbed.

The walls of San Diego have been known for Wyland's whales and Chicano murals. But as of this weekend, some of the world's most prolific street artists will be adding their work to our urban environment. It's all part of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's new exhibit, "Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape." We'll talk with the show's curator, along with Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the Obama Hope poster and Obey Giant, and French street artist, JR.

Stingrays injured dozens of beachgoers in the surf along La Jolla Shores and the Torrey Pines area today, sending two of them to hospitals, authorities reported.

Triple-digit heat and humidity may combine for uncomfortable conditions today in parts of inland San Diego County. "It's going to be hot in the deserts, but nothing above normal for summertime,'' National Weather Service meteorologist Brandt Maxwell in San Diego said.

After fixing a leak on a cap designed to plug up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP engineers readied Thursday to see if the new top is enough to contain the gusher.

Supporters of a proposed downtown San Diego homeless shelter made some headway yesterday Wednesday. The council’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted 3 to 1 to send the issue to the full council.

UC San Diego has received $37 million from the National Institutes of Health to put medical research into practice. Translating basic research from the "bench to the bedside" is the purpose of the five-year grant from the NIH.

Small, ultra-low budget films always have a tough time finding an audience but it’s even tougher during the summer season of Hollywood blockbusters. So it’s great that Reading Cinemas is making room for indie films like “Daddy Longlegs” (opening July 16 at Reading Gaslamp Stadium Theaters) on its schedule.