Camp Pendleton Marines are testing prototypes of new amphibious troop transport vehicles.

Sultry vocalist and pianist Norah Jones is known for a unique blend of jazz and traditional vocal pop with hints of bluesy country and contemporary folk. Her debut album sold 18 million copies worldwide and earned Jones eight Grammy Awards. In this special show filmed in 2010 at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, Jones performs a blend of covers by the likes of Tom Waits and Wilco, hits such as “Don’t Know Why” and “Come Away With Me,” and tracks from her fourth album, "The Fall."

A development project in Barrio Logan that's been in the works for years is one step closer to reality. The San Diego City Council has approved plans to transform two city blocks of vacant land into the Mercado Project.

Cities and Communities throughout San Diego County can celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, festivals, entertainment and fun. Following are some of the Independence Day celebrations around San Diego County:

Long before the days of giant theme parks, the United States had many amusement parks where families gathered for a cool escape on a hot summer day. This program celebrates these pre-Disney parks, visiting Playland in Rye, New York; Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana; and California's Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where vacationers can still reach for the brass ring on the merry-go-round.

A San Diego coalition was awarded a $4 million grant by the California Department of Labor today for workforce training programs in the biofuels industry.

A former Israeli spy will ask an immigration judge in San Diego for amnesty Wednesday. A lawyer for the man said if he’s deported he will be killed.

Culture Lust is lusting after these t-shirts with classic book covers.

An estimated 4,206 incoming freshmen and 2,943 transfer students are expected to attend UC San Diego in the upcoming fall quarter, the university announced today.

One of my greatest memories while working at KPBS takes me back a few years to a fundraising campaign. I was on the air that day with KPBS Environmental Reporter, Ed Joyce and things were going smoothly. We had all the essentials: scripts, snacks, and freshly brewed coffee -- everything to keep our spirits and energy high. I had delivered the same script many times in prior shifts: “The new KPBS Flash Drive will hold your photos, documents, or music ... and you’ll have storage on this drive equal to hundreds of floppy discs”. Maybe it was the coffee or the fatigue that sets in mid-way through the day. But whatever the reason, I didn’t say “discs”.

California's new fiscal year starts Thursday and it's likely a budget won't be in-place. We're joined on Morning Edition by nonpartisan Sacramento political consultant Leo McElroy.

Are the Padres a legit World Series contender in the National League? Will the Chargers' off-season issues carry over into the regular season? And, what has America learned from the 2010 World Cup? We speak to local sports talk show host Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton.

A local environmental organization filed a lawsuit last week to stop the Fourth of July fireworks display in La Jolla Cove. We discuss the details of the lawsuit with Adam Harris, president of the La Jolla Community Fireworks Foundation and Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation Attorney, Marco Gonzalez.

Last night, the San Diego City Council approved a plan to build a new $185 million Central Library in the East Village. We speak to Alison St. John about what the new library will include, and the funding issues that still need to be resolved before the project can be completed.

Anyone who has lived in San Diego for a while knows that the dream of a new central library has been in and out of the news for years. The architect, Rob Quigely, designed its imposing dome shape in the 1990s. The site on Park Boulevard in the East Village was chose a decade later, and now, finally, a contract will be signed to break ground. The First phase is estimated to cost about $150 million.

Thursday is the start of the new fiscal year. That’s when California’s budget is supposed to be in place. But there’s no deal in sight. Democrats and Republicans have different views on progress.