SF Bay Oil Spill

It's being called the worst oil spill in San Francisco Bay in two decades. Beaches are closed and thousands of birds and mammals are threatened after a container ship rammed into the Bay Bridge Wednesday morning, spilling 58,000 gallons of thick, gooey oil into the bay. Host Scott Shafer gets an update on the situation from KQED reporter Amy Standen, who was out on the bay with a Coast Guard official this week.

• More: Photo slideshow of the clean-up efforts

Gourmet Lunch for Veterans

Veterans of foreign wars are typically honored with parades, ceremonies, presidential speeches and the like. But in Napa Valley this week, residents of the Yountville Veterans Home got something even better: a gourmet lunch prepared by some of the best chefs in California. Reporter: Scott Shafer

• More: Photos of the event

Diwali

Throughout California this weekend, Indian-American communities will be celebrating the festival of Diwali. In India, it's one of the biggest Hindu holidays with families gathering to light candles, share gifts and eat sweets. Silicon Valley will have many Diwali celebrations this year as well, mirroring the growing influence of the Indian-American community in this high-tech hub. Reporter: K. Oanh Ha

• More: Photos from Google's Diwali celebration

Voices From the WGA Picket Line

Hollywood honchos faced hundreds of striking writers as they went to work this week. Members of the Writer's Guild of America and their supporters sported union t-shirts and plenty of sunscreen as they walked in front of film and television studios. We talked to some of the writers on the picket line.Reporter: Lenora Chu

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel

Attaining celebrity status in Los Angeles is tough unless you're a film star, an athlete or a business mogul. But the L.A. Philharmonic's conductor in-waiting, Gustavo Dudamel from Venezuela is generating a buzz. Dudamel was in Los Angeles last week for a series of concerts -- his first performance here since the orchestra announced earlier this year that Essa Pekka Salonen will pass the baton to him in about a year and a half. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman