Compton’s Cowboys

Photos by Richard Vogel Long before NWA put the place on the map as the birthplace of gangsta rap and its streets echoed with the sounds of drive-by gunfire, Compton was a cowboy town. And it still is.

A Sip-and-Step Guide to Hiking the Napa Valley

Photos by Eric Risberg Here’s a wine country secret that can help you raise your glass and your heart rate. Along with the Napa Valley’s famous wine-tasting trails, there are miles of scenic trails of the hiking variety, beckoning visitors who want to exercise more than their palates.

California Grants Rare Look Inside Largest Death Row

Photos by Ben Margot With executions on hold in California and a death penalty appeals process that can take years, many inmates on the nation’s largest death row say they spend little time worrying about the lethal injection that may one day kill them.

Lifting the Veil on Drug Abuse in LA’s Koreatown

Photos by Jae C. Hong In a blue-and-white church on the outskirts of Los Angeles’ Koreatown, pastor Young Ho Han is trying to lift the veil on a problem silently afflicting his community: drug abuse among young Korean-Americans.

Daily Life Around the World

For this week’s installment of AP’s Daily Life series, we feature photography from all over the world: A diver performs with a school of fish in an aquarium in Seoul, a couple walk across a bridge crossing to Beeston Castle in England, and a Pakistani Muslim devotee lights an oil lamp at a local shrine in

California’s Salton Sea

Photos by Gregory Bull For centuries, the Colorado River periodically emptied into a body of water known as Lake Cahuilla on the northern reaches of the Gulf of California. The Salton Sea was created there in 1905 when the river breached a dike and flooded for two years, bringing farm settlers to the Imperial Valley

Close Up: Photographer Jae C. Hong

Jae C. Hong is a staff photographer at the Associated Press currently based in Los Angeles. Hong first joined the AP as a photo intern and was hired full time to cover Las Vegas shortly after completing his summer internship. 

World Water Day

It courses through Bangkok’s bustling canals and the world’s mighty rivers. It is the lifeblood of the desert oasis as well as North America’s Great Lakes.

Stranded Sea Lion Pups on California Beaches

Photos by Jae C. Hong The starving sea lion pup was so tiny that it looked like a rock at the base of the seaside cliff until it struggled to raise its head as humans approached.

Daily Life Roundup

For this week’s installment of AP’s Daily Life series, we feature photography from all over the world: A lone man shelters himself from the rain while crossing a bridge in Spain, a group of Pakistani children jostle to receive free food in Islamabad, and an American flag beach towel hangs on a makeshift clothesline, on a balcony in

Daily Life Roundup: Jan. 13, 2015

For this week’s installment of AP’s Daily Life series, we feature photography from all over the world: Brazilian beach goers cool off from the 104 degree heat, a Belarusian plays with his tame wolves, and an woman smiles at the camera near a mustard field in Northern India.

Daily Life Roundup: Nov. 7, 2014

For this week’s installment of AP’s Daily Life series, we feature captivating photography from all over the world: A street performer does his best Mona Lisa impression in Tokyo, geese fly past autumn foliage in Philadelphia, and women sing an emigration folk song in downtown Lisbon.

Daily Life Roundup: Oct. 22, 2014

For this week’s installment of AP’s Daily Life series, we feature captivating photography from all over the world: A cyclist rides along Forbidden Drive in Philadelphia, Palestinian school children walk through destroyed houses in Gaza City, and A Portuguese fisherman pulls a net out of the sea on the Caparica coast.

Worldview: United States Daily Life

For today’s installment of AP’s Worldview: Daily Life series, we focus on the United States. 

All Eyes On California

California, also known as the Golden State, is most populous state in the U.S. Its wide–ranging diversity, in both population and geography, have made California a source of enduring fascination.