On tonight’s program: Florida’s rural renaissance initiative to help the state’s rural and fiscally-constrained counties develop economically is working its way through the state legislature; Florida’s pension fund investments will include no companies that support DEI principles, as a result of a resolution by the State Cabinet; State lawmakers are considering tighter controls over the hemp industry; And as the incidence of Alzheimer's disease increases in Florida, state lawmakers are looking at more robust responses to the illness.

On tonight’s program: The 1st day of the 2025 Florida Legislative Session included lots of hopeful people advocating for various legislative outcomes; Governor Ron DeSantis kept the tone upbeat during his next-to-last State of the State address; Legislative Democrats find themselves in familiar – and lamentable – territory as Republican supermajorities prepare to work their will at the capitol; And property insurance and budgeting are two of the major issues on the House and Senate calendars.

Who are these people and why are they saying these things? In advance of next week’s start of the Florida lawmaking session, we’ll help you figure out what’s going on; Whatever lawmakers do, the governor usually has the last word. Sometimes well in advance; As a citizen, how do you let lawmakers know what you want? We’ll tell you how to go about that; You’ll get a quick primer on how the committee process works; Florida dreamers could find an affordable path to higher education blocked as a result of one bill already filed in the legislature; And we remember Geraldine Thompson, the Orlando lawmaker for whom the preservation of history was a sacred duty.

On tonight’s program: One lawmakers wants to let students carry guns on college and university campuses; A committee of lawmakers is reviewing the 950 million dollars in projects Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed last year; Florida’s insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, is raising its rates. And for some, it could be a good thing; We’ll hear about an effort to support Everglades restoration and flood planning. One lawmaker calls it a “great opportunity”; A Florida State University professor talks AI in education. It turns out it’s about a lot more than worrying about whether students are teaching on tests; And we’ll hear from a former first lady of Florida A & M University about helping to pave the way for future students.

On tonight’s program: A special legislative session on immigration also seems to signal a lessening of power for Governor Ron DeSantis; An attorney weighs in on Florida’s efforts to reform immigration policy; Florida lawmakers may again try to pass a bill restricting the kinds of flags that can be flown over government buildings or public schools; Artificial intelligence could be an effective way of detecting illicit firearms. Republicans aren’t happy with that, but some public safety proponents believe it’s a good thing; Florida’s agencies that help kids provide lots of services. But being a place where the children spend the night isn’t supposed to be one of them; The desperate search for something – anything – to halt the spread of citrus greening disease in Florida’s shrinking citrus groves may have turned up a solution. The problem is, that solution could take years to have a positive impact; And a civil rights champion in the Florida Legislature has died.

On tonight’s program: Governor DeSantis rolls out his proposed spending plan. But it includes a lot fewer state government workers than what’s now employed; Pro-gun folks have been pushing Florida lawmakers for years to approve open carry of firearms. Is this the year their efforts finally bear fruit?; Concern abounds over the move by Elon Musk and his team to access sensitive federal government information. Especially since it seems President Trump doesn’t seem to mind; Churches have religious freedom. But when it comes to shielding undocumented immigrants from the law, the government is arguing that’s going too far; Meanwhile, a dedicated organization stands ready to help immigrants caught up in deportation sweeps; In advance of the Florida legislative session, some lawmakers are already looking to improve services for children who have autism; And we get a jump on preparations for what could be yet another busy hurricane season.

A U.S. appeals court has sided with the administration in allowing the removal of Hampton Dellinger from the Office of Special Counsel. The office investigates actions like whistleblower retaliation.

Trump continues to link his tariffs to fentanyl and overdose deaths — in his speech to Congress and on social media. But many of his statements about the fentanyl crisis aren't factual.

CDC Public Health Associate Bri McNulty, who talked to NPR about being summarily fired last week, got an email that she had her job back. In the meantime, McNulty got a job offer at Penn State.

LeBron James has been so good for so long, there's a famous running joke about when he might slow down. At age 40, where does his 50,000 career points record put him in the GOAT debate?

The 25 Canadians are accused of calling seniors in over 40 states, pretending to be their grandchildren and asking for bail money. Authorities warn such scams are getting increasingly sophisticated.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture must temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary employees fired since Feb. 13, according to a ruling by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

In an order, the justices left in place a lower court order that so far has only required the Trump administration to pay contractors for foreign aid work that has already been completed — roughly $2 billion.

A recap of President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, Trump touts success of some of his immigration policies during address, and China opens its annual session of parliament.

In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Trump talked about his work to secure the border, slash the size of the government and his new tariffs, among other things. Hear a full recap.

Republicans are "nervous" about President Trump's tariffs raising prices, says Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. He plans to force a vote in the Senate on them soon.

A Central Asian Soviet-era pop music anthology shines a light on the region's ethnic diversity and music that transcends genres from Korean Brass Bands to Uyghur garage rock to Crimean jazz.

President Trump's latest tariffs have sent markets downward, and consumer confidence is low. Steve Inskeep speaks with David Wessel of the Brookings Institution about the direction of the economy.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth plans to cut Pentagon climate change initiatives. But to be effective, the military has no choice but to account for sea level rise, bigger storms and more heat.

A sharply divided Supreme Court limited the Trump Administration's sweeping efforts to eliminate foreign aid. That ruling said the government must pay foreign aid contractors for work they've done.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa expresses fear and distaste at how Trump treats Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

NPR's Juana Summers talks to Bennett from the centrist think tank Third Way, about what he heard from leaders in the Democratic party and what he thinks about Trump's joint session of Congress speech.

President Trump wants to squeeze Iran's economy by reducing its crude oil exports to zero. But Iran's economy has already been in freefall for months.

President Trump says U.S. automakers will get a one-month break on steep tariffs for Canadian and Mexican goods.

The good news? The Commerce Department says personal income and consumption were up in June. Bad news is savings didn’t rise with ’em. In fact, high interest rates and high prices have battered the personal savings rate down to an almost two-year low, leaving many households without a financial security cushion. In this episode, we’ll also get into why national manufacturing growth depends on where you are, and Boston is incentivizing office to residential real estate conversions.

New gross domestic product data just came in — GDP grew a healthy 2.8% annually in the second quarter, better than predicted. Meanwhile, consumers are focused on buying essentials and credit card debt is growing. In this episode, we’ll examine why GDP is strong while many everyday people feel squeezed for cash. Plus: New real estate broker fee rules take effect next month and the number of Americans who predict they’ll retire young is up.

The last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage, it went up 70 cents — from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. That was in 2009. Today, we’ll get into why there hasn’t been a successful push to boost it since then and who suffers as a result. Plus, officials in China promise major tax reform, apartment vacancies in Sun Belt cities rise and the Federal Reserve keeps an eye on GDP estimates.

“Act your wage,” “coffee badging,” “ghost jobs” — the internet is always vomiting up new workplace phrases. You may even use some of them to describe the bizarre job market of the past few years. So when popular work slang shifts from silly — “lazy girl jobs” — to grim — “quiet cutting” — are there hints about where the labor market is headed? Also in this episode: Tech firms ditch user counts, car sales motor on despite high costs and educators get educated about jobs at the Port of Baltimore.

In the face of major news, some say the bond market can signal what comes next economically. But so far, bond yields don’t seem to be reacting to Biden’s dropping out of the presidential race. In this episode, what the crystal ball of the economy does care about in regard to elections. Plus, business investments outpace GDP gains, Nvidia employees cash in on the chipmaker’s hockey stick-shaped earnings growth and Friday’s CrowdStrike crash reveals a common cybersecurity weakness.