"How We Survive": Kai Ryssdal visits the frontlines where national security meets climate change. Listen Now

Beautycounter CEO wants more regulation for safer products

"I set out to get safer products into the hands of everyone," Gregg Renfrew says.
“You may buy something that says all natural or botanical or pure, but it may be none of the above, and so consumers are misled by companies today,” says Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images

After Florida school shooting, Congress takes a new look at school safety funding

Feb 28, 2018
President Donald Trump’s budget proposal called for cutting millions in funding to school safety programs like violence prevention and school counselors. Now, in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, state and federal officials have called for expanding such programs, and Congress is starting to explore funding for things like fences and security […]

New Fed Chair to Congress: Steady ahead

Feb 27, 2018
Jerome Powell will offer his insights to both the House and Senate this week. Stock traders are hoping for some calming words. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

GOP donors are revitalized by Republican successes

Jan 31, 2018
Today is the deadline for congressional candidates to file year-end finance reports with the Federal Elections Commission. So far, it’s been a record-breaking fundraising year for Republicans. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Student loan changes ahead

Jan 25, 2018
Congress is going to change how much graduates need to pay back and how quickly. Pell Grants and loan forgiveness are part of the Republican overhaul, too. A Senate committee will hold a hearing today with new details of an ambitious plan to reboot the nation’s student financial aid system. Until now, proposals for how […]

The shutdown is over, and the economy seems none the wiser

Jan 22, 2018
The government may be funded for another three weeks, at least, but there’s already another debate that seems to be looming on the horizon, and with it, another possible shutdown. While uncertainty appears to be the new normal in Washington, the U.S. economy appears to be, for all intents and purposes, healthy. According to Patricia […]

After another shutdown, she's changing her definition of uncertainty

Jan 22, 2018
Lisa Goldenberg, president of the Delaware Steel Co., on how "the bar's been pushed way out."
The U.S. Capitol at dusk on Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Tick, tock

Jan 19, 2018
Time is running out to avert a government shutdown.
The U.S. Capitol is seen as lawmakers work to avert a government shutdown today in Washington, D.C.
Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

You may need to get used to the threat of government shutdown

Jan 18, 2018
This economy has been reduced to getting by on a never-ending series of four week budget stopgaps.
The House of Representatives has been holding virtual hearings during the pandemic, but lawmakers have been required to vote in person or have another member of Congress cast a proxy vote on their behalf.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Trump's support of earmarks gets a mixed reception

Jan 10, 2018
President Donald Trump, at a bipartisan meeting on immigration yesterday, voiced support for earmarks – the system, effectively banned by the GOP back in 2010, which allowed members of Congress to attach special language to funding bills to direct money to their pet projects. How did earmarks get such a bad reputation in the first […]