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NPR News

After a freeze, Trump administration reluctantly agrees to fund EV chargers

A Volkswagen ID.4 electric vehicle charges via a fast charger in Torrance, Calif., on February 23, 2024. A federal program to fund fast chargers across the U.S. has been on pause for six months, but the Trump administration is now restarting it.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he doesn't agree with federal subsidies for high-speed EV chargers, but that his department "will respect Congress' will" and release the funds.

(Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)

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NPR News

When our inflation infeelings don’t match the CPI

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For most Americans, we just lived through the highest period of inflation in our lives. And we are reminded of this every time we go grocery shopping. All over TikTok, tons of people have posted videos of how little they got for … $20. $40. $100. Most upsetting to us: an $8 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Food prices are almost 30% higher than they were five years ago. It’s bad. And those new, higher prices aren’t going away.

At the same time, prices are no longer inflating at a wild pace. For the last two years, the rate of inflation has slowed way down. And yet, our fears or feelings that things will spiral out of control again? Those have not slowed down.

This mismatch has been giving us all the …. feelings. Inflation feelings. Infeelings.

On our latest show: we sort through our infeeltions. We talk to the economists who have studied us. We learn why our personal inflation calculators don’t always match the professional ones.

Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

Support Planet Money, get bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening and now Summer School episodes one week early by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

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A Secret History of the Japanese Army

On the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in WWII, the legacy of a biological warfare unit still haunts. And human rights activists are alarmed by the Trump administration’s changing focus.

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NPR News

Children in a mental health crisis can spend days languishing in the ER

The study looked at records for more than 250,000 emergency department visits by children who are on Medicaid.

A new study finds that nearly 1 in 10 kids on Medicaid visiting an emergency department for mental health care remain stuck there for days waiting for follow up psychiatric care.

(Image credit: Cemile Bingol)

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Embryos small but mighty, first live videos show

A nine-day-old human embryo seen through a microscope.

Scientists have recorded a human embryo implanting in a womb in real time. The implications of how it happens could lead to more and better treatments for infertility.

(Image credit: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC))

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Some John Grisham adaptations are better than others. We ranked them

Lana Parrilla and Milo Callaghan in a new TV adaptation of John Grisham

A TV version of The Rainmaker is out this week, which gave critic Linda Holmes as good a reason as any to rank the on-screen adaptations of John Grisham's legal novels.

(Image credit: Christopher Barr)

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CFPB staff layoffs can proceed, appeals court rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC, in February.

The Trump administration sent reduction-in-force notices to more than 1,400 staffers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in April.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

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Tensions grow as Trump and Washington, D.C. officials fight over police authority

The attorney general of Washington, D.C., Brian Schwalb, has filed a lawsuit challenging what he calls the "federal government

Tension in the nation's capital escalated over the question of who controls the city's police department after Washington, D.C.'s Attorney General sued over the White House's bid for full control.

(Image credit: Matt McClain)

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NPR News

What to know ahead of Trump-Putin summit. And, Texas Democrats could end boycott

Russia

Trump and Putin meet in Alaska today. Here's what you need to know before the summit. And, Texas Democrats could end their boycott if California also begins redistricting.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

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In Houston, some worry their problems would be neglected after redistricting

Democrats have been leaving a lot of empty chairs in the Texas House of Representatives. They blocked a quorum needed to allow Republicans to vote on President Trump

In one neighborhood of the city, Latinos worry about immigration and urban problems but may soon be grouped in with suburban voters.

(Image credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez)

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NPR News

As Republicans face voters during tense town halls, it's about sticking to the script

Karen Wagner, left, speaks with Rep. Mike Flood before a town hall at Kimball Recital Hall on campus at the University of Nebraska Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, on August 4, 2025.

While just a fraction of Republicans in Congress are holding town halls during the August recess — in-person and virtual — the questions from voters, and answers from lawmakers, strike a similar tune.

(Image credit: AP/Getty Images)

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Trump and Putin meet today in Anchorage. Here's what to know

FILE - President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit on July 7, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany.

President Trump had pledged to use his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to broker a deal. But he's been vague about potential outcomes from his Friday summit.

(Image credit: Evan Vucci)

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NPR News

Trump and Putin meet in Anchorage today

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Anchorage today to talk about Ukraine. Here's what to know.

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Celebrities are marketing products directly to their fans

Stars are starting their own companies and marketing products directly to their fans. We talked to people following and making these deals, including John Legend who started his own skincare brand.

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Trump administration names DEA head to be D.C.'s emergency police commissioner

Attorney General Pam Bondi has named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to be Washington D.C.'s emergency police commissioner. The National Guard, FBI and other entities are now working to follow President Trump's directive to clean up the nation's capital.

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How a plumbing small business shaped a community in Denver

In 1968, Nathaniel Estes started his own plumbing business in Denver's Five Points neighborhood. As his company grew, he became a pillar of the local Black community. His son, Eddie Estes, and daughter, Cathy Lane, remember their now 94-year-old father, and what it was like growing up as the plumber's kids.

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The nepo baby premium, frothing markets, and Apple vs. Apples

People take their seats for an Apple presentation at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our rapid run through the numbers you need to know.

On today’s episode: John Legend croons; CPI inflation soothes; Same job as mom? You’ll earn more, dude; Apple vs. Apple, a courtroom feud.

Related episodes:
Why every A-lister also has a side hustle
The DOJ's case against Apple
The Intergenerational Transmission of Employers and the Earnings of Young Workers

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

(Image credit: GABRIELLE LURIE)

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What makes 'life' so hard to define? A developmental biologist weighs in

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 9: Brent Spiner plays Lt. Commander Data in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Big Goodbye." Season 1, episode 11. Original air date January 9, 1988.

In this Back To School episode we consider the "List of Life": the criteria that define what it is to be a living thing. Some are easy calls: A kitten is alive. A grain of salt is not.

But what about the tricky cases, like a virus? Or, more importantly, what about futuristic android robots?

As part of our Black History Month celebration, developmental biologist Crystal Rogers and Short Wave co-host Regina G. Barber dig into what makes something alive, and wade into a Star-Trek-themed debate.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Is there something you'd like us to cover? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

(Image credit: CBS)

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Judge strikes down Trump administration guidance against DEI programs at schools

A mural by artist Tene Smith is seen near the entrance of Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit dedicated to training and retaining women in the skilled construction trades is photographed April 1, 2025, at the facility in Chicago.

A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation's schools and universities.

(Image credit: Claire Savage)

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Blackwater founder to deploy nearly 200 personnel to Haiti as gang violence soars

Police officers patrol the area near the Saint-Helene orphanage in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The deployment is meant to help the government of Haiti recover vast swaths of territory seized in the past year and now controlled by heavily armed gangs.

(Image credit: Odelyn Joseph)

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Trump administration claims powers of D.C. police chief

National Guard personnel keep watch as travelers arrive at the entrance to Union Station near the Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume "powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police."

(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite)

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At 45, Venus Williams will be the oldest player in the U.S. Open in decades

Venus Williams celebrates after winning a women

With a wild card invitation, the tennis legend is making history in her return to the U.S. Open later this month as the oldest singles player to take the court in more than 40 years.

(Image credit: Scott Taetsch)

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Four Years after Taliban's Return to Power in Afghanistan, Life for Many has Worsened

It's been four years since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power. Life for certain groups has deteriorated significantly. But the Trump administration says Afghanistan’s conditions have improved in recent years to the point where sending Afghan nationals BACK does not pose a threat to their safety.

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Why one doctor says we're 'walking blind' in the mpox emergency

A patient suffering from mpox sits on a bench at the Kavumu hospital in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — the global epicenter of the mpox outbreak,

A year ago, on August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Why are health experts so frustrated by the world's response?

(Image credit: Glody Murhabazi/AFP)

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D.C. clergy slam federal takeover: 'Fear is not a strategy for safety'

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivering a sermon in which she directly confronted President Trump during the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral in January.

A group of religious leaders in Washington, D.C. is criticizing President Donald Trump's federal takeover of the District's police force, saying his rhetoric is dehumanizing and counterproductive.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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Failed New Mexico candidate gets 80 years in shootings at rivals' homes

FILE - Solomon Pena, center, a Republican candidate for New Mexico House District 14, is taken into custody by Albuquerque Police officers, Jan. 16, 2023, in southwest Albuquerque, N.M.

A jury convicted former Republican candidate Solomon Peña of conspiracy, weapons and other charges in the shootings in 2022 and 2023 on the homes of four Democratic officials in Albuquerque, including the current state House speaker.

(Image credit: Roberto E. Rosales/AP)

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Trump and Putin have history. That adds to the intrigue for Anchorage summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump talk during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders

President Trump says he'll know "probably in the first two minutes" whether Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, touting his past relationship with the Russian leader.

(Image credit: Mikhail Klimentyev)

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Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media law to go into effect

The Supreme Court

The law requires all users to verify their ages before using common social media sites ranging from Facebook to Nextdoor.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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Anti-Trump podcast MeidasTouch is rivaling Joe Rogan. Does it have staying power?

Ben Meiselas in his home studio in Los Angeles. His left-leaning media outfit MeidasTouch has surged in Donald Trump

The left-leaning media outfit has surged in Donald Trump's second term, appealing to progressives outraged by the president. Still, the online streaming world remains dominated by right-wing voices.

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Takeaways from Taylor Swift's podcast appearance: her new album, romance and more

Travis Kelce looks at Taylor Swift during Wednesday

Swift revealed the release date, cover art and track list for The Life of a Showgirl. She also discussed her romance with Travis Kelce, buying back her masters and recovering from the Eras Tour.

(Image credit: New Heights)

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