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Feb 7, 2018

02/07/2018: We have a budget deal! (Kind of!)

As we tape this, one congressional chamber has come to an agreement about how to run the American economy, at least in part. The two-year budget deal would mean we wouldn’t have to worry about shutdowns or short-term funding bills until the middle of 2019, but it still has to pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump. We’ll start today’s show with the latest. Then: Farming used to be a much bigger part of prison labor, but thousands of this country’s more than 2 million inmates still grow vegetables or feed crops for sale on the outside. We’ll take you to a Montana prison ranch where inmates get job training, build life skills and raise cows. Plus: a visit to the heart of “Brotopia.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell walks towards the Senate chamber at the Capitol February 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sen. McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer announced that they have reach agreement on a two-year budget deal. 
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell walks towards the Senate chamber at the Capitol February 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sen. McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer announced that they have reach agreement on a two-year budget deal. 
Alex Wong/Getty Images

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As we tape this, one congressional chamber has come to an agreement about how to run the American economy, at least in part. The two-year budget deal would mean we wouldn’t have to worry about shutdowns or short-term funding bills until the middle of 2019, but it still has to pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump. We’ll start today’s show with the latest. Then: Farming used to be a much bigger part of prison labor, but thousands of this country’s more than 2 million inmates still grow vegetables or feed crops for sale on the outside. We’ll take you to a Montana prison ranch where inmates get job training, build life skills and raise cows. Plus: a visit to the heart of “Brotopia.”