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The farm bill is caught up in gridlock ... again

Jan 24, 2024
The current bill, which funds everything from crop insurance to nutrition programs, was set to expire back in September. Congress gave itself a yearlong extension to negotiate an update — but it could take even longer than that.
If Congress doesn't negotiate a new farm bill in the next few months, there may not be a new one until 2025.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

When governments fail to address community issues, who steps in?

Jul 6, 2022
In an excerpt from "The Fight to Save the Town," the author describes how residents get by in an Oregon county with a declining government.
A person in Detroit walks past the remains of the Packard Motor Car Co., which ceased production in the late 1950s.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What the story of Soul City, N.C., can teach us about fixing systemic economic racism

Aug 19, 2020
Civil rights leader Floyd McKissick set out to create a town, aided by government funding, that would showcase Black capitalism. Professor Devin Fergus explains why the story is relevant today.
Civil rights leaders including Floyd McKissick, second from left, at the White House with President John Kennedy in 1963. McKissick led the Congress of Racial Equality and later founded Soul City.
AFP/Getty Images

Arlan Hamilton: Changing venture capitalism, diversifying business

Jan 8, 2020
"I feel like there is a great mission here and I won't stop until I am obsolete and I'm not needed."
Backstage capital founder, Arlan Hamilton.

U.S. suicides are on the rise but funding, research lags

Jun 18, 2018
As people mourn the recent deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, researchers say the growing public health crisis deserves more attention.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Will federal funding fix help prevent forest fires?

Jun 5, 2018
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is holding a hearing on the 2018 Wildland Fire Outlook and Wildland Fire Management Programs today. This comes just a few months after a so-called “fire funding fix” was included in the omnibus spending bill. Last year the costs to fight wildfires exceeded $2 billion. Click the […]

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As President Trump heads to California, an update on money for the border wall he wants with Mexico

Mar 12, 2018
President Donald Trump plans to visit California this week. He’s expected to stop in San Diego to take a look at prototypes for a border wall with Mexico. But the big question still looms: How much will it cost, and will Congress fund it? Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

States scramble to continue funding federal health program for low-income kids and pregnant women

Nov 27, 2017
States get creative as they await Congress to reauthorize funding for CHIP which ran out in September.

The role of accelerators in upping diversity in tech

Nov 10, 2017
Michael Seibel, Y Combinator's first African-American partner, makes the case for talented minorities founding startups instead of working for someone else.
“What's amazing about YC is ... you don't have to know anyone, so there isn't some type of old boys' club," says Michael Seibel, a Y Combinator partner.
Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch