Author: Marketplace

On today’s show, Kimberly continues to make us smart about the GOP’s massive tax bill. This time, we’re digging into a small (but important) detail buried in the bill that could have enormous consequences for the regulation of artificial intelligence: a clause that would block states from enforcing AI laws for ten years. We’ll break down what’s at stake. And, the U.S. dollar is getting weaker. We’ll explain what it could mean for the economy.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "House panel advances tax portion of Trump agenda bill after marathon meeting" from The Hill
• "State AI laws would be banned under clause buried in House budget bill" from Stat News
• "G.O.P. Targets a Medicaid Loophole Used by 49 States to Grab Federal Money" from The New York Times
• "US Is Not Negotiating for Weaker Dollar as Part of Tariff Talks" from Bloomberg

• "Republicans push for a decadelong ban on states regulating AI" from The Verge 

  
  

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The House's proposed tax plan includes a 5% tax on remittances. These are electronic transfers of money sent by people in the U.S. — often immigrants — to friends and family abroad. There are some exceptions to the tax, including most transfers made by U.S. citizens. We'll learn how this might play out. Also: a (sorta) stock market milestone, a crypto company in the S&P and a bill that could hurt renewables in Texas.

California regulators are allowing State Farm insurance to charge 17% more following this year's LA wildfires. State Farm says it needs the rate increase — on top of the 20% it got last year — because it’s in financial distress following the fires. But the issue of higher premiums goes well beyond California. We'll hear more, then learn why there are concerns about the U.S. dollar remaining the world's reserve currency.

From the BBC World Service: It’s the second day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East. So far, there's been the red carpet treatment in Riyadh, culminating in billions of dollars in Saudi investment. Later in the tour, Trump is expected to meet Syria's interim leader to lift sanctions against the country. Plus, in France, the shop-on-a-truck idea has branched out into new areas such as beauty and cosmetics.

The excitement around AI has gotten a bit frothy. Those two magic letters are everywhere, promising everything. Authors Emily Bender and Alex Hanna want us all to take a beat and a more critical look, per their new book "The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want."

Bender is a linguist at the University of Washington who helped popularize the term "stochastic parrots" to describe large language models. And Hanna is the director of research at the Distributed AI Institute, formerly an AI ethicist at Google. She says claims of AI's artistic prowess can be misleading.

New data shows us that despite President Trump’s new tariffs, the inflation rate for some categories of goods stayed the same or even fell in April. In this episode, we’ll break down why — and explain when we might start to see price hikes. Plus: We take a trip down the supply chain, three retailers share how business is going and “How We Survive” host Amy Scott tells us how to make retirement account investments more climate-friendly.

 

Today we’re ditching the drama on Earth and talking about K2-18b, an exoplanet 120 light-years away. K2-18b recently made headlines after researchers claimed to observe possible “signs of life” in the planet's atmosphere. So, did we find aliens? Michaela Musilova, an astrobiologist and analog astronaut, said it’s too early to tell. On the show today, Musilova breaks down the debate over K2-18b, why better telescopes are needed to find definitive proof of life on another planet, and why President Trump’s proposed funding cuts to NASA could disrupt this search. Plus, what’s it like to be an analog astronaut, and what do they actually do?

Then, why a healthy reading diet contains both “broccoli” and “chocolate pie” books. And, Jessamine Chan, author of “The School for Good Mothers,” answers the Make Me Smart question.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet" from The New York Times
• "Does exoplanet K2-18b host alien life or not? Here's why the debate continues" from Space 
• "Experts alarmed as White House proposes 'largest single-year cut to NASA in American history'" from Space 
• "NASA’s Don Pettit Shot 220 Days of Amazing Photos From the I.S.S." from The New York Times 
• "What’s in Trump and Republicans’ giant tax and immigration bill?" from The Washington Post

• "Republican Tax Plan Boosts SALT Deduction, Ends Green-Energy Breaks" from The Wall Street Journal 

  
  

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The consumer price index hit an annual rate of 2.3% last month. Consumer inflation clocked in at 0.2% from March to April — less than expected. While folks feel uncertain about the future, some data could reveal a more encouraging picture. Also on the program: how higher tariffs translate to revenue for the federal government and how an energy efficiency program that could get axed helps households and businesses save billions.

The stock market mess many connect to President Donald Trump's intense tariff policy is, as of this morning, largely corrected. We'll unpack the recent market rollercoaster ride and discuss what to make of it all. Plus, a sweeping tax bill could extend many tax cuts from Trump's first term — but plenty of twists are expected ahead. And Trump is in Saudi Arabia for a four-day trip to the Gulf. What's on the agenda?

From the BBC World Service: Japanese carmaker Nissan will cut 20,000 jobs globally as it struggles with falling sales in China and heavy price discounts in the U.S. We'll hear more. And later in the program, leaders and economists in Africa gather in Togo to discuss the continent's debt challenges. Plus: slashed duties on parcels from China and Hong Kong to the U.S. and calls for unity from Chinese President Xi Jinping.