What A Day - Ex-NOAA Administrator On Trump’s Staffing Cuts

President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to central Texas today to tour damage of the devastating July 4th weekend floods. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, and nearly 200 are still missing a week later. As people in the region continue to mourn their loved ones and assess the destruction, there has been a lot of finger-pointing over whether more could have been done to alert people about the flood risks. If staffing cuts at the National Weather Service played a role, and who’s to blame for the mounting death toll? Richard Spinrad, the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, talks about how staffing cuts make the agency’s job harder.

And in headlines: A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the Trump Administration’s order ending birthright citizenship after a class-action challenge, retiring Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tills unloads during a CNN exclusive interview, and former Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil filed a claim against the Trump administration for $20 million in damages.

Show Notes:

The Indicator from Planet Money - Red tape indicators: sports betting, R&D and click-to-cancel

We are back with Indicators of the Week! Today, we'll be digging into why U.S. professional gamblers are worried about their future, why businesses might start investing more in research and development, and why cancelling your subscriptions is going to remain difficult.

Related episodes:
How sports gambling blew up (Apple / Spotify)
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Apple / Spotify)
The 'Planet Money' team examines the subscription trap

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Hot Measles Summer

It’s a record-breaking year for America: we’ve now had the most reported cases of measles since the disease was declared “eradicated” in 2000. 

How did public health backslide so hard that it undid decades of progress—and is there any hope we can get back on track? 

Guest: Dylan Scott, senior health correspondent at Vox.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Cato Podcast - The Rise and Fall of DOGE 1.0

In this episode, Alex Nowrasteh and Ryan Bourne delve into the intriguing journey of Doge 1.0 under Donald Trump's administration. From Elon Musk's ambitious overhaul to the eventual departure of key figures, they explore the chaotic, amusing, and concerning facets of this government efficiency experiment. With insights into the economic impacts, legislative hurdles, and potential future in Doge 2.0, this discussion sheds light on the complexities of attempting a bureaucratic revolution. Join Alex and Ryan as they dissect the promises, failures, and hopes of a libertarian downsizing dream.


Show Notes:

Alex Nowrasteh and Ryan Bourne, "Cato Institute Report to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" White Paper, December 11, 2024


Ryan Bourne and Alex Nowrasteh, "Small-Government Conservatives Should Give DOGE a Chance" The Dispatch, December 30, 2024


Ryan Bourne and Alex Nowrasteh, "DOGE Can’t Just Trim Waste. It Has to Cut Government — A Lot" U.S. News & World Report, January 7, 2025


Ryan Bourne, "DOGE: Efficiency Requires Elimination" The War on Prices, March 14, 2025


Alex Nowrasteh and Ryan Bourne, "Six Ways to Understand DOGE and Predict Its Future Behavior" cato.org, March 17, 2025


Ryan Bourne, "Does DOGE Show That There’s Little Government Waste?" The War On Prices May 9, 2025


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What A Day - ICE Gets Billions To Intimidate Americans

Federal agents descended on a park in the middle of Los Angeles midday Monday, showing up on horseback, in armored tanks, and carrying rifles. While it’s still not at all clear if the agents made any arrests, a regional Customs and Border Protection chief told a local FOX News reporter, “Better get used to us now, because this is gonna be normal very soon.” He may not be wrong. President Donald Trump’s new spending and tax law explodes the budget for immigration and border enforcement, setting aside around $170 billion extra dollars for Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Around $75 billion of that money is earmarked specifically for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla joins us to talk about ICE’s aggressive tactics, how immigrants in California are feeling right now, and what Democrats — and all of us — can do to respond.

And in headlines: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent Wednesday waltzing around Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, Trump sent out threatening tariffs letters to more countries, and the CEO of the platform formerly known as Twitter coincidentally quit just a day after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot went full antisemite.

Show Notes:


 

The Indicator from Planet Money - Could Meta do more to protect us from cyber scams?

Many small businesses are online now, but so are cyber criminals trying to take advantage. On today's show, how one bar owner fell victim to a Facebook scam and if big tech could do more to protect small business owners from increasing cyber attacks. Read Stephan's original piece.

Related:
The secret world of those scammy text messages
After being scammed, one woman tries to get her money back

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.

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