WAMU 88.5 : The Diane Rehm Show

Campaign Spending

A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, and you've got a record presidential election. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United has unleashed a flood of big money in the 2012 campaign from wealthy individuals and others. The new breed of Super PACs played a major role in the Republican primary fight. Now, in the general election, they are helping to finance the most intensive early barrage of TV advertising in history -- and the most negative one. For the first time, an incumbent president and his allies might be outspent by his challenger. We explore the battle for bucks in the contest between President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Who's spending what -- and whether it makes a difference.

NPR

Book News: Kim Jong Un Reportedly Gave 'Mein Kampf' As Gifts

Also: The folly of marathon readings; Tom Wolfe has a new book; VICE apologizes for tasteless photo spread.
WAMU 88.5

After Four Years Of Fighting, D.C. Council Approves New Rules For Food Trucks

The new rules create a long-awaited regulatory framework for what has become a popular and industry made up of over 150 food trucks.

WAMU 88.5

Virginia Democrats Seek To Chip Away At Republican Majority In House of Delegates

Thirteen first-time Democratic candidates said yesterday that they hoped to unseat Northern Virginia Republicans as part of a plan to get closer to a majority in the House of Delegates.

NPR

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Profits for the nation's carmakers are on the rise, but after years of doing more with less, higher profits are unlikely to translate into significant numbers of new jobs. There are eight fewer plants and hundreds of thousands fewer workers in the industry than before the Great Recession.

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