President Donald Trump speaks to workers at the headquarters of tool manufacturer Snap-On on April 18, 2017 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Colombia's fragile peace effort is expensive and challenging

May 17, 2017
The deal between the government and guerrillas is expensive and challenging.
This guerrilla lost his arm during the conflict in Colombia. He is painting an image that marks 53 years since the formation of the FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Lorne Matalon

A new laptop ban could hurt more than airlines

May 17, 2017
US and European officials are meeting to discuss the possible action.
A Syrian woman travelling to the United States through Amman opens her laptop before checking in at Beirut's international airport in March.
ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images

Weekly Wrap: Trump's command of the facts

May 12, 2017
Catherine Rampell of The Washington Post and Linette Lopez of Business Insider join us to discuss the week’s business and economic news. This week they talk about if President Trump’s firing of James Comey will slow down the administration’s economic agenda. Plus, they analyze Trump’s handling of the facts in his interview with The Economist.
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin walk out of the Treasury Department after a financial services Executive Order signing ceremony on April 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. 
Shawn Thew - Pool/Getty Images

Private prisons benefit from new Trump rules

May 12, 2017
The Trump administration is going back to the “tough on crime” policies of the 1980s and ’90s. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered federal prosecutors to bring charges that carry heavy penalties – sometimes mandatory minimum sentences. This is a roll-back of Obama administration rules telling prosecutors not to charge nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that […]

Trump’s tax plan is more trickle down than pump priming

May 11, 2017
By the way, he didn't coin the phrase 'priming the pump.'
President Trump makes his way to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

New trade representative steps into the spotlight on deals like NAFTA

May 11, 2017
One more of President Trump’s nominees can move into his office and take up the president’s agenda on international trade, specifically NAFTA. Robert Lighthizer, an international trade lawyer and former trade official in the Reagan administration, was confirmed as U.S. trade representative today by the Senate on a vote of 82 to 14.  He’s likely […]

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Census director resigns as ramp up for 2020 count begins

May 10, 2017
The resignation of the U.S. Census Bureau director leaves the agency with no leader just month before it begins a big hiring and technology push for the 2020 census. Data from the census is useful far beyond counting the population. Economists and businesses use census numbers to decide where and when to expand, or pull […]

Coal finds Washington allies who cast doubt on its energy rivals

May 9, 2017
In the words of the president, the so-called “war on coal” is over. One could get that impression on news that coal production ticked up the first quarter, thanks to a cold winter boosting business for all energy. But long-term rival fuels like natural gas and renewables are pushing coal out of the market. And […]

The history of income tax's standard deduction is more interesting than you think

May 9, 2017
We look back at the creation of the standard deduction, which President Trump is looking to double.
In 1944, the income tax system was getting pretty complex, so Congress created the standard deduction. Above, piles of tax forms are on display at a public library.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images