Here & Now Anytime

This year's hurricane season begins with concerns that there are staffing issues at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency that President Trump has targeted for overhaul. William Ray, the North Carolina director of emergency management, talks about his state's preparedness this year following widespread damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024. 

We also spoke with acting FEMA administrator Bob Fenton about the increasing number of severe storms, which may make it harder for the federal government to respond effectively to hurricanes this season, even in a year when fewer than normal hurricanes are expected. 

And, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the war on Iran together, and now the relationship is under strain, though both sides deny a major rift. We hear from Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum.

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A federal judge’s order temporarily halts President Trump’s $1.8 billion fund to pay people who say they were unfairly prosecuted by former President Joe Biden’s administration. Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner is one of the judges who challenged the fund and pushed the courts to reopen the settlement that established it.

And, protests continue outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, N.J., over conditions inside. Alexandra Goncalves-Peña, a lawyer with a client detained in the center, details what her client is facing amid reports of a hunger and labor strike.

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President Trump's standing in the polls has dipped in Iowa, a state he won three times. During primary voting, Democrats hope to pick up an open Senate seat and other Congressional seats. Radio Iowa news director Kay Henderson shares what’s at stake.

Then, roughly 60 candidates are on the ballot to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, but with primary voting ending Tuesday, there is no clear frontrunner. KQED politics correspondent Marisa Lagos explains more.

And, WBUR political reporter Anthony Brooks breaks down the sexting scandal involving Graham Platner, a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, and shares what voters there make of it.

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Route 66, known as “America’s Main Street” is not the longest or most-travelled American highway. Fully paved in the 1930s, it became a Depression-era migration route for poor farming families fleeing the Dust Bowl for a new start in California. It’s been featured in popular media for decades. Kathleen Franz, lead curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, unpacks more of the road’s history.

And, the 1973 album “A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle of Asians in America” was one of the first recognized musical albums expressing Asian American identity. It’s often considered a blend of political statements within a collective art project. Sojin Kim, curator of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, details the album’s legacy.

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Congressional lawmakers are trying to pass a bill to address a shortage of affordable. The would limit the number of rental homes large investors can own and make it easier to build and buy homes made in factories. The Wall Street Journal’s Rebecca Picciotto explains more.

Then, CNN reports that President Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in her two civil lawsuits against the president, one alleging sexual abuse and another for defamation. Carroll was awarded millions in damages, but Trump is appealing those judgements. CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz shares more from the reporting.

And, Trump's family has their own cryptocurrency startup and also ties to prediction markets. Investigative reporter Sharon LaFraniere from the New York Times gives more details on reporting showing that the Trump administration dialed back enforcement of those industries.

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