Congress is back in session and one of its most important tasks now is to figure out how to pay for President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion dollar plan to expand the social safety net.

Democrats hope to fund it by raising taxes for wealthy corporations and individuals, which Republicans are pushing back on.  

So how does Congress move forward?

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Taxing The Rich For The Social Safety Net

Listening to the news can feel like a journey. But 1A guides you beyond the headlines – and cuts through the noise. Let's get to the heart of the story, together – on 1A.

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News

Taylor Swift dropped her latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," at midnight on Friday. 

Like she did with her previous album, "Midnights", she posted a surprise for fans a few hours later: 15 extra tracks on the album. That brings the total track listing to 31 songs.

She's released four albums since 2020, plus four re-recorded albums. Her Eras Tour sold out stadiums across the U.S. last year, and it continues through 2024. T

he hold Taylor Swift has on much of our popular consciousness defies comparison with other current artists.

We discuss Swift's new music and where it fits in her catalogue. 

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1A Record Club: Taylor Swift And 'The Tortured Poets Department'

Here in the U.S., we can't have a people, a country, and a democracy – without, well: the Earth.

Yes, the very large globe that we're sitting on right now. Many of you may be celebrating that today for Earth Day. 

Throughout this election season, we've asked you what's sending you to the ballot box. So far, your responses suggest that climate- is your third most dominant concern after "Trump" and "Democracy."    

For this installment of our weekly politics series, 'If You Can Keep It', we look at how each presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election is talking about climate and energy policy. 

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'If You Can Keep It': The Candidates And Climate Change

As Donald Trump's trials continue over the course of the spring, Joe Biden is taking advantage of his rival's absence from the campaign trail. 

A Boeing whistleblower made headlines this week, telling the Senate that the aircraft manufacturer is "putting out defective airplanes."

Meanwhile, Israel, with the help of the U.S., more or less successfully defended itself from a missile and drone attack launched by Iran after the former killed Iranian officials in an attack on an embassy in Syria.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, The BBC has now confirmed that more than 50,000 Russian troops have died in the conflict.

We cover the week's biggest headlines. 

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The News Roundup For April 19, 2024

According to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, at least 70 percent of firearms found in crime scenes in Mexico can be traced back to the neighbors to the north.

Some 250,000 people crossed the southern border into the U.S. in December of last year. The majority of those were people from Mexico.

And survey data pulled by Reuters from the Kino Border Initiative, a large migrant shelter in Nogales, Mexico, shows that violence, not economic factors, is forcing many families to leave Mexico.

We discuss what work is being done to stop the flow of guns into Mexico. 

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The Connections Between American Guns And The Migrant Crisis

Imagine you're at a dinner party and the conversation turns to the latest news. Everyone has a different opinion. People begin raising their voices.

You notice the person beside you isn't talking, they're just watching. They turn to you and make a joke and you immediately relax. You hadn't even realized how tense you were. 

They then ask what you think about the news. When you respond, they're attentive. When they look at you, you feel seen. They ask you another question and another. Before you know it, an hour has passed, and the arguing has died down around you.

Your dinner party partner is what journalist Charles Duhigg calls a supercommunicator. In his new book, "Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection," by the same name, he explores what makes conversations work and how we can all be better at them.

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Taxing The Rich For The Social Safety Net

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