Hour 1 In a much-anticipated address before a joint session of the Pennsylvania House and Senate yesterday, Governor Tom Corbett outlined his budget plans for the  2012-2013 fiscal year.  The proposed $27.1 billion budget closes an expected $700 million shortfall, includes no new tax increases, but does involve major cuts in funding for the state's [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, business, economy, politics |

Hour 1 In Philadelphia, over half of all students drop out from high school.  In the U.S., only seven of 10 ninth graders will get high school diplomas. Locally, Mayor Michael Nutter has made raising the number of high school graduates a priority, setting goals to halve the dropout rate.  On the national level, in [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, business, economy, parenting, teens, world |

Just three years after the near-collapse of the U.S. auto industry, Detroit's Big Three automakers are in the middle of a resurgence.  They are regaining some of the market share they lost to Japanese manufacturers and GM has even regained its position as the world’s No. 1 car maker. But is it really a comeback?  [...]

Filed under: business, economy, politics, technology, transportation |

Hour 1 The Obama administration recently rejected the hotly contested proposal to build a 1,700-mile pipeline from Western Canada to Texas. The Keystone XL pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels of oil from the tar sands in Alberta across to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama said that his administration denied the permit because [...]

Filed under: business, economy, environment, politics, technology, transportation, world |

Hour 1 While Mitt Romney’s federal income tax return may have been shocking in terms of the sheer volume of his wealth, everything about it was perfectly legal. He reported income in 2010 of over $21.6 million, nearly all of it from interest, dividends and capital gains, which are taxed at lower rates than what [...]

Filed under: economy, journalism, politics |

Hour 1 All eyes and ears were on Capitol Hill last night as President Barack Obama delivered his third State of the Union address.  Before a packed house of Congress, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, and special guests,  he laid out his vision for the coming year focusing mostly on economic initiatives which he described [...]

Filed under: economy, politics, world |

Hour 1 Since its inception in 1980, the winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party's nomination and, as the first primary in the South, it is often seen as an indicator of how other southern states will vote in their primaries and caucuses.  South Carolina voters are [...]

Filed under: economy, politics, religion, social issues |

Hour 2 The Corbett administration plans to begin asset-testing for food stamp recipients in Pennsylvania this May. Individuals and families with more than $2000 in savings or assets and seniors with assets worth $3250 would no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The number of Americans who receive food stamps [...]

Filed under: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, business, economy, family issues, politics, social issues, work |

Hour 2 With the squeeze on state budgets, many are betting on gambling to put cash in their coffers. States around the country are pushing to legalize in-state Internet gambling. In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie has said that he wants to make the Garden State the “epicenter” for gambling online. A recent decision by [...]

Filed under: business, economy, entertainment, law enforcement, social issues, technology |

Hour 1 [REBROADCAST] This March the Supreme Court will review the constitutional challenge to the 2010 health care bill over the provision that requires most Americans to buy health care coverage. EZEKIEL EMANUEL worked on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when he served as a top health care adviser to President Obama from [...]

Filed under: business, economy, health, medicine, politics, technology |