On tonight's program: A Florida state senator seems to have a leg up on the race to fill a vacated congressional seat. And although he has the nod from the incoming president, this individual insists he’ll have enough time in the state legislature to get his priorities into law; Right before the holidays, Governor DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approve the acquisition of more land to go under Florida Forever protections; The incoming Trump administration and its threat of mass deportations of many immigrants has lots of people anxious. Although an expert in immigration law notes the issue has often changed over the years in response to who’s in the White House; The holiday season is already stressful enough. But add the extra anxiety often caused by too much social media interaction and you’ve got a mental health catastrophe in the making; But we’ also have some four-legged therapists on duty who can lift the spirits of those suffering from the trauma of the season; Forget the argument about whether or not America is a “Christian” nation. Is the country even a “religious” nation anymore? We’ll check out some new data that shows there are few atheists in foxholes OR jail cells; And we’ll discover that one of this year’s monster film hits could have the unexpected bonus of getting more students involved in musical theatre programs.

On tonight’s program: The recriminations continue. Why did Florida Democrats do so badly in the last election?; Could Florida re-instate a controversial wild bear hunt? Advocates believe there’s little other choice; A record number of Florida travelers will be driving and flying over the upcoming year-end holidays; With the year-end holidays looming, Florida lawmakers made a quick trip to Tallahassee this week. One big agenda item, the complex – and often convoluted – behavioral expectations for lawmakers; A judge considers a request to allow exploratory fossil fuel drilling in an environmentally sensitive North Florida river basin. Opponents fear what a “yes” decision might mean; An award-winning documentary on the destruction of Apalachicola’s famous oyster beds will soon have a much wider audience; Some endangered wildlife species are seeing new challenges to their well being in Florida; And it seems, despite all the medical advancements, HIV and AIDs remains a widespread public health issue.

On tonight’s program: As of this moment, Governor DeSantis isn’t OFFICIALLY in contention for Department of Defense secretary. But it sounds like that could change in a heartbeat; A once venerated organization that fights domestic violence is struggling to recover from its former boss’s misdeeds; One of the state’s most respected FORMER Republicans shares his thoughts on the recent election; Florida still has a lot of condos in a state of crisis. But it doesn’t appear state lawmakers will be making a special trip to Tallahassee to solve the problem; A father who lost a son to a distracted driver is determined to see Florida pass tougher laws against cell phone use by motorists; And it seems the water isn’t rising only in the oceans. The water that’s beneath our feet is on the rise as well.

On tonight’s program: Blame and recrimination continue in the wake of the Democratic defeat in Florida; Everyone agrees that Florida is now a red state. And one possible reason is that the Democratic Party has pretty much written the state off; Law officers say a troubled teen in North Florida needed help from the state’s child welfare agency. Help that didn’t come; The battle over whether or not to add fluoride to public water supplies didn’t end in the 1960s. The dispute is back again in Florida; A rift between the owners and the Pinellas County delegation could mean the end of the line for the Tampa Bay Rays; And as this year’s active Atlantic Hurricane Season draws to a close, we talk with a storm expert who sees the potential for even worse hurricanes in the future.

On tonight's program: Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi may soon be able to put the initials “U.S.” in front of that attorney general title. And that’s getting some serious home state applause; With former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz out of the running for U.S. Attorney General, what lies ahead for him and the seat he just vacated? Capital Reporter Margie Menzel will have the words of some possible candidates; Post election, Florida’s six-week abortion ban remains in effect. Lawmakers met this week and that was a big part of the meeting agenda; Another question in advance of the 2025 Florida lawmaking session is whether those who support open carry will have better luck than they’ve had in the past. But thisweek, the incoming Senate President essentially shot it down again; A native of Haiti who now lives in Florida worries his adopted home is beginning to take on some of the more unpleasant trappings of his homeland; And we chat with one of Florida’s most acclaimed chefs on the secret sauce involved in preparing the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.

On tonight's program: Although many folks from all over the political spectrum are a bit gobsmacked by a number of Donald Trump appointees, there are some who are saying, “What’s the big deal?”; Fear is growing among many immigrant communities, even those with legal status, in response to Donald Trump’s deportation promises; The conventional wisdom among lots of Democrats was that Hispanic voters would flee from the Republicans this electoral cycle. Boy, were they wrong; An expert on consumer law thinks protecting seniors from scams might be one of those issues that everyone, regardless of politics, may be able to get behind; Even though the words “climate change” may not have official recognition in Florida, the research consensus remains that manmade impacts are still driving weather patterns into ever more dangerous territories; And a bunch of Florida counties have adopted something called “Children’s Services Councils” to provide more services for kids. We’ll find out how that’s going.

The NFL is reaching more Latinos than ever. Here's how they've scored with a Spanish-speaking audience.

In the darkness of winter solstice, pagans celebrate Yule — welcoming longer days to come.

Deportations under President Biden have hit their highest point in almost a decade. The number of removals conducted in 2024 by ICE has surpassed those conducted during the first Trump administration.

Millions of Americans are planning to travel in the coming days. Here's what a potential government shutdown could mean for flying, driving and more — and what you can do to prepare.

Richard Allen, who was convicted in the 2017 killings of two teens who vanished during a winter hike, received the maximum prison sentence in a case that's long cast a shadow over the town of Delphi.

Saturday marks the shortest day of the year and the official start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. NPR has compiled plenty of expert tips for celebrating the solstice and weathering winter.

Since 2018, readers and listeners sent KFF Health News-NPR's "Bill of the Month" thousands of questionable bills. Our crowdsourced investigation paved the way for landmark legislation and highlighted cost-saving strategies for all patients

Natural gas utilities likely will face stricter federal regulations for their climate-warming methane emissions. Among the biggest sources of leaks is the meter outside a gas customer's home.

Federal government faces shutdown after stop-gap funding bill fails in the House, fighting rages in eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Syria forming a new government after fall of Assad regime.

Michel Martin speaks with filmmaker Tyler Perry and actor Kerry Washington about their film based on World War II's only Women's Army Corps unit of color.

Pokrovsk is facing one of the fiercest battles in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are battling to hold the key hub, but commanders admit the Russians have more troops and firepower.

Amazon drivers and warehouse workers at multiple locations across the U.S. have been joining picket lines, pressing the retail giant to recognize their unions during the holiday shopping rush.

On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency to streamline the state's response to avian flu. More than half of the human cases in the U.S. so far have been in California.

The 2024 election was widely considered to be run fairly by majorities of political parties. But so-called "election integrity advocates" who think 2020 was stolen are already making plans for 2025.

Police in Germany say they've closed a Christmas market after reports of a car driving at speed into a crowd. Authorities say the driver has been apprehended, but have not confirmed it was an attack.

NPR's Scott Detrow talks to NPR producer Marc Rivers about the 50th anniversary of The Godfather Part II and what makes a good movie sequel.

Researchers in Germany have developed algorithms to differentiate between Scotch and American whiskey. The machines can also discern the aromas in a glass of whiskey better than human testers.

It's been a year for Israel's Netanyahu. He's prosecuted the deadliest war since Israel's creation and become the first sitting prime minister to face trial in a long running corruption investigation.

The good news? The Commerce Department says personal income and consumption were up in June. Bad news is savings didn’t rise with ’em. In fact, high interest rates and high prices have battered the personal savings rate down to an almost two-year low, leaving many households without a financial security cushion. In this episode, we’ll also get into why national manufacturing growth depends on where you are, and Boston is incentivizing office to residential real estate conversions.

New gross domestic product data just came in — GDP grew a healthy 2.8% annually in the second quarter, better than predicted. Meanwhile, consumers are focused on buying essentials and credit card debt is growing. In this episode, we’ll examine why GDP is strong while many everyday people feel squeezed for cash. Plus: New real estate broker fee rules take effect next month and the number of Americans who predict they’ll retire young is up.

The last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage, it went up 70 cents — from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. That was in 2009. Today, we’ll get into why there hasn’t been a successful push to boost it since then and who suffers as a result. Plus, officials in China promise major tax reform, apartment vacancies in Sun Belt cities rise and the Federal Reserve keeps an eye on GDP estimates.

“Act your wage,” “coffee badging,” “ghost jobs” — the internet is always vomiting up new workplace phrases. You may even use some of them to describe the bizarre job market of the past few years. So when popular work slang shifts from silly — “lazy girl jobs” — to grim — “quiet cutting” — are there hints about where the labor market is headed? Also in this episode: Tech firms ditch user counts, car sales motor on despite high costs and educators get educated about jobs at the Port of Baltimore.

In the face of major news, some say the bond market can signal what comes next economically. But so far, bond yields don’t seem to be reacting to Biden’s dropping out of the presidential race. In this episode, what the crystal ball of the economy does care about in regard to elections. Plus, business investments outpace GDP gains, Nvidia employees cash in on the chipmaker’s hockey stick-shaped earnings growth and Friday’s CrowdStrike crash reveals a common cybersecurity weakness.