1:06pm: Under pressure to show voters his tax returns, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and Republican presidential hopeful, today posted returns from several years on his website. Last year, he paid $3 million in federal income taxes last year on nearly $21 million in income from investments and carried interest from the private equity firm, Bain Capital. This income is taxed at 15%, rather than as ordinary income, which can be taxed by as much as 35%. We'll find out how it could play with voters.1:12pm: In 2010, eight young people died in a warehouse fire in New Orleans. They were squatters—kids who had left their homes and families to hop on trains like modern day hobos, called travelers. Journalist Danelle Morton explores this lifestyle—one her daughter was attracted to—in The Boston Review. We'll talk with Morton and her daughter, Marissa Spoer, a musician who dropped out of college to play music as a traveler. 1:35pm: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to update nutrition standards for school lunches tomorrow. The regulations are supposed to reflect the department’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is updated every five years. But the USDA has not made any changes to school nutrition in over 15 years. As WFPL’s Devin Katayama reports, many school districts have not waited to improve school menus.
Laura is LPM's Director of Podcasts & Special Projects.
Email Laura at lellis@lpm.org.