ECONOMY

Congressional leaders have reportedly struck a deal on an economic stimulus package that will mean tax rebates of $300 per individual to $1200 per family. Democrats agreed to drop plans to increase unemployment and food stamp benefits in exchange for extending the tax rebate to almost everyone who gets a paycheck. The news comes as sales of existing single-family homes dropped by 2.2 percent last month, the biggest drop in 25 years. Peter Coy, economics editor at BusinessWeek magazine, tells us what the news means for the overall economy.

THE DEMOCRATS

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We talk about where the Democratic Party is headed with Julian Zelizer, professor of history and Public affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and John Judis, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment and senior editor at the New Republic.

BIG DIG SETTLEMENT

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The two major construction companies managing Boston’s Big Dig highway project have agreed to a pay more than $400 million to avoid criminal charges for what prosecutors had claimed was years of shoddy work and oversight. Negligence led to a fatal ceiling collapse in 2006. We speak with Boston Globe reporter Sean Murphy.

CARS OF THE FUTURE

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We talk to Wall Street Journal editor, Joe White, about what he saw at this year’s Detroit auto show and about what we can expect on the roads in the next few years.

WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN

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We speak about the conditions of women in Afghanistan today with Wahzma Frogh of the Canadian International Development Agency. Frogh is an Afghan woman who worked as a reporter in Pakistan. She’s now advocating for women’s rights in Afghanistan.