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As the Southwest prepares for 100-plus-degree days this week, we’ll look at where energy grids are prepared for a hot summer. A key factor? Whether grids have new electricity generators, like wind or solar plants. We’ll visit eastern Colorado, where clean energy jobs have been a boon for rural residents. Plus: More first-time homeowners enlist their parents as mortgage cosigners, and brands back away from trans representation, instead angling to keep both LGBTQ and transphobic customers.

The main channel into the Port of Baltimore is expected to reopen soon, but the city is still dealing with the aftermath of the collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March. Guest host Amy Scott explains how the port’s closure has affected global supply chains, shipping container costs and life in Baltimore. Plus, a shake-up at the Federal Election Commission is making certain gray areas of campaign finance even grayer. Then, we’ll celebrate the first transgender and Asian American woman to be crowned Miss Maryland USA.

Here’s everything we talked about today:


“Full channel into Port of Baltimore expected to open ‘in the next few days,’ officials say” from The Baltimore Sun
“With widened channel, port seeks to recover traffic lost after Key Bridge collapse” from The Baltimore Sun
“Sudden container crunch sends ocean freight rates soaring, setting off global trade alarm bells” from CNBC
“How the Federal Election Commission Went From Deadlock to Deregulation” from The New York Times
“Bailey Anne Kennedy: Trans woman wins Miss Maryland USA, makes pageant history” from The Baltimore Banner
“Gen Z Plumbers and Construction Workers Are Making #BlueCollar Cool” from The Wall Street Journal
“A labor shortage stands in the way of the clean energy transition” from Marketplace

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The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meets tomorrow and Wednesday for its fourth interest rate-setting meeting of the year. We can say with almost total certainty that the Fed will do nothing to those interest rates, and recent news on the job market isn’t likely to change the Fed’s thinking. Then, Reddit is pushing deeper into advertising. And later: how the Tribeca Festival came to be such a moneymaker for New York City.

You know the Georgia peach logo at the end of shows like “WandaVision” or “The Walking Dead?” The peach means a production was filmed in Georgia, where major tax credits are helping the state grow its film industry. Today, we head to Atlanta to hear about the pipeline for show business gigs there. Plus, Americans are paying down their credit card balances thanks to a strong labor market.