1:06pm: Mitt Romney is sounding upbeat today, saying he has overcome his setback in South Carolina and that he's now 'pushing back' against Newt Gingrich more effectively. Gingrich is making a big deal out of the amount of money Romney has spent on ads in Florida, but says the ads won't work. We'll talk about what could happen in tomorrow night's primary.1:12pm: Once considered a last resort for the desperate, pawnshops are increasingly going mainstream, with brightly lit shops, Facebook pages, and Twitter campaigns. Part of the reason is the downturn in the economy. Another might be that the shops have been demystified by popular TV shows like the History Channel's Pawn Stars. 1:40pm: Rick Roach, in his fourth term on the Orange County Florida school board, decided recently to take Florida's standard math and reading tests for 10th graders. His scores? He failed the math test entirely, and scored a D in reading. Roach argues that the result shows something is seriously wrong with the test. "I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate," he says. "I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities." Roach's critics disagree, saying every American with a high school education should know what's in those tests. He joins us to talk about the test and education reform.
Laura is LPM's Director of Podcasts & Special Projects.
Email Laura at lellis@lpm.org.