--:-- Corva Coleman: This message comes from Dataiku. Companies can struggle to turn data into real AI apps. Dataiku makes it easy with low-code tools so anyone can build and scale AI. Visit D-A-T-A-I-K-U dot com slash N-P-R.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Congress has passed a short-term spending bill and the government shutdown is now over. But the financial fallout for federal workers is not.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Windsor Johnson explains why their long-awaited back pay may feel smaller than expected.
--:-- Windsor Johnson: When federal employees get their back pay, it will arrive as one lump sum deposit, covering every missed paycheck during the shutdown. But that big payment could end up feeling like a letdown.
--:-- Windsor Johnson: The IRS taxes lump sum in paychecks as if the entire amount was earned in a single pay period, which can push workers into a higher withholding bracket. That means a smaller take-home deposit, at least for now.
--:-- Windsor Johnson: Many workers will eventually recover that money at tax time next year, but families who've been juggling bills or dipping into savings may have to wait months to see their full earnings.
--:-- Windsor Johnson: And for tens of thousands of federal contractors who've also gone without compensation during the shutdown, there's no back pay at all.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Windsor Johnson reporting.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released more than 20 pages of documents from the estate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
--:-- Corva Coleman: This happened yesterday after Democrats on the committee highlighted three other emails that relate to President Trump.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: NPR's Stephen Fowler says Epstein had many emails about Trump.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Epstein said he had photos of Trump with girls in bikinis in his kitchen. Trump, quote, almost walking through the door, leaving his nose print on the glass as women were swimming in the pool.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Reference to a girlfriend that, quote, after two years, I gave to Donald.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: But most of these emails were obsessively tracking Trump's ascent to the presidency from 2015 to 2018.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Stephen Fowler reporting.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The White House says these emails prove nothing other than that President Trump did nothing wrong.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Trump has repeatedly called all Epstein-related accusations a hoax.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Big tech company Google has launched a lawsuit against an organization that it claims enables phishing and text scammers.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's John Rewich reports the internet giant says its customers and brand are being hurt.
--:-- John Rewich: Google is targeting an enterprise it calls Lighthouse. In a court filing, it describes it as a well-known criminal group that creates and distributes software and support for cyber criminals.
--:-- John Rewich: Basically, it helps them make phony phishing websites and hook victims with texts.
--:-- John Rewich: Lighthouse is based in China, and Google says it does not actually know the names of the people involved.
--:-- John Rewich: Instead, the company is seeking a court injunction to help it dismantle the Lighthouse enterprise from the outside in, targeting other companies or entities that might be facilitating Lighthouse.
--:-- John Rewich: Google says its logo is on many websites and website templates created by Lighthouse, and that undermines user trust in Google.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Google is among NPR's financial supporters.
--:-- Corva Coleman: John Riewich, NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson has been hospitalized in Chicago.
--:-- Corva Coleman: His Rainbow Push coalition says he is being treated for a longstanding neurodegenerative disease.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The Pleiades star cluster turns out to be part of a larger complex of stars.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports astronomers say these stars were all born in the same cloud of dust and gas.
--:-- Nell Greenfield-Boyce: The Pleiades is also known as the Seven Sisters. But even if you look with just binoculars, this cluster clearly contains a lot more than seven stars.
--:-- Nell Greenfield-Boyce: Luke Bauma is with Carnegie Science in Pasadena, California.
--:-- Luke Bauma: When you look at the core of the Pleiades, it's sort of like looking at the tip of an iceberg. You only see the top of something that's much more massive and in this case, distributed over the night sky.
--:-- Nell Greenfield-Boyce: He and some colleagues use data from three different observatories to trace the motion and chemical compositions of stars, letting them find more than 3,000 related stars that have similar ages and makeups and that used to be closer together.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The faster the birds will flee.
--:-- Corva Coleman: You're listening to NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Support for NPR and the following message come from Warby Parker, the one-stop shop for all your vision needs.
--:-- Corva Coleman: They offer expertly crafted prescription eyewear, plus contacts, eye exams, and more.
--:-- Corva Coleman: For everything you need to see, visit your nearest Warby Parker store or head to warbyparker.com.
