--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): 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 dataiku.com slash NPR.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Watchdog groups led by former Park Service employees say the government shutdown has worsened the funding and environmental crisis at national parks.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): NPR's Kirk Sigler reports the Trump administration ordered most national parks to stay open with a skeleton staff.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: Thousands of furloughed National Park Service employees are now returning to work after the 43-day shutdown.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: Many entrance gates at parks remained open but unstaffed.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: One estimate by watchdog groups predicts the service may have lost upwards of $40 million in entrance fee revenue.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: This is a big deal because it follows cuts to the agency ordered by President Trump and his team.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: Since January, the Park Service lost a quarter of its entire staff, from scientists to janitors to rangers.
--:-- Kirk Sigler: Meanwhile, the return of the remaining staff is seen as a relief following reports of vandalism of artifacts at Arches National Park in Utah, base jumpers off El Capitan at Yosemite, and damage to a stone wall at historic Gettysburg.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Kirk Ziegler, NPR News.
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--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): The House is moving ahead with a vote to release all files from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Republican leaders have agreed to bring it to the floor after a petition reached the required 218 signatures.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): The push comes as new documents revive questions about Epstein and his associates, including emails mentioning President Trump.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): The White House accuses Democrats of leaking emails to smear him.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): New research links high consumption of ultra-processed foods to early-onset colorectal cancer.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): NPR's Alison Aubrey reports the research suggests diet is one factor behind the increase in colorectal cancer among young adults.
--:-- Alison Aubrey: Doctors at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute analyzed data from nearly 30,000 female nurses under the age of 50.
--:-- Alison Aubrey: They found those who ate more ultra-processed foods, including salty, high-fat snacks, such as chips and sugary drinks, had a significantly higher risk of developing precancerous polyps.
--:-- Alison Aubrey: Dr. Andrew Chan is an author of the study.
--:-- Dr. Andrew Chan: If you have a family history, certainly if you have a history of polyps, trying to kind of adjust what you eat is one step you can take.
--:-- Alison Aubrey: Not all processed foods are unhealthy, but increasingly research shows a diet high in saturated fat, sodium, and sugar, as is found in many packaged foods, increases the risk of chronic disease.
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--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Blue Origin launched its Glenn rocket on Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): The company recovered the booster following its separation from the upper stage and the Mars orbiters, an essential step to recycle and slash costs similar to SpaceX.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): This is NPR.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): The American Psychological Association has released a health advisory about AI chatbots to address mental health needs.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): NPR's Ritu Chatterjee reports.
--:-- Ritu Chatterjee: A recent U.S. survey found that nearly 50 percent of people with a mental health condition who use AI chatbots use them for psychological support.
--:-- Ritu Chatterjee: But the new advisory notes that most AI chatbots were not designed to provide mental health care.
--:-- Ritu Chatterjee: Consumers should not use them to replace mental health care from a trained provider.
--:-- Ritu Chatterjee: AI apps and chatbots can create a false sense of therapeutic relationship with some chatbots falsely claiming that they are licensed therapists.
--:-- Ritu Chatterjee: The report also points out that several AI chatbots have engaged vulnerable youth in harmful interactions, encouraging them to self-harm and even attempt suicide.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Read the advisory, NPR News.
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--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers walked off the job at dozens of stores in more than 40 cities on Thursday.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Michelle Eisen is a barista and spokesperson for the union Starbucks Workers United.
--:-- Michelle Eisen: She says they're protesting pay and working conditions.
--:-- Michelle Eisen: In terms of how and how long we're willing to go and what workers are willing to do, I can tell you that workers are committed to escalating as needed if the company does not come back with some solutions.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): Starbucks says that fewer than 4% of its workers in its 10,000 company-owned stores are unionized.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): On Wall Street, Dow futures are trading lower at this hour.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): This is NPR News.
--:-- Host (Windsor Johnston): See terms.
