Lab results confusing? Some patients use AI to interpret them, for better or worse

People are turning to Chatbots like Claude to get help interpreting their lab test results.

While patients wait to hear back from their doctors about test results, many turn to AI assistants for answers. There are issues with privacy and accuracy.

(Image credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Archive Photos)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 10:00 AM

After 10 years of black hole science, Stephen Hawking proven right

When two black holes merge, they release gravitational waves. These waves can be picked up by detectors on Earth, allowing scientists to better understand them.

Researchers have spent ten years improving the massive detectors they use to catch shockwaves from colliding black holes, and now the science is precise enough to test one of Stephen Hawking's key ideas.

(Image credit: Maggie Chiang)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:02 AM

Israel has hunted its top enemies around the Middle East. What has it achieved?

A billboard displays portraits of Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh with the word "assassinated" in Hebrew, in Tel Aviv, Aug. 2, 2024.

Israel's surprise attack in Qatar on Tuesday targeting Hamas' top political leaders was the latest in a campaign aimed at hunting down Israel's top enemies since the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

(Image credit: Oren Ziv)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

Inside the lab working to identify the remains of 9/11 victims

Kevin McKenna (left) and Kathleen Wang look over notes at the Charles S. Hirsch Center for Forensic Sciences Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York City. They are part of a team working to identify the remains of people who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

1,100 people killed on 9/11 in New York City have not had any of their remains identified by authorities. The medical examiner's office is using new technology to identify more people.

(Image credit: José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

Male tarantulas are moving and wooing their way across Colorado

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

These hairy spiders spend almost all of their lives underground. But when it's time to mate, they must brave the great outdoors before they perish.

(Image credit: Thomas Peipert)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

The broke college student's guide to managing money

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For college students who don't have a lot of money, it can be tough to wrap your head around student loans, credit cards and a tight budget. A financial educator offers advice for first-year students.

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

A trail run with blackberries and late summer flowers on Oregon's Sauvie Island

Blackberry brambles decorate the trail on Sauvie Island in Oregon. The trail leads past farm fields through forest to a wild stretch of beach along the Columbia River.

A late summer run for NPR's Brian Mann featured an abundance of ripe, wild berries and a dip in the river.

(Image credit: Brian Mann)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

High-speed train from California to Las Vegas tries to slow rising costs

For most of its 218-mile route, Brightline West plans to build in the median of Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Southern California to help keep costs down.

Brightline West is betting it can build the first true high-speed rail line in the U.S. But the company says costs are rising, despite its best efforts to keep them down.

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 9:00 AM

Bound by loss, split on justice: 9/11 families reflect 24 years later

Left: Elizabeth Miller was 6 years old when her father, a firefighter, died in the Sept. 11 attacks. Right: Brett Eagleson, son of Sept. 11 victim Bruce Eagleson sits in a memorial garden at South Fire District in Middletown, Conn., in 2021.

Elizabeth Miller and Brett Eagleson both lost their fathers on September 11, 2001. On the 24th anniversary of the day, they remain divided on how justice should be done.

(Image credit: Bryan Anselm/The New York Times/Redux and Jessica Hill/AP)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 5:40 AM

U.S. marks 24th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks

Flags and flowers are placed in the inscribed names at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

Many loved ones of the nearly 3,000 people killed will join dignitaries and politicians at commemorations Thursday in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

(Image credit: Donald King)

NPR NewsSep 11, 2025, 2:47 AM

Trump blames rhetoric from the left for political violence after Charlie Kirk murder

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, during a Utah college event Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

In a video statement, Trump said Kirk's death was a direct consequence of people demonizing those they disagree, and then turned his ire to the political left.

(Image credit: Ross D. Franklin)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 11:25 PM

Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally and voice for young conservatives, is shot down at age 31

Charlie Kirk stands in the Oval Office on May 28. The Turning Point USA founder played a pivotal role in rallying support for President Trump among young voters in last year

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was arguably the most influential voice in young conservatism, and played a pivotal role in President Trump's return to the White House.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 10:43 PM

In 2024, COVID dropped from the list of top 10 causes of death in U.S.

Activists gather during a vigil in Lafayette Park for nurses who died during the COVID-19 pandemic on January 13, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

For the first time since 2020, COVID is not one of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 8:45 PM

Trump says right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has died after shooting

U.S. conservative political activist Charlie Kirk speaks at University of Nevada in Reno on Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by / AFP) (Photo by ANDRI TAMBUNAN/)

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," President Trump wrote in a Truth Social Post. Kirk was shot during an outdoor speaking event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

(Image credit: Andri Tambunan)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 8:29 PM

Israel's attacks on Hamas in Qatar stun the Gulf and dash chances for a Gaza ceasefire

Qatar

Qatar slams Israeli attacks on Hamas leaders in Doha as "state terrorism" after the bombardment rocks the tiny U.S. ally and dashes hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza

(Image credit: Karim Jaafar)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 8:24 PM

What we know about the shooting at the Charlie Kirk event

Charlie Kirk, CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot Wednesday at an outdoor rally at a Utah college.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 8:14 PM

Life on Mars? NASA says a rock sample shows potential signs of ancient life

NASA

Ancient organisms may have left microscopic "biosignatures" on Mars. That's according to NASA scientists, who say a rock sample offers the most concrete proof yet that the red planet once hosted life.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 5:01 PM

An election law expert weighs in on Trump's effort to reshape our democracy

Before 2026's midterms, President Trump wants to ban mail-in ballots and electronic voting machines, and change voting rules. Legal expert Richard Hasen discusses the future of free and fair elections.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 4:37 PM

Trump makes a rare D.C. restaurant visit to tout his federal crackdown on crime

President Trump arrives for dinner at Joe

In his first term, President Trump only dined out at the steakhouse in his former hotel. He visited a steakhouse near the White House on Tuesday, saying, "I wouldn't have done this three months ago."

(Image credit: Win McNamee)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 4:03 PM

Fired FBI agents allege retribution, incompetence at top security agency

FBI Director Kash Patel delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a White House press conference in August 2025.

The lawsuit from three of the most senior and lauded FBI agents at the bureau says Trump administration demanded loyalty

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 2:37 PM

California considers allowing doctors to prescribe abortion drugs anonymously

Medication abortion with the two-drug regime of mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common form of abortion in the U.S.

If passed, the law would protect doctors from legal risk by letting them omit their names from prescription labels for abortion pills. It would affect the many doctors who use California pharmacies.

(Image credit: Natalie Behring)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 1:38 PM

Greetings from a peaceful woodland near the River Thames west of London

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 12:09 PM

By listening to these birds for decades, scientists track signs of a changing forest

Miranda Zamarelli and Dick Holmes of Dartmouth College review one of the early paper maps used to chart songbird territories in a patch of woods in central New Hampshire.

Scientists tracking the birds in an experimental forest in New Hampshire have also tracked changes in the forest ecosystem over decades.

(Image credit: Ari Daniel)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 11:18 AM

Dr. Peter Hotez takes the war against science very personally

Dr. Peter Hotez at his Baylor College Of Medicine office in Houston, His new book, Science Under Siege, co-written with climate scientist Michael E. Mann, looks at the impact of the anti-science movement.

In an interview about the new book he co-authored, Science Under Siege, Hotez talks about forces driving the anti-science movement, the risks it poses — and why he won't debate RFK Jr.

(Image credit: Sharon Steinmann)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 11:05 AM

Israel targets Hamas Qatar strike. And, JB Pritzker on Trump's threats to Chicago

This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after explosions in Qatar

Israel says it carried out an airstrike targeting senior Hamas officials in Qatar's capital of Doha. And, Trump says he wants to fight crime in Illinois. Gov. JB Pritzker sees a power grab.

(Image credit: Jacqueline Penney)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 10:00 AM

Trump says he's fighting crime. Illinois Gov. Pritzker sees a power grab before 2026

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Steve Inskeep speaks with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker about President Trump's threats to send National Guard troops to Chicago and the future of the Democratic Party.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 9:05 AM

Georgia's incumbent president won't stand down nearly a year after disputed election

Former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili speaks to demonstrators of hundreds of Georgian companies as they went out into streets suspending their work during an unprecedented three-hour nationwide strike in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Salome Zourabichvili says October 2024's parliamentary contest that saw a pro-Russia party win most of the seats was rigged by Moscow. She says she is the legitimate leader of the people of Georgia.

(Image credit: Zurab Tsertsvadze)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 9:01 AM

Qatari official discusses Israeli strikes on country targeting Hamas officials

NPR talks with Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatar's prime minister and official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about Israeli strikes on Qatar targeting Hamas officials.

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 9:01 AM

Who is Lachlan Murdoch, the anointed media tycoon?

Rupert Murdoch is ensuring the handoff of power to his oldest son Lachlan, ending a saga over the control of News Corp. and Fox News. Father and son are seen here in July 2017, as they attended the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

His position in leading News Corp. and Fox is now secure, as his father ends a dramatic succession battle. Lachlan grew up in New York City but has lived in Australia for much of his adult life.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer)

NPR NewsSep 10, 2025, 9:00 AM

Trump's control of the D.C. police is due to expire tonight. Then what?

Law enforcement officers with the Department of Homeland Security and the Metropolitan Police Department set up a traffic safety checkpoint along a busy Washington, D.C., street on Monday.

Trump needs an extension from Congress to control D.C. police for more than 30 days. Some Republican lawmakers are focused on pursuing legislation that would exert power over D.C. in other ways.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)