NPR News: 02-06-2026 2PM EST
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What is the AI spiral and its implications?
This week on Consider This, it's called an AI spiral. When a person communicating with an AI chatbot loses touch with reality. When I thought I was communicating with the digital god, I got dopamine from every prompt. Artificial intelligence, human consequences. This week on Consider This, listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Stocks on Wall Street are trading sharply higher this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is approaching the 50,000 mark for the first time ever. The gains are being driven by technology stocks recovering from heavy losses this week as investors determined markets had fallen too much. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
The price of Bitcoin has rebounded after a steep drop on Thursday. At one point, the volatile cryptocurrency had lost more than half its value from its record high last October. Investors who were skeptical about all the money Google's parent company is spending on artificial intelligence have similar questions about the payoff from Amazon's big AI investment. The online retailer and cloud computing giant says it plans to spend $200 billion on capital investments this year. Amazon shares opened lower. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
The Justice Department has announced charges against the main suspect in the 2012 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports the suspect arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland overnight and is now in U.S. custody.
Attorney General Pam Bondi identified the defendant as Zubair al-Bakoush. She described him as a key participant in the 2012 attack on the U.S. special mission and CIA annex in Benghazi.
Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil. We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law.
How are technology stocks influencing the market?
Al-Bakoush faces several charges. including murder of a U.S. national, material support to a terrorist resulting in death, and conspiracy. Two other Libyan men have already been tried and convicted in U.S. court in connection with the Megazi attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Starting today, Florida will only offer its driver license exams in English. Nancy Guan from member station WUSF reports some county officials are raising concerns.
Language translation services will no longer be allowed for the written or the behind-the-wheel test. The change applies to non-commercial and commercial driver licenses. Before, exams were offered in multiple languages like Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. Nancy Milan is the Hillsborough County tax collector. Her office issues driver licenses. Especially in a community that's so diverse, I think it may present some challenges in obtaining their credentials from here on out. Only a handful of other states have a similar English-only policy. It includes Wyoming, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles did not return requests for comment. For NPR News, I'm Nancy Guan in Tampa.
On Wall Street, the Dow is up 1,060 points. This is NPR News. A grand jury in New Mexico has indicted actor Timothy Busfield on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child. The charges were announced today in a post on social media. Authorities issued a warrant for Busfield's arrest last month, and he later turned himself in. Investigators say the allegations date back to his time working as a director on the TV series The Cleaning Lady. Busfield has denied the claims. The figure skating competition gets underway today at the Winter Olympics, starting with the team event, which the U.S. won in 2022. NPR's Rachel Triesman reports the Americans finish day one out in front.
The three-day event is a chance for the top 10 ranked countries to bring home a skating medal and for the world to get to know some of the biggest names in women's, men's, pairs and ice dance. As of Friday, the U.S. is in the lead, thanks to strong performances from Alyssa Liu and ice dancers Madison Chalk and Evan Bates.
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