I tried out an AI chatbot therapist. Here’s what I saw. AI therapists are increasingly popular. We found some reasons to be concerned.

"Ah, the voice of the doctor... Forget the professional advice for a minute."
- the chatbot

pirg.org/edfund/artic...

From a new @thelancet.com article today entitled "Health care in the USA: money has become the mission" www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Abraham Scarr: Lawmakers must ensure Illinois consumers get insurance worth their payments Illinois is the only state in the entire country where it is legal to charge excessive home and auto insurance rates.

Lawmakers must ensure Illinois consumers get insurance worth their payments

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/16/o...

Oh, hey! This project never officially made our (newly updated!) list of wasteful, destructive highway projects, but this is great news. Congrats to folks in the Catskills who pushed back on this against what seemed to be pretty long odds.

Repair Advocates Tell Microsoft: Stop the ‘End of Windows 10’ | KQED Microsoft is set to end automatic, free updates for Windows 10 users on Tuesday, potentially rendering millions of computers increasingly obsolete.

As I told @kqednews.kqed.org, the end of Windows 10 is a “lose-lose-lose” situation. “It’s bad for consumers. It’s bad for security, and it’s bad for the environment." www.kqed.org/news/1205920...

America Has a Golden Opportunity to End the 'Highway Boondoggle' Crisis — Streetsblog USA America's wasteful highway spending has gotten out of control — and if President Trump really wants to promote efficient government, he'll urge Congress to stop it.

Always a pleasure to talk with @usa.streetsblog.org, this time about our newly updated “Highway Boondoggles” dashboard and what it will take to make better transportation investments that solve real problems. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/10/09/a...

Good to hear this project - an old-school "ram a new-build highway through the middle of a neighborhood" type project - is on the ropes. But zombie highway projects can continue to haunt neighborhoods' future prospects for years to come. Time to end it for good.
www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025...

YouTube video by Nathan Proctor Why the end of support for Windows 10 is uniquely troubling

It would be better if Microsoft helped to avoid a HUGE, unnecessary, avalanche of electronic waste...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqh_...

New guides help you understand your medical bills Medical bills are intimidating, complex and sometimes wrong. We created guides to help you tackle them without losing money

I suspect that almost anyone could use help sorting out the inscrutable details of their medial bills. Here are two good resources:

pirg.org/updates/new-...

Well, I'm the one slouching in the lower right. I think this must be Sam Smith's class at Marcy. That would be Sam at the top in the middle. If I'm right, Chris Solberg, Chris Stickney should be in there. I think that may be Nate Teske in stripes in the middle.

Updated: Less driving is possible Residents of several states and cities have driven fewer miles on average in recent years than they did two decades ago. This decline suggests that Americans’ high levels of driving are not inevitable...

Residents of 14 states drove fewer miles per capita in 2023 than they did in 1996, according to our newly updated explainer and data visualization, "Less Driving is Possible," authored by my colleague @frontiereliz.bsky.social.

Lots of good data to explore.
frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...

YouTube video by International School History Watergate - Dahlberg scene

RIP the man in the greatest one-shot five-minute phone call to Minnesota in movie history m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeem...

appropriately looking over her shoulder though

CTA staff prefer Wisconsin to Indiana, it seems

How open source kept (some) AI companion robots online Moxie the robot folded when the manufacturer lost its VC funding. Thanks to former employees and some dedicated citizen troubleshooters, some Moxies got a second life.

Fell into a rabbithole. Spoke with interesting people. Wrote this piece about the saga of Moxie, the robot friend for children. Please enjoy. pirg.org/articles/mox...

Why Shop? In Maine, the Library of Things Has It All (Almost).

One Maine town’s effort to make pricey items accessible and encourage people to buy less stuff seems to be catching on.

Part of the 50 States, 50 Fixes series ....

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...

A representative from the consumer group PennPIRG speaking at a press conference wiith coalition partners and elected officials. People are holding signs that say "Safer Cleaner Energy" and "Philly needs a clean energy future"

Congrats to my colleagues at PennPIRG and PennEnvironment, and to our counsel, coaltion partners, and allied parties for reaching a proposed settlement with Philly Gas Works that limits the rate hike and drops the proposed revenue guaruntee.

Onwards in our campaign for Safer, Cleaner Energy

Had a great time with the CA Alliance for Children’s Environmental Health, bringing together parents, medical professional, and young people to lobby to ban toxic PFAS, tackle microplastics and extreme heat, and make our kid’s food safe #SB682 #AB1264 #AB823 #SB646 #SB655

Reddy Kilowatt!!

Just found this stuff at an auction, it’s such good marketing:

Be modern, cook electrically

Beat the heat/kill the chill

Flameless electric living is safe living

Position as modern, safe, comfortable. Mainstream.

Love it!

Take action: Insurance Reform Now Home and auto insurance rates are out of control. We need insurance reform now.

Today is the day State Farm's $523M homeowners insurance rate hike goes into effect for existing customers. If you are one of the almost 1.5M Illinoisan's whose home is insured by State Farm, your rates could go up 40%

Tell your legislator we need Insurance Reform Now

pirg.org/illinois/tak...

Take action: Insurance Reform Now Home and auto insurance rates are out of control. We need insurance reform now.

Today, State Farm's $523M homeowners insurance rate hike goes into effect. Action opportunity:

pirg.org/illinois/tak...

Hospitals can charge patients hundreds of dollars in facility fees, even for routine outpatient appointments.

Some residents of Florida’s Treasure Coast have had enough.
nbcnews.to/4kRPZRR

Compliance With California’s Right to Repair Law Needs Fixing, Report Finds | KQED It’s been one year since California’s right to repair law went into effect. A new report finds that some companies are doing better than others in complying with it.

A different kind of report card is taking electronics and appliance companies back to school — assigning their products grades, based not on quality or aesthetics, but on how readily available they make repair materials.

www.kqed.org/news/1204960...

From report to response: Standing up for swimmable waters New data reveals widespread bacterial contamination at U.S. coastal and Great Lakes beaches, prompting a Congressional response.

New data reveals widespread bacterial contamination at U.S. coastal and Great Lakes beaches, prompting a Congressional response.

environmentamerica.org/updates/from...

To truly make America healthy again, Kennedy must take action on microplastics As part of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for action to protect our health from plastic pollution.

"It’s like an oil spill, only it’s solid instead of liquid. This might be worse. Animals don’t accidentally mistake oil spill liquid for food, but they do eat these tiny plastic pellets, thinking they are part of the food chain."

www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/ju...

Americans throw out 5.7 disposable vapes every second Disposable vapes are a particularly insidious form of pollution because they’re nicotine, plastic, and electronic waste all in one.

www.fastcompany.com/91368463/ame...

Electric cars are the cleanest—and getting cleaner faster than expected - International Council on Clean Transportation A new study by the ICCT estimates that battery electric cars sold today in Europe emit nearly 4 times less greenhouse gases over their lifetime than gasoline cars.

"Europe’s electricity mix is getting cleaner, and with it, the climate advantage of electric cars is growing," finds @theicct.org. "Battery electric cars sold today produce 73% less life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than their gasoline counterparts." theicct.org/pr-electric-... 🔌💡

Let us now praise rooftop solar: A tale from New England Rooftop solar delivers benefits for the climate, the environment and consumers. New England is a prime example.

Today, on a hot, steamy day in New England, grid electricity demand is expected to peak at 23.8 GW. That's more than 4 GW *below* the all-time system peak way back in 2006.

The region's investments in distributed solar and energy efficiency are paying dividends. frontiergroup.org/articles/let...

Why we shouldn't sell our national public lands National public lands belong to all Americans. For hundreds of years, we've enjoyed our forests, rivers, wetlands and deserts. They should stay in public hands.

I'm in favor of reducing the national debt and budget deficit.
There are SO many better ways to do that than selling off our public lands. Fortunately, many people across the political spectrum agree.

environmentamerica.org/articles/why...

in other Los Angeles news...

Federal judge tasks Port of Los Angeles with cleaning up contaminated water

thehill.com/policy/energ...