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Mayor Suarez launches an artificial intelligence chatbot for his presidential campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A super PAC supporting Miami Mayor Francis Suarez ‘s run for the Republican presidential nomination has launched an artificial intelligence chatbot to answer questions about him, marking yet another example of how generative AI tools are being used in 2024 presidential campaigns.The bot unveiled Wednesday by SOS America PAC listens to a user’s questions and matches them to video answers, created with an AI-powered avatar made to look and sound like Suarez.“Hi, I’m AI Francis Suarez,” the bot says to introduce itself, its mouth moving in a way that’s not quite human. “You’ve probably heard that my namesake, conservative Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, is running for president. I’m here to answer questions you may have about Mayor Suarez’s proven agenda for economic prosperity, cutting spending and supporting our police. So, how can I help?”The tool is powered by VideoAsk, a product created by the software company Typeform that advertises its use in recru...

Long Awaited Summer Heat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

If you’ve been longing for that real summer like heat and humidity that has been lacking for so much of the summer so far, well this stretch of weather is for you! Many inland towns hit 90° today while an onshore breeze cooled the coast.So for many of us, we’ll start the “heat wave tracker” for the first time this year as we’ll have the heat with us for the rest of the week.But you know the saying — it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity! And we have that too! The muggy and tropical-like air will be back the next few days as the heat continues. The feels like temperatures tomorrow could climb as high as 96°. That has prompted the National Weather Service for southern New Hampshire to issue a heat advisory.We’ll have similar days for Thursday and Friday with not only temperatures near 90° (cooler on the coast) but high humidity as well.The beach will be the place to be the next couple of days and the beach conditions look great! Wav...

Emergency crews recount effort to rescue missing Stoughton woman found alive in swamp area in Easton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

Days after rescuing a woman who hadn’t been seen for days in a state park, first responders in Easton shared new details on how they made the rescue while wading through a swamp.The effort included three Easton police officers, who responded to Borderland State Park on Monday to find and rescue Emma Tetewsky, 31, who had been last seen by her family on June 25.Those who were called in that day said they were able to pull her to safety from mud she says she spent days in.“We were about knee-deep in mud when we saw her lying there,” said Officer Corey McLaughlin. “She assumed essentially a fetal position when we arrived there. Whether it was due to exhaustion, she did eventually end up on her side.”The Easton Police Department was first alerted to Tetewsky after some hikers heard a woman yelling for help. When police arrived, they had to make their way through thick, overgrown brush to get her.“I think all of us at one point fell in pretty deep,R...

Green Line Extension will not close later this month, construction postponed, officials announce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

The Green Line Extension will not shut down later this month, as originally planned, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey announced Wednesday. Service along the extension between Union Square and Lechmere stations was scheduled to be suspended from July 17 to Aug. 28 to make way for construction on the Squire Bridge in the area. In a statement, though, spokesperson Karissa Hand said officials had opted to postpone construction until September so that construction does not take place at the same time as the now ongoing Sumner Tunnel closure. The delay, Hand said, is also to “allow appropriate time to explore mitigation options and communicate with the public.” Hand said MassDOT crews inspected the bridge over the weekend and determined it is safe to delay the repairs.“The administration is grateful for the feedback we received from local officials and community members and will maintain close communication as we work to reschedule the Squire Bridge construction,” ...

Second wave of Mass. firefighters head to Canada to fight wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

Local firefighters received a special send-off Wednesday in Carlisle as they head to Canada to fight wildfires.16 firefighters from the Department of Conservation and Recreation and MassWildlife are headed to Quebec where they will help crews battle more than 70 wildfires that have been burning since the beginning of June. “Currently in Quebec there’s still 77 fires that are active,” said Chief David Celino, Fire Warden Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. This is the second wave of Massachusetts firefighters sent across the border. The first returned June 30.“Once you have a little over a million acres burning, it’s really difficult to put those fires out,” he said. “We’ve noticed it here in New England with smoke impacts repeatedly over the last 3 to 4 weeks, and so we’re really happy to help out.”The team of firefighters will work on the fire line for two weeks, containing fires and protecting buildings nearb...

Bruins notebook: Kevin Shattenkirk happy to come back to Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

Considering Kevin Shattenkirk’s name has been linked to the Bruins for well over the decade, you figured there had to be a union at some point.And at the age of 34, the former Boston University Terrier will finally don the Black and Gold after signing a one-year, $1 million deal on Saturday. After winning the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2020, he’s spent the last three years with also-ran Anaheim Ducks. He’s excited to join a team that he believes has a chance to contend regardless of whether Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejci come back.“It seems like there’s been opportunities and discussions along the way even back to when I was drafted. I thought Boston was actually where I was going to end up,” said Shattenkirk, who was taken by Colorado with the 14th pick in the 2007 draft (the B’s reached for Zach Hamill at the eighth slot). “This year, Don Sweeney called us and laid out his thoughts on me and how I fit with the team and it just unfolded that w...

Green Line Extension will not shut down this month, as MassDOT postpones repairs on Somerville bridge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

In a reversal, Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has announced that the Green Line Extension will actually not be shut down for six weeks in the middle of summer, delaying repairs on a deteriorating Somerville bridge until September.The change comes as the Sumner Tunnel closure went into effect on Wednesday, wreaking havoc on traffic around the region.The announcement also comes after a group of Somerville state representatives wrote to state officials about their concerns regarding the Green Line Extension shutdown.Last week, the MBTA said Green Line train service between Lechmere and Union Square stations would be suspended for 42 days from July 18 to Aug. 28. This planned service disruption was because of repair work by MassDOT on the Route 28 Squires Bridge, which crosses over tracks near Union Square station.But now, that repair work will be pushed until September.“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is postponing construction on the Squire Bridge until September 20...

Ticker: JetBlue dumping American Airlines deal; Christmas Tree Shops expects to liquidate 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

JetBlue says it won’t appeal a judge’s ruling against its partnership with American Airlines, effectively dropping the deal in an effort to salvage its purchase of Spirit Airlines.JetBlue Airways said Wednesday that it wind down the deal with American in New York and Boston in the coming months and “turn even more focus” to its proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit.The U.S. Justice Department sued to block the Spirit sale, saying it would hurt competition by eliminating Spirit, the nation’s biggest discount airline. JetBlue hopes that dropping the deal with American might persuade the government to allow the Spirit purchase to go ahead.A federal judge decided in May that JetBlue and American must end their partnership because it violates U.S. antitrust law. American has said it will appeal the ruling.Christmas Tree Shops expects to liquidateChristmas Tree Shops is poised to liquidate all of its stores roughly two months after the struggling home-good...

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor guts Republican tax cut, increases school funding for 400 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed off on a two-year spending plan Wednesday after gutting a Republican tax cut and using his broad veto powers to increase school funding for centuries. Evers angered Republicans with both moves, with some saying the Democratic governor was going back on deals he had made with them.He got creative with his use of the partial veto in this budget, which is the third passed by a Republican Legislature that he’s signed.Evers reduced the GOP income tax cut from $3.5 billion to $175 million, and did away entirely with lower rates for the two highest earning brackets. He also used his partial veto power to increase how much revenue K-12 public schools can raise per student by $325 a year until 2425.Evers took language that originally applied the $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and instead vetoed the “20” and the hyphen to make the end date 2425.Evers, a former state education secretary and teacher, had propose...

Federal government, Stellantis reach deal over battery plant in Windsor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:47 GMT

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution say their electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor is back on track after they reached a financing deal with the federal government.The two companies stopped construction earlier this year to negotiate for government funding to match what the United States would offer under its new Inflation Reduction Act.More to come