| 🌤️ Sunny, with a high of 76. |
The Red Sox' Payton Tolle pitched an "immaculate inning" Sunday night, a first for the team in the first inning since Pedro Martinez in 2002. (Chris Sale had the most recent "immaculate inning" for the Sox in 2021.) Now, let's get to the news: You can't win run if you don't play: Registration for the 131st annual Boston Marathon opens today. And for the first time ever, 1,000 qualifying applicants who don't make the cut-off time for this year's race will have a chance to run through a special lottery introduced by the Boston Athletic Association. With the new lottery, "one still has to meet their standard, but if they aren't accepted through being one of the very fastest, they still have a chance," BAA President Jack Fleming told WBUR's John Bender. - Why now? Marathon qualifying times are getting faster as tens of thousands of people vie for one of the marathon's 30,000 spots. Last year, the BAA had to turn away around 10,000 qualifiers who didn't make the tightening cut-off time, according to Fleming. (Last year's cut-off time was 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than the standard for each age group, and this year's will likely be even faster.) "We were examining it. We saw some of the same people over and over again were qualifying, but not qualifying by enough," Fleming said. "This is intended to keep hopes high, to keep people interested, and it will result in people staying with the sport of running, staying with the sport of marathoning and give them a chance." The BAA expects an even higher number of applicants this week thanks to the new lottery, Fleming added.
- What to know: Registration will be held from now through Sept. 18 on the BAA's website. You can view the qualifying times for the 2027 race here.
- FYI: If you don't qualify, you can still apply to run for charity. Here is the BAA's official list of charities with bibs. (A heads up: Each nonprofit has its own minimum fundraising request, with some asking runners to commit to raising a minimum of $10,000 for one of their coveted bibs.)
Inching toward the picket line: Nurses at Boston Medical Center voted Friday to authorize a three-day strike over pay and staffing concerns, according the union representing the workers. BMC nurses are among the lowest-paid in the city. And according to the Boston Globe, BMC management and 1199 SEIU have been negotiating a new contract for six months with no success. - Management's proposal: BMC reportedly proposed a wage increase that would give the hospital's most tenured nurses a boost of 11% over the next four months. First-year nurses would receive a 9% increase to their current wages, in comparison. The Boston Globe reports BMC faces a number of financial stressors, while also staring down Medicaid cuts that take effect in January (roughly 40% of BMC patients use Medicaid to receive care).
- What workers want: A spokesperson for 1199 SEIU told the Globe their proposed salary increase differs from BMC's boost by around 17%. The hospital's proposal would also bring up the nurses' health insurance costs, according to 1199 SEIU.
- Zoom out: Per state law, a 10-day notice is required before a hospital strike, and there's been no alert yet. The next bargaining session for nurses and BMC management is Sept. 25, according to The Dorchester Reporter. This strike authorization vote closely follows a nurses' strike at Brigham and Women's Hospital in July. (And those negotiations remain at a standstill.)
Growing concern around AI: House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries says Congress expects to start talks this week about regulating AI. This comes as three leaders of major AI companies — Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk — cautioned over the weekend that the industry is moving too fast. The conversation around AI's development rate blew up last week when a researcher at Anthropic quit his job and wrote on social media that the company is “racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.” - The other side: According to NPR, President Trump last night downplayed the growing concerns: "We're leading China in AI, we're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins." House Speaker Mike Johnson has also said lawmakers need to ensure American companies remain competitive with Chinese A.I. firms.
- ICYMI: WBUR Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing spoke last week with Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who co-authored a bipartisan bill to create a framework for regulating AI development. Listen to the full conversation here.
P.S. — The second episode of our limited podcast series on the Lindsay Clancy mistrial is now available. WBUR's Deborah Becker looks at the social media frenzy surrounding the case, and how facts about Clancy's family were distorted as the story went viral. |
|
| | | Hanna Ali Associate Producer, Newsletters | | |
|
Three days into a pilot program with the Boston Police Department, city officials realized Flock Safety had been distributing data it promised not to share with external law enforcement agencies, according to the city’s annual Surveillance Technology Report. Read more. |
|
Massachusetts utilities Eversource, National Grid and Unitil allege that Hydro-Quebec stopped delivering electricity over the New England Clean Energy Connect line just a few days after it went into operation this January. But Hydro-Quebec, in its own suit, said electric needs in the province during a deep freeze required it to suspend service on the transmission line. Read more. |
|
Hundreds gathered in Morningstar Baptist Church Thursday — and protesters rallied outside — to review updated plans for a controversial $163 million Blue Hill Avenue improvement plan that would bring center-running bus lanes to the six-mile thoroughfare. Read more. |
|
Jason Eaton faces three charges of attempted second-degree murder and could be sentenced to life in prison if he’s convicted. During the trial, Eaton’s attorneys will argue that he was insane at the time of the crime, and therefore should not be criminally punished. Read more. |
|
A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after senior visiting officials, including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden, passed through. Read more. |
|
- Timed bursts of ‘pink noise’ can boost restorative sleep, Boston study finds (The Boston Globe)
- Man returns 132-year-old overdue book after Concord Public Library freezes fines (NHPR)
- KSAT's new afternoon show won’t have traditional anchors. What we know (MySA)
|
A new sensory garden in Andover is giving people with disabilities and cognitive challenges a peaceful place to explore, learn, and connect with nature. Read more. |
|
Play: WBUR's daily mini crossword. Can you keep your streak going?
Before you go: Welcome to the neighborhood.
Beware: There have been fraudulent interview invitations using WBUR shows and names that include requests for payment or fake donations. Learn more about the scam and how to protect yourself. |
😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up here.
🔎 Explore WBUR's Field Guide stories, events and more.
📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org
📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. Check out all of our newsletter offerings.
📱 Download the WBUR App for iPhones and iPads or Android devices. |
|
|
|
