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Ben Wood, longtime three-dot columnist known as ‘Mr. Show Business,’ dies at 94
Ben Wood, a multifaceted copy editor, food and entertainment writer, and three-dot columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Star-Advertiser for almost 50 years, died June 19 after several years of declining health. He was 94.
What makes New Hampshire business-friendly?
Across New Hampshire, small business owners are watching their employees' kids grow up. How nice, right? But it's at the office, because there's nowhere else for them to go.
Starmer says he'll resign as UK prime minister, roiling British politics yet again
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced his resignation, forced out by his party after losing voter support. He will remain as caretaker until Labour chooses a new leader. Former
CMS approves budget for GO-NORTH, the state’s federally funded rural health program
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved New Hampshire’s spending plan for a large tranche of federal money that will go toward rural health initiatives, state officials announced Thursday.
Bulletin Board: Greenfield Garden Cinema outlasts Pipione’s Sports Shop in GGSL action
Greenfield Garden Cinema jumped ahead in the second inning in a 25-16 win over Pipione’s Sports Shop in GGSL action at Murphy Park on Wednesday Night. Greenfield Garden Cinema did not allow a run in the second, pulling ahead 10-5 after the second frame of Ponytail play. Makenna Ward was the winning pitcher in the […]
Jeffrey Lewis and Herbert Lin join the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board
The Bulletin is honored to welcome nuclear proliferation and arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis and nuclear risk and disruptive technologies expert Herbert Lin to its Science and Security Board (SASB). As SASB members, they will provide their perspective on nuclear issues and technological threats, represent the nonprofit at public events, and participate in setting the time on the Doomsday Clock.
Commentary: Does science need autonomous AI?
As technology developers and researchers rush to develop autonomous AI research tools (i.e., systems that independently perform tasks by designing their workflows and utilizing available tools) an urgent but rarely […]
MDHHS Finalizes Specialty Behavioral Health Services Location Policy
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recently finalized Medicaid Policy Bulletin MMP 26-17, effective July 1, 2026, which clarifies reimbursement requirements for specialty behavioral health services provided through Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans in home, community and residential settings.
Why the National Science Foundation is ripping monitoring instruments out of the ocean
A spokesperson for the National Science Foundation pointed to a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics report as justification for the 'descoping,' but a co-chair of that group said they never wanted to see the program disbanded.
The wasting disease threatening US science and ‘Patient Earth’
Ignorance is a wasting disease, a death of a thousand cuts. A gradual “falling behind” the rest of the world, not only in the ability to advance basic science, but also in the ability to educate, innovate, and retain the best and the brightest minds.
Black Friday Expands Beyond Retail into Media, AI Commerce, Advertising, and Entertainment Opportunities
MIAMI, Fla., June 1, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Black Friday, one of the most recognized names in global commerce, is continuing its evolution beyond traditional retail into a broader media,
Headwinds are putting New Hampshire’s health, environment, and economy even more at risk
New Hampshire faces growing environmental and public health headwinds that threaten natural resources.
Providers skeptical business tax credit will move the needle on childcare capacity
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte and business leaders celebrated the passage of the Child Day Care Tax Credit Program in the Legislature this month, a bill that would allow businesses to receive a tax credit for creating new childcare spots. However, childcare providers say they are skeptical the bill will increase capacity as intended.
African countries can still get US funding for public health—if they cough up minerals and data first
New 'transactional' US global health agreements offer US aid for combatting HIV and other health threats in return for what critics say is expansive US access to resources.
From red to blue: Deschutes County politics shift left after election
After Tuesday’s election results, the balance of power on the Deschutes County Commission is undergoing what some observers describe as a seismic shift to the left. Democrats and left-leaning candidates […]
Culinary Chemistry Brings Science and Culture to the Kitchen
In Culinary Chemistry, students at Punahou School are discovering how science and culture connect
Knicks Bulletin: ‘I just try to look at the positives’
Nothing better than a Game 7, amirite? Actually, there’s something even better about today’s matchup, as the Knicks aren’t involved and will be just enjoying the bloodbath from afar! Here’s the latest from Tarrytown as New York patiently waits to know its ECF foe. Mike Brown On supporting Mikal Bridges amid benching questions: “I was […]
Business Bulletin: Almost Home honors; Foodbank benefits; St. Johns celebrates centennial
Catch up on local business awards, milestones and projects.
Knicks Bulletin: ‘The humble warrior’
We’ve reached a point where you can say the Cavs and the Pistons are doing this on purpose to prevent Knicks fans from enjoying New York basketball. But hey, seven games on their legs? Can’t complain! We’re the latest four days and a few hours from the ECF Game 1 tip-off. Finally. Mike Brown On […]
State senators keep wraparound mental health initiative alive
After the New Hampshire House sidelined an effort to require private insurers to cover wraparound mental health services, the Senate made a last ditch effort to keep it alive.
Childcare business tax credit program goes to governor
As the midnight deadline approaches for all remaining bills to be acted on, the New Hampshire Senate voted “ought to pass” on a bill endorsed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte that would create a tax credit for businesses that create more childcare slots.
National Science Board a victim of the Trump administration’s cancel culture
The proposed cuts to basic science threaten to cede our longstanding leadership to other countries, most notably China.
Ayotte wades into wraparound mental health services debate
After a New Hampshire House committee voted to kick the can down the road on whether to compel insurance companies to cover wraparound mental health services for children, Gov. Kelly Ayotte was “outraged.”
‘That’s a problem’: Councilor grills health commissioner over childcare workforce grant funding
Executive Councilor John Stephen pointedly questioned officials from the Department of Health and Human Services during this week’s meeting about why a childcare workforce grant program was not funded.
Medicaid isn’t a line item — it’s the foundation of New Hampshire’s healthcare system
In New Hampshire, we are having an ongoing conversation about the cost of health care — what’s driving it, who pays, and what can be done to bring it under control. Those are important questions. But they are incomplete without another: What happens when access to coverage becomes less stable?
In letter, Hassan raises concerns about methadone clinic's business practices and substandard care
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan this week accused a national chain of opioid addiction clinics with multiple locations in New Hampshire of improper business practices that undermine the quality of care in pursuit of profit.
$1 billion over 5 years: Director of NH’s new rural health program rolls out goals for federal funds
Donnalee Lozeau, director of GO-NORTH, said her philosophy in distributing the hundreds of millions of dollars the federal government is giving New Hampshire to spend on its struggling rural healthcare system will be about long-term investments, not short-term fixes.
Business notes: Milton-Freewater’s Drive-In theater reopens for the season
Spring is here. And with that comes outdoor movies at the M-F Drive-In.
Business Bulletin: Hearthstone wins; Jackie Joyner-Kersee benefits; Capes Sokol celebrates
Catch up on local business awards, certifications, and expansions.
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
Business notes: Providence St. Mary Medical Center welcomes new surgeon
A new surgeon joined St. Mary Medical Center, and the United Way's popular mini golf tournament returns to Walla Walla.
Sisters teen keeping drivers awake with caffeine lollipop business
A Sisters teen teamed up with a Portland businessman to run a caffeine lollipop business, with the goal of ensuring people don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Kale Gardner, the […]
Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band will present ‘Salute to Entertainment’
The April 13 concert will feature music from Broadway shows, with three guest vocalists.
Coös County health center CEO says new rural health funds not enough to counteract Medicaid cuts
Edward Shanshala, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, said when Congress passed its massive tax cuts and spending law last year, he and his colleagues made the difficult decision to shut down the organization’s clinic in Franconia in anticipation of the law’s impacts. Shanshala doesn’t think a new tranche of federal funding will be enough […]
Spirit and Health Series Focuses on Mind and Wellness
The Spirit and Service Speaker Series continued into late March and early April with a focus on
Business Bulletin: WalkerHughes acquires; Midas develops; jP supports; TWM partners
Catch up on local acquisitions, donations, partnerships and projects.
Wilson Building Bulletin: Pepco and politics
Also: The fight over the youth curfew in D.C. intensifies, and the council overrides Bowser.
“Science Pirates” Take First at Hawaii Elementary Science Olympiad
Punahou students showcased their curiosity, creativity and teamwork at the Hawaii Elementary Science
Guest column: Get partisanship out to Deschutes County politics
It is time to wrench two-party partisanship out of Deschutes County politics. As a registered Independent, I joined an overwhelming majority of voters in the recent elections to make the […]
Publicly, NH never joined Northeast Public Health Collaborative. Privately, it’s deeply involved.
When 10 Northeastern U.S. states came together in September to announce a new public health collaborative amid turmoil within federal health agencies, New Hampshire was the only state in the region not included. However, behind closed doors, New Hampshire was directly involved in the group from an early stage and continues to be involved today, internal emails obtained by the Bulletin reveal.
Column: Oregon is trying to bend health care
When someone is breaking into your home and you call 911, the police don’t check if you can pay before they head off to help. The police just roll out, […]
Political consultant begins live streaming NH Executive Council meetings on YouTube
The New Hampshire State House isn’t always known for being technologically savvy, but the Executive Council moved a step further into the digital age Wednesday with a meeting live stream.
Executive Council narrowly approves fifth rural health program contract
During a lengthy meeting Wednesday, the New Hampshire Executive Council approved the contract for the fifth “hub” in the state’s marquee rural health program.
Why politics, money, and construction capacity will limit any European turn toward nuclear power generation
The EU wants to reestablish the nuclear power supply it once had, when nuclear provided about a third of the bloc’s electricity supply. But Europe's industrial capacity, financial challenges, and politics are major obstacles to a European nuclear renaissance.
What a Recent Court Win Reveals About the Trump Administration’s Unlawful Attacks on Climate Science
This article was originally published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The second Trump administration is taking its hostility to climate science to new levels. In addition to its rhetoric dismissing climate change as a con or scam, recently released government documents show how the adm
A clarinetist, a high school student, and four climate deniers write a science paper, with a little help from AI…
Papers like this are like kindling for anyone 'just asking questions' about climate change, or 'doing their own research,' stoking the flames of climate denial.
What a recent court win reveals about the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on climate science
Recently released government documents show how the administration is seeking to replace scientific facts with propaganda and disinformation.
Business Bulletin: Stone Hill appoints; Kutis gives; CMT celebrates
Catch up on local business awards, expansions and milestones.
High insurance costs are putting child care programs out of business — but bill proposes solution
Under state licensing rules, child care programs are required to have liability insurance or disclose to parents that they are uninsured. Having a liability policy protects high-risk businesses, but expensive and hard-to-find plans are hurting an industry already facing thin financial margins and availability issues.
High insurance costs are putting child care programs out of business — but bill proposes solution
No one likes to deal with or pay for insurance, and child care providers are no exception. Under state licensing rules, early care and education programs are required to have liability insurance or di...
Why people believe conspiracy theories: A political scientist’s view
Political scientist Joseph Uscinski, a professor at the University of Miami, talks about conspiracy theories and the people who believe them. Uscinski’s research has found that conspiracy theories are not new, nor are they more prevalent than in the past. What has changed, he says, is that people at the highest echelons of power in the United States are embracing conspiracy theories, and conspiracy-mindedness is becoming more concentrated in one political party than in the past.
S&W names James Wright as partner in Birmingham business tax team
UK-based accountancy and advisory firm S&W has appointed James Wright as a Partner within its business tax practice in Birmingham.
Ayotte pitched tax credits for businesses with child care. Here’s how it’s going in the Legislature.
In her State of the State speech, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte called the rising cost of child care a “downward pressure” on families. Her solution: giving businesses tax credits so they can create their own.
Democrats propose New Hampshire abortion and reproductive health shield law
A group of Democratic state lawmakers are attempting to enact an abortion shield law in New Hampshire in an effort to protect those seeking reproductive health care in the state from out-of-state restrictions.
Farm use of PFAS-laden sludge raises health concerns. But, some ask, where else can it go?
A resourceful solution to repurpose waste and nourish farmland, or a poisonous and permanent mistake? Depending on whom you ask, the practice of spreading treated sewage, or sludge, on New Hampshire farmland might be either.
Kevin Stevens, longtime Press & Sun-Bulletin sports reporter, dies
Kevin Stevens, a beloved and award-winning sports reporter and columnist for the Press & Sun-Bulletin for over 40 years, has died at 62.
Weeks Medical Center controversy puts North Country health care system under microscope
When North Country Healthcare formed in 2016 through the merger of four rural New Hampshire hospitals, it was viewed as a first-of-its-kind model. Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster, Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook, and Littleton Regional Healthcare in Littleton would all maintain independence and self-governance but combine administration, finance, […]
Social media broke political discourse. Civil service could repair it.
It should not come as a shock that American politics has become hostile, volatile, tribal, and polarized. These are all symptoms of overuse of technology that indulges and force-feeds our worst assumptions about each other.
Doomsday Clock 2026: Scientists set new time
The new Doomsday Clock time has been set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Here’s what it means.
Who really pays for business tax cuts in New Hampshire?
Earlier this month, the New Hampshire House passed what looks like a tiny change: a 0.05 percentage point cut to the Business Enterprise Tax. But this small number masks big consequences.
Windows 11’s Patch Tuesday nightmare gets worse — Microsoft says some PCs might not boot
Microsoft has posted an online bulletin confirming that the company is investigating reports that state Windows 11's latest security update has rendered some PCs unbootable.
ESPN ‘NFL Live’ Panel Unanimously Picks Texans To Beat Patriots
If the Patriots need bulletin-board material for Sunday’s playoff game against the Texans, they need look no further than Friday’s episode of “NFL Live.” An ESPN panel consisting of Mina Kimes, Ryan Clark, Hannah Storm, Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears unanimously picked Houston to beat New England in the AFC divisional-round matchup. The group made […]
Second Graders Code with Milo the Science Rover
Second graders explored hands-on learning in their Design, Technology and Engineering class
Teneo to acquire PwC New Zealand’s business restructuring services unit
The group will sit within Teneo’s Financial Advisory business and will report to its CEO, Daniel Butters.
‘Business as usual’: NH officials urge child care providers to remain calm amid funding threats
New Hampshire child care providers are being urged not to panic by state officials and lawmakers as news spreads that the Trump administration froze federal child care subsidies in five Democrat-run states earlier this week.
Google releases January Android Security Bulletin, but Pixel users are still waiting for bug fixes
Especially the ones added after the December update.
Knicks Bulletin: ‘That’s not the mentality to have’
The Knicks decided it was better to finish 2025 on a losing note, so karma balances out in 2026 and they can win the championship. One step backwards, two steps forward. Here’s some old stuff from last year. Mike Brown On Landry Shamet’s defensive value and skill set: “Shamet and McBride are our best on-ball […]
Commentary: Hamstringing the humanities will hinder science
If you hamstring the humanities, you hamstring science.
AI’s errors may be impossible to eliminate — what that means for its use in health care
In the past decade, AI’s success has led to uncurbed enthusiasm and bold claims – even though users frequently experience errors that AI makes.
Business people on the move
Natalia Spanos has joined the Latino Community Association as a 2025 Immigration Law fellow. She joined the association through the Equity Corps of Oregon fellowship program. In addition, the association […]
Business Bulletin: Grizzell earns; STLMGAC raises; Casa Boutique opens; Clinton Manor ranks
Catch up on local business awards, donations, and recognition.
Editorial: Reforming Oregon health care is no dinner party
It's an immense task to convince Oregonians to switch a state-run universal health care. The arguments made are critical.
Reflecting on a year of attacks on climate science (and three other stories)
One of the defining themes of the past 11 months, and certainly one most pertinent to the climate beat, was “attacks on science and expertise,” which seem likely to continue into 2026.
Maridea Wealth launches Tax & Business Services unit
Maridea Wealth has announced the launch of its dedicated Tax & Business Services unit with the acquisition of Hyperion Accounting Group.
The lasting harm of the politics of disconnection
Ours is a nation of small kindnesses and large cruelties.
Bills seek to promote telemedicine and regulate AI in New Hampshire’s health insurance industry
A Nashua lawmaker has filed two bills related to New Hampshire’s health insurance industry: one would prohibit health insurers from using artificial intelligence to overrule doctors while the other would prevent insurers from reimbursing providers less money for equivalent services provided via telemedicine.
Business notes: Tommy’s Dutch Lunch reopens following renovations
The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday at 1203 W. Pine St.
COGE report recommends New Hampshire split apart health department, embrace AI
It was one of Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s earliest priorities this year: A “Commission on Government Efficiency” that would review ways to reduce cost and waste in the New Hampshire government and whose acronym, COGE, bore a striking resemblance to DOGE, the controversial federal effort led by Elon Musk.
The federal government is blurring the lines between politics and medicine
As a family physician, I work every day to earn the trust of my patients. I see lines being blurred between politics and medicine and, despite the high trust the public has in their own physician, it is becoming harder to separate medical and scientific information from misinformation. I hear this concern from my patients, […]
Mental health needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can't be ignored
William Skipworth’s three-part investigation in the New Hampshire Bulletin has laid bare the ongoing traumas experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The community’s response has been swift — shock, grief, and a collective demand for action to prevent future harm. As the dust settles, pressing questions are emerging about oversight and accountability: Which […]
Punahou Leads the Way with Catapult Sports Science Technology
During a recent Varsity Soccer practice at Punahou, players sprinted, cut and recovered in rapid succession
Winter high school sports start this week
The winter high school sports season officially begins this week, with contests scheduled in basketball, wrestling and swimming. The winter season runs through late February to early March. Boys basketball For boys basketball, the Crook County Invitational will be held at Crook County High School and Crook County Middle School in Prineville Thursday through Saturday. […]
Updated Android Security Bulletin sets stage for a weighty December 2025 security patch
With fixes expected to arrive soon.
Column: Oregon is on an alarming health care trajectory
The effort to bring a state system of universal health care to Oregon is wrapped in uncertainty.