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JJ Redick on Lakers' preparation for playoff series versus Rockets
Lakers coach JJ Redick knows that one area in particular will be a big key and concern in the team's playoff series versus the Rockets.
Trump says Iran war is 'very close to being over' as peace talks are expected to resume
Donald Trump says the U.S.-Iran war is "very close" to an end amid a two-week ceasefire, as U.S. and Iranian negotiators prepare to restart peace talks Thursday.
NBAA Welcomes House Approval of ALERT Act
NBAA welcomed approval by the House of Representatives of the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act, H.R.7613.
Lakers prepare for Rockets playoff series with emphasis on rebounding
Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined indefintely, coach JJ Redick says "taking care of the basketball and boxing out. That's the series."
Justice Department moves to dismiss Proud Boys and Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy convictions
The Justice Department moved to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members Tuesday, undoing one of the Biden administration’s most celebrated victories against those who it said inspired the January 6, 2021, attack on American democracy.
Republicans are moving to fund Homeland Security 'the hard way' after end of talks
Republicans in Congress are forging ahead with a risky go-it-alone strategy for funding the Department of Homeland Security | KMBZ
Bridgeport seeks new use for arena as Islanders prepare to leave
Wanted: Someone who knows what to do with an empty, quarter-century-old, 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena containing an ice rink.
NEPAL: ‘Voting on Discord was a very Gen Z way of doing politics’
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Nepal with Abhijeet Adhikari (Abhi), a lawyer and political activist who took part in the protests.
Swalwell and Gonzales resign from Congress under threat of expulsion
Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress Tuesday, moments before their House colleagues were prepared to set in motion their swift removal.
EPA, DDA, Renew Pledge to First State Farming, Environmental Health with Memorandum of Understanding - State of Delaware News
The MOU covers topics from communication and education to environmental stewardship, funding opportunities and regulatory programs.
The Kennedy Center wants to show that the building really needs a renovation
The Kennedy Center's new president, Matt Floca, is leading tours to show the building's need for major repairs | 830 WCCO
Nevada State University joins NAIA for athletics, adds more sports
Nevada State University has a new home for its burgeoning athletics department.
Max Hodak’s Science Corp. is preparing to place its first sensor in a human brain
Human trials on the hybrid sensor are expected to begin in the years ahead.
Max Hodak’s Science Corp. is preparing to place its first sensor in a human brain
Human trials on the hybrid sensor are expected to begin in the years ahead.
Todd Blanche says Americans should be 'happy' Trump is deeply involved in DOJ
The acting attorney general said in an interview with NBC News that he's not concerned when Trump "encourages or directs or expects the Department of Justice to do its job."
Vermont high school sports scores, results, stats for Tuesday, April 14
Vermont high school sports scores and results as reported to the Burlington Free Press sports department.
Olympia couple charged after $10,000 health department check mailed to wrong address, cashed
The Idaho Business Review Interviews of Highly Effective People: Andrea Cantor
Andrea Cantor, raised in Boise, is the new director of the city's Economic Development department, focusing on business growth and community partnerships.
Ecuador and Saudi Arabia Will Face Off at Sports Illustrated Stadium in May During Final Preparations for the World Cup
MIAMI, FL (April 10, 2026) - Utilizing the last FIFA match window prior to the World Cup, Ecuador and Saudi Arabia will face off at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ on May 30th at 7:30 pm (ET). Both teams are laser focused on getting out of the Group Stage
Virginia Health Officials Issue Fish Consumption Advisory for Occoquan Watershed
April 14, 2026 Media Contact: Brookie Crawford, brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov Virginia Health Officials Issue Fish Consumption Advisory for Occoquan Watershed Contaminants Identified in Bluegill Sunfish, Largemouth Bass RICHMOND, Va. – Effective immediately, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is issuing a fish consumption advisory for the Occoquan watershed due to elevated perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) levels in specific […]
Health expert explains preparing teens with autism for adulthood amid limited adult services
April is Autism Awareness Month, and on Tuesday, we focused on what comes next as your child grows into adulthood.
JD Vance says Trump's post of himself as Jesus was 'a joke'
Vice President JD Vance said President Trump's social media post apparently portraying himself as Jesus was "a joke."
NACCHO Recognizes 10 Local Health Departments for Excellence in Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies
/PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country's over 3,300 local health departments,...
VA announces intent to reorganize the Veterans Health Administration
The Department of Veterans Affairs is restructuring the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to eliminate administrative hurdles and grant local hospital directors greater autonomy, the VA said in an announcement on Dec. 15, 2025. The shift aims to modernize the system, ensuring veterans receive consistent, high-quality care regardless of the VA facility they visit. The VA said this isn’t a reduction in force or an attempt to reduce VHA staffing levels. The department said the goal is to improve veteran health outcomes and ensure policies are applied consistently throughout all facilities. As part of the reorganization, the VHA Central Office will have responsibility for setting policy goals and conducting financial management, oversight and compliance, and operation centers and Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) will take policy direction from the VHA Central Office to develop operational, quality and performance standards. The changes aim to provide clearer guidance for delivering health care throughout the VA. For DAV’s statement on VHA reorganization, scan the code or visit qrs.ly/q9h7shd. For DAV’s statement on VHA reorganization, visit dav.org/learn-more/news/2025/dav-statement-on-vha-reorganization/.
Why NBC Sports' Connor Rodgers Thinks Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds Is the ‘Perfect Fit’ for the Jets
Rogers Compares Corner’s Playstyle to Aaron Glenn
Alienware AW2726DM launches at $350 with 1440p 240Hz QD-OLED panel, but only 200 nits
Alienware AW2726DM is a $350 1440p 240Hz QD-OLED monitor with 3-year burn-in warranty Alienware is preparing a lower-cost QD-OLED gaming monitor, the
Building a mission-ready DAF mental health enterprise for the future fight
Air Force Medical Service leaders advanced the efforts to align mental health policy, training and leadership practices to mission readiness requirements outlined in the Department of War’s 2026 National Defense Strategy, during the Mental Health Leadership and Readiness Symposium in Orlando, Florida, on March 9-12.
Virginia Health Officials Issue Fish Consumption Advisory for Chickahominy River
April 14, 2026 Media Contact: Brookie Crawford, brookie.crawford@vdh.virginia.gov Virginia Health Officials Issue Fish Consumption Advisory for Chickahominy River Contaminants Identified in Black Crappie RICHMOND, Va. – Effective immediately, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is issuing a fish consumption advisory for the Chickahominy River due to elevated perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) levels in black crappie. Fish […]
DOJ ‘weaponization’ report accuses Biden administration of biased prosecutions against anti-abortion protesters
The Trump Justice Department released a new report Tuesday accusing the Biden administration of unfairly using a federal law meant to protect access to abortion clinics to go after anti-abortion protesters.
Just kidding about the separation of church and state?
You may recall the old truism the three things you shouldn’t discuss at a cocktail party are religion, politics, and, well, that last one often depends on the situation. But those first two tend to be commonly warned against as topics for conversation in polite society. So, guess what we are going to talk about […]
How downtown San Antonio businesses prepare for Fiesta
A few businesses downtown have front row seats to road and river parades, which bring good business for some and less customers for others.
Allegheny Health Network and UPMC to have pop-up clinics for NFL draft in Pittsburgh
With the anticipated crowds of people for the NFL draft, health care workers are preparing to care for anyone who will need treatment.
Walnut Ridge business closures part of national trend, leaders say
Several national chains have shut down or are preparing to leave Walnut Ridge, but the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce says the closures are part of a national trend and the organization is working to turn the situation into an opportunity.
Commerce Opens Nominations for 2026 To The Stars: Kansas Business Awards
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Kansas Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for the 2026 To The Stars: Kansas Business Awards. The...
‘Don’t Let Ticks Stick’: Alexandria health officials want you to be on lookout for bloodsuckers
Alexandria Health Department officials encouraged residents to check for ticks, which can spread Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome if not quickly removed.
Sources: Mavs dismiss director of health in another shake-up
The Dallas Mavericks have dismissed director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough on Monday, marking the fourth consecutive year that the franchise has made major changes in that department.
The Department of Justice’s investigation is the latest in Trump’s decades-long feud with the NFL
By targeting the NFL for allegedly forcing customers into expensive streaming options, Trump’s DOJ extends a long-running animosity
Eliot Wolf: "Business as usual" for Mike Vrabel in Patriots draft preparations
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was not present for the team's pre-draft press conference on Monday, which means that he didn't have to field any questions about the release of photos that have created questions about his relationship with The Athletic's NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
Secrets of Strixhaven MTG Arena Event Schedule
Prepare for the release of Magic's latest set on MTG Arena! Check out all the events ahead of the set's digital release on April 21.
VA launches new EHR at four Michigan medical centers
The new federal electronic health records system went live at facilities in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit and Saginaw. The Department of Veterans Affairs also says it is staffing up to support implementations of the long-beleaguered Oracle Health EHR.
State Policy Trends in Cybersecurity and Public Health Preparedness
Learn how states are including cybersecurity in their emergency preparedness work in this Health Policy Update.
Vermont high school sports scores, results, stats for Monday, April 13
Vermont high school sports scores and results as reported to the Burlington Free Press sports department.
Public hearing set for Tuesday on trans ballot initiative
The measure requires schools to designate all sports teams as male, female or co-ed. It also requires public schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms for girls and boys.
Preparing for Cyber Warfare Risks: Why Every Business Must Strengthen Cloud Security
Cyber warfare risks continue to rise as geological tensions escalate. Learn how to strengthen your cloud security, and mitigate any cyber warfare risks.
'We are outraged': Pueblo business issues statement after 2 hurt in shooting
A Pueblo business is sharing details about a shooting that took place Sunday night that reportedly injured two people.
Sustainability At ESMT Berlin: Bees & Business Lessons
ESMT Berlin is a place to find both future business leaders and bees. A strange combination, perhaps, but one that encapsulates sustainability at ESMT. Here, faculty prepare students to become chang...
Communication, Science & Society Initiative awards four interdisciplinary grants
The Communication, Science & Society Initiative, a research partnership between Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences in the College of the Liberal Arts, has announced the grant recipients from its 2025 request for proposals.
CMS Launches First Wave of Health Tech Ecosystem Health Information Sharing and Access Tools
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the first wave of Health Tech Ecosystem The CMS has launched the first wave of Health Tech Ecosystem tools under its initiative to improve interoperability and patient access to their own health information.
Gil Carter
No matter what, Gil Carter was always going to find a career in education. “When people like politics, there’s the old saying that they have been ‘bitten by the bug.’ I was bitten at a young age,” laughed Carter, an assistant professor in Mississippi State University’s Department of Communication, Media and Theatre.
DoctorGPT: AI’s rising role in Gainesville healthcare
Alachua County Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Taylor said the department uses AI for administrative tasks but remains wary of bringing the technology into patient care.
Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve to host anniversary open house
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will hold an open house at Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve on April 26 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Division of Natural
Microsoft’s new Xbox Gamepad Cursor adds a virtual mouse to handhelds
This new Xbox mode feature is ideal for apps that aren’t designed for a controller.
Tut Tut - Small Business Success Stories
Learn how Tut Tut, a local delivery company in France, uses Mac for application development and to power its fast-growing operations.
US intel officials scramble to keep surveillance law running amid Iran war tensions
With just days until a powerful surveillance law lapses, US national security officials are scrambling to prepare for potential blind spots in intelligence collection amid the US’ delicate ceasefire with Iran, current and former officials told CNN.
Upcoming Android flagships may get a bold new look, and you can probably thank Apple
A tipster says next-gen Android flagships are preparing to copy Apple's hero color for the iPhone 18 Pro.
IMF director says shock from US-Iran War is 'baked' into the economy
War has ravaged the Middle East for 43 days, but the damage could take years to repair amid tension at the Strait of Hormuz and damaged oil hubs.
Santee business owner arrested for allegedly threatening deputies
A Santee business owner was arrested this weekend after allegedly threatening to shoot sheriff's deputies who had responded to reports of gunshots, officials said.
Close of polls nears in Hungary's most crucial election in decades
As record numbers of Hungarians head to the polls, the EU is preparing for two scenarios: continued obstruction under Orbán or a victory for Magyar that could reset relations, though Brussels remains cautious about both.
Natrona County health and food inspections (4/3/26–4/9/26)
CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper-Natrona County Health Department inspects restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, mobile food units, commissaries and
Laramie County health and food inspections (4/3/26–4/9/26)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department inspects restaurants, bars, convenience stores, delis, grocery stores, bed and breakfasts
SPFL prepare for Old Firm play-off
The Scottish Professional Football League is preparing for a potential Old Firm Premiership play-off should the title race end in a deadlock between Rangers and Celtic. Daily Record) Lawrence Shankland looks increasingly likely to stay at Heart of Midlothian until the end of the 30-year-old Scotland striker's current contract despite long-standing interest in his signature from Rangers. (Football Insider)
Tri-state people in business: New hires, promotions, recognitions
Elvis Kasi joined Medical Associates Clinic of Dubuque’s anesthesia department as a certified nurse practitioner.
Gary Jackson featured at FMU School of Business for annual Common Author Colloquium
More than 60 students, faculty and community members gathered at Harris Auditorium Thursday for the annual Common Author Colloquium featuring author Gary Jackson, who discussed his new book “Small Lives: Poems,” which reimagines superheroes with new themes. The event, hosted by Shawn Smolen-Morton, chair of Francis Marion University’s Department of Modern Languages and professor of...
Football fans are being taken for a ride by the NFL — the DOJ could stop that
Nobody should be surprised that the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the NFL’s antitrust exemption — but it’s far from clear how this game will end.
The Universe is expanding too fast and scientists still can’t explain it
A major international effort has produced an ultra-precise measurement of the Universe’s expansion rate, confirming it’s faster than early-Universe models predict. By linking multiple distance-measuring techniques, scientists ruled out simple errors as the cause of the discrepancy. The persistent “Hubble tension” now looks more real than ever. It could mean our current model of the cosmos is incomplete.
Department 56 Reveals Disneyland Haunted Mansion Figure
Department 56, known for their miniature holiday village figures, has announced a new Disneyland-inspired Haunted Mansion figure.
VA launches new electronic health record system in Battle Creek
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a new electronic health record system at its Battle Creek medical center.
ON THE JOB: “What is the Best Business Advice You’ve Ever Received?
Interviews by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant Sound advice can contribute to your success. We recently asked area business leaders, what was their best advice they’d ever received. Here’s what they said: “The best advice I ever received was from my then –boss, Gerry Church, Fulton plant manager at Miller Brewing Co. He told me that whenever I wanted to discuss a business problem or issue with him, I should also be prepared to offer possible solutions. It’s the difference between being proactive or reactive. It’s also the difference between being a leader or follower. That has served me well in any business relationship I have had since then.” — Stephen Chirello, Owner, Steve Chirello Advertising, Fulton “Someone will always do it for less; they will also take the most effort to service or satisfy and leave you for the next lower price.” — John M. Henry, Owner, Speedway Press, Mitchell Printing, Phoenix Press, Oswego “I’m going to answer this question by turning it around and giving my own advice that is, ‘Always treat every customer as if they were your only customer!’ We are celebrating our 50th anniversary in business this year. We started our business on March 25, 1976. My advice works.”” — Nick Chervinsky, President, Brewerton Pharmacy, Brewerton “’You need to toot your own horn, my grandfather, Howard D. Dice, told me.” — Beth Ann Dice, Women’s active aging and cancer recovery coach, Mission Movement Wellness Studio & Breast Cancer Recovery Studio, Fulton “In the micro enterprise class, they taught, ‘Get a good lawyer, accountant and bank.’ That was over 30 years ago and I still have those three today. I chose good people I could grow with.” — Tony Pauldine, Owner, Anthony M. Pauldine General Contractors Inc., Oswego “From my grandfather; ‘Listen to everyone! You never know where you will get the solution you need.’” — Kevin Dean, Executive director, Oswego County Opportunities, Fulton “‘Preparation is the mother of success.’ My dad always drilled that into my head growing up, and it has helped me avoid a lot of snags in both my personal and professional life. Thanks, Dad!” — Bekkah Frisch, Owner and president, iHeart Holdings, Inc., Fulton “If you don’t take a risk and try, you will never know.” — Justin Taber, Owner, Torbitt’s Service Center, Oswego “Be ready to take a loss.” — Cody Seymour, Manager, Damiano’s Eatery, Mexico “I’ve received so much good business advice over the years. When people are giving you advice, always be curious rather than judgmental. Follow your gut. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.” — Dana Decker, Principal owner/broker, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Oswego ’Do it and figure it out later.’ It hasn’t failed me yet. Too many people take time to think about doing this and this and this and then the opportunity is over with. If it’s somewhat reasonable — if it’s not something outrageous — do it and figure it out later.” — Jeremy Allen, Licensed real estate salesperson, Acropolis Realty Group, Syracuse “’Try to meet the needs of the customer. Treat them like you’d like to be treated.’ It’s like the Golden Rule says.” — Douglas Dickson, Physician and associate at CNY Foot Surgery and Podiatry Care, East Syracuse “The best piece of business advice I’ve ever received applies to life in general: always be honest. Never overstate your capabilities and always be willing to ask questions. The more specific you can be in any given topic will always lead to a better outcome.” — Tom Fernandez, President, Woodbine Hospitality, Syracuse “As a business owner, the advice would be ‘Don’t overextend yourself. Especially in agriculture, expect issues to come up.’ If something is going right, it’s not true agriculture. This last season, we scaled very hard to field another crew. We got more drones, crew and generators based on projections. This last season hit the ag community hard with a very wet spring. We did 15,000 to 20,000 acres for fungicide and the same for cover crop seeding in 2024. We scaled to 25,000 to 30,000 for 2025. We ended up doing 2,000 for fungicide and 3,000 for cover crop seeding. That’s why that advice was good.” — Rick Jordan, Operations manager, CNY Drove Services, Clinton “’Keep your head down, mind your own business and do the best for your clients that you can do.’ It has a lot to do with my success in working for Galloway Century 21.” — Ed Fayette, New York state licensed real estate agent, Century 21 Galloway, Oswego “’Expand in all ways, always.’ It just keeps you going and keeps you growing.” — Stephen Baier, Licensed real estate person, The Real Estate Agency & Bouck Commercial, Auburn “The best advice is, ‘Your biggest asset you won’t see on the books because it comes from your employees.’” — David Flickinger, Owner, Edible Arrangements, Syracuse “Don’t take things personally when you’re working with the public.” — Leeann Desimone, Manager, Annie’s Hallmark Shop, Auburn “‘Follow up.’ The customer knows that you care about what you are doing and that their opinion counts. Sometimes they might be on the fence about whether they want to use your company. If they’re asking your opinion on things, they feel you are concerned about what you’re doing. They like to be kept in the loop if they’re spending money with you.” — Dorothy Casper, Saslesperson, SweetWoods Memorials, Phoenix “The best business advice I received is ‘Never be the smartest person in the room. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.’ That’s how you learn.” — Debbie Bilello, Owner, Virtual Office Solutions, Central Square “’You need to grow your business but you can’t grow too big too fast.’ That’s what we’ve done at Pinnacle Maintenance. We’ve tried to grow but not too fast. Along those same lines, there’s another good piece of advice, ‘Don’t take on more than you can handle because it only leads to a bad name for your business and a bad experience for your customers.’ It goes along the same lines as growing your business slowly and carefully.” — David Wines, Owner, Pinnacle Maintenance, Central Square “Always be on time and do what you say you are going to do.’ I’ve done very well following that advice. Most of my work is referral and I don’t really do any advertising so I have a pretty good customer base. It’s mostly word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.” — Robert J. Fleming, Owner, Bob Fleming Windows & Doors, Brewerton “’Concentrate on your finances, always pay your taxes, and form a team you can depend on. Try to help the community you’re in as much as you can.’ We do all of these all the time here. We give and give and give to the community and the community gives back to us always.” — Susan Bonnet, Co-owner, Bonnet Sales and Service, Central Square “Keep smiling. It brings a positive attitude to the workplace.” — Karin Lindsley, Vice president, DTS Truck Service, Syracuse “‘Customer service above all.’ Following this advice has served us very well.’ — Guy Fox, Owner, Fox’s Discount Parts, West Monroe “The best thing to do is to make sure you’re taking in more money than you’re spending. I wish I could say I’m a good businessman but I have been in business since 1981. I’m not a bean counter but work well with my hands and its’s served me well all these years and I am still in business.” — Matt McGill, Owner, Matt McGill Collision, Brewerton
Seniors: Carol Watson, 72
Owner of Carol Watson Greenhouse and Landscaping in LaFayette enjoys her growing business — still puts in six-, seven-day weeks By Mary Beth Roach Carol Watson, the owner of Carol Watson Greenhouse and Landscaping, has been in gardens since she could walk. Literally. She said she learned to walk in her grandfather’s garden, which was next door to her current home and business in LaFayette. Today, at 72, she is running the business that her mother, Claire, opened in 1981 as Watson Greenhouse. Watson worked part-time for her mom until 1990, when she joined her full time. While she may not have had any formal horticultural experience, she said she learned so much about growing and raising plants from her mom, who had an abundance of energy and talent. Now, after 35 years in the business full time, Watson has no plans to retire, although she joked that she’d like a couple of days off a week. On her seven-acre site, complete with four greenhouses, Watson said her favorite parts of the job are working with and educating her customers; helping some of her young customers build terrariums; conducting occasional class field trips; and supporting local art by decorating the shop with an eclectic mix of pottery from at least four area craftspeople. A one-time employee of the former Dey Bros. department store in Syracuse, Watson said she loves merchandising and enjoys displaying unique pieces of art on shelves and even suspending from ceilings. “We’re creative. We also had top quality plants. We got a reputation of quality plants and unusual products,” she said. It’s tending to her customers and her plants, showcasing the unusual products, and hosting special events to benefit the community that keep her motivated to work six to seven days a week. “I just love it. I love taking care of the plants. I’m one of the few people that really enjoys watering,” she said. And while she has cultivated a solid customer base over the years, she remains savvy in her marketing efforts to draw in new customers. For example, she does a gardening segment on CNY Central television; her active Facebook page has thousands of followers; and she hosts a number of unique events and classes that not only introduce her shop to potential new clients, but some benefit nonprofits as well. About 13 years ago, when the local symphony orchestra was struggling, she said she wanted to help. So, partnering with the group, she began offering concerts, called Soirees, featuring the Syracuse Orchestra’s string quartet. Following up on a suggestion from a customer whose brother is a deejay in retirement, specializing in sock hops, she hosted the greenhouse’s first sock hop. Plants got moved back toward the walls to make room for dancing; a caterer was brought in, offering diner-like food; guests came in period outfits; and proceeds went to the Food Bank of CNY. She is excited about doing it again in October. Via her website, she promotes the greenhouse as an “oasis in the snow,” offering visitors the opportunity to pick up some decorating and gift ideas while taking in the floral and citrus scents. And she also caters to her four-legged friends. Over this past winter, she said, she came up with a “brilliant idea,” although at the time she didn’t appreciate just how brilliant it would become. Feeling it too cold outside to take her dog for a walk, she opted to bring it into the greenhouse. And before long, she was inviting people to bring their dogs into the big greenhouse as well. She looks forward to extending that invitation again this upcoming winter season. For Watson and her customers, the greenhouse is always in season.
Mid-Missouri event offers free health services, brake light repairs and meals
Tallgrass Collective hosted a free clinic offering health services, vehicle brake light repairs, food and clothes Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Salah, Ngumoha ease Liverpool crisis with Fulham win
Liverpool's rising star and departing legend combined to ease the pressure on Arne Slot as goals from teenager Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah beat Fulham 2-0, snapping the Reds' three-game losing streak on Saturday.Salah failed to get on the pitch at all during Liverpool's chastening 2-0 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Youth wheelchair racing clinic helps athletes prepare for Boston Marathon
“It’s so good to see them at such a young age getting involved in sports."
Are the Bills better after offseason additions and departures?
The Bills made some big moves, including trading for DJ Moore and signing Bradley Chubb. Is Buffalo’s roster improved?
Maui Health announces CEO transition as Fulton announces departure to be closer to family
Maui Health announced today that chief executive officer Lynn Fulton will step down effective May 3, 2026, to return to central Illinois to be closer to her family. A leadership transition plan will be shared in the coming days.
“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.
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