| ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 55. |
It's Friday. We're putting political differences aside this weekend to unite against the common menace known as Liberty Biberty — seriously, someone is planning a protest over the omnipresent yellow fuzzy mascot outside Liberty Mutual's Boston headquarters on Sunday.
But first, we'll take on the news: A major trend: Artificial intelligence isn’t just a study tool (or crutch) for college students. It’s also a growing focus of study itself. As WBUR’s Suevon Lee reports in this new feature, the number of AI majors within university computer science departments has nearly doubled across the country since last December — from 57 to 107. The numbers come from an interactive database housed at Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing, which was created in 2025 to keep tabs on the landscape. - Why? Suevon reports the growth in AI majors is driven by an awareness among university administrators that students feel anxious about the future AI-influenced economy. Carla Brodley, the founding executive director of the Center for Inclusive Computing, said the database was put together to help high school students see which colleges offer AI degrees. It's also part of a larger effort by the center to make sure programs are designed to be accessible to “true beginners” to computing. “ You don't have to have studied computer science in high school to come into computer science or AI,” Brodley told Suevon. “There should be a pathway for you in whatever university you end up in.”
- By the numbers: According to Northeastern, seven Massachusetts universities now offer AI majors, and 10 offer minors or other forms of concentrations on AI. (The database shows six because it's missing Wentworth Institute of Technology as of this morning, but Brodley's team is working on it.) At MIT, the “AI and Decision Making” major has even become the university’s second-most popular major, behind only “Computer Science and Engineering.” The numbers are also likely an undercount because the database includes only computing departments, not business or IT schools.
- Fun fact: The database is itself partly powered by AI. Felix Muzny, an associate teaching professor at Northeastern, said it uses automatic web scraping tools that they run regularly to keep the database updated.
- What’s next: It looks like the numbers will continue to go up. Next year, Suffolk University and Endicott College plan to offer new AI majors.
Taking on takeout: Chelmsford is joining the growing number of Massachusetts communities banning those black plastic takeout containers that you probably have piled up somewhere in your kitchen cabinets. (Just me?) WBUR's Amy Sokolow reports that members of Chelmsford’s Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a measure this week prohibiting local eateries from distributing black plastic containers, beginning in 2028. - Why? The containers are marked recyclable, but actually cannot be handled by recycling facilities in Massachusetts because of technological limits. "The surface of the conveyor belt is black," Terri Goldberg, the president of the nonprofit MassRecycle, told Amy. "They sort the plastics using an optical system, and so the optical system can't recognize black on black, and [it] ends up being trash." It's worth noting you can still recycle the clear plastic lids (which you've probably given up on matching to the correct container, anyway).
- Join the club: Brookline, Needham, Newton, Hudson and Pembroke already ban the containers, and Marblehead is considering a similar ban.
Hold on: Your Red Line rides are about to get faster. After hitting 50 mph for the first time in decades between Braintree and North Quincy last year, Red Line trains between North Quincy and JFK/UMass will also speed up to 50 mph in the "next few weeks," MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said yesterday. (The current limit for most of the subway system is 40 mph.) PSA: Tomorrow at 5 p.m. is the deadline to register to vote in this fall's election. Find out how to register (or check your status) in our 2026 midterm election guide. Secretary of State Bill Galvin told WBUR's John Bender that he recommends registering online or in-person at your local election office, which will be open through Saturday. RIP: The Franklin Park Zoo announced yesterday its 17-year-old African lion Dinari has died. Dinari and his brother, Kamaia, who died in 2023, had been at the zoo since 2015. Click here to scroll his care team's favorite memories. P.S.— McLean Hospital in Belmont is creating a new center dedicated to the study of ___. Think you know the answer? Then take our Boston News Quiz. |
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| | | Nik DeCosta-Klipa Senior Editor, Newsletters | | |
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Under the second Trump administration, Massachusetts scientists have lost billions in funding, and curtailed more than a dozen clinical trials in the state. Ahead of the midterms, many scientists hope a new Congress will restore stability to federal support and get grant money out the door. Read more. |
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A first-of-its-kind cancer vaccine is helping significantly reduce the chances that melanoma patients' tumors return. Drugmakers Moderna, based in Cambridge, and Merck announced the results Thursday. Read more. |
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The justices granted a Republican-backed emergency appeal and blocked the use of student IDs as a backup method of identification when voting in New Hampshire. The Supreme Court cited a longstanding legal principle that judges shouldn’t change voting rules too close to Election Day. Read more.
MUST READ! TARGETING CLEAN ENERGY: |
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The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to let it reconsider a major federal permit granted for a large offshore wind farm off Massachusetts. Read more.
excerpt: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, warned that the administration now risks derailing a legislative effort to speed up permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects. The Senate reached a bipartisan deal in September on a permitting bill, which has not yet been voted on. “This is how you blow up a permitting deal,” he said in a statement Wednesday. The Trump administration is using executive orders, agency actions and the courts to try to stop the development of offshore wind, a technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Officials started buying back offshore wind leases after federal judges blocked its efforts to stop construction on five major East Coast projects. The Interior Department also wants to reconsider its prior approval of the construction and operations plan for Revolution Wind, a wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut that has finished construction, and for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which has not yet begun construction.
The plans for New England Wind call for up to 129 wind turbines that could supply as much as 2,600 megawatts of clean energy to power more than 900,000 homes each year. The developer, Avangrid, declined to comment Wednesday. Construction has not begun. |
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A social media personality known for promoting extreme devotion to male beauty, Braden Peters, 20, is accused of giving a girl alcohol until she was drunk and then sexually assaulting her when she visited him in Chatham, Massachusetts, in May 2025. Read more. |
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The pianist's compositions unfold like chapters in a story of artistic evolution. She shares her inner journey through sophisticated Afro-Cuban rhythms blended with the spirit of contemporary jazz and a touch of classical. Read more. |
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Play: WBUR's daily mini crossword. Can you keep your streak going?
Before you go: Karl Bushby, we have your next challenge.
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