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Massachusetts Cuts Weight-Loss Drug Coverage, Celtics Dominate Bucks · Sunny Mornings Boston

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  Good morning and a warm welcome to your show,
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  Sunny Mornings in Boston. I'm your host, Melissa,
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  and it's Tuesday, March 3rd. You'll be interested
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  to know. 179 years ago, today, in 1847, Alexander
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  Graham Bell was born in Scotland and grew into
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  a brilliant inventor who pursued the dream of
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  transmitting speech electrically. laying the
• 0:29
  groundwork for the telephone as a practical device.
• 0:32
  His work transformed communication, sparking
• 0:35
  worldwide connections, and modern telecommunications.
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  So now you know. And now, it's time for the weather
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  report. This morning, it's sunny and it feels
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  like 10 degrees, with 6 mile per hour wind. The
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  sunset will take place at 5 .36. and it will
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  rise again tomorrow at 6 -11. It looks like we're
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  in for some snow between noon and 5 p .m., turning
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  to rain and more snow later, with a high near
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  39 and temperatures dropping to around 32 in
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  the afternoon, accompanied by a light south wind
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  tonight. Expect continued rain and snow before
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  7 p .m., then more rain and snow until 4 a .m.
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  with a cloudy sky and a low of 33, along with
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  a gentle north wind. The nearshore buoy at Cape
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  Cod Bay reads 33 degrees for the water temperature.
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  Looking ahead in the weather, Wednesday will
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  be mostly sunny with a high near 53 and a late
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  west wind around 7 miles per hour. A slight chance
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  of rain and snow arrives overnight into Thursday
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  with lows near 31, then Thursday turns partly
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  sunny with a high near 45 and a chance of rain
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  before mid -morning. Rain becomes likely Thursday
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  night into Friday with highs falling to near
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  41 before drying and a slight chance of showers
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  Saturday with weekend highs near 49. Bonjour,
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  food enthusiasts! This podcast is brought to
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  you by Versailles Cafe and Pastries in Encinitas.
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  Nestled on El Camino Real South, just north of
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  Encinitas Boulevard, this cafe is a haven for
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  culinary delights. Indulge in their amazing Eggs
• 2:30
  Benedict or their gluten -free crepes. You can
• 2:34
  grab a panini for lunch or just breeze on through
• 2:37
  to get your morning coffee. They are open every
• 2:41
  day from 8 to 5. So stop on by and don't forget
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  to tell them. Sunny mornings send you. In local
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  news, Massachusetts has joined several insurers
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  in cutting coverage for popular weight loss drugs,
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  following a vote by the Massachusetts Group Insurance
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  Commission to end coverage of GLP -1 medications
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  for weight loss, which affects over 460 ,000
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  state employees. This decision, prompted by soaring
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  costs that strain the state budget, was made
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  in a 10 -7 vote last Thursday, with concerns
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  raised about potential health disparities and
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  increased costs for those with chronic conditions.
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  Currently, approximately 22 ,000 members take
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  these medications, costing the state around $46
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  million annually. The move is part of a broader
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  strategy to leverage market power against drugmakers.
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  as emphasized by Dana Sullivan, the board's designee
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  from the Executive Office for Administration
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  and Finance. Now on to sports. The 2026 NFL Combine
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  wrapped up on Sunday from Indianapolis, marking
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  the official transition of college football players
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  to the NFL. While attention focused on testing
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  numbers impacting the NFL draft in Pittsburgh,
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  there were notable insights from a college football
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  perspective. Several underperforming teams cannot
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  blame a lack of talent, as players like Penn
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  State defensive tackle Zane Durant showcased
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  impressive skills. Florida's Caleb Banks emerged
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  as a potential first round pick, further indicating
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  that coaching changes, rather than player performance,
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  may explain underachievement. Overall, the combine
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  highlighted a growing talent dispersal across
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  college football. In local sports, Peyton Pritchard
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  scored 25 points and rookie Hugo González had
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  career highs of 18 points and 16 rebounds as
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  the Celtics beat the Bucs 108 to 81 on Monday
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  night. This victory spoiled Giannis Entadacampo's
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  return from a right calf strain. as he contributed
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  19 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
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  Boston has now won 3 straight and 7 of 8, as
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  they dominated with a 24 -5 run in the first
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  half, ultimately maintaining control throughout
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  the game. Next up, the Celtics will host Charlotte
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  on Wednesday. In top news, HBO Max and Paramount
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  Plus will become one streaming service. Paramount
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  states the streamers will merge, while HBO will
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  remain independent. Paramount CDO David Ellison
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  indicated that combining the services may lead
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  to better deals for viewers. He mentioned we
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  plan to put the two services together, giving
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  us over 200 million direct -to -consumer subscribers.
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  The average United States household subscribes
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  to four streaming services, paying an average
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  of $69 per month. Helleson emphasized that HBO
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  should stay HBO, preserving its strong brand.
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  The combined company is expected to have a staggering
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  $79 billion in debt. In business news, the economy
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  looks great on paper, but this split in consumer
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  mood could spell trouble. Recession is more likely
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  when consumers feel gloomy about the economy
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  and their own finances. Recent improvements in
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  American consumer sentiment are not as positive
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  as they seem. The Conference Board's Consumer
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  Confidence Index increased 2 .2 points in February
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  to 91 .2. The University of Michigan's Index
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  of Consumer Sentiment rose to 56 .6. A widening
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  spread between these indicators often signals
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  an impending recession. Recent improvements in
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  sentiment readings are not universally positive.
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  In crypto movement, Bitcoin is up 2 .5 % to about
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  $68 ,000. Ethereum is up 2 % to $2 ,000. And
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  XRP is up 1 % to $1 .38. Moving on to a more
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  local vibe. In our community spotlight on health
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  and wellness, We are working with a national
• 7:24
  Pilates studio to bring you some free classes,
• 7:27
  so listen up. Check out Club Pilates with several
• 7:31
  locations in the Boston area. Pilates presents
• 7:34
  a comprehensive wellness approach, cultivating
• 7:37
  strength, reducing tension, and elevating mental
• 7:41
  well -being. Scientific research affirms its
• 7:44
  benefits. So now you can check out Club Pilates
• 7:48
  for a free class. With locations in Canton, Wellesley,
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  Hingham, Brookline, and Framingham, just be sure
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  to tell them Sunny Morning sent you by. And now
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  back to the show. Let's talk tech. Apple might
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  use Google servers to store data for its upgraded
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  AI Siri. Apple may be leaning more on Google
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  as it tries to catch up in artificial intelligence.
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  Apple has asked Google to explore setting up
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  servers for a new version of Siri that is powered
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  by Gemini and meets Apple's privacy requirements.
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  Apple announced in January that Google's Gemini
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  AI models would help power the upgraded Siri,
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  which was delayed last year. The original partnership
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  stated that the next generation of Apple Foundation
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  models will be based on Google's Gemini models
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  and cloud technology. While this noted that Apple
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  Intelligence would continue to run on Apple devices
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  and private cloud compute, it did not specify
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  if the new Siri would run on Google's cloud.
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  And in entertainment news, the Justice Department's
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  endeavor to break up Live Nation, Ticketmaster's
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  parent company, has officially made its way to
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  the courtroom. The antitrust case began with
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  jury selection on March 2nd. in federal court
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  in New York. Opening statements are scheduled
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  to start Tuesday, with the trial expected to
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  last six weeks. The lawsuit filed in 2024 alleges
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  that Live Nation has illegally dominated the
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  live concert industry by monopolizing ticketing
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  and concert booking. Live Nation directly manages
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  more than 400 musical artists and controls around
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  80 % of major concert venues' ticketing. Well,
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  alrighty folks, it's time for the quote of the
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  day. And today, our quote comes from the British
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  author and philosopher, Haldus Huxley. And he
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  said, And that's a wrap for this morning. You
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  can check out our Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok
• 10:11
  for some captivating aerial videos. with local
• 10:14
  news and the weather reports. Had an amazing
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  day, my good friends. We'll see you tomorrow
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  with another episode of Sunny Mornings in Boston.