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Imagine interacting with an AI video of a deceased friend that can talk, act and converse just like they did in life. Or, having access to a texting feature that can answer questions on behalf of a dead family member regarding their life experiences or last wishes.

The reality is that this type of artificial intelligence, or AI, isn’t far off. In some cases, it’s already here.

“It’s not a question of if generative ghosts are coming, it’s a question of when,” University of Colorado Boulder professor Jed Brubaker said. “And so it’s really important that we start thinking about what that’s going to look like now so that we can design them to be the most pro-social, most positive version possible, and we can be thoughtful and avoid unanticipated and negative outcomes that we want to make sure we avoid.”

AI ghosts, also known as generative ghosts, are AI agents designed to represent a dead person by acting on their behalf or acting as them.

CU Boulder graduate student Daniel Sullivan said it’s exciting to be on the forefront of something so new and strange. read more

By Amara Omeokwe, Bloomberg News

It’s a widely held belief among economists that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will boost inflation notably over the next few months. But muted price increases so far have called that assumption into question, emboldening the White House and opening up divisions at the Federal Reserve.

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Anticipation of firmer inflation has kept the U.S. central bank from delivering interest-rate cuts this year as it waits to see what happens. The Trump administration is applying intense pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to bring down borrowing costs, and two Fed governors in recent days have publicly diverged from Powell by asserting a cut could be appropriate as soon as July. read more

Chuck Karam anticipates steady sales inside Bulldog Fireworks as the Fourth of July falls on a Friday.

“People are going to be able to celebrate the entire weekend,” owner Karam said..

Although rainy weather kept many customers away in the spring, business picked up when the calendar turned to summer, Karam said.

“Now with the sunshine, people are starting to move around,” he said.

Karam added the volume of sales around Independence Day varies significantly depending on the day of the holiday.

“We’re going into a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which is going to have good traffic,” he said.

Specifically, profits are typically about 20% higher when the holiday is on a Friday or Saturday as opposed to a Tuesday or Wednesday, Karam said.

On average, fireworks sales contribute over $2 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. Additionally, Americans set off 295.3 million pounds of fireworks last year — a nearly 20% increase over the 246.5 pounds ignited in 2023, per the association. read more

Customers who ventured into Rite Aid at Gittings Marketplace during its final week in mid-June found a shuttered pharmacy, empty refrigerator cases and an assortment of greeting cards and beauty products at 90% off, but little else.

Across from the North Baltimore drugstore on York Road, a Party City sign tops a building that the balloon and party supply retailer left in February. Three miles away at Towson Place, vast pockets remain at former Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart stores.

It’s a pattern repeated across the Baltimore region and elsewhere as struggling “big box” and chain retailers accelerate store closures amid intense competition, economic challenges and consumers’ growing reliance on online shopping. Some retailers filed for bankruptcy. Many, backed by private equity, expanded too quickly and became burdened with debt.

Looming trade tariffs and a slowing economy won’t help, but “every retailer that’s closed has had something else that’s not been going quite right for them, and they’ve been pushed over the edge,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a retail analysis and consulting firm.  “Some of the retailers that have failed weren’t really innovating or thinking about the customer very well.” read more