This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.
☂️Showers and highs in the 60s. Sunset is at 7:57 p.m.
For months, lawmakers have been working on bills they hope will keep teenagers safer online. But at the crux of those bills is a technical issue: how can social media companies determine who is a teenager and who is an adult?
In other states that have passed social media restrictions for minors, platforms require all users to submit a biometric scan that guesses their age or to upload a government-issued ID. And that can cause a different set of issues, according to activists who came to Beacon Hill yesterday to oppose these bills.
“This data privacy issue,” Rep. Mike Connolly said. “It’s not just a matter for LGBTQ+ youth. It is also a matter for people seeking abortion, for undocumented immigrants who are being targeted by the Trump administration.” You can read more from GBH’s Diane Adame here.
Four Things to Know
1. A man detained by federal immigration officers outside a courthouse in Springfield last week is still in federal custody, awaiting a court date, his attorney said. Video shows officers running to Javier Serrano Pujols, pepper-spraying him and handcuffing him. Serrano Pujols is from the Dominican Republic and was in court on drug charges.
Kedar Ismail, his lawyer, said he found the ICE agents’ actions “nefarious.” “Just leaving a courthouse, your state of mind is, ‘I just handled everything I was supposed to do.’ That’s my process. You interrupt my process, and then I’m not supposed to try to protect myself when you have me down. It’s just ridiculous,” Ismail said.
2. Brian Shortsleeve, seeking the Republican nomination for governor, told GBH’s Boston Public Radio yesterday that he sees himself as more electable than his opponent, Mike Minogue. “I am the electable conservative in this race — I am a pro-choice Republican,” Shortsleeve said. “Mike Minogue is anti-choice. He does not support a woman’s right to choose. He will never win a statewide election in Massachusetts, period.” Minogue has said he is pro-life but will not change Massachusetts laws around abortion.
Last month, Massachusetts Republican Party leaders overwhelmingly chose to back Minogue: 70% of voters in the party’s convention chose him, while 16% chose Shortsleeve. Both will be on the ballot Sept. 1. Registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters who select a Republican ballot will get to vote. The winner will face incumbent Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat.
3. MBTA officials want to make almost every Green Line station accessible to people with physical disabilities by 2031. Right now, just 45 of 70 stops, or 64%, meet accessibility standards. That will mean completely redesigning Symphony Station on Huntington Avenue, a stop that still looks a lot like it did when it opened 85 years ago.
It also means revamping some stations, and closing stations that can’t be updated to meet those standards: On the B Line, the T will combine the Allston Street and Warren Street stops and consolidate the South Street and Chestnut Hill Avenue stops. On the C Line, officials will consolidate the Fairbanks Street and Brandon Hall stops and close the stop at Kent Street. Above-ground E Line stops will get raised platforms, and MBTA officials said it’s possible they will close at least one of the stops between Brigham Circle and Heath Street.
4. A radar study in Bourne has confirmed what members of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe have long believed: Burying Hill, near Foundry Pond and the Cape Cod Canal, is home to ancient Indigenous burial sites. The tribe sought the study two years ago, when a neighboring property owner submitted building plans for 829 Scenic Highway.
“We move really fast in this world, and sometimes we don’t stop to think about how to care for the land, and that the land has its own rights,” tribal member Jackie Mehtugq Week Saltalamacchia said. “If we slow down a little bit, sometimes we can protect those sacred things that mean so much.”
Officials tout preparedness for World Cup one month before games start in Foxborough
The first World Cup game at Boston Stadium (AKA Gillette Stadium in Foxborough) is a month away, on June 13. Here’s what to know about how to get there and what to expect, according to GBH’s Esteban Bustillos and Marilyn Schairer.
How many people are coming for this?
Officials expect roughly 2 million visitors from around the country and the world. As of April 1, 29% of people who bought tickets were from New England, 30% from other parts of the U.S., and 32% from around the world.
How should I get to the game?
Department of Transportation officials have been telling people to take the Commuter Rail. A round-trip pass from any station to Foxborough will cost $80, about four times as much as a regular game-day or concert ticket, but still less expensive than the $175 fee to park at the stadium. There are also Boston Stadium Express buses, where a round trip will cost $95. The T will run trains as late as 4 a.m. on game nights.
I saw that tickets for shuttles from New York to the World Cup stadium in New Jersey just got cheaper. Will that happen here too?
It’s unlikely. “In New York, they specifically got $6 million from the government to defray that cost,” said Jim Nolan, COO of Kraft Sports and Entertainment. “I don’t expect that to be here.”
What can I bring to the stadium?
A clear bag, up to 12″ by 12″ by 6″. You can also use a one-gallon freezer bag or a small wristlet or wallet, up to 6.5″ by 4.5″. Leave weapons, soccer balls, political banners or flags, food and balloons at home. The full bag policy is available here.
I don’t have a ticket to the game. Can I show up to tailgate outside the stadium?
No. “If you don’t have a ticket, don’t come to Gillette,” Nolan said. If you do have a ticket, download it onto your phone before you leave and expect it to be checked three times between the moment you get to the stadium parking lots and when you reach your seat.
I keep hearing about hantavirus. Should I be worried that the World Cup will bring a disease outbreak?
Kerin Milesky, director of the state’s Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management, said public health is playing a big role in World Cup planning. “We know that large international events require careful preparation, and we’re applying our vast experience in health and safe planning to this tournament,” Milesky said. “I’m joining you today to assure you that there is a whole government approach to this planning.” While there have been serious cases of hantavirus among people on a cruise ship, the virus spreads differently than COVID 19 or the flu. NPR has more information about it here.
Have any other World Cup questions? Send them to us at daily@wgbh.org.