So you’re dating an AI chatbot

By Kay Perkins
February 14, 2025 | 11:07 AM

[connatix_element_embed script_id=daaa62d6f7ab4f4bb9752713f50b71c0 player_id=7bc491b4-922b-4e8d-b1b1-150648e80442 video_id=60724798-1513-4d65-8ace-62d7b68e0fe3 align=right]Singles looking for companionship this weekend may be tempted to find it in an artificial intelligence chatbot.

These apps — like Character.ai and Replika — can be tweaked to give humanlike responses, like advice and comfort. They can even role play romantic scenarios.

WTOP’s Kay Perkins takes a closer look at the dark side of these chatbots.

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US strikes Iran and Tehran fires back as hostilities flare again

By The Associated Press
September 1, 2026 | 4:00 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response as hostilities flare once again in an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. The U.S. strikes followed others on Sunday that abruptly ended a month without military action and threatened to fully reignite a conflict that has spiked global oil prices and posed political problems for Republicans in November's midterm congressional elections. The renewed fighting comes after President Donald Trump had appeared to pivot toward trying to bend Iran to his will through economic sanctions. “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings,” Trump warned on social media. U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes were in response to Tehran trying to attack commercial ships and American forces in the Middle East. Trump offered an additional explanation, telling Fox News in a phone call that U.S. forces struck Iran's radars.

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