Obama gets lift on jobs front

President Obama got an unexpected boost on Friday, with the unemployment rate dropping below 8 percent for the first time since he took office.

WGBH’s Brighton headquarters. The public television station received $4.2 million from the state’s film tax credit program last year.

Romney indirectly aided PBS as governor

Mitt Romney signed a film tax credit bill that indirectly created a huge pool of funding for WGBH and other Massachusetts companies that make shows for public television.

New retailers in Boston, such as Alton Lane, are offering personalized service.

David l.Ryan/Globe Staff

Clothing stores court men with free beer, big-screen TVs

Retailers in Boston aim to capture a larger share of the menswear business by offering personalized services that almost disguise the fact men are shopping.

The Ping4Alerts! app will send messages to users about safety hazards.

Mass. adds app for emergency alerts

Officials will now be sending out warnings about hurricanes, floods, blizzards, and other potential dangers, even terrorist threats, via a mobile app developed by a Nashua start-up.

Mihai Brestyan has the right touch, and his hands are full with young people looking to learn the sport.

Barry Chin/Globe staff

After Aly Raisman’s Olympic glory, gymnasts stream to local gym

Ever since his star pupil won two gold medals, Mihai Brestyan’s Burlington gym has been jammed with everyone from toddlers to transfers from around the country.

Compounding pharmacy oversight is questioned after meningitis outbreak

The Framingham company implicated in a nationwide outbreak apparently took thousands of orders from doctors, clinics, and hospitals in at least 23 states.

Ken Howard, a coach in “The White Shadow,’ ’was heard loud and clear — in Turkey.

‘White Shadow’ led to basketball boon in Turkey

Ask any Turkish citizen over the age of 35 what led to the stunning growth of basketball during the 1980s, and they’ll credit Coolidge, Salami, Gomez, and Coach Reeves.

Adrian Walker

Former law student became a chronic litigant

Gregory Langadinos, who attended three law schools, sued all of them and has never been admitted to practice in any state, learned just enough to make a career of spreading ­injustice.

Morgan Peissel, Nicolas Peissel, and Edvin Buregren stand on the ice in the McClure Strait in front of their sailboat, the Belzebub II.

Climate change helps local man set Arctic sailing record

With an assist from global warming, Cambridge’s Morgan Peissel, 25, and his two shipmates achieved the northernmost Northwest Passage ever made.

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From the Archives | Photo Gallery

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/10/04/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/pope001-749--90x90.jpg Pope John Paul II visits Boston

On Oct. 1, 1979, thousands lined the streets of Boston to welcome Pope John Paul II to the city.

Globe exclusives

Sisters Margaret and Irene Li with Nick Mallia of the Paris Creperie.

For food truck festival organizers, the events are high-gear affairs
New executive director Miguel Rodriguez cites the annual First Day Concert at Sanders Theatre (above) as a good example of how Boston Baroque can engage with the community. He suggests even projecting the show outdoors to a larger audience.

Classical Notes

New leader hopes to boost Boston Baroque’s visibility
J.K. Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy” focuses on the troubles in the small town of Pagford.

Book Review

‘The Casual Vacancy’ by J.K. Rowling
Red Sox manager Bucky Harris, left, and Washington Senators manager Joe Cronin look over improvements at Fenway Park on April 17, 1934, just before the first game of the season.

opinion | michael kranish

The day baseball left town
Mr. Darrah visited Yosemite National Park with his family in August. First and foremost, he was devoted to his family.

obituary

John Darrah, business adviser and family man
Morgan Peissel, Nicolas Peissel, and Edvin Buregren stand on the ice in the McClure Strait in front of their sailboat, the Belzebub II.

Climate change helps local man set Arctic sailing record

Exclusive Sunday Preview | Ideas

How to fix America from below
Only hands were visible on a temporary installation created by Perkins + Will in Frederick Law Olmsted’s historic Evans Way Park in the Fenway. The ENfold installation is a 500-foot translucent ribbon, lit during the night, extending across the park.

Photo gallery

Globe photos of the week
Agritourists from as far as Europe have taken part in the “Be the Grower” program at the 24-acre Mavflower Cranberries in Plympton. Exports have helped the industry rebound.

Exclusive Sunday Preview | Travel

Visitors pitch in at annual cranberry harvest

Exclusive Sunday Preview | Globe Magazine

Too many AP classes?

99 Bottles

12 pumpkin beers for the fall

Brian McGrory

Perspectives can change on Liberty Mutual’s salaries, payouts

Sports

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John Farrell

Farrell is flawed candidate for Red Sox

It sounds illogical, but what could make John Farrell available to become the next manager of the Red Sox is the fact that he hasn’t found success in that job with the Blue Jays.

Metro

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Jim Mihelidakis (left) and Sam Dillon (right) and other students rehearsed the Suffolk University play “At Ease.”

Suffolk University play tells stories of student veterans

“At Ease” portrays the lives of seven military veterans who served their country during wartime before returning to ­civilian life as Suffolk students.

Columnists

Mitt Romney finally shook the Etch-A-Sketch.

Opinion | JOSHUA GREEN

The Old Romney vs. the New Romney

SCOT LEHIGH

Dueling philosophies from Obama and Romney

Brian McGrory

Perspectives can change on Liberty Mutual’s salaries, payouts

JOAN WICKERSHAM

A titan on orange wings
Bobby Valentine went for a bike ride in the hours after being fired by the Red Sox on Thursday.

Dan Shaughnessy

Red Sox did well in acting quickly
Larry Lucchino and Ben Cherington met with reporters on Thursday afternoon.

Christopher L. Gasper

Red Sox reconstruction goes beyond firing Bobby Valentine
Laptops were on display at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Steven Syre

Are PCs going extinct?

joan vennochi

An ineffective Obama falls flat
Bobby Valentine’s final hours as Red Sox manager Wednesday were a little sad as the worst season of a generation officially ended.

Dan Shaughnessy

For Red Sox, an ugly season finally ends

Jeff Jacoby

A clear knockout for Mitt Romney

opinion | edward l. glaeser

Tolls — the solution to our commuting woes
The women in the Swedish IKEA catalogue for 2012, left, were edited out of the Saudi Arabian version, right.

Juliette Kayyem

IKEA’s Saudi problem

Business

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Madoff fraud’s last days recounted in NYC document

An indictment brings into sharper focus the final few years of a fraud the government says dated to at least the early 1970s, two decades before Bernard Madoff said it began.

Politics

political notebook

Mitt Romney addressed a rally Thursday in Virginia.

Mitt Romney calls 47% remarks ‘wrong’

Romney now describes his remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes ‘‘just completely wrong.’’

Nation & World

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The Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters is reflected in a shop window in Moscow.

FBI says firm illegally sold items to Russia

Federal agents arrested the owner of Arc Electronics Inc. and seven of his employees, who are accused of being involved in a scheme to illicitly sell military technology to Russia.

Arts

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Tift Merritt seizes moment with ‘Traveling Alone’

Getting a picture of who Tift Merritt is as an artist requires a connect-the-dots approach to her catalogue.

“Most guys we know don’t like the typical shopping experience. We treat them like they are coming into our home.”

Colin P.G. Hunter,  Alton Lane’s chief executive

Magazine

The cover for the September 30 2012 issue

How will independents factor into the Brown-Warren Senate race?

The cover for the September 23 2012 issue

9 hot trends in kitchen design
The cover for the September 16 2012 issue

The self-promoting, fan-financed, go-it-alone star
The cover for the September 9 2012 issue

Things to do in the Berkshires

Opinion

“As long as there is a chance that heavy sanctions might lead to a halt in Iran’s enrichment activities, sanctions should be pursued over plans for a military strike.”

Globe editorial 

Ideas

“We know a lot about the things that are closer to our size, our altitude, our spot in the universe — and less about things that are hard to reach, hard to dig up, and hard to quantify.”

Samuel Arbesman  on what big data is missing