The Boston Globe

Debt deal in hand, GOP senator says

Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said that an agreement had been reached and that leaders would make a formal announcement.

State scraps controversial student obesity letters

Public health officials voted Wednesday to stop letters sent to parents about their children’s weight.

David and Beth Henneberry, with the trailer for their new boat, in Watertown.

Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff

Boat owner seeks to clarify record on Tsarnaev capture

David Henneberry said he’s “not crazy” and would never have approached his boat if he thought bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was inside.

Essdras M Suarez/Globe Staff

Public aid crucial to fast-food workers

More than half of fast food workers’ families nationwide rely on public assistance to get by — double the rate of the overall workforce.

news analysis

Walsh, Connolly fail to distinguish themselves

When there was an aggressor in the debate, it was John Connolly, as Martin Walsh refrained from direct criticism.

Jerod Mayo placed on IR by Patriots

Mayo, out with a torn pectoral muscle, is the second Patriots defensive captain (with Vince Wilfork) to be placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Dan Shaughnessy

What’s not to love about John Lackey now?

Lackey was a villain in Boston for faltering performances in years past, but Tuesday was his finest hour in a Red Sox uniform.

Opinion

JEFF JACOBY

The problem is the debt, not the debt ceiling

The real threat to America’s national interest isn’t a debt ceiling that won’t go up. It’s a national debt that won’t stop going up.

Globe exclusives

Democrat Katherine Clark greeted supporters at a celebration in Melrose after she won the primary vote in the Fifth Congressional District Tuesday night.

Clark, Addivinola to vie for Markey’s seat

adrian walker

Give Dobelle the boot

David Ortiz lifted up closer Koji Uehara in celebration after the 1-0 win in Game 3.

RED SOX 1, TIGERS 0

Red Sox eke past Tigers for ALCS lead

Shirley Leung

Emerging from the crowd

After suffering a concussion that caused him to miss conducting at Tanglewood in July, Andris Nelsons met the BSO today for a rehearsal, his first since being named the orchestra’s next music director.

Andris Nelsons led first BSO rehearsal

Carolyn Hann, of Washington, D.C., with a bowl of spicy miso ramen at Sapporo Ramen inside the Porter Exchange in Cambridge.

dining out

In Boston-area restaurants, Ramen has arrived

Shayanna Jenkins, fiancee of former New England Patriots' Aaron Hernandez, appeared in superior court in Fall River.

Hernandez’s fiancee accused of destroying evidence

Nicole Fluet McGerald (right) assisted at a race in Hampton, N.H., Oct. 6 in which colleague Amanda McCann ran.

First responders still in grip of Marathon’s horror

PAUL MCMORROW

A Boston of rich and poor, with no middle class

Tax breaks won by the Washington lobbying industry, centered on the K Street corridor, show how cheap it is, relatively speaking, to buy political influence.

special section

Broken City

Book Review

‘Orr: My Story’ by Bobby Orr

Nearly six months after he lost his leg in the Marathon bombings, Marc Fucarile was able to stand and kiss his fiancée, Jen Regan.

Together, despite all

Sports

Tags in this section:

on football | Midweek report

The Patriots held Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (center) without a catch on Sunday.

Patriots simply won the matchups vs. Saints

Sometimes, it simply comes down to one-on-one matchups — cornerback against wide receiver, lineman against pass rusher.

Boston mayoral race

Tags in this section:

Politics

John R. Connolly and Martin J. Walsh squared off in the first of three live televised debates in the race’s final weeks.

Connolly, Walsh show much in common in first debate

Mayoral hopefuls Martin Walsh and John Connolly struggled to differentiate themselves Tuesday, as both offered few concrete policy differences.

Metro

Tags in this section:

Taunton man held in breaks at 3 homes

The man is a “strong person of interest’’ in break-ins where the burglar made physical contact with women while they were sleeping in their beds.

Columnists

John Connolly, left, and Martin Walsh met Tuesday in their first debate of the general election campaign.

SCOT LEHIGH

Edge to Connolly

JOAN VENNOCHI

Walsh shows his humanity