Court upholds inmate’s right to sex change

An appeals court said convicted murderer Michelle Kosilek is entitled to the taxpayer-funded surgery.

President Obama announced changes to the NSA’s authority but left the basic structure intact.

editorial

Obama chooses to tweak NSA, rather than embrace reform

President Obama left the basic structure of the intelligence-gathering apparatus intact.

Police retrieve body part from Charles River

The body part may be linked to the case of a man who was apparently killed, dismembered, and set on fire this fall, officials said.

For Tom Brady and the Patriots, it’s the home stretch of the season — they’re one win away from another Super Bowl appearance. Boston Globe staff photo by John Tlumacki(sports)

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

SCOUTING REPORT

Patriots’ keys to a victory over Broncos

A position-by-position breakdown of Sunday’s game, with a look at who has the edge — Patriots or Broncos — in each area.

Steve Beauharnais (right) will not play in Sunday’s AFC Championship game.

Beauharnais out, 3 Patriots questionable for AFC title game

Linebacker Steve Beauharnais missed today’s practice with an illness and will not play in Denver.

sports media

CBS foresees giant Patriots-Broncos matchup

Says Jim Nantz of the Brady-Manning meeting: “I defy anyone to say there is anything that has been bigger in this league.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Former pope defrocked hundreds for abuse

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for molesting children, according to a document.

Opinion

farah stockman

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/01/17/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/stockman-1115.jpg Sex and politics in a courtroom

State Representative Carlos Henriquez is clearly guilty: if not of assault, then of really poor judgment.

Sports

Tags in this section:

Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick warns Patriots about marijuana in Denver

“He basically told us, ‘Don’t go out there and be stupid,’” LeGarrette Blount said of the Patriots traveling to Denver, where marijuana is now legal.

Movies

Tags in this section:

Movie Review

Khalid Abdalla (left) and Ahmed Hassan, brought together by Egypt’s Arab Spring, star in the documentary “The Square.”

Watching a revolution take shape in ‘The Square’

Jehane Noujaim’s film, is an electrifying, at times heartbreaking documentary focusing on Egypt during the Arab Spring.