Mass. tax rule may deter high rollers

Gambling industry insiders are concerned that stringent reporting requirements will annoy slot players and destroy high-end play.

Can Super Bowl XLVIII possibly be bigger than Brady Manning XV? Doubt it.

Getty Images (left) and AP/File

Dan Shaughnessy | AFC title game, 3 p.m., CBS

AFC Championship worthy of superlatives

The matchup between the Patriots and Broncos really is a bigger deal than all the other “pre” Super Bowl games.

New Salem plant a test case for Mass. climate law

The state’s approval of a plan to replace the coal-burning Salem Harbor Power Station with a gas-fueled plant is being challenged.

Maureen Dahill ran for state Senate hoping to unite her neighborhood — and became a deeply divisive figure as a result.

Caught up between new, old Southie

Maureen Dahill’s story has become a symbol of the growing pains of a neighborhood struggling to maintain its traditions.

“At first it was fun to get messed up, and then I had to,” said Samantha Emerson, a 26-year-old single mother of two.

ESSDRAS M SUAREZ /GLOBE STAFF

Heroin gains a deadly foothold in Vermont

A flood of cheap heroin has thrust the state into an addiction crisis, a grave threat to younger residents and to a way of life.

Jonathan Goldsmith, “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” in the beer ads, lives quietly in Vermont. He fights for land mine removal.

‘Most Interesting Man’ takes land mine role

The Vermont actor who found fame as the Dos Equis ad star is hoping to leverage his notoriety in his fight for the removal of land mines.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/01/15/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/ins5A.jpg Congress scrambles as coastal residents rail at insurance rates

Lawmakers from coastal states are banding together to reverse increases in federal flood insurance premiums mandated by a bill passed in 2012.

Though an extensive overhaul of the system is unlikely, business groups say they support compromise measures to make it easier for companies to recruit and retain foreign workers with vital technical skills.

Political issues loom large for businesses in 2014

Wage and immigration rules are among some of the major issues that economists and business leaders will closely monitor this year.

Opinion

TOM KEANE

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/01/16/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/0119oped_keane.jpg None of your business

The first great wave of Internet applications got us all connected. The next wave will be to figure out how to reverse that.

Travel

In Transit

Skiers and boarders skim a slope at Wachusett Mountain.

Riding the ski train to Wachusett

For $20 round trip from North Station, Wachusett Mountain has long been the metro skier’s go-to spot for a quick getaway.