Women in two sexual assaults used Uber

Three women said they were indecently assaulted Sunday while using ride-share services in Boston.

State deal pledges better care at Bridgewater Hospital

In the agreement, a monitoring group will be at the troubled hospital to watch how guards and clinicians treat mentally ill patients.

Heroin overdose deaths surge across the state

Authorities reported 58 suspected heroin deaths so far this month, the same number for all of November.

Erika Murray.

REUTERS/Paul Kapteyn/Pool

Mother faces murder charges in Blackstone case

Erika Murray was charged in the deaths of two infants found in the home. The infants? father faces two counts of assault and battery on a child.

Obama signs $1.1 trillion spending bill into law

The legislation was a bipartisan compromise that avoided a government shutdown and put off clashes over immigration to next year.

Lowell man ordered held in Methuen hit-and-run crash

The 28-year-old allegedly drove his pickup truck into a teenager who was about to board a school bus, then fled the scene.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/16/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/kosilek150-7725.jpg Ruling overturned on sex-change surgery for inmate

In 2012, a judge ordered that the state must provide taxpayer-funded sex change surgery for Michelle Kosilek.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/16/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/474646291.jpg Jeb Bush is exploring a run for president

The move by the former Florida governor could dramatically reshape the Republican primary.

Olympics

US will bid for 2024 Olympics, but city not chosen

Boston was one of four cities to make a presentation to the USOC, which will decide in January which city will make the US bid.

Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher (12) watches his shot go past Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40), of Finland, and Dougie Hamilton (27) for a goal in the second period of an NHL hockey gameTuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Predators 3, Bruins 2

Bruins lose to Predators in shootout

The Bruins came up short in the shootout but earned a point on the road.

Thomas Farragher

Remembering two parents, and what they left behind

The passing of a father, and then a mother, is cause for memories and appreciation.

?Black Lives Matter? protesters gather in a park near near Dudley Square Tuesday.

opinion | Charles J. Ogletree Jr. and David J. Harris

More than ?enough is enough?

The demonstrations over recent grand jury decisions beg the question: When are rage and protest necessary, but not sufficient?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/17/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/0b78c82dab474f949b599467da218038-0b78c82dab474f949b599467da218038-0.jpg Russian ruble continues catastrophic drop

In Moscow, panicky consumers rushed out to buy major appliances before they became even more expensive.

Women mourned the death of a 15-year-old boy in the Taliban attack.

Death toll in Pakistan school attack rises to 145

The massacre of at least 132 children at a military-run school horrified a country already weary of unending terrorist attacks.

Bill Cosby performed in Melbourne, Fla., in November.

LA prosecutor won?t charge Cosby in molestation claim

A woman had claimed that Bill Cosby molested her in 1974 when she was 15 years old.

A self-portrait of the Curiosity rover on Mars, provided by NASA.

Curiosity rover on Mars finds methane and a mystery

The rover detected increases in methane gas on the planet, leading scientists to wonder about the cause.

Opinion

SCOT LEHIGH

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/17/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/Scot_Lehigh_150px-1171.jpg Joel Klein?s advice for Mass. education reform

Klein was both change agent and lightning rod during his eight-plus years as chancellor of the New York City Schools.

The Big Picture

Best photos of 2014, part 1

Photographs from around the world on a range of topics and events taken during 2014.