Troubled Massachusetts nursing home chain in ?dire? straits, court monitor warns

Two of Synergy Health Care?s Massachusetts nursing homes are on a federal list of worst nursing homes in the country, as the company?s financial woes mount.

Orleans-08/31/18-A shark flag blows in the wind at an entrance point to Nauset Beach. Shark sightings are almost a daily occurence on the Cape and especially at Nauset Beach, where beach life goes on as usual. Photo by John Tlumacki/Globe Staff(metro)

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

THOMAS FARRAGHER

?There have always been great whites down here, just not this close to the shore?

On the beaches along the outer Cape, this summer of the shark has seized attention and captured imagination like something out of a Steven Spielberg movie.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/5b5be91235664fd19cf9f7f776bcd7e9-5b5be91235664fd19cf9f7f776bcd7e9-0.jpg Justice Department lawyer says he was told Russia had ?Trump over a barrel?

Bruce Ohr says a former British spy told him at a breakfast meeting two years ago that Russian intelligence believed it had Donald Trump ??over a barrel.?

Former secretary of state John Kerry.

CBS: Former secretary of state Kerry not ruling out 2020 bid

CBS News says former secretary of state John Kerry is not ruling out a 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/09eb4347-cd18-430f-8211-c048eccdff1c.jpg Trump to stump for Ted Cruz, who he once said ?has accomplished absolutely nothing? for Texans

President Trump says he?ll ride to the rescue of one-time bitter rival Ted Cruz this fall, the strongest indication yet that the Texas conservative firebrand is getting nervous about his challenger.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/177a4d11be7e414bbf4307d9dd426bfc-177a4d11be7e414bbf4307d9dd426bfc-0.jpg Trump volunteer blocks news photographer's shot of protester

A volunteer member of the advance team for President Trump blocked a photojournalist's camera as he tried to take a photo of a protester during a campaign rally in Indiana.

Dr. Dallas Reed, an obstetrician-gynecologist and medical geneticist, uses a new software program to help diagnose kids with rare genetic diseases.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Facial recognition zeroes in on genetic disorders

A facial recognition app called Face2Gene, developed by Boston-based digital health startup FDNA, is making diagnoses easier for specialists in genetic disorders.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/greenhouse_08BPSYoungAchievers-3_metro.jpg Problems persist with missing, delayed Boston school buses

As the Boston school bus drivers contract was set to expire Friday, problems with school buses stretched into a fourth day.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Boghosian_traffic1_MET.jpg Local drivers among country?s worst, insurer says

Out of 200 cities nationwide, the 2018 Allstate America?s Best Drivers Report ranks Boston 199th, Worcester 197th, and Springfield 195th.

Body found on Mass. Pike in Auburn ID?d as Norwell man

The body of Johannes Songdahl III was found near Exit 10 in what first responders initially believed was the result of an ejection from a vehicle following a crash.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/01/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/08312018-Unsecured-load-Rt-1-Revere.jpg Saugus man arrested after allegedly being pulled over three times

Joshua Thomson was first stopped by State Police on Route 1 in Revere for driving a truck with an unsecured load of scrap metal.

29-year-old Florence man killed in single-car crash in Worthington

The man was driving northbound on Route 112 at about 8:45 p.m. when he lost control of his truck, crashed through a guard rail, and was ejected.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 31: Visitors place candles at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in honor of former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) during a candlelight vigil held for the late Senator on August 31, 2018 in Washington, DC. McCain will be buried at his final resting place at the U.S. Naval Academy on Sunday. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Washington prepares to give McCain a presidential farewell ? but without the actual sitting president

President Donald Trump was told to stay away, but he won?t be far. The president is expected to remain in Washington this weekend.

This combination photo shows former President Bill Clinton speaking at the funeral for Aretha Franklin in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, left, and the flag-draped casket of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lies in state at the U.S. Capitol, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 in Washington. CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC each tried to keep viewers caught up on people paying respect to McCain as his body was lying in state in the U.S. Capitol, as well as the lengthy service for the Queen of Soul. (AP Photo)

McCain, Franklin tributes show 2 Americas and cultures

The contrast between the two events was striking, coming at a time when the country is experiencing extreme divisions on politics and race.

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 31: Ian Kinsler #5 of the Boston Red Sox argues a call with umpire Will Little #93 after being called out on strike against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning on August 31, 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

White sox 6, Red Sox 1

Red Sox? bats go quietly in a soggy loss to White Sox

With the Yankees beating the Tigers in New York, the Red Sox saw their lead in the American League East drop back down to 7½ games.

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NICK CAFARDO

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/01/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/6bd21ceb7e8e4427b13f9abf7473938c-6bd21ceb7e8e4427b13f9abf7473938c-21563.jpg Michael Kopech?s big night is curtailed by rain, not Red Sox

The former Boston prospect who was part of the Chris Sale trade threw three shutout innings against his former team before the rains came.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Rex_US_President_Donald_J_Trump_del_9842554J.jpg Local candidates for Congress talking up impeachment

With just days to go before the Sept. 4 primary election, congressional candidates in Massachusetts are jumping on the impeachment bandwagon.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Chin083118DemcandidateJayGonzalez_Met5.jpg The Democrats? gubernatorial candidates hit the road seeking voters

Days before Democratic primary voters head to the poll to pick their nominee, Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie spent Friday making some of their final pitches.

Work continued at the site of GE?s new headquarters in Fort Point in August.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

As GE shrinks, will its 800 jobs deal shrink too?

GE is in quite a different place than it was in January 2016, when it picked Boston as its new home.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/17/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/clark_ariel_crest_081618_03.jpg CREST gives students lay of the land in real estate

Over the past two summers CREST has placed 91 local students in internships within the commercial real estate industry, learning disciplines that range from engineering to construction management to hospitality.

Television

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/BobbyHiRes.jpg It?s his prerogative: Bobby Brown prepares to tell his story his way

The singer talks about his BET biopic, the legacy of New Edition, and why he?d welcome a return of new jack swing.

Ty Burr

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/11/04/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/OBITMATTHAU-296483.jpg In movies as much as theater, Neil Simon was a conquering showman

Neil Simon was a master craftsman, taking lessons he had learned in the trenches of live and scripted 1950s TV and applying them to New York theater, American commercial cinema, and right back to television.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Hilltop-Avalon_SJ8A9625A.jpg Restoring Hilltop Steakhouse cactus sign has been a tall order

A sign company has spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours restoring the vintage sign, piece by piece.

Charlestown, MA - August 28, 2018: Josiah Saint Cyr plunges into a pool while playing with friends at the Boston Housing Authority's Charlestown Development in Charlestown, MA on August 28, 2018. Forecasters say it?s going to feel hotter than 100 degrees outside, and this hazy, hot, and humid weather is expected to stick around until Wednesday night. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning that will remain in effect from 10 a.m. Tuesday until 9 p.m. Wednesday, because heat index values could reach as high as 105 degrees in some places. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) section: Metro reporter:

August was a scorcher ? but the high temps aren?t over yet

There were 19 days in August with dew points at or above 70 degrees. All this added up to the warmest August on record.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/28/BostonGlobe.com/Regional/Images/Handout_02wearlington_001.jpg In Arlington, a better bus ride may be on the way

The town is working with Cambridge, the MBTA, and state officials on a bus priority pilot program this fall.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/08/19/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/452100928.jpg Gisele Bundchen met her doppleganger at the Boston wax museum

"Look who I saw in Boston today. Another me!" Bundchen captioned her Instagram post.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/05/12/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/shutterstock_117858124.jpg What to do if your dog bites someone

What happens after the family pet bites someone? Veterinary clinicians and animal control officers in Boston say knowing what to do next is valuable.

Opinion & Ideas

Editorial Board Endorsement

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Chin082818KatieForde_Met5.jpg Endorsement: Katie Forde would bring new energy to Suffolk Registry of Deeds

The Globe editorial board endorses Katie Forde in the Suffolk Registry of Deeds race.

Editorial Board Endorsement

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/3ad1ffb78283420c88b07b0435e315bd-3ad1ffb78283420c88b07b0435e315bd-0.jpg Endorsement: Stephen Lynch, and his independent streak, deserve another term

The Globe editorial board endorses Stephen Lynch in the Eighth Congressional District primary.

Special reports

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/20/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/4Y7A7448TaylorUsry-kixF--90x90@BostonGlobe.com-Homepage.jpg TSA says air marshals don?t follow ?ordinary? travelers. Some ordinary travelers beg to differ

She?s a social media manager for an arts-and-crafts company, and somehow became a target of a secret TSA surveillance program.

Newsletters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/06/25/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/statehouse150-3271.jpg This Week in Politics

A convenient digest of the top political news of the past week, delivered every Saturday. Sign up now.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/31/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/untitled.png This Harvard doctor has worn both a hospital gown and a white coat

Dr. Shekinah Elmore is trying to change how her colleagues perceive patients.

Globe must-reads

Norton MA 8/31/18 Tiger Woods watching the flight of his tee shot on the 9th hole during the first round of the at Dell Technologies Championship. (photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff) topic: reporter:

Taking a walk alongside Tiger Woods

Protesters run to cover from teargas fired by Israeli troops, while others burn tires near fence of the Gaza Strip border with Israel, during a protest east of Gaza City, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018. Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli gunfire wounded about 80 Palestinians at a weekly protest along the border with Israel. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

US ends funding of UN agency for Palestinian refugees

Talking Points

Boston is finally getting into the power-buying business

Groundbreaking alternative paper Village Voice shuts down
President Donald Trump.

Trump reportedly won?t compromise with Canada in NAFTA deal
Boston Celtic point guard Kyrie Irving, with an eagle feather tied to his hair, tells the crowd gathered how gratified he is for the welcome he and his older sister, Asia Irving, have received during a naming ceremony in their honor, Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 at the Prairie Knights Casino north of Fort Yates, N.D. on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Irving's mother, Elizabeth Larson, was an enrolled member of the tribe before being adopted as a youngster. Irving was named Little Mountain by the tribe. (Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)

NAMES

Tribe to use Kyrie Irving donation for youth programs
The abortion debate doesn?t change, but the science of abortion does

Ideas | Chelsea Conaboy

The abortion debate doesn?t change, but the science of abortion does
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the 1968 film ?The Odd Couple,? written by Neil Simon based on his play of the same name.

Ty Burr

In movies as much as theater, Neil Simon was a conquering showman

Owl rescued from soccer net in Fitchburg

On Labor Day, a celebration of ?Rosies,? the women who kept the factories churning during WWII
Eminem (left) and Joyner Lucas.

Worcester rapper Joyner Lucas featured on Eminem?s new album ?Kamikaze?

BOSTON, MA - 7/10/2014: the Boston City Tow Lot is in the bottom right corner of this aerial of the frontage road area looking towards downtown Boston (David L Ryan/Globe Staff/File) SECTION: BUSINESS TOPIC

talking points

Boston to put its dreaded tow lot up for sale

Sports

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New England Patriots defensive back Jordan Richards #37 is seen against the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl 52 on Sunday, February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis. Philadelphia won the game 41-33. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK

Patriots trade safety Jordan Richards to Falcons

Atlanta sent a conditional seventh-round pick to New England in return; the trade likely secured a spot for Jason McCourty.

Metro

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Christian Follett wiped his forehead to keep his eyes clear of sweat while working on a copper/rubber roof on Beacon Hill.

Boston breaks temperature record

The temperature at Logan International Airport rose to 98 degrees on Wednesday, topping a record set in 1953.

Real Estate

Olympian Michelle Kwan sells her Newport estate for about $4 million

The 5,000-square-foot home includes four bedrooms and 5.5 baths.

Politics

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FILE - In this July 31, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis during a rally in Tampa, Fla. Florida voters are going to the polls, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, to select nominees to replace Republican Gov. Rick Scott in an election that?s caught the attention of Trump. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Florida?s GOP governor candidate says voters shouldn?t ?monkey this up? by choosing his opponent

The campaign for Congressman Ron DeSantis said his comments were directed at Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum?s policies, not the candidate himself ? who is black.

Nation & World

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Warsaw residents in August 2018 stoppped by the monument to the 1944 Warsaw Rising against the occupying Nazis in memory of some 18,000 resistance fighters who fell in the struggle against the German forces and some 180,000 civilians who perished 74 years ago.

Poland counts WWII damages it seeks from Germany

Poland says it lost over 5 million citizens and over $54 billion dollars worth of assets under the Nazi German occupation of the country during World War II.

Cars

Search This Week's Specials

Boston drivers are no longer the worst in the country, according to Allstate

They're second worst.

Columnists

Ted Williams at Red Sox spring training in the late 1970s.

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

Ted Williams?s legend endures

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (R) talks to reporters after a closed-door Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on the Bergdahl prisoner swap at the U.S. Capitol in Washington June 10, 2014. The White House has been trying to appease angry lawmakers since U.S. President Barack Obama announced on May 31 that U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been exchanged for the five inmates from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY)

SCOT LEHIGH

In search of the next John McCain
Newt Gingrich spoke of making Mollie Tibbetts ?a household name? after her death. Pictured: Gingrich in December 2015 in Orlando.

Renée Graham

GOP is exploiting Mollie Tibbetts?s death
A statue of Senator Richard Russell of Georgia stands in the rotunda of a Senate office building named after him, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

JEFF JACOBY

Why is a great Senate office building named for a modern racist?
?Our goal is to have perfect corn here every day in the summer.? Leominster farmer Paul Gove says.

THOMAS FARRAGHER

It?s a rite of summer: Biting into fresh corn
The American flag flies at half-staff over the Russell Senate Office Building on Monday, two days after the death of US Senator John McCain.

JOAN VENNOCHI

Honoring McCain rings hollow in Trump era

Shirley Leung

A final column, but not the last opinion
Greg Henning spoke at a candidate forum in April.

Adrian Walker

Greg Henning?s debatable decision
In this 2008 photo, Senator John McCain, then-Republican presidential candidate, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney spoke to reporters after take off from Salt Lake City.

JEFF JACOBY

John McCain: N.H.?s third senator
Mandatory Credit: Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (9808446d) US flags fly at half-staff around the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, USA, 26 August 2018. Flags were flown at half-staff honoring Republican Senator John McCain

JOAN VENNOCHI

McCain was full of edginess, grace, grit, honesty
Boston, MA - 8/23/2018 - (3rd inning) WBZ's Johnny Miller. The Boston Red Sox host the Cleveland Indians in Game 4 of a four game series at Fenway Park. - (Barry Chin/Globe Staff), Section: Sports, Reporter: Peter Abraham, Topic: 24Red Sox-Indians, LOID:8.4.2915879269.

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

WBZ?s Jonny Miller asks the tough questions at Fenway
Asia Argento at Harvard University earlier this year.

Renée Graham

There are no perfect #MeToo victims

Business

An EMD Serono lab in Billerica.

EMD Serono names a new president

German-based executive Rehan Verjee will head operations out of Rockland.

Arts

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FILE - In this May 24, 2018 file photo, Emmy Rossum attends the

Emmy Rossum exiting ?Shameless? after upcoming 9th season

In an emotional Facebook post Thursday, Rossum said playing her complex character was a ??gift?? and called the past eight years the best of her life.

Movies

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Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Wilson star in ?The Little Stranger.?

Movie Review

Ghost of the class system in ?The Little Stranger?

Set in rural England in 1948, ?The Little Stranger? is an unusual ghost story.

Lifestyle

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a traveler walks past a sign advertising a Delta Air Lines credit card at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Wash.

These are the best frequent flyer programs

Roughly half of the people who belong to a US airline loyalty program don?t understand how it works.

Love Letters: The Podcast

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/200_love_letters_bonus.jpg Until next year, my sweetheart

In a special bonus episode, Meredith Goldstein explores what happens to summer romance when the summer ends, and ?Wet Hot American Summer? creator David Wain shares a girl-crazy memory from his own camp days.

Listen:   Apple Podcasts   |   Stitcher   |   RadioPublic

 

Real Estate

Address

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/04/06/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/stan-fellows-home-nest-illustration$medium.jpg Spring House Hunt: Should parents buy property in a college town?

As the spring house hunt gets underway and National College Decision Day nears, thoughts are turning to campus housing.

Globe event

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/06/08/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/SeattleTimes_10kirsner02_biz.jpg Seattle?s mayor talks growing pains that offer some lessons for Boston

Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan spoke at a Globe event on how innovation is shaping our world, and she?s in high demand among the hundreds of mayors gathered in Boston.

Podcast

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/FlfQGTy9_585.jpg More about Last Seen: The Largest Unsolved Art Heist ever

A true-crime podcast about the most valuable ? and confounding ? art heist in history: the theft of 13 irreplaceable artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

The Big Picture

Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

The Big Picture

A home, but for how long?

The Trump administration canceled the program that had allowed Patricia Carbajal to create a life as a mother, a construction worker, and a budding activist.

Crossword

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/08/21/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/crossword.jpg Play the crossword

Puzzled? Keep trying your hand at our interactive crossword and see if you can triumph.

Magazine

The cover for the August 26 2018 issue

Designing a white kitchen that?s fresh but not stark
The cover for the August 19 2018 issue

Put away that credit card. You need to use cash more

The cover for the August 12 2018 issue

Happier parents do these 10 things
The cover for the August 5 2018 issue

The real spirit of Nantucket has nothing to do with wealthy summer residents