fb-pixel Skip to main content
The Boston Globe
TRENDING:

Mass. reports 3,760 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 41 new deaths Monday

The seven-day average of positive tests fell to below 6 percent, according to the state's data.
The latest COVID-19 numbers from Mass.

Baker warns Mass. could be on verge of another ?significant surge? with upcoming holidays

Governor Charlie Baker warned Monday that the state could be on the verge of another surge of COVID-19 infections and said officials are ?begging? residents to celebrate the upcoming holidays in person with their immediate households only.
Here?s the state?s guidance on how to safely celebrate the holidays amid COVID-19

A series of Boston police bodycam videos from the George Floyd protests were released. Here?s what they show

The video clips, posted online Friday, come from body cameras worn by officers during the May 31 citywide protests over the death of George Floyd.

Biden receives first dose of COVID vaccine on live television
President-elect Biden got the shot Monday afternoon as he urged Americans to receive it once they are able to do so.

Barr undercuts Trump on election and Hunter Biden inquiries

The COVID-19 relief deal is part of a bill that?s more than 5,000 pages long, prompting complaints over lack of transparency
Though it?s been in the works for months, members of Congress had just hours to review the final text of the coronavirus relief deal reached by Congressional leaders over the weekend before a vote to pass it on Monday.

Here?s what?s in the new $900 billion stimulus package White House secures ?three martini lunch? tax deduction The stimulus deal: what?s in it for you

Cam Newton pens a letter to Patriots fans
Newton acknowledged a subpar season and remains interested in staying with the Patriots.

Patriots? Stephon Gilmore reportedly suffers partially torn quad, will undergo surgery

Dave Epstein | Weather
Winter solstice arrives, with a warm, wet Christmas on the way
Temperatures could be nearing 60 as Santa is landing on our rooftops this year.

Clouds set to block view of Jupiter-Saturn conjunction Monday

Opinion

EDITORIAL

Time?s up, Sheriff Hodgson

The state Attorney General?s conclusion that the Bristol County sheriff?s office violated immigrants? civil rights makes it clear: Sheriff Thomas Hodgson should not be handling immigration duties.
Joan Vennochi

Boston police union isn?t ready for real reform
Ernest J. Moniz

The climate challenges and opportunities ahead
Jean Flemma, Miriam Goldstein, and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

The ocean?s heroic potential could be realized under Biden
EDITORIAL

New US attorney shouldn?t let up the pressure on State Police

WBZ plans new studio complex on Soldiers Field Road
The project will open up space for additional development on the eight-acre site.

Boston police deliver toys to families of homicide victims
A charity drive organized with help from Boston police will distribute toys and food on Tuesday to about 20 families who have lost someone to homicides in the city.

Small businesses owned by people of color dominate new Mass. grants programs
The personal care and beauty industry had the most recipients, followed by bars and restaurants.

Researchers tag free-swimming sharks off Cape Cod using minimally invasive device
For the first time ever, researchers and scientists were able to use fin-mounted tracking tags on free-swimming sharks off of Cape Cod, a ?great step forward? toward tagging sharks without capturing them.

Priest escapes flames after 4-alarm fire destroys rectory for church in Townsend
The pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church sustained burns to his hands when a massive fire broke out in the rectory of the Roman Catholic parish in Townsend Monday, officials said.

Black service members are more likely to be investigated, disciplined, Air Force says
Black service members in the Air Force are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions, and be discharged for misconduct, according to a new report.

Best of the Arts 2020

Movies
Here are 10 excellent movies (and 25 runners-up) from a not-so-excellent year
In a year in which friends and family were reduced to squares in a Zoom grid, these films illustrated what it will feel like when we put our lives back together in the same room once more.

Music
In a year divided by before and after, pop music became whatever you wanted it to be
The lockdown that hit this spring transformed pop from a communal experience to something infinitely personal.

Television
With clever comedies and transporting dramas, TV offered some great escapes
Drained by the drumbeat of 2020, we could find comfort and joy in reruns of "The Office, a "Schitt's Creek" binge, or getting lost in the world of "The Queen's Gambit."

A Beautiful Resistance
Jeneé Osterheldt

To be Black, Bostonian, and proud

Boston's Black history is often hidden, but a quarter of the city's population is Black. That's nearly double the percentage of the Black population of the US.
The Questions, featuring Justin Levy See more from ?A Beautiful Resistance? Follow on Instagram

Recommended Reads

Behind the Shield | Inside the Boston Police Department

An off-duty officer crashed into a disabled grandmother. A year later, she?s still fighting City Hall

?Whatever the police does to you, you cannot do anything,? said Anne-Marie Castor. ?They treat me worse than a dog.?

With sale of Legal Sea Foods, another Boston institution changes hands
It may be hard to imagine the famed restaurants without Roger Berkowitz, but he?ll still be selling Legal chowder.

The pandemic crushed businesses on Boston?s Water Street. More devastating: The effects ripple around the world
Because of what's happened to businesses on one city block, financial destruction now runs from a delivery driver in Chelsea to a paper mill in upstate New York to a family in Honduras, every failing link weakening the next in line.

metro

Researchers tag free-swimming sharks off Cape Cod using minimally invasive device
For the first time ever, researchers and scientists were able to use fin-mounted tracking tags on free-swimming sharks off of Cape Cod, a ?great step forward? toward tagging sharks without capturing them.

A series of Boston police bodycam videos from the George Floyd protests were released. Here?s what they show

Mass. reports 3,760 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 41 new deaths Monday

Sports

Cam Newton pens a letter to Patriots fans
Newton acknowledged a subpar season and remains interested in staying with the Patriots.

Celtics notebook

When the Celtics came calling with an opportunity to coach, Evan Turner saw it as a ?no-brainer?
NBA notebook

Adam Silver confident NBA can pull off 72-game season safely

business

Facebook?s small advertisers say they?re hurt by AI lockouts
Small advertisers that rely on Facebook to spread marketing messages are up in arms over the social network?s automated ad systems, complaining that inflexible account blocking tools and a lack of customer assistance are hurting business.

Small businesses owned by people of color dominate new Mass. grants programs

WBZ plans new studio complex on Soldiers Field Road

politics

Pandemic aid boosts Biden and shows a potential path for his agenda in Congress
The incoming president was a major beneficiary of the $900 billion pandemic stimulus measure haltingly but finally produced by Congress, which will give him some breathing room when he enters the White House next month.

Biden?s choice of Vilsack for USDA raises fears for small farmers

Barr undercuts Trump on election and Hunter Biden inquiries

lifestyle

COMFORT ZONE
Winter?s here: Time to shop for seeds!
The 2021 garden season begins this month, as new catalogs start appearing in mailboxes and online.

My boyfriend?s ex sends letters and gifts
COMFORT ZONE

Recording artist Wendy Eisenberg gains inspiration and insight through quarantine

arts

COMFORT ZONE
Williamstown Theatre Festival re-creates its lost summer season on Audible
All seven productions that had been planned for 2020 are being adapted into audiobooks with their original casts.

Salvatore Esposito of ?Fargo?: the baddest of the bad guys
COMFORT ZONE

Typically drawing massive crowds, the Allston-Brighton Winter Market has gone digital

rhode island

RHODE MAP
The Henry Barnard School at Rhode Island College has been saved
A group of parents have worked together to take the school private, make it independent, and keep it on the RIC campus.

INNOVATOR Q&A

R.I.-based ALCOR Scientific gets ready for growth

?This is a public health emergency.? Latino leaders call for vaccinating densely populated parts of Rhode Island

Newton

Special Projects

A beautiful resistance | JENEÉ OSTERHELDT

Black queer lives are Black lives that matter, too

Adding any other marginalized identity to Blackness is another layer of oppression to fight. Black queer people living their truths is a beautiful resistance.
See more from 'A Beautiful Resistance' Follow on Instagram

On the Street

In tackling the pandemic, Chelsea finds new strength

Brockton offers a gateway to a new generation

This time, Quincy Center?s revival looks legit

Revere was going through a revival before COVID-19. Can it stay on track?

See more from our business series ?On the Street?: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

More

2020 Bostonians of the Year: The Front Line
They stood up to fight the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Meet the people leading us through a harrowing year.

Last Words: Is death the great equalizer?
Quite the contrary, a Spotlight investigation shows. Death exposes in high relief the layers of inequities, in race and income, care and opportunity, that shape life down to its final hours. It is a truth the pandemic has only underscored ? one hard to see, because it is so much easier to look away.

I knew getting prostate cancer at 48 would change me. I had no idea how much
For the past year, Mark Shanahan has been working on Mr. 80 Percent, a six-episode podcast miniseries about his experience with prostate cancer. It?s a deeply personal, sometimes harrowing, often funny story about a disease that affects millions of men. The heroes are his doctors and family, who put up with some appalling behavior. You?ll hear from both.

Comfort Zone

HOLIDAYS

9 light displays for oohs and aahs by automobile

These festive drive-through destinations serve up holiday magic the safe way.
EVENTS

4 ways to safely celebrate the winter solstice

A few ideas for marking the shortest day of the year.
MUSIC REVIEW

With sleigh bells jingling, the Pops puts on a holiday show in your home instead of theirs

Though the virtual concert can?t compare to experiencing a Holiday Pops show live in Symphony Hall, its mere existence is something to applaud in a season when so many traditions have been disrupted.
COMFORT ZONE

These thoughtful, last-minute gifts arrive in an instant, no mailing required

And many benefit local businesses, to boot.

It?ll still be a (matzo) ball

You can still go to this Jewish singles event ? virtually.
COMFORT ZONE

This time, Ken Burns is the subject of a documentary

Rhode Island filmmaker Dante Bellini turned the camera on the New England documentarian for ?Ken Burns: Here & There,? now airing nationally on PBS.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Renée Loth

The problem with protest
EDITORIAL

Boston is setting an example on fair housing. Will other communities follow?
Kimberly Atkins

The year of fear and the fragility of the white, male myth
Rachelle G. Cohen

DeLeo looks to exit as the sheeple graze toward Mariano
Scot Lehigh

Beware of authoritarianism and conspiratorialism, twin threats to our democracy
IDEAS | JOSH BERNOFF

Social media broke America. Here?s how to fix it

STAT

The Road Ahead: Charting the pandemic over the next 12 months ? and beyond
In this project, STAT describes 30 key moments, possible turning points that could steer the pandemic onto a different course or barometers for how the virus is reshaping our lives.

From a small N.C. town to big-city hospitals, how software infuses racism into U.S. health care
The racial bias can produce huge differences in assessing patients? need for special care to manage conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or depression, a STAT investigation found.

Covid-19?s wintry mix: Dry indoor air helps the virus spread
The worry is not just that people might mingle more closely inside, but that the air they breathe will make the virus more dangerous.

In the Covid-19 death of a hospital food worker, a microcosm of the pandemic
The hospital's first employee to die of Covid-19 was a kitchen worker named Marie Deus ? and her illness sparked a question. Why weren't bedside clinicians getting sick at the highest rates?

magazine
Cover Story

2020 Bostonians of the Year: The Front Line
Bostonians of the Year

Ashish Jha: Speaking out for science and for public health in the pandemic
Connections

The pandemic has a school nurse missing her 'frequent fliers'

Your Week Ahead

Things to do online and in person, Dec. 14-27

sports

Cam Newton explains what he meant when he said ?We still got guys that don?t get it?

Cam Neely says Bruins need to ?flesh that out? with regard to whether Zdeno Chara will be back

Dolphins? Kyle Van Noy says the ?honeymoon?s over? for Patriots

metro

Highest court asked to nullify sheriff?s office agreement with ICE

Researchers tag free-swimming sharks off Cape Cod using minimally invasive device

A series of Boston police bodycam videos from the George Floyd protests were released. Here?s what they show

Nation

The latest COVID-19 numbers from Massachusetts

NIH launching study on rare allergic reactions to coronavirus vaccine

Kamala Harris, Ivanka Trump making appeals to Georgia voters

World

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

Trump incentives for signing peace accords with Israel could be at risk

The coronavirus is mutating. What does that mean for us?

politics

Biden?s choice of Vilsack for USDA raises fears for small farmers

Barr undercuts Trump on election and Hunter Biden inquiries

Black service members are more likely to be investigated, disciplined, Air Force says

business

Facebook?s small advertisers say they?re hurt by AI lockouts

Small businesses owned by people of color dominate new Mass. grants programs

WBZ plans new studio complex on Soldiers Field Road

lifestyle

Winter?s here: Time to shop for seeds!

My boyfriend?s ex sends letters and gifts

Recording artist Wendy Eisenberg gains inspiration and insight through quarantine

marijuana

Two new commissioners tapped for Massachusetts marijuana agency

Chief of staff to ex-mayor of Fall River pleads guilty to extortion, bribery charges

Marijuana found concealed in shampoo bottle at Logan Airport Friday

opinion

A 2020 holiday playlist

Time?s up, Sheriff Hodgson

Boston police union isn?t ready for real reform

food & dining

Restaurants aren?t failing. They are being failed.

5 savory thank-yous for all the cooks tied to the kitchen this year

Recipe: Homemade grainy, nutty digestive biscuits, similar to Graham crackers, make a fine gift

travel

Stressed about your kids? screen time? Don?t be

Author and cult expert talks Fiji, diving, and future grand plans

In the race to lure back travelers, vacations in nature are winning

Books

Caught between Boston and Quincy in ?The Last American Aristocrat?

Celebrating Nora Barnacle in ?Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce?

Robin Wall Kimmerer on reading for ?the richness of the gifts around you?

Movies

Here are 10 excellent movies (and 25 runners-up) from a not-so-excellent year

This time, Ken Burns is the subject of a documentary

?Greenland?: When a comet hits, stay close to Gerard Butler ? and far from Tampa

Television

Salvatore Esposito of ?Fargo?: the baddest of the bad guys

?Suits? fits the need for a diverting pandemic binge

Watch: Kristen Wiig performs holiday ?SNL? monologue, reprises fan-favorite characters

music

In a year divided by before and after, pop music became whatever you wanted it to be

With sleigh bells jingling, the Pops puts on a holiday show in your home instead of theirs

The local recordings that helped us through 2020

Theater/Dance

Williamstown Theatre Festival re-creates its lost summer season on Audible

This virtual ?Christmas Revels? is a virtual triumph

Six bright spots in dance this year

globe local

Is this the beginning of the end for space savers?

Welcome Home offers curbside pickup for gently used housewares

Newton South soccer player follows in family?s footsteps

Obituaries

Jean Graetz, white supporter of civil rights in Alabama, Dies at 90

Ralph K. Winter Jr., a top conservative judicial mind, dies at 85

Takashi Oka, journalist who interpreted Japan for US, dies at 96