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Highlights of $900 billion COVID-19 relief, wrapup bills

The massive, year-end catchall bill Congress passed combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unfinished legislation on taxes, energy, education, and health care. It awaits President Trump?s signature.
Congress approves $900b economic relief package The stimulus deal: what?s in it for you

Biden to push for more coronavirus relief, setting up a clash with GOP

President-elect Joe Biden called the $900 billion stimulus package taken up by Congress merely a "down payment" on Monday. His assessment, made repeatedly in recent weeks, echoes the view of many Democrats who see the bill as the beginning of a negotiation, not the end.

A dinner, a deal, and moonshine: how the stimulus came together
Commentary | Larry Edelman

$900b is a start, but the economy will need much more help

Trump, House lawmakers plot futile effort to block Biden win
President Trump hosted several House Republican lawmakers at the White House on Monday to discuss an ultimately futile effort to block Congress from affirming President-elect Joe Biden?s victory in the November election.

Biden may nominate Connecticut schools chief as education secretary
Miguel Cardona was named Connecticut's top schools official last year. If confirmed, he will have achieved a meteoric rise, moving from an assistant superintendent in Meriden, Conn., a district with 9,000 students, to secretary of education in less than two years.

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

A lawsuit filed Monday against Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr. alleges that his office?s agreement with ICE is unlawful because it devotes state resources to federal civil immigration enforcement.

Amid mounting criticism, Mayor Walsh says police department is working to build community?s trust

?People should trust the police,? Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Monday. ?And I know a lot of people don?t.?

Massachusetts Senate agrees to Baker?s demands for key changes in policing bill
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

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

Glitches, supply cuts, and grumbling over priorities dog Massachusetts vaccine rollout

Leaders of the state's largest hospital system have apologized to employees for the rocky rollout of their COVID-19 vaccination program, including the crash of an online system set up to schedule vaccine appointments.
THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted

Politicians are getting the coronavirus vaccine. Should they be first in line?
Critics, including some elected officials, questioned whether politicians less crucial to the daily operation of government really needed the vaccine immediately when millions of essential workers ? in health care, grocery stores, schools, prisons, and long-term care facilities ? have not yet received their first doses.

Concerns about coronavirus variant cut off UK from Europe
Britain was all but cut off from the rest of Europe on Monday, with flights and trains banned by some 40 countries and freight deliveries halted at French ports, as its neighbors tried desperately to stop a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus from leaping across the English Channel.

Vaccines seen as still effective against the coronavirus variant; experts urge calm A coronavirus mutation has been identified in the UK. Here?s what to know

From virtual bars to parking lot food trucks, companies host holiday parties pandemic-style
From Zoom to home-delivered wine to online avatars, some companies are trying to make merry.

What you can do post-vaccine, and when Baker warns Mass. could be on verge of another ?significant surge? with upcoming holidays

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.
Mary Ann D'Urso

The Grocery Stories: Quantum physics kindness
IDEAS | BRIDGET SMITH

My Christmas Eve at the Home for Unwed Mothers, before Roe v. Wade
Joan Vennochi

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

The climate challenges and opportunities ahead

Ex-Bloomberg reporter who covered Martin Shkreli reveals relationship with him
In a letter obtained by The New York Times, Christie Smythe laid out the story of how she, a former Bloomberg News reporter who helped break the story of Martin Shkreli?s arrest in 2015, had fallen in love with a man the BBC had called ?the most hated man in America.?

Senate candidates duel in Georgia as GOP voters? anger persists
Democrats must oust both Senator Kelly Loeffler and Senator David Perdue to give their party power over both houses of Congress, in addition to the White House. On Monday, as Republicans rallied supporters, the Democratic candidates, the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, welcomed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for an event of their own.

Clouds parted in time for some to view Jupiter-Saturn conjunction Monday
Clouds in the Boston area broke at the perfect time on Monday to allow skywatchers to glimpse the Great Conjunction, a sight of Jupiter and Saturn not properly seen since the Middle Ages.

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

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

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.

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

Vaccines are on the horizon, but most college students and workers are at the back of the line to get them

College students have been among the most frequently tested in Massachusetts for COVID-19, but they may be among the last to get vaccinated against the virus.

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

RI POLITICS
Senate President Ruggerio to introduce bill banning guns on school grounds
NRA opposed, but RI Coalition Against Gun Violence ?optimistic in general? about coming legislative session.

Amid mounting criticism, Mayor Walsh says police department is working to build community?s trust

After getting Globe Santa gifts as a child author gives back

Sports

Reeling Steelers stunned by Bengals, lose third straight after 11 consecutive wins
The Steelers, once in line for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, could be a wild-card team.

NFL Pro Bowl rosters

After abrupt end to last season, Franklin girls? basketball team is eager to get back on the court

business

Consumer relief: COVID bill to end ?surprise? medical bills
People with private health insurance will see the nasty shock of ?surprise? medical bills virtually gone, thanks to the coronavirus compromise reached in Congress.

Ex-Bloomberg reporter who covered Martin Shkreli reveals relationship with him
Commentary | Larry Edelman

$900b is a start, but the economy will need much more help

politics

Robert E. Lee statue is removed from US Capitol
Virginia?s statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed from its post in the US Capitol on Monday morning, closing a year that saw Confederate statues toppled as the nation reckoned with racism in its history and institutions.

Highlights of $900 billion COVID-19 relief, wrapup bills

A dinner, a deal, and moonshine: how the stimulus came together

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

RI EDUCATION
Raimondo ?frustrated? by lack of progress on Providence teachers? contract, but hopes to avoid legal battle
Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green might be drawing a line in the sand with the Providence Teachers Union, but Governor Gina Raimondo isn?t playing on the same beach.

RI POLITICS

Senate President Ruggerio to introduce bill banning guns on school grounds
RHODE MAP

The Henry Barnard School at Rhode Island College has been saved

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

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
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
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

Patriots Stephon Gilmore, Matthew Slater, Jake Bailey named to the Pro Bowl team

Hall of Fame linebacker, pass rushing great Kevin Greene dies at 58

Cam Newton pens a letter to Patriots fans

metro

Raimondo ?frustrated? by lack of progress on Providence teachers? contract, but hopes to avoid legal battle

Senate President Ruggerio to introduce bill banning guns on school grounds

Amid mounting criticism, Mayor Walsh says police department is working to build community?s trust

Nation

A dinner, a deal, and moonshine: how the stimulus came together

Congress approves $900b economic relief package, sending measure to Trump

Trump, House lawmakers plot futile effort to block Biden win

World

For UK, an early taste of Brexit as borders are sealed

A brazen police shooting caught on video sparks anger in the Philippines

EU to embark on a high-stakes coronavirus vaccine rollout

politics

Highlights of $900 billion COVID-19 relief, wrapup bills

A dinner, a deal, and moonshine: how the stimulus came together

Congress approves $900b economic relief package, sending measure to Trump

business

Consumer relief: COVID bill to end ?surprise? medical bills

Ex-Bloomberg reporter who covered Martin Shkreli reveals relationship with him

$900b is a start, but the economy will need much more help

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

The Grocery Stories: Quantum physics kindness

Palliative care or aid-in-dying? Why not both?

My Christmas Eve at the Home for Unwed Mothers, before Roe v. Wade

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