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Mass. reports 3,659 new confirmed coronavirus cases, 58 new deaths

The state said 78,215 people were estimated to have active cases of the potentially deadly virus, and 2,259 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the hospital
The latest COVID-19 numbers from Mass. Boston crosses 1,000 COVID-19 deaths UMass model sees possibility of declining cases ahead in Mass.
LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

First known case of coronavirus variant detected in US

President-elect Joe Biden criticizes pace of COVID-19 vaccine rollout, vows to accelerate
President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for the pace of distributing COVID-19 vaccines and predicted that ?things will get worse before they get better? when it comes to the pandemic.

Ronald Mariano vows to increase diversity in Massachusetts House leadership after he becomes speaker Wednesday
The day before he is expected to be elected Speaker of the House, Ronald Mariano pledged to make his leadership team more diverse than the current all-white group.

Abortion access policies become law in Massachusetts despite Governor Baker?s veto

SJC: Judges can grant probation in some ?three strikes? cases

Villa Victoria Center for the Arts building, longtime South End landmark, is being demolished
The building at 85 West Newton St. was originally built as a Lutheran church around the turn of the last century, and for decades the nonprofit organization Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción has used it as a community center that featured a preschool and Latino arts and cultural programs.

Controversial monument depicting Lincoln standing over a freed slave removed from the Back Bay
A controversial statue depicting Abraham Lincoln standing over a half-dressed, formerly enslaved man has been removed from its longtime location in Boston?s Back Bay, months after the city?s Art Commission voted to take it down amid a nationwide reckoning on racial justice.

Opinion

Jeff Jacoby

What was great about 2020

Despite all the stress and sadness, this has also been a year of good news and glad tidings.
Nancy Gertner and Dean A. Strang

What Trump?s pardons say about criminal justice
Ed Gaskin and Liz Walker

Encourage skeptical Black Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine
EDITORIAL

Virtual medical appointments are here to stay, but so is surprise billing
Joan Vennochi

With Speaker Mariano, progressives get what they deserve
A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE | Jeneé Osterheldt

Claiming land and water on Martha?s Vineyard

If you?re willing to see, the walls have something to say

In protest, there is community and joy rising

Black queer lives are Black lives that matter, too

To be Black, Bostonian, and proud

With every sip, a labor of love

Bob Ryan
Evaluating the state of Boston?s teams in 2020
The veteran columnist offers his annual assessment of the major local sports teams' standing.

Elegies for those lost to coronavirus
Coronavirus has brought sorrow to every corner of the state, while cruelly preventing the bereaved from mourning together. Here, we remember victims for how they lived.

Plymouth police officer kills department K-9 after dog attacks him
Officer Keith Larson shot and killed one of the department?s K-9s Tuesday morning after the dog, named Nico, attacked him. Several Plymouth officers, as well as Brewster Ambulance personnel, were dispatched to assist at the scene.

Innovation economy
Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee wants ?personal empowerment? for users, through his data startup
The company, Inrupt, is trying to use technology to give people more control over their personal data online. It started selling its software to corporations and government agencies in November.

First Night Boston cancels New Year?s Eve Fireworks
Boston?s traditional New Year?s Eve fireworks displays are canceled for the first time since 1975 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asian families say they feel invisible in dealing with BPS

This year, the relationship has come under increased strain after a series of episodes that have left Asian American parents and students feeling left out of big policy and programmatic changes, including a historic revamp of the admissions process for the city?s exam schools that will likely lead to fewer seats for Asian students.

Moratorium on nonessential public housing evictions in Boston extended through end of Feb. 2021

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority Kate Bennett announced Tuesday an extension on the moratorium on nonessential evictions for Boston Housing Authority public housing residents.

Q&A with outgoing cannabis commissioner Shaleen Title
Title dishes on her evolution from activist to official, and her frustrations with the Legislature.

Recommended Reads

Stimulus checks, jobless benefits, Internet service. Here?s what the federal relief bill means for you

The $900 billion pandemic relief package from the federal government has implications for Massachusetts residents and business owners. Here?s a brief overview.

The Globe?s 10 most-read stories of 2020
2020 was a year unlike any other in recent memory. Here?s a look at our top 10 most-read stories.

The dying wish of a decorated Marine convicted of murder: a commutation and a final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery
Joe Labriola died in July at 75. But his posthumous bid for clemency, and the honor of being buried in the country's most revered military cemetery, is now before Massachusetts? parole board, who will weigh his military service and his 1973 conviction for murder.

metro

Local farm feeds old Christmas trees to goats
Channell Homestead, in Hanson, is accepting old Christmas trees that will be fed to their goats.

Moratorium on nonessential public housing evictions in Boston extended through end of Feb. 2021

SJC: Judges can grant probation in some ?three strikes? cases

Sports

World Junior Hockey
Spencer Knight throws shutout as US hockey blanks Czech Republic
The win clinched a spot in the quarterfinals for the Americans, who will close out preliminary-round play against Sweden on Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

red sox

Jackie Bradley Jr. is taking a patient approach in free agency

Senior Maiya Bergdorf can?t wait for St. Mary?s girls? basketball season to get started

business

Major rail safety technology installed before deadline
The railroad industry has installed an automatic braking system on nearly 58,000 miles of track where it is required ahead of a year-end deadline.

What 2020 was like for people in the retail industry

What can you buy with a $600 stimulus check in Boston?

politics

Georgia Senators Perdue and Loeffler find alliance with Democrats they attack
Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler belatedly declared their support on Tuesday for one-time payments of $2,000 that Trump and Democrats endorse but most congressional Republicans oppose.

Feds decline charges against officers in Tamir Rice case

On Senate floor, Markey makes impassioned demand for $2,000 COVID relief checks

lifestyle

COMFORT ZONE
A new mural brings beauty and diversity to a ?boring? corner of Kendall Square
Cedric "Vise1" Douglas and Julia Roth brought the faces of two women to a Cambridge vent shaft.

HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE

Ski lessons for adults, a socially distant wine festival, and an ice hotel in Sweden
GETTING SALTY

She got her start as a student baker at Brookline High School. Now she has her own shop in Chestnut Hill

arts

COMFORT ZONE
Celebrate New Year?s Eve with HipStory and its vision for Boston?s hip-hop future
The Boston-based media production company and artistic incubator is ringing in 2021 with a new digital concert platform.

TELEVISION

The most disappointing newcomers of 2020

Drawing your best for the Emerald Necklace

rhode island

CORONAVIRUS
R.I. officials detail who will receive COVID-19 vaccine in the next two months
The first phase will include vaccinating people in Central Falls, beginning Wednesday.

CORONAVIRUS

COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered to Central Falls Housing Authority later this week

RI CRIME

R.I. Supreme Court denies emergency petition to end cash bail and release nonviolent defendants

Newton

Special Projects

A beautiful resistance | JENEÉ OSTERHELDT

With every sip, a labor of love

In Vermont, a winemaker is cultivating a legacy that pays homage to the Black folk who built this country and is celebrating life and the future of farming.
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

COMFORT ZONE

A new mural brings beauty and diversity to a ?boring? corner of Kendall Square

Cedric "Vise1" Douglas and Julia Roth brought the faces of two women to a Cambridge vent shaft.
COMFORT ZONE

Celebrate New Year?s Eve with HipStory and its vision for Boston?s hip-hop future

The Boston-based media production company and artistic incubator is ringing in 2021 with a new digital concert platform.
COMFORT ZONE

Hikes and hot chocolate: Winter walks and warm-up stops on Cape Cod

This is the perfect time of year for a hike along the beach, followed by a hot beverage, a warm-from-the-oven pastry, or a melty slice of brick-oven pizza.
COMFORT ZONE

The music that got these Bostonians through 2020

Some songs and artists captured anguish and anxiety; others reflected hope, humor, and connection. All of them hit the spot.
Cooking | Magazine

Recipes: Spanish-inspired pork, sauteed vegetables, and almond cake

A few key ingredients pack outsized flavor into these dishes.
COMFORT ZONE

Even when she contracted COVID-19, this art teacher thought of her students. Now, they can craft along with her over Zoom.

Alex Adamo developed two ongoing virtual programs: Crafternoons and SAVI, or Social Art Virtual Immersion. Crafternoons occur every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. Each class features a different craft, led by Adamo, utilizing household items. SAVI classes are hosted via Zoom weekly on Tuesdays or Thursdays and organized by month.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Christopher Koller

The need for primary care teams
EDITORIAL

Cleaning up government can start on Capitol Hill
EDITORIAL

Business needs a break on unemployment taxes
Jimmy Tingle

The other pandemic
Joan Wickersham

Why ?War and Peace? is my book of the year
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

Diagnosed with cancer at age 8, Mateo Goldman needed something like a miracle. He got two.
Perspective

My COVID anxiety has evolved into a persistent funk. Now what?
Miss Conduct

Miss Conduct: What the pandemic taught me
Cooking

Recipes: Spanish-inspired pork, sauteed vegetables, and almond cake

sports

Given opportunity, Bills coach Sean McDermott wouldn?t magnify importance of win over Patriots

Bill Belichick can?t dodge the quarterback question forever

Evaluating the state of Boston?s teams in 2020

metro

R.I. officials detail who will receive COVID-19 vaccine in the next two months

Local farm feeds old Christmas trees to goats

Moratorium on nonessential public housing evictions in Boston extended through end of Feb. 2021

Nation

Feds decline charges against officers in Tamir Rice case

First reported US case of COVID-19 variant found in Colorado

Mass. reports 3,659 new confirmed coronavirus cases, 58 new deaths

World

Saudi activist who fought for women?s right to drive sentenced to prison

UK warns of ?bumpy? post-Brexit transition despite deal

China sentences lawyer who reported on outbreak to 4 years

politics

Feds decline charges against officers in Tamir Rice case

On Senate floor, Markey makes impassioned demand for $2,000 COVID relief checks

A day on the golf course helped change Trump?s mind on stimulus bill

business

Major rail safety technology installed before deadline

What 2020 was like for people in the retail industry

What can you buy with a $600 stimulus check in Boston?

lifestyle

A new mural brings beauty and diversity to a ?boring? corner of Kendall Square

Ski lessons for adults, a socially distant wine festival, and an ice hotel in Sweden

She got her start as a student baker at Brookline High School. Now she has her own shop in Chestnut Hill

marijuana

Q&A with outgoing cannabis commissioner Shaleen Title

Medical marijuana?s future in R.I.? It may turn on more than a high-stakes lottery

COVID can?t cancel canna-Christmas

opinion

What was great about 2020

What Trump?s pardons say about criminal justice

Virtual medical appointments are here to stay, but so is surprise billing

food & dining

Recipe: Your New Year?s menu will finish with a flourish with sticky bun bread pudding

Bootblack Brand syrups put a twist on classic cocktails

They packed up their lives in New York to bring Sunnys natural wines to Amesbury

travel

Ski lessons for adults, a socially distant wine festival, and an ice hotel in Sweden

Hikes and hot chocolate: Winter walks and warm-up stops on Cape Cod

Tranquil trails for winter hiking

Books

The 55 best books of 2020

Overcoming ?Trump fatigue? with a fictional take on the president

A new poetry collection about a Cambridge women unjustly hanged as a witch, and new National Endowment for the Humanities grants for local writers

Movies

?Promising Young Woman? pushes buttons as it turns the tables

Doc Talk: Accursed Mountain State, Belgium abandoned

Tom Hanks, Texas, 1870: ?News of the World? -- as usual, he?s the right man for the job

Television

The most disappointing newcomers of 2020

Fosse?s handiwork evident in ?Pippin? video

Ratings juggernaut ?60 Minutes? rolls on

music

Celebrate New Year?s Eve with HipStory and its vision for Boston?s hip-hop future

The music that got these Bostonians through 2020

Top 10 jazz albums of 2020

Theater/Dance

Boston record label Dead & Mellow marks a first year in which nothing went according to plan

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

This virtual ?Christmas Revels? is a virtual triumph

globe local

First Night Boston cancels New Year?s Eve Fireworks

Newton special election for vacant City Council seats set for March 16

Wellesley candidates for local offices may pull nomination papers until Jan. 8

Obituaries

Lauren Corduck, who founded Oneinforty to raise cancer risk awareness, dies at 49

Nancy Harrington, who achieved a trio of firsts as Salem State?s president, dies at 81

Hank Adams, prolific Native American rights advocate, dies