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FDA advisory panel recommends Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine be cleared for use

An influential panel of medical experts on Friday unanimously recommended that drug regulators clear Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, setting the stage for the likely authorization of the third such vaccine in the United States — and the first that would require only one shot.

1,734 confirmed cases, 46 deaths, and 56,252 vaccinations: See today’s new COVID-19 data from Mass.

The DPH said 30,983 people were estimated to have active cases of the potentially deadly virus, and 807 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the hospital.
The latest COVID-19 numbers from Massachusetts

Boston delays reopening of concert halls, theaters, other indoor businesses

Boston will delay the reopening of indoor performance spaces and recreational activity venues until March 22, taking a harder stance than the state, which said those spaces can open as soon as Monday.

Baker signs home-rule petition allowing Boston to skip a special mayoral election

There will be no special mayoral election this year after Governor Charlie Baker signed a home-rule petition Friday.
Tracker: Who is running for mayor in Boston?

Lowell School Committee member resigns after using anti-Semitic slur on TV

A Lowell School Committee member said Friday he was resigning his post effective immediately, after using an anti-Semitic slur on live television Wednesday.

Democrats near COVID-19 relief bill OK by House, ponder wage plan rescue
A $1.9 trillion package aimed at helping the country rebuild from the pandemic seemed headed toward House passage Friday, even as Democrats searched for a way to revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.

Highlights of the COVID-19 relief bill advancing in Congress

They need help paying rent. But they can’t prove they’re renters.
One of the major barriers to securing aid is that these residents often rely on informal middlemen to navigate the region’s housing markets.

Abandoned infant recovered in Dorchester

Boston police on Friday recovered an abandoned infant in the Lower Mills section of Dorchester, officials said.

Leaders of company linked to N.H. truck crash that killed 7 indicted on federal charges in Mass.

The owners of a company linked to a fiery truck crash in New Hampshire that killed seven people in 2019 were indicted Thursday on federal charges in Massachusetts for allegedly falsifying driving logs and lying to investigators probing the deadly wreck, according to US Attorney Andrew Lelling and court records.
Blind spot: Read the complete Globe investigation

‘Now is not the time to relax restrictions:’ CDC chief Walensky sounds alarm on ‘stalling’ progress in pandemic
CDC chief Dr. Rochelle Walensky sounded the alarm on Friday over what she described as potentially stalling progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and said variants of the virus are becoming more prevalent in the US even as vaccinations climb.

Baker’s public safety secretary received a COVID-19 vaccine as ‘first-line responder’

 State health secretary explains why employer-hosted vaccine programs are being suspended See more vaccine news, resources, and guidance

CareWell clinics telling patients their second COVID-19 shots are canceled, triggering wider vaccination anxieties

Some Massachusetts residents who’ve received first shots in the two-dose regimens are worrying whether they’ll be able to get scheduled second shots.

With latest reopening news, Mass. restaurants see a way out of crisis
The easing of state capacity restrictions may help them stem nearly a year of losses.

Tell us

When did you realize COVID-19 was going to change everything?

There’s a moment for many of us, most often happening in March 2020, when we realized that COVID-19 had completely changed our lives.
Mass. coronavirus at a glance |
Vaccinations
Daily doses:
Weekly doses:
1st dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
% of doses used:
7-day trend/avg.:
Cases and deaths
Cases
.
Deaths
.
Other resources:
SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health

Atlanta Dream sold to investor group with Mass. ties, ending Kelly Loeffler’s ownership in WNBA

Loeffler spoke out against the WNBA’s Black Lives Matter movement in July. Shortly after, players began pushing for her exit from the league.

Company, owner in Boston construction accident have history of violations

The company involved in two construction accident fatalities in downtown Boston Wednesday and its owner have lengthy histories of workplace violations and legal disputes in recent years, records show.

New investor reportedly is ready to buy into Fenway Sports Group

RedBird Capital Partners is nearing a deal to invest approximately $750 million of private capital in the parent organization of the Red Sox.

The Black history I carry with me

A Beautiful Resistance — a special project from the Globe's culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt — is celebrating Black History Month by amplifying local stories of change-makers and the people inspired by them.

Opinion

IDEAS | Christina Szalinski

Two masks could be one too many

Experts say double masking is a double-edged sword.
MARCELA GARCÍA

Forces converge in State House special election in Winthrop and Revere
Kate Murtagh

Harvard endowment is on the path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
Renée Loth

Debra Haaland as interior secretary — a champion for the land

Scot Lehigh

As Massachusetts shows, strong gun-safety laws work

Project takeout: Get takeout. Save restaurants you love.
Ordering dinner will help small local businesses survive the pandemic. But that’s just the start.

Restaurants we supported this week Learn more about Project Takeout

Dan Shaughnessy
Let’s not take the bats out of the pitchers’ hands completely, and other thoughts
MLB seems destined to go to a universal DH, but there are reasons to keep letting the pitchers hit.

Kevin Paul Dupont: The Baseball Encyclopedia, sadly, is a thing of the past

Patriots say Dave Ziegler has a new role — perhaps as Nick Caserio’s replacement?
Ziegler was the Patriots’ assistant director of player personnel in 2020, working with Caserio, who left to be GM of the Texans.

The state of the Patriots in 2021: Where each position group stands this offseason

Evicted from Boston, a new West African restaurant is being welcomed in Providence
Bintimani owner Sahr Josiah-Faeduwor aims to innovate with food and inspire other entrepreneurs.

US implicates Saudi crown prince in Jamal Khashoggi’s killing
The central conclusion of the report was widely expected given that intelligence officials were said to have reached it soon after the brutal Oct. 2, 2018, murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authoritarian consolidation of power.

Teen charged with murder in January shooting of young woman in Dorchester
Albert Brown, 17 was charged in the death of Tasjahnaya Dance, an aspiring musician who was fatally shot at Washington and Bowdoin streets in the Four Corners section of Dorchester at lunchtime on Jan. 22, the office of Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. Brown was ordered held without bail during his arraignment Friday.

Matthew Gilbert
April brings continuing ‘Tale,’ new ‘Law & Order’
The 10-episode fourth season of 'The Handmaid's Tale' will premiere with three episodes on Hulu on April 28; on April 1, “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will show up.

Sports media
Super Bowl will return to ABC as NFL, Disney reach deal on television rights
ABC has not been the home for a Super Bowl since 2006, but it will enter the rotation after the 2023 season.

LOVE LETTERS
Right now, FaceTime isn’t enough
In Love Letters, a reader is bored. Lonely. Sick of FaceTime. Aren't we all? Help.

Blind date: ‘The more she smiled the more tempted I was to want to get to know more about her’

Recommended reads

‘I think we could be a model for other communities’: Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition helps bring vaccine to people of color

The coalition hopes this weekend's Black History Month vaccination drive at the Reggie Lewis Center will not only help boost inoculation rates among Black Bostonians, but begin to transform their relationship with a health care system that has long mistreated them.

The Battle for the GOP
‘I do look at them in a different light:’ Tensions are high in Congress as Democrats want consequences for election-denying Republicans
Many Democrats believe that the Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election were essentially cheering on the Jan. 6 mob’s effort to kill them. The result is an atmosphere more tense and distrustful than anyone can remember.

First a closure, now a breakup of the team behind Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar
After a decade in business together, the owners of the restaurant group who operated Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, The Hawthorne, and Row 34 are ending their partnership a week after announcing that a trio of their restaurants in Kenmore Square would close.

metro

Teen charged with murder in January shooting of young woman in Dorchester
Albert Brown, 17 was charged in the death of Tasjahnaya Dance, an aspiring musician who was fatally shot at Washington and Bowdoin streets in the Four Corners section of Dorchester at lunchtime on Jan. 22, the office of Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. Brown was ordered held without bail during his arraignment Friday.

‘It is not just about memorizing facts.’ Historians examine how Black History Month was intended to be celebrated

Video shows former Lynn officer punching man in police station holding cell

Sports

college hockey
Northeastern women’s hockey has something to prove this postseason
Though considered an elite program for a while, NU hasn't broken through on the national stage, and had its shot wiped out because of the pandemic last year.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK

Advancements in the field, as Alex Cora takes some fresh approaches to improving defense

Patriots say Dave Ziegler has a new role — perhaps as Nick Caserio’s replacement?

business

With latest reopening news, Mass. restaurants see a way out of crisis
The easing of state capacity restrictions may help them stem nearly a year of losses.

Boston delays reopening of concert halls, theaters, other indoor businesses

Ta-Nehisi Coates to write new ‘Superman’ film

politics

Biden surveys Texas weather damage, thanks emergency workers
President Biden heard firsthand from Texans clobbered by this month’s brutal winter weather on Friday as he and his wife made their first trip to a major disaster area since he took office.

US implicates Saudi crown prince in Jamal Khashoggi’s killing

McConnell says he’d support Trump if he wins 2024 nomination

lifestyle

ARTS
ICA’s 2021 Foster Prize goes to three artists who ‘help illuminate the way forward’
“The works of Marlon Forrester, Eben Haines, and Dell Marie Hamilton help illuminate the way forward from the isolation and trauma of these troubled times,” said ICA director Jill Medvedow in a statement.

A Great Barrington therapist explores grief, vulnerability, and hope through Instagram

Right now, FaceTime isn’t enough

arts

TELEVISION
April brings continuing ‘Tale,’ new ‘Law & Order’
The 10-episode fourth season of 'The Handmaid's Tale' will premiere with three episodes on Hulu on April 28; on April 1, “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will show up.

What’s happening in the arts world
HOMEFRONT

HomeFront: Billie Holiday, Beethoven, and Bad Bunny, plus art to comfort and calm

rhode island

RI BUSINESS
Evicted from Boston, a new West African restaurant is being welcomed in Providence
Bintimani owner Sahr Josiah-Faeduwor aims to innovate with food and inspire other entrepreneurs.

Cicilline blasts Taylor Greene for opposing Equality Act
RHODE MAP

Look for the General Assembly to flex its muscles on the Lifespan-Care New England merger

Newton

Special Projects

A Beautiful Resistance celebrates Black History Month

A Beautiful Resistance, in a special collaboration with Reebok, celebrate Black History Month. Black Joy. Black Wellness. Black Futures.
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

Boston Globe launches ‘Fresh Start’ initiative: People can apply to have past coverage about them reviewed
Similar to “right to forget” programs that have cropped up across the country, the undertaking is meant to address the lasting impact that stories about past embarrassments, mistakes, or minor crimes, forever online, can have on a person’s life.

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

ASK MATTHEW

10 reader-approved TV shows for parents and tweens

We asked for suggestions, and from "Sherlock" to "Green Acres," readers responded.
COMFORT ZONE

Flock to these winter birding hot spots around Boston

Pete Gilmore, field trip coordinator for the Brookline Bird Club, shared his favorite local stops.
A.Z. MADONNA

What would Beethoven think of climate change? Composer Iman Habibi has a few ideas

Habibi's “Jeder Baum spricht” (”Every tree speaks”) is part of a new BSO Now program.
ASK MATTHEW

If you enjoyed ‘Your Honor,’ who am I to judge?

As a critic, I don’t pretend my opinions are the correct ones, or even the best ones; they’re just mine.
COMFORT ZONE

Tatiana de Rosnay on ‘Sarah’s Key,’ Boston memories, and her scary new novel

The author casts a wary eye on on the near-future in her new book, "Flowers of Darkness."
COMFORT ZONE

Stars to come out (remotely) for a new Boston clinic for homeless women

Renee Fleming, Laura Benanti, Cheyenne Jackson, Heather Headley, and others are slated to perform in a benefit for Health Care Without Walls.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

EDITORIAL

Governor Baker is right — schools must reopen
Kimberly Atkins

After a brutal year, Garland must work to reform DOJ — and restore Black Americans’ trust
Pamela Constable

The old house on Nantucket
Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Carola Suárez-Orozco

The children of immigrants can help save higher ed
Joan Wickersham

The emperor of nothing
IDEAS | Rachel Rebouché and Mary Ziegler

Could Roe v. Wade really become ‘the law of the land’?

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
Pandemic Parenting

We can care about education and be OK writing this year off
Parenting advice

'Being forgiving of ourselves is probably the biggest'
Dinner with Cupid

'The more she smiled the more tempted I was to want to get to know more'
Connections

My mom lives 2,000 miles away but keeps my daughter company on her iPad

sports

Super Bowl will return to ABC as NFL, Disney reach deal on television rights

2032 Summer Olympics appear to be headed for Brisbane

Atlanta Dream sold to investor group with Mass. ties, ending Kelly Loeffler’s ownership in WNBA

metro

Baker signs home-rule petition allowing Boston to skip a special mayoral election

Evicted from Boston, a new West African restaurant is being welcomed in Providence

They need help paying rent. But they can’t prove they’re renters.

Nation

1,734 confirmed cases, 46 deaths, and 56,252 vaccinations: See today’s new COVID-19 data from Mass.

Global action is ‘very far’ from what’s needed to avert climate chaos

Some Democrats want to fire the Senate parliamentarian who scuttled $15 minimum-wage plans. It’s been done once before.

World

Nigeria confronts second mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in nine days after 317 girls vanish

Canadian regulator authorizes AstraZeneca vaccine

Ties with Saudis at stake as US releases findings on killing

politics

Minimum wage hike must be dropped from COVID-19 relief bill, arbiter decides

Militia groups want to ‘blow up the Capitol,’ a police chief testifies

‘I do look at them in a different light:’ Tensions are high in Congress as Democrats want consequences for election-denying Republicans

business

FDA advisory panel recommends Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine be cleared for use

DataRobot makes move into COVID-19 monitoring

State health secretary explains why employer-hosted vaccine programs are being suspended

lifestyle

The parenting crisis without a vaccine: loneliness

At Mikkusu, a talented chef bides her time

New NE bike tours, a favorite bar reopens, and new virtual travel experiences

marijuana

Mass. marijuana has to be ultra-sterile. Just one problem: It’s a plant

Marijuana company sues Boston zoning board over rejection

New Jersey governor signs laws to set up marijuana market

opinion

Forces converge in State House special election in Winthrop and Revere

Harvard endowment is on the path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions

House impeachment managers teed up strong case. Now swing away

food & dining

At Mikkusu, a talented chef bides her time

Tim and Bronwyn Wiechmann plan a Lincoln restaurant, and hot chicken comes to Allston

Celebrating the Irish poitín

travel

New NE bike tours, a favorite bar reopens, and new virtual travel experiences

Michael Chiklis loves Aspen, Capri, and of course, Boston

The new travel reality: Vaccine required

Books

Crime and damages in ‘The Lowering Days’

A fictional retrospective of a filmmaker’s life in ‘Foregone’

Glenn Adamson on the perfect reading chair and books organized by color

Movies

Armie Hammer is in ‘Crisis’ and they can’t hide it

Some sequels take longer (a lot longer) to arrive than others

Imagination rules the ruthless in ‘Night of the Kings’

Television

April brings continuing ‘Tale,’ new ‘Law & Order’

10 things TV should stop doing right now

‘Ray Donovan’ will get a feature-length finale

music

When Beethoven resonates in a crisis

Jazz artist Maria Schneider on making music, and making a living

Velvet mornings and boots made for walkin’: Nancy Sinatra retrospective revisits a singer with swagger

Theater/Dance

Boston Ballet celebrates Jorma Elo in a rich program of new work and past highlights

On your screen but outside the box: Theater companies rise to a creative challenge

Stars to come out (remotely) for a new Boston clinic for homeless women

globe local

‘It is not just about memorizing facts.’ Historians examine how Black History Month was intended to be celebrated

Meteorological winter ends this weekend

Boys & Girls Clubs, Y’s provide places for kids to study and play during pandemic

Obituaries

Loretta Whitfield, creator of a doll with a difference, dies at 79

Man who played Duke Chapel bells for 50 years dies

Jon Westling, former president of Boston University, dies at 78