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Charles Lieber showed no emotion as the jury announced its verdict after deliberating for 2 hours and 45 minutes in federal court in Boston.
A sign informing customers that a Walgreen’s in Somerville had sold out of rapid tests is seen at the entrance to their store on Tuesday.

‘Sorry we are all out of rapid COVID tests.’ Shoppers on the hunt for at-home tests find empty shelves, no stock online

A recent search for rapid tests in Metro Boston revealed many local pharmacies boasted nothing but empty shelves and apologetic signs. Online retailers were also out of stock, sometimes encouraging shoppers to visit the very stores that lacked inventory.
A protective face mask lies on the ground amid autumn leaves in November, 2021.

It’s time to upgrade your mask, public health experts say

Quality face coverings — namely surgical and KN95 masks — are essential to keep another crushing wave of COVID-19 at bay, according to four physicians and infectious disease specialists.
A map shows Omicron has been detected in the vast majority of states.

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading

While much remains unknown about the variant, it’s clear that it’s incredibly transmissible, becoming the dominant strain in the country in just a few weeks since it was first identified.
Mass. reports 5,531 coronavirus cases and 58 deaths
COVID-19: THE LATEST

Fauci says CDC is considering reducing the recommended COVID isolation period for fully vaccinated

Leora Kimmel Greene tested her daughter Mila Greene with the help of her other daughter, Avie Greene.
Finding COVID Tests. Scheduling booster appointments. Swabbing noses. Stressed moms have yet another job: medical practice manager
In one study, mothers told researchers they were not only monitoring their children’s COVID-safe behaviors, but their husbands’ too.

Harvard professor found guilty of lying about financial ties to Chinese university

Charles Lieber showed no emotion as the jury announced its verdict after deliberating for 2 hours and 45 minutes following five days of testimony in federal court in Boston.
EMT's arrived on Atkinson Street near the intersection known as Mass. and Cass in Boston in September.

Crime reports paint a picture of violence radiating through Mass. and Cass

Mass. and Cass has been the scene of a disturbing level of violence, with six killings, more than a dozen rapes and attempted rapes, numerous assaults and stabbings, and two dozen unattended deaths in the past year.

Baker announces indoor mask advisory for Mass., activates National Guard to help hospitals with COVID-19 surge

Governor Charlie Baker’s administration announced Tuesday that residents are now advised to wear masks in indoor public spaces, the National Guard is being activated to help hospitals, and that hospitals must put off elective procedures that will result in admissions.
Biden to send millions of free COVID-19 tests, dispatch military to hospitals

People and police officers gathered along Route 107 in Saugus where a body was found in a marsh Tuesday afternoon.
Body found in Saugus marsh is that of missing Woburn woman, officials say
Sherell Pringle, 40, was reported missing hours after she was last seen with her boyfriend, authorities said. Her cellphone was found in a sewer drain in Lynn Monday.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance
Vaccinations
.
Trend:
1+ dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
Cases and deaths
Total cases:
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Total deaths:
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Other resources:
Last updated: . NOTE: Mass DPH releases data Monday-Friday starting July 2021. Mass. population of 6,892,503 is used to calculate vaccination percentages. SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health
PERSPECTIVE

We’re all feeling fine. We really are. Except we’re not.

Despite false optimism on social media, novelist Chris Bohjalian writes, many of us continue to struggle as the pandemic barrels toward its two-year anniversary. But being open with yourself and others can help.
Travelers at San Francisco International Airport San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 24.

Traveling for the holidays? Here’s a guide to restrictions and recommendations amid COVID-19

For anyone with holiday travel plans, here’s a primer on domestic and international travel guidelines, and a few recommendations from public health experts on how to keep yourself and your family members safe.
A rare Steller’s sea eagle was spotted along the Taunton River. It's the first documented sighting of the species — which is native to Asia — in Massachusetts.

‘We’ve never had one here’: A rare Steller’s sea eagle, native to Asia, has been hanging out around the Taunton River

The baffling arrival of the eagle marked a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for birders to try to catch a glimpse of the large eagle, which is thousands of miles from home.
Opinion
Meryl Streep in "Don't Look Up."
Michael E. Mann

Global destruction isn’t funny, but when it comes to the climate crisis, it might have to be

Science isn’t finished until it’s successfully communicated. ‘Don’t Look Up’ succeeds not because it’s funny and entertaining, but because it’s serious sociopolitical commentary posing as comedy.
Crowds fill Copley Square during the First Night celebration in Boston, Dec. 31, 2016.
RENÉE GRAHAM

COVID-19 is surging. Cancel First Night Boston.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has broached a gun-control initiative that borrows strategy from Texas' recent controversial abortion ban.
Laurence H. Tribe, Jonathan M. Metzl, and David Hogg

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms
IDEAS | JOE BLAIR

All I want for Christmas, under a sunset sky
Laura Levis died outside CHA Somerville Hospital in 2016.
Peter DeMarco

For Laura’s Law to succeed, DPH must heed our advice
Choreographer Ebony Williams has created moves for Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Alicia Keys, "In The Heights," and more.
A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt

Finding freedom in the rhythm of dance

Black choreographers and dancers use movement to move us forward. They use dance to tell stories, evoke memories, and unite us.
Follow @abeautifulresistance on Instagram Explore more from A Beautiful Resistance

More recent stories

‘Overwhelmingly it’s been relief.’ Wu says business groups, residents back proof-of-vaccination policy in Boston

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said residents have voiced support for her newly announced requirement that restaurant, gym, and theater patrons show proof of vaccination.

Boston-area home sales speed up ahead of expected rate hikes

Transactions set a record for November, with the median price rising to $750,000.
Wu launches push to expand affordable housing, study rent control rules

Danvers wrestlers disciplined for biased speech; team cleared to resume season

Players were disciplined for using "homophobic, profane, and biased language" in a group chat, but the high school principal said actions did not rise to the "legal definitions of hazing."

‘Body broker’ already charged in Mass. now facing fraud charges in Calif. addiction treatment kickback scheme
A Massachusetts man, already facing state charges for allegedly scamming people searching for substance abuse treatment, now faces federal charges for allegedly collecting $548,000 in kickbacks as a “body broker” who steered patients to a California clinic, according to court records.

YDE (left) and Idina Menzel in "WILD: A Musical Becoming." The musical had been scheduled to run until Jan. 2, but a COVID outbreak among cast and crew forced American Repertory Theater to cancel its remaining shows.
‘WILD,’ ‘Slutcracker’ canceled as COVID outbreak takes hold
The cancellations at American Repertory Theater and Somerville Theatre raise concerns that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus could wreak further havoc with the winter theater season in the Boston area.

sports media
NESN will no longer be carried on DISH TV.
DISH TV drops NESN from programming roster after failed negotiations
"We have offered multiple solutions to keep NESN on DISH TV while providing the best value to all our customers,” the company said in a blunt statement.

Best of the holidays

People under the holiday lights on Boston Common.

9 places around Boston where you can get into the holiday spirit (for free)

Every holiday season comes with a gamut of things to do and gifts to buy, and it can take a toll on the old wallet. That got us thinking about some activities in and around the city where you can revel in the holiday spirit for free.
Boston is dressed in its wintery best. Here’s where to see Christmas trees, menorahs, and other decorations 20 family-friendly events to put you in the holiday spirit
Globe Santa

When bad becomes worse, Globe Santa is there to help

Globe Santa will deliver gifts to more than 17,000 others across Greater Boston, just as he’s done since 1956.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBE SANTA

 Read the latest stories Make a donation. Make a difference.

Recommended reads

On Sept. 26, an ascending escalator full of people at Back Bay Station hurtled downward for around 10 seconds, throwing people to the ground and causing at least a dozen to pile on top of each other at the bottom, a video of the incident obtained by the Globe through a public records request shows.

This video shows people tumbling down a malfunctioning MBTA escalator. It wasn’t the first time that happened.

After the September incident at Back Bay Station, a Globe review of court documents and news archives found three nearly identical incidents since the mid-1990s, and a fourth alleged in a lawsuit, in which ascending MBTA escalators have suddenly stopped and accelerated backward, injuring dozens of people.

Salem Board of Health members Jeff Barosy, left, and Elizabeth Gagak, center, hand out COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test kits to residents, in the Jean A. Levesque Community Life Center.
Omicron becomes dominant variant in Mass., already ‘straining the system’
“We are in the Omicron wave,” said the Broad Institute's director of pathogen genomic surveillance. “It is circulating widely in Massachusetts and appears to be continuing to amplify.”

Two lines were set up for COVID testing and COVID vaccination at Tufts Medical Center Boston last week.
Where (and how) to get a COVID-19 test in Mass.
With COVID-19 cases surging and holiday travel in full swing, it seems as if everyone is on the hunt for COVID tests. Here’s how to get one.

Shirley Leung
Lun Fat Produce owner Rich Chen stood beside a makeshift home being constructed on the sidewalk next to his business as he points to an area along the side of his loading dock where he and his workers routinely found feces and used needles from those living in the encampment.
A new crop of tents in Newmarket Square brings safety and sanitary issues
The encampments began to appear as the city cracked down on tents near Mass and Cass. Now, employees and customers no longer feel safe in the area.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

"The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a grassy Bench."

A drawing sold for $30 at a Concord estate sale. It is believed to be an original Dürer worth $50 million
Nicole Kidman, as Lucille Ball, and Javier Bardem, as Desi Arnaz, in "Being the Ricardos."
MOVIE REVIEW | ★★★

‘Being the Ricardos’ brings love, marriage, and feminine mystique to the big screen
Quiche With Mushrooms, Bacon, and Gruyère
Cooking | Magazine

Recipes: A make-ahead New Year’s brunch menu featuring quiche
Echo Kirke-Sofer dances the role of Clarice in one of the show's two casts this year.
DANCE

Tony Williams’s ‘Urban Nutcracker’ is still fresh, still fun

Special Projects

An older lobsterman passed by Tanner Lazaro as he hauled up his traps in his boat, Used N Abused, on Aug. 24. During the summer Tanner hauled his own traps on whatever days his mentor Frankie Thompson or another lobsterman didn't need his help.

The lobster trap

The plentiful catch that brought wealth to fishing families is at risk, as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine. A way of life is on the line, but lobstermen can't, or won't, imagine another.

The 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

Is your employer among the 150 companies to make the list?
Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt.

‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Meryl Streep in "Don't Look Up."
Michael E. Mann

Global destruction isn’t funny, but when it comes to the climate crisis, it might have to be
IDEAS | JOE BLAIR

All I want for Christmas, under a sunset sky
Laura Levis died outside CHA Somerville Hospital in 2016.
Peter DeMarco

For Laura’s Law to succeed, DPH must heed our advice
Marine One, with President Joe Biden aboard, departs the White House in Washington, on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.
Joan Vennochi

Besides Manchin, who killed Build Back Better? Biden and the Democrats
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu holds a press conference in City Hal to discuss the city’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 21.
EDITORIAL

City’s vaccine mandate a path back to normal
IDEAS | ABDALLAH FAYYAD

Editing the Constitution

Metro

RI POLITICS

R.I. House leaders preview the 2022 legislative session

House Speaker Shekarchi and Majority Leader Blazejewski talk about expanding affordable housing, legalizing marijuana, achieving Act on Climate goals.

New Jersey man to plead guilty in TB12 Super Bowl ring scam

A 24-year-old New Jersey man has agreed to plead guilty to perpetrating a scam to sell Super Bowl rings that he falsely claimed Tom Brady had given to relatives, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said Tuesday.

Harvard professor found guilty of lying about financial ties to Chinese university

Charles Lieber showed no emotion as the jury announced its verdict after deliberating for 2 hours and 45 minutes following five days of testimony in federal court in Boston.
ADRIAN WALKER

Shawn Jenkins won a new trial on his murder conviction. That trial shouldn’t happen

Shawn Jenkins was released from prison last fall after serving 19 years for a murder he maintains he did not commit, the killing of his cousin, Stephen Jenkins.

Sports

Cole Beasley's status is uncertain for a key showdown against the Patriots Sunday.
NFL Notebook

Bills place vaccine critic Cole Beasley on reserve/COVID-19 list; Chiefs add Tyreek Hill, others to growing coronavirus problem

Buffalo could be minus two starting receivers after Emmanuel Sanders missed Sunday’s win over Carolina because of a knee injury.
Cole Beasley will miss the Bills-Patriots game.
live updates

COVID-19 sports updates: Bills’ Cole Beasley lands on COVID-IR ahead of Patriots game

We’ll be tracking the latest news, including postponements, positive tests, and other adjustments.
Mikaela Shiffrin was dominant in the women's giant slalom at an Alpine World Cup event in Courchevel, France.
Sports Log

Mikaela Shiffrin dominates giant slalom, regains overall World Cup lead

Shiffrin called her own performance "very spectacular" after a dominant win at the Alpine World Cup.
Patriots

Josh McDaniels: Kristian Wilkerson and Tre Nixon ready if Patriots needs receivers for Sunday’s showdown with the Bills
nfl

Last week, he was on the Patriots’ practice squad. Tonight, he’s starting for Washington
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS' HOCKEY NOTEBOOK

Hockey is in the blood for Winthrop’s Holmes triplets

Business

Biden vows he, Manchin will ‘get something done’ on $2 trillion bill

Biden, responding to reporters’ questions at the White House, joked that he holds no grudges against the conservative West Virginia senator whose rejection of the social services and climate change bill stunned Washington just days ago.

Norfolk DA probing signature fraud on business-backed ballot measures including Uber/Lyft referendum

The office is investigating the possibility of fraud in the collection of signatures for four business-backed ballot questions, including two being pushed by Uber and Lyft to allow their drivers to be classified as independent contractors.

Wu launches push to expand affordable housing, study rent control rules

Kellogg’s cereal workers approve contract, ending 11-week strike and averting job losses

STAT

Dr. Monica McLemore, Associate Professor in the Family Health Care Nursing Department at UCSF, stands for a portrait at the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Friday, September 10th, 2021 in Oakland, Calif.
‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities
A STAT investigation shows that researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers.

Covid winter illustration
Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms
STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

Funeral goers sing during a service for Daisy Pace at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in January 2021.
DISTANCED: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South
Photographer Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

Boston, MA -- 05/12/21 -- Dr. Matthew Carty examines patient Jerry Majethic at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital on May 12, 2021, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Kayana Szymczak for STAT)
Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real
The procedure aims to restore proprioception, the ability to sense where our limbs are in space and how fast and forcefully they’re moving.

magazine
Immunlologist Kizzmekia Corbett and Boston's new mayor, Michelle Wu, on the cover of the Globe Magazine's 2021 Bostonians of the Year issue.
2021

Meet this year's Bostonians of the Year
Devin McCourty and Ruben DaSilva.
PERSPECTIVE

Devin McCourty and Tito SantosSilva on ending gang violence now

MISS CONDUCT

I'm heading to QAnon country for Christmas. How do I stay cool?

Salted Peanut and Caramel Tart.
Cooking

3 holiday tarts made with dough that doesn't need to be rolled

metro

French border police check the Covid health passes of travelers on the Thalys arrivals platform at Gare du Nord train station in Paris, France, on Monday, Dec. 20. 2021.

Fauci says CDC is considering reducing the recommended COVID isolation period for fully vaccinated

Wu extends fare-free 28 bus pilot for two additional months as talks with MBTA continue

‘The Commonwealth can and must do more’: Pressley urges Baker to take stronger measures to combat Omicron wave

sports

NBA commissioner Adam Silver added more testing for players and staff through the holiday season.

As COVID-19 outbreaks spike in sports, how have the NFL, NBA, and NHL changed their guidelines?

NHL will reportedly pull its players out of Beijing Olympics

These numbers indicate what has gone wrong for the Celtics, and what could help them make things right

business

After a brief respite, the Boston region's housing market surged ahead in November.

Boston-area home sales speed up ahead of expected rate hikes

Unruly US passengers may lose TSA PreCheck privileges

Can this app help solve COVID burnout?

politics

President Biden

Biden vows he, Manchin will ‘get something done’ on $2 trillion bill

Biden to send millions of free COVID-19 tests, dispatch military to hospitals as experts worry about time already lost

Watch live: President Biden to speak about COVID-19

Nation

President Biden

Biden vows he, Manchin will ‘get something done’ on $2 trillion bill

Finding COVID Tests. Scheduling booster appointments. Swabbing noses. Stressed moms have yet another job: medical practice manager

Fauci says CDC is considering reducing the recommended COVID isolation period for fully vaccinated

World

Migrants headed to France from Italy walked by a grafitti that read "No Border" in a tunnel leading to the French-Italian border, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. As Europe erects ever more fearsome barriers against migration, volunteers along the Italy-France border are working to keep migrants from being killed or maimed by cold and mountain mishaps as they cross the high Alps.

Freezing in the Alps, migrants find warm hearts and comfort

Putin blames West for tensions, demands security guarantees

French police uncover 182,000 fake covid health passes

opinion

Emma Hayes, the coach of Chelsea, looks on during a UEFA Women's Champions League match in England. Research indicates that female coaches in that league tend to take more risks.

Social Studies: Partisan mistrust; taking chances in soccer; the legacy of malaria in America

Another harm from guns: lead exposure

Make the Charlestown Innovation and Inclusive High School proposal the proving ground for students

lifestyle

Salt + Shimmer Artistry serving boards crafted with designs made with resin that evoke a ripple of waves washing ashore.

Serving boards with touches of shimmer and the sea

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce that’s as healthy as it is delicious

Cheese spreads for the season . . . and beyond

food & dining

Salt + Shimmer Artistry serving boards crafted with designs made with resin that evoke a ripple of waves washing ashore.

Serving boards with touches of shimmer and the sea

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce that’s as healthy as it is delicious

Cheese spreads for the season . . . and beyond

travel

People pause to look at Norwegian Cruise Line's ship, Norwegian Breakaway, on the Hudson River, in New York, on May 8, 2013.

On cruise ships, Omicron puts safety protocols to the test

Uber charged me for a ride I never took. Can I get a refund?

Our stealth reviews of Boston’s new and newly-renovated hotels finds some hits — and a miss

Arts

A nighttime view of the "Ledelle Moe: When" at Mass MoCA.

7 museum moments that stick

At Mass MoCA, ceramic art proves its power

Jorge R. Pombo’s ‘Variations on Sargent’s Daughters’ is a dark and dizzying portrait of the times

Books

Louise Penny's "The Madness of Crowds"

Escapist reads for long winter nights

Barack Obama shares his favorite books of 2021

Reconsidering opera in ‘The Impossible Art: Adventures in Opera’

Movies

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in "The Matrix Resurrections."

‘The Matrix Resurrections’: Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return for a fourth franchise go-around

Denzel Washington is magnificent in Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’

Before there was a ‘Kingsman,’ there was ‘The King’s Man’

Television

Nicole Kidman (left) and Samara Weaving in a scene from Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers."

‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ was imperfect but entertaining

Sam Waterston to reprise his role as Jack McCoy in revival of ‘Law & Order’

Netflix’s ‘Maid’ shines a light on struggles of low-wage workers

music

Composer Yaz Lancaster, whose piece "our streets" received its world premiere from A Far Cry on Saturday.

A Far Cry makes space for complex grief with ‘Flames to Ashes’

On Christmas Eve, Eric Jackson plans a cool Yule while Oedipus unwraps some radio rarities

Billy Conway, celebrated Boston drummer of Treat Her Right and Morphine, dies at 65

Theater/Dance

YDE (left) and Idina Menzel in "WILD: A Musical Becoming." The musical had been scheduled to run until Jan. 2, but a COVID outbreak among cast and crew forced American Repertory Theater to cancel its remaining shows.

‘WILD,’ ‘Slutcracker’ canceled as COVID outbreak takes hold

Tony Williams’s ‘Urban Nutcracker’ is still fresh, still fun

An awe-inspiring ‘Nutcracker’ offers surprise after surprise

globe local

15Lieber 15Lieber4 Boston, MA 12/14/21 Harvard scientist Charles Lieber (cq) leaves the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse (cq) midday, after a morning of jury selection in his trial. He is accused of lying to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese talent program. (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff) Story by Shelley Murphy

Harvard professor found guilty of lying about financial ties to Chinese university

Departing Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s farewell address switched to online

Santa delivers gifts at Boston police stations during Shop with a Cop events

Obituaries

Shirley McBay was the first Black dean for student affairs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shirley McBay, who created a template for addressing racial inequities in education, dies at 86

Dr. bell hooks, groundbreaking feminist thinker, dies at 69

Juliet Relis Bernstein, activist who set up a GoFundMe so she could die in her home, passes away at 108