The Boston Globe

Pfizer pill becomes first FDA-authorized home COVID treatment

The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited.

FINAL CHART - has Jason requests, cropped properly

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading

COVID-19: THE LATEST

Omicron at least doubles risk of getting infected on a plane, says top medical adviser

12:32 p.m.
Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered by FedEx to family in Hawaii
12:30 p.m.
Pfizer pill becomes first US-authorized home COVID treatment
12:05 p.m.
Blanket booster drives risk prolonging pandemic, says WHO

Parents of actress Alicia Witt found dead in their Worcester home Monday, per report

The parents of actress and singer Alicia Witt were found dead Monday in their Worcester home, the performer told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered by FedEx to family in Hawaii

A Hawaii mother of three small children was shocked over the weekend to find a package believed to contain hundreds of COVID-19 test samples mistakenly delivered by FedEx to her home on Oahu from Methuen, according to the woman and two companies.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK | CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

It’s time to require vaccinations for domestic flights

If proof of vaccination will soon be required in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs in Boston (as it already is in other cities), why not airplanes?

Traveling for the holidays? Here’s a guide to restrictions and recommendations amid COVID-19 Will Boston’s proof-of-vaccination order work without a verification system?

Michael Mina can’t stop talking about the need for rapid COVID tests. The country may finally be listening. But is it too late?

“I feel we’ve learned so little despite so much pain,” said the former Brigham and Women’s epidemiologist.

Omicron is now dominant in Mass. We asked experts if the recent COVID surge has changed their holiday plans

We asked infectious disease experts what precautions they’re taking this season, whether the rise of Omicron has changed their plans, and what advice they have for holiday gatherings.

America is ‘closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe,’ CIA adviser says

One of the world’s leading experts on political violence and terrorism is sounding the alarm on the state of democracy in America, warning that the country is increasingly on the path to being caught up in the throes of a second civil war.

A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt

From bell hooks to Virgil Abloh to your local creatives, the arts contribute to radical change

Activism requires organizers, policy, and protest. But first, there is imagination.

The Questions, featuring Derecka Purnell Follow @abeautifulresistance on Instagram See more from A Beautiful Resistance

Big Lux's Beautiful Resistance: A Veteran's Violin Sings Black Lives Matter

Created and produced by Jeneé Osterheldt/Globe Staff, Directed and edited by Daymian Mejia, Supervising Producer Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff, Illustrations by Paula Champagne, Photo by Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Opinion

"I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know how I’d pull it off." The author runs along a dilapidated street in Maracaibo.

IDEAS | ANTONIO MATHEUS

The lunacy of the long distance runner

Trading one compulsion for another, I ran 12 marathons in a year through a country in shambles.

Joan Vennochi

A gift that touches the heart

A voter submits their ballot on the first day of early voting in the New York City primary election on June 12, 2021.

JEFF JACOBY

Voting is for citizens

Joe Manchin updates reporters at the Capitol, in Washington, on Sept. 30, 2021.

EDITORIAL

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

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

Tom Brady said he learned that it was a lot harder to win a Super Bowl than he thought after winning three in his first four seasons, then undergoing a decade-long drought before taking home a ring in 2015.

Tom Brady on Deflategate, drafting Jimmy Garoppolo and other takeaways from the latest episode of ‘Man in the Arena’

Episode six, featuring Richard Sherman and Vince Wilfork, focuses on the run-up to Brady's first Super Bowl win in a decade, and what it was like to watch the Seahawks throw the ball at the goal line.

Bob Ryan: Evaluating the state of Boston’s teams in 2021

Boston Ballet dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy, center, performs in the company's "Bach Cello Suites," at Jacob's Pillow in Becket in 2019.

‘Crying happy tears’: Chyrstyn Fentroy promoted to principal dancer at Boston Ballet

Boston Ballet announced Wednesday the promotion of Chyrstyn Fentroy to principal dancer. Fentroy joined Boston Ballet as an artist of the company in 2017, was promoted to second soloist in 2018, and to soloist in 2019.

Former Sharon Superintendent Victoria Greer

Sharon schools reach $750,000 settlement with former superintendent who alleged racial discrimination

The Sharon School Committee is slated to meet in private today to discuss paying former superintendent Victoria Greer to settle a racial discrimination complaint she filed with the state last year.

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.

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.

Innovation Economy

This ‘Star Trek’ enterprise is taking flight

A local couple with no prior experience making toys is finding success selling $74 Tribbles.

Crews searching Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester for 68-year-old man who was seen walking towards the water

The man — who was wearing a blue shirt and no shoes — parked his vehicle in the parking lot and headed towards the lake, police said.

Quincy police locate man who has allegedly been approaching women, claiming their cars are leaking oil

Officials say they have located the man who tried to lure women, including state Representative Alyson Sullivan, out of their cars by falsely telling them their vehicle was leaking oil.

Love Letters

The women in my boyfriend’s family do all the planning. I don’t want to

His parents are visiting and it seems they expect me to plan out all the entertainment.

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.

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

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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

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.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Crowds fill Copley Square during the First Night celebration in Boston, Dec. 31, 2016.

RENÉE GRAHAM

COVID-19 is surging. Cancel First Night Boston.

Honduras's president-elect, Xiomara Castro.

IDEAS | STEPHEN KINZER

The politics of immigration makes the US sing a new tune in Central America

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

IDEAS | ABDALLAH FAYYAD

Editing the Constitution

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Omicron at least doubles risk of getting infected on a plane, says top medical adviser

The latest news and guidance on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in New England and beyond.

Pfizer pill becomes first FDA-authorized home COVID treatment

The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited.

Crews searching Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester for 68-year-old man who was seen walking towards the water

The man — who was wearing a blue shirt and no shoes — parked his vehicle in the parking lot and headed towards the lake, police said.

Sharon schools reach $750,000 settlement with former superintendent who alleged racial discrimination

The Sharon School Committee is slated to meet in private today to discuss paying former superintendent Victoria Greer to settle a racial discrimination complaint she filed with the state last year.

Sports

Robert Saleh tested positive for COVID-19.

live updates

COVID-19 sports updates: Robert Saleh tests positive, 14 players on COVID-IR

We’ll be tracking the latest news, including postponements, positive tests, and other adjustments.

Bobby Dalbec hit just .219 with a .673 OPS in the first half of last season, but .269 with a .955 OPS in the second half.

Baseball

What do the Red Sox really have in Bobby Dalbec?

The first baseman can look like an All-Star one month and overwhelmed the next.

patriots

Tom Brady on Deflategate, drafting Jimmy Garoppolo and other takeaways from the latest episode of ‘Man in the Arena’

celtics

Celtics bring back 2001 first-round pick Joe Johnson on 10-day deal

NHL

NHL pulls players out of Beijing Olympics, cancels Olympic break with schedule in disarray due to COVID-19

Bob Ryan

Evaluating the state of Boston’s teams in 2021

Business

TikTok rival Triller agrees to merge with Mass. company SeaChange

Triller, a social-video platform, agreed to a merger with Boston-area firm SeaChange International in a move that will take the smaller rival to TikTok public.

Innovation Economy

This ‘Star Trek’ enterprise is taking flight

A local couple with no prior experience making toys is finding success selling $74 Tribbles.

Companies and attendees drop out of CES over Omicron concerns

US opens probe into Tesla letting drivers play video games

STAT

Listen to our "First Opinion" podcast

Listen to our "Readout LOUD" podcast

Subscribe to STAT Plus

‘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.

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.

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.

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

2021

Meet this year's Bostonians of the Year

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?

Cooking

Pfizer pill becomes first FDA-authorized home COVID treatment

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading

Parents of actress Alicia Witt found dead in their Worcester home Monday, per report

Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered by FedEx to family in Hawaii

It’s time to require vaccinations for domestic flights

Michael Mina can’t stop talking about the need for rapid COVID tests. The country may finally be listening. But is it too late?

Omicron is now dominant in Mass. We asked experts if the recent COVID surge has changed their holiday plans

Mass. coronavirus at a glance

Vaccinations

Cases and deaths

Other resources:

From bell hooks to Virgil Abloh to your local creatives, the arts contribute to radical change

The lunacy of the long distance runner

A gift that touches the heart

Voting is for citizens

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms

Tom Brady on Deflategate, drafting Jimmy Garoppolo and other takeaways from the latest episode of ‘Man in the Arena’

‘Crying happy tears’: Chyrstyn Fentroy promoted to principal dancer at Boston Ballet

Sharon schools reach $750,000 settlement with former superintendent who alleged racial discrimination

More recent stories

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.

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.

Innovation Economy This ‘Star Trek’ enterprise is taking flight A local couple with no prior experience making toys is finding success selling $74 Tribbles.

Crews searching Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester for 68-year-old man who was seen walking towards the water

Quincy police locate man who has allegedly been approaching women, claiming their cars are leaking oil Officials say they have located the man who tried to lure women, including state Representative Alyson Sullivan, out of their cars by falsely telling them their vehicle was leaking oil.

Love Letters The women in my boyfriend’s family do all the planning. I don’t want to His parents are visiting and it seems they expect me to plan out all the entertainment.

When bad becomes worse, Globe Santa is there to help

LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBE SANTA

Best of the holidays

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

Recommended reads

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

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.

‘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.

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.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

A drawing sold for $30 at a Concord estate sale. It is believed to be an original Dürer worth $50 million

‘Being the Ricardos’ brings love, marriage, and feminine mystique to the big screen

Recipes: A make-ahead New Year’s brunch menu featuring quiche

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

Special Projects

The lobster trap

The 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

A Beautiful Resistance

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

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

COVID-19 is surging. Cancel First Night Boston.

The politics of immigration makes the US sing a new tune in Central America

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

All I want for Christmas, under a sunset sky

For Laura’s Law to succeed, DPH must heed our advice

Editing the Constitution

Metro

Omicron at least doubles risk of getting infected on a plane, says top medical adviser

Pfizer pill becomes first FDA-authorized home COVID treatment

Crews searching Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester for 68-year-old man who was seen walking towards the water

Sharon schools reach $750,000 settlement with former superintendent who alleged racial discrimination

Sports

COVID-19 sports updates: Robert Saleh tests positive, 14 players on COVID-IR

What do the Red Sox really have in Bobby Dalbec?

Tom Brady on Deflategate, drafting Jimmy Garoppolo and other takeaways from the latest episode of ‘Man in the Arena’

Celtics bring back 2001 first-round pick Joe Johnson on 10-day deal

NHL pulls players out of Beijing Olympics, cancels Olympic break with schedule in disarray due to COVID-19

Evaluating the state of Boston’s teams in 2021

Business

TikTok rival Triller agrees to merge with Mass. company SeaChange

This ‘Star Trek’ enterprise is taking flight

Companies and attendees drop out of CES over Omicron concerns

US opens probe into Tesla letting drivers play video games

STAT

‘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.

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.

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.

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.

Meet this year's Bostonians of the Year

Devin McCourty and Tito SantosSilva on ending gang violence now

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

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.

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.

Innovation Economy

This ‘Star Trek’ enterprise is taking flight

A local couple with no prior experience making toys is finding success selling $74 Tribbles.

Quincy police locate man who has allegedly been approaching women, claiming their cars are leaking oil

Officials say they have located the man who tried to lure women, including state Representative Alyson Sullivan, out of their cars by falsely telling them their vehicle was leaking oil.

Love Letters

The women in my boyfriend’s family do all the planning. I don’t want to

His parents are visiting and it seems they expect me to plan out all the entertainment.

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.

‘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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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.

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.