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BILLS 33, PATRIOTS 21
The Patriots could not keep up with quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills.
Ben Volin | Instant Analysis

Patriots’ vaunted defense did not show up in biggest game of season, and it’s the reason they lost to Bills

The Patriots needed one stop, and they couldn't get it, as the Bills did not punt once all game.
Dan Shaughnessy: Turns out, Patriots as Super Bowl contenders was just a mirage Ben Volin: Which NFL teams will be looking for a new coach or general manager next month?

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are 9-6 this season.
‘Give them credit.’ Bill Belichick praised the Bills’ performance after win against the Patriots
"They did a better job than we did, that’s for sure," Belichick said after the Patriots lost their second straight game.

Mac Jones and the Patriots sit on the sidelines late in Sunday's game.
How the Patriots’ loss to the Bills unfolded
The 9-6 Patriots were riding high after a seven-game win streak, but back-to-back losses have now left them with an uncertain playoff future.

GLOBE MAGAZINE
Dave Barry looks back at the newsmakers of 2021.
Dave Barry’s 2021 Year in Review: A variant of 2020, so to speak
Is there anything positive we can say about the year? Yes. We can say that it was marginally better than last year. Granted, this is not high praise.

Vistaprint's employee Paul Hammerstrand talked about the new collaboration center in Waltham.
As the role of the office recedes, companies invest real estate savings into remote work
A few companies are downsizing drastically, investing the money they used to spend on square footage to strengthen their ability to operate with employees scattered far and wide.

What if returning to the office doesn’t involve an ‘office’? ‘Anxiety is high.’ As employers keep delaying return to office, will we ever go back?

‘A sense of community’: Can the cabins at the Shattuck be an answer to the crisis at Mass. and Cass?

The pop-up community of cabins is just one piece of what state and city officials hope will be the solution to a sprawling tent encampment at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard,
Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, then president of Brigham Health, brought a Boston delegation in April 2018 to celebrate the opening of the Boao Evergrande International Hospital in China, constructed in a new medical tourism hub.

How Brigham Health helped create a Chinese hospital for elites — and almost nobody came

In a deal worth millions with Chinese developer Evergrande, a Harvard teaching hospital risked its reputation on what would become a near-empty shell.

The Rev. Liz Walker has packed up her office at Roxbury Presbyterian Church. After 40 years in Boston, she will be starting a new chapter.
As she moves on to her next chapter, the Rev. Liz Walker offers lessons and reflections from 40 years in Boston
The Rev. Liz Walker has packed up her office at Roxbury Presbyterian Church. After 40 years in Boston as a news anchor and a minister, she will be starting a new chapter.

COVID-19: THE LATEST

US coronavirus cases soar, pushing up hospitalizations

The $4 billion COVID-19 relief package includes $125,000 to extend the Danvers Rail Trail in Middleton.
Coming to a city or town near you: Projects funded by the state’s $4 billion COVID-19 relief bill
The package will pour funds into projects large and small, from dune restoration on Martha’s Vineyard to solar panels at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham.

Travelers waited to check their bags at Logan International Airport on Christmas Day.
Travelers are still seeing delays at Logan with flights canceled nationwide
As of 2:30 p.m., the airport listed 117 delays and 43 cancellations, out of 485 flights. That’s a slight improvement from Christmas Day, when 176 flights were delayed and 84 canceled.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance
Vaccinations
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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
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
Last month's Transgender Day of Remembrance march in Washington Square Park in New York City.
RENÉE GRAHAM

Hearts of gold, beautiful spirits — and the anti-trans violence that took them away

Said one victim’s family: Her “final accomplishment was becoming . . . the person in [her] heart that [she] always wanted to be.”
The Souza-Baranowski maximum security prison in Shirley.
EDITORIAL

Broken federal clemency system needs fixing
A Ukrainian soldier on the front lines in Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine, earlier this month. At a traditional year-end news conference, President Vladimir Putin of Russia said, referring to the United States and NATO, "Do they really think we’ll sit idly as they create threats against us?"
JEFF JACOBY

As Russia gears up to invade Ukraine, the West faces a choice

Respiratory Therapist Angelika MacClellan (left) talks with nurse Natasha Cacciatore through a patients door in the Special Pathogens Unit ICU at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, on April 27, 2020.
EDITORIAL

The best tribute to health care workers? Follow the guidelines for staying healthy.
A utility crew places a toxic lead water pipe onto the road after extracting it from an apartment building and under the street in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 21. Newark city officials say crews have removed more than 22,000 lead pipes from private residential properties over the last few years and replaced them with new copper pipes.
Katherine Clark

Cleaning up America’s lead water pipes
Homeowner Tom Simon watches as Weatherization Works technician Paul Lawson installs one of three cold-climate heat pumps at the home. The pumps heat homes in the winter and cool them in the summer.

Low income communities could be saving money on energy while helping the climate, but the DPU is standing in the way

A spokesman for the state’s Energy and Environment Agency, which oversees the DPU, says the department embraces the state’s climate goals but is bound by the limits of existing statutes, and needs to proceed with caution as it sets a template for renewable projects.
Boomer benefactor Swanee Hunt (right), daughter of the late Texas oil baron H.L. Hunt, met in her Washington, D.C. home with Afghani activist Palwasha Hassan. Hunt and Hassan are working to empower women in Afghanistan through Hunt’s social justice foundation.
after the boom

In a turbulent time, baby boomers are set to pass unprecedented wealth to younger generations

Baby boomers have begun the handoff of an estimated $84.4 trillion in wealth — the largest stockpile in history — over the next quarter century. But they're also preparing to pass on values, responsibilities, and legacies at a tumultuous time.
Jonathan Balck, a managing director of ad agency Colossus, peered out the door of their offices.

Small-but-mighty Colossus emerges as the newest Boston ad agency to ride a big winning streak

It may be Boston’s fastest growing ad agency right now, though that is tough to measure.

More recent stories

Clocked in on a COVID-19 Christmas: A look at four people who worked on the holiday

This year, no one is getting a respite from the pandemic, but most got a break from their jobs on a Saturday Christmas. Still, there were those hard at work on the holiday.

Man, 29, critically injured in Worcester shooting on Christmas morning

Worcester police were sent to the third floor of an address on Webster Street at 4:40 a.m. Saturday, police wrote in a statement. Upon arrival they found the man suffering from several gunshot wounds at what “appeared to be an after-hours party.”
College Football

Fenway Bowl canceled for second straight year because of Virginia’s COVID-19 outbreak

Virginia, which was slated to face SMU, has virus issues among team members, and Wednesday's game was officially called off Sunday.
Boston College football season ends as Military Bowl vs. East Carolina canceled due to COVID-19 issues

Archbishop Tutu was known for his sonorous voice and animated sermons.
Desmond Tutu, whose voice helped slay apartheid, dies at 90
The archbishop led the church to the forefront of Black South Africans’ decadeslong struggle for freedom. His voice was a powerful force for nonviolence in the anti-apartheid movement, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey
Maura Healey has prosecuted dozens for public wrongdoing. The results have been mixed
"When you look at the AG’s office’s priorities, you don’t see public corruption," one former state and federal prosecutor said.

Transportation Security Administration officer Cecilia Morales jumped over a conveyor belt at security checkpoint to assist a mother with her unresponsive baby, performing a life-saving maneuver at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J.
TSA officer saves infant who stopped breathing at New Jersey airport
A security officer leapt over conveyor belt rollers and saved a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, newly released video shows.

Globe Santa

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a THANK YOU!

Thousands have made the decision to help Globe Santa, and the campaign is profoundly grateful.

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

Recommended reads

Pedestrians stood in line at COVID-19 mobile testing site at Columbus Circle in New York.

How to know if those are Omicron symptoms, or maybe just the common cold

With winter underway and cases of Omicron surging nationwide, you may be wondering if that runny nose or aching throat is a dreaded case of COVID-19 or merely a symptom of the common cold.

Grace Gagnon and her dog.
A Boston woman posted to TikTok offering to swap homes with a stranger like the movie ‘The Holiday.’ She leaves for England next week
“Anyone in England want to switch places for the holiday?” Grace Gagnon, a 25-year-old Boston woman, wrote in a now-viral video posted to her TikTok account. “I have a studio [apartment] on Boston’s waterfront.”

Harvard scientist Charles Lieber leaves the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse 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.
Harvard professor’s conviction brings scrutiny of China Initiative
After Harvard Professor Charles Lieber became the first academic convicted at trial under the Justice Department’s China Initiative, the former prosecutor who brought the case said the government should stop targeting researchers and focus on cases involving espionage and the theft of trade secrets.

Rashmi Wassan hugged her granddaughter Diya Wassan while singing Christmas carols during a Christmas Eve service at the Hancock United Church of Christ in Lexington. As the Omicron variant surges throughout the country, churches have once again had to adapt their Christmas celebrations to keep their congregations comfortable and safe.
‘Perfect way to celebrate safely’: Christmas churchgoers brave freezing outdoor services amid Omicron surge
As surging coronavirus cases prompted many churches to cancel Christmas services nationwide, some parishes in Massachusetts were determined Friday to maintain their annual Christmas Eve traditions, no matter the obstacles.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Ellis Paul closes out the year with a run of full-band shows at Club Passim.
THE TICKET

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond
"The Christmas Revels" canceled its six remaining post-Christmas shows at the Sanders Theatre in Cambridge.

Enter, stage left: Omicron
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
Pages from "Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom," a new book curated by his daughter, Nora Guthrie

In a new book about Woody Guthrie, his daughter tells his story through what he left behind

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

MARCELA GARCÍA

In defense of materialism: Why shopping and holiday gift-giving is my love language
Alex Beam

No, no, nocebo!
A nurse from Brigham and Women's Hospital watches as demonstrators gather outside the Massachusetts State House in September to protest COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates
Jeffrey L. Schnipper

Pandemic Christmas at the Brigham
It was Dec. 17, and I still had no tree.
Mary Ann D'Urso

This year, Christmas at my house got canceled
Joan Vennochi

A gift that touches the heart
IDEAS | ABDALLAH FAYYAD

Editing the Constitution

Metro

Twin brothers killed in Mattapoisett car crash remembered as doting fathers

Alberto and Ruddy Morales, 33, were killed Friday when their car slammed into the median on I-195 in Mattapoisett.

A changing of the guard in Lowell as a diverse leadership takes office

“It’s a historical moment. It’s a new chapter of the city of Lowell’s history.” said Paul Ratha Yem, whose election in November made him the third Cambodian-American member of the city council.

Big Brother mentors sought for growing waitlist of young boys

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts has a waitlist of about 250 boys and is hoping to inspire a surge of new male volunteers during National Mentoring Month in January.
Coronavirus Live Updates

US coronavirus cases soar, pushing up hospitalizations

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

Sports

Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson (left) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Greg Van Roten.
NFL NOTEBOOK

In rookie quarterback matchup, 2 is greater than 1 as Jets’ Zach Wilson outduels Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence

In New York's win, the second overall pick rushed for a team-record 91 yards, including a 52-yard score that is the longest by a quarterback in franchise history.
Mac Jones was shoved while out of bounds by Jerry Hughes, but a flag was picked up after the officials conferred.
Patriots notebook

Officials picked up a flag, eventually ruling ‘incidental contact’ when Mac Jones was hit out of bounds by Jerry Hughes in the first half

The Patriots would have had the ball on the Buffalo 38-yard line, and in position to cut into a 17-7 deficit.
In cltuch end-of-game situtations of late, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has struggled to produce, going 2 for 12 overall and 0 for 4 from the 3-point line, with one assist in the final minute of games that are within five points,
Celtics

After a frustrating setback vs. the Bucks, Celtics seek a finishing kick

Boston’s .333 winning percentage in "clutch" games ranks 26th in the NBA, only better than likely lottery-bound teams such as the Spurs, Pelicans, Pistons and Pacers.
Dan Shaughnessy

Turns out, Patriots as Super Bowl contenders was just a mirage

NFL ROUNDUP

Antonio Brown key in return as Tom Brady, Tampa Bay lock up NFC South title
live updates

COVID-19 sports updates: Bruins’ Charlie Coyle enters NHL’s COVID-19 protocols

Business

Boston nonprofit aims to help the unhoused with prepaid debit cards

Recipients can use the $250 nearly anywhere — liquor stores, smoke shops, casinos, and ATMs are excluded.
THE FINE PRINT

Putting $300,000 in the win column for consumers

As the year draws to a close, it’s customary for us to take stock of how we’ve helped consumers get money due to them from safaris, bills, phone scams, and more.

As the role of the office recedes, companies invest real estate savings into remote work

Fauci warns of coronavirus complacency with Omicron variant set to fill hospitals

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
Jonathan Way plays with two coyotes he helped raise at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham in 2004.
GLOBE MAGAZINE

This scientist bottle-fed and bayed with coyotes. Was he sidelined for loving them too much?
PERSPECTIVE

We’re all feeling fine. We really are. Except we’re not.
This week's daters: Gordon and Jackie.
Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘He and his friends had planned their own questions to ask when getting to know someone’
Quiche With Mushrooms, Bacon, and Gruyère
Cooking

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

metro

A 30-bed cottage community is nder construction on the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital campus.

‘A sense of community’: Can the cabins at the Shattuck be an answer to the crisis at Mass. and Cass?

Travelers are still seeing delays at Logan with flights canceled nationwide

Coming to a city or town near you: Projects funded by the state’s $4 billion COVID-19 relief bill

sports

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are 9-6 this season.

‘Give them credit.’ Bill Belichick praised the Bills’ performance after win against the Patriots

Joe Burrow shreds Baltimore secondary for 525 yards as Cincinnati tops AFC North

Patriots’ vaunted defense did not show up in biggest game of season, and it’s the reason they lost to Bills

business

Jonathan Balck, a managing director of ad agency Colossus, peered out the door of their offices.

Small-but-mighty Colossus emerges as the newest Boston ad agency to ride a big winning streak

The week in Business

Flight cancellations snarl holiday plans for thousands across the US

politics

President Biden.

As prices rise, President Biden turns to antitrust enforcers

Bidens mark Christmas with holiday calls to service members

Explainer: How will Biden’s COVID-19 test giveaway work?

Nation

Dayvon Johnson, a Muskogee, Okla., sixth-grader is being praised by law enforcement and school officials for his heroic actions not just once, but twice in the same day.

A sixth-grader saves the lives of two people on the same day

US coronavirus cases soar, pushing up hospitalizations

Fauci warns of coronavirus complacency with Omicron variant set to fill hospitals

World

Members of the public are seen shopping during the Boxing Day sales on December 26, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ireland tells people to avoid shops, crowds as Omicron spreads

Training civilians, Ukraine nurtures a resistance in waiting

Australian state sees record cases, lab sends false results

opinion

A sign directing museumgoers to vaccines is displayed at the Museum of Science on Nov. 13. The museum, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Cataldo Ambulance Service, hosted the vaccine clinic for those age 5 and older.

Tougher vaccine rules for Boston are welcome

Mayor Wu deserves credit for Mass. and Cass plan, but the problem calls for statewide solution

Republicans are justified in opposing Build Back Better bill

lifestyle

Pierre Brasseur as Frederick Lemaitre and Arletty as Garance in the 1945 film "Children of Paradise."

10 films to stream before the clock strikes midnight

10 New Year’s Eve-themed sitcom episodes to ring in 2022

She talks to me like I’m her student

food & dining

Bartender Lillian Ferranti pouring a Manhattan inside Hyde, a new speakeasy in Providence, Rhode Island.

Top places to ring in the New Year in Rhode Island

Where to find the best whoopie pies around New England

Wusong Road softly opens in Harvard Square; Vermont’s Spruce Peak serves comfort food, slope-side

travel

.

New Year’s at the Mystic museum, curling at the Liberty Hotel, and a test lab in the palm of your hand

Jenna Rubaii seeks out parks and the unexpected when traveling

It’s OK to vacation like an adult

Arts

Visitors at "Imagine Van Gogh" at the SoWa Power Station.

‘Imagine Van Gogh’ doesn’t leave much to the imagination

Adria Arch, known for airborne sculptures, grounds herself with ‘The Visitors’

Italy obscura: Photographer Abelardo Morell opens the mind’s eye

Books

Away in a manger in ‘The First Christmas’

She reads about politics — and everything else

Examining truth and consequences in ‘Trust’

Movies

Just another night in 1973, from "Licorice Pizza."

Movies set in the ’70s: Getting beyond disco and double knits

A Boston woman posted to TikTok offering to swap homes with a stranger like the movie ‘The Holiday.’ She leaves for England next week

Doc Talk: Slavery today, the tragic end of a rap legend

Television

David Schwimmer as Ross Geller and Courteney Cox as Monica Geller dancing in the "Friends" episode "The One With the Routine."

10 New Year’s Eve-themed sitcom episodes to ring in 2022

‘The Chair’ got academia right, romance wrong

Natasha Rothwell is ready to be the lead of her own rom-com

music

Billy Conway died at age 65 after battling cancer for several years.

It didn’t take a lot for drummer Billy Conway to make a big impression

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

Theater/Dance

"The Christmas Revels" canceled its six remaining post-Christmas shows at the Sanders Theatre in Cambridge.

Enter, stage left: Omicron

On Boston stages, these three supporting players are showstoppers

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ still strikes a powerful chord

globe local

Big Brother Jessie Stettin visited his Little Brother Demetrius, who he has been matched with for about three years, in his South End neighborhood in 2020.

Big Brother mentors sought for growing waitlist of young boys

Coming to a city or town near you: Projects funded by the state’s $4 billion COVID-19 relief bill

Firefighter injured while battling 2-alarm fire in vacant building on Washington Street

Obituaries

Archbishop Tutu was known for his sonorous voice and animated sermons.

Desmond Tutu, whose voice helped slay apartheid, dies at 90

Joan Didion, peerless prose stylist, dies at 87

Chuck Hunt, the state’s first ‘first husband,’ remembered for his ‘kindness toward the least powerful’