The Boston Globe

The Methuen Police Station.

Arbitrator rejects contract that would have required city of Methuen to pay some police captains $500,000 a year

Arbitrator Loretta Attardo found that Methuen city officials had no idea when they signed the agreement that the leader of the union had inserted massive pay increases for police captains.

These maps show just how cold it’s about to get in Mass.

It’s time to bundle up. The coldest temperatures of the season are arriving to Massachusetts on Tuesday.

Dave Epstein: Bitter cold is on the way Boston Public Schools will be closed Tuesday due to extreme cold

Baker suggests he’s open to clemency, but does not say if he’ll commute murderer’s life sentence

The governor must decide by week’s end whether he agrees with the state Advisory Board of Pardons’ recommendation to commute the life sentence of a Brockton native who has spent nearly three decades in prison for the 1987 slaying of a New Bedford man.

Will Charlie Baker commute a convicted murderer’s life sentence?

‘A very good day’: Rachael Rollins sworn in as US attorney for Massachusetts

Rachael Rollins made history Monday as the first Black woman to serve as US attorney for Massachusetts.

Kevin Cullen: At the US attorney’s office, a team of rivals

In first COVID-19 data report since Friday, Mass. reports 60,986 confirmed cases and 53 deaths

Here’s a look at the latest coronavirus numbers in Massachusetts, including case numbers, deaths, demographics, and more.

Massachusetts unveils new proof-of-vaccination website

Baker says ‘the best place for kids is in school’ amid COVID surge

Boston’s COVID hospitalization rate jumps 50 percent; officials working to protect schools, city says

THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

Mayor Wu advocates for flexibility in remote learning; Mass. officials extend school mask mandate through Feb.

North Kingstown School District in R.I. ‘lost control’ of star coach Aaron Thomas, new federal complaint alleges

A new complaint by five former student-athletes reveals additional accusations, including that Thomas posed one student in “sex positions” during naked tests and that the school allowed the coach “to groom students into the widespread acceptance” of “naked inspection and touching of children.”

For BPD sergeant leading push against vaccination mandate, a mixed work history

Shana Cottone, a 14-year-veteran of the department, is currently on leave during an internal affairs probe.

The Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster.

Federal lawsuit accuses state officials of retaliatory violence against Souza-Baranowski prisoners

A federal lawsuit filed Monday by nine Black and Latino men who are, or recently were, incarcerated at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center accuses prison officials of orchestrating “weeks of unprovoked, retaliatory violence” against prisoners as a brutal reminder about who was in charge of the maximum-security institution.

President Joe Biden at the Capitol in Washington.

Biden and Democrats are beginning to embrace an old line from former Boston mayor Kevin White. It might just save them in the midterms and 2024

During a seemingly strategic shift last week to scrap unity talk and directly confront former president Donald Trump as he marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Biden may have previewed his mantra for the next year, or even for his reelection.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross (left) hired Brian Flores as his head coach in February 2019.

ben volin | on football

Why would the Dolphins fire Brian Flores? Owner Stephen Ross still doesn’t know what he’s doing

The general manager who chose Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert gets to stay. The coach who went 19-14 the last two years gets the ax.

NFL Black Monday tracker: Broncos ask to interview Patriots’ Jerod Mayo; Giants GM retires Scouting the Patriots-Bills wild-card game

Opinion

Rioters swarm the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 waving flags, including the "thin blue line" flag associated with Blue Lives Matter supporters. Some police departments, including that in Seattle, have conducted investigations into whether officers from their cities broke laws during the insurrection.

Did a Boston cop participate in the Jan. 6 attack?

It’s been more than a year since the failed uprising against American democracy, but the police department hasn’t yet wrapped up its inquiry into whether one or more BPS officers were among the insurrectionists.

Teffany Akins with her daughter, Layla, at their home in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, on Jan. 6. Most public schools in Chicago were closed for a third day on Jan. 7 with no resolution in sight due to a standoff between the teachers’ union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration over coronavirus precautions and testing.

MARCELA GARCÍA

In-person learning tests the teachers unions and Democrats’ longtime alliance

If Maura Healey is running, she should make it very clear why she wants to be governor.

Maybe Maura Healey isn’t a slam dunk for governor

Cambridge students wait in line with their parents at King Open Elementary School on Jan. 3 to be tested for COVID-19 before school reopened after the winter break.

To keep schools open during COVID, Governor Baker must make them safer

Qing Wang, who was accused of hiding ties to a Chinese university while securing US research grants, says he "was shocked" when he was arrested in May 2020. Wang is photographed at home in Cleveland on Aug. 18.

The Justice Department should back off researchers

More recent stories

In a first, US surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

In a medical first, doctors transplanted a pig heart into a patient in a last-ditch effort to save his life, and a Maryland hospital said Monday that he’s doing well three days after the highly experimental surgery.

Bob Saget loved Boston, and Boston loved Bob Saget. Here are a few stories.

The legendary comedian made a surprise appearance at a Guster show at the Boston Opera House in 2007, gave some memorable advice to a local comedian, and called the Wilbur Theatre one of his favorite places in the world to do stand up.

Here’s what to know about the Harmony Montgomery investigation

Authorities are continuing to search for 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery, who went missing in the fall of 2019 in New Hampshire and whose father is currently charged criminally in connection with her disappearance. This is what we know about the case so far.

Mayor Wu says 83 people have already moved from Mass. and Cass to new housing

Wu said that officials have created enough new housing units to accommodate the roughly 145 people who were sleeping at the encampments overnight during a recent survey of the area.

Moderna says Omicron-specific vaccine won’t be ready before fall; data in young children imminent

Speaking at the virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Moderna chief executive Stéphane Bancel also said the company is working on an all-in-one annual vaccine for respiratory illnesses.

Yale, MIT sued for colluding to hold down financial aid packages

More than a dozen top US colleges including Yale, Columbia, and MIT were sued for allegedly conspiring to manipulate the admissions system to hold down financial aid for students and benefit wealthy applicants.

Special Project

UNDER THE WHEEL

This is the story of Anthony Pledger and his mother, of Anthony’s lives and deaths, of Anthony and me.

THE GREAT DIVIDE ⟶

See the latest from our education team focused on race, class, and opportunity in schools.

RHODE ISLAND ⟶

See the latest from Globe Rhode Island.

NEWTON ⟶

See the Globe’s expanded Newton coverage in partnership with Boston University.

Recommended reads

A welcome distraction for people stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the Sav-Mor Liquors sign has become an institution.

The Sav-Mor Liquors sign on McGrath Highway in Somerville will no longer be telling you jokes

The company is moving its flagship to a spot in Assembly Row, and is giving up the large marquee where they’ve long posted humorous sayings to the delight of customers. Luckily, they will keep up the shenanigans on a much smaller sign at their new location.

Robert Durst, real estate heir convicted of murder, dies

Durst died in a state prison hospital facility in Stockton, his attorney Chip Lewis said. He said it was from natural causes due to a number of health issues.

The next abortion battleground: campus health clinics

A campaign to make medication abortions available on college campuses is viewed as a way of destigmatizing abortion care, and as a Blue State response to restrictions anticipated in the South and Midwest.

The state wants to redo the Hurley Building. But how?

State officials are considering four proposals to redevelop the Hurley Building on Cambridge Street alongside Beacon Hill. But they're keeping the proposals themselves under tight wraps.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Jabari Asim (”Yonder”) reads at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store.

Author readings around Boston Jan. 9-15

Steve Aoki (pictured in July 2021 at Lollapalooza in Chicago) performs Jan. 8 at Big Night Live and Jan. 9 at Mémoire.

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Aaron LaVigne (left) as Jesus and Tommy Sherlock as Pilate in "Jesus Christ Superstar."

A ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ with swagger, but imbued with sorrow

Mohammed Al-Kinani's story is included in a new book of Maine immigrant experiences. (Lilit Danielyan)

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS

A poet’s funny, poignant memories and a new book of Maine immigrant experiences

Special Projects

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.

Spotlight team report

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.

Hanson-11/20/2021- Hingham vs Natick in the MIAA Division1 title game.
The Natick girls soccer team celebrate their Division 1 MIAA win over Hingham at Whitman - Hanson High school. Photo by Debee Tlumacki for the Boston Globe (sports)

Meet the Globe’s Fall 2021 All-Scholastics

The Globe salutes the region's best high school athletes and coaches in the seven fall sports.

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.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Cambridge students wait in line with their parents at King Open Elementary School on Jan. 3 to be tested for COVID-19 before school reopened after the winter break.

To keep schools open during COVID, Governor Baker must make them safer

Qing Wang, who was accused of hiding ties to a Chinese university while securing US research grants, says he "was shocked" when he was arrested in May 2020. Wang is photographed at home in Cleveland on Aug. 18.

The Justice Department should back off researchers

Co-workers Sean Benedict and Dennis Dobbins Jr. prepare their self-administered COVID tests at Brick and Mortar on Dec. 29 before the restaurant opens.

Joseph Hogan, Alyssa Bilinski, Elizabeth Stuart, and Joshua Salomon

Surveillance, screening, and self-testing can help us manage COVID in the long term

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani in Vienna on Dec. 27.

If the US can’t hold Iran, it must know when — and how — to fold

How the filibuster used to be, as depicted in the 1939 film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

The filibuster has been bad, but repealing it would be worse

IDEAS | DAVID SCHARFENBERG

Can Mayor Wu really make the T free?

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Mayor Wu advocates for flexibility in remote learning; Mass. officials extend school mask mandate through Feb.

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

What you need to know about North Kingstown High School Coach Aaron Thomas and the ‘fat test’ issue

Former NKHS student-athletes say basketball coach Aaron Thomas had them strip naked so he could conduct “fat tests” near their genitals. Now, the attorney general is investigating. Catch up on the story here, with earlier reporting as well as the latest news from the lawyers, school administrators, parents, and victims

North Kingstown School District in R.I. ‘lost control’ of star coach Aaron Thomas, new federal complaint alleges

A new complaint by five former student-athletes reveals additional accusations, including that Thomas posed one student in “sex positions” during naked tests and that the school allowed the coach “to groom students into the widespread acceptance” of “naked inspection and touching of children.”

Arbitrator rejects contract that would have required city of Methuen to pay some police captains $500,000 a year

Arbitrator Loretta Attardo found that Methuen city officials had no idea when they signed the agreement that the leader of the union had inserted massive pay increases for police captains.

Sports

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw a season-high 64 times, finishing with 383 yards and three TDs in the Chargers’ 35-32 loss to the Raiders Sunday night.

In a terrific finish to NFL’s regular season Sunday night, Justin Herbert’s heroics not enough as Chargers lose to Raiders and miss the playoffs

The Chargers lost in overtime on a field goal, and a tie would have gotten them into the postseason.

Vic Fangio went 19-30 in three years at the helm of the Broncos.

A closer look at the coach/general manager firings around the NFL

Some of these moves were easy to see coming, and there could be more departures ahead.

Dave Gettleman announced his retirement Monday.

NFL Black Monday tracker: Broncos ask to interview Patriots’ Jerod Mayo; Giants GM retires

The 2021 NFL regular season has come to an end, and with it comes a flurry of coach, coordinator, and general manager firings. We're tracking the latest.

Hall of Fame receiver Don Maynard dead at age 86

ben volin | on football

Why would the Dolphins fire Brian Flores? Owner Stephen Ross still doesn’t know what he’s doing

A slip caused the No. 1 speed skater to miss the Olympics — until her teammate gave up her spot

Business

This Boston ad firm has become a go-to marketing agency for the Baker administration

Bold Types, our weekly column about movers and shakers in the Boston business scene.

Powell Heads for Senate Vetting Punctuated by Inflation Urgency

Rising consumer prices, alleged insider trading by Federal Reserve officials, and the Fed's planned responses to climate concerns are only three of the many topics Fed chair Jerome Powell will be pressed to elaborate on during his nomination hearing Tuesday.

The latest must-have at luxury apartment buildings? COVID rapid tests

Take-Two will buy Zynga in union of two top game makers

STAT

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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

It's been 50 years since the groundbreaking kids' show "Zoom" debuted on WGBH.

In 1972, the kids took over TV on the first "Zoom" to enter our homes

The roller-skating heroes who fought racism in Boston

My fiance thinks my dress is too short for our courthouse wedding

Peruvian Quinoa and Corn Chowder (Chupe de Quinoa)

Recipes: Keep that resolution to eat better with 3 quinoa dishes

metro

The Providence Teachers Union holds a rally opposing school reopening outside of the Rhode Island Department of Education building while the State Council on Elementary and Secondary Education meets inside.

R.I. teachers union calls for distance learning until Jan. 18

Baker suggests he’s open to clemency, but does not say if he’ll commute murderer’s life sentence

Westborough police officer, driver injured in three-vehicle crash

sports

It remains unclear when Tuukka Rask will be back in the Boston net.

Bruins’ plans for Tuukka Rask remain up in the air

Patriots aren’t an intimidating opponent in the playoffs this time

The Celtics need some energy. Maybe signing Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract would do it?

business

The Bannister Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing is located at 135 Dodge Street, in Providence.

R.I. will require nursing home visitors to be vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19

Massachusetts unveils new proof-of-vaccination website

Amazon falls to lowest since May as Big Tech weakness continues

politics

The gate of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland.

An Indiana GOP state senator backtracks on comments that teachers ‘need to be impartial’ during lessons about Nazism and fascism

Biden and Democrats are beginning to embrace an old line from former Boston mayor Kevin White. It might just save them in the midterms and 2024

Home COVID tests will be covered by insurers starting Saturday. Here are the details

Nation

People wait in line at the Bowdoin Street Health Center to get a COVID-19 test.

Mayor Wu advocates for flexibility in remote learning; Mass. officials extend school mask mandate through Feb.

In a first, US surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

US hospitals letting COVID-infected staff stay on the job

World

French President Emmanuel Macron, here speaking with a woman in a southern French village, promised stronger domestic security and evoked feelings of a bid for a second presidential term in a speech given in Nice, France. Macron has not released any official confirmation of an electoral run as of yet.

Macron talks up security in French conservative stronghold

India starts booster shots for vulnerable amid Omicron surge

India bans election rallies for a week, as virus cases soar

opinion

Crushed under the wheel of the past, and rising to meet its challenges

With so many down, how could nihilism be uplifting?

How to boost voter turnout to nearly 100 percent

lifestyle

Bob Saget

Bob Saget loved Boston, and Boston loved Bob Saget. Here are a few stories.

Row 34 will open a fourth branch in Kendall Square this fall

Audie Cornish joins CNN after leaving NPR and ‘All Things Considered’

food & dining

Row 34's Warm Buttered Lobster Roll.

Row 34 will open a fourth branch in Kendall Square this fall

The scoop on Main Street: Toscanini’s returns

McGuirk’s Folly pops up at Middlesex Lounge; Salt + Stone comes to Somerville

travel

Seth Sikes at Fire Island Pines, N.Y.

Seth Sikes on beach massages, Judy and Liza, and his upcoming show at Club Café

Orbitz switched her Aruba vacation — but not her hotel in Tahiti

AutoCamp lands in Joshua Tree, Skyspace debuts in South America, and a new lodge opens in Stowe

Arts

Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868–1940), "Landscapes and Interiors: Through the Fields, 1899." Lithograph on paper.

‘Hue & Cry’ at the Clark explores controversy of color printmaking in 19th-century France

Mass. and Cass, cast in bronze and on canvas

Actress and advocate Taraji P. Henson is part of the Museum of Science’s upcoming programming

Books

Kathryn Schulz’s memoir ‘Lost & Found’ traces life’s gifts and sorrows

Martín Espada: stacks of books, from poetry to photography

Hanya Yanagihara’s new novel ‘To Paradise’ ponders freedom and loneliness

Movies

Milena Smit (left) and Penelope Cruz (right) in "Parallel Mothers."

In ‘Parallel Mothers,’ the past is very much present

The power of Sidney Poitier’s stardom

A list of 20 movies, TV shows, and documentaries to stream during the snowstorm

Television

Bob Saget in Beverly Hills in November.

Among Bob Saget’s many talents: his excellent voiceover work on ‘How I Met Your Mother’

Bob Saget, comedian who starred in ‘Full House’ and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ has died

What I’m watching this week: the debut of ‘Somebody Somewhere,’ a ‘Ray Donovan’ movie, new family dramas, and a superhero spinoff

music

Alasdair White will perform Thursday and teach a workshop on Sunday at the BCMFest.

With Omicron surging, Passim’s annual Boston Celtic Music Festival goes virtual

A Far Cry’s ‘Firefly’ brought comforting night music, perfect for the darkest days of the year

At BSO, the year’s first notes are new

Theater/Dance

Aaron LaVigne (left) as Jesus and Tommy Sherlock as Pilate in "Jesus Christ Superstar."

A ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ with swagger, but imbued with sorrow

The team that put ‘Mr. Parent’ in a class, by himself

Rather than try to explain Lord Buckley, he becomes him onstage

globe local

The Methuen Police Station.

Arbitrator rejects contract that would have required city of Methuen to pay some police captains $500,000 a year

Baker suggests he’s open to clemency, but does not say if he’ll commute murderer’s life sentence

Vocational schools offer adults a blueprint for success, with classes funded by the state

Obituaries

Mr. Maynard made his biggest impact catching passes from Joe Namath for the New York Jets. He was the first receiver to reach 10,000 career yards.

Hall of Fame receiver Don Maynard dead at age 86

Robert Durst, real estate heir convicted of murder, dies

Bob Saget, comedian who starred in ‘Full House’ and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ has died