The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe

At least 68 killed in central Gaza in airstrike, adding to weekend’s bloodshed

At least 68 people were killed by an Israeli strike in central Gaza, health officials said Sunday, while the number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat over the weekend rose to 15.

‘God is under the rubble in Gaza’: Bethlehem’s subdued Christmas Without a truce, UN resolution may do little for Gaza, aid groups say

Claudine Gay turmoil forces Harvard’s secretive ‘corporation’ into spotlight
Harvard’s powerful board has backed its president and said little else, yet a member privately said “generational change” may be needed.

Who are the members of the Harvard Corporation? Critics see ‘double standard’ in Harvard’s handling of plagiarism allegations

As conflicts rage abroad, a fractured Congress tries to rally support for historic global challenges

With support for Ukraine slipping in Congress, the United States is once again struggling to assert its role in the world.

Russian shelling kills 4 as Ukraine prepares to observe Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time

What went wrong for the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign in 2023

The Iowa caucus is approaching on Jan. 15, and Ron DeSantis is hoping that a strong showing there would vault him back into contention in the Republican race.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Christmas Eve to remain cloudy, with some glimpses of sunshine arriving on Christmas Day
Temps will remain in the 40s while the next storm system is set to bring rain to southern New England starting Wednesday afternoon.

When did Boston last wake up to a white Christmas?

What’s open and closed on Christmas Day

Terrance Williams (center), with his wife, Pamela, was congratulated after appearing at a June news conference at which Governor Maura Healey announced she was recommending pardons for Williams and six others.

Clemency was a political third rail for decades. Healey and other governors are starting to embrace it.

Governor Maura Healey's move to pardon 13 people is positioning Massachusetts among a growing number of states where chief executives are again embracing clemency.

Patriots at Broncos | 8:15 p.m.

Tara Sullivan

Patriots’ problems are epitomized by the handling of their third-string quarterback
There were issues on the roster everywhere, but none so glaring as the backup to the backup QB.

Is there anything worth building around on this Patriots team? Here are a few names.

Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore has been playing at an All-Pro level.

Chad Finn | Unconventional Preview

The Broncos have something to play for on Sunday, but for Patriots it’s time to focus on future

The Patriots are out of the running for the playoffs, but can play spoiler in Denver.

THE FINE PRINT

A snapshot, a headstone, and a final wish realized
At age 95, Frank Agresti has finally fulfilled a final wish: to have a smiling photo of him and his late wife made into a "porcelain portrait" and permanently fixed to the headstone where he will someday be buried.

Can I follow them on social media?

We never made it to a date.

Stuart share podcast

Listen to the podcast

Presented in association with HBO, 'Murder in Boston: The untold story of the Charles and Carol Stuart shooting' is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Read chapter one of ‘Nightmare in Mission Hill’ Read the full series

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has plenty to do as the offseason continues.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto off the market, where will the Red Sox turn in free agency?

With Tyler O’Neill representing the team’s biggest acquisition of the offseason, there is plenty for the Red Sox to do.

The 29 best photos of 2023 taken by Boston Globe photographers

Staff photographers share the stories behind their most unforgettable images of the past year.

Volunteers answer phones and emails from children around the globe during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa event on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

A North American military command is tracking Santa’s every move and kids can follow along

As children around the world eagerly await Santa’s arrival on Christmas, the military is closely tracking his every move.

Beyond the Gilded Gate

The $600,000 problem. Why does it cost so much to build housing in Boston, and what can we do about it?

Many forces drive the housing crisis here, and the sky-high cost of construction is one of the most powerful.

Calculator: How costs affect construction of an apartment building

Explore the project

Opinion

"It's a Wonderful Life," released in movie theaters in 1946, got a second life on TV.

The wonderful life of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

In Frank Capra’s beloved film, numerous characters, and even a house, get a second chance.

Massachusetts should ban PFAS in consumer products

At this year’s holiday table, heated debates will be on the menu

IDEAS | OMER AZIZ

What Christmas means to me as a Muslim

In Israel-Hamas war, how much is enough is a two-sided question

More recent News

Painkillers without addiction? Vertex hopes its experimental pill can be first in a new class of drugs.
Vertex wants to interrupt pain signals before they reach the brain, and because its non-opioid drug would bypass the central nervous system, it would provide pain relief without the risk of addiction.

YVONNE ABRAHAM

These advocates see the pain of homeless families up close every day. It takes a toll.
“Given the whole state of housing in Massachusetts, this job is the opposite of hopeful.”

Yvonne Abraham: They’re poor, but not poor enough to qualify for emergency housing in Massachusetts

‘I’m learning how to be emotionally open.’ A 1-on-1 with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on surrender, family, and a championship quest
Mazzulla sat down with the Globe for an honest and wide-ranging conversation.

Woman, 27, killed in crash on I-293 in Bedford, N.H.
Kayla Ramirez of Manchester, N.H. was killed in Thursday's crash that also injured a 19-year-old woman from Pittsfield, officials said Saturday.

29-year-old man shot, killed at bar in Lawrence

At approximately 12:20 a.m., police responded to a report of shots fired at Energy Lounge on 459 Broadway in Lawrence.

Trooper injured when alleged drunk driver crashes into cruiser on Route 24 in West Bridgewater

Ildo Wilson De Pina, 38, of Taunton, is facing multiple charges, including operating under the influence of liquor, for the early morning crash that left the trooper and another driver with minor injuries, State Police said Saturday evening.

Globe Santa

Half a century of remembering Globe Santa
Joseph A. Milano, president of Boston’s Union Oyster House, has many titles and many interests, but an initiative that’s particularly close to his heart is Globe Santa.

Donate to Globe Santa

Globe Santa is a program of the Boston Globe Foundation and exists solely to deliver joy to children.

Recommended reads

A Green Line train in Somerville.

The MBTA’s new Green Line extension has a long history of trouble. It’s still not fixed.

“There’s a lot of hiding at the T, of keeping secrets, of not passing along bad news,” said Thomas P. Glynn, the chair of the T's oversight board. “It’s part of the culture.”

Maine law enforcement knew shooter posed a threat but were concerned about confronting him, video shows

‘Bernard was the very best of Cambridge’: The bond between the Palestinian family behind Brookline Lunch and their Jewish lawyer
A pivotal meeting in Central Square was the start of a lasting friendship, one that would unite two families — one Palestinian and one Jewish — in affection and now in grief.

Larry Edelman | Trendlines

The tough challenges ahead for the Massachusetts economy
Unemployment is low, inflation is falling, and the Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates. But the state faces some forbidding headwinds.

‘Winning requires hard work’: Wayfair CEO sends employees a gloomy pre-holiday email following layoff-filled year
“Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from,” Niraj Shah wrote in the email obtained by the Globe. “There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

Culture & Lifestyle

From left: Krystina Alabado, Reneé Rapp, Kate Rockwell, and Erika Henningsen in the Broadway production of "Mean Girls," an adaptation that transformed Tina Fey's screen comedy into a musical. Now a film version of the musical is set for release on Jan. 12.

From screen to stage and back to screen, this time trying to carry a tune

Michael O'Donnell, a BC Law School grad, has written a novel about a father and son hiking and hiding in New Hampshire.

In Michael O’Donnell’s debut novel, a father and son hide from danger in the White Mountains

Rapper Clark D performs during the 2023 Boston Music Awards at Big Night Live Wednesday night. He won album/EP of the year for “Propaganda.”

Boston Music Awards show dazzles with diverse, dynamic, and defiant performances

Left to right (from top): “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos,” various artists; “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello,” Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello; “History Kinda Pales When It and You Are Aligned: The Days of Wine and Roses 40th Anniversary Edition,” The Dream Syndicate; “In Utero: 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe,” Nirvana; “The Journey, Parts 1 and 2,″ The Kinks; John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy, “Evenings at the Village Gate”; Drive-By Truckers, “The Complete Dirty South”; Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly Trio, “Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings”; The Velvet Underground, “Loaded: Fully Re-Loaded Edition.”

The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Stax soul, and more: 9 great album reissues of 2023

Special Projects

Photo Illustration

Boston thrives off the dreams of young people. But can they make it here?

Baby boomers and Gen Xers benefited from economic conditions that do not exist for millennials. And by many measures, the path ahead for Gen Z is even more fraught.

Boston, MA—12/14/2022 - Commuters wait for the T to arrive at Ruggles Station. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

Boston doesn’t work if the T doesn’t work

With the MBTA engulfed by issues, everyday riders are feeling the pain.

Brittany Tee, Soomaiiah Quraiishi, and Reina Morales Rojas are among thousands of people thought to be missing from Massachusetts.

How the missing become the uncounted

Inside the government’s flawed approach to finding missing persons.

Two Weeks in America

Two Weeks in America

We sent a dozen journalists on the road across this complex country. They found it’s better than you think.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

"On the spot . . . my life and its aims did a 180 degree turn, flopped over, said a new start was in order."

IDEAS | TOM SHEEHAN

I found my muse as a writer at Boston College 70 years ago

Downplaying the horrors of slavery will never erase its stain or America’s shame

Harvard University president Claudine Gay attended a campus menorah lighting ceremony at Harvard University on Dec. 13.

How Harvard’s Claudine Gay can help mend the wounds left by Oct. 7

Holiday vibes in Hong Kong

Vibe check on 2023

Worst Santa ever!

Worst Santa ever!

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU

Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU nurse

Metro

Late Mayor Menino’s family gives out gifts to families on Christmas Eve

This year marked the event's 30th anniversary.

Money, Power, Inequality

OneUnited Bank president Teri Williams talks Black-owned banks, closing the racial wealth gap

The longtime executive has steered the institution through recessions and evolving banking habits.

They know Christmas is coming. So what’s the last-minute shopper thinking?

Throughout Greater Boston, last-minute shoppers braved not only the Christmas Eve cold, but the chilly reality of dilly-dallying: odd store hours, out-of-stock inventory, and limited clothing sizes.

Clemency was a political third rail for decades. Healey and other governors are starting to embrace it.

Governor Maura Healey's move to pardon 13 people is positioning Massachusetts among a growing number of states where chief executives are again embracing clemency.

Sports

The Patriots lost to the Chiefs in Week 15.

Can the Patriots play spoiler as the Broncos continue to push for a playoff spot? Follow along.

While the future Patriots would benefit from a loss Sunday, the current players have plenty to gain by playing for the win, including future contracts.

Bruins defensemen Charlie McAvoy (73) and Hampus Lindholm come to grips with Saturday's 3-2 loss at the Wild, Boston's fourth straight defeat.

Bruins limp into holiday break needing better effort, consistency

Coach Jim Montgomery's team has gotten away from their typical fight and physicality, leading to losses in six of their last eight games.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's investment in Manchester United comes after moves elsewhere in European soccer that could have seen him take control of one of United’s main Premier League rivals as recently as last year.

Manchester United announces deal to sell up to 25 percent of EPL club to UK billionaire Jim Ratcliffe

As part of the deal, Ratcliffe would take responsibility for the club’s soccer operations. In total the deal will be worth around $1.6 billion.

BROWNS 36, TEXANS 22

Amari Cooper catches fire for Browns, who reach double digits in wins by torching Texans

LIONS 30, VIKINGS 24

Dan Campbell’s Lions claim first division title in 30 years with win over the Vikings

Patriots’ problems are epitomized by the handling of their third-string quarterback

Business

Slow rollout of national charging system could hinder EV adoption

WASHINGTON — More than two years ago, lawmakers approved billions of dollars to build out a national electric vehicle charging network in the hopes of encouraging more drivers to switch to cleaner cars. The money, included in the bipartisan infrastructure law, was intended to help assure drivers they could reliably travel longer distances without running out of power.

A snapshot, a headstone, and a final wish realized

At age 95, Frank Agresti has finally fulfilled a final wish: to have a smiling photo of him and his late wife made into a "porcelain portrait" and permanently fixed to the headstone where he will someday be buried.

Painkillers without addiction? Vertex hopes its experimental pill can be first in a new class of drugs.

Billerica tech firm scores major deal to supply Chinese automaker

magazine

The 29 best photos of 2023 taken by Boston Globe photographers

Comedian Lenny Clarke remembers being a kid getting presents from Globe Santa.

Actor Lenny Clarke’s best ever childhood Christmas came unexpectedly

Fran and Tom on their Dinner With Cupid blind date.

Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘We shared our food, which was a big plus for both of us’

My relative wants to compare what we all got for gifts. Help!

metro

Half a century of remembering Globe Santa

Christmas Eve to remain cloudy, with some glimpses of sunshine arriving on Christmas Day

These advocates see the pain of homeless families up close every day. It takes a toll.

sports

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has plenty to do as the offseason continues.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto off the market, where will the Red Sox turn in free agency?

‘I’m learning how to be emotionally open.’ A 1-on-1 with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on surrender, family, and a championship quest

Josh Allen’s three touchdowns and Tyler Bass’s late field goal allow Bills to escape Chargers

business

President Biden spoke at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Biden will sign an executive order Friday, giving the US Treasury the authority to target financial institutions that facilitate Russia's efforts to bolster its defense industry.

US wields risky bank sanctions in new bid to deny Putin cash

Trump repeats and defends his use of language that echos Nazi ideology

Coming soon to highway service signs near you: EV charging

politics

Volunteers answer phones and emails from children around the globe during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa event on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

A North American military command is tracking Santa’s every move and kids can follow along

As conflicts rage abroad, a fractured Congress tries to rally support for historic global challenges

As conflicts rage abroad, a fractured Congress tries to rally support for historic global challenges

Nation

Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass.

Who are the members of the Harvard Corporation?

Claudine Gay turmoil forces Harvard’s secretive ‘corporation’ into spotlight

What went wrong for the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign in 2023

World

Migrants depart from Tapachula, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. The caravan started the trek north through Mexico just days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Mexico City to discuss new agreements to control the surge of migrants seeking entry into the United States. (AP Photo/Edgar Hernandez Clemente)

Thousands join migrant caravan in Mexico ahead of Blinken’s visit to the capital

Russian shelling kills 4 as Ukraine prepares to observe Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time

At least 68 killed in central Gaza in airstrike, adding to weekend’s bloodshed

opinion

A picture taken from Rafah shows flares lighting the skies over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli strikes, on December 14, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Why are teachers’ unions getting involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict?

Underdiagnosed and undertreated, young Black males with ADHD get left behind

Bah, humbug! ‘A Christmas Carol’ is cringeworthy.

lifestyle

Can I follow them on social media?

Hush Club’s TikTok strategy went viral — it’s anything but cheesy

Dating during perimenopause

food & dining

Ashley Taveras, an assistant event stylist at Easy Entertaining, sorts dishes.

‘I feel abandoned’: Restaurants remain burdened by Washington Bridge closure in Rhode Island

Scared of the T? Hop aboard Mothership instead

A new Turkish restaurant near Watertown Square is already popular

travel

Passengers waited in line at Dulles International Airport on Dec. 21, 2023, in Dulles, Virginia.

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

We took a girlfriend getaway to Savannah. Plenty of other women had the same idea.

This Booking.com reservation is fake! Will the company pay up?

Arts

A person removed a piece of art work by Banksy, which showed what looks like three drones on a stop sign, at the intersection of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, London.

Banksy stop sign taken from London street soon after it appears

Forgotten women of the American landscape

A model subject gets his close-up in ‘Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes’

Books

Justin Torres, author of “Blackouts."

For Justin Torres, reading is about finding the sweet spot between poetry and prose

Local bestsellers for the week ended Dec. 17

In Michael O’Donnell’s debut novel, a father and son hide from danger in the White Mountains

Movies

(L-R Clockwise) Film stills from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” and “The Year Without Santa Claus."

Holidays got you down, Charlie Brown? Take our quiz on classic Christmas specials for a hit of holiday cheer.

Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ fails to rev up

Oscars shortlists revealed: Here are the films one step closer to a nomination

Television

From left: Sarah Lancashire, Anne Reid, Derek Jacobi, and Nicola Walker in "Last Tango in Halifax."

From across the pond, a steady stream of excellence

Minnie Driver remembers Matthew Perry’s ‘wealth of soul’

How Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s family situation inspired a new NBC sitcom

music

The Felice Brothers

Before coming to Cambridge, the Felice Brothers hatch a surprise for their fans

Boston Music Awards show dazzles with diverse, dynamic, and defiant performances

The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Stax soul, and more: 9 great album reissues of 2023

Theater/Dance

Darrel Bailey stars in the solo show "Yippee Ki Yay," a "Die Hard" spoof that also tells a parallel story about an exhausted husband and father.

A ‘Die Hard’ diehard creates ‘Yippee Ki Yay,’ and the Huntington gets in on the action

There’s life after COVID for Jamaica Plain’s 147-year-old Footlight Club theater

Midwinter Revels serves up a frolicsome ‘Feast of Fools’

Health

A CVS pharmacy in Miami.

CVS to launch new pharmacy reimbursement model aimed at simplifying drug pricing

Many Americans ration insulin to save money. One nonprofit is trying to make the life-saving drug more affordable.

In R.I., there’s a lack of dentists caring for patients with special needs. This program is trying to change that.

Obituaries

Baltimore Orioles' third baseman Ryan Minor dove at a ball hit by Detroit Tigers' catcher Brad Ausmus during the fourth inning of a baseball game Aug. 8, 1999, at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Ryan Minor, Orioles 3B who replaced Cal Ripken at the end of his record-setting streak, dies at 49

Influential people we lost in 2023

Robert M. Solow, celebrated economist and Nobel laureate, dies at 99