The Boston Globe

Nereida Badillo peered out of her front door on the morning of the high school graduation of her son Jacoby. It took Badillo years to be able to own a home, attending classes for first-time home buyers to qualify for financial assistance, improving her credit score, and saving her stimulus checks. The stability that had eluded her family for decades felt within reach with the purchase of her home but the only neighborhood she could afford was in a tough part of town.

In Holyoke, a home of her own: One woman’s struggle to build a life in the state’s poorest place

Like others in this city’s large Puerto Rican community, Nereida Badillo longed for a more stable life. But history is difficult to overcome.

‘No matter how hard you try, it’s like gravitating back to the places where we have no choice but to stay because it’s the only place we can afford. People want to get out, but they can’t.’

‘It’s a frenzy all over the league’: Inside the fast, formative night Sam Hauser decided to become a Celtic
Hauser is a valuable contributor on a championship favorite. But he almost didn't choose Boston.

A wooden elephant and two giraffes appeared on the Somerville Community Path. Meet the guy who put them there.
Did Hayward Zwerling, a retired endocrinologist and amateur woodworker, ask anyone before erecting his renditions of some of the animal kingdom’s largest beasts on public land? “No. I just did it,” he said.

Samantha Frechon, who is autistic, hasn't been to school a single day this year. Last year, she attended a private school for students with special needs, and she did well there. But her district, Braintree Public Schools, refused to pay for her continued enrollment, leaving her in academic limbo.

The Great Divide

More than 10,000 Massachusetts students were educated ‘out-of-district’ last year. Here’s what to know.

A federal law requires school districts to provide every special education student with a “free and appropriate education.” If a district does not have the means to provide such an education itself, it must pay the cost to educate the student elsewhere.

Braintree teen hasn’t been to school this year. Is special education system to blame?

Yael Guardado Prudencio was found dead in his home in Chelsea on April 7.

A short life colored by illness ended tragically when Chelsea mom left 3-year-old for a night out, prosecutors say

Prosecutors say 3-year-old Yael Guardado Prudencio had a seizure disorder and hemophilia, and had been sick in the days before he died.

Graphics

People are leaving Massachusetts in droves. Who are they?

For a state with a rapidly aging population and a relatively low birth rate, the loss of working-age adults spells trouble.

Kennedy family members endorse President Biden, in rebuke to RFK Jr.

Prominent members of the Kennedy dynasty are standing with President Biden even as their relative pursues the White House in a campaign that has traded on the family name.

‘It’s complete political theater’: Congress spins its wheels — again — while crucial legislation languishes

Wednesday was an unusually chaotic day in Congress. And that’s saying something.

Senate rejects impeachment articles against Mayorkas, ending trial against Cabinet secretary House’s Ukraine, Israel aid package gains Biden’s support as Speaker Johnson fights to keep his job

Forecast | Ken Mahan

Spring chill in the air with scattered showers throughout the day

A strong high pressure will help deflect a passing system to the south, while limiting storm development and intensity.

Weather Focus | Dave Epstein

The polar vortex is dying a late death. What does that mean for spring?
This weather phenomenon is an integral part of forecasting as the swirling current of air ebbs and flows and eventually falls apart each year.

Suffolk County youths three times more likely to be held after arraignment
The Suffolk district attorney’s office said it is responding to a rising number of firearm cases among young people while trying to balance how best to help children involved in crimes.

Here’s how jury members are being chosen for the Karen Read murder trial

Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former president returns to court

Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left ‘at her feet’

Bill Belichick had two interviews with the Falcons for their coaching position but was not hired.

Five takeaways from ESPN’s report detailing Bill Belichick’s failed attempt to land the Falcons job

According to the report, Belichick was blindsided when he didn't get the position, and Robert Kraft may have had something to do with it.

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck had a jump in his step watching the last out in his complete-game shutout of the Guardians.

Peter Abraham | RED SOX 2, GUARDIANS 0

If only for one night, Tanner Houck’s complete-game gem offers hope that all is not lost for Red Sox

Houck's last professional shoutout was a six-inning game ended by rain when he was with Double A Portland in 2019.

Gail Miles made history as the first African-American officer in the Watertown Police Department. She was found slain in her home in 2011, and her murder remains unsolved. (Watertown Police Department)

Cold Case Files

Watertown’s first Black police officer was found murdered in her home in 2011; her killer has never been found

Police determined that nothing was stolen from the apartment and no fingerprints were left behind, relatives said.

Opinion

People walked past tables at a dining area set up in parking spots outside Terramia Ristorante on May 10, 2022, in the North End.

EDITORIAL

Al fresco, ma non troppo

Outdoor dining on the streets of the North End should return — but with common-sense protections for the neighborhood.

IDEAS | Arjun Sharma

We neglect ancient killers like tuberculosis at our peril

JOAN VENNOCHI

State hits the jackpot on sports gambling revenue, but what’s the social cost?

KIMBERLY ATKINS STOHR

Trump won’t get a break from the Supreme Court — yet

LETTERS

Michael Dukakis asked my mother one question. It changed my life.

More recent News

Here’s what to know about the Maple Leafs, the Bruins’ opponent in the first round of the playoffs
Toronto has not won a playoff series against Boston since 1959, with the Bruins triumphing in seven games in 2013, 2018, and 2019.

Oklahoma man arrested for allegedly tossing pipe bomb at Satanic Temple in Salem
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, will make an initial court appearance Thursday in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will be brought to federal court in Boston at a later date, the Massachusetts US Attorney's office said.

Lithium-ion battery fires on the rise in Mass.; officials identify 50 blazes over past six months
The state Department of Fire Services has identified 50 lithium-ion battery fires in Massachusetts over the last six months, more than double the annual average documented by a national fire data reporting system, the agency said Wednesday.

Congress moving swiftly on bipartisan action to punish Iran after revenge attack on Israel

Several measures introduced and passed in the House and Senate seek to both publicly condemn Iran and punish the Islamic Republic financially.

On the verge of a breakup, Lawrence and Methuen make amends to keep public health partnership alive

The rift between Lawrence and Methuen highlights the difficulties municipalities can face amid the effort to regionalize public health in Massachusetts.

GLOBE RI + RI PBS

At age 9, he journeyed from El Salvador to the US – without his parents

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Javier Zamora talks about his new memoir, “Solito,” and Maureen Nagle talks about why it’s this year’s Reading Across Rhode Island selection.

State panel approves request to add nearly 100 new beds at Massachusetts General Hospital

State regulators on Wednesday approved a request from Massachusetts General Hospital to add nearly 100 new beds to its massive downtown construction project.

Columbia’s president rebuts claims she has allowed the university to become a hotbed of antisemitism

Nemat Shafik took a more decisive stance than the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who gave lawyerly answers when asked if calls for the genocide of Jews would violate school policies.

Arizona Republicans splinter over repeal of 1864 abortion ban

The two chambers of Arizona’s state Legislature diverged sharply Wednesday over whether to repeal the state’s 1864 law banning abortion, capping a chaotic day as legislators and activists sparred over the fate of the Civil War-era ban.

The 36 Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2024

The glaring mismatch between supply and demand has meant soaring real estate prices for several years. Now, interest rates are nudging us to an expensive impasse.

The mystery of falling prices in Belmont, Brookline and more swanky suburbs

She was surprised Concord Academy removed her as commencement speaker. She thinks it had to do with her ‘politics.’
“I didn’t have any proof as to why they removed me, but I had an educated guess, which is my politics,” said Porsha Olayiwola, Boston’s poet laureate.

Five things to know about Porsha Olayiwola

With the clean energy transition, low-income communities fear they’ll be saddled with big infrastructure projects, again
Advocates worry environmental justice neighborhoods are being saddled with this infrastructure, taking away open space and exposing residents to risks such as fire, while wealthier communities that are more able to push back are spared.

Boston names city’s first chief climate officer
Brian Swett, a seasoned sustainability professional who served as Boston’s environment cabinet chief under two prior mayoral administrations, will return to city government in June.

Culture & Lifestyle

The second-floor exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., features a collection of iconic world landmarks and places built out of Legos, and a play area where kids could build their own Lego constructions.

A kid-friendly trip to Washington, D.C.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s memoir is an intimate political history and a love story set amid the roil of American politics

“Bad Bunny: Race, Gender, and Empire in Reggaetón,” taught by Petra Rivera-Rideau, is a Wellesley course that fuses the Latin trap phenom with historical themes of colonialism, economic crises, and more in Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny performs at TD Garden tonight. A Wellesley class will be there taking notes.

The cast of Praxis Stage's "The Birthday Party" (clockwise, from rear left): Sharon Mason, Paul Valley, Darya Denisova, Kevin Paquette, Zair Silva, and Daniel Boudreau.

With ‘The Birthday Party,’ Praxis Stage makes a welcome return

Special Projects

Ashfield, MA 06/13//2023, At Sanderson Academy, books in a fourth-grade classroom.

Suzanne Kreiter\Globe staff

Lost in a World of Words

Learning to read is the greatest gift a school can give a child. And yet, in Massachusetts, outmoded teaching methods leave thousands of students struggling to gain this critical skill.

Beyond the Gilded Gate

People in and around Boston are being challenged, in ways never before, to address the region's unprecedented housing crisis.

Nightmare in Mission Hill

The story of how a murder in Mission Hill — the Carol Stuart shooting — terrorized and wounded a community of innocent people.

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.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

A significant difference in the trials of Karen Read in Dedham, left, and Donald Trump in New York, right, is how the trial is viewed by the public. New York doesn’t allow cameras in courtrooms, unlike Massachusetts, which has allowed cameras in its courtrooms for nearly four decades.

Rachelle G. Cohen

Trump trial vs. Karen Read case: What a difference a camera makes

National Association of Realtors' policy pursuits over the past century have contributed to the challenges we all face today: high rents, high home prices, the housing shortage, exclusionary zoning, economic inequality, and even the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Michael Seward

Sky-high home prices? Blame the National Association of Realtors.

The April 8 eclipse captured in Fort Worth, Texas.

IDEAS | BRIAN BERGSTEIN

The unexpectedly long afterlife of the eclipse

John Kennedy and Dick Goodwin work on a speech.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

JFK, Dick Goodwin, and a speech that would be remembered in history

Jennifer Simpson read to the children in her day-care center, Brilliant Beginnings Daycare in Southbridge, April 3.

EDITORIAL

Taming the country’s highest child care costs

IDEAS

Blueprints for a new downtown Boston

Metro

Weather Focus | Dave Epstein

The polar vortex is dying a late death. What does that mean for spring?

This weather phenomenon is an integral part of forecasting as the swirling current of air ebbs and flows and eventually falls apart each year.

Washington Bridge closure means changes for East Providence Portuguese feast season

Traditional feast celebrations here will look different this year due to the closure of the Washington Bridge westbound, with procession routes changing and one club saying it would have to cancel a major part of its annual events.

GLOBE RI + RI PBS

At age 9, he journeyed from El Salvador to the US – without his parents

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Javier Zamora talks about his new memoir, “Solito,” and Maureen Nagle talks about why it’s this year’s Reading Across Rhode Island selection.

Forecast | Ken Mahan

Spring chill in the air with scattered showers throughout the day

A strong high pressure will help deflect a passing system to the south, while limiting storm development and intensity.

Sports

celtics

‘It’s a frenzy all over the league’: Inside the fast, formative night Sam Hauser decided to become a Celtic

Hauser is a valuable contributor on a championship favorite. But he almost didn't choose Boston.

Coby White and the Bulls pulled away in the third quarter to stay in contention for the playoffs.

BULLS 131, HAWKS 116

Coby White’s 42 points keep Bulls’ playoff hopes alive, eliminate Hawks

Chicago visits Miami on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN) for a shot at the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup with the Celtics.

Celtics

Dates and times for the Celtics’ first three playoff games are set; opponent will be Heat or Bulls

Boston, by virtue of earning the No. 1 seed with a 64-18 regular-season record, has ensured it will have home-court advantage throughout the postseason.

NBA

Heat star Jimmy Butler injures knee, needs MRI

76ers 105, Heat 104

Joel Embiid emerges late, helps 76ers rally past Heat and into first-round series with Knicks

LIGHTNING 6, MAPLE LEAFS 4

Nikita Kucherov becomes fifth NHL player to reach 100 assists, but Auston Matthews falls shy in quest for 70 goals

Business

European Union official urges G7 to step up air defense for Ukraine and expand Iran sanctions

The European Union’s top diplomat is urging the Group of Seven to take quick and concrete steps to provide more air defense systems to Ukraine.

In Holyoke, a home of her own: One woman’s struggle to build a life in the state’s poorest place

Like others in this city’s large Puerto Rican community, Nereida Badillo longed for a more stable life. But history is difficult to overcome.

Graphics

People are leaving Massachusetts in droves. Who are they?

One Tech Tip: What to do if your personal info has been exposed in a data breach

magazine

Globe Magazine

The 36 Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2024

PERSPECTIVE

The NBA playoffs are here, and online gambling is ruining everything

Chocolate-Dipped Tahini and Browned Butter Cookies

Cooking

Tahini transforms everything from fish to cookies

Officer Rachel McGuire of the Boston Police Department crosses the finish line during last year’s Marathon.

College & Careers

In Holyoke, a home of her own: One woman’s struggle to build a life in the state’s poorest place

‘It’s a frenzy all over the league’: Inside the fast, formative night Sam Hauser decided to become a Celtic Hauser is a valuable contributor on a championship favorite. But he almost didn't choose Boston.

More than 10,000 Massachusetts students were educated ‘out-of-district’ last year. Here’s what to know.

A short life colored by illness ended tragically when Chelsea mom left 3-year-old for a night out, prosecutors say

People are leaving Massachusetts in droves. Who are they?

Kennedy family members endorse President Biden, in rebuke to RFK Jr.

‘It’s complete political theater’: Congress spins its wheels — again — while crucial legislation languishes

Spring chill in the air with scattered showers throughout the day

Weather Focus | Dave Epstein The polar vortex is dying a late death. What does that mean for spring? This weather phenomenon is an integral part of forecasting as the swirling current of air ebbs and flows and eventually falls apart each year.

Suffolk County youths three times more likely to be held after arraignment The Suffolk district attorney’s office said it is responding to a rising number of firearm cases among young people while trying to balance how best to help children involved in crimes.

Here’s how jury members are being chosen for the Karen Read murder trial

Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former president returns to court

Five takeaways from ESPN’s report detailing Bill Belichick’s failed attempt to land the Falcons job

If only for one night, Tanner Houck’s complete-game gem offers hope that all is not lost for Red Sox

Watertown’s first Black police officer was found murdered in her home in 2011; her killer has never been found

Al fresco, ma non troppo

We neglect ancient killers like tuberculosis at our peril

State hits the jackpot on sports gambling revenue, but what’s the social cost?

Trump won’t get a break from the Supreme Court — yet

Michael Dukakis asked my mother one question. It changed my life.

More recent News

Here’s what to know about the Maple Leafs, the Bruins’ opponent in the first round of the playoffs Toronto has not won a playoff series against Boston since 1959, with the Bruins triumphing in seven games in 2013, 2018, and 2019.

Oklahoma man arrested for allegedly tossing pipe bomb at Satanic Temple in Salem Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, will make an initial court appearance Thursday in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will be brought to federal court in Boston at a later date, the Massachusetts US Attorney's office said.

Congress moving swiftly on bipartisan action to punish Iran after revenge attack on Israel

On the verge of a breakup, Lawrence and Methuen make amends to keep public health partnership alive

At age 9, he journeyed from El Salvador to the US – without his parents

State panel approves request to add nearly 100 new beds at Massachusetts General Hospital

Columbia’s president rebuts claims she has allowed the university to become a hotbed of antisemitism

Arizona Republicans splinter over repeal of 1864 abortion ban

Recommended reads

The 36 Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2024

She was surprised Concord Academy removed her as commencement speaker. She thinks it had to do with her ‘politics.’ “I didn’t have any proof as to why they removed me, but I had an educated guess, which is my politics,” said Porsha Olayiwola, Boston’s poet laureate.

Boston names city’s first chief climate officer Brian Swett, a seasoned sustainability professional who served as Boston’s environment cabinet chief under two prior mayoral administrations, will return to city government in June.

Culture & Lifestyle

A kid-friendly trip to Washington, D.C.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s memoir is an intimate political history and a love story set amid the roil of American politics

Bad Bunny performs at TD Garden tonight. A Wellesley class will be there taking notes.

With ‘The Birthday Party,’ Praxis Stage makes a welcome return

Special Projects

Lost in a World of Words

Beyond the Gilded Gate

Nightmare in Mission Hill

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

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Trump trial vs. Karen Read case: What a difference a camera makes

Sky-high home prices? Blame the National Association of Realtors.

The unexpectedly long afterlife of the eclipse

JFK, Dick Goodwin, and a speech that would be remembered in history

Taming the country’s highest child care costs

Blueprints for a new downtown Boston

Metro

The polar vortex is dying a late death. What does that mean for spring?

Washington Bridge closure means changes for East Providence Portuguese feast season

At age 9, he journeyed from El Salvador to the US – without his parents

Spring chill in the air with scattered showers throughout the day

Sports

‘It’s a frenzy all over the league’: Inside the fast, formative night Sam Hauser decided to become a Celtic

Coby White’s 42 points keep Bulls’ playoff hopes alive, eliminate Hawks

Dates and times for the Celtics’ first three playoff games are set; opponent will be Heat or Bulls

Heat star Jimmy Butler injures knee, needs MRI

Joel Embiid emerges late, helps 76ers rally past Heat and into first-round series with Knicks

Nikita Kucherov becomes fifth NHL player to reach 100 assists, but Auston Matthews falls shy in quest for 70 goals

Business

European Union official urges G7 to step up air defense for Ukraine and expand Iran sanctions

In Holyoke, a home of her own: One woman’s struggle to build a life in the state’s poorest place

People are leaving Massachusetts in droves. Who are they?

One Tech Tip: What to do if your personal info has been exposed in a data breach

The 36 Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2024

The NBA playoffs are here, and online gambling is ruining everything

Tahini transforms everything from fish to cookies

Five things to do around Boston, April 15-21

metro

More than 10,000 Massachusetts students were educated ‘out-of-district’ last year. Here’s what to know.

Oklahoma man arrested for allegedly tossing pipe bomb at Satanic Temple in Salem

A former N.H. youth detention center resident testifies about ‘hit squad’ attack

sports

If only for one night, Tanner Houck’s complete-game gem offers hope that all is not lost for Red Sox

Boys’ lacrosse roundup: Belmont Hill’s Preston Evans has a day (4 goals, 2 assists) in an ISL win over St. George’s

Tanner Houck throws rare complete game, a ‘Maddux’ in fact, as Red Sox blank Guardians

‘It’s a frenzy all over the league’: Inside the fast, formative night Sam Hauser decided to become a Celtic
Hauser is a valuable contributor on a championship favorite. But he almost didn't choose Boston.

Weather Focus | Dave Epstein

The polar vortex is dying a late death. What does that mean for spring?
This weather phenomenon is an integral part of forecasting as the swirling current of air ebbs and flows and eventually falls apart each year.

Suffolk County youths three times more likely to be held after arraignment
The Suffolk district attorney’s office said it is responding to a rising number of firearm cases among young people while trying to balance how best to help children involved in crimes.

Here’s what to know about the Maple Leafs, the Bruins’ opponent in the first round of the playoffs
Toronto has not won a playoff series against Boston since 1959, with the Bruins triumphing in seven games in 2013, 2018, and 2019.

Oklahoma man arrested for allegedly tossing pipe bomb at Satanic Temple in Salem
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, will make an initial court appearance Thursday in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will be brought to federal court in Boston at a later date, the Massachusetts US Attorney's office said.

She was surprised Concord Academy removed her as commencement speaker. She thinks it had to do with her ‘politics.’
“I didn’t have any proof as to why they removed me, but I had an educated guess, which is my politics,” said Porsha Olayiwola, Boston’s poet laureate.

Boston names city’s first chief climate officer
Brian Swett, a seasoned sustainability professional who served as Boston’s environment cabinet chief under two prior mayoral administrations, will return to city government in June.