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TRENDING:

Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’

Police are investigating writings that may have been penned by the 15-year-old shooter.
See a recap of today's updates on the school shooting

Cambridge School Committee approves closing Kennedy-Longfellow School

The Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School’s closure comes as Cambridge is bracing for an enrollment decline over the next few years, after experiencing fluctuating enrollment in recent years.

Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid

The bill will fund the federal government through March 14 and provide aid to communities recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Mass. lawmakers reach deal on long-stalled opioid bill, nix proposal to allow for supervised consumption sites

The agreement follows months of closed-door talks and notably omits a state Senate-passed provision that would have allowed cities or towns to approve centers where people can consume substances under the supervision of staff.

Francis X. Bellotti, influential Mass. attorney general, dies at 101
A fierce, powerful Democrat who fell short in his three bids for governor, Bellotti nevertheless wielded broad influence in three terms as attorney general.

Bellotti remembered as ‘the perfect advocate, time and time again’

Don Muhammad, longtime leader of Nation of Islam in Boston, dies
Minister Don led the Muhammad Mosque No. 11 in Grove Hall for decades, battling against violence and drugs as he advocated for the city’s Black community.

Here’s what to know about the Natick man and co-defendant charged in connection with deadly drone strike in Jordan

‘Sign of a healthy democracy.’ Somerville will have a race for mayor.
Spotlight

Governor Maura Healey defends her record on Steward Health Care crisis amid calls for greater state oversight

Healey placed the blame for the hospital chain’s subpar care and massive financial losses on former Steward chief executive Ralph de la Torre, who resigned in October and is now a focus of a federal corruption investigation.
Seven takeaways from the Spotlight investigation on the state’s lax scrutiny and oversight of Steward Health Softened reports. Lax oversight. How state officials enabled Steward’s rise and fall.

Two Nantucket beach houses threatened by erosion (almost) went on the auction block
Homes on Sheep Pond Road, on the western part of the island, have seen their value plummet as storms gnaw at the coastline.

Crews bringing in 30,000 tons of sand to protect Salisbury Beach from erosion

ODIE HENDERSON REVIEW | ★★★
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’: If Pride Rock could talk
"Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins’s prequel features great voice work and songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It also showcases its director’s trademark touches.

Cows fall from trailer onto Maine Turnpike after door unlatches, officials say

Four cows got loose on the Maine Turnpike after the doors on the trailer they were traveling in became unlatched, Maine State Police said.

Conan O’Brien lost both of his parents over three days. In heartfelt memories, he recalls their influence.

“My parents complemented each other very well,” Conan O'Brien said of Ruth and Tom O'Brien, whose influence on him and his siblings was lasting and profound.
BRUINS 4, FLAMES 3 (OT)

David Pastrnak caps comeback in Calgary, as Bruins rise from two down for overtime victory

Boston trailed 3-1 entering the third period, but tied it within the first seven minutes and won it with Pastrnak's wrister to reach 2-2 on their five-game western road trip.

Three up, three down, and three to watch for the Patriots heading into Week 16

New England’s defense is essentially ineffective in all areas outside of Christian Gonzalez’s matchup.

Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elves bring holiday cheer to Shriners Children’s Boston with help from firefighters

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived perched atop the bucket of a Boston fire truck aerial ladder on Tuesday afternoon.
Boston Globe Spotlight Team

Softened reports. Lax oversight. How state officials enabled Steward’s rise and fall.

The Globe Spotlight Team found Steward benefited from insufficient scrutiny from state officials, including Governor Maura Healey, until it was too late. Healey’s administration says it did everything it could to avoid a crisis.
Timeline of the state’s lax oversight of Steward Health Care Read the full investigation
Opinion
RENÉE GRAHAM

Trump hung out with an acquitted killer anointed as a right-wing hero. Where’s the outrage?

At a high-profile event, Daniel Penny, who killed Jordan Neely, took a public victory lap with the next president.
EDITORIAL

Just imagine: What if Healey regulated Steward as aggressively as her administration looked out for one nurse?
Simon B. Amaya Price

I am formerly trans. Why won’t Berklee let me share my story?
JEFF JACOBY

Minimum wage goes up. Employment goes down. Rinse and repeat.
Jill Abramson

Was ABC right to settle with Trump?
Globe Santa

Christmas or child care? For these Mass. parents, having both this holiday season isn’t guaranteed.
Massachusetts boasts some of the highest child care costs in the US.

Donate to Globe Santa
The best (and worst) of 2024

The 75 best books of 2024

10 great performances our film critic loved in 2024

Odie Henderson’s 10 best movies of 2024 (and 10 runners-up)

Odie Henderson’s 10 worst movies of the year

More recent News

Suspect charged with killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO as an act of terrorism
Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson, but the terror allegation is new.

Upton man sentenced for stock market manipulation conspiracy, authorities say

Xiaosong Wang, 36, was ordered to forfeit $1,041,084 in illicit proceeds and ordered deported to China upon completion of his prison sentence, the US attorney’s office said.

City Hall subpoena offers glimpse into federal probe of Fernandes Anderson
Federal investigators sought more than two years worth of records and communications sent to and from Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, as well as her staff.

Dozen of birds cleaned, rescued from Muddy River oil spill. Wildlife vets say 7 have died.
The last of the birds were washed on Monday, according the New England Wildlife Center, the non-profit group that responded to the area on Dec. 8, when heating oil leaked into the water from a storm drain.

Barbara Lynch and City of Boston reach agreement over payment of back taxes
The agreement could clear the way for Lynch to liquidate the remainder of her former restaurant empire and preserves the city’s claim to any money generated by the sales.

After investigating Jan. 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney
The findings show the Republican Party working to reinforce Trump's desire to punish his perceived enemies including Cheney and members of the Jan. 6 committee that the president-elect has said should be in jail.

Recommended reads

Beth Teitell

‘You feel like you’re at war with an enemy you can’t see.’ As porch pirate thefts mount, residents feel besieged.

The thieves stealing packages from our front doors are getting more aggressive. And Bostonians are fighting back.

COVID-era backlash fuels the second Trump administration
The incoming president is filling his administration with vocal critics of pandemic protective measures as the COVID era continues to influence politics.

shirley leung
A fake liquor license shut down a Boston restaurant for months. Could it happen to others?
With the state now authorizing 225 new licenses for Boston, ensuring confidence and integrity in the process is critical.

TRAVEL
This Maine destination has been named the country’s best small town to visit. And not for the first time.
America’s best small town is in New England, according to US News & World Report, which released its 2025 best vacations rankings on Tuesday.

Culture & Lifestyle

Ayodele Casel’s ‘Diary of a Tap Dancer’ at the ART writes forgotten women into the art form’s story

‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Wicked’ advance in Oscars shortlists

50 of the best albums of the year

A moving museum experience at MIT

Special Projects

Broken Promises, Unfulfilled Hope

The Boston Globe explores the legacy of Boston’s busing era.

A Globe Spotlight Team report on Steward Health Care

A Boston Globe Spotlight Team review found the Steward Health Care hospital system plagued by staggering neglect at the hands of executives.

The Boston Globe’s Best of the Best

Our ultimate guide to more than 200 winners for Boston's best food, drinks, and fun things to do.

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.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Jill Abramson

Was ABC right to settle with Trump?
IDEAS | FABRICE DEPREZ

The mood in Ukraine has lifted since Trump’s win
Brian Riedl

What conservatives get wrong about taxes
Brian Riedl

What liberals get wrong about taxes
JEFF JACOBY

Go home, Massachusetts lawmakers
IDEAS

Blueprints for a new downtown Boston

Metro

Cambridge School Committee approves closing Kennedy-Longfellow School

The Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School’s closure comes as Cambridge is bracing for an enrollment decline over the next few years, after experiencing fluctuating enrollment in recent years.

John Spratt, South Carolina congressman and fiscal steward, dies at 82

Mr. Spratt was a Democrat who served for 28 years in the US House of Representatives, where he chaired the Budget Committee and was known on both sides of the aisle as a conscientious steward of the nation’s pocketbook.

Governor Maura Healey defends her record on Steward Health Care crisis amid calls for greater state oversight

Healey placed the blame for the hospital chain’s subpar care and massive financial losses on former Steward chief executive Ralph de la Torre, who resigned in October and is now a focus of a federal corruption investigation.

Cows fall from trailer onto Maine Turnpike after door unlatches, officials say

Four cows got loose on the Maine Turnpike after the doors on the trailer they were traveling in became unlatched, Maine State Police said.

Sports

BRUINS 4, FLAMES 3 (OT)

David Pastrnak caps comeback in Calgary, as Bruins rise from two down for overtime victory

Boston trailed 3-1 entering the third period, but tied it within the first seven minutes and won it with Pastrnak's wrister to reach 2-2 on their five-game western road trip.
HIGH SCHOOLS

Six takeaways from Tuesday: A grand night of high school basketball

A 1,000-point scorer, a few games go down to the wire, a new hockey coach in Canton, and Tuesday's 30-point scorers.
BUCKS 97, THUNDER 81

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks bury Thunder in 3-point barrage to win NBA Cup title game

Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in a dominant 97-81 victory over the Thunder in the NBA Cup finals Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
High schools

Boys’ basketball roundup: Brookline’s brilliant backcourt blasts No. 18 Needham
High schools

Girls’ basketball roundup: With a 28-point night, junior Peyton Dibiasio passes 1,000 and leads Saugus past Gloucester
NFL

Falcons name rookie Michael Penix Jr. as starting QB, benching veteran Kirk Cousins

Business

Musk and Trump are viewed roughly the same by Americans, new poll finds

Elon Musk’s attachment to President-elect Donald Trump has created an unprecedented alliance between America’s most powerful politician and its richest businessman.

Federal Reserve is set to cut key rate but consumers might not feel much benefit anytime soon

The Federal Reserve is set to announce a quarter-point cut to its benchmark rate, from about 4.6 percent to roughly 4.3 percent.
TALKING POINTS

Small winter catch set for New England’s long-closed shrimp industry, a climate casualty

Suspect charged with killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO as an act of terrorism
magazine
2024

Bostonians of the Year: The do good, feel good Boston Celtics
Honorable Mentions

A home-grown star, a climate innovator, the team behind new liquor licenses, and other Bostonians who made a difference
Lasting Legacies

Remembering Jack Connors, Ethel Kennedy, Seiji Ozawa and others we lost in 2024
MISS CONDUCT

Our politics are very different, ‘but I hate being alone.’ Should I breakup with him?

metro

Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elves bring holiday cheer to Shriners Children’s Boston with help from firefighters

Former state Attorney General Frank Bellotti remembered as ‘the perfect advocate, time and time again’

R.I. Senate leaders preview 2025 priorities, possible ban on assault-style weapons

sports

Top-ranked Bishop Feehan makes its connection, flies past No. 4 St. Mary’s in back-and-forth battle

Hannah Brandt’s third-period tally lifts Fleet to PWHL victory over Ottawa

As defensive quarterback Charlie McAvoy goes, the Bruins often follow, which has been better news of late

business

Musk and SpaceX face federal reviews after violations of security reporting rules

Two Nantucket beach houses threatened by erosion (almost) went on the auction block

What we know so far about the cyberattack on R.I.’s benefits system

politics

Musk and Trump are viewed roughly the same by Americans, new poll finds

Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid

After investigating Jan. 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney

Nation

5 family members found dead at Utah home and 17-year-old hospitalized with gunshot wound

Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’

NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts face more time in space with return delayed until at least late March

World

Israel’s borders have shifted throughout its history. Action in Syria may reshape them again.

Verdicts are due in the historic French rape trial that turned Gisèle Pelicot into a feminist hero

In visit to mountain recently seized in Syria, Netanyahu vows to keep troops there indefinitely

opinion

Was ABC right to settle with Trump?

Amtrak needs space for its trains. Widett Circle, not Allston, is the best option.

What liberals get wrong about taxes

lifestyle

Resilience, history weave heritage into a glamorous gala gown

Are you catching holiday blues instead of cheer? Here are some ways to find peace

In my 30s, never dated

food & dining

Babka? Macaroons? Here are some sweet treats you can bake for Hanukkah.

‘You can’t be miserable while you are eating a cookie.’ These are our favorite ones to make and give as gifts.

Recipe: Cultured butter adds a rich, complex, luscious taste to traditional shortbread triangles

travel

This Maine destination has been named the country’s best small town to visit. And not for the first time.

Cold nights, hot lava, and a giant murderous cat. How I found the holiday spirit in Iceland.

Looking for a mix of French flair and Caribbean cool? Here’s where you’ll find it.

Arts

A moving museum experience at MIT

MIT paid $1.3 million for a landscape artwork by Maya Lin. Then it forgot to tell anyone.

RISD graduate’s Lost Bag News aims to find the best of Providence’s art scene

Books

Dreading Christmas and/or Hanukkah? Have we got the books for you!

A richly satisfying debut about an inconvenient inheritance

For Nicholas Sparks, a great read comes down to voice

Movies

‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Wicked’ advance in Oscars shortlists

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’: If Pride Rock could talk

10 great performances our film critic loved in 2024

Television

Wall-to-wall wassail

A score is settled on ‘Yellowstone’

This week’s TV: Stephanie Hsu in ‘Laid,’ an Aaron Rodgers doc, and more

music

A beloved Hanukkah album gets its moment to shine

50 of the best albums of the year

For the first time, the Kingdom Choir plays Boston

Theater/Dance

Ayodele Casel’s ‘Diary of a Tap Dancer’ at the ART writes forgotten women into the art form’s story

‘Selkie Girl’ may have a slim plot, but the show’s music makes up for it

A new ‘Christmas Carol’ masters the music, but is leaner on the emotional power

Health

About 30% of women are reinfected with a UTI within a year. This R.I. professor is looking for a way to change that.

Why is Lifespan buying hospitals in Massachusetts instead of saving two in Rhode Island?

R.I. Life Science Hub still in negotiations to develop lab incubator space: ‘In the business world... things moved a lot faster’

Obituaries

John Spratt, South Carolina congressman and fiscal steward, dies at 82

Francis X. Bellotti, influential Mass. attorney general, dies at 101

Dick Van Arsdale, 81, one of first identical twins in the NBA, dies