Mehanna conviction stirs outcry on rights
To civil libertarians, the conviction of Tarek Mehanna dangerously undermined free speech rights, and delivered a stark message that holding radical ideas can be punished.
McConnell urges House to pass short-term tax cut
Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, urged the GOP-led House to break an impasse that threatens 160 million workers with a tax increase on Jan. 1.
Amazon plans Cambridge office
The Seattle-based tech giant is recruiting engineers and researchers as it plans to open its first office in the Boston area in February.
Probation officer charged with intimidating witness
Christopher Hoffman, who ran the probation office in Hampshire Superior Court, allegedly called one of his probation officers a “rat’’ for agreeing to talk to an FBI agent.
Matthew Cavanaugh for The Boston Globe
The sleepover: teenagers and sex
UMass Amherst professor Amy Schalet noticed big differences between American and Dutch teens when it came to sex. In the Netherlands, parents have a relaxed attitude and the effects are surprising.
Tech Lab
Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich is a tasty Android upgrade
Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of the Android operating system, will be rolled out free to Android phones and tablets. It’s an upgrade as significant as Apple Inc.’s recent rollout of its improved iPhone software.
Voter excitement scarce as Iowa caucus draws near
Interviews with voters this week and recent polls reinforce the sense that Iowans, with less than two weeks until their caucus, are uninspired by the Republican Party’s offerings.
‘‘We don’t have another Ronald Reagan, and I don’t think we’ll find one.’’
Lonnie Bauerly, a Tea Party activist
Inside The Boston Globe
Columnists
Metro
Grand jury indicts lifer in 1992 Lexington slaying
Craig Conkey, 45, was indicted by a grand jury yesterday on a charge of first-degree murder in the 1992 death of Kathleen Dempsey, who was 31 at the time.
Business
Charitable giving goes high tech
Online giving has risen sharply in recent years, and a handful of social enterprise startups and local tech companies are trying to tap into that increase in online altruism.
Politics
Obama urges end to payroll tax fight
President Obama yesterday reached out in telephone calls to congressional leaders in an effort to find a resolution to the nasty battle over the expiring payroll tax holiday.
Nation & World
Iraqi prime minister threatens to abandon coalition
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s threat threw the country’s fragile democracy into further turmoil just days after the departure of American troops.
Sports
Patriots rushing defense a sore spot
The unit has been porous the past two weeks, and now must prepare for Reggie Bush and the Dolphins, who have the league’s No. 7 rushing attack.
Lifestyle
Gift ideas for drinkers of spirits and liquors
In the spirit of the season of giving, here’s a basic roadmap to help navigate the liquor store with suggestions for those who wish to splurge and those who wish to save.
Arts
BOOK REVIEW
‘Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Yonder’ by Walt Kelly
Years in the making, “Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Yonder’’ collects the daily and Sunday panels of the earliest years of Walt Kelly’s celebrated comic strip.
Best of the new
Best of the New
Boston’s best people and ideas of 2011
Safer neighborhoods, quieter commutes, and one really brainy historian.
Opinion
“A president who let opponents on the right convert ‘hope’ into ‘hopeless’ and ‘change’ into ‘socialism’ could lose.”
Joan Vennochi
Ideas
As tempting as it might be to imagine the Christmas trees we see today in public parks and central plazas as a quaint relic of small town life, it turns out that our modern public trees have politics woven right into their roots.
Leon Neyfakh