Health insurers slow rise in fees
Massachusetts insurers, taking a tougher line in bargaining with health care providers, have held payment increases to the lowest level in years.
CHERYL SENTER FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
GOP candidates leaving a small N.H. town cold
In the bellwether town of Ashland, conservative and moderate voters alike say it is difficult to make a case for any of the Republican presidential contenders.
Hackers hit security firm and donate stolen funds
A hacking movement calling itself Anonymous said that it stole thousands of credit card numbers and other client information from a US security think tank.
Essdras M Suarez/Globe Staff
More singles pick friends over family on holidays
According to a new study, more unmarried people have supplanted their biological families with homemade families made up of friends and neighbors whom they hold dear.
Pet shelters struggle with glut of cats, dogs
The influx of animals is growing at shelters and humane societies across the state, and less money is being donated to help their cause.
Bottle redemption centers struggling
The number of bottles and cans being returned for the nickel deposit has dropped in Massachusetts, in part because redemption centers are rapidly going out of business.
“Would I like to see my daughters now? I would. But... as long as they’re with somebody, I’m comforted.”
Marty Manson, whose daughter, Adina Davies, is spending the holidays with friends
Inside The Boston Globe
Columnists
Metro
Peabody mourns firefighter, offers support
Scores of people took time over the holiday to offer condolences, financial support, and food for the family of James Rice, who was killed fighting a three-alarm blaze on Friday.
Business
New operating room a high-tech wonder
Brigham and Women’s has opened a new surgical facility that is designed to allow surgeons to use just the right equipment to aid a wide variety of procedures and treatments.
Politics
analysis
On tax deal, House GOP should have quit when it was ahead
House Republicans snatched political defeat from the jaws of victory in the showdown over Social Security payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits.
Nation & World
Nigerian church attacks kill 39
A series of bombings struck three churches during Christmas services yesterday in a new round of escalating violence by a radical Muslim sect.
Sports
Knicks 106, Celtics 104
Knicks edge Celtics in opener
Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points in the fourth quarter — including the decisive free throws — to give the Knicks a 106-104 win and spoil a 31-point effort by Rajon Rondo.
Health and wellness
G Force
He speaks his mind on health
Dr. Salah D. Salman, a former Lebanese cabinet minister and former surgeon at the Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary, wrote a critique of the American medical system.
Arts
BOOK REVIEW
‘Physics on the Fringe’ by Margaret Wertheim
Science writer Margaret Wertheim tells the story of James Carter, one of the more interesting outsiders she has encountered in her many years on the beat.
Opinion
“It isn’t that geopolitical strategy and Middle Eastern politics are irrelevant to those who go to war; it’s just that, in the midst of the fighting, thinking about those matters is a luxury.”
Juliette Kayyem
Ideas
The practice of sending commercially printed cards soon became wildly popular. It reached the United States in 1875…By 1958, the average US family mailed 100 Christmas cards.
Mark Feeney on the history of Christmas cards