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.
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.
Health insurers curtail 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.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
G cover
Prominent Bostonians share secrets on staying healthy
The Globe asked some top Bostonians to reveal a few of their personal health tricks, and their answers ranged from dog-walking to breakfasting on cucumbers.
Singles pick friends over family on holidays
More unmarried people have supplanted their biological families with groups of friends and neighbors whom they hold dear, a new study shows.
Patriots’ Stevan Ridley keeps making gains
Rookie running back Stevan Ridley had a season- and team-high 13 carries against the Dolphins, the second straight week he led the Patriots in rushing attempts.
“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
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.
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
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.
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