Gingrich’s immigrant proposal draws fire
Conservatives said yesterday that Newt Gingrich’s belief that some illegal immigrants should be granted citizenship was sowing fresh doubts over his candidacy.
Obama’s chief on health care steps down early
Don Berwick, the Harvard professor who was tapped by the Obama administration to lead the overhaul of the massive Medicare and Medicaid programs, resigned yesterday.
JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF
The reel appeal: nostalgia and Scorsese
While making films with cross-generational appeal is nothing new, what may be different this season is the number and quality of family films that appeal as much to parents as to kids.
SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF
Joe Kelsey, Curtis Gould, and Richard Roberts were recently reunited with Vince O’Connell, left, the man who got out them out of the confines of Fernald School.
THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 1962
Waltham’s sprawling Walter E. Fernald State School typified all that was wrong with the way people with disabilities were treated.
SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF
The men grew up in an era when disabled children were shut away, written off by doctors, separated from families overwhelmed by their needs.
SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF
Vince O’Connell talked to Roberts, who was born blind and was sent to the Fernald in the 1940s. O’Connell, who worked at the Fernald, said, ‘‘Theirs was a pretty stark existence.’’
THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 1962
In the 1960s, the miseries at the Fernald were uncovered.
THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 1962
A legislative panel said conditions there and at other state institutions belonged ‘‘to the Dark Ages.’’
THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 1962
The facilities, including a shower room, were stark.
THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 1962
Understaffed and underfunded, it could be squalid and cruel.
SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF
O'Connell, who worked summers at the Fernald, knew they could thrive outside. He helped move several men from the blind unit to their own apartment on the campus. This upended the universe at the Fernald.
Yvonne Abraham
Former Fernald residents celebrate being free
Richard, Curtis, Joe, and Albert lived desolate lives in the Fernald School for decades before Vince O’Connell came along, sprung them, and showed them how to be in the world.
Juliette Kayyem
A Thanksgiving wish for the troops
Service members and their families deserve empathy and respect. With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, it's easy to not recognize the difficulties they still face.
Bruins 4, Sabres 3
Bruins knock Sabres down in shootout
The night that began with a long-anticipated duke-out ended with a shootout. And when all the ice chips cleared, the Bruins ruled both.
“I grew up with the Muppets, though, so we’re definitely here because of my influence. I’m probably more psyched to see the movie than they are.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, 35, of Peabody
Inside The Boston Globe
Columnists
Metro
Butterfly’s epic journey comes to light
University of Massachusetts scientists have sequenced the genome of monarch butterflies, insects that fly on gossamer wings from the eastern US to mountains in Mexico.
Business
Ellen isn’t winning an Oprah-size audience
Since taking over Oprah Winfrey’s former 4 p.m. time period this season, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres hasn’t delivered the ratings of her powerhouse predecessor.
Politics
Political Notebook
Bachmann rips NBC over song
Michele Bachmann lashed out at NBC for not apologizing for an off-color song played during her appearance Tuesday on Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night.’’
Nation & World
Yemeni leader steps down
After months of street protests calling for his resignation, President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement yesterday transferring power to his vice president.
Sports
Bruins 4, Sabres 3
Bruins knock Sabres down in shootout
The night that began with a long-anticipated duke-out ended with a shootout. And when all the ice chips cleared, the Bruins ruled both.
Style
style
‘Nutcracker’ outfits from ’95 to be retired
The Boston Ballet has revealed that this is the last year its current sets and costumes will be in use for “The Nutcracker.’’
Arts
BOOK REVIEW
‘Lions of the West’ by Robert Morgan
Historian Robert Morgan presents portraits of 10 men who were key to Manifest Destiny.
Special reports
Special Section
Holiday Arts Preview
Our critics give their top picks for what to see and experience this holiday season in the worlds of theater, dance, movies, DVDs, classical music, and pop music. This is your guide to holiday season entertainment.
Opinion
“With poverty so pervasive, how do I keep my children sensitive to the plight of the less fortunate?”
Kate Darnton
Ideas
The improvements coming to air travel amount to a long-awaited application of new thinking and new technology to a complex system that has been slow to accommodate change.
Leon Neyfakh, Ideas staff writer