Obesity rates down for infants, toddlers in Mass.

After a three-decade tripling in childhood obesity rates, the trend has leveled off and, for the first time, appears to be on a decline among infants and preschoolers, according to a study.

G Cover

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/04/23/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/DSC03310-001--90x90.jpg Kids in the delivery room?

A growing number of hospitals are relaxing policies to accommodate requests from families who want children present during delivery.

Special education policies in Mass. reviewed

Contrary to popular belief, low-income school districts are most likely to place students in special-education programs for sometimes questionable disabilities, according to a new study.

On Hockey

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/04/23/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/cd23bruins19--90x90.jpg Tyler Seguin seized moment like an old pro

On Sunday, with Game 6 on the line against the Capitals, the baby-faced 20-year-old was the season-saver for the Bruins.

Adrian Walker

No room at Senator Brown’s office

A group of Boston teenagers pushing for federal funding for summer jobs found their protests thwarted last week at the doorstep of Senator Scott Brown.

Reuters

Opinion | james carroll

Eisenhower memorial overstates president’s innocence

The design for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s memorial exhibits the very American impulse to elevate the image of innocence over experience.

The latest example of the seek-and-destroy culture in the NHL was the repulsive, crushing blow repeat offender Raffi Torres dealt to Marian Hossa’s head Tuesday night.

From Sunday’s Globe | Hockey notes

NHL being ruined by violence and silence

Time for the nitwits to go, leaders to lead, refs to get it right, for fans to stop being treated as, and acting like, the sports world’s lowest common denominators.

Alpha Omega

Magazine

Return of the Alpha Omega family

As creditors settle for pennies in the $30 million bankruptcy case against Alpha Omega, the former owners, the Handa family — at least the younger generation — are back in the United States, and once again selling luxury.

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was made famous by the 1964 film “Mary Poppins.”

Ideas | The Word

Supercalicontentious

Who coined the longest nonsense word in America? It’s a touchy subject.

“How could I not want to play someone . . . so screwed up?’’ John Cusack says of his latest role.

Movies

John Cusack faces fears to portray Poe in ‘Raven’

Maybe John Cusack really is the sweet, amiable mensch he’s played in so many films.

Boston Globe ePaper

ePaper

What is an ePaper?

The complete print edition, in its exact layout. Browse the print edition page by page, including stories and ads.

Globe Insiders

Globe Event, Friday, April 27, 8 p.m.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/04/19/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/90_ailey.gif Boston Globe night at Alvin Ailey

Globe Insiders are invited to attend the must-see performance and enjoy a Q&A after with the artistic director and several of the dancers.

Inside The Boston Globe

Brain surgery, no knife required

Bicycle deliveries are on the rise in Boston

New Hampshire shaken by violence

Berklee College of Music becomes a YouTube star

In Practice

A doctor without borders
Meredith Hansen and Neal Ferreira (above), and Jake Gardner (below, standing), pictured in rehearsal for Boston Lyric Opera’s “The Inspector.’’

Opera Review

BLO raises the curtain on John Musto’s ‘Inspector’
Ben Gibbard and Death Cab for Cutie played with Magik*Magik Orchestra Saturday night.

Music Review

Death Cab plus Magik* a questionable sum

G Force

A voice that inspires
There has been speculation that the Jets will be running two distinct offenses: a traditional scheme led by Mark Sanchez and a spread option with Tim Tebow.

Sunday football notes

Selective information on the division rivals

globe magazine

Casino czar Steve Crosby’s impossible mission

Independent Film Festival Boston celebrates 10 years

Terry Francona adjusting to life in the booth

Metro

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Deluge temporarily brings relief to a parched Mass.

The gush of rain ends the months-long dearth of precipitation that has left the state’s rivers at record lows.

Business

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Tech Lab Plus

Nimble robot overcomes pet hair

The Roomba 780 robotic vacuum cleaner by iRobot Corp. was up to the challenge of sweeping up a cat and a dog owner’s pad.

Columnists

juliette kayyem

The military’s persistent gender divide

Adrian Walker

No room at Senator Brown’s office

innovation economy

Mass. game industry’s energy lures a veteran

Yvonne Abraham

Reducing weighty obstacles
Isolated long stem red rose bud. Focus = front of rosebud. 12MP camera.

joanna weiss

‘Bachelor’ lawsuit shows reality TV is behind the times

Jeff Jacoby

Obama a unifying force? Hardly

Dan Shaughnessy

So far, nothing but bad times for Red Sox

Joan Vennochi

Vatican targets nuns, not enablers of clergy sexual abuse scandal

INNOVATION ECONOMY

‘Accelerator’ programs help start-ups take off
Outside Fenway Park on its first Opening Day in 1912.

Bob Ryan

For longtime foes, nothing rivals in comparison

lawrence harmon

All is not fair in Boston hotels

Love Letters

Is he stringing her along?

Politics

Rudy Giuliani endorses one-time rival Mitt Romney

Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor, said Romney has “the resume and background for the job.”

Nation & World

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Despite wide search, no sign of missing Tucson girl

Police kept a whole neighborhood block where a missing 6-year-old lives cordoned off for a second day, and scoured a wide area of the city for clues to her possible kidnapping.

Sports

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On baseball

Red Sox players should get the most blame

There are a lot of people to blame for the bad start, but those getting off the easiest deserve the most scorn -- the players.

Health and wellness

Daily Dose

Are you leading a heart-healthy lifestyle?

Can positive emotions like optimism, life satisfaction, and a sense of well-being actually lower your risk of having a heart attack or stroke?

Arts

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Music Review

Sandrine Piau made her Celebrity Series debut at Jordan Hall.

French soprano shares sense of ‘Wonder’

At Jordan Hall, Sandrine Piau proved a compelling performer, but one who offset a uniform sound with an interpretive toolbox.

“It very much improves the quality of our service in that food arrives much quicker. There’s little traffic jams if you’re on a bike.”

Martin Kelleher,  chief operating officer for DiningIn

Magazine

The cover for the April 22 2012 issue

144 free things to do around Boston
The cover for the April 15 2012 issue

In an artist’s garden
The cover for the April 8 2012 issue

Are fat baseball players a problem?
The cover for the April 1 2012 issue

45 best breakfast joints around Boston

Opinion

“The combat exclusion rules create a ranking system in the military that is not based on skill, experience, or physical aptitude.”

Juliette Kayyem  

Ideas

“John Singleton Copley’s life, his works, and his words defined him as a subject of the British empire, not a citizen of the American republic.”

Jane Kamensky,  on the great American painter who wasn’t American