Momentum in Iowa tilting toward Mitt Romney
Iowa voters may deliver a caucus plot twist Tuesday that seemed unlikely just a few short weeks ago: propelling Romney toward the Republican presidential nomination.
CHARLES DHARAPAK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Laden with baggage, Newt Gingrich tries to defy odds
As Gingrich seeks the GOP presidential nomination, he is fighting not just for the country’s future, as he often proclaims, but also against his past.
Will 2012 be the year for economic optimists?
Here are six reasons to be pessimistic about the economy in the new year, and six to be optimistic. Together, these 12 for ’12 could add up to another wild ride.
What’s likely to make news in 2012
We pause to consider some of what lies ahead in the new year, from culture to politics, technology, the economy, sports, and casinos that may crop up in sight of the city on a hill.
matthew j. lee/globe staff
Fireworks lit up the sky over Boston Harbor at midnight as part of First Night celebrations that took place throughout the city yesterday.
John Blanding/globe staff
Earlier in the night, a fireworks show took place in Boston Common.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff
Fireworks exploded over the Soldiers & Sailors Monument on the Boston Common.
jonathan wiggs/globe staff
One of the First Night events last night was a parade on Boylston Street.
jonathan wiggs/globe staff
Organizers anticipated roughly 1 million people would flock to First Night's 40 venues scattered across the metropolitan area.
John Tlumacki/globe staff
Workers prepared an ice sculpture in Copley Square yesterday afternoon.
John Tlumacki/globe staff
A young girl got her face painted for the occasion.
John Tlumacki/globe staff
Plastic trumpets were on sale at the Hynes Convention Center yesterday.
John Tlumacki/globe staff
Drummers from the group IntaAfrika played at the Hynes Convention Center.
John Tlumacki/globe staff
Scarlett O'Hamlon, 11 months old, from Cumberland, R.I., appeared ready to celebrate her first New Year's yesterday.
First Night celebrations bring in 2012
Tens of thousands of revelers descended yesterday on Boston for a daylong New Year’s Eve party that offered something for almost every taste.
A look back at 2011’s notable departures
A round-up of the many notables who died in 2011, from national and world affairs to sports, business, science, the arts, and the local scene.
“Negative advertising is popular among campaign strategists because it works. So what it says about us is that we pay attention to it, even as we decry it.”
Jeffrey Berry, a Tufts University political science professor
Inside The Boston Globe
Columnists
Metro
December wraps up as second-warmest on record
There has been no measurable snowfall in the area since late October, a rare stretch making for gleeful golfers and a dramatic change from last winter.
Business
Product Reviews
Getting the credit card you are due
As the economy improves and new credit card rules take effect, now is a good time to look at your choices.
Politics
Obama to escalate assault on Congress
President Obama plans to step up his offensive against Congress, concluding he cannot pass any major legislation in 2012 because of Republican hostility toward his agenda.
Nation & World
With bees dying off, a search for solutions takes on added urgency
Scientists are trying to find the cause of colony collapse disorder, the five-year-old phenomenon of worker bees suddenly disappearing
Sports
Stars 4, Bruins 2
Flat Bruins leveled in Dallas
The Bruins saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end as the Stars submitted a 4-2 win that wasn’t as close as the final score.
Arts
ARTS
Who could break out in 2012?
There’s no telling who’s going to flourish this year - but we’re willing to make some educated guesses.
Travel
In 2012, the best place to . . .
It’s the little things that matter, so resolve to make the most of them in 2012 - starting with our micro sampler of random hot spots around the world.
Books
‘Pity the Billionaire: The Hard Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right’ by Thomas Frank
It’s a mordant study of how the right deflected blame for economic calamity and turned it to its own advantage.
Opinion
“If New Year’s resolutions are on your mind, today is a good day to reflect on the many ways that you live robotically.”
Gareth Cook
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