As Florida votes, Romney defends attacks on Gingrich

Mitt Romney defended his use of negative ads, saying “if you attack me, I’m not going to just sit back, I’m going to fight back.”

Former House speaker Thomas Finneran, left, chatted with former Boston mayor Ray Flynn outside the Parkman House.

Bill Greene/Globe Staff

Hundreds line up for Kevin White’s wake

Many notable local politicians were in attendance this afternoon to pay respects to the former mayor.

FDA approves Vertex drug for rare form of cystic fibrosis

In a big win for the Cambridge-based biotech, the FDA approved the drug Kalydeco, which will help around 1,200 patients with a form of the deadly illness.

Video

Media day madness

Super Bowl media day has long been a frenzied event with all types of characters, but now fans can buy tickets to experience the madness for themselves.

Tom Brady holds court at center of Media Day

Brady, who’s used to answering only a precious few questions each week, was relaxed and seemed to enjoy his hour-long session.

BOSTON CAPITAL

Facebook’s IPO issues

A lot of people are hyperventilating over Facebook Inc.’s coming initial public stock offering, but I wouldn’t say the same about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Arthur Winn at his company’s office in Boston in 2009.

Developer avoids jail for campaign contributions

Columbus Center developer Arthur Winn was fined $100,000, but avoided prison time for illegally funneling thousands of dollars to politicians.

“The winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party.”

Republican Senator Marco Rubio 

Globe Insiders

Globe Insiders Video

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/01/31/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Advance/Images/IMG_2882--90x90.jpg The Back Story: Covering the Patriots

Greg Bedard, the Boston Globe’s Patriots reporter, gives us a glimpse inside the minds of our favorite players.

Nation & World

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A Syrian rebel took his position as battled Syrian government forces today.

Syria troops push back rebels as UN fight looms

Syrian troops crushed pockets of rebel soldiers today and the UN Security Council took up a draft resolution demanding that President Bashar Assad yield power.

Sports

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Super Bowl Media Day Notes

Rob Gronkowski drew a large crowd at Super Bowl Media Day today.

Gronkowski out of walking boot

Gronkowski said he was “day by day” as he recovers from an ankle injury, but said shedding the walking boot was a sign of improvement.

Lifestyle

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Allure of scaling Half Dome forces Yosemite to limit access

There was a time not long ago when a climb to the top of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome was a solitary trek attempted by only the most daring adventurers.