Many more may be victims of data theft

The credit card theft that hit hundreds of attendees at conventions in Boston this fall could be much larger.

Cracked 3d rails trouble MBTA

The rare cracks disabled the Braintree and Ashmont lines at the JFK/UMass station Wednesday morning.

City Councilor-elect Michelle Wu’s backing of Bill Linehan’s bid for the council’s presidency is a bad move, writes Yvonne Abraham.

Yvonne Abraham

Michelle Wu is stumbling out of the blocs

The recently elected at large Boston City Councilor’s supporters are freaking out, with good cause.

Belmont’s Alex Marthews took his business card to an event at the Venture Cafe in Cambridge recently.

Among tech crowd, the paper business card endures

Of the many things swept away in an increasingly digitized economy, the lowly business card has been an unlikely survivor.

Doc Rivers’s emotional return to TD Garden included a wave to the fans, a video tribute by the Celtics, some tears — and a Clippers’ win.

dan shaughnessy

Celtics fans show Doc Rivers the love

Doc returned to the Garden as head coach of the Clippers for the first time Wednesday night. And it was a love-fest. Doc-apalooza.

Teenagers placed flowers at the entrance to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last year after 20-year-old Adam Lanza fired more than 150 rounds from his mother’s semiautomatic rifle.

Essdras m Suarez/Globe Staff/file

Newtown far from a catalyst for gun control

Today, it is easier, not harder, to carry a gun in many parts of the nation than it was before the Newtown massacre last Dec. 14.

At Mass. General, Dr. Satoshi Kashiwagi (left) and Dr. Mark Poznansky led a team that spent nearly a year trying out different lasers to determine a safe dosage in mice.

Laser therapy may boost vaccine potency

A therapy using lasers that was first developed in Russia has shown promise in strengthening vaccines.

Danish audiophiles at Bang & Olufsen are reaching out to a different audience with their $400 BeoPlay H6 over-the-ear headphones.

tech lab

Gift ideas for the tech set

One survey found that three-quarters of you plan to buy something electronic as a Christmas gift. Here are a few items that ought to produce smiles.

Last minute gift guide

Perfect picks to impress everyone from your glam pals to your cute nephew.

Globe Santa

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/12/04/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/globe_santa-7132.jpg Woman who fled bad relationship hopes daughter can enjoy Christmas

A mother from Boston summoned the courage to make a change, after years of feeling trapped in a relationship but afraid to leave.

Opinion

JOAN VENNOCHI

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/12/12/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/vennochi-1464.png Case of Uncle Onyango shows Obama’s credibility gap

President Obama’s deceptions about his family relationships and the Affordable Care Act constitute a pattern, and deceptions always hurt more than they help.

Sports

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clippers 96, celtics 88

Celtics coach Brad Stevens and his predecessor, Clippers coach Doc Rivers, talked after Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and Clippers at TD Garden.

Celtics lose as Doc Rivers returns to TD Garden

The former Celtics coach brought his Clippers team to downtown Boston, where they dealt the Celtics a second loss in two nights.

Nation & World

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Hundreds of people joined hands while going up a hill to view the body of Nelson Mandela in Pretoria on Wednesday. Mourners waited for hours in lines that snaked through the city for miles to catch a final glimpse of the antiapartheid leader and first black president of South Africa.

Throngs vie for a last look at Mandela

A day after the world’s leaders gathered in a stadium to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela in a pomp-filled ceremony, Wednesday was the people’s turn.

Politics

political notebook

NSA Director General Keith Alexander used a library card as an example while testifying on spying programs before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

NSA chief implores senators not to end spying programs

NSA Director General Keith Alexander said he knows of no better way his agency can help protect the US from foreign threats than with spy programs.