Jon Lester chooses Chicago Cubs

A journey that started with smiles and quickly turned torturous ended on Tuesday when Lester decided to sign with the Chicago Cubs for six years and $155 million.

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Jon Lester has decided to sign a six-year, $155 million contract with the Chicago Cubs, turning down offers from the Red Sox, among others.

When Jon Lester faced the Rays when Joe Maddon managed them, Maddon said he really admired the lefthander?s work. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Nick Cafardo | On baseball

Cubs manager Joe Maddon glad to land Lester

The Red Sox probably could have signed Lester for $105 million back in March. The market took off on them, and they miscalculated.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/10/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/2014-09-16T085301Z_57979375_BM2EA9F0UVS01_RTRMADP_3_UBER-GERMANY-INJUNCTION-7724--90x90.jpg Patrick to seek ride-sharing regulation

Governor Patrick wants to allow services like Uber and Lyft to grow while requiring them to follow insurance and driving standards.

Thomas Farragher

The inconvenient truth about ride-sharing

Last week, city councilors dreamily attested to the efficiency of Uber and Lyft all while acknowledging that it?s, well, against the law.

Former fugitive Genevieve Kelley with her son, John, who has cystic fibrosis.

N.H. mother says her fears guided choice to flee, return

Genevieve Kelley said worries about her daughter led her to disappear as a fugitive 10 years ago and worries about her son led her to turn herself in.

Julian Edelman?s 69-yard touchdown reception Sunday vs. the Chargers went only about 17 yards in the air. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER

Patriots lack a long game in their offensive arsenal

Tom Brady and his receivers aren?t a deep threat, something that may not serve them in the playoffs.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/09/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/06282009_28soprep-7285331.jpg Hate letters to black staff shake Milton Academy

Investigators believe the anonymous messages came from someone inside the prestigious private school.

A copy of one of the e-mail exchanges between Ben Edelman and Ran Duan.

Harvard faculty member in price dispute with restaurant

An associate professor at Harvard Business School had a disagreement with a local Chinese restaurant over prices listed online.

Senator Dianne Feinstein spoke to the media outside the Senate chamber after the release of a report on CIA torture policies.

CIA used brutal methods, misled leaders, report finds

The report is a sweeping indictment of the CIA?s program in secret prisons around the world after the 9/11 attacks.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/09/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/Was8887797-1389--90x90.jpg MIT professor apologizes for remark on voters

Jonathan Gruber was criticized for stating that the law was passed by relying on ?the stupidity of the American voter.?

Steward has offered a top job to state health chief John Polanowicz.

Rival assails state waiver for Steward

Southcoast Health System is criticizing a rule change that will allow Steward Health Care to open a clinic close to one of its own.

Shirley Leung

Olympics opponent becomes a believer

Conor Yunits, a leader of No Boston Olympics, is defecting from the group, saying he supports the effort to host the 2024 Summer Games.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/03/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/cavanaugh_04Umassbaker07_metroA.jpg EBT card confusion troubling, Baker says

The state?s photo ID requirement with EBT cards has prevented some low-income families from buying groceries.

Sean C. Houle was taken into custody by police after he allegedly shot a jobber Monday in Barnstable.

Hunter says he mistook jogger for deer

The 39-year-old jogger was rushed to an area hospital where shotgun pellets were discovered lodged in his body.

The cast of Improv Asylum posed with Globe Santa and Bill Connolly before the start of ?No Rest for the Wicked Funny.??

GLOBE SANTA

Popular comedians perform Dec. 10 for Globe Santa

As a former Globe Santa recipient from a family of eight children, comedian Lenny Clarke knows just how much the program means to struggling families.

Opinion

Nancy Gertner, Michael B. Keating, and Martin F. Murphy

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/12/09/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/1210_gertner.jpg Spare Boston the pain of a Tsarnaev trial

The last chapter doesn?t have to be one of bitterness, division, and re-traumatization.

The Big Picture

Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles, California December 8, 2014.

Gene Blevins/Reuters

Massive fire in downtown Los Angeles

The huge fire shut down parts of two major freeways in Los Angeles early Monday morning.