Judge bars testimony of Aaron Hernandez friend

Prosecutors had hoped Robert Paradis would show that Hernandez had a handgun with him in Los Angeles before Odin Lloyd?s murder.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/02/17/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/turner021715METROmbtashoveling125.jpg Another snowstorm may strike Mass. this weekend

The storm is expected to hit the state during the overnight hours Saturday, continuing through Sunday night.

A man ran to catch a commuter rail train before it left South Station.

Keolis apologizes for commuter rail woes

Governor Baker blasted the MBTA?s commuter rail operator, saying the company needs to start providing reliable service.

Commuters wait at the rail station in Belmont. // photograph by Wendy Maeda/Globe staff


Screens in the MBTA control room help monitor the trains. // photograph by David L. Ryan/Globe staff ??????????? this photo being subbed out, not sure about cutline yet.



They?ve been working on the railroad

The map shows where a three-year, $277 million upgrade along the Fitchburg Line is adding track and replacing bridges. The project should be completed by the end of the year. 


A power washer cleans the leaf slick rails. // photograph by Wendy Maeda/Globe staff/file


A two-phase project is slated to repair the commuter-rail drawbridge in Beverly. //photograph by Lisa Poole/AP/file 


A new hybrid MotivePower locomotive.   /// Jonathan Wiggs/Globe staff/file

One of the Hyundai Rotem passenger cars.  // John Tlumacki/Globe staff/file


illustration by Andy Martin

Andy Martin

Magazine

Will the MBTA commuter rail ever run on time?

Keolis took over in July, vowing to improve things. We?re still waiting.

Blue Line tracks in East Boston saw plenty of snow over the weekend.

Tempers flare during wait for overcrowded MBTA trains

?It was like chaos,? said one passenger of the scene at the Maverick Blue Line station.

Mass. to look into insurance claim rejections for shelters

Two drug treatment centers had to shut down when Boston closed the Long Island bridge, but their insurance claims were rejected.

UMass Amherst reverses policy on Iranian students

The school had banned Iranian nationals from chemical, computer, and mechanical engineering graduate programs.

Michael Keaton as

Atsushi Nishijima/Fox Searchlight

87th Academy Awards

A Harvard man?s 2015 Oscar predictions

For the past four years, a Harvard student has used nothing but data and statistics to handicap the Oscars.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/01/25/BostonGlobe.com/Boston/Images/7d2bd30c63b34277ae8bb3259a51af29-7d2bd30c63b34277ae8bb3259a51af29-0.jpg NFL reportedly fires employee for selling Deflategate footballs

The footballs were supposed to be donated to charity, but ESPN reports that an NFL employee kept some and sold them.

A conceptual drawing of the Olympic Stadium at Widett Circle.

Boston Olympics backers to hold 20 meetings over 20 weeks, seeking input

The Boston 2024 group said it wanted to to ?listen to the people of Massachusetts and use those conversations to help shape the bid.?

President Obama.

opinion | neal gabler

Obama?s legacy will be like Truman?s

Presidents are measured not by poll numbers but by their ultimate effect on the nation.

Alex Speier

Red Sox neuroscouting aims to get into prospects? brains

The mysterious and innovative tool uses exercises similar to video games to measure a player?s aptitude at pitch recognition.

Devra First

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/01/15/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/turner011515FOOD22Plated11.jpg James Beard award semifinalists for 2015 announced

Alden & Harlow makes the list for best new restaurant. The other regional mention is Central Provisions in Portland.

Cheap Eats

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/02/14/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/maeda_18cheap_g1.jpg Sakura?s sushi is off the beaten path in Waltham

The restaurant is serving impeccably fresh, skillfully sliced sushi and sashimi at very reasonable prices.

The Big Picture

Kimmimasa Mayama/EPA

Fire and ice in Japan

Winter festivals in Japan this past week have made for some interesting visual juxtapositions.