TelexFree fraud victims receive first checks for losses

More than 14,000 Mass. victims were sent checks this week as reimbursement for some of their losses.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/06272008_met27fireworks3-6736787.jpg Should fireworks be legal in Mass.?

A proposed 2016 ballot measure to legalize consumer fireworks is drawing heat, setting the stage for a divisive debate.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/14/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/walsh150-8817.jpg Rash of gun violence claims lives of five in Boston area

Investigators in Boston, Everett, and Cambridge were scrambling Thursday to identify suspects in five overnight homicides.

The victims in deadly night of gunfire in Greater Boston

At least one of the victims, officials said, was an unintended target who was caught in crossfire.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/14/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/greenhouse_WhatisWidett-1_artsjpg[1]-4640--90x90.jpg Boston ponders Widett Circle?s future

It will no longer become the home for an Olympic stadium, but that?s not stopping the mayor from drafting a bold vision for the area.

Robert Gentile, 79, has been named in new court papers on the art heist.

Does mobster from Conn. know more on Gardner heist?

Federal officials believe aging gangster Robert Gentile has more information on the art theft, but he claims he is being harassed.

Cape beaches close after shark spits out seal on beach

Nauset Light Beach and Coast Guard Beach, about a mile away from one another, were closed for more than an hour on Wednesday.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/150813_KDB_algae__0008-001.jpg Down by the river Charles, it?s dirty water once again

As advocates work to improve the river?s image, an algae bloom served as a reminder that progress can be halting.

Secretary of State John Kerry (center) stood with other dignitaries as members of the Marines raised the US flag over the newly reopened embassy in Havana, Cuba, on Friday.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool/REUTERS

American flag raised at US Embassy in Cuba

The two nations? leaders ?made a courageous decision to stop being prisoners of history,? Secretary of State John Kerry said.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/07/20/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/cuba-tease-1035.jpg Finding the old and new in Cuba

This moment of transition with the US provides an opportunity to see Cuba, past and future, through the same lens.

CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/14/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/Gasper1-7391.jpg Garoppolo left the statement-making to Brady

In the preseason opener, the Patriots? Plan B QB had a performance that was uneven in nine possessions.

Magazine

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/07/23/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/p26_race_view.jpg How a bartender dreamed up the Falmouth Road Race

Only a certain race every April can claim a more storied history in Massachusetts than this Cape Cod classic.

A patron looks at the damage after vandals hit New Orleans?s recently opened St. Roch Market on May 1, 2015.

Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

DANTE RAMOS

10 years after Katrina, New Orleans abounds with lessons

The city?s uneven recovery offers hope, but also a warning.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/Parcel%201B%20?%20Causeway%20Rendering%20-.jpg Boston OK?s tax break for affordable apartments

The break was approved for a proposed building near North Station where all 239 units would be priced below-market.

Frank Gifford (right) in his broadcasting heyday, with ?Monday Night Football? mates Don Meredith (left) and Howard Cosell.

CHAD FINN I SPORTS MEDIA

Frank Gifford was more than just a jock

Gifford spent 28 years ? from 1971 to 1998 ? as a star of ABC?s seminal ?Monday Night Football? telecasts.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/483819394.jpg Marquee pairing of Spieth, McIlroy a highlight of PGA Championship

Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy drew the largest crowds, but Dustin Johnson led after one round.

Ground Game

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/04/23/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/tracker-089.jpg Tracking the endorsements of N.H. GOP activists

Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, and Rand Paul have picked up the most support from top party activists in the Granite State so far.

Opinion & Ideas

JOANNA WEISS

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/Joanna_Weiss_150px-1356.png The Jewish humor television matrix

Here?s a non-comprehensive look at where today?s TV figures might fall on a scale of Jewish humor. Disagree? Sue me.

The Big Picture

Daniel Reinhardt/EPA

Perseid meteor shower

Sky gazers got the chance to be amazed by the nighttime show put on by the oldest meteor shower observed by humans.

BetaBoston

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/13/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/Akamai-5of5.jpg Akamai wins round in $45m patent lawsuit

The case against Limelight involves the way content is distributed across the Internet.

Crux

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/08/14/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/woo150-1371.jpg For Catholic Relief Services? Carolyn Woo, capitalism isn?t all bad

The former business school dean winces a bit when Pope Francis rails against capitalism.