Patriots 35, Dolphins 14

Miami Gardens, FL 1-1-17: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady pumps his fist after teammate LeGarrette Blount (not pictured) scored a fourth quarter touchdown that helped seal New England's victory that clinched home field advantage for the team throughout the AFC playoffs. The New England Patriots visited the Miami Dolphins in a regular season NFL football game at Hard Rock Stadium. (Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis) reporter: mcbride topic: Patriots

Jim davis/Globe Staff

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

Why Tom Brady is the league?s MVP

The star quarterback dealt with a lot in 2016 ? court appearances, a suspension, aging ? and emerged better than ever.

Chad Finn

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/davis_patsfins3_spts.jpg It was time to make a statement, and this team did it

After last season?s disastrous loss in Miami, it was time for redemption.

Don Aucoin | Critic?s notebook

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/Bedford_170101_AFFILIATE_004.jpg NBC preens, but don?t dismiss Channel 7

The Peacock Network emphasizes its star power as it launches its own Boston station, leaving longtime affiliate WHDH-TV behind.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/02/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/143985a347dc499a979f253be3c6876a-143985a347dc499a979f253be3c6876a-0.jpg Armless Syrian boy, thriving here, hopes family can come to US

??I want my mom to come here. I feel like I?m losing her,? said Ahmad Alkhalaf, now attending fourth grade at a school in Sharon.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/02/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/don%20lemon.jpg CNN news anchor was ?lit? on-air during New Year?s Eve program

Don Lemon took shots of alcohol and got his ear pierced during a broadcast from New Orleans.

Mariah Carey performs during New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square on December 31, 2016 in New York. / AFP PHOTO / ANGELA WEISSANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

The disaster that was Mariah Carey?s New Year?s Eve performance

After a brief, flawless rendition ?Auld Lang Syne,? it was all downhill.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/AFP_JJ2K3.jpg Vandalized Hollywood sign briefly reads ?Hollyweed?

No, it wasn?t your hangover playing tricks on you: The Hollywood sign really did read ??Hollyweed?? on New Year?s Day.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/RinaldiBrownies18.jpg An old ? and cold ? tradition renewed in South Boston

Nearly 1,000 people jumped into the frigid waters off South Boston to take part in the L Street Brownies? annual New Year?s Day swim.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/13/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/shutterstock_105088013.jpg The best time to retune your career? Probably right now

The prospect of another year at a job that fails to satisfy can be daunting, if not downright depressing.

As minimum wage rises, some employers cut back

The state?s base wage rose to $11 an hour Sunday, but additional gains here and nationwide may be challenged.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/02/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/AFP_JI88W.jpg Islamic State claims responsibility for Istanbul nightclub attack

The terrorist group said the massacre was carried out by a ?heroic soldier of the caliphate.?

Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/File

Despite Trust Act, police handed over immigrants for deportation

A loophole in the act let city police to send nine people with ?serious criminal histories? to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2015.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/12/22/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/TSO_26stattexas12_nat.jpg How a mail-order opioid operation took root on the high plains of Texas

?It?s the Amazon of drug trafficking,? said one official.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/Bedford_170101_ACCIDENT_002.jpg Man dies after car struck by commuter rail train in Holbrook

A preliminary investigation showed the man attempted to drive around lowered crossing gates, police said.

President Obama spoke during the Democratic National Convention in July.

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press/File

Obama?s legacy in peril as new Congress convenes

The ambitious majority plans to unravel some of the most significant policy prescriptions put forward by this administration.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/12/22/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/5e230759ab0d443c87206d3df2c61fbe-5e230759ab0d443c87206d3df2c61fbe-0.jpg Democrats targeting eight of Trump?s Cabinet nominees

Such delays would upend GOP hopes of quickly confirming most of the appointees on Inauguration Day.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/01/01/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/NYBaby2017BIDMC.jpg Boston?s first baby, born at 12:01 a.m., is already an ?overachiever?

Kennedy Lynn Schmitt checked in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and measured 19¼ inches, Beth Israel Deaconess said.

Newsletters

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An afternoon recap of the day?s most important business news, delivered Monday through Friday.

Opinion & Ideas

Opinion

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/12/30/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/0101danielforweb-780.jpg Our commitment: The Globe editorial board?s resolutions for 2017

What readers can expect from the Globe?s editorial pages in 2017.

Special reports

special report

Every doctor told the Lacey family their son would die ? except one

Pat and Dina Lacey had been parents for only a few months when doctors discovered a tumor in their new baby?s chest. Told to take their son home to die, they put their faith in a young doctor who wouldn?t accept death as the answer.

Life sciences

STAT, a national publication from Boston Globe Media Partners, covers health, medicine, and life sciences.

Investigations

The Desperate and the Dead | Part 7

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/12/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/20160923_SAMentalHealth_312.jpg The San Antonio solution

One Texas city took on mental health as a community and became a national model. Why can?t Mass. do the same?

The story behind ?Spotlight?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/11/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/spotlight-9497.jpg Boston Globe coverage and the movie ?Spotlight?

?Spotlight? is based on the stories and the reporters behind the investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.