Mass. alcohol laws need massive rewrite, task force concludes

Cambridge, MA - 4/25/2017 - Drinks are prepared at the bar at Les Sablons in Cambridge, MA, April 25, 2017. (Keith Bedford/Globe Staff)

Keith Bedford/Globe Staff/file

The suggested changes could raise alcohol prices, but also make life easier for businesses and shoppers.

Catholic Charities of Boston is concerned that changes in the new tax law will lead to a decline in donations that support programs like the Yawkey Center food pantry in Dorchester.

Facing uncertainty, charities use new tax law to push for donations

Some charitable groups are urging people to make donations before New Year?s Day, when a powerful incentive runs out.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times? A new building is constructed on West 26th Street in New York, Dec. 2, 2016. In the past, families feeling financially constrained by life in the city would move to the suburbs, but under the 2017 Republican tax code that would be self-defeating because of the much-higher property taxes that afflict communities in Westchester County, on Long Island, in New Jersey and Connecticut. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)

IRS sets limits on prepaying property taxes, stirring confusion over GOP tax law

The announcement clarifies who can prepay property taxes but also threatens to create confusion in across the country.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/wiggs_College_02.jpg Mass. state colleges are trying to solve a math problem

Massachusetts is embarking on its most ambitious effort yet to shake up how community colleges and four-year state universities teach math.

A man tried to keep warm while walking down Newbury Street in Boston Wednesday.

The Boston area felt as cold as minus-6 degrees overnight

And it?s only going to feel colder before the sun rises on Thursday.

Boston-12/17/2016- The first significant snow blanketed the region, as it took an hour to get from Pembroke to Braintree on Rt 3 northbound at 8a.m. traffic JohnTlumacki/Globe Staff(metro)

Nestor Ramos

A field guide to the worst kinds of Boston snow drivers

You?d think people would calm down behind the wheel when things get icy in Boston. But you?d be wrong.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/RinaldiColdWeatherFeature03.jpg A cold snap like this hit Boston only once before ? a century ago

Forecasters are predicting that for the next week ? from today through Tuesday, Jan. 2 ? temperatures in Boston won?t crack 20 degrees.

David Epstein

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/26/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/turner122617METROfeature33.jpg Epstein: Just how long can this cold possibly stick around?

Sub-freezing temperatures will probably last between 10 and 14 days.

Three people hospitalized after I-95 crash in Boxford

Three people were hospitalized ? one with life-threatening injuries ? and traffic was snarled after a three-car crash on Interstate 95 in Boxford.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/21b19db9e35f48b9a1fa53f3db70110e-21b19db9e35f48b9a1fa53f3db70110e-0.jpg Trump?s legal team readies attack on Flynn?s credibility

The approach would mark a sharp break from the president?s previously sympathetic posture toward former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

12/27/2017 QUINCY, MA Doris Prendiville (cq) was the guest of honor during a party held for her at Alba in Quincy. Doris was injured during a mugging before Thanksgiving. (Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

After mugging, 92-year-old is Queen for a Day in Quincy

Doris Prendiville was mugged days before Thanksgiving, suffering a fractured sternum, and Wednesday was all about praising her grit.

Foxborough-12/27/2017 Patriots new hire, James Harrison on the practice field with coach Bill Belichick. John Tlumacki/Globe staff (sports)

James Harrison asked Steelers to release him on three separate occasions

The longtime Steeler said his breaking point came when he did not play in a loss to the Patriots.

Foxborough-12/27/2017 Patriots new hire, James Harrison on the practice field during warmups. John Tlumacki/Globe staff (sports)

BEN VOLIN I ON FOOTBALL

James Harrison signing underscores Patriots? mercenary makeup

The search for hired guns actually began as soon training camp ended.

Boston Celtics' Terry Rozier (12) is fouled as he drives between Charlotte Hornets' Frank Kaminsky (44) and Michael Carter-Williams (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

CELTICS 102, HORNETS 91

Irving, Horford spark Celtics to road win

The Celtics bounced back after a Christmas Day loss to the Wizards as their brutal December schedule rolls on.

BRUINS 5, SENATORS 1

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/28/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/davis_bosott5_spts.jpg Bruins dominate Senators at TD Garden

Riley Nash scored a pair of goals, his third and fourth of the season.

Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event in 2015. Battery performance in older phones has put the company on the hot seat recently.

Associated Press

TECH LAB

Apple is testing customers? trust with secrecy about slowing older iPhones

What bothers me isn?t the trivial slowdown; it?s the fact that I learned about it through some dedicated smartphone geeks, rather than from Apple.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/d673ab65-f8e3-4030-b974-d1992cb77a90.jpg Opponents of medical device tax trying to slow its effects

After a two-year hiatus, the 2.3 percent excise tax will return on Jan. 1, although lobbyists and manufacturer groups are aiming to delay or limit the tax.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/26/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/Walker_123116_01firstnight_1523xx[1].jpg Everything you need to know about First Night festivities

There?s a lot to see and do at this year?s celebration, which is free and open to all. Here are some key things to know if you plan to go.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/jenna150-5366.jpg Jenna Fischer got a tax bill fact wrong. What she did next is being applauded as classy

The actress best known for her role as Pam in ?The Office? apologized on Twitter after being blasted for sharing wrong information about the GOP tax bill.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/ryan_cobble1A_met.jpg On Humarock peninsula, a fight over the beach ? and the future

After years of storms followed by repairs, the town of Scituate is proposing to build a $9.6 million dune and raised road to protect local homes. Yet some residents are prepared to block the project.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/07/02/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/04stress.jpg Experts say exercise is key for older people with mild cognitive impairment

Exercising your body could have beneficial effects on your mind, according to a new recommendation published Wednesday.

Perspective | Magazine

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/10/02/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/perspective1231mag.jpg They told me my illness was all in my head. Was it because I?m a woman?

Why doctors must stop disbelieving women?s symptoms and institutions must do more research on diseases that primarily affect women.

Love Letters

Is my snooping causing our problems, or is he just untrustworthy?

Her boyfriend says she?s causing conflict by checking his phone, and she?s starting to believe him.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/28/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/AFP_VG57Q.jpg Attackers storm Shiite cultural center in Kabul, 35 killed

Attackers stormed a Shiite Muslim cultural center in the Afghan capital Thursday, setting off multiple bombs and killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 56, authorities said.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/WebGraphics/Sports/BostonGlobe.com/2016/01/20moresports/seasonticket_90.jpg The Season Ticket podcast

Guest host Scott Thurston and fantasy football writer Ed Ryan look back on an injury-riddled 2017 fantasy season.

Follow:   iTunes   |   Stitcher   |   RSS

 

Opinion & Ideas

EDITORIAL

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/abortion-4cd7e54e-e5bf-11e7-833f-155031558ff4.jpg A cruel new front in the war on reproductive rights

Recent cases are part of an alarming new assault on abortion rights for one of the most vulnerable populations: undocumented teen immigrants held in government custody.

Newsletters

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Gronk is catching, Kyrie is soaring, Pastrnak is scoring ? and maybe the Sox are dealing? Don?t miss any of the action. Sign up today.

Special reports

Magazine | A nonfiction novella

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/11/01/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/muck1105altimage-2940[1].jpg He put BSO on the map ? then landed in a world of trouble

One hundred years ago, one of the world?s top conductors was ensnared in a scandal involving patriotism and sex. It almost toppled Boston?s famed orchestra.

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Confidential tips

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Do you know about wrongdoing that needs to be exposed? Call the Globe Spotlight team: 617-929-7483 or [email protected].

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/22/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/Air%20travel.jpg Traveling over the holidays? Follow these tips to stay healthy

Admit it. There are few things worse than being sick over the holidays. So we have some advice.