The Boston Globe

Lawmakers have reached a deal on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package

The agreement, announced by Senate leaders, would establish $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses. The lawmakers also averted a shutdown of non-essential activities by federal agencies on Monday.

Mass. reports 4,162 new confirmed coronavirus cases, 60 new deaths Sunday

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts rose by 4,162 Sunday, bringing the state?s total to 311,090, state public health officials said.

Front-line essential workers and adults over 75 should be next to get vaccines, CDC panel says

The recommendations, which come two days after regulators authorized a second coronavirus vaccine, will guide state authorities in deciding who should have priority to receive limited doses of vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Behind the Shield | Inside the Boston Police Department

An off-duty officer crashed into a disabled grandmother. A year later, she?s still fighting City Hall

?Whatever the police does to you, you cannot do anything,? said Anne-Marie Castor. ?They treat me worse than a dog.?

See more of the Globe's work on law enforcement A database of 10 years of Boston Police disciplinary action

THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

US has administered 556,208 vaccine shots in first week

The coronavirus vaccine could be the greatest accomplishment of his administration. So where is Trump?

It may be hard to imagine the famed restaurants without Roger Berkowitz, but he?ll still be selling Legal chowder. It?s a plot twist that Berkowitz had tried hard to avoid but couldn?t, his hand forced by a pandemic that crushed the restaurant industry.

instant analysis | ben volin

We know the Patriots? offense is bad; Loss to Dolphins showed the defense has fallen apart, too

The Patriots allowed 250 rushing yards, fourth most in the Belichick era.

buccaneers 31, falcons 27

Sound familiar? Tom Brady engineers big second-half comeback to defeat Matt Ryan, Falcons

Brady finished with 390 yards passing, and Antonio Brown caught his first touchdown in a Buccaneers uniform.

The pandemic crushed businesses on Boston's Water Street ? with a rippling effect

Because of what's happened to businesses on one city block, financial destruction now runs from a delivery driver in Chelsea to a paper mill in upstate New York to a family in Honduras, every failing link weakening the next in line.

New science reevaluates risks of indoor dining

Although few clusters have officially been traced to restaurants, research suggests inside eating is not necessarily a safe environment.

Weekend Diversions

The Pops puts on a holiday show in your home instead of theirs

9 light displays for oohs and aahs by automobile

Shondaland?s Netflix series, ?Bridgerton,? offers romance and escapism, delivered on Christmas

IN THE FAMILY WAY

Stressed about your kids? screen time? Don?t be

Opinion

More reasons why the Iowa caucuses shouldn?t start the primary season

After the 2020 fiasco, it?s more clear than ever that Democrats need to rearrange their nominating calendar.

IDEAS | STEPHANIE FAIRYINGTON

A lesson in queer parenting that?s good for any family

The problem with protest

Boston is setting an example on fair housing. Will other communities follow?

IDEAS | JOSH BERNOFF

Social media broke America. Here?s how to fix it

?SNL? brings in new Joe Biden, and Mike Pence gets a COVID-19 shot in opening sketch

"Saturday Night Live" introduced its new Joe Biden during the show's opening sketch, during which Vice President Mike Pence got the coronavirus vaccine at a televised event.

Watch: Kristen Wiig performs holiday ?SNL? monologue, reprises fan-favorite characters

With sale of Legal Sea Foods, another Boston institution changes hands

It may be hard to imagine the famed restaurants without Roger Berkowitz, but he?ll still be selling Legal chowder.

Oak Bluffs man charged in fatal crash on Martha?s Vineyard

Zachary A. Dupon, 25, is charged with vehicular homicide for the crash Saturday night that killed Emma Hall, 22, of Oak Bluffs, State Police said.

What Rhode Island college and university leaders learned from COVID-19

To have a successful fall semester, schools worked together to battle positivity rates, misinformation, and skepticism.

STARTS & STOPS

City removes bike protection, citing safety for drivers

The city quickly removed barriers that were installed to improve dangerous cycling conditions.

college football

College Football Playoff field announced: Notre Dame beats out Texas A&M for final spot

Both semifinal games will be played on New Year's Day.

Dave Epstein | Weather

Will the ?great conjunction? of Jupiter and Saturn even be viewable for us in New England?

This beautiful sight, something that humans have not been able to observe in around 800 years, is going to continue as the planets switch positions and grow farther apart after Monday. But will we be able to see it?

NHL announces return to play plan: 56-game schedule, with Canadian teams staying north of border

The Stanley Cup playoffs will follow their usual format and are projected to end in mid-July.

Best of the Arts 2020

Movies

Here are 10 excellent movies (and 25 runners-up) from a not-so-excellent year

In a year in which friends and family were reduced to squares in a Zoom grid, these films illustrated what it will feel like when we put our lives back together in the same room once more.

Music

In a year divided by before and after, pop music became whatever you wanted it to be

The lockdown that hit this spring transformed pop from a communal experience to something infinitely personal.

With clever comedies and transporting dramas, TV offered some great escapes

A Beautiful Resistance

Jeneé Osterheldt

To be Black, Bostonian, and proud

Boston's Black history is often hidden, but a quarter of the city's population is Black. That's nearly double the percentage of the Black population of the US.

The Questions, featuring Justin Levy See more from ?A Beautiful Resistance? Follow on Instagram

Recommended Reads

Crucial Georgia Senate runoffs are shaped by economic pain

The economy has emerged as a key vulnerability for the two Republican incumbents, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The Democrats? economic message is a sharp contrast with how Loeffler, Perdue, and their allies paint a picture on the campaign trail of an economy in recovery.

YVONNE ABRAHAM

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

We know who the next Massachusetts House speaker will be. We?ve known it for years.

?When the spotlight found Moderna, they were ready?: How the Cambridge biotech company became a world renowned success story

Moderna was not on anyone?s ?Most Likely to Succeed? list one year ago. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic.

metro

Cohasset police investigate residential break-in

Clear images of the suspect were captured by a doorbell camera at the home located near Atlantic Avenue, police said.

Talk of smaller stimulus checks triggers a wave of memes on social media

Jean Graetz, white supporter of civil rights in Alabama, Dies at 90

Sports

A disappointed Bill Belichick says, ?we didn?t deserve to win today? after Patriots? loss to Dolphins

The Patriots will not make the playoffs for the first time since 2008, when Tom Brady was sidelined almost the entire season.

patriots

Patriots? Stephon Gilmore to have tests on injured leg Monday, report says

Seattle locks in playoff berth, slows down Alex Smith-less Washington

business

Lawmakers have reached a deal on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package

The agreement, announced by Senate leaders, would establish $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses. The lawmakers also averted a shutdown of non-essential activities by federal agencies on Monday.

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

US has administered 556,208 vaccine shots in first week

politics

Congress grasps for $900 billion stimulus deal as Fed dispute poses final hurdle

Congressional leaders hope to jam both spending packages through Congress and onto President Trump?s desk by the time funding lapses at midnight on Sunday.

Trump discussed naming campaign lawyer as special counsel

Providence City Councilor resigns from leadership over transgender remarks

lifestyle

COMFORT ZONE

Recording artist Wendy Eisenberg gains inspiration and insight through quarantine

After months of uncertainty and pain, Eisenberg offers new ways to think about what?s possible and how to live ethically.

HOLIDAYS

9 light displays for oohs and aahs by automobile

How is he so sure about me?

arts

COMFORT ZONE

Typically drawing massive crowds, the Allston-Brighton Winter Market has gone digital

Vendors are outlined on the market?s main site with links that redirect to their independent shops ? so 100 percent of proceeds go directly to the creators.

TELEVISION

?Suits? fits the need for a diverting pandemic binge

Watch: Kristen Wiig performs holiday ?SNL? monologue, reprises fan-favorite characters

rhode island

EDUCATION

What Rhode Island college and university leaders learned from COVID-19

To have a successful fall semester, schools worked together to battle positivity rates, misinformation, and skepticism.

CORONAVIRUS

Raimondo: Economic ?pause? lifted, but social gatherings should be limited - even on Christmas

RHODE MAP

A month-by-month look at COVID-19 in Rhode Island

Newton

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Special Projects

A beautiful resistance | JENEÉ OSTERHELDT

Black queer lives are Black lives that matter, too

Adding any other marginalized identity to Blackness is another layer of oppression to fight. Black queer people living their truths is a beautiful resistance.

See more from 'A Beautiful Resistance' Follow on Instagram

On the Street

In tackling the pandemic, Chelsea finds new strength

Brockton offers a gateway to a new generation

This time, Quincy Center?s revival looks legit

Revere was going through a revival before COVID-19. Can it stay on track?

See more from our business series ?On the Street?: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

More

2020 Bostonians of the Year: The Front Line

They stood up to fight the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Meet the people leading us through a harrowing year.

Last Words: Is death the great equalizer?

Quite the contrary, a Spotlight investigation shows. Death exposes in high relief the layers of inequities, in race and income, care and opportunity, that shape life down to its final hours. It is a truth the pandemic has only underscored ? one hard to see, because it is so much easier to look away.

I knew getting prostate cancer at 48 would change me. I had no idea how much

For the past year, Mark Shanahan has been working on Mr. 80 Percent, a six-episode podcast miniseries about his experience with prostate cancer. It?s a deeply personal, sometimes harrowing, often funny story about a disease that affects millions of men. The heroes are his doctors and family, who put up with some appalling behavior. You?ll hear from both.

Comfort Zone

9 light displays for oohs and aahs by automobile

These festive drive-through destinations serve up holiday magic the safe way.

4 ways to safely celebrate the winter solstice

A few ideas for marking the shortest day of the year.

With sleigh bells jingling, the Pops puts on a holiday show in your home instead of theirs

Though the virtual concert can?t compare to experiencing a Holiday Pops show live in Symphony Hall, its mere existence is something to applaud in a season when so many traditions have been disrupted.

These thoughtful, last-minute gifts arrive in an instant, no mailing required

And many benefit local businesses, to boot.

It?ll still be a (matzo) ball

You can still go to this Jewish singles event ? virtually.

This time, Ken Burns is the subject of a documentary

Rhode Island filmmaker Dante Bellini turned the camera on the New England documentarian for ?Ken Burns: Here & There,? now airing nationally on PBS.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Kimberly Atkins

The year of fear and the fragility of the white, male myth

Rachelle G. Cohen

DeLeo looks to exit as the sheeple graze toward Mariano

Beware of authoritarianism and conspiratorialism, twin threats to our democracy

The system worked ? this time

Gig workers deserve employment protections

IDEAS | JOSH BERNOFF

Social media broke America. Here?s how to fix it

STAT

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Subscribe to STAT Plus

The Road Ahead: Charting the pandemic over the next 12 months ? and beyond

In this project, STAT describes 30 key moments, possible turning points that could steer the pandemic onto a different course or barometers for how the virus is reshaping our lives.

From a small N.C. town to big-city hospitals, how software infuses racism into U.S. health care

The racial bias can produce huge differences in assessing patients? need for special care to manage conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or depression, a STAT investigation found.

Covid-19?s wintry mix: Dry indoor air helps the virus spread

The worry is not just that people might mingle more closely inside, but that the air they breathe will make the virus more dangerous.

In the Covid-19 death of a hospital food worker, a microcosm of the pandemic

The hospital's first employee to die of Covid-19 was a kitchen worker named Marie Deus ? and her illness sparked a question. Why weren't bedside clinicians getting sick at the highest rates?

magazine

2020 Bostonians of the Year: The Front Line

Bostonians of the Year

Ashish Jha: Speaking out for science and for public health in the pandemic

The pandemic has a school nurse missing her 'frequent fliers'

Your Week Ahead

Things to do online and in person, Dec. 14-27

sports

NHL announces return to play plan: 56-game schedule, with Canadian teams staying north of border

Patriots lose to Dolphins, 22-12; will miss playoffs for first time since 2008

Haverhill fighter victorious in first UFC bout in more than a year

metro

Boston could see more snow, but little accumulation, on Sunday

Cohasset police investigate residential break-in

Talk of smaller stimulus checks triggers a wave of memes on social media

Nation

Second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in US preparing to ship out

The inside story of how Trump?s denial, mismanagement, and magical thinking led to the pandemic?s dark winter

Congress grasps for $900 billion stimulus deal as Fed dispute poses final hurdle

World

Epstein associate is charged with rape of minors in France

?R? is for Rohingya: Sesame Street creates new Muppets for refugees

UK medical officer: New virus variant spreading more rapidly

politics

Trump discussed naming campaign lawyer as special counsel

Providence City Councilor resigns from leadership over transgender remarks

Pompeo says Russia was behind cyberattack on US

business

Lawmakers have reached a deal on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

US has administered 556,208 vaccine shots in first week

lifestyle

Recording artist Wendy Eisenberg gains inspiration and insight through quarantine

9 light displays for oohs and aahs by automobile

How is he so sure about me?

marijuana

Two new commissioners tapped for Massachusetts marijuana agency

Chief of staff to ex-mayor of Fall River pleads guilty to extortion, bribery charges

Marijuana found concealed in shampoo bottle at Logan Airport Friday

opinion

The climate challenges and opportunities ahead

Philip Johnson?s glass-house mystique could use a shattering

Holding on to a rare autographed baseball

food & dining

Restaurants aren?t failing. They are being failed.

5 savory thank-yous for all the cooks tied to the kitchen this year

Recipe: Homemade grainy, nutty digestive biscuits, similar to Graham crackers, make a fine gift

travel

Stressed about your kids? screen time? Don?t be

Author and cult expert talks Fiji, diving, and future grand plans

In the race to lure back travelers, vacations in nature are winning

Books

Caught between Boston and Quincy in ?The Last American Aristocrat?

Celebrating Nora Barnacle in ?Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce?

Robin Wall Kimmerer on reading for ?the richness of the gifts around you?

Movies

Here are 10 excellent movies (and 25 runners-up) from a not-so-excellent year

This time, Ken Burns is the subject of a documentary

?Greenland?: When a comet hits, stay close to Gerard Butler ? and far from Tampa

Television

?Suits? fits the need for a diverting pandemic binge

Watch: Kristen Wiig performs holiday ?SNL? monologue, reprises fan-favorite characters

?SNL? brings in new Joe Biden, and Mike Pence gets a COVID-19 shot in opening sketch

music

In a year divided by before and after, pop music became whatever you wanted it to be

With sleigh bells jingling, the Pops puts on a holiday show in your home instead of theirs

The local recordings that helped us through 2020

Theater/Dance

This virtual ?Christmas Revels? is a virtual triumph

Six bright spots in dance this year

These theaters innovated amid a dramatic change of scene

globe local

Will the ?great conjunction? of Jupiter and Saturn even be viewable for us in New England?

Is this the beginning of the end for space savers?

Welcome Home offers curbside pickup for gently used housewares

Obituaries

Jean Graetz, white supporter of civil rights in Alabama, Dies at 90

Ralph K. Winter Jr., a top conservative judicial mind, dies at 85

Takashi Oka, journalist who interpreted Japan for US, dies at 96