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A ripple effect of loss: US COVID deaths approach 500,000

Roughly one year since the first known death by the coronavirus in the United States, an unfathomable toll is nearing — the loss of a half-million people. No other country has counted so many deaths in the pandemic.

Beset by critics, Baker now stressing speed and scale in COVID-19 shots

As the Baker administration scales up its COVID-19 vaccine drive, it has shifted its focus dramatically to a network of larger vaccination sites equipped to get more shots in arms quickly.
State promises more fixes to troubled vaccine website, as officials, vendor trade blame over crash

Newton mayor calls for greater state oversight of Boston College’s COVID-19 response

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, who also called for Boston College to ensure that students follow public health rules, said city officials are seeing a concerning number of cases at the school.

A Somerville mother is stunned: How can school officials accuse her 6-year-old son of sexual misconduct and report him to the police? Charges of racism ensue
More than a year later, Flavia Peréa is still seeking basic information about what happened that day in the first-grade cubby area. She wants to know why school officials rushed to notify authorities, and whether racism influenced their actions: Her son is Black and Latinx; the girl is white.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance |
Vaccinations
Daily doses:
Weekly doses:
1st dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
% of doses used:
7-day trend/avg.:
Cases and deaths
Cases
Today
Deaths
Today
Other resources:
SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says weather disaster in Texas pushes many to the brink
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared at the Houston Food Bank on Saturday in support of her fund-raising efforts for Texas storm relief, which she said have reached $3.2 million.

Enormous electric bills come due for Texans who had power during storm Suspected hypothermia deaths in homes mount in Texas

‘SNL’ lampoons Cruz for traveling to Cancún amid crisis in Texas
“Saturday Night Live” ridiculed Texas Senator Ted Cruz's decision to travel to Cancún amid a crisis in his home state and global pandemic.

A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt
The Black history I carry with me: Shanda Foster
Shanda Foster is a creative, a writer, filmmaker, and cancer advocate.

Merrick Garland faces resurgent peril after years fighting extremism
The fallout from the Capitol attack and the shadow of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing are likely to take center stage at the confirmation hearings for President Biden’s pick for attorney general.

Garland says laws must be ‘fairly and faithfully enforced’

Trump schedules address before CPAC next Sunday
Former president Donald Trump will speak at the conservative event known as CPAC on Feb. 28, his first public appearance and lengthy address since he left the White House for a final time last month.

The Black history I carry with me

A Beautiful Resistance — a special project from the Globe's culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt — is celebrating Black History Month by amplifying local stories of change-makers and the people inspired by them.

Opinion

EDITORIAL

It’s time to fix the Affordable Care Act

The law still functions, but it could work much better.
IDEAS | FRANK PASQUALE

Now that science fiction is reality, it’s time for new laws of robotics
IDEAS | JIM KRANE

Can Saudi Arabia use ‘clean oil’ to buy time in the fight against climate change?
IDEAS

The ‘dirty secret’ of being a homeless child
JEFF JACOBY

For Biden, a better way forward on Taiwan

Project takeout: Get takeout. Save restaurants you love.
Ordering dinner will help small local businesses survive the pandemic. But that’s just the start.

3 restaurants we supported this week Learn more about Project Takeout

Debris falls from plane during emergency landing near Denver
Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home.

Salem State University receives $6 million, largest cash donation ever received by a Mass. state university

Kim Gassett-Schiller, who graduated from Salem State in 1983, and her husband Philip Schiller, a fellow at Apple, committed to the donation last month. Most of the money will be used to help seniors complete their degrees without having to drop out for financial reasons, the university said.

Gary Washburn | Sunday basketball notes
To get to championship caliber, Celtics may have to part with their coveted draft picks
The Celtics do have a $28.5 million trade exception, but potential trade partners know Boston needs an impact player and will demand multiple draft picks.

Prince Charles visits 99-year-old Prince Philip in hospital
Prince Charles went to a London hospital on Saturday to visit his father, Prince Philip, who was admitted earlier his week for “observation and rest” after falling ill.

Peter Abraham | Sunday baseball notes
Winners and losers — Red Sox not among either — in winter free agency
The Padres, who went all in, are the easy victors, and the Marlins, who did almost nothing, were at the other end of the spectrum.

Injured Bishop Feehan hockey player AJ Quetta thankful for the support he and his family have received
A 1-minute, 47-second video message from Quetta was shared on Twitter by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Recommended reads

CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

Ted Cruz: Poster child for bad travel decisions

Mexico has become a favorite vacation spot for US residents throughout the pandemic because it does not require a negative COVID-19 test for entry. The senator’s recent getaway shows callousness not just toward the Texans he left behind, but toward every American actually following the rules.
‘Even Boston sounds amazing’: Read the text messages at the center of the Ted Cruz scandal

Billy Baker
I may not be cut out for ice fishing. Or ice drinking
One of the largest events on the New Hampshire winter calendar is a two-day ice fishing competition that takes place on Lake Winnipesaukee. The derby is famous for raising lots of money for scholarships and local programs, and infamous for just about everything else.

Cornel West threatens to leave Harvard again
The well known philosopher, progressive political activist, and outspoken social critic, is threatening to leave Harvard University after he said the administration disrespected him by denying his request to be considered for tenure.

metro

A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt
The Black history I carry with me: Shanda Foster
Shanda Foster is a creative, a writer, filmmaker, and cancer advocate.

Salem State University receives $6 million, largest cash donation ever received by a Mass. state university

Smiling on the outside: The darker reality of Super Happy Fun America

Sports

Djokovic beats Medvedev for 9th Australian Open, 18th Slam
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open dominance is intact — nine finals, nine championships.

Watch: College freshman begins his career with back-to-back grand slams
GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Marina Callahan sparks a weary Burlington girls’ basketball team to Middlesex League tournament title

business

The week in business
Some of the top stories from the past week.

Three-year study seeks out top-performing coneflower varieties

How one city is stemming evictions, one person at a time

politics

Merrick Garland faces resurgent peril after years fighting extremism
The fallout from the Capitol attack and the shadow of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing are likely to take center stage at the confirmation hearings for President Biden’s pick for attorney general.

Garland says laws must be ‘fairly and faithfully enforced’
the battle for the gop

Can the Republican Party rein in the conspiracies? Here’s what its history says

lifestyle

Lynn native Amanda Mena brings her hope for ‘better days’ to ‘American Idol’
She hopes her audition song, Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “Golden Slumbers,” will strike a chord for listeners “waiting for better days.”

Local puzzle swapping groups offer an unexpected remedy to the pandemic blues

I want it to be the four of us

arts

‘SNL’ lampoons Cruz for traveling to Cancún amid crisis in Texas
“Saturday Night Live” ridiculed Texas Senator Ted Cruz's decision to travel to Cancún amid a crisis in his home state and global pandemic.

As ‘Kimye’ become Kim and Kanye, will it stay peaceful?

TELEVISION

‘The Knick’ deserves a binge, and (maybe) a spinoff

rhode island

CORONAVIRUS
Everything you need to know about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Rhode Island
Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the vaccination process.

RI BUSINESS

Bally’s becomes the official sports betting partner of the NHL
RHODE MAP

Here’s how many people are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in each R.I. city and town

Newton

Special Projects

A Beautiful Resistance celebrates Black History Month

A Beautiful Resistance, in a special collaboration with Reebok, celebrate Black History Month. Black Joy. Black Wellness. Black Futures.
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

Boston Globe launches ‘Fresh Start’ initiative: People can apply to have past coverage about them reviewed
Similar to “right to forget” programs that have cropped up across the country, the undertaking is meant to address the lasting impact that stories about past embarrassments, mistakes, or minor crimes, forever online, can have on a person’s life.

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

COMFORT ZONE

The only typewriter shop in town has its hands full

A device that was once an office essential has been reborn as a creative tool embraced by young folks — which means Cambridge Typewriter owner Tom Furrier has been plenty busy.
ASK MATTHEW

10 reader-approved TV shows for parents and tweens

We asked for suggestions, and from "Sherlock" to "Green Acres," readers responded.
COMFORT ZONE

Henry Louis Gates Jr. on his new documentary and the role of the Black church in social justice

Henry Louis Gates Jr. on his newest work for PBS, "The Black Church," premiering Feb. 16.
COMFORT ZONE

Join a sea shanty sing-along with Gloucester’s David Coffin

The Revels artist-in-residence will lead the event on Facebook Live.

Local puzzle swapping groups offer an unexpected remedy to the pandemic blues

In the midst of a pandemic, and winter weather, puzzles are a great way for people to entertain themselves inside. Puzzling also helps people feel less alone.

Lynn native Amanda Mena brings her hope for ‘better days’ to ‘American Idol’

She hopes her audition song, Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “Golden Slumbers,” will strike a chord for listeners “waiting for better days.”

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Timothy Scalona

One-time $1,400 ‘relief’ checks provide little relief for the working class
EDITORIAL

How not to pick a police commissioner
MARCELA GARCÍA

Lesson unlearned: Why Black and Latino residents are at the back of the vaccine line
Renée Graham

Rush Limbaugh wasn’t funny or entertaining. He was racist.
LETTERS

Mass. vaccine site is an infuriating exercise in ‘hurry up and wait’
IDEAS | GABRIEL NICHOLAS

Our disinformation problem has been 70 years in the making

STAT

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
My Boston History

We loved ‘The Nutcracker.’ We rejoiced at ‘Black Nativity’
My Boston History

Why New Edition’s breakout success meant so much to kids like me growing up in Roxbury

Perspective

Small businesses need help. And it’s time for insurance companies to pay up
Cooking

Egg recipes for when you’re scrambling for dinner

sports

Perfect finish for Whitman-Hanson boys: 15-0 run nets Patriot Cup, 35th straight win

Bruins will forge on against Flyers in a setting just about perfect — except for the ice

Bright sun, poor ice delay outdoor NHL game at Lake Tahoe

metro

The history of Super Happy Fun America in Boston

Lawmakers seek $25.2 billion for vaccine equity as part of budget plan, Markey says

Newton mayor calls for greater state oversight of Boston College’s COVID-19 response

Nation

A ripple effect of loss: US COVID deaths approach 500,000

Merrick Garland faces resurgent peril after years fighting extremism

Trump schedules address before CPAC next Sunday

World

In Canada, did a comedian’s joke go too far?

Seeking fresh start with Iraq, Biden avoids setting red lines with Iran

Prince Charles visits 99-year-old Prince Philip in hospital

politics

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says weather disaster in Texas pushes many to the brink

Justice department confronts increasingly complex Capitol riot inquiry

Republicans struggle to halt increasingly popular $1.9 trillion economic rescue package

business

Los Angeles Times owner disputes report that he plans to sell

Could Texas-style blackouts happen in New England? Not likely, but the crisis is a warning call

State promises more fixes to troubled vaccine website, as officials, vendor trade blame over crash

lifestyle

Ted Cruz: Poster child for bad travel decisions

It’s final: Harry and Meghan won’t return as working royals

Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Hawthorne all close, leaving gaping hole in Kenmore Square and many patrons’ hearts

marijuana

Newton marijuana store seeks end to appointment-only rule, as nearby competition grows

Should psychedelic drugs be decriminalized in Mass.? Advocates see opening

Northampton drops controversial fees on marijuana companies

opinion

It’s time to fix the Affordable Care Act

Now that science fiction is reality, it’s time for new laws of robotics

Can Saudi Arabia use ‘clean oil’ to buy time in the fight against climate change?

food & dining

Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Hawthorne all close, leaving gaping hole in Kenmore Square and many patrons’ hearts

The Langham, Boston returns, MarketStreet Lynnfield plans new openings, and a busy taqueria branches out

Support Black-owned restaurants: Get takeout

travel

Ted Cruz: Poster child for bad travel decisions

Here’s why you should dust off those cross-country skis this winter

There is so much Black history in Providence, and still so much to learn

Books

Four Takes: On Hollywood

Small town, many stories in ‘American Delirium’

Carol Orange discusses her novel take on the Gardner heist in ‘A Discerning Eye’

Movies

Turning 40: 1981 at the movies

A justice speaks; justice is elusive; justice is sought

An unlikely alliance between evangelicals and Israelis in ‘‘Til Kingdom Come’

Television

‘SNL’ lampoons Cruz for traveling to Cancún amid crisis in Texas

‘The Knick’ deserves a binge, and (maybe) a spinoff

‘Beartown’ recalls other series that are wrenching but rewarding

music

BSO picks Gail Samuel, longtime LA Philharmonic executive, as its first woman president and CEO

At NEC, a concert to pay tribute to Coretta Scott King, and to many, many others

A rock ’n’ roll salute to Chet’s Last Call, and to ‘Chet’

Theater/Dance

Amid the biotechs in Kendall Square, a place for dance

A Strindberg adaptation unfolds before an all-seeing camera in ‘Julia’

It’s a golden age for actors in their golden years

globe local

Can this DPW yard help save the planet?

Should the federal government assess a carbon fee on passenger air travel?

You don’t expect to see this in your fireplace

Obituaries

Milford Graves, singular drummer and polymath, dies at 79

Arturo Di Modica, sculptor of Wall Street bull, dies at 80

Rupert Neve, the father of modern studio recording, dies at 94