fb-pixel Skip to main content
TRENDING:

New measure of COVID hospitalizations may obscure strain on system, but will help with planning

Beginning next week, Massachusetts will break the hospitalization numbers it publishes into two sets: one that records those patients being treated primarily for COVID-19, and a second for those patients who were hospitalized for other reasons but happened to test positive upon admission.
Here’s why the state is changing the way it reports COVID hospitalization data
THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

Omicron waves appear to slow in New York City, other major metropolitan areas

Obama backs Biden’s push to change filibuster rules for voting rights legislation
Former president Barack Obama forcefully argued for ending the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation in an op-ed Wednesday night, invoking the memory of late civil rights icon John Lewis and throwing his support behind a controversial strategy that has roiled Washington this week.

Dems switch strategy on voting bill as Biden pushes action

McCarthy says he won’t cooperate with Jan. 6 committee’s request to interview him
The House panel investigating the US Capitol insurrection requested an interview and records from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday.

A Massachusetts mom offered to help her daughter in her search for love. It led to a billboard in Times Square.

“It’s so surreal,” said Molly Davis. “I’m next to Olivia Rodrigo.”
peter abraham | on baseball

Jon Lester gave his teams everything he had, something today’s starters aren’t asked to do

Lester, who announced his retirement Wednesday, started 241 games for the Red Sox from 2006-14 and went at least six innings 178 times.
Celtics 119, Pacers 100

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum lead Celtics in rout of Pacers

With their third consecutive win, the Celtics return to .500 and snap a six-game road losing streak.
Zoom Webinar | Thursday, Jan. 13, at 11 a.m.

COVID-19: Answering your questions about Omicron and more

Join us for a conversation about the state of the pandemic with Globe medical & biotech editor Anna Kuchment and Dr. Jacob Lemieux of MGH.
Register here for the free virtual event
Opinion
IDEAS | THOMAS ARNETT

A better way to do online learning

Many schools struggling with the pandemic are shelving the very solutions that could save them.
Cole Moran

BPS needs a democratic vision for the future of open-enrollment schools

EDITORIAL

Plymouth County jail needs more oversight

IDEAS | ERIKA COHEN

I chair my local school board, and I’m afraid

Haley Sullivan and Leah Pierson

With students remote, universities should put COVID-19 testing capacity to good use

Mass. coronavirus at a glance
Vaccinations
.
Trend:
1+ dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
Cases and deaths
Total cases:
.
Total deaths:
.
Other resources:
Last updated: . NOTE: Mass DPH releases data Monday-Friday starting July 2021. Mass. population of 6,892,503 is used to calculate vaccination percentages. SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health

More recent stories

Bruins 5, Canadiens 1
Brad Marchand can do no wrong these days as his hat trick helps Bruins dominate Canadiens
Boston has won six of its last seven games.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick more concerned with the Bills than the Buffalo weather
The National Weather Service is calling for a low of 2 degrees Saturday night, with a chance of snow showers.

There’s been nothing special about the Patriots’ special teams this season

YVONNE ABRAHAM
I’m running to be the state’s next lieutenant governor. Why not?
This absolutely spectacular job, a springboard to nowhere, is everything I have been working toward all these years.

Analysts say Medicare decision could spell the demise of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug
If government insurance coverage is limited to patients in clinical trials, the prospects for a treatment touted as a blockbuster last year will be dim.

TELEVISION REVIEW
‘Somebody Somewhere’ is really something
Bridget Everett’s new HBO series takes its place next to shows like "Better Things" and "One Mississippi," low-concept but luminous character portraits.

With her new HBO series, Bridget Everett shows you can go home again

Ice disk makes a comeback in Maine town
Another large ice disk has formed in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine.

Special Project

UNDER THE WHEEL

This is the story of Anthony Pledger and his mother, of Anthony’s lives and deaths, of Anthony and me.

THE GREAT DIVIDE ⟶

See the latest from our education team focused on race, class, and opportunity in schools.

RHODE ISLAND ⟶

See the latest from Globe Rhode Island.

NEWTON ⟶

See the Globe’s expanded Newton coverage in partnership with Boston University.

Recommended reads

Models show Omicron cases may peak in Mass. within two weeks, while hospitalizations could continue to surge

Massachusetts should gird for about two more weeks of skyrocketing COVID-19 case increases fueled by the Omicron variant before a steep decline toward the end of this month, according to experts and pandemic models.

Here’s how to get a QR code to prove your COVID-19 vaccine status through the state’s new website
Massachusetts on Monday launched an online website where residents can obtain a QR code to show proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Here are answers to some questions you may have about how the new system works.

Jeneé Osterheldt
Maya Angelou on money is a poem only America could write
Putting the poet on a quarter and Harriet Tubman on the $20 does not honor them properly.

Baker approves commutation requests for two convicted of murder
The decision to grant the clemency petitions of Thomas Koonce and William Allen could clear the way for both men to be released after nearly three decades apiece in prison.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Comedian Demetri Martin has something he’d like to say, but he’ll keep it short

This driveway dancing duo is helping to lighten neighbors’ spirits

Seven photographers on four legs: At the Griffin, celebrating the horse in all its glory

Elmo has zero patience for a pet rock, and the Internet can relate

Special Projects

Spotlight team report

How Brigham Health helped create a Chinese hospital for elites — and almost nobody came

In a deal worth millions with Chinese developer Evergrande, a Harvard teaching hospital risked its reputation on what would become a near-empty shell.
high schools

Meet the Globe’s Fall 2021 All-Scholastics

The Globe salutes the region's best high school athletes and coaches in the seven fall sports.
Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt.

‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Joan Vennochi

Governor Baker, we have a COVID-19 data problem

JEFF JACOBY

Does free speech fly at City Hall Plaza?

Laurence H. Tribe and Dennis Aftergut

Clock is ticking on what Garland needs to do about Trump’s bid to overturn 2020 election

RENÉE GRAHAM

To save ‘America’s soul,’ Biden must fight harder for voting rights

EDITORIAL

Qualified progress on qualified immunity

IDEAS | DAVID SCHARFENBERG

Can Mayor Wu really make the T free?

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Omicron waves appear to slow in New York City, other major metropolitan areas

The latest news and guidance on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in New England and beyond.
RI POLITICS

Senator Mack challenges Senate President Ruggerio’s stance on taxing the rich

On the Rhode Island Report, the progressive Providence Democrat talks about legalizing marijuana, the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, and rugby.

N.H. police say they’ve received 300 tips in search for Harmony Montgomery, reward fund grows to $104,000

Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said detectives are vetting every tip that has come through the 24-hour phone line set up exclusively for information about 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery’s whereabouts.
RI POLITICS

R.I. redistricting commission approves new House, Senate, congressional districts

The maps shift 41 percent of ACI inmates to their home addresses and reunites the Hill and Harbor neighborhoods in an East Greenwich district.

Sports

Tennis | Australian Open

Djokovic in Australian Open draw despite visa uncertainty

Djokovic traveled to Australia seeking to win a 21st Grand Slam titles to break the men's record of 20 he shared with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

China faces Omicron test weeks ahead of Beijing Olympics

Just weeks before hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics, China is battling multiple coronavirus outbreaks in half a dozen cities, with the one closest to the capital-driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
WEDNESDAY'S SCHOOLS ROUNDUP

Lauryn Hanafin stays zeroed in as Austin Prep girls’ hockey continues perfect start

The senior goalie and two-time All-Scholastic locked up the defensive end while the offense rolled for the top-ranked Cougars (9-0) in a 7-0 win over No. 5 St. Mary's.
Bruins 5, Canadiens 1

Brad Marchand can do no wrong these days as his hat trick helps Bruins dominate Canadiens

Australian open ticket limits imposed as COVID cases rise

Celtics 119, Pacers 100

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum lead Celtics in rout of Pacers

Business

China shuts hospitals after harsh pandemic rules led to deaths

Xi’an has temporarily closed two scandal-hit hospitals after their strict adherence to pandemic rules led to deaths, slashing medical capacity in the city battling China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan.

Delta extends life of expiring travel vouchers from pandemic

Delta Air Lines said Wednesday it will extend through 2023 the window for customers to rebook credits earned when they purchased but then canceled flights during the pandemic.

RCN changing its name

Biden to hold wind power auction off N.Y., N.J. coast

STAT

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities
A STAT investigation shows that researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers.

Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms
STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

DISTANCED: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South
Photographer Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real
The procedure aims to restore proprioception, the ability to sense where our limbs are in space and how fast and forcefully they’re moving.

magazine
Television

In 1972, the kids took over TV on the first "Zoom" to enter our homes

Local history

The roller-skating heroes who fought racism in Boston

Love Letters

My fiance thinks my dress is too short for our courthouse wedding

Cooking

Recipes: Keep that resolution to eat better with 3 quinoa dishes

metro

‘For some, this is all they know’: Boston workers clear tents, offer housing options at Mass. and Cass.

New measure of COVID hospitalizations may obscure strain on system, but will help with planning

Prior to Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance, a series of police visits and a father’s history of violence

sports

Thursday’s meeting between MLB owners and players could serve as early warning of trouble ahead

Jayson Tatum says response to Kendrick Perkins’s tweet was ‘no big deal’

In playoff matchup with Patriots, Bills’ defense hopes to get the last word

business

IRS will start the tax season with a major backlog

Consumer prices popped again in December, casting a shadow over the economy

Startups raked in $621b in 2021, shattering funding records

politics

Biden highlighting federal ‘surge’ to help weather Omicron

Dems switch strategy on voting bill as Biden pushes action

McCarthy says he won’t cooperate with Jan. 6 committee’s request to interview him

Nation

Omicron waves appear to slow in New York City, other major metropolitan areas

Biden highlighting federal ‘surge’ to help weather Omicron

Wear two masks to keep Omicron at bay, Hong Kong experts say

World

China shuts hospitals after harsh pandemic rules led to deaths

French teachers go on strike over handling of pandemic

China faces Omicron test weeks ahead of Beijing Olympics

opinion

From schools to mandates to testing, Mass. faces major COVID challenges

To save ‘America’s soul,’ Biden must fight harder for voting rights

Clock is ticking on what Garland needs to do about Trump’s bid to overturn 2020 election

lifestyle

In South Hero, Vt., a pizza place goes pay-what-you-can. Customers’ good will followed.

Tom Brady’s new clothing line, Brady Brand, launches Wednesday

Where’s a less-meat-eating diner in need of quality takeout to go? One easy answer: PlantPub

food & dining

In South Hero, Vt., a pizza place goes pay-what-you-can. Customers’ good will followed.

Where’s a less-meat-eating diner in need of quality takeout to go? One easy answer: PlantPub

In honor of National Quinoa Day, we’re demystifying whole grains

travel

Seth Sikes on beach massages, Judy and Liza, and his upcoming show at Club Café

Orbitz switched her Aruba vacation — but not her hotel in Tahiti

AutoCamp lands in Joshua Tree, Skyspace debuts in South America, and a new lodge opens in Stowe

Arts

Drawing discovered in Concord, and believed to be an original Dürer, to be exhibited during Master Drawings New York

Glitch art gone wild: Ben K. Foley and Allison Tanenhaus embrace error at Boston Cyberarts Gallery

Seven photographers on four legs: At the Griffin, celebrating the horse in all its glory

Books

Q&A with Barbara F. Walter, author of ‘How Civil Wars Start,’ on the prospect of open civil conflict breaking out in the US

Kathryn Schulz’s memoir ‘Lost & Found’ traces life’s gifts and sorrows

Martín Espada: stacks of books, from poetry to photography

Movies

In ‘Parallel Mothers,’ the past is very much present

The power of Sidney Poitier’s stardom

A list of 20 movies, TV shows, and documentaries to stream during the snowstorm

Television

Even after finale, Dexter might not be gone for good

‘Somebody Somewhere’ is really something

With her new HBO series, Bridget Everett shows you can go home again

music

Ronnie Spector, ’60s icon who sang ‘Be My Baby,’ dies at 78

Václav Luks’s bold Handel and Haydn debut at Symphony Hall

With Omicron surging, Passim’s annual Boston Celtic Music Festival goes virtual

Theater/Dance

This driveway dancing duo is helping to lighten neighbors’ spirits

Comedian Demetri Martin has something he’d like to say, but he’ll keep it short

A ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ with swagger, but imbued with sorrow

globe local

Newton to hold 54th Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration Jan. 17

Newton limits NewMo rideshare trips to two passengers due to COVID-19 surge

Arbitrator rejects contract that would have required Methuen to pay some police captains $500,000 a year

Obituaries

Ronnie Spector, ’60s icon who sang ‘Be My Baby,’ dies at 78

European Parliament President David Sassoli dies at age 65

Hall of Fame receiver Don Maynard dead at age 86