The Boston Globe

THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

Federal rapid testing website launches next week, and will allow four tests per home

12:31 a.m.
Biden team regroups after court loss on COVID shots-or-test
11:40 p.m.
Novak Djokovic’s fight to stay in Australia lives another day
10:11 p.m.
Can cannabis really prevent COVID? Not quite, but new study shows promise

Baker administration issues new emergency orders as Mass. hospitals struggle amid COVID-19 surge

The state healthcare system, according to the Department of Public Health, faces a “critical staffing shortage” that’s been a factor in the loss of about 700 medical/surgical and ICU hospital beds.

12,864 confirmed cases and 64 deaths. See today’s COVID-19 data from Mass. CDC encourages more Americans to consider N95 masks

Hospitals postponing thousands of surgeries amid onslaught of COVID and other patients

Why so many empty shelves at your local supermarket? It’s complicated.

Grocery stores across the United States are seeing empty shelves that once held products ranging from bread to produce to meat, as a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant adds another layer of complication to a system already strained by supply chain issues and worker shortages.

76ers 111, Celtics 99

Celtics falter at the start as the Sixers dominate

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, coming off a game where they each scored 30-plus points, struggled mightily.

A woman passed steam rising from a manhole is Post Office Square in downtown Boston.

A bitterly cold and windy weekend is ahead

A blast of arctic air is moving in across New England on Friday night, thanks to a large storm offshore that will miss us.

Mayor Wu declares cold emergency for Boston

Joy Lustig from Boston had the frozen Public Garden Lagoon all to her self skating Tuesday morning.

Maps: Strong winds will have Mass. feeling extreme cold Friday and Saturday

If Omicron isn’t enough to keep you inside this weekend, this cold snap might be.

What to know about Boston’s proof-of-vaccination mandate, which goes into effect Saturday

Bostonians will need to prove they’ve had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before entering certain indoor spaces, including restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues.

Saturday marks first vaccination deadline for Boston’s city workforce; most complying so far Here’s a rundown on the path to vaccines for kids under 5

A soldier’s letter from 1945 was finally delivered to his family in Woburn

Army Sergeant John Gonsalves wrote the letter to his mother on Dec. 6, 1945. World War II was over, and he was looking forward to coming home. The letter, sent from Germany, arrived in Woburn 76 years later.

The compressor station has been a source of controversy in Weymouth.

Federal regulators to consider whether to shut down Weymouth gas compressor

Democrats now have a majority of the five seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which gives hope to the station’s opponents.

Nicholas Alahverdian.

COLUMN | DAN MCGOWAN

The Rhode Island con artist who faked his own death is finally getting his wish: He’s newsworthy now

All Nicholas Alahverdian ever wanted was to be newsworthy. He pursued that dream relentlessly over most of the last two decades, building relationships with reporters and politicians in Rhode Island by sharing tales of torture that he endured as a kid lost in the child welfare system. Now all of it is unraveling.

Cars passed by the Massachusetts State House in this file photo.

Wrentham Republican said to be mulling race for governor

Chris Doughty, a businessman and investor, is seriously considering a run for Massachusetts governor, according to three people who’ve spoken with him.

Opinion

A girl passes a "Welcome Back to School" sign as she arrives for the first day of class at Brooklyn's PS 245 elementary school.

IDEAS | ELIZABETH SCARBORO

Students like mine are being left behind

Even when they’re back in school, they’re still far from being back on track.

A portrait of William Allen hangs on the porch as his father, Thurston Allen (right) listens while attorney Kristine McDonald speaks during a press conference in Brockton on Thursday. At left is Thurston's longtime partner, Frances Bynoe.

Two commutations should be just the beginning

Senator Ed Markey, seen here at press conference outside the US Capitol on Oct. 7, has suggested that Joe Manchin, President Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi sit in a room and determine what they can agree upon in regard to Build Back Better.

Democrats need to get real on Build Back Better

Kevin McCarthy accused the Jan. 6 committee of abuse of power, saying it seeks “to interview me about public statements that have been shared with the world ... I have nothing else to add." Certainly, that's not true.

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

When it comes to subpoenas, Congress must use its power or lose it

Voting rights activists march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on June 26.

Voting is sacred

Seven new mayors across Greater Boston offer hope, visions for the future

They face stiff challenges, but the new mayors of Somerville, Lawrence, Lowell, Gloucester, Framingham, Lynn, and Newburyport have shared their optimism for the coming year.

Dozens of Mass. doctors, scientists sign on to letter supporting Fauci, decrying attacks on him

Many doctors and scientists affiliated with Massachusetts institutions are among the more than 200 people who have signed an open letter supporting Dr. Anthony Fauci, denouncing attacks against him as "inaccurate, unscientific" and "increasingly, motivated by partisan politics."

Dan McGowan

New DA Hayden says his history will guide him in role

“This is home for me,” Hayden said this week as he settled into his office. “I’ve been a public servant all my life. My heart never strayed far from here, really."

Chad Finn | Unconventional Preview

Patriots need their best game in Round 3, but the trends do not favor them

The Bills are healthier, have the better quarterback, and are at home, while the Patriots have lost three of their last four.

Brockton High School student, 17, arrested in alleged stabbing of fellow student at school

A 17-year-old Brockton High School student allegedly stabbed a fellow student Friday afternoon and fled the area before being apprehended, and now the school district is considering bringing in an outside security contractor, officials said.

Beth Teitell

Got inner critics? Bill Belichick can help.

The next time I’m called to answer for my sins as a mom and as a person, I’m going to channel the Patriots coach’s gruff manner. Please join me at today’s fantasy press conference, going on inside my head…

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

Paul Deuterio, co-owner of Galleria Umberto in the North End, decided to pivot to takeout only until Mayor Michelle Wu's proof-of-vaccination mandate is no longer in effect.

‘Mission impossible’: With Boston’s proof-of-vaccination mandate set to begin, businesses worry

With the rules set to take effect Saturday, some retailers say the mandate is starting to feel like yet another COVID-related burden on the backs of businesses the pandemic has hurt the most.

TRAVEL

New resort openings in the Caribbean

From the Bahamas to the US Virgin Islands, and from family-friendly resorts to luxe private-island retreats, here’s a roundup of new Caribbean properties to put on your radar.

Everything you need to know about masks: What kind to get, where to buy them, and how often you can reuse them

Shifting guidance and shady online retailers marketing masks that turn out to be counterfeit have left many scratching their heads.

KEVIN CULLEN

The driest of dry Januarys

There are all these stories about COVID fatigue. I have COVID fatigue fatigue.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Sketch for Ed Emberley's "Drawing Book of Animals."

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS

A poet’s inviting new collection, drawing lessons, and speaking for the silenced

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth."

MOVIE REVIEW | ★★★½

Denzel Washington is magnificent in Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’

Alvin Ailey (pictured in the 1950s with Misaye Kawasaki, Larry Maldonado, and Lelia Goldoni of the Lester Horton Dance Group) in a scene from the documentary "Ailey."

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Mackenzie Davis as Kirsten in "Station Eleven," with the titular graphic novel.

MATTHEW GILBERT

In ‘Station Eleven,’ the arts outlast an apocalypse

Special Projects

Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, then president of Brigham Health, brought a Boston delegation in April 2018 to celebrate the opening of the Boao Evergrande International Hospital in China, constructed in a new medical tourism hub.

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.

Hanson-11/20/2021- Hingham vs Natick in the MIAA Division1 title game.
The Natick girls soccer team celebrate their Division 1 MIAA win over Hingham at Whitman - Hanson High school. Photo by Debee Tlumacki for the Boston Globe (sports)

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.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald talks to a reporter in 2019.

Plymouth County jail needs more oversight

Pro-mask and non-mask wearing demonstrators face off at the Cobb County School Board Headquarters in Marietta, Ga., last August.

IDEAS | ERIKA COHEN

I chair the school board in Derry, N.H., and I’m afraid

A Boston University staff member helps arrange returned COVID test swabs from students, staff, and others at the university's COVID testing collection kiosk on the campus on Aug. 26, 2021.

Haley Sullivan and Leah Pierson

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

At the Eliot K-8 Innovation School in Boston, 5-year-old Aria Marci gets support from school principal Traci Griffith as she prepares to receive her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 15, 2021.

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

Governor Baker loves to dwell on numbers that make his case that Massachusetts is doing better than most everyone else. But it takes more than numbers to make people feel better.

Governor Baker, we have a COVID-19 data problem

Kareem Farah, who founded the Modern Classrooms Project, in his classroom in Washington, D.C., in 2017.

IDEAS | THOMAS ARNETT

A better way to do online learning

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Federal rapid testing website launches next week, and will allow four tests per home

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

Hospitals postponing thousands of surgeries amid onslaught of COVID and other patients

The situation is so bad that it’s forcing hospital administrators to make heartbreaking choices to limit all but the most urgent surgeries and procedures.

Brockton High School student, 17, arrested in alleged stabbing of fellow student at school

A 17-year-old Brockton High School student allegedly stabbed a fellow student Friday afternoon and fled the area before being apprehended, and now the school district is considering bringing in an outside security contractor, officials said.

Why so many empty shelves at your local supermarket? It’s complicated.

Grocery stores across the United States are seeing empty shelves that once held products ranging from bread to produce to meat, as a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant adds another layer of complication to a system already strained by supply chain issues and worker shortages.

Sports

Norwood's Alexa Corsa (left) and Medway's Callahan Cottone chase a loose ball during their Tri-Valley League showdown.

FRIDAY'S GIRLS' BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

No. 4 Norwood finds perfect plan for girls’ basketball victory over Tri-Valley rival Medway

The Mustangs used a 19-2 run, and a big game from senior Meg Olbrys (23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks) to improve to 6-0.

Saousoalii Siavii Jr. was drafted by the Chiefs in the second round of 2004 and spent two seasons with Kansas City.

Former NFL player Saousoalii Siavii Jr. found dead in Kansas federal prison

In August 2019, Siavii was arrested and later charged with being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms.

Brian Flores went 24-25 in three years as coach of the Dolphins.

Bears interview Brian Flores for head coach job

The Bears also interviewed Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland for their vacant GM position.

76ers 111, Celtics 99

Celtics falter at the start as the Sixers dominate

HS BOYS' BASKETBALL | BC HIGH 66, MALDEN CATHOLIC 44

No. 2 BC High takes flight in second half, scores resounding win over top-ranked Malden Catholic

Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert says she has ovarian cancer

Business

Fewer groceries, more debt: Families brace for first month without child tax payments

The extended benefit, part of the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan passed last year, distributed as much as $300 per child every month to millions of American families starting in July. The extra pay lasted only six months before it lapsed in late December.

In public debut, weight-loss firm Gelesis gets less backing than planned

The Boston biotech raised $105 million in a SPAC deal and started trading publicly on Friday.

What to know about Boston’s proof-of-vaccination mandate, which goes into effect Saturday

Federal rapid testing website launches next week, and will allow four tests per home

STAT

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Subscribe to STAT Plus

‘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

I'm a woman of color often overlooked at work - until people realize I outrank them

The unexpected guest, “Mr. Cluck,” at the writer’s home in the Back Bay.

How rescuing a runaway chicken taught me about accepting others

It's been 50 years since the groundbreaking kids' show "Zoom" debuted on WGBH.

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

The roller-skating heroes who fought racism in Boston

metro

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, center, after she voted at the VNA Assisted Living Facility on Alewife Brook Parkway on Election Day in November.

Seven new mayors across Greater Boston offer hope, visions for the future

Should Massachusetts require public projects to give priority to American-made steel?

12,864 confirmed cases and 64 deaths. See today’s COVID-19 data from Mass.

sports

Celtics Marcus Smart has been placed in COVID protocol and could miss the next week.

Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who has a thigh injury, placed in COVID protocol

Kings for a day: With tournament victory, King Philip a wrestling program on the rise

The 2021 NFL All-Pro team rosters

business

A child receiving her COVID-19 vaccine.

What we know about the COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5

Lawmakers propose changes in stalled right-to-repair law

GE halts COVID vaccine-or-test mandate for employees after Supreme Court decision

politics

President Biden begins to speak about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus in Washington, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022.

Biden team regroups after court loss on COVID shots-or-test

Biden team regroups after Supreme Court halts COVID-19 vaccine rule for large employers

Federal rapid testing website launches next week, and will allow four tests per home

Nation

Cars pull up to a free COVID-19 testing station on Jan. 14, 2022, in Monterey Park, California.

Pop-up COVID test sites have ballooned as demand surges. Officials warn consumers to be cautious.

Federal rapid testing website launches next week, and will allow four tests per home

Biden team regroups after court loss on COVID shots-or-test

World

Novak Djokovic hits a forehand return at the US Open men’s singles final in New York on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.

Novak Djokovic’s fight to stay in Australia lives another day

Australia hits 123 degrees, tying hottest temperature on record in Southern Hemisphere

North Korea defies UN, tests missiles in response to US sanctions

opinion

Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald talks to a reporter in 2019.

Plymouth County jail needs more oversight

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

A better way to do online learning

lifestyle

Alaina Urquhart (left) and Ashleigh "Ash" Kelley are the hosts of "Morbid," a true crime and horror podcast.

‘Morbid’ hosts talk ‘Cinema Macabre,’ true crime, and Massachusetts’ ‘spooky horror’ history

He doesn’t want me to go back to work

Got inner critics? Bill Belichick can help.

food & dining

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addresses members of the media gathered at a press conference at City Hall on Jan. 10, 2022.

Mayor Wu: vaccine mandates for city workers, businesses, not meant to ‘punish’ people

Omicron lowers sales and threatens bankruptcy for US restaurants

100 years later, Providence Brewery Company makes its return

travel

Church motifs, like stained glass in the gospel gallery, reveal the attention to detail at the National Museum of African American Music.

Sing some gospel, bust a move, and feel the love at Nashville’s African American music museum

Best things to do in RI this week: Jan. 14-21

She canceled her Iceland trip in time. Where’s her refund?

Arts

Rendering of “The Embrace,” the memorial monument and plaza dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King on Boston Common. The completed project, created by Hank Willis Thomas and Mass Design Group, will be installed early next year.

‘The Embrace,’ Boston’s long-awaited tribute to the Kings, will be unveiled on MLK Day 2023

At the MFA, a sleeping giant awakens

Humanity hangs in the balance in Sally B. Moore’s ‘Teetering’

Books

A history of addiction in ‘The Urge’

‘The Hard Sell’ is a vivid tale of opioid firm showcased at Boston trial

Lisa Gardner: She reads for story, not genre

Movies

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi poses with the best screenplay award for "Drive My Car" last July at the Cannes Film Festival.

‘I think acting is an impossibly difficult thing’: Talking with Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, director of ‘Drive My Car’

Two films to observe Martin Luther King Day

Doc Talk: garden-fresh ideas; portraits from the artist; prison diary

Television

A scene from "A Reckoning in Boston."

A film, and a filmmaker, transformed in ‘A Reckoning in Boston’

In ‘Station Eleven,’ the arts outlast an apocalypse

Steve Carell provides therapy under duress in ‘The Patient’

music

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performed Liszt's Second Piano Concerto with the BSO led by music director Andris Nelsons on Jan.13, 2022.

Glimpsing what a new era at the BSO might bring

After some of the darkest days of Gregory Porter’s life, music lights the way

From Berlin to the BSO: Pianist Igor Levit returns to Boston

Theater/Dance

Adam Pascal (in gray suit) and Olivia Valli in the production of "Pretty Woman: The Musical."

How ‘Pretty Woman’ became a head-turner

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

globe local

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, center, after she voted at the VNA Assisted Living Facility on Alewife Brook Parkway on Election Day in November.

Seven new mayors across Greater Boston offer hope, visions for the future

Should Massachusetts require public projects to give priority to American-made steel?

Clean, quiet lawn care is within our power

Obituaries

Mr. Bellecourt worked for a half century to improve Indigenous rights.

Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of the American Indian Movement, dies at 85

Longtime high school hockey coach Bill Belisle dies

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