The Boston Globe

Rolf Nelson worked on a jigsaw puzzle with his son Reid, 13, at his home in Boxborough. Nelson, 63, worked for IBM for 17 years before being let go. “It was out of the blue,” he said. “They didn’t give me a good reason. . . . [But] it was very clear that they were going to let the most experienced people go, who were the highest paid people.”

Older workers press age discrimination claims in challenge to IBM layoffs

Laid-off workers have charged IBM with forcing out older staffers over the past decade as part of a strategy to build a younger workforce.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

For students in surge, a ‘new normal’ and plenty of worries

Amid the pandemic, high school students have had nearly continuous disruptions in every aspect of their educations.

‘Confusing and complicated’ college financial aid game may be changing

Christopher L. Gasper

NFL’s double standard when it comes to Black coaches on display once again

The previous four head coaching hiring cycles produced 27 job openings; three of them went to Black coaches.

Ben Volin | On football

What did Mac Jones’s rookie season teach us? He needs more help

On the plus side, Jones had more wins (10) than fellow rookies Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields combined (9).

Scoreboard: Bengals take on Titans during Saturday’s AFC divisional playoff game

‘A hellishly difficult task.’ Can the Federal Reserve lower inflation without causing a recession?

The unique effects of COVID-19 have created the potential that history won’t repeat itself and inflation can be reined in without shrinking the economy, economists said.

THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

COVID hospitalizations plateau in some parts of the US, while a crisis remains in others

6:23 p.m.
New Zealand to move to tighter COVID settings as Omicron arrives
5:04 p.m.
For students in surge, a ‘new normal’ and plenty of worries
4:24 p.m.
Omicron spreads to rural Alabama

Here’s why you should take COVID-19 precautions even as Omicron declines

“People just need to continue to be careful and protect themselves, their family, their community, and just bear with it a little longer,” said Dr. Robert Klugman, medical director of employee health and occupational medicine at UMass Memorial Health.

Male shooting victim with life-threatening injuries taken to Boston hospital from South Shore Plaza in Braintree

In the brief statement posted at 3:34 p.m., police said details would come regarding the issue.

Friends and family of Harmony Montgomery were at Bass Island Park in Manchester, N.H., earlier this month to put up fliers and hold a vigil to call attention to the missing girl.

The net that should have kept Harmony Montgomery safe shredded

Our sense of justice, and our need for order, compel us to pinpoint the exact moment this poor child was let down, and to hold somebody accountable for it. Otherwise, how can we understand what happened to her? How can we make sure it won’t happen again?

Amelia King at a Page County School Board meeting Thursday night.

Virginia mother threatened to ‘bring every single gun loaded and ready’ to school over mask rules

A Virginia mother who sparked an uproar after she threatened during a school board meeting to “bring every single gun loaded and ready” to school if her children were compelled to wear masks has been charged.

Oskar Steen evened the Bruins with Winnipeg in the first period, beating former UMass Lowell goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

BRUINS 3, JETS 2

David Pastrnak strikes again as Bruins come from behind on Winnipeg at Garden

Boston came from behind twice in the first two period, then won it on Pastrnak's power-play goal in the third — his NHL-leading 11th goal in January.

Opinion

The Gay Pride flag flying on City Hall Plaza at a ceremony celebrating the beginning of Pride Week, June 2014.

Wave the white flag in City Hall Plaza free speech case, Mayor Wu

Given the legal tangle over free speech issues the flagpole has created for Boston, it may be wise for Mayor Michelle Wu to end the policy now and negotiate a settlement with the plaintiff.

Yet another hard look taken, again, at Boston Public Schools

IDEAS | EVAN SELINGER

How real could virtual reality become?

MARCELA GARCÍA

Follow the money: Sheriffs’ campaign donations get a much-needed look

IDEAS | H. LOUISE MESSINGER

I celebrate my transgender son, yet I grieve for his ‘dead name’

Winter Arts Guide

Jabari Banks as Will in "Bel Air."

The drama ‘Bel Air’ offers a fresh take on the Fresh Prince

Julia Garner as real-life scam artist Anna Delvey in Netflix's "Inventing Anna."

10 TV shows to watch while we’re waiting out winter

Left: Tompkins Harrison Matteson's “Trial of George Jacobs, Sr. for Witchcraft,” 1855. Right: Jason Garcia's "#7 Victory, 1680–1692," from the “Tewa Tales of Suspense!” series, 2019-20.

PEM breaks down silos between Native American and American art

Director Awoye Timpo (left) leads a rehearsal of the Huntington Theatre Company's "The Bluest Eye" at the Calderwood Pavilion, with actors Hadar Busia-Singleton (center) and Alexandria King.

Huntington’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ tries to capture Toni Morrison’s unerring vision

Jazmine Sullivan.

10 concerts sure to crank up the heat this winter

See more in our full winter arts preview

Project Takeout Illustration

DEVRA FIRST | PROJECT TAKEOUT

We thought we’d be past this by now. We were wrong. Support your local restaurants.

We’re bringing back Project Takeout. Call it Project Take Two.

Browse a map of reader-recommended takeout spots Tell us: Where is your favorite place to order from? 3 places we supported this week Explore the full project

More recent stories

Britain says Russia seeking to replace Ukraine government

The British government on Saturday accused Russia of seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and said former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

Robert Caporale, pioneering broker of major sports deals, dies at 80

Mr. Caporale cofounded Game Plan, a pioneering investment banking and consulting firm for the sports and entertainment industries.

In Egleston Square, a community peace garden is up for sale

Garden organizers have long asked Boston officials to buy the property and make it a city park, and now they fear a new owner will develop the site.

Arizona Democrats censure Sinema for blocking voting bill

US Senator Kyrsten Sinema is growing increasingly isolated from some of her party’s most influential officials and donors after playing a key role in scuttling voting rights legislation that many Democrats consider essential to preserving democracy.

Ian Alexander Jr., only child of Regina King, dies at age 26

"Our family is devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian,” a family statement shared Saturday by a King spokesman said.

Newton native who was living double life when he killed wife in Vermont could be freed soon

On Jan. 12, Gregory Fitzgerald struck a new deal with Vermont prosecutors that reduced his sentence to 35 years to life.

Into the Red illustration.

Introducing our new climate initiative

To report on the most pressing issue of our time, the Globe’s climate team is expanding and rethinking its coverage.

Explore the new section, 'Into the Red'

Recommended reads

The 30 best comfort foods you’ll find at Boston area restaurants

When temperatures drop and New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside, we all need something to warm our souls. Here are 30 great comfort foods and where to find them. (You'll be glad you did!)

For small restaurants, Guy Fieri and ‘Triple D’ are ‘the gift that keeps on giving’

Olympics

The Beijing Olympics are complicated and controversial, and that’s before they even begin

China's president has promised a “fantastic, extraordinary, and excellent Games," but not everyone is so sure about that.

For some, ‘mild’ illness from Omicron feels like anything but

An unlucky group of COVID-positive people have found that the variant’s “mild” categorization is something of an understatement.

As waters warm and the lobster population booms off Canada, tensions rise between Indigenous and commercial fishermen

The increasing lobster catch in St. Mary’s Bay has raised the stakes for local fishermen, including the Mi’kmaw. As a result, long-simmering tensions between the Mi’kmaw and commercial fishermen, who have lobbied the government to shut down what they consider an illegal fishery, have boiled.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Marjan Kamali of Lexington was one of the local recipients of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grant for creative writing.

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS

A powerful story collection on life as a young man of color; authors receive creative writing grants

From left to right, top to bottom: Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Avril Lavigne, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, Angelique Kidjo and Johnny Venus of EARTHGANG, and Robert Trujillo, James Hetfield, and Kirk Hammett of Metallica.

Boston Calling announces 2022 lineup with headliners Foo Fighters, the Strokes, Metallica

Cheeseburger pizza from Ernesto's in Somerville.

PARENTING UNFILTERED

No more sad sandwiches: Where to find kid-friendly takeout

Kacey Musgraves performs Jan. 27 at TD Garden.

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Special Projects

Under the wheel

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

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.

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

Gang Chen, a mechanical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was under investigation by the Department of Justice under its China Initiative. On Thursday, the government acknowledged in US District Court in Boston that it could not prove the charges against him, and said dismissing his case would be “in the interests of justice.”

I was arrested under the DOJ’s China Initiative. Congress must investigate the program.

The virtues of not selling out

Body cameras are becoming common in municipal police departments. Massachusetts should adopt their use by officers in the state prison system.

Body cameras not just for cops any more

Amanda Nguyen, founder and CEO of Rise.

Legislature must fully protect survivors of sexual assault

The Unity flag waves in the wind above Boston City Hall Plaza next to an American flag and a Massachusetts state flag on June 5, 2020.

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

A high court loss for Boston could come at a high price — unless it acts fast

The Muddy River as it emerges beneath Perkins Street from its source in Jamaica Pond.

IDEAS | MILES HOWARD

Set the underground rivers free

Metro

Baker seeks level funding for local road projects in next year’s budget

Local communities want state leaders to raise the annual amount of funding for the program to $300 million to offset inflation costs and keep roads in better condition so they don’t require more expensive repairs later.

Coronavirus Live Updates

COVID hospitalizations plateau in some parts of the US, while a crisis remains in others

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

Robert Caporale, pioneering broker of major sports deals, dies at 80

Mr. Caporale cofounded Game Plan, a pioneering investment banking and consulting firm for the sports and entertainment industries.

Boston police searching for vehicle involved in New Year’s Eve hit-and-run

Boston police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a car that allegedly hit a pedestrian and then was driven away from the scene in Dorchester on New Year’s Eve.

Sports

Makai Ashton-Langford, who scored 18 points in Boston College's win Saturday, drives on Virginia Tech's Hunter Cattoor at Conte Forum.

Boston College 68, Virginia Tech 63

James Karnik, Makai Ashton-Langford power Boston College men’s basketball to win over Virginia Tech

The last tie was at 61 before Boston College held the visiting Hokies to 2 points over the final four-plus minutes.

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady waves to Tampa Bay fans after the team defeated the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL wild-card last week, setting up Sunday's showdown against the visiting Los Angeles Rams.

Tom Brady, Buccaneers eager for another shot at the Rams in NFC divisional matchup

The defending Super Bowl champions host the Rams in the NFC divisional round Sunday, looking to avenge a pair of losses to the only team they’ve played but yet to beat since Brady joined the Bucs in 2020.

After playing through jeers from the crowd when he played Australian Nick Kyprios, Daniil Medvedev celebrates after a quieter victory against Botic Van de Zandschulp during their third-round match at the Australian Open.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Daniil Medvedev reaches fourth round of Australian Open for fourth straight year

He lost last year’s Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, who was deported from Australia for failing to meet COID-19 vaccination criteria.

BRUINS 3, JETS 2

David Pastrnak strikes again as Bruins come from behind on Winnipeg at Garden

BRUINS NOTEBOOK

Brad Marchand back in the lineup, but Anton Blidh out against Winnipeg

From trades to shuffling the rotations, here are five changes the Celtics should consider

Business

Britain says Russia seeking to replace Ukraine government

The British government on Saturday accused Russia of seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and said former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

Tom Cruise’s next ‘Mission: Impossible’ films are delayed over COVID

One of the biggest movies slated for 2022 — “Mission: Impossible 7” starring Tom Cruise — is being pushed into next year in the latest blow to struggling cinemas.

Bitcoin pyramid schemes wreak havoc on Brazil’s ‘New Egypt’

Inflation is wiping out pay increases for most Americans

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

The 30 best comfort foods you’ll find at Boston area restaurants

For small restaurants, Guy Fieri and ‘Triple D’ are ‘the gift that keeps on giving’

The power of having a great role model, whether you’re 9 or 99

My husband gave me a present and I gave it away

metro

Malene Council (right) talked to Cambridge residents while she completes her “tour” of Central Square, a walk she does multiple times a day to check-in with homeless residents and Central Square regulars.

Cambridge homeless shelters are ‘full to bursting’ as new faces emerge

For students in surge, a ‘new normal’ and plenty of worries

Male shooting victim with life-threatening injuries taken to Boston hospital from South Shore Plaza in Braintree

sports

Gracie O’Connell has her name on every swimming record at Matignon.

With Gracie O’Connell leading the way, Matignon is growing a successful swim program

Olympians challenged by cybersecurity concerns in Beijing

Al Michaels talks John Madden, Bill Parcells, and Curt Gowdy while preparing to call Tom Brady’s next playoff game

business

Members of the Connecticut National Guard loaded boxes of COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment into vehicles for nursing homes in Windsor Locks, Conn., on Friday.

Omicron nears US peak even as some regions still face struggle

McKee allows nursing homes to bypass minimum staffing requirements

Mass. employers added 222,000 jobs last year

politics

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell listens during his renomination hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Jan. 11.

‘A hellishly difficult task.’ Can the Federal Reserve lower inflation without causing a recession?

Arizona Democrats censure Sinema for blocking voting bill

Omicron wave leaves US food banks scrambling for volunteers

Nation

Nurse Elisa Gilbert checked on a patient in the acute care COVID-19 unit at the Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 21, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.

COVID hospitalizations plateau in some parts of the US, while a crisis remains in others

Their DNA hides a warning, but they don’t want to know what it says

Eyesore or monument? Preservationists fight to save a grain elevator in Buffalo

World

A Ukrainian serviceman patrols a street near frontline with with Russia-backed separatists in Verkhnotoretske village in Yasynuvata district, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Britain says Russia seeking to replace Ukraine government

Houthis, aid group say Death toll from prison airstrike hits 82

Defend Chernobyl during an invasion? Why bother, some Ukrainians ask.

opinion

Gang Chen, a mechanical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was under investigation by the Department of Justice under its China Initiative. On Thursday, the government acknowledged in US District Court in Boston that it could not prove the charges against him, and said dismissing his case would be “in the interests of justice.”

I was arrested under the DOJ’s China Initiative. Congress must investigate the program.

Pounding footsteps you hear belong to Mass General Brigham

For Willie and Flynn, it was a busing journey they took together

lifestyle

Love Letters

My husband wants an apology from my mom

No joke: Comics Colin Jost, Pete Davidson buy Staten Island Ferry boat

Home design: Turning a bland Mission Hill bedroom into a refuge

food & dining

For small restaurants, Guy Fieri and ‘Triple D’ are ‘the gift that keeps on giving’

The 30 best comfort foods you’ll find at Boston area restaurants

Eleven Madison Park and Per Se alums will open Twelve in Portland over Memorial Day weekend

travel

The Lodge at Spruce Peak in Stowe, Vermont.

This Vermont town was named among the best places to travel in February

Help! My Expedia tour credit is about to expire

A romantic weekend in Portsmouth

Arts

Joseph Mallord William Turner, "Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On)," 1840, oil on canvas. (Henry Lillie Pierce Fund/Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). The painting will feature in the March exhibition "Turner's Modern World) at the MFA.

10 museum must-sees that will banish the winter blahs

‘Vernacular Glamour’ excavates the material world

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

Books

New novel ‘Devil House’ looks at our true crime obsessions

Jabari Asim: an ‘eclectic, voracious’ reader

Science, fiction, and fantasy blend in ‘A Snake Falls to Earth’

Movies

Tom Cruise attends the U.S. Premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on July 22, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Tom Cruise’s next ‘Mission: Impossible’ films are delayed over COVID

Doc Talk: An incurable optimist, a fleeing fugitive, and an undaunted soul

Death becomes him

Television

Louie Anderson won an Emmy for his work as Christine in "Baskets."

Louie Anderson brought poignancy, and memories of his mother, to ‘Baskets’

First look at Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter in Hulu’s ‘The Girl from Plainville’

10 TV shows to watch while we’re waiting out winter

music

Elim Chan conducts BSO and pianist Igor Levit on Jan. 20, 2022.

Conductor Elim Chan, pianist Igor Levit offer familiar comforts and new delights at the BSO

Boston Calling announces 2022 lineup with headliners Foo Fighters, the Strokes, Metallica

For the War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel, a return to a place he once called home

Theater/Dance

Director Awoye Timpo (left) leads a rehearsal of the Huntington Theatre Company's "The Bluest Eye" at the Calderwood Pavilion, with actors Hadar Busia-Singleton (center) and Alexandria King.

In ‘The Bluest Eye’ at the Huntington, the challenge of capturing Toni Morrison’s unerring vision

Dramas, musicals, and a trio of blue men: 10 shows for theatergoers this winter

See dancers from all over New England during a weekend of Boston performances

globe local

Cal Ramsdell of Randolph views "Flower Blooming in The Heaven 2021" by Emi Fujita and Emiko Makino at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton.

What to do in this bleak midwinter: How about visiting a museum?

Should Massachusetts guarantee anyone serving a life sentence the chance for parole?

Wouldn’t it be nice? Fifty-four years after we married, it still is.

Obituaries

Robert Caporale

Robert Caporale, pioneering broker of major sports deals, dies at 80

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master and political reformer, dies at 95

Louie Anderson, Emmy-winning comedian, has died