The Boston Globe

How it started vs. how it’s going: What we’ve learned about COVID-19

As the sun sets on the third summer of the pandemic, here are a few things we thought we knew about COVID-19 at the start — and how they compare to with what we have learned since.

Government to suspend program that distributed free, at-home COVID-19 tests on Friday

‘It sounds like I don’t want to vote for either of them’: Controversy defines Suffolk DA’s race
With little more than a week to go before primary day, voters find themselves contemplating two Suffolk district attorney candidates buffeted by scandal.

In wake of allegations, Ed Flynn strips Ricardo Arroyo of council vice presidency, chairmanships

A right-wing agitator who attended Jan. 6 riot is running for the Mass. House, testing state GOP’s appetite for extremism

Nominating Samson Racioppi would solidify the MassGOP’s hardline position in a year when some of its endorsed candidates for statewide office have embraced Trump’s falsehoods about election fraud and made vulgar, baseless claims about sex education in public schools.

Family demands answers after Harvard grad student, LGBTQ+ activist dies in police custody in Indonesia

Rodrigo Ventocilla, 32, a student at the Harvard Kennedy School from Peru, died in a hospital five days after he arrived in Bali and was taken into custody at the airport by authorities, who said he possessed items containing cannabis.

Narjes Jaafar folds up cardboard boxes while packing her things for a move on Sept. 1.

‘Avoid it like the plague.’ It’s that time of year again: Moving Day.

This season, between Boston’s red-hot housing market and the snarled-up roads and rails, the annual Great Beantown Move could be even worse than usual.

Renting an apartment in the Boston area? Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself and save money.

Charts

Massachusetts abortion totals rise slightly after law expanding access
Here’s a look at what the data show on who gets abortions in Massachusetts.

Tara Sullivan

Serena Williams not yet ready to exit center stage at US Open
At 40, Williams arrived in New York having written the tournament’s biggest headline.

Tom Brady stood on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis.

As gossip about Tom Brady’s 11-day absence continues, one peculiar explanation keeps cropping up

Seriously, did the GOAT miss all that practice with the Bucs because he’s going to be on a Fox singing competition? As the rumors continue to swirl, here's what we know.

Xander Bogaerts (left), Trevor Story, and the Red Sox have little hope of the postseason now.

Twins 4, Red Sox 2

Red Sox can’t turn runners into runs in defeat to the Twins as playoff hopes continue to dwindle

The Red Sox stranded nine baserunners and have lost six of their last eight.

A Brigham and Women's Hospital researcher oversaw a major study that found a blockbuster diabetes drug significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in people with all types of heart failure.

Brigham and Women’s researchers say diabetes drug helps reduce heart failure

A study of 6,000 people found that the medicine cut the number of deaths and medical emergencies.

Opinion

Is Massachusetts prepared for COVID-19 safety in the classroom?

Will the plan of near-total nonchalance work or are we about to go forth with a grand and failed experiment on more than 900,000 Massachusetts schoolchildren and many thousands of their parents, guardians, school staff, and teachers?

IDEAS | MARK G. WAGNER

The breakaway LIV Golf League is an affront to the game’s bedrock values

Andrea Campbell for attorney general

MARCELA GARCÍA

What if busloads of migrants from Texas came to Boston?

The Munich massacre, 50 years on

The Big Picture | Alex LaSalvia

We asked 3 experts about the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The Emancipator sought out historians who bring complexity to this turning point in the story of the nation, helping us learn how our past affects our present and our future.

Orange Line shutdown

Orange Line work on schedule, 37 percent complete as governor tours State Street station
Governor Charlie Baker toured State Street station on Sunday to get a better picture of the progress on the Orange Line.

During first week of Orange Line shutdown, officials highlight obstacles cyclists often face
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Cambridge City Councilor Alanna Mallon took to Twitter this week to highlight common safety issues cyclists face.

Subway service cuts will remain in place for the fall; bus service to be further reduced, T says
Service cuts on the MBTA’s Red, Blue, and Orange Lines meant to last until the end of the summer will now remain in place through the fall, T officials said Wednesday, and bus service will be further cut starting Aug. 28.

Your guide to the MBTA’s Orange Line shutdown
The Orange Line is shut down until the morning of Sept. 19. Find shuttle bus routes, schedules, and guides to navigate Boston.

Pick your stops: Find an alternative Orange Line route

globe 150 magazine cover

150 years of The Boston Globe

Scenes from a century and a half, as covered by the Boston Globe.

More recent stories

James Webb Space Telescope detects carbon dioxide in atmosphere of exoplanet, NASA reports

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system, NASA says.

Despite industry-wide stock slump, Mass. biotech startups raised $5.1b in the first half of 2022

Employment in the state’s biopharma industry grew by more than 12,400 last year, according to a report from MassBio.

Have a mail ballot sitting at home? ‘Do not trust it to the mail at this point,’ top Mass. elections official says.

Secretary of State William Galvin said at this stage, it’s safer for voters to hand-deliver their mail ballots, as opposed to dropping them in the mail. “Do not trust it to the mail at this point,” Galvin said.

dan shaughnessy

For college students coming to town, here is a guide to the local sports scene
We'll get you freshmen oriented with the inside info on the local teams, the Boston fans, and the media coverage.

‘He inspired many on that bike’ — mourners post tributes to Kenyan cyclist killed in crash during Vermont race
Prominent figures in the worlds of cycling, entertainment, and politics took to social media over the weekend to mourn the death of Sule Kangangi, the Kenyan cyclist who was killed in a crash during the Vermont Overland gravel race on Saturday.

‘Anything can happen’ as Patriots anxiously approach Tuesday’s roster-cut deadline
In addition to trimming their own roster from 80 to 53, the Patriots will keep an eye on the cuts that take place across the league.

Recommended reads

Representative Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat, greeted attendees before speaking at a press conference Thursday in Fredericksburg, Va.

‘People are in a bad situation.’ Inflation looms large as Democrats try to hold pivotal toss-up seat.

Inflation is dominating highly competitive midterm congressional races this November.

A cleaner faces double the time on public transit after Orange Line shutdown
Juan Peña, a cleaner, has seen his commute double after the Orange Line shutdown.

Leer en Español

In Wellesley and the suburbs, the office market is thriving
Companies stationed in glitzy downtown high-rises have struggled to lure people back. But the outskirts of the city have so far resisted that fate.

TRAVEL | CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

In Florida, ‘Don’t Say Gay’ is now the law, and LGBTQ+ businesses fear the fallout
Gay-owned businesses in Florida, still catching their collective breath after two years of COVID-19 losses, face the very real possibility of losing LGBTQ+ tourists. "This law is by no means a reflection of us," the president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce said.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Michael Bobbitt, executive director of the Mass Cultural Council, with OrigiNation artistic director Shaumba Dibingae during a tour of the OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center at Forest Hills earlier this year.

Mass Cultural Council poised to distribute nearly $75 million to state’s cultural sector

Director Rebecca Taichman, shown during a break in rehearsal of "Sing Street" at the New 42 Street Studios in New York City.

A Broadway detour brings ‘Sing Street’ to the Huntington

A 2018 photo of a MoviePass card. The ticket service went bust the following year.

MoviePass rises from the rubble. You have until Monday to sign up.

Artist Steve Locke has won the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum's Rappaport Prize.

Artist Steve Locke awarded Rappaport Prize by deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Special Projects

Back to Boston

Welcome Back to Boston

Consider this our love letter to the city, a celebration of all it has to offer visitors and locals alike.

Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2022

A guide to 36 Greater Boston communities where demand — and prices — are surging.

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

Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Boston acting mayor Kim Janey, candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu spoke with the media outside the Boston Public Library on Aug. 27. Warren, Janey, and Wu officially endorsed Liss-Riordan, a candidate for Massachusetts attorney general.

Politics and revenge in the race for attorney general

Student loan debt activists rallied outside the White House on Thursday, Aug. 25, a day after President Biden announced a plan that would cancel up to $10,000 — and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year.

Timothy Scalona

College was my chance to escape poverty. I expect to graduate with $160,000 in student loan debt.

The plan delivers nothing to the actual most disadvantaged group in the economy, workers without any education after high school, which make up more than one-third of the adult population.

Biden’s student loan debt plan is driven by politics, not economics

Vice President Kamala Harris shows Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, the executive order aimed at reforming policing practices after it was signed by President Joe Biden. The order creates a national registry of officers fired for misconduct and encourages state and local police to tighten restrictions on chokeholds and so-called no-knock warrants.

US must take a closer look at nonfatal police violence

Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington.

Beware: A more aggressive IRS is on the way

IDEAS | JOAN VENNOCHI

How the MBTA went off the rails

Metro

Man sentenced to 12 to 13 years in state prison following 2020 standoff in Hingham

Pharaoh Yahtues, 40, pleaded guilty in Plymouth County Superior Court in Brockton to possession of a firearm, being an armed career criminal Level II, and two counts of attempted assault and battery by means of a firearm, the Plymouth district attorney’s office said in a statement Monday night.

‘He inspired many on that bike’ — mourners post tributes to Kenyan cyclist killed in crash during Vermont race

Prominent figures in the worlds of cycling, entertainment, and politics took to social media over the weekend to mourn the death of Sule Kangangi, the Kenyan cyclist who was killed in a crash during the Vermont Overland gravel race on Saturday.

Friction emerging in Providence mayoral campaign two weeks before primary

Candidate Gonzalo Cuervo’s campaign literature says Brett Smiley would bring City Hall back to “insider politics” and cites his $4,500 ethics fine.

Family demands answers after Harvard grad student, LGBTQ+ activist dies in police custody in Indonesia

Rodrigo Ventocilla, 32, a student at the Harvard Kennedy School from Peru, died in a hospital five days after he arrived in Bali and was taken into custody at the airport by authorities, who said he possessed items containing cannabis.

Sports

Albert Pujols loves hitting in the month of August, hitting 134 of his 694 career home runs in the month.

Baseball notebook

Albert Pujols hits 694th career home run, breaks Barry Bonds’ record for most pitchers victimized

The 42-year-old Pujols lined a two-run, opposite-field drive to right field off Cincinnati starter Ross Detwiler.

Xander Bogaerts (left), Trevor Story, and the Red Sox have little hope of the postseason now.

Twins 4, Red Sox 2

Red Sox can’t turn runners into runs in defeat to the Twins as playoff hopes continue to dwindle

The Red Sox stranded nine baserunners and have lost six of their last eight.

Serena Williams acknowledges her adoring fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium after her first-round US Open victory over Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, 6-3, 6-3.

Serena Williams not yet ready to exit center stage at US Open

At 40, Williams arrived in New York having written the tournament’s biggest headline.

Serena Williams rolls to straight-set win at US Open

Easy start for top seed Daniil Medvedev with a straight-sets victory over Stefan Kozlov

Jimmy Garoppolo agrees to reduced contract to stay with 49ers as Trey Lance’s backup

Business

‘Avoid it like the plague.’ It’s that time of year again: Moving Day.

This season, between Boston’s red-hot housing market and the snarled-up roads and rails, the annual Great Beantown Move could be even worse than usual.

Despite industry-wide stock slump, Mass. biotech startups raised $5.1b in the first half of 2022

Employment in the state’s biopharma industry grew by more than 12,400 last year, according to a report from MassBio.

Musk’s lawyers subpoena Twitter whistle-blower

FTC accuses data broker of selling sensitive location data

magazine

A humpback whale breaches and is about to land on the writer and his friend paddling in the kayak.

After a whale crashed on top of my kayak, I set out to learn how they communicate

15 treats from Boston restaurants that taste as good as they look, for $20 or less

The writer and her husband in Hawaii in August 2021.

As a 25-year-old widow, here’s what I wish I could tell my late husband

On Sept. 10, help raise money for the Jimmy Fund at Blooms, Brews & BBQ at Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton.

YOUR WEEK AHEAD

Five things to do for fun in and around Boston, Aug. 29-Sept. 11

metro

A man wearing a plastic bubble walked along William J. Day Boulevard in Boston on March 12, 2020. The man, who asked not to be identified, said he found the contraption in a friend's yard and thought it would protect him from the coronavirus.

How it started vs. how it’s going: What we’ve learned about COVID-19

‘It sounds like I don’t want to vote for either of them’: Controversy defines Suffolk DA’s race

James Webb Space Telescope detects carbon dioxide in atmosphere of exoplanet, NASA reports

sports

Sox relief pitcher Zack Kelly threw a scoreless inning in his major league debut.

Zack Kelly, expectant father and onetime D2 pitcher, got a big surprise when the Red Sox called him up Sunday

Bond is battle tested on Bay State Conference soccer fields

Commanders rookie RB Brian Robinson Jr. wrestled gun away from attackers who shot him, ‘doing well’ after surgery

business

Tom Brady stood on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis.

As gossip about Tom Brady’s 11-day absence continues, one peculiar explanation keeps cropping up

Walmart seeks to dismiss lawsuit by FTC over money transfers

QAnon accounts found a home, and Trump’s support, on Truth Social

politics

First lady Jill Biden at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Aug. 10.

Jill Biden tests negative for COVID-19 after rebound case

Biden to talk crime, gun control in swing state Pennsylvania

‘People are in a bad situation.’ Inflation looms large as Democrats try to hold pivotal toss-up seat.

Nation

President Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, on Aug. 24, in Washington.

Student loan relief limited for many by US drug war’s legacy

Alabama man’s execution was botched, advocacy group alleges

Abortion ban faces exceptions fight in South Carolina House

World

Iraqi security forces fire tear gas on followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr protesting inside the government palace grounds, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29.

Heavy gunfire rocks Iraq’s Green Zone amid violent protests

Dutch defense minister concerned at US gun violence

UN to seek $160 million in emergency aid for Pakistan floods

opinion

The plan delivers nothing to the actual most disadvantaged group in the economy, workers without any education after high school, which make up more than one-third of the adult population.

Biden’s student loan debt plan is driven by politics, not economics

Endorsement of Galvin draws counter views

Madison Park deserves no less than commitment to excellence

lifestyle

Tom Brady stood on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis.

As gossip about Tom Brady’s 11-day absence continues, one peculiar explanation keeps cropping up

No one asks me out

Heading back to school? Here’s where you can use your student discount around Boston

food & dining

The Trio Marino, which is ceviche de pescado, arroz a la Norteñ, con mariscos o arroz con mariscos y calamar frito (fish ceviche, Peruvian-style paella, and fried calamari) at Sharks Sharks Peruvian Cuisine on Broad Street in Central Falls, RI.

A mini tasting tour through Central Falls, one of R.I.’s smallest cities

Feeling burnt out from a career in restaurants, a R.I. chef sought a more meaningful next act

Puritan plans an oyster bar, and old-school Italian counter service comes to Charlestown

travel

Public art is displayed on Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors, Fla., on Friday.

In Florida, ‘Don’t Say Gay’ is now the law, and LGBTQ+ businesses fear the fallout

‘Worst Maine travel piece of the year’: Bangor newspaper slams New York Post column

Patriots placekicker Nick Folk is ‘go with the flow’ on vacation and hopes to get to Germany with his dad

Arts

Harvard Art Museums hosts monthly evenings of fun, food, and creative activities. The next one is Aug. 25.

Harvard Art Museums stay open late on Thursday for exploring and mingling

These landscapes demand a closer look

Rose B. Simpson shapes stories in clay and steel

Books

Gabino Iglesias is a writer, journalist, professor, and literary critic living in Austin.

Gabino Iglesias and reading for the ‘controlled chaos’ of scary books

Transcending the mundane in “Rabbit Hutch”

Retelling the story of the first superstar in ‘Path Lit by Lightning’

Movies

Kevin Hart (left) and Mark Wahlberg in Netflix's "Me Time."

‘Me Time’? Make that ‘Flee Time’

John Boyega makes ‘Breaking’

MoviePass rises from the rubble. You have until Monday to sign up.

Television

Tom Brady stood on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis.

As gossip about Tom Brady’s 11-day absence continues, one peculiar explanation keeps cropping up

In ‘House of the Dragon’ episode two ‘The Rogue Prince,’ the king must remarry

This week’s TV: A Michael K. Williams memoir, a Steve Carell thriller, and ‘The Rings of Power’ premieres

music

Michael Tilson Thomas leads the BSO in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Michael Tilson Thomas closes Tanglewood on a triumphant note

Jaimie Branch, trumpeter who crossed genre lines, dies at 39

In Lowell, Aoife O’Donovan and Hiss Golden Messenger share a stage one last time

Theater/Dance

Wesley Jones (seated) and Francis Jue in "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" at Signature Theatre.

In Anna Deavere Smith’s ‘Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,’ the voices of a shattered city

Jacob’s Pillow festival closes with mighty Miami City Ballet

A Broadway detour brings ‘Sing Street’ to the Huntington

globe local

The Remond family’s suffrage trail marker is unveiled in Salem by Michael Selbst, to the delight of Adelaide Solomon-Jordan, a relative of the Remond family, and her son, Ross Stanton Jordan.

Markers give suffragists their due: ‘If they did it back then, we can do it now’

Should Massachusetts enact a junk food tax?

Two ducks are let loose in a cemetery

Obituaries

Mr. Croneberg spent his entire career at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

Carl Croneberg, explorer of deaf language and culture, dies at 92

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese dies at 86

Jaimie Branch, trumpeter who crossed genre lines, dies at 39