The Boston Globe

A beloved and beleaguered St. Patrick’s Day tradition at UMass Amherst has raised concerns about a popular drinking fad among college students involving a gallon water jug, which officials say contributed to dozens of hospitalizations and record ambulatory arrivals for a community hospital.

UMass Blarney Blowout raises concerns about ‘borg’ drinking fad

A beloved but controversial St. Patrick’s Day tradition at UMass Amherst called the Blarney Blowout has raised concerns about a popular drinking fad among college students.

What are borgs, the TikTok-trending drinks UMass blamed in part for ‘Blarney Blowout’ hospitalizations?

THE GREAT DIVIDE

Everett School Committee won’t renew contract of superintendent who accused mayor of racism
The Everett School Committee voted Monday night not to renew the contract of the district’s superintendent, the latest turn in a tumultuous few years for the district and the city’s government.

Woman killed on turbulent flight over New England was prominent executive who served in presidential administrations

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they are looking into “a reported trim issue” that occurred on the jet before the turbulence.

Climate change is raising flight turbulence risks. Here’s what to know.

Leominster man charged with attacking flight attendants, trying to open emergency exit door on LA to Boston flight

Planes clip each other at Logan Airport, one week after close call on runway

Fairhaven woman reported missing after taking dog out early Monday

Suffolk County sheriff admits to violating state law by hiring niece, asking subordinates for child care

Student at Roxbury K-8 school taken to hospital after eating chocolate that may have contained marijuana

Officials at Brigham and Women's Hospital did a deep dive into a bacteria outbreak among cardiac patients.

A bacterial infection killed three patients at Brigham and Women’s. The culprit? A water purification system.

A who-done-it analysis of where the bacteria originated, and the lessons that followed for the hospital about infection control, has been highlighted in a study published by Brigham clinicians on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

State auditor launches probe of convention center authority as Black leaders call for investigation of racial discrimination claims
The authority said it will conduct its own investigation, promising “corrective action” if problems are found.

CAVALIERS 118, CELTICS 114

Missed opportunities for the Celtics in third straight loss go beyond Grant Williams’s free throws
Jaylen Brown had 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists for the Celtics, but Donovan Mitchell's 40 points, 11 rebounds, and gamesmanship helped the Cavaliers rally to win in overtime.

Watch: Grant Williams’s ill-advised trash talk backfires in Celtics’ OT loss to Cavaliers

A new report by climate advocacy group Gas Transition Allies indicates that using green hydrogen for heating would require so much electricity to manufacture the gas that it would consume all the wind power the state expects to generate.

A utility plan to replace gas with climate-friendly fuels is deeply flawed, according to new report

Using so-called green hydrogen to heat homes and other buildings would require so much electricity to simply manufacture the gas that it would consume all the wind power Massachusetts expects to be generating by the end of the decade, a new report concludes.

Aaron Rodgers's time in Green Bay could be up, and if so, he could land with the Jets.

ben volin | on football

How will the NFL quarterback market shake out? Here’s an educated guess.

As many as 17 teams could be making moves at quarterback, so there is a lot to follow this offseason.

Scott Pioli shared a humorous story about Bill Belichick drafting Logan Mankins

Brady retired soon after Tampa Bay suffered a wild-card playoff loss to the Cowboys.

Rich Eisen hints at a possible return for Tom Brady, saying he ‘might not be done after all’

The NFL Network host ran down a series of rumors he heard at the NFL Combine, and put the return of Brady at the top of the list.

Girl Scouts sell cookies from a table in the Ruggles MBTA station.

It’s Girl Scout cookie season in Mass. and ... this flavor is the one that sold out?

No, it’s not your beloved Thin Mints or Peanut Butter Patties.

Stairs are cordoned off at the MBTA subway station in Harvard Square on March 2.

Woman almost hit by MBTA ceiling panel ‘grateful’ she wasn’t seriously hurt

“As scary as it was, I can acknowledge that it could have been worse,” said Cianna Navarro, who was almost hit by the roughly 25-pound panel in Harvard station last week.

Opinion

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, second from left, is one of the newest appointees to the Boston School Committee.

MARCELA GARCÍA

Let’s go, Brandon: Meet Boston’s bold school committee member

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, an outsider on the Boston School Committee, is asking tough questions.

Carlo Ratti and Robert Muggah

The pushback against the 15-minute city

As long as paper checks remain a thing, banks need to fight fraud

Wen Fan and Juliet Schor

US has an overwork problem. A four-day workweek can fix it.

Rachelle G. Cohen

Biden is right about junk fees — Americans are tired of being played for suckers

A protester holds signs in support of supervised injection sites in Philadelphia.

The Emancipator

The Black opioid crisis reveals that barriers to treatment must come down

Urban Black communities are now ground zero for overdose deaths, yet Black people don’t get the same access to life saving medication. Systemic racism in healthcare is making this epidemic deadlier.

High Med. Low

Select a county:

Special reports

photo illustration of David Sabatini. photo by Jonathan Wiggs /Globe Staff

Spotlight Report: Fate and the fallen star

Boston, MA—12/14/2022 - Commuters wait for the T to arrive at Ruggles Station. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

Boston doesn’t work if the T doesn’t work

Members of the 2001 Patriots team that won the franchise’s first title.

Darkness on the edge of the Patriots dynasty

More recent News

THE FINE PRINT

A corrugated path, two knocked-out teeth, and a $30,000 dental bill
Bonnie Donohue thinks the City of Boston should be held responsible for her injuries because of the way it configured the area next to the roadway outside her building.

Police Commissioner Cox brings back former BPD lawyer as chief of staff
Nicole Taub, a former BPD lawyer who most recently worked for the town of Braintree as chief of staff and town solicitor, will fill the post. It was not immediately clear Monday what her salary would be, or who she is succeeding.

Gloucester will make $150M in upgrades to waste treatment facility to resolve Clean Water Act violations
The settlement requires the city to undertake a construction project to add secondary treatment to its water pollution control facility. The city has been operating without secondary treatment since 2001, when it was issued a waiver, officials said.

Gavin Newsom says California is ‘done’ with Walgreens over abortion pill
California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state will stop doing business with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. after the retailer said it will refrain from selling abortion pills in 20 Republican-led states.

Man accused of attacking two Newton police officers ordered held without bail
The suspect appeared in Newton District Court where not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf to six charges.

Red Sox’ Justin Turner is treated for facial injuries after being hit by pitch
Turner was batting in the first inning of the spring game when he was struck in the nose area.

Boston Globe Spotlight Team

Send The Boston Globe a confidential news tip
Do you have a tip about something that needs to be investigated? Do you have documents or data we should dig into? We want to hear from you.

Recommended reads

The Condado waterfront in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Innovation economy

The extreme South Shore: Why these Boston tech entrepreneurs are working from Puerto Rico

They’re taking advantage of post-pandemic flexibility, tax incentives, and nice weather.

STAT

With a push from pharma, new weight loss drugs are changing the narrative on obesity
A two-part message is permeating the halls of medicine and the fabric of society, sliding into medical school lectures, pediatricians’ offices, happy hours, and social feeds: Obesity is a chronic biological disease — and it’s treatable with a new class of medications.

This week’s TV: The Oscars watch begins, ‘Perry Mason’ returns, and Mel Brooks makes ‘History’ (again)
The Oscars are this Sunday, which means you will be reading all about the awards show this week and into next week: with predictions, reviews, wrap-ups, and follow-ups, all of which will need to chronicle The Slap jokes.

Woman known as ‘Granby Girl’ identified decades after her killing
Authorities on Monday revealed the identity of a 28-year-old woman found shot to death in Granby in 1978 as Patricia Ann Tucker. Officials said her husband at the time, who died in a Massachusetts prison in 1996, is a person of interest in her death.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

James Taylor (left) and Peter Asher in December 1969.

Pop music’s Peter Asher is the narrator of his own ‘60s adventure

Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film "Raging Bull."

Our movie critic is a sucker for boxing movies. Here are 5 favorites.

Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band performed in Nashville on New Year's Eve 2022.

Zac Brown Band will headline concert to mark Boston Marathon bombing 10th anniversary

From left: Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon, Riley Keough, and Sam Claflin, in "Daisy Jones & the Six."

‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ goes its own way just enough to avoid being secondhand news

Special Projects

Two Weeks in America

Two Weeks in America

We sent a dozen journalists on the road across this complex country. They found it’s better than you think.

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.

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

The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods.

Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

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

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

President Biden delivered remarks on the economy on Oct. 26, 2022, in Washington, D.C., where he outlined his plan to to target and end "junk fees."

Rachelle G. Cohen

Biden is right about junk fees — Americans are tired of being played for suckers

As long as paper checks remain a thing, banks need to fight fraud

A man sits on a picnic table with a view of downtown Cleveland in 2014. Conspiracy theorists are increasingly convinced the concept of a “15-minute city” is the latest plot to curtail individual freedoms. But urban experts say the design principle embraced by cities, including Cleveland, is simply about building more compact, walkable communities where people are less reliant on cars.

Carlo Ratti and Robert Muggah

The pushback against the 15-minute city

Wen Fan and Juliet Schor

US has an overwork problem. A four-day workweek can fix it.

Pearl, a 10-day-old newborn twin, is burped by a registered nurse after a feeding at Emerson Hospital.

License midwives to help struggling birth centers

Wei Huang applies the final press on Army dress pants in the factory in Lawrence.

IDEAS | JOAN VENNOCHI

Threading the needle to keep clothing manufacturing alive in Massachusetts

Metro

Leominster man charged with attacking flight attendants, trying to open emergency exit door on LA to Boston flight

Passengers tackled the man, who was restrained with the flight crew’s assistance, prosecutors said.

Fairhaven woman reported missing after taking dog out early Monday

Anapaula Huggins, 43, left with her home on Raymond Street with her dog and was last seen on video surveillance around 7:30 a.m. on Manhattan Avenue near Pope Beach, officials said.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

Everett School Committee won’t renew contract of superintendent who accused mayor of racism

The Everett School Committee voted Monday night not to renew the contract of the district’s superintendent, the latest turn in a tumultuous few years for the district and the city’s government.

UMass Blarney Blowout raises concerns about ‘borg’ drinking fad

A beloved but controversial St. Patrick’s Day tradition at UMass Amherst called the Blarney Blowout has raised concerns about a popular drinking fad among college students.

Sports

Forward Lamar Stevens was the energy player Cleveland inserted to lead the Cavaliers' rally.

Gary Washburn | On Basketball

Celtics fail to finish game with grit as Cavaliers rally for a victory

Grant Williams missed two free throws in the final 0.8 seconds.

Williams missed two free throws in Monday's loss.

Watch: Grant Williams’s ill-advised trash talk backfires in Celtics’ OT loss to Cavaliers

Cameras caught Williams telling Cavs’ star Donovan Mitchell “I’m going to make them both” as he approached the free-throw line with 0.8 seconds remaining in a tie game.

Waltham's Ian LaForest gets an earful from his enthusiastic home crowd after hitting a shot.

BOYS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

Winchester was the feel-good story of the tournament, but Waltham boys’ basketball was more concerned with defense than narratives

Waltham reached its first state quarterfinals by holding Winchester to just two first-half field goals in a dominant defensive showing.

CAVALIERS 118, CELTICS 114

Missed opportunities for the Celtics in third straight loss go beyond Grant Williams’s free throws

Women: UConn 67, Villanova 56

No. 7 UConn tops No. 10 Villanova, earns Big East women’s title

GIRLS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

Second-seeded Bishop Feehan girls basketball starts spreading the ball after slow start and solves No. 15 Franklin

Business

Powell to face Senate grilling on Fed rates and inflation

If measures of the US economy keep coming in hot, as they did in January, the Federal Reserve will likely have to raise interest rates even higher than it has already signaled — and keep them there longer — Chair Jerome Powell will likely warn in testimony to Congress on Tuesday.

JetBlue-Spirit deal faces DOJ antitrust suit this week

The Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit in federal court, alleging that the elimination of Spirit would increase ticket prices and decrease options for travelers, according to the people, who spoke anonymously to discuss an ongoing case.

UMass Boston’s first on-campus dorm to be named after former chancellor Keith Motley and his wife

Requirements for Made in the USA label getting tighter

magazine

My first meeting with Afghan women when I was deployed with the Air Force gave me hope

3D-printed shoes from artist Sebastian Errazuriz are part of the Peabody Essex Museum's collection. The museum will reopen its Fashion & Design Gallery.

YOUR WEEK AHEAD

Five things to do for fun in and around Boston, March 6-12

An alleged drug trafficker, a detective trying to take him down, and the woman caught in the middle

The strange story of the man behind the popularization of ‘resilience thinking’

metro

Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department Michael Cox spoke during a press conference held at Boston Police Headquarters.

Police Commissioner Cox brings back former BPD lawyer as chief of staff

Push renewed for R.I. abortion coverage bill

State auditor launches probe of convention center authority as Black leaders call for investigation of racial discrimination claims

sports

After sitting for much of crunch time Sunday night, Derrick White was back in the Celtics' starting lineup Monday night and driving on Darius Garland and the Cavaliers.

If the Celtics are better with Derrick White on the floor, why did the guard sit so much in crunch time?

Seahawks, QB Geno Smith agree on three-year deal

Chris Sale happy to start over for the Red Sox after a 2022 lost to a series of misfortunate events

business

Researchers have uncovered a network of tens of thousands of fake Twitter accounts created to support ex-President Donald Trump and attack his critics and potential rivals. Those targeted by the bot network include Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. secretary now challenging Trump for the Republican nomination, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Thousands of pro-Trump bots are attacking DeSantis, Haley

Healey stakes out middle ground on the economy

Full approval and Medicare coverage of new Alzheimer’s drug could come in July

politics

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis to argue US should be like Florida ahead of 2024 bid

Authorities search for two fugitives charged in Jan. 6 capitol attack

Republican votes helped Washington pile up debt

Nation

Senator Bill Cowsert speaks in support of SR 140 in the Senate chambers during crossover day at the Georgia State Capitol on March 6, in Atlanta.

All bets are off: Georgia lawmakers nix legal sports betting

Oklahomans head to polls for one issue: legal marijuana

Mayor Adams to New York City shoppers: Drop that mask

World

People inspect the site where a landslide hit a village on Serasan Island, Natuna regency, Indonesia, on March 6.

Indonesia landslides kill 10, rescuers search for 42 missing

Estonia’s pro-Ukraine prime minister Kallas wins reelection

Trailblazing transgender lawmaker Georgina Beyer dies at 65

opinion

Former first lady Michelle Obama during "The Light We Carry" tour in December in Atlanta.

For (probably not) the last time: Michelle Obama isn’t running for president

Families face agonizing choices in nursing home crunch

Doctors pose statins, and patients, many of them women, say, ‘Nah’

lifestyle

TikTok celebrity Coinneach MacLeod, a baker who shares recipes and stories from his hometown in the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland.

The TikTok star known as ‘The Hebridean Baker’ dishes on the story behind traditional Scottish cuisine

Women’s History Month events include panels with local female changemakers, a festival featuring women-directed films, and art celebrating important women

We’ve gained weight — as a couple

food & dining

Girl Scouts sell cookies from a table in the Ruggles MBTA station.

It’s Girl Scout cookie season in Mass. and ... this flavor is the one that sold out?

Where going out is a deal

‘The future of restaurants’: How kitchen fees are meeting the economic moment

travel

Carmen Santos thought she lost her engagement ring in an Enterprise rental.

$452 bill charged after requesting help for lost engagement ring

Cool classes on the Cape, a winter fest in Portland, and personal alarms for travel and daily life

Howie Day on Alaska, not living in a bubble, and how to make easy iced coffee on the road

Arts

Joseph Mallord William Turner’s “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway,” 1844, was painted as London's skies were being choked by industrial smog.

An early climate warning lies in the paintings of JMW Turner and Claude Monet, new research shows

At the MFA, a small photography show leaves a big impression

Intimate moments of self-reflection in seemingly ordinary spaces in Helena Wurzel’s solo exhibition

Books

In ‘Liliana’s Invincible Summer,’ Cristina Rivera Garza gives a searing account of grief and the quest to bring her sister’s murderer to justice years after the fact

Jenny Odell on breaking free of the ultimate tyranny in ‘Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock’

NoViolet Bulawayo on horror stories and talking animals in Zimbabwe’s culture

Movies

Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film "Raging Bull."

Our movie critic is a sucker for boxing movies. Here are 5 favorites.

‘Return to Seoul’ is a patience-testing trip

New documentary ‘American Bolshevik’ looks at the vilification of the coyote

Television

Jimmy Kimmel returns to host the Oscars Sunday night on ABC.

This week’s TV: The Oscars watch begins, ‘Perry Mason’ returns, and Mel Brooks makes ‘History’ (again)

How a Boston comedian and duck boat tour guide has ended up on the news dozens of times

On ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Chiefs’ Travis Kelce pokes fun at rival brother in opening monologue

music

The Boston Symphony Orchestra performed "The Passion of Octavius Catto" with pianist and composer Uri Caine, vocalist Barbara Walker, the Catto Chorus, and conductor André Raphel.

An invitation to learn more was bundled into ‘The Passion of Octavius Catto,’ and Lawrence Brownlee’s ‘Rising’ recital program

Pop music’s Peter Asher is the narrator of his own ‘60s adventure

Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Gary Rossington dead at 71

Theater/Dance

Scott Miller, Marcus Adolphy, Clare Perkins, and the company of "The Wife of Willesden."

A free spirit soars beyond convention in ART’s ‘The Wife of Willesden’

Broadway In Boston announces 2023-24 season

Hoops and history converge in Lyric Stage’s ‘The Great Leap’

globe local

Bay State Banner founder and publisher, Melvin B. Miller, sold the 58-year-old paper to two longtime Black media journalists, Ron Mitchell and André Stark.

With new ownership comes new beginnings for Bay State Banner

The show must go on — outdoors

The questions I wished I’d asked my father

Obituaries

Richard Rosenberg in 1995.

Former Bank of America CEO Richard Rosenberg dies at 92

Brian Donnelly, former US representative and ambassador, dies at 76

Judy Heumann, disability rights activist, dies at age 75