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In contest for federal funds, Mass. officials need $800 million more in state money to compete, report says

With an unprecedented cache of federal dollars on the table, Massachusetts officials need to find at least $800 million more in matching funds if the state wants to compete for federal cash for its own punch-list of infrastructure projects, warns a new watchdog report.

As a possible government shutdown nears, additional disaster and food aid could be caught in the crossfire

Despite the debt limit deal, some in the House are threatening to hold up key government funding that expires this month.

Boston Public Schools kicks off a new year Thursday on a tropical note

Students in grades 1-12 begin classes Thursday, while preschoolers and kindergartners start next Monday.

Too hot to handle: As schools reopen in a heat wave, a warning of the climate future
Older school buildings across New England are ill-equipped for extreme heat, which is becoming increasingly common.

Retired doctor charged with drug trafficking, illegal gun possession after arrest aboard yacht in Nantucket Harbor
A retired doctor living in Florida is facing drug and gun charges after he was arrested Tuesday aboard his yacht in Nantucket, which police said contained firearms, cocaine, and ketamine, according to authorities and legal filings.

McConnell tries to reassure colleagues about his health, vows to serve out term as Senate GOP leader

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared again that he plans to finish his term as leader despite freezing up twice at news conferences over the summer, brushing off questions about his health as he sought to reassure colleagues.

FMC Devens employee pleads guilty to accepting more than $90,000 from inmate under his care

Man arrested after MBTA vehicle stolen with passenger inside, crashed into vehicles in O’Neill Tunnel, police say

Seats in the economy section of a Norse Atlantic Airways 787. The airline began a new route between Boston and London this month.

CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

Boston has a new low-cost airline. We put its bargain London flight to the test.

Norse Atlantic Airways is promising low fares and comfortable flights to England. How did they do?

A rendering of the renovation of the North Terminal at London Gatwick. The $12.7 million redevelopment is its biggest to date.

How this travel writer came to love Gatwick airport

Once, I thought of London Gatwick as a second-rate Heathrow. Now I know better.

Finding homes for foster kids with complex needs is hard. One Mass. company thinks social media can help.
Microtargeted ads on social media sites are increasingly being used to bolster the ranks of foster parents nationwide.

New MBTA chief of stations Dennis Varley (right) spoke to reporters at the JFK/UMass Station on Wednesday with general manager Phillip Eng.

Does the MBTA’s new head of stations know what he’s gotten himself into?

Dennis Varley's task is nothing less than fixing up hundreds of subway, bus, and commuter rail stops where conditions range from not great to something-just-fell-on-me-as-I-was-waiting for-my-train bad.

Miriam Kovacs is suing the city of Franklin, N.H., and alleging a civil conspiracy to violate her free speech rights.

Fearful restaurant owner sues Franklin, N.H., alleging conspiracy of retaliation

“If something happens to me, who would I even call?” said the owner of the Broken Spoon, who has been harassed by white supremacists and rebuked by local law enforcement.

What does the Patriots’ path to success look like this season? Here are five key elements.
Most prognosticators do not expect the Patriots to qualify for the playoffs, but they could defy the odds.

Books sat on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta.

Back to school, back to battle

The wave of conservative efforts to control what students are taught and what books they can read — part of Republican attempts to goose turnout among suburban voters — is lapping on even our progressive shores.

The Great Dome on Killian Court at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass.

Here are the top colleges in Massachusetts, according to 2024 rankings from The Wall Street Journal

Four schools in Massachusetts were named among the top 10 colleges in the country by The Wall Street Journal, rankings that put a new emphasis on student outcomes, such as graduation rates and graduate salaries.

High schooler Noah Meunier from Lakeville has made it to the finals of this season's "American Ninja Warrior."

One New Englander remains on ‘American Ninja Warrior,’ a high schooler from Lakeville

Teen who trains in Fall River goes for $1 million on “American Ninja Warrior” finale Monday.

Opinion

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has threatened to prosecute anyone in Alabama who helps a resident get an abortion in another state.

IDEAS | MARY ZIEGLER

Could Alabama punish people for abortions in Massachusetts?

A conservative attorney general wants the answer to be yes.

The new statewide police oversight commission can’t be a substitute for local accountability

With Catholic Church foot-dragging comes the chance to evade justice

KIMBERLY ATKINS STOHR

In the age of Trump, media must ditch the political horse race

Laurence H. Tribe and Dennis Aftergut

Federal court condemns defiant Alabama legislators on district maps

News you can use

A technophobe’s guide to AI chatbots
While the risks are real, it’s becoming increasingly clear that systems like ChatGPT aren’t going anywhere. Are you ready to use them?

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond
Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few recommendations from Globe writers and critics, covering music, theater, comedy, museums, family events, and more.

COVID-19 levels are on the rise again in Mass. Here’s what to know.
As summer slides into fall and children around the state return to school, the uptick in COVID-19 that began in July is continuing, with hospitalizations now at a five-month high.

More recent News

Meet Gabe Amo, the front-runner to be Rhode Island’s next member of Congress
On Tuesday, the 35-year-old officially transitioned from talented behind-the-scenes staffer to history-making politician when he won the Democratic nomination in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District.

Bruce Springsteen postpones September shows, citing doctor’s advice regarding ulcer treatment
The Boss is postponing shows for the remainder of the month while he is treated for symptoms of “peptic ulcer disease.”

High prices, years-long waitlists: Massachusetts needs more senior housing
In an inventory-starved market, the state's graying population faces some of the steepest hurdles in the country to secure an affordable place to live.

Attorney general’s office approves possible ballot question to end MCAS graduation requirement

The question would ask voters to eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement and instead would allow students to receive diplomas by completing coursework that is consistent with the state’s academic standards and curriculum frameworks upon which the MCAS is based

Former head of Hyde Park pilot school pleads guilty to misusing nearly $39,000 in school funds

Naia Wilson, the former head of New Mission High School, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to one count of wire fraud, the US attorney’s office said.

Rent control in Mass. is one step closer to making it on the 2024 ballot
Rent control advocates are left to decide whether the divisive, sure-to-be-expensive fight is one they want to wage right now.

Recommended reads

2016 interrogation video reveals Springfield Police' Gregg Bigda making threats to teens

2016 interrogation video shows Gregg Bigda threatening to plant drugs on teens, crush one’s skull and take him out in the parking lot and kill him.

Gregg Bigda is the poster boy of police brutality in Springfield. But the city can’t — or won’t — fire him.

The city’s last, best hope is that a relatively new state commission created to address police misconduct will end the saga once and for all. But that’s likely wishful thinking.

Boston radio legend Charles Laquidara reminisces about ‘The Big Mattress,’ his on-air antics, and the end of an era
At 84, Laquidara reflects on WBCN's “hippie dippy” heyday, his younger self's hopes to “change the world,” and whether he considers himself "the last DJ."

Number of out-of-state travelers seeking abortions at Mass. Planned Parenthood grew 37% after Dobbs
New research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital shows patients came from as far away as Texas.

Everyone knows UMass Amherst wins ‘best campus food’ year after year. Few know the dining halls are open to the public.
Here’s what it’s like to eat at the globally inspired Worcester Commons, which offers 12 stations in a kid-approved, all-you-can-eat buffet.

Culture & Lifestyle

Beck performs at MGM Music Hall Tuesday in a co-headlining show with Phoenix.

At MGM Music Hall, a Beck and Phoenix pairing is where it’s at

High schooler Noah Meunier from Lakeville has made it to the finals of this season's "American Ninja Warrior."

One New Englander remains on ‘American Ninja Warrior,’ a high schooler from Lakeville

Dean Obeidallah (left) and Maysoon Zayid, founders of the Arab American Comedy Festival.

Arab American Comedy Festival takes the show on the road, with a first stop in Boston

Adam Chanler-Berat (center left), Salome B. Smith (center right), and the ensemble of "A New Brain" at Barrington Stage Company.

‘A New Brain’ with plenty of heart at Barrington Stage

Special Projects

Photo Illustration

Boston thrives off the dreams of young people. But can they make it here?

Baby boomers and Gen Xers benefited from economic conditions that do not exist for millennials. And by many measures, the path ahead for Gen Z is even more fraught.

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

With the MBTA engulfed by issues, everyday riders are feeling the pain.

Brittany Tee, Soomaiiah Quraiishi, and Reina Morales Rojas are among thousands of people thought to be missing from Massachusetts.

How the missing become the uncounted

Inside the government’s flawed approach to finding missing persons.

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.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Ronald Gladden, left, and James Marsden in a scene from the series "Jury Duty."

Matthew Bernstein

‘Jury Duty’ series makes a strong case for Hollywood strikers

The remains of the bridge that connected Quincy to Long Island.

Long Island is a haven worthy of our most vulnerable

Clarence Thomas

Latest Thomas financial filing shows he hasn’t learned much

Residents board a local bus in central Uppsala, Sweden, in 2020. During the COVID pandemic, Swedish authorities imposed no mask mandate.

Only Sweden had the right COVID-19 response

President Biden and Vice President Harris at a White House event Tuesday, where they discussed Medicare's new program to negotiate drug prices.

Of course it’s not racist to criticize Kamala Harris

"This city is special," the author writes, "and Boston, so restrained in emotion, deserves to hear this more often."

IDEAS | OMER AZIZ

My farewell love letter to Boston

Metro

In contest for federal funds, Mass. officials need $800 million more in state money to compete, report says

With an unprecedented cache of federal dollars on the table, Massachusetts officials need to find at least $800 million more in matching funds if the state wants to compete for federal cash for its own punch-list of infrastructure projects, warns a new watchdog report.

Fearful restaurant owner sues Franklin, N.H., alleging conspiracy of retaliation

“If something happens to me, who would I even call?” said the owner of the Broken Spoon, who has been harassed by white supremacists and rebuked by local law enforcement.

‘Not acceptable’: State organic certification program at risk of shuttering

Local farmers say this would be a big loss that could harm their business.

Boston Public Schools kicks off a new year Thursday on a tropical note

Students in grades 1-12 begin classes Thursday, while preschoolers and kindergartners start next Monday.

Sports

The New England defense — led by Matthew Judon — should be the strong point of this team. It must rise to the occasion.

What does the Patriots’ path to success look like this season? Here are five key elements.

Most prognosticators do not expect the Patriots to qualify for the playoffs, but they could defy the odds.

Jasson Dominguez watched his first Yankee Stadium home run land in the front row of the bleachers beyond right field.

YANKEES 4, TIGERS 3

Jasson Domínguez’s first homer in New York helps Yankees get back over .500 with win over Tigers

Domínguez homered for the third time in five games since his big league debut Friday. The Yankees matched their longest winning streak this year at five and have won eight of nine.

Fill-in starter Nick Pivetta, working on three days’ rest, gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 and two-thirds innings.

Peter Abraham | On Baseball

Nick Pivetta showed again he’s earned a place on the Red Sox roster

He's probably not a starter but there’s still a valuable role for Pivetta.

RAYS 3, RED SOX 1

Manager Alex Cora remains confident in this Red Sox team, even after another loss, and series loss, to the Rays

ATHLETICS 5, BLUE JAYS 2

Athletics avoid series sweep by overpowering Hyun Jin Ryu, Blue Jays

RED SOX NOTEBOOK

To give James Paxton a breather, Red Sox push back next start to Tuesday against the Yankees

Business

China exports decline slower than expected in August as economy remains under pressure

China’s exports declined at a slower pace in August, even as the world’s second biggest economy remains under pressure.

Google reaches tentative settlement with all 50 states over alleged app store monopoly

All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones.

UAW chief says union to strike any Detroit automaker that hasn’t reached deal as contracts end next week

Biden administration cancels drilling leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

magazine

From left: Anthony Bourdain, chef Pepe Blázquez, and the writer at dinner at Casa Salvador in 2010.

A 70-year-old Madrid restaurant was near its end. Then Anthony Bourdain arrived.

Patients still discriminate against health care workers of color. Why don’t more hospitals ban it?

How to get a guest with a ‘lack of social graces’ to fall in line

Salmon Tray Bake With Harissa and Roasted Pepper Sauce

Sheet pan recipes using salmon, chicken, or sausages make for easy school night dinners

metro

HopeWell Inc., the state's largest nonprofit foster provider, began a microtargeted ad campaign this summer to recruit southeastern Massachusetts social media users identified as most likely to become foster parents.

Finding homes for foster kids with complex needs is hard. One Mass. company thinks social media can help.

Former head of Hyde Park pilot school pleads guilty to misusing nearly $39,000 in school funds

Lacking air conditioning, school districts across state grapple with extreme heat

sports

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (right) won't be taking the ball from Julio Urías any time soon.

MLB places Julio Urías on administrative leave indefinitely pending investigation into arrest

Kyle Schwarber’s 465-foot leadoff homer starts Phillies off with a boom in San Diego

For Cohasset’s Tess Barrett, soccer is not just a game, it is her life’s passion

business

Sportscaster Bryant Gumbel spoke at HBO's 2015 Winter TCA in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 8, 2015. Gumbel's “Real Sports” newsmagazine on HBO will end its run after 29 years on the air, the network said on Wednesday.

Bryant Gumbel’s ‘Real Sports,’ HBO’s longest-running show, will end after 29 seasons

MFS extends lease in Back Bay

Rent control in Mass. is one step closer to making it on the 2024 ballot

politics

President Biden.

Biden refuses to grant some of the conditions that 9/11 defendants were seeking in plea negotiations

McConnell tries to reassure colleagues about his health, vows to serve out term as Senate GOP leader

As a possible government shutdown nears, additional disaster and food aid could be caught in the crossfire

Nation

Vehicles line up to leave the Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nev., on Sept. 5.

The Burning Man party is over. Now a massive cleanup begins.

Texas AG Ken Paxton’s orders to help donor rattled office, former aides say at impeachment trial

‘That ‘70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson could get decades in prison at sentencing for 2 rapes

World

Ukrainian servicemen ride atop on a tank T-64 at the front line near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine.

Russian officials say 5 drones were shot down, including 1 that targeted Moscow

Mexico ends federal ban on abortion, but patchwork of state restrictions remains

Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead and 2,300 homeless

opinion

Residents board a local bus in central Uppsala, Sweden, in 2020. During the COVID pandemic, Swedish authorities imposed no mask mandate.

Only Sweden had the right COVID-19 response

The little bits of presence we leave behind

Ramaswamy and the art of politics by division

lifestyle

He made me think we had a future together

Less swiping, more face time: Niche speed-dating offers a specialized alternative to online romance

PEM turns cultural perceptions of bats upside down

food & dining

Tacos at Yellow Door Taqueria.

Garrett Harker’s All That opens in Kenmore Square; Boqueria comes to the Seaport

Where to eat during PVDFest

A 70-year-old Madrid restaurant was near its end. Then Anthony Bourdain arrived.

travel

A rendering of the renovation of the North Terminal at London Gatwick. The $12.7 million redevelopment is its biggest to date.

How this travel writer came to love Gatwick airport

Boston has a new low-cost airline. We put its bargain London flight to the test.

A 70-year-old Madrid restaurant was near its end. Then Anthony Bourdain arrived.

Arts

An installation view of Alison Croney Moses's "The Habits of Reframing."

When wood speaks: Alison Croney Moses masters her craft in first solo show

Two very different Bostons, two less different photographers

How could smuggled Roman art have ended up at the Worcester Art Museum?

Books

Author Jayne Anne Phillips and her new book “Night Watch," the third in a trilogy on American wars.

Grappling with the inevitable

Robert Pinsky’s new album keeps the poetry and the jazz mingling

Don’t stand so close to me

Movies

Ms Hunnicutt, with David Hemmings after their marriage in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 17, 1968.

Gayle Hunnicutt, Texan actress who thrived in Britain, dies at 80

‘Barbie’ tops ‘Super Mario’ as highest grossing 2023 film

True-crime docuseries ‘Never Let Him Go’ chronicles Cambridge man’s quest for justice

Television

High schooler Noah Meunier from Lakeville has made it to the finals of this season's "American Ninja Warrior."

One New Englander remains on ‘American Ninja Warrior,’ a high schooler from Lakeville

Bryant Gumbel’s ‘Real Sports,’ HBO’s longest-running show, will end after 29 seasons

Trump says he would ‘love to debate’ Meghan Markle

music

Beck performs at MGM Music Hall Tuesday in a co-headlining show with Phoenix.

At MGM Music Hall, a Beck and Phoenix pairing is where it’s at

Jimmy Buffett’s final live show was a surprise performance at a Rhode Island restaurant

Joe Jonas files for divorce from Sophie Turner after 4 years of marriage

Theater/Dance

Dean Obeidallah (left) and Maysoon Zayid, founders of the Arab American Comedy Festival.

Arab American Comedy Festival takes the show on the road, with a first stop in Boston

‘A New Brain’ with plenty of heart at Barrington Stage

Squint and you’ll see Quint: Ian Shaw channels his dad in the ‘Jaws’-inspired ‘The Shark Is Broken’

Health

Research nurse Sarah French checks on Rodolfo Almeida of Providence at The Miriam Hospital's new Stephen and Diana Lewinstein Center for Innovative Cancer Research, a clinical area where patients receive investigational cancer treatments.

Changing the landscape of cancer care in R.I.: Lifespan, Brown to seek NCI designation

To better understand alcohol addiction, new research is turning to fruit flies

Stanford president to resign after investigation finds he failed to ‘decisively and forthrightly’ correct research

Obituaries

Ms Hunnicutt, with David Hemmings after their marriage in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 17, 1968.

Gayle Hunnicutt, Texan actress who thrived in Britain, dies at 80

Gloria Coates, composer who defied conventions, dies at 89

Dr. Aram V. Chobanian, president who calmed BU at a troubled time, dies at 94