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The Boston Globe

They were spreading Christmas cheer when they got attacked. Two older carolers were beaten in Dorchester.

One of the carolers thought “something must have fallen from the house” when she was struck while singing "Silent Night." Police are seeking assault charges against two teenagers.

Hearings in brothel case to be open to the media

Sharon Selfer Casey, clerk magistrate of the Cambridge District Court, made the ruling after The Boston Globe and other media outlets challenged the private hearings.

Great Barrington police chief apologizes for ‘distrust and alarm’ over book inquiry at middle school
A plainclothes officer went to W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School on Dec. 8 after receiving a complaint that an illustration in the novel, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, could be considered pornographic and obscene and the book might not be suitable content for an eighth grade classroom.

Tufts Medicine avoids financial peril, as health systems plot financial turnarounds

Also, Beth Israel Lahey Health reported similar progress compared to last year, but operational headwinds have prevented further improvement.

Two R.I. men face assault charges in fight at Gillette Stadium that ended in N.H. man’s death
The man's death was ruled a homicide, but prosecutors said the evidence, including numerous videos of the fight, “did not support a criminal homicide charge.”

Rendering of the old Long Island Bridge.

Quincy cheers environmental order as Long Island Bridge fight continues

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza health officials say

Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will not be coming to Boston after the Red Sox lost out on the biggest sweepstakes for a free agent pitcher in baseball history.

Red Sox lose out on Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signs massive deal with the Dodgers

Yamamoto – one of the most sought-after free agents in baseball history – won’t be coming to Boston.

Alex Verdugo, now with the Yankees, has regrets about how his Red Sox tenure ended

Critics see ‘double standard’ in Harvard’s handling of plagiarism allegations
The collision of partisan politics with a question of academic integrity has left some Harvard faculty members conflicted.

A look at some passages of Claudine Gay’s scholarly work under scrutiny for plagiarism What to know about the Claudine Gay plagiarism allegations

How Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s family situation inspired a new NBC sitcom
"Extended Family," premiering Saturday, is a fictional take on the amicable, post-divorce parenting relationship between Grousbeck, his wife, Emilia Fazzalari, and her ex-husband George Geyer.

Three-year-old Smaelle had breakfast at an overflow migrant shelter in a Boston suburb.

For families seeking emergency shelter, limbo looks like a safe place to sleep

The shelter is playing a crucial role in helping the state house eligible families and pregnant women who haven’t yet entered the formal emergency shelter system.

Healey to open overflow shelter in former Cambridge courthouse

Stuart share podcast

Listen to the podcast

Presented in association with HBO, 'Murder in Boston: The untold story of the Charles and Carol Stuart shooting' is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Read chapter one of ‘Nightmare in Mission Hill’ Read the full series

A jet takes off Thursday morning at Logan Airport framed through a holiday wreath on a walkway window near Terminal B. Thursday is considered one of the busiest travel days for flying out of Logan Airport, as thousands of people took flights out for Christmas.

Traveling out of state for the holidays? Here’s where storms could impact your route.

The holiday travel rush is upon us, and even though Boston area weather will remain relatively calm as we head into the weekend, storms in other parts of the US could pose problems for those venturing beyond New England.

Dr. Solow, a longtime professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earned the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1987.

Robert M. Solow, celebrated economist and Nobel laureate, dies at 99

The recipient of the 1987 Nobel Economics Prize, Robert Solow was a longtime professor at MIT, a mentor to many in his field, and was known best for his work on growth theory.

The Chiefs' Harrison Butker missed his first field goal attempt of the season in the first quarter Sunday against the Patriots.

Report: Footballs were deflated in Patriots-Chiefs game, but Patriots are not to blame this time

The special teams footballs used in Sunday’s game reportedly were underinflated — an ironic throwback to the Deflategate scandal.

For the players who built the dynasty, watching these Patriots is painful, but something they just won’t quit

The old Hotel Hemenway, now called Parkside Tower.

Beyond the Gilded Gate

A Boston building, scattered souls, and rent control revisited

The end of rent control three decades ago helped push many working people out of a Fenway apartment building — and out of Boston. Their stories speak to one of the causes of the current housing crisis, and to the increasing demands that rent caps return.

Explore the project

Opinion

Harvard University president Claudine Gay attended a campus menorah lighting ceremony at Harvard University on Dec. 13.

How Harvard’s Claudine Gay can help mend the wounds left by Oct. 7

Black and Jewish Americans share a long history of civil rights struggle. Harvard’s president is in a unique position to rekindle that bond.

IDEAS | TOM JOUDREY

Bah, humbug! ‘A Christmas Carol’ is cringeworthy.

It’s time for the Supreme Court to settle questions on 14th Amendment

Christine Keating

Is the phrase ‘women and children’ bad for gender equality?

SHIRA SCHOENBERG

Why are teachers’ unions getting involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict?

More recent News

A lone gunman opens fire in a Prague university, killing 14 people and injuring 25
Police believe a lone gunman killed his father in his hometown before opening fire in a university building in downtown Prague. The shooter was a student at the university.

Northeastern, Suffolk students abroad in Prague are safe, schools say

Lowell man sentenced to 13 years in prison for selling drugs near Mass. and Cass shelter
Jay O. Candelario, 43, was “a well-known drug dealer” who preyed on the vulnerable in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard intersection of Boston during its “peak population point,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy days after being ordered to pay $148 million in defamation case
Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, acknowledging severe financial strain exacerbated by his pursuit of Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claims and a jury’s award of $148 million to two former Georgia election workers he defamed.

Brian Walshe, charged with murdering his wife, assigned new lawyer who has handled high-profile cases
Tipton became Walshe’s court-appointed attorney after his privately retained lawyer stopped representing him earlier this month, according to court records.

Winter solstice vigils honor those who lost their lives on the streets
The solemn gatherings on the longest night of the year come amid a troubling rise in homelessness across Massachusetts.

First day of ferry service between Providence and Bristol draws few passengers, rave reviews
Those passengers who took advantage of the free service said it was less stressful, more productive – and prettier – than commuting by car.

Globe Santa

‘You gotta give back. I am living proof of that.’
Beneath all the glitz and the glamor of the Salem Snowball, there are two deeply affecting personal histories that reflect the spirit of Globe Santa.

Donate to Globe Santa

Globe Santa is a program of the Boston Globe Foundation and exists solely to deliver joy to children.

Recommended reads

Bethany Welch held a photo of her stepfather, Joe Walker, while standing in line alongside other graduates waiting to receive their nursing degree at the University of Connecticut.

He ‘fueled my fire’: Daughter of Lewiston shooting victim carries father’s memory into her future

After her dad was killed in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, Bethany Welch knew she had to focus her career on the ER. She graduated nursing school last week, with plans to work as a trauma nurse in New Haven.

With new COVID variant on horizon, low vaccination rates and stark disparities could make for a ‘miserable winter’
The updated COVID shots are a good match for the latest variant, JN.1., but relatively few people have bothered to get them.

What is the JN.1 COVID-19 variant?

The MBTA’s new Green Line extension has a long history of trouble. It’s still not fixed.
“There’s a lot of hiding at the T, of keeping secrets, of not passing along bad news,” said Thomas P. Glynn, the chair of the T's oversight board. “It’s part of the culture.”

The promise of an electrified Fairmount line looms as state officials weigh new commuter contract

Harvard student’s speech blasting Moms for Liberty cofounder at school board meeting goes viral
As a scandal involving Bridget Ziegler, cofounder of Moms for Liberty, continues to attract national attention, a speech by a Harvard University student calling on Ziegler to resign from a local school board in Florida has struck a chord.

Culture & Lifestyle

Michael O'Donnell, a BC Law School grad, has written a novel about a father and son hiking and hiding in New Hampshire.

In Michael O’Donnell’s debut novel, a father and son hide from danger in the White Mountains

Rapper Clark D performs during the 2023 Boston Music Awards at Big Night Live Wednesday night. He won album/EP of the year for “Propaganda.”

Boston Music Awards show dazzles with diverse, dynamic, and defiant performances

Left to right (from top): “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos,” various artists; “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello,” Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello; “History Kinda Pales When It and You Are Aligned: The Days of Wine and Roses 40th Anniversary Edition,” The Dream Syndicate; “In Utero: 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe,” Nirvana; “The Journey, Parts 1 and 2,″ The Kinks; John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy, “Evenings at the Village Gate”; Drive-By Truckers, “The Complete Dirty South”; Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly Trio, “Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings”; The Velvet Underground, “Loaded: Fully Re-Loaded Edition.”

The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Stax soul, and more: 9 great album reissues of 2023

Liz Bean, president of the Footlight Club, shown outside Eliot Hall in Jamaica Plain, where the troupe stages its productions. Footlight is the oldest continuously operating community theater in the country.

There’s life after COVID for Jamaica Plain’s 147-year-old Footlight Club theater

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

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Dec. 5, in Washington, D.C. The Committee held a hearing to investigate antisemitism on college campuses.

A five-point plan to save Harvard from itself

In 1994, people in Haiti watched as US Army helicopters made their way to Port-au-Prince. American troops intervened in Haiti that year but with UN approval, a step that led at the time to questions about whether the Monroe Doctrine mattered anymore. By the Trump administration, the doctrine was being reasserted again.

IDEAS | STEPHEN KINZER

The Monroe Doctrine just won’t die

Samuel Winkler wore a Star of David necklace and a blue ribbon during a visit by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to Towson University to discuss antisemitism on college campuses, Thursday, Nov. 2, in Towson, Md.

Why is antisemitism on the rise among Gen Z?

The cover of the 78 rpm single of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Boyd, released in 1952.

IDEAS | JAN FREEMAN

Boston banned lots of things. But not ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.’

Fueled by wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the 2024 presidential election, and Donald Trump blatantly channeling Adolf Hitler, holiday gatherings will make the verbal fights about COVID-19 protocols and vaccinations in 2021 seem like polite parlor patter.

At this year’s holiday table, heated debates will be on the menu

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU

Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU nurse

Metro

Great Barrington police chief apologizes for ‘distrust and alarm’ over book inquiry at middle school

A plainclothes officer went to W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School on Dec. 8 after receiving a complaint that an illustration in the novel, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, could be considered pornographic and obscene and the book might not be suitable content for an eighth grade classroom.

Groton police ask for public’s help identifying driver who struck and seriously injured K9

K9 Bane is in serious condition at an animal hospital after suffering broken bones, punctured lungs and other injuries in Wednesday's hit-and-run crash.

Critics see ‘double standard’ in Harvard’s handling of plagiarism allegations

The collision of partisan politics with a question of academic integrity has left some Harvard faculty members conflicted.

Lowell man sentenced to 13 years in prison for selling drugs near Mass. and Cass shelter

Jay O. Candelario, 43, was “a well-known drug dealer” who preyed on the vulnerable in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard intersection of Boston during its “peak population point,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

Sports

John Lackey and Jon Lester were stalwarts of the Red Sox rotation in 2013, and just the sort of "alpha dog" pitchers the team has been lacking for quite some time.

PETER ABRAHAM | ON BASEBALL

Red Sox have settled into baseball’s second level, which makes their push for high-end pitching awfully hard

Boston landing Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be considered a huge upset around baseball, and three last-place finishes the last four years requires more than a backup plan and a solid No. 2.

Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will not be coming to Boston after the Red Sox lost out on the biggest sweepstakes for a free agent pitcher in baseball history.

Red Sox lose out on Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signs massive deal with the Dodgers

Yamamoto – one of the most sought-after free agents in baseball history – won’t be coming to Boston.

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) runs past New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi and tries to stay inbound.

RAMS 30, SAINTS 22

Rams move into No. 6 seed in NFC with well-balanced attack over Saints

Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued his hot play, and running back Kyren Williams broke the 1,000-yard barrier.

HS BOYS' BASKETBALL: EVERETT 65, LYNN ENGLISH 61

Everett shows it has ‘bite with our bark’ in a Greater Boston League road win at Lynn English

Prized Japan pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is narrowing his field to finalists. Are the Red Sox still in the hunt?

Report: Footballs were deflated in Patriots-Chiefs game, but Patriots are not to blame this time

Business

Robert M. Solow, celebrated economist and Nobel laureate, dies at 99

The recipient of the 1987 Nobel Economics Prize, Robert Solow was a longtime professor at MIT, a mentor to many in his field, and was known best for his work on growth theory.

Americans are signing up for Obamacare in record numbers

Federal health officials project that more than 19 million people will enroll in 2024 coverage by the end of the current enrollment period next month. That total would include those who gain coverage through state marketplaces, continuing the record-setting pace.

Technology to ‘get more out of’ electric grid attracts support

Tufts Medicine avoids financial peril, as health systems plot financial turnarounds

magazine

Comedian Lenny Clarke remembers being a kid getting presents from Globe Santa.

Actor Lenny Clarke’s best ever childhood Christmas came unexpectedly

Our national addiction to super-sized SUVs is killing us

My relative wants to compare what we all got for gifts. Help!

Inverted Pizza With Pears, Goat Cheese, and Pistachios

Flip the script: Try these three inverted pizza recipes

metro

Kevin McPherson, background, takes in the view while his kids, Darmany Vargas, 13, Courtland McPherson, 5, and, Armani Vargas, 7, feel to strong wind gusts aboard the Islander ferry to Bristol on Thursday.

First day of ferry service between Providence and Bristol draws few passengers, rave reviews

Hearings in brothel case to be open to the media

Quincy cheers environmental order as Long Island Bridge fight continues

sports

Alex Verdugo has already shaved off his customary beard in preparation to playing for the Yankees after the Red Sox traded the outfielder.

Alex Verdugo, now with the Yankees, has regrets about how his Red Sox tenure ended

How Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s family situation inspired a new NBC sitcom

At Westford Academy, Bob and Chris Carpenter’s shared love for coaching hockey is part of their strong father-son bond

business

Apple Watch Series 9 watches on display at the Apple store on Regent Street in London.

Apple stops online sales of watches; older models can’t be fixed

Trader Joe’s illegally fired a Hadley union worker, new ruling finds

The promise of an electrified Fairmount line looms as state officials weigh new commuter contract

politics

Demonstrators, calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, chant and cheer during a protest inside the Cannon House Office Building at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 18.

Punishing their own but passing few laws, a Congress in chaos leaves much to do in 2024

DeSantis says Trump’s indictments ‘sucked out all the oxygen’ from primary

How Republicans in N.H. are handling the news of Trump’s disqualification in Colorado

Nation

A man walks past a submerged vehicle on a flooded street, Dec. 21, in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Pacific storm that unleashed flooding barreling down on southeastern California

Some hospitals resume mask requirements as respiratory infections rise

Military command ready to track Santa, and everyone can follow along

World

Palestinians inspect a house after it was hit by an Israeli bombardment on Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 21.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza health officials say

UN says more than 1 in 4 people in Gaza are starving because of war

Hong Kong court rejects activist publisher Jimmy Lai’s bid to throw out sedition charge

opinion

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Carlos Samour Jr. listened during a hearing in the court, Dec. 6, in Denver.

After Colorado court kicks Trump off ballot, US Supreme Court needs to settle questions on 14th Amendment

Finally, a high court takes stand against Trump. What about the high court?

Are blessings for same-sex couples the beginning of the end of anti-LGBTQ Catholic theology?

lifestyle

Settle in for a marathon of sitcom Christmas specials and episodes to get you in the festive spirit — including one from "The Office" (pictured).

12 hilarious and heartwarming classic Christmas episodes to stream this week

He wants my attention 24-7

Tom Brady responds on TikTok to family who accidentally got a photo of him at CVS

food & dining

The spread at Mothership, new at Alewife in Cambridge.

Scared of the T? Hop aboard Mothership instead

A new Turkish restaurant near Watertown Square is already popular

Cross-country skiing in N.H., a champagne cruise, and the ultimate beer route app

travel

Scenic carriage rides are a popular way to explore Savannah’s historic district.

We took a girlfriend getaway to Savannah. Plenty of other women had the same idea.

This Booking.com reservation is fake! Will the company pay up?

Why are bachelorettes and BFFs heading to the sport-fishing capital of the world?

Arts

Susie M. Barstow "Mountain Lake in Autumn," 1873.

Forgotten women of the American landscape

A model subject gets his close-up in ‘Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes’

67 views of photography and its vast variousness

Books

Michael O'Donnell, a BC Law School grad, has written a novel about a father and son hiking and hiding in New Hampshire.

In Michael O’Donnell’s debut novel, a father and son hide from danger in the White Mountains

An autistic parent steers through uncharted social waters in Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow’s debut, ‘All the Little Bird-Hearts’

One era’s comedic gold is another’s moral outrage in Kliph Nesteroff’s ‘Outrageous’

Movies

Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari in "Ferrari."

Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ fails to rev up

Oscars shortlists revealed: Here are the films one step closer to a nomination

‘The Color Purple’: A movie-musical sings Miss Celie’s Broadway Blues

Television

From left: Finn Sweeney as Jimmy Jr., Sofia Capanna as Grace, Jon Cryer as Jim, Abigail Spencer as Julia, and Donald Faison as Trey in "Extended Family," premiering Saturday on NBC.

How Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s family situation inspired a new NBC sitcom

12 hilarious and heartwarming classic Christmas episodes to stream this week

Post-Cruise, the Jack Reacher franchise is doing just fine

music

From left: Krystina Alabado, Reneé Rapp, Kate Rockwell, and Erika Henningsen in the Broadway production of "Mean Girls," an adaptation that transformed Tina Fey's screen comedy into a musical. Now a film version of the musical is set for release on Jan. 12.

From screen to stage and back to screen, this time trying to carry a tune

Boston Music Awards show dazzles with diverse, dynamic, and defiant performances

The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Stax soul, and more: 9 great album reissues of 2023

Theater/Dance

Liz Bean, president of the Footlight Club, shown outside Eliot Hall in Jamaica Plain, where the troupe stages its productions. Footlight is the oldest continuously operating community theater in the country.

There’s life after COVID for Jamaica Plain’s 147-year-old Footlight Club theater

Midwinter Revels serves up a frolicsome ‘Feast of Fools’

Yes, ‘Real Women Have Curves.’ And the ART has a winner.

Health

A CVS pharmacy in Miami.

CVS to launch new pharmacy reimbursement model aimed at simplifying drug pricing

Many Americans ration insulin to save money. One nonprofit is trying to make the life-saving drug more affordable.

In R.I., there’s a lack of dentists caring for patients with special needs. This program is trying to change that.

Obituaries

Dr. Solow, a longtime professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earned the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1987.

Robert M. Solow, celebrated economist and Nobel laureate, dies at 99

Raymond Dirks, whose tipster case redefined insider trading, dies at 89

Longtime Chiefs offensive lineman Ed Budde dies at the age of 83