The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe

Beyond the Gilded Gate

The $600,000 problem. Why does it cost so much to build housing in Boston, and what can we do about it?
Many forces drive the housing crisis here, and the sky-high cost of construction is one of the most powerful.

Calculator: How do costs factor into constructing an apartment building?

Explore the project

Supporters of former president Donald Trump looked on as he delivered remarks during a campaign rally in Durham, N.H., on Dec. 16, 2023.

‘He’s the only one that’s speaking the truth’: Trump’s fans trust nothing — except him

Voters who attended recent rallies in Iowa and New Hampshire expressed similar beliefs that Donald Trump is the only politician who has ever leveled with them.

Trump repeats and defends his use of language that echos Nazi ideology

The US Supreme Court.

Supreme Court won’t fast-track ruling on whether Trump can be prosecuted in election subversion case

The Supreme Court says it will not immediately take up a plea by special counsel Jack Smith to rule on whether former president Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions to overturn the 2020 election results.

Dan Shaughnessy

A legendary day is looming at the end of a forgettable Patriots season, and other thoughts
The regular-season finale will be at Gillette against the Jets on Jan. 7, and despite Bill Belichick's feelings about that franchise, it could be one the Patriots need to lose to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Travis Kelce reveals what he said to Bill Belichick after Chiefs-Patriots game

Bill Belichick confirms special teams footballs were underinflated Sunday at Gillette Stadium

When did Boston last wake up to a white Christmas?
It's a white Christmas when there's an inch of snow or more on the ground by around 7 a.m. on Dec. 25, according to the National Weather Service.

Holidays got you down, Charlie Brown? Take our quiz on classic Christmas specials for a hit of holiday cheer.

Holiday online sales are booming. Here’s why that’s bad news for retailers — and consumers.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Expect dry, seasonably cold temperatures Christmas weekend

Travelers lined up to enter the security checkpoint as others waited at the ticket counter at Logan Airport's Terminal A last week.

Holiday crowds — and labor unrest — descend on Logan Airport

From flight attendants to air traffic controllers to cabin cleaners, workers around Logan Airport are battling to improve their working conditions and pay.

Jordan Montgomery has made 30 starts each of the last three seasons, and his success in the AL East throughout his career makes him a potentially attractive option for the Red Sox.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto off the market, what’s next for the Red Sox and others in need of pitching?

The early offseason logjam created by the free agencies of Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto is finished, and those not named the Dodgers have been left running to find alternatives.

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

‘Winning requires hard work’: Wayfair CEO sends employees a gloomy pre-holiday email following layoff-filled year

“Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from,” Niraj Shah wrote in the email obtained by the Globe. “There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

Israel-Hamas war casts a shadow over holiday season for people of many faiths
But this year, the usually momentous holiday celebration at Jesus’ birthplace was toned down in respect for the dead and the suffering. Even so, Ballenger hopes people can still find their faith in God.

Gaza war’s staggering toll reaches a grim milestone: 20,000 dead

UN Security Council approves watered-down resolution on aid to Gaza without call for suspension of hostilities

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 plagiarism allegations

Authorities knew Maine shooter was a threat but felt confronting him was unsafe, video shows

Police in Maine feared confronting an Army reservist prior to the worst mass shooting in state history would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to footage released by law enforcement.

Police on Morse Street in Norwood, where a woman was shot by police near a storage business.

Gun-wielding woman shot by police in Norwood

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court has overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps and ordered that new ones be created.

Judge rules against suspended cannabis regulator, setting up hearing to determine her fate

‘Turtleboy’ blogger arraigned for alleged harassment of witnesses in Karen Read case

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 Green Line train makes its way along the GLX in Somerville. MBTA officials knew tracks on the Green Line Extension into Medford and Somerville were not built to specifications and were in some places unsafe, but they opened the new line anyway. Repairs must now remedy the numerous resulting slow zones.

Green Line shutdowns coming in January as MBTA works to remove slow zones, fix Green Line extension mistakes

The MBTA’s campaign to remove slow zones on subway lines resumes in January with a staggered shutdown of sections of all four Green Line branches.

The Green Line Extension's long history of trouble

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

“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 generations of Townies — (from left) Mary Beth Kelly; her 95 year-old mother, Elizabeth “Betty” Kelly; and her daughter Meaghan Murray — pose for a portrait at Elizabeth’s home in Charlestown.

In Charlestown, three generations of women reflect on working with seniors

Betty Kelly, 95, worked for years at the Kennedy Center in Charlestown. Her 68-year-old daughter, Mary Beth, is about to retire from the city’s Age Strong Commission. Mary Beth’s daughter and Betty’s granddaughter, Meaghan Murray, 42, is director of the Beverly Gibbons Community Center for Older Adults in Charlestown.

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

Holiday vibes in Hong Kong

Vibe check on 2023

Vibes now dominate the whispering of the spheres, whether it be the will-o’-the-wisp “vibecession,” the ongoing obsession with “vibe shifts,” or the omnipresence of “vibe checks.”

MARCELA GARCÍA

What the US can learn from the EU’s immigration deal

In this season of hope, a year of sorrow ends for the trans community

IDEAS | TOM JOUDREY

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

Smoking out the truth at the Cannabis Control Commission

More recent News

State issues warning on dog virus
At least one dog in Franklin County has been infected with canine parvovirus, a disease that’s highly contagious among pooches and that can be fatal, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘We shared our food, which was a big plus for both of us’
Will this artistic bachelor draw in his date?

FDA seizes thousands of units of counterfeit Ozempic
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it had seized thousands of units of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug also widely used for weight loss. Some fraudulent Ozempic products may still be on the market, according to the agency.

LOVE LETTERS

Dating during perimenopause
Should I talk about it?

Globe Santa then and now
Nearly 70 years have whizzed by, and everything seems to have changed, and yet nothing has changed for those in need.

A Cohasset woman was making a mental to-do list when a tree limb crashed onto her car during Monday's storm
A branch crashed onto her car, shattering the front windshield and the back window next to her baby's car seat.

Globe Santa

Remembering loved ones through Globe Santa
There are donors who received gifts from Globe Santa as children, and others who contribute as a way to remember and honor lost relatives and friends.

Donate to Globe Santa

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

Recommended reads

Only 17 percent of Massachusetts residents have received the newest booster.

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? Some hospitals resume mask requirements as respiratory infections rise

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.

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.

Larry Edelman | Trendlines

The tough challenges ahead for the Massachusetts economy
Unemployment is low, inflation is falling, and the Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates. But the state faces some forbidding headwinds.

Culture & Lifestyle

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

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

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.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

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

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

Tetiana Dovbii, left, and Anya Rudak participated in a course in firearms and urban combat in a forest near Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, on Oct. 14.

Christine Keating

Why the phrase ‘women and children’ is bad for gender equality

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

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?

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU

Ernesto Barbieri and Jess Ruliffson

When accidents happen: True stories from an ICU nurse

Metro

Authorities knew Maine shooter was a threat but felt confronting him was unsafe, video shows

Police in Maine feared confronting an Army reservist prior to the worst mass shooting in state history would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to footage released by law enforcement.

State issues warning on dog virus

At least one dog in Franklin County has been infected with canine parvovirus, a disease that’s highly contagious among pooches and that can be fatal, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Forecast | Dave Epstein

Expect dry, seasonably cold temperatures Christmas weekend

Christmas Eve will feature a lot of clouds and some glimpses of sun with temperatures getting into the lower 40s.

In Charlestown, three generations of women reflect on working with seniors

Betty Kelly, 95, worked for years at the Kennedy Center in Charlestown. Her 68-year-old daughter, Mary Beth, is about to retire from the city’s Age Strong Commission. Mary Beth’s daughter and Betty’s granddaughter, Meaghan Murray, 42, is director of the Beverly Gibbons Community Center for Older Adults in Charlestown.

Sports

Florida State may not have to deal with another trip to Boston College again if its petition to leave the ACC is granted.

Florida State, unsatisfied with ACC, sues to leave league in search of greener pastures

A failure to get a berth in the College Football Playoff despite winning the ACC was a factor in the Seminoles' move, which seeks to avoid paying $500 million in penalties for the exit.

Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore has been playing at an All-Pro level.

Chad Finn | Unconventional Preview

The Broncos have something to play for on Sunday, but for Patriots it’s time to focus on future

The Patriots are out of the running for the playoffs, but can play spoiler on Sunday night in Denver.

With his positional versatility, pending free agent Michael Onwenu has stepped up as one of the Patriots' most valuable pieces this year.

STATE OF THE PATRIOTS

Is there anything worth building around on this Patriots team? Here are a few names.

There’s an argument to be made that every offensive position except interior lineman is a primary need, though things are not as glaring on defense.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto off the market, what’s next for the Red Sox and others in need of pitching?

Dan Shaughnessy

A legendary day is looming at the end of a forgettable Patriots season, and other thoughts

PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK

Bill Belichick confirms special teams footballs were underinflated Sunday at Gillette Stadium

Business

Trump repeats and defends his use of language that echos Nazi ideology

Trump’s comments about immigrants, made during campaign rallies in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, have drawn bipartisan criticism.

Coming soon to highway service signs near you: EV charging

The Federal Highway Administration this week issued new standards governing highway exit service signs to include electric-vehicle charging stations.

Massachusetts hiring rebounded in November

Larry Edelman | Trendlines

The tough challenges ahead for the Massachusetts economy

magazine

The 29 best photos of 2023 taken by Boston Globe photographers

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

Actor Lenny Clarke’s best ever childhood Christmas came unexpectedly

Fran and Tom on their Dinner With Cupid blind date.

Dinner with Cupid

Blind date: ‘We shared our food, which was a big plus for both of us’

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

metro

Globe Santa then and now

Israel-Hamas war casts a shadow over holiday season for people of many faiths

When did Boston last wake up to a white Christmas?

sports

Travis Kelce is 34 years old.

Travis Kelce reveals what he said to Bill Belichick after Chiefs-Patriots game

I think I’m ... happy that the Patriots are bad?

Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year for third time

business

Adam Hermon, left, and Abdulai Barry stand in front of Whole Foods with other employees after getting dismissed from their shift for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks on July 18, 2020.

Whole Foods wins case about Black Lives Matter apparel

Bristol Myers agrees to buy Boston’s Karuna Therapeutics in a $14 billion deal

I think I’m ... happy that the Patriots are bad?

politics

The US Supreme Court.

Supreme Court won’t fast-track ruling on whether Trump can be prosecuted in election subversion case

Congress launches an investigation into the Osprey program after the deadly crash in Japan

Trump repeats and defends his use of language that echos Nazi ideology

Nation

The Wisconsin Supreme Court listens to arguments from Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Anthony Russomanno, representing Governor Tony Evers, during a redistricting hearing at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

DeSantis spread false information while pushing trans health care ban and restrictions, a judge says

World

The UN Security Council met about the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

UN Security Council approves watered-down resolution on aid to Gaza without call for suspension of hostilities

Gaza war’s staggering toll reaches a grim milestone: 20,000 dead

Police seek a motive as Prague mourns the 14 people killed in the nation’s worst mass shooting

opinion

Ebenezer Scrooge (played by David Coffee) with his employee Bob Cratchit (Russell Garrett) in a 2018 performance of "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theatre.

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

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

2023: the year in Globe readers’ own words

lifestyle

Somerville indie band Hush Club promised pizza in return for helping their TikTok video go viral. Now, after 48,000 views, they're planning to make a whole lot of pies.

Hush Club’s TikTok strategy went viral — it’s anything but cheesy

Dating during perimenopause

One in six people experiences infertility. But in a season focused on kids, you can feel like you’re the only one.

food & dining

Ashley Taveras, an assistant event stylist at Easy Entertaining, sorts dishes.

‘I feel abandoned’: Restaurants remain burdened by Washington Bridge closure in Rhode Island

Scared of the T? Hop aboard Mothership instead

A new Turkish restaurant near Watertown Square is already popular

travel

Passengers waited in line at Dulles International Airport on Dec. 21, 2023, in Dulles, Virginia.

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

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?

Arts

A person removed a piece of art work by Banksy, which showed what looks like three drones on a stop sign, at the intersection of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, London.

Banksy stop sign taken from London street soon after it appears

Forgotten women of the American landscape

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

Books

Justin Torres, author of “Blackouts."

For Justin Torres, reading is about finding the sweet spot between poetry and prose

Local bestsellers for the week ended Dec. 17

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

Movies

(L-R Clockwise) Film stills from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” and “The Year Without Santa Claus."

Holidays got you down, Charlie Brown? Take our quiz on classic Christmas specials for a hit of holiday cheer.

Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ fails to rev up

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

Television

A makeshift memorial was set up in New York City in October following the death of actor Matthew Perry.

Minnie Driver remembers Matthew Perry’s ‘wealth of soul’

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

12 hilarious and heartwarming classic Christmas episodes to stream this week

music

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

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

Julian Edelman sings Taylor Swift, says she’s ‘great for the league’

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

Pastor Tony Lowden gave the eulogy during the funeral service for Rosalynn Carter in Plains, Ga., in November, 2023.

Influential people we lost in 2023

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

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