For drunk drivers, a habit of judicial leniency

When state judges hear OUI cases without a jury, they acquit the vast majority of defendants, no matter how blatant the alleged offense. It is one more way Massachusetts stands out nationally — for all the wrong reasons — on this crime.

Video | The Back Story

Acquittal rates of suspected drunk drivers

In this edition of the Back Story, host Dina Rudick spoke with Spotlight editor Tom Farragher about the Globe‘s investigation into high acquittal rates of Massachusetts motorists suspected of drunken driving.

FOR SPOTLIGHT - Massachusetts State Troopers perform a sobriety test on a driver at a sobriety check point operated jointly with the Chicopee Police, on Memorial Avenue in Chicopee on Friday, April 29, 2011. (Matthew Cavanaugh for The Boston Globe)

Globe Spotlight Report

Under the influence

Full coverage of the Globe’s investigation into OUI acquittal rates.

Globe Magazine | The Medical Issue

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2011/10/19/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/greenhouse_cesarean10_magazine.jpg The C-section boom

One obstetrician explores why hospitals’ rates can vary so widely – from 15 percent to 45 percent in Massachusetts – and whether anyone should care.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2011/10/30/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/davis_storm2_met--90x90.jpg Hundreds of thousands without power after ‘unbelievable’ snow

Governor Deval Patrick announced it could take days for power to be restored for most customers.

The Steelers’ free safety Ryan Clark was penalized for this late hit on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in the second half.

barry chin/globe staff

Steelers 25, Patriots 17

Patriots can’t claw back

Tom Brady had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute left, but the Steelers’ Brett Keisel punched the ball out of his hand.

Dante Chinni

Our patchwork nation

The American electorate is an immensely complicated tapestry of thousands of communities experiencing different realities.

Herman Cain

Report: Female staffers accused Cain of inappropriate behavior

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s campaign is denying reports that two female employees complained of sexually suggestive behavior in the 1990s.

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“We absolutely are not wrong 85 and 90 percent of the time.’’

Northborough Police Chief Mark K. Leahy 

Metro

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10/30/2011 BOSTON, MA Firefighters work to extinguish a five-alarm fire that swept through several apartment buildings along Calumet Street in Mission Hill. (Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

Five-alarm fire sweeps homes in Mission Hill

Fire crews were still dousing remaining hot spots today on Calumet Street in Mission Hill, where an early-morning fire ripped through three homes and sent one person to the hospital.

Business

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Nation & World

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Sports

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NBA Commissioner David Stern, center, talks with reporters after leaving an NBA labor talks meeting , Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in New York. Stern canceled the first two weeks of the season after players and owners were unable to reach a new labor deal to end the lockout. At left is Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. Opening night was scheduled for Nov. 1. (AP Photo/David Karp)

Stern wonders what to do about ‘this big mess’

With both sides in the NBA’s labor standoff so entrenched, it might be a question of when, not if, another round of cancellations will be necessary.

Travel

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Travel | Sarasota

The circus inheritance

In 1927, John Ringling’s circus empire made Sarasota, Fla., its winter home. Today, while headquarters have moved to Virginia, Ringling’s legacy is all over Sarasota.