State to back NStar, Northeast Utilities merger

Massachusetts officials will back the merger, which still needs approval by Connecticut officials, in exchange for the company buying power from Cape Wind.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/15/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/12kennedy_photo1--90x90.jpg Joseph P. Kennedy III to announce run tomorrow

Kennedy, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, will formally declare his candidacy for the seat being vacated by Barney Frank.

Ruling allows major political donors to hide identities

“Dark money” allows anonymous donations, sometimes from corporations that exist on paper only, and the stream of such money is alarming watchdogs.

Santorum leads Romney in Ohio, new poll shows

A Quinnipiac University poll out today shows a surging Rick Santorum with support from 36 percent of Republican primary voters, with Mitt Romney getting 29 percent.

istockphoto/globe staff illustration

Opinion | Jim Stergios

Patrick’s shell game with the budget

Massachusetts addressed its billion-dollar-plus structural deficit by pushing off the repayment date for the state’s $18.6 billion unfunded pension liability.

Scot Lehigh

Raise the high school drop out age

Raising the age at which a high school student can stop going to school from 16 to 18 won't solve the problem of dropouts, but it could yield beneficial results.

Parents, leaders to study school assignment process

Parents, business leaders, and academics will comprise an advisory committee that will make recommendations on changing the way Boston assigns students to schools.

Claude Julien’s Bruins are headed out on a six-game road trip.

Tony Massarotti

Bruins are not as good as they think they are

The Rangers’ commanding victory proved that while the Bruins may be the reigning champions of the league, right now they are not even the best team in the conference.

“No one should be forced by government to do something that violates the teachings of their faith.”

US Senator Scott Brown 

Globe Insiders

Globe Talks | Feb. 15, 6 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/01/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/greenhouse_movies2_business[1].jpg Talk movies with Ty and Wesley

Join the Boston Globe’s movie critics, Ty Burr and Wesley Morris, for a conversation about this year’s Academy Awards.

Metro

Tags in this section:

Parents, leaders to study school assignment process

Parents, business leaders, and academics will comprise an advisory committee that will make recommendations on changing the way Boston assigns students to schools.

Sports

Tags in this section:

On football: Season review

Tom Brady, right, received an A, while Deion Branch got a B-, in Greg A. Bedard’s season report card.

Report card: Which Patriots scored best?

In his individual analysis, Greg A. Bedard provides details of how each player performed during the run to Super Bowl XLVI.

Arts

Tags in this section:

STAGE REVIEW

In ‘Photograph 51,’ a picture of complexity

It’s said that history is written by the winners. But sometimes history is rewritten — or recaptured — by the dramatists.