Democrats send message of presidential dedication

In an energized opening session of the Democratic National Convention that spoke to a broad array of party interests, Michelle Obama delivered a personal and emotional address.

Michelle Obama told convention delegates of tough financial times she and her husband faced as a young couple.

Jae C. Hong/associated press

Michelle Obama told convention delegates of tough financial times she and her husband faced as a young couple.

Delegates held signs that read

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Delegates held signs that read "We Love Michelle.”

The first lady also spoke of President Obama’s commitment to his agenda.

Jason Reed/REUTERS

The first lady also spoke of President Obama’s commitment to his agenda.

“In Massachusetts, we know Mitt Romney,” Governor Deval Patrick said Tuesday night at the convention.

Charles Dharapak/associated press

“In Massachusetts, we know Mitt Romney,” Governor Deval Patrick said Tuesday night at the convention.

Los Angeles Mayor and Democratic Convention Chair Antonio Villaraigosa took the gavel from Chair of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

Los Angeles Mayor and Democratic Convention Chair Antonio Villaraigosa took the gavel from Chair of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker cheered as Mayor Villaraigosa spoke on stage.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Newark Mayor Cory Booker cheered as Mayor Villaraigosa spoke on stage.

Former US Rep. Patrick Kennedy appeared with his wife, Amy Petitgout, and son, Owen Patrick.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former US Rep. Patrick Kennedy appeared with his wife, Amy Petitgout, and son, Owen Patrick.

US Congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III addressed the convention on Day 1.

Jim Young/REUTERS

US Congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III addressed the convention on Day 1.

Protestors held a sit-in near the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, where the convention is held.

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Protestors held a sit-in near the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, where the convention is held.

An Obama supporter (center) argued with demonstrators during a protest march.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

An Obama supporter (center) argued with demonstrators during a protest march.

Ken Salazar, US secretary of the interior, waved as he arrived on stage to speak at the DNC.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Ken Salazar, US secretary of the interior, waved as he arrived on stage to speak at the DNC.

Delegate Joy A. Williams, of Mississippi, wore a decorated hat.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Delegate Joy A. Williams, of Mississippi, wore a decorated hat.

North Carolina delegates Sam Spencer, left, Gwen Wilkins, and Roy Sanyal danced as they arrived on the floor.

Jae C. Hong/associated press

North Carolina delegates Sam Spencer, left, Gwen Wilkins, and Roy Sanyal danced as they arrived on the floor.

Attendees held letters that spelled OBAMA on the convention floor.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Attendees held letters that spelled OBAMA on the convention floor.

Rose Brooks, a delegate from Texas, listened during a run-through of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Rose Brooks, a delegate from Texas, listened during a run-through of the Pledge of Allegiance.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/09/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/151246250-3251--90x90.jpg Patrick tells convention Mitt Romney failed Mass.

Governor Patrick faulted his predecessor and exhorted Democrats to “grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe.”

Elizabeth Warren to try for impact near and far

The prime-time speech at the DNC offers the Senate candidate a crucial opportunity to sell herself to Mass. voters, but her message may also help reenergize liberals within the party.

President Obama and Bill Clinton have become closer since the 2008 campaign.

Vital asset Bill Clinton back in party spotlight

Clinton is slated to nominate President Obama for a second term in a speech that is expected to provide a detailed argument for the president’s reelection.

Liberty Mutual will spend $8 million over the next three years to sponsor the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and $1 million this year on gifts to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Liberty Mutual will up charitable giving

The company is increasing local contributions by 20 percent this year, while other financial services firms plan to keep their giving largely unchanged.

Maria-Jose Vasquez, 19, chose a grilled chicken sandwich, asparagus salad, and fruit at Boston University.

ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Colleges doing more to help students eat healthy

Dining halls are putting a fresh focus on ingredients and portion sizes, and some schools are even helping students by offering nutritional coaching.

Kosilek in 1993, left, and in 1990, right.

Judge orders Mass. to pay for inmate’s sex-change surgery

In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ordered state officials to provide a taxpayer-funded sex-change for a transsexual prisoner.

Brian McGrory

A fatal dose of irony in Belmont

Tagg Romney’s opposition to a controversial plan for a Belmont Hill hospice is ironic considering his father, Mitt, once backed a controversial plan for a Mormon temple on Belmont Hill.

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From the Archives | Photo gallery

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Enterprise/Advance/Images/Convention007-701.jpg Campaigns and conventions

The mad theater of campaigns, protests, rallies, and conventions that is our modern political process is not a recent phenomenon.

Globe exclusives

At Clear Flour Bakery in Brookline, the bread options vary greatly, from “Miller’s Bread” to German Rye to loaves of whole wheat and multigrain varieties.

G Cover

Where has the white bread gone?
Salt and pepper calamari at Empire Asian.

Dining Out

A new Empire rises on the Waterfront
The centerpiece of Shanghai-based artist Jin Shan’s installation “My Dad Is Li Gang!’’ at Brown University.

Galleries

Chinese power as spectacle in installation by Jin Shan
Jenny Giang and Ian So, serve meals from the new Chicken & Rice Guys food truck.

Chicken and rice truck gets rolling
Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” ad features an obese boy jogging down a country road.

Opinion | Jennifer Graham

Obesity: America’s deepest shame

special section

Fall TV Preview
Author Giles Slade makes the point that the better technology gets, the more isolated we, as a society, get.

Book Review

‘The Big Disconnect’ by Giles Slade
The TV spot, titled “Invisible Game,” projects an image of Brady spinning football magic.

UGG hoping Brady draws men to market
Octavie Nguimbi, Carine Ivinga, and Bimala Gurung attended a Lowell sewing class.

Sewing nonprofit teaches refugees self-sufficiency
David Shortt, owner of Wee Packet in Dennis Port, said he expects the busy summer at his restaurant to continue a few weeks more.

Sunny summer on the Cape for businesses
Dave Maxfield (third from left) of Hardwick, Mass., panned for gold with family and friends in the Wild Ammonoosuc River in Bath, N.H., in July. Amateur prospectors visit mountain streams in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire to try their luck.

Not much gold in region, but plenty of prospectors

Frame by Frame

Dancing around the bonfire in ‘Moonlight Dance, Voulangis’

2012 NFL Preview

Rob Gronkowski set NFL records by becoming the first tight end to record 1,327 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns last season.

Rob Gronkowski has gone from man to myth

The Patriots tight end morphed into a man known merely by one word — “Gronk” — as he smashed NFL records last season. Now, can he build on that momentous season?

Sports

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Red Sox 4, Mariners 3

Jon Lester (9-11) was the winner with help from four relievers.

Red Sox end skid, beat Mariners

Home runs by Cody Ross and Ryan Lavarnway in the sixth inning helped lead the Red Sox past the Mariners, 4-3, and snap a seven-game losing streak.

Metro

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Firefighters searched the scene following the fire that killed a woman and her daughter late Monday.

Uxbridge mother, girl, 6, killed by fast-moving fire

The fire quickly consumed the ground floor apartment where a single mother and her 6-year-old daughter lived, witnesses said.

Columnists

jeff jacoby

Mainstream media needs to accept, own its liberal bias

Brian McGrory

A fatal dose of irony in Belmont
A case containing the remains of Pfc. Shane W. Cantu, of Corunna, Mich., sits on a loader during prayer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday.

juliette kayyem

Afghan war still rages, yet soldiers get no play in Tampa
Neil Armstrong on the moon

James Carroll

After Armstrong’s small step forward, two steps back for America?

Christopher L. Gasper

Disappointing finish for Louis Oosthuizen

Dan Shaughnessy

Despite lack of big names, Deutsche Bank still interesting

joanna weiss

Honor American Dream-builders today — with healthcare, hours

Yvonne Abraham

What Elizabeth Warren is missing
Jim Rooney, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority stood atop the roof of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

Lawrence Harmon

Convention center needs a boost of solar power
Balloons swirl in the air following Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech in Tampa Friday.

Jeff Jacoby

Time to shelve the political conventions
GrabCAD, where Roger Maranan, Grant Thomas-Lepore, and Gabe Blanchet work, picked Cambridge over California.

INNOVATION ECONOMY

7 factors that attract entrepreneurs to Boston

Renée Loth

The value of public-sector jobs

Business

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Dr. Craig Thompson

Agios settles two lawsuits over cancer research

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, which had alleged that the Cambridge biotech’s cofounder had stolen its research.

Politics

Political Notebook

Federal records show that Mitt Romney and the GOP have pulled in more cash than President Obama’s effort in May, June, and July, including money collected by the Democratic Party.

Mitt Romney’s August haul to top $100m

Romney’s presidential campaign has reportedly raised at least $100 million in August, hitting that mark for a third consecutive month.

Nation & World

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Melanie Martinez and Eric DeSalvo salvaged items from their home in Braithwaite, La., which was heavily flooded.

Researchers to look at levees’ role in La. flooding

The Army Corps of Engineers agreed to investigate whether flood fortifications in New Orleans pushed waters into outlying areas.

Arts

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Movie Review

Marina Abramovic during a performance for her Museum of Modern Art exhibition.

‘Marina Abramovic’: sitting in on an artist’s life

The entertaining film explains Abramovic — in all her complexity — brilliantly.

Lifestyle

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G force

N.H. music teacher, 66, takes on piano solo competitions

Concord pianist and teacher Catharine Dornin was a finalist in the solo piano division of the 2012 American Prize national music competition.

“He reminds me that we are playing a long game here, and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once. But eventually we get there; we always do.”

Michelle Obama,  on President Obama

Magazine

The cover for the August 26 2012 issue

Did Beatrice Munyenyezi lie to get into this country?
The cover for the August 19 2012 issue

Can a Woburn company’s flying car someday be a fix for traffic?
The cover for the August 12 2012 issue

The man who nourished Boston’s literary scene
The cover for the August 5 2012 issue

Can GPS find you a mate?

Opinion

“Everyone, it seems, knows how to fix Social Security. No one, save Mike Huckabee, seems to know how to fix fat.”

Jennifer Graham 

Ideas

“In order to be a good friend, even a very young child must be not only fun to spend time with, but capable of being emotionally mature in ways that can be difficult even for grown-ups.”

—Leon Neyfakh on childhood friendship