crux

A new generation of Christian martyrs

Egyptian Christian villagers seached for salvageable items after a monestary chapel in Dalga was looted and burned in 2013.

Robert Anis/AP/File

Religious persecution is increasingly Christian persecution, in the middle east and globally.

Crux

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/GettyImages-453299648[1].jpg In Iraq, the grim toll of persecution

By most measures, the Middle East?s most devastated Christian community today lies in Iraq.

Crux

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/2882e0207e964a51ae5484edb4717d85-2882e0207e964a51ae5484edb4717d85-0.jpg In Syria, life is now ?an endless Calvary?

A watchdog group reported that 1,213 Syrian Christians had been killed in 2013 for reasons linked to their faith.

KEVIN CULLEN

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/cullen-2016.jpg Police restraint saves lives

It?s an existential question being played out on urban streets across America. Are cops guardians or warriors?

Critic?s notebook

Imagine Boston on film, without the bad guys and bad accents

?Spotlight? has already achieved a solid win. It has taken the Boston movie away from the bad boys and given it back to the rest of us.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/499351076[1].jpg Mothers, daughters split on role of gender in choosing Clinton

Women of varying backgrounds confront the potential milestone implicit in Hillary Clinton?s bid very differently.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/trumpcarson.jpg Possible defections put GOP on edge

State filing deadlines would give Donald Trump and Ben Carson until about March to launch independent campaigns.

From left: President Francois Hollande of France; Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister; and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the climate change conference in Le Bourget, outside Paris.

Philippe Wojazer/Pool via The New York Times

195 countries reach landmark climate pact

The new accord sets out a schedule for those countries to return to the negotiating table every five years.

Catherine Leafe prepared to leave her home to attend a campaign event for Donald Trump in Portsmouth, N.H.

How this N.H. woman came to love Donald Trump

It?s not policy Manchester hair-stylist Catherine Leafe talks about when she talks about Donald Trump.

Yvonne Abraham

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/abrahamy-9803.jpg Alleged sexual assault victims of fertility specialist may be victims of a system, too

How many victimized women does it take to expose one powerful, predatory man?

On the job

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/13/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/greenhouse_13onthejobANewman-1_business[1].jpg Penguin biologist cares for feathered friends

Andrea Newman works with a colony of more than 80 penguins living at the New England Aquarium.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/12/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/d9dd4ed4-4209-4baa-95e7-694786b1a8ff.jpg How Kricket Nimmons seized the transgender moment

Many health plans have overturned their long-held exclusions of transition-related care.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/08/BostonGlobe.com/Travel/Images/13murdermystery1.jpg Holiday gift lists can be killers

If you?ve got a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie on your gift list, a murder mystery weekend getaway is a gift to die for.

IDEAS

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/08/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/1213_LEVENSONfpo1.jpg Drugs, fleas, race, and disease

For many, their addiction led to prosecution, conviction, incarceration.

Special Section

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/11/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/STARWARS%201400x900.jpg The scoop on ?Star Wars?

Interviews with actors, character bios, interesting facts about the movie, and a lightsaber explained.

Ethel Weiss ran her Brookline toy store since 1939.

suzanne kreiter/globe staff file photo/2007

Ethel Weiss, who ran Irving?s Toy & Card Shop for 77 years, dies at 101

Since 1939, she doled out candy, toys, and wisdom from her Brookline shop.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer (left) and head coach Bill O?Brien will be among the familiar faces to Patriots fans on the Houston sideline Sunday night.

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

For Patriots, Texans are no laughing matter this time

Unlike in its two big meetings with the Patriots three seasons ago, Houston is a threat on Sunday night.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/12/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/Tlumacki_ressoxchristmas_sports320-kEiC--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Craig Kimbrel getting familiar with new surroundings

The Red Sox? new closer took part in the annual Christmas at Fenway event on Saturday.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/12/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/dtlumacki_muslins_metro02.jpg Islam symposium draws dozens to Holbrook library

The symposium sponsored by the Boston chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community aimed to dispel stereotypes of Islamic teachings.

Ground Game

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/12/08/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/trump150-2064.jpg Three scenarios for Trump and the GOP

What happens after Donald Trump, particularly for the Republican Party?

Globe Santa

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/11/25/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/santa_logo[1]-U80342642589InF--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Donate to Globe Santa

Globe Santa delivers holiday gifts to local children in need.

Globe investigations

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/11/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/spotlight150x150-165.jpg Globe investigations and Spotlight reports

A look at high-impact investigations from The Boston Globe, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning report on abuse in the Catholic Church.

The story behind 'Spotlight'

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/11/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/spotlight-9497.jpg Boston Globe coverage and the movie ?Spotlight?

?Spotlight? is based on the stories and the reporters behind the investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The Big Picture

Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff

The best Boston Globe photos of 2015

Staff photographers share the stories behind the year?s most powerful pictures.