Spotlight Follow-up

Critics hit law firms? bills after class-action lawsuits

Boston?s Thornton Law Firm, already under investigation for campaign donations, is at the center of controversy over overstated legal fees.

Secretary of State John Kerry will step down next month from the post he has held since 2013. — Astrid Riecken for The Boston Globe

Kerry leaves a legacy of hope in role at State

The secretary of state reflected on his tenure in a wide-ranging interview with the Globe.

Bonnie Bruce is the mother of a Vermont woman, Tamara, who was found the day after Thanksgiving passed out from heroin in her car with her fiance and their two young children. — Caleb Kenna for the Boston Globe

For one family in Vermont, a heroin nightmare is real life

The public saw the sordid side: two parents passed out on drugs, two children in the car. Unseen was the circle of love trying to save them.

A mild, rainy Sunday will be capped by a cold night

Temperatures will drop Sunday night after a rainy day in the mid-50s.

The transition to Trump

As Electoral College prepares to meet, electors are in focus

The Electoral College meets Monday, and many of its members are under pressure to not vote for Donald Trump.

Romney was ?more than a little surprised? regarding Trump?s interest

In a letter in The Salt Lake Tribune, Mitt Romney said he would have ?been more than willing? to shape US foreign policy.

It?s a very Putin-Trump Christmas on ?SNL?

?We think you are the best candidate, the smartest candidate, the Manchurian candidate,? Beck Bennett?s Putin told Alec Baldwin?s Trump.

THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE COMMON GOOD

Child care for $10 a day

Massachusetts should give every family access to high quality, affordable child care from infancy.

Karolyn Feeks Maws and Tony Maws are raising Charlie, 8, in Jewish and Christian traditions. — Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Leave a plate of cookies beside the menorah

Christmas Eve collides with the first night of Hanukkah on Dec. 24 this year, giving interfaith families lots to celebrate.

Casey Affleck on ?SNL?: ?This is the face of Dunkin? Donuts right here?

This week?s episode wouldn?t have been complete without at least one or two jabs at Boston. It delivered.

Patriots at Broncos | Sunday, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

Chad Finn | Unconventional Preview

For Patriots in Denver, this game isn?t about payback

Plenty has changed since the last time the Patriots faced the Broncos in Denver.

Kevin Cullen

What the Babson students did at Wellesley was wildly inflated

The problem with exaggerating the actions of bigots is that it inevitably helps other ones.

ideas

Words of the Year for 2016

A look at some of the terms that defined, propelled, and illustrated our year.

Style Watch

Holiday decorating that won?t look stale after New Year?s

Create a festive look without the tree and the red and green color scheme for a seasonal display that lasts.

For some people, ?most wonderful time of the year? is a bummer

But for others, feelings of loneliness, alienation, and depression can become opportunities for change.

Starts & Stops

MassDOT loses chance to save nearly $70m

?It?s unfortunate that things didn?t line up perfectly,? said the chief financial officer of MassDOT.

Polar Seltzer?s new mystery flavor is . . . something

Blackberry vanilla? Champagne? Just regular vanilla? The Internet can?t seem to agree on what the new mystery drink tastes like.

Special reports

special report

Every doctor told the Lacey family their son would die ? except one

Pat and Dina Lacey had been parents for only a few months when doctors discovered a tumor in their new baby?s chest. Told to take their son home to die, they put their faith in a young doctor who wouldn?t accept death as the answer.

Opinion & Ideas

JEFF JACOBY

The bitterest of enemies can become the most trusted of friends

The US-Japanese relationship today is a pillar of stability and trust. Yet within living memory, the people of Japan and of the US despised each other.