Merging Beth Israel, Lahey would drive up costs, watchdog says

The consolidation would boost medical spending by as much as $191.3 million a year for inpatient, outpatient, and primary care services.

US President Donald Trump spoke during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.

Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Controversy again surrounds Trump as he claims Russia is not targeting US

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said reporters misunderstood Trump?s answer to a question on whether Russia was still meddling in US elections.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/b68e89cf22404bd4ba062bb586e622fc-b68e89cf22404bd4ba062bb586e622fc-0.jpg Russian woman used sex in her role as covert agent in US, prosecutors say

Maria Butina, who has been charged with secretly acting on Moscow?s behalf in the United States, was ordered held without bond.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/996371094.jpg Child welfare experts worry about effects of separation policy on children

Children may already have been traumatized by being separated from their parents, participants at a forum at Tufts University heard.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/turner061218METRO13opioids274-U832996319084PkF--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg State budget won?t include provisions on immigration

Liberals lawmakers had wanted the budget to prohibit police from performing some federal immigration duties.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/17/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/5a7aba6de130444f8174796a05875249-5a7aba6de130444f8174796a05875249-0.jpg Man accused of murdering Weymouth officer is fit for trial, court clinician testifies

A lawyer for Emanuel Lopes said he has ?been unable to speak with him in any coherent fashion? about the case, but the judge decided Lopes was aware of what was happening.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Shaun%20Tyman%20charged%20by%20Winchester%20police%20w%20stalking%207%2018%2019%20booking%20photo.jpg Lowell man allegedly tracked co-worker with GPS for at least 12 days

A Lowell man is now facing stalking charges following a monthlong investigation by Lowell and Winchester police.

Opinion | Diane Hessan

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/19venn-4577.jpg The problem isn?t how we feel about Trump ? it?s how we feel about each other

Is there a way to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/04/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/PlusStateTrooper-15156.jpg Former public safety secretary to consult with scandal-plagued State Police

The State Police say they have brought in a familiar face to consult and bring change to the department: former state public safety secretary Kathleen O?Toole.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/1012920_669833803044266_451514381_n[1]-k76F--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Serial rapist gets 18 to 22 years for attacks on Esplanade and in South Boston

A serial rapist was sentenced Wednesday for raping women on the Esplanade and in South Boston in 2006, 2007, and 2010.

Ye Qing Wei, a housekeeper at Sheraton Boston, has seen her schedule disrupted by green programs that encourage people to opt out of housekeeping service in exchange for points and meal coupons.

Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

Going green is cutting into hotel housekeepers? livelihoods

Programs that encourage guests to skip housekeeping, and save energy, are wreaking havoc on workers? schedules, a union says.

Boston MA 11/25/16 San Antonio Spurs Kawhi Leonard shooting a jumper in the key in between Boston Celtics Al Horford and Jae Crowder during first quarter action at the TD Garden. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff) topic: reporter:

ADAM HIMMELSBACH

What the Kawhi Leonard deal means for the teams involved, Celtics, and NBA as a whole

Leonard going to an Eastern Conference team will re-balance the player talent scales at least a bit.

SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 11: Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots football team and chief executive officer of the Kraft Group, arrives for a morning session of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 11, 2018 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world's most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Three Boston teams named to Forbes World?s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams

The Patriots were the second-ranked NFL team.

FILE - In this Saturday, May 19, 2018 file photo,Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado throws to first base to make the double play on Boston Red Sox's Eduardo Nunez during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

nick cafardo | on baseball

Without Manny Machado, Orioles will be fodder for Red Sox

If he?s traded to the Dodgers as expected, Baltimore will be a weaker team.

Fort Myers, FL- 2/23/2018 - Red Sox Spring Training- Credit Stan Grossfeld/Boston Globe--- Red Sox manager Alex Cora enjoys a laugh prior to managing his first big league exhibition game.

Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff

Q & A

Alex Cora talks which players have surprised him, releasing Hanley Ramirez, and more

The Red Sox manager took questions from the Globe about his impressions of the season and what the future holds.

Forks, Spoons and Knives on Blue Background

Miss Conduct

Is it rude to bring our own silverware to parties? We?re anti-plastic

I don?t want my family using paper plates and plastic utensils, even at other people?s parties. Plus, a popcorn-in-teeth dilemma.

DANTE RAMOS

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/ramos-4583.jpeg Legalize more housing, Speaker DeLeo

To fix our crippling housing crunch, Massachusetts should let people build ?granny apartments.? So why isn?t Robert DeLeo?s House doing anything to legalize more housing?

NAMES

Dig, a new dating app for dog lovers, to host Fort Point bash

The dating service was founded by Newton-raised sisters Leigh and Casey Isaacson, who believe that dog-friendly humans make good teams.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/08/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/clark_shark_sighting_070819_1225.jpg ?I?d love to see Jaws just come out of nowhere?: Video shows great white eating seal off Cape Cod

A group of boaters got to witness a rare sight last weekend: a great white shark having a meal.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2015/07/12/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Lee_unaked2_met.jpg Some dockless bike companies don?t mind if you use their bikes for Boston?s World Naked Bike Ride

Just be courteous and think about the people who might use that bike after you.

A Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce meeting at the InterContinental Boston last year.

Talking Points

Business community tries to make Boston more inclusive

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce is hosting a festival in September, with panels and other programs aimed at bringing together and helping millennials of color.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/999455710.jpg Trump planning to ditch JFK?s baby blue color scheme for Air Force One

President Donald Trump says the familiar color on the presidential aircraft will give way to a new red-white-and-blue color scheme.

Opinion & Ideas

IDEAS | Mark Hannah

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/13/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/TrumpSlider4.jpg Did Trump just destroy NATO? If so, should we care?

The real threat to European democracy and unity comes not from Russia but from within the West itself.

Special reports

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/africa%20hero.jpg For refugees in Kenya, an education in hope

The Kakuma Refugee Camp is a holding center for thousands dispossessed by war and conflict. A New Hampshire university has made it the focus of its global plans.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/07/18/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/living%20cells.jpg WATCH: The pleasure and pain of seeing inside living cells

Eric Betzig?s newest microscope looks nothing like the one you remember from school.

Globe event

Seattle?s mayor talks growing pains that offer some lessons for Boston

Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan spoke at a Globe event on how innovation is shaping our world, and she?s in high demand among the hundreds of mayors gathered in Boston.

Love Letters: The Podcast

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/05/16/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/lovelettersalbum.jpg Getting over a breakup

Meredith Goldstein explores how to move on when a relationship ends.

Listen:   Apple Podcasts   |   Stitcher   |   RadioPublic

 

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My car?s check-engine light came on for a problem with the oxygen sensor, which I purchased and replaced, but it just came back on again. What should I do? Q. My car?s check-engine light comes on, then goes off, and now it is back on. I had a test done at local auto shop. It [?]