How the Spotlight Team got inside Massachusetts? secret court system

There?s an obvious obstacle to reporting on the inner workings of Massachusetts? ?secret court? system: It?s secret.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/AFP_19M83B.jpg Kellyanne Conway says, ?I?m a victim of sexual assault?

??I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape,?? Kellyanne Conway said.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/0e6b4272-2c9f-4999-8e64-9891d221482b.jpg White House isn?t ?micromanaging? Kavanaugh investigation, Trump officials say

Senior Trump administration officials said Sunday that the FBI check into Brett Kavanaugh is a Senate process and that lawmakers are the only ones dictating its parameters.

Analysis

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/29/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/1042096638.jpg Brett Kavanaugh?s testimony took on a Trumpian tone

Speaking Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh displayed the very same combative, grievance-fueled thinking of which the president is so fond.

adrian walker

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/walker%20(3)-21307.jpg Welcome to Boston, Senator Flake. I have a few questions.

Senator Jeff Flake ? the man who threw a wrench into the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation ? is scheduled to appear at a conference in Boston Monday. There?s no shortage of questions people would like to hear him answer.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/fadb9266-899b-4441-902b-6ead7758932f.jpg Hundreds of migrant children quietly moved to a tent camp on the Texas border

In the rows of sand-colored tents in Tornillo, Texas, children in groups of 20, separated by gender, sleep lined up in bunks. There is no school: The children are given workbooks that they have no obligation to complete. Access to legal services is limited.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/AFP_19B58O.jpg Trump-Rosenstein face-off may be delayed again

President Trump?s highly anticipated meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein may not happen this week because of the focus on the Brett Kavanaugh nomination.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/21/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/IMG_6269.jpg Catholic Church?s conundrum: Bring back younger faithful

New generations are generally less observant regarding religion, but the problem is made worse for Catholic officials by new revelations of clergy abuse.

The new Revolution Hotel in the South End will put the focus on Boston?s history of innovation.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

City?s latest boutique hotel is aiming to be Instagrammable

The Revolution, Boston newest boutique hotel, will offer a modern take on the city?s past

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/05/18/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/lee_051818_whale2_met.jpg Third minke whale this season found dead in Cape Cod waters

A minke whale has died in Cape Cod waters, the third such whale found in area waters this season.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/16/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/ryan_sharks10_met.jpg Police recover body of missing swimmer off Truro coast

The body of Ross A. Williamson, 26, of Bolton, Conn., was found one mile north of Ballston Beach Sunday morning, authorities said.

Two men hospitalized after boat overturns off Rockport

Two men in their 50s were hospitalized Sunday after a boat overturned off the coast of Rockport, officials said.

Man, woman found shot to death in Woonsocket, R.I., home

The bodies of a man believed to be in his 50s and a woman believed to be in her 40s, were found inside a home Sunday morning. A 7-year-old boy inside the home was unharmed, Woonsocket police said.

Ben Volin | Instant Analysis

Patriots proved they are still the dominant team in the AFC East

The Patriots did just about everything right in a 38-7 victory.

Foxborough, MA 09/30/18: Patriots James White caught a pass for a touchdown in the third quarter. New England Patriots hosted the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

PATRIOTS 38, DOLPHINS 7

Patriots? offense comes alive against Dolphins

The Patriots broke a two-game losing streak in a big way at Gillette Stadium.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/ReceivedContent/Images/Davis10.jpg Rob Gronkowski leaves Patriots game with ankle injury

The tight end had four catches for 44 yards before leaving in the third quarter.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/29/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/1041066658.jpg Once again, all eyes are on Maine?s Susan Collins

She?ll be a pivotal vote when it comes to confirming Brett Kavanaugh, and Mainers don?t know what she should ? or will ? do.

Opinion | Richard North Patterson

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/f0a813a8-6b77-47c7-8da9-ba2c30358021.jpg The telling role of character in the Ford-Kavanaugh controversy

Like a Greek tragedy, the controversy over Brett Kavanaugh comes down to character.

Matt Damon really looked like Brett Kavanaugh on ?Saturday Night Live?

Damon?s appearance was the on-screen highlight of the show?s season opener.

Singer Kanye West and President-elect Donald Trump speak with the press after their meetings at Trump Tower December 13, 2016 in New York. / AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARYTIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Trump tweets praise for Kanye West on Saturday Night Live

President Trump has panned Saturday Night Live?s season premiere but tweeted praise for Kanye West, who closed the show with a pro-Trump message.

Ideas | Rachel Slade

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/26/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/AP_7709130251.jpg The man who designed modern Boston

Approach the city from the north, south, west, or the harbor, and you can?t miss Henry Cobb?s vision.

Ideas | Andrew Facini

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/30/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/30alerts.jpg Andrew Facini: All Americans should welcome alerts from the president

As far back as the 1960s, the president?s ability to alert the nation was seen as a crucial part of confronting the only national emergency that mattered: nuclear war.

travel

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/18/BostonGlobe.com/Travel/Images/23disneya.jpg Surviving Disney (and learning to just let go)

I took a clue from all the happy grandparents around me and realized: If we were going to really enjoy this, I had to follow the kids? lead.

Globe Magazine

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/21/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/youssef0930secondary.jpg I was friends with the Boston Marathon bomber, and his crimes haunt me still

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev seemed so like me. But he was hiding more than I ever realized.

Miss Conduct

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/24/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/miss%20conduct_logo-4427.jpg Advice: My mom looked at my messages and found out about her surprise party

Plus, questions on Facebook unfriending and a possibly dangerous diet.

Opinion & Ideas

Ideas | David A. Moss and Dean Grodzins

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/27/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/sqmoss.jpg A crisis for voting rights

The Constitution explicitly guaranteed African-Americans? right to go to the polls, but states just ignored it. What does it take to turn the law into more than just words on paper?

Special reports

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/02/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/RinaldiDrama33.jpg The world, the stage, the way ahead

Lost and alone, Deb made a decision to reclaim the only home she?d ever had, whatever the risk.

Newsletters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/06/25/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/statehouse150-3271.jpg This Week in Politics

A convenient digest of the top political news of the past week, delivered every Saturday. Sign up now.

The Big Picture

Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Big picture

A drama unfolds in Peabody

Deb was still new to this high school in Peabody, and had found her way to the vaunted theater program, establishing a foothold in a realm that felt magical.

Real Estate

Home of the Week: Two-bedroom condo in a former school listed for $399,900

Built in 1931, it served as a school for decades before it was converted into a condo complex known as Academy Park. Search more Fall House Hunt listings at realestate.boston.com.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/GettyImages-3123228-1024x576.jpg Can genetic tests gauge how well antidepressants will work?

With more products aimed at gauging the effectiveness of mental health treatments, some say science is getting left behind.

Love Letters: The Podcast

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/200_love_letters_bonus.jpg Until next year, my sweetheart

In a special bonus episode, Meredith Goldstein explores what happens to summer romance when the summer ends, and ?Wet Hot American Summer? creator David Wain shares a girl-crazy memory from his own camp days.

Listen:   Apple Podcasts   |   Stitcher   |   RadioPublic

 

Real Estate

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/09/17/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/millennials$medium.jpg Despite debt, millennials are the biggest home-buying generation. How?

Slightly more than a third of all home purchases were made by millennials over the past year.

Globe event

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/06/08/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/SeattleTimes_10kirsner02_biz.jpg 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.

Crossword

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/08/21/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/crossword.jpg Play the crossword

Puzzled? Keep trying your hand at our interactive crossword and see if you can triumph.