Mass. foster care placements need independent oversight, advocates say

Legislation would create an outside, independent agency to review foster care in Massachusetts.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/03/20/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/RinaldiDCFDay101.jpg Auditor concerned that communication issues hurt foster children?s education

A new report states the issues lead to educational delays for abused and neglected children as they are moved from foster home to foster home.

The South Bay Stop & Shop store in Dorchester on Saturday.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Stop & Shop agreement seen as a win for workers

If a proposed contract is approved, current workers would maintain benefits, while new part-time hires would see reductions in pension benefits and premium pay on Sundays.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/19/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/1134626834.jpg As Democrats debate impeachment, Pelosi says focus on investigations

Democrats are trying to make President Trump?s conduct part of their 2020 election push, but they?re struggling over whether to actually try and impeach him.

Associated Press/AFP/Getty Images

Ground Game

4 takeaways from the 2020 Democratic town halls in N.H.

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg all answered questions in prime time.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Chin022219OrchidsofAsiaDaySpa_Met4.jpg Spa patrons file class action suit in Florida prostitution case

Florida authorities behind the solicitation case that has ensnared Patriots owner Robert Kraft are being sued for invasion of privacy in a federal class-action lawsuit, court documents show.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/23/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/AFP_1FO5CX-6145.jpg Lori Loughlin, other defendants in college cheating scandal, want to review evidence

The actress and more than a dozen other defendants in the college admissions cheating scandal are asking to review evidence before they file any ?substantive motions? in the case.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/23/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/1138818692.jpg Easter bombing victims include Sri Lankan carpenter, American fifth-grader

More than 300 people were killed in bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

Boston, MA - 8/15/17 - The Boston skyline from the return ferry back from George's Island on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. (Nicholas Pfosi for The Boston Globe)

Nicholas Pfosi for The Boston Globe

Nonprofit floats details about new proposed Boston Harbor ferry routes

The business plans for two new Boston Harbor ferry routes are done. Now comes the hard part: Finding someone willing to run these boats, and potential subsidies to offset the costs.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/greenhouse23superintendent1.jpg Superintendent candidate says ?frank conversation? needed on declining BPS enrollment

Says she will collaborate, make tough choices about school system?s declining enrollment.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/runner1234.jpg Three Chinese runners accused of cheating in Boston Marathon

One of the runners allegedly gave his bib number to someone else and the other two allegedly cheated their way into the marathon by forging their personal best results.

Pawtucket police Detective Susan Cormier said a byproduct of the playing cards is a statewide task force on cold cases.
Pawtucket Detective Susan Cormier held a deck of playing cards that each feature an unsolved case across Rhode Island.

Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe

R.I. tries to crack unsolved murder, missing person cases with playing cards

The playing cards are being sold to inmates in the Rhode Island prison system and the public.

Boston Bruins' Patrice Bergeron celebrates with teammate Zdeno Chara after scoring the overtime winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final hockey playoff series in Boston, Massachusetts May 13, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

When you roll the 7s in the playoffs, you get unforgettable moments

Boston?s sports history is littered with both triumph and heartbreak in the only true ?must-win? game: Game 7.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 20: Andrew Benintendi #16 of the Boston Red Sox hits a sacrifice fly out for Jackie Bradley Jr. #19 to score the go-ahead against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field on April 20, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Alex Speier | On baseball

Andrew Benintendi showing glimpses of opposite-field power

Benintendi?s grand slam to left-center in Saturday?s 6-5 win at Tampa was a sparkling example.

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, in Boston. The Bucks won 120-107. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Chad Finn

Series with Milwaukee should tell us who the Celtics are

The sweep over the Indiana Pacers was nice, but it?s tough to draw conclusions on the Celtics thus far.

Sam Barber, owner of Cultivate in Leicester, earned a bachelor?s degree in business and entrepreneurship from Babson College in 2016.

For pot entrepreneur Sam Barber, growth?s the focus

The CEO of Leicester-based Cultivate is looking to expand his business in several ways, including into a cannabis wholesale program.

Students and local officials gather outside the Brooks Elementary School in Medford on Monday for the unveiling of a three-dimensional crosswalk. (City of Medford / Mayor's office) 23crosswalk

City of Medford / Mayor's office

Students convince Medford to install ?3-D? crosswalks at elementary schools

The city on Monday unveiled a three-dimensional crosswalk at one of its elementary schools. More are planned for other schools.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Clipboard-6136.jpg How population numbers in Boston and Massachusetts changed over the past 8 years

The Greater Boston metropolitan area grew from 4.55 million in 2010 to 4.875 million in 2018, and ranked the 10th most populous in the nation last year, according to new Census data.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Inequality1.jpg Climate change has increased world economic inequality, study says

Global warming has increased the wealth gap among the world?s countries by enriching cooler, wealthier countries and dragging down growth in hotter, poorer countries, Stanford University said.

Flat design illustration concepts for creative process, big data filter, data tunnel, analysis concept

Graphicroyalty - stock.adobe.com

Opinion | Kathleen Hall Jamieson

What should the press learn from its use of Russian hacked content?

The nation?s news outlets should promulgate policies regarding use of hacked materials.

Letters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/b1215290dfc54e04a6d2326e48193422-4bb7aaf13ad14ee3a8bb7a42da6e8bcc-1048.jpg After the Mueller report: Now what?

Where the Trump investigation turns next depends very much on party politics and voter appetite.

JOAN VENNOCHI

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/vennochi_480-1045.jpg BPS students deserve an honest process in search for schools chief

Is Cathedral High School headmaster Oscar Santos already the anointed new Boston Public Schools superintendent?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/greenhouse23labspace2.jpg Amid Boston?s red-hot real estate market, Sanofi Genzyme flips a deal and makes a tidy profit

The Cambridge-based drug maker will sublease its location in Kendall Square, which commands the highest rents on the East Coast except for prime parts of Manhattan.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Don_Juan_Pond,_South_Fork,_Upper_Wright_Valley,_Antarctica._(24758281740).jpg MIT researchers say life may have begun in a puddle

Researchers from MIT are suggesting the big moment may not have happened in the ocean ? but rather in a shallow pond, perhaps 4 inches deep.

04/06/2019 BOSTON, MA Camille Kostek (cq) (left) and Rob Gronkowski (cq) sat together before Gronkowski received an award for all the wishes he's made come true for kids battling life-threatening illnesses during the Make-A-Wish Gala held at the Intercontinental Boston. (Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

NAMES

Gronk enjoys retirement with Camille Kostek in the Bahamas

Looks like he spent some of the Easter weekend tossing around a football.

Greg Shell on evening economic disparities

As managing director of the Bain Capital Double Impact Fund, Greg Shell works to identify and fund companies that offer profitable models for addressing critical social problems.

Special reports

The house at 212 Forest St.

He bought the fencing coach?s house. Then his son got into Harvard

The Needham house was assessed at $549,300, but sold for nearly a million dollars. The buyer, who never lived a day there, would sell it 17 months later at a substantial loss in what may become the next chapter in the national debate over fairness in college admissions.

Munch Madness

Munch Madness | Final

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/munch.jpg And the Munch Madness winner is . . .

Beloved Boston bakery Flour takes the cake over Sarma to clinch Munch Madness 2019.

Love Letters: The Podcast

Season Two: How do you meet someone?

Dating in 2019 is?complicated. Frustrating. Sometimes completely exhilarating. In Season 2 of the podcast, Meredith Goldstein goes deep on one of her most-asked questions.

Newsletters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/16/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Baseball-108-Stitches-C-6305.jpg 108 Stitches

Follow the Sox as they try to repeat as world champs, with insight and analysis from the Globe?s beat writers and columnists. Sign up here.

The Big Picture

Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP

The Big Picture

Spring blossoms

In celebration of Earth Day, a look at photographs depicting the beautiful transformation of spring landscapes all over the globe.

Spring House Hunt

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/12/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/12sellersxref.jpg The things home sellers do that can turn off buyers or kill a sale

A hot housing market forgives a lot of mistakes, but that doesn?t stop sellers from undermining their own home sale.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/04/22/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/VRTrees1-1024x576.jpg Can VR boost positive feelings in patients with depression?

Existing depression treatments aim to curb negative symptoms, but often don?t boost positive feelings. Can virtual reality help?

Podcasts