The Boston Globe

Amid cautious hope on Omicron, Massachusetts sets daily record for COVID cases

Doctors in the state say the current surge has pushed hospitals and health systems to a “crisis point."

Leaders of 9 Massachusetts hospitals ask the public to do 5 things to help control COVID-19 surge

In radio appearance, Wu discloses racist pushback to vaccination mandate, COVID-19 policy

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Wednesday spoke of a racist response that she has received in the aftermath of a proof-of-vaccination mandate for some indoor spaces.

After years of doubts, hopes grow that nuclear fusion is finally for real and could help address climate change

After breakthroughs this year at MIT and elsewhere, scientists — and a growing number of deep-pocketed investors — insist that fusion is for real and could start sending power to electricity grids in about a decade.

Boyfriend of woman found dead in Saugus arrested on charges of larceny, obstruction, tampering with evidence

Bruce Maiben, 44, of Lynn, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Lynn District Court, the district attorney’s office said in a statement late Wednesday night.

Celtics 111, Cavaliers 101

Jaylen Brown helps shorthanded Celtics overpower the Cavaliers

Brown led the way for the Celtics with 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in a 111-101 victory over the Cavaliers.

YVONNE ABRAHAM

Even at a dark time, there’s plenty to give us hope

I reached out to some of my favorite thinkers, some of them inveterate optimists, to ask what gives them hope. They offered plenty of good cheer, some finding it in the unlikeliest of places.

Student Tanush Jagdish, a native of India has been through a difficult time mentally since the start of COVID-19, and his lifeline has been his Golden Retriever, Ollie, who he takes to the Harvard University lab where he works. He spends a break with her in his office. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff (metro)

On college campuses, Omicron is fueling more stress for students as it causes another round of closures

The highly contagious Omicron variant is compounding pressure on college students and administrators, prompting some to announce at least a temporary return to remote learning in January.

PCR or rapid antigen? Here’s how to use COVID tests to gather safely for the holidays

Getting fresh air is one way to stay sane during quarantine.

Found yourself in quarantine? We asked public health experts for suggestions on how to spend the time

Whether you've tested positive, or are choosing to isolate ahead of the holidays just to be safe, here’s a look at some things you can do during quarantine to help pass the time.

Tell us: Are you traveling to see grandchildren or resuming other potentially risky activities this holiday season?

COVID-19: THE LATEST

Supreme Court will consider Biden vaccine mandates; Pfizer pill is authorized for home treatment

These charts show where COVID-19 cases are surging in the US

The fast-spreading Omicron variant is sweeping across the country, causing COVID-19 cases to surge once again in what officials say is another winter wave of infections that’s only expected to worsen.

Michael Mina can’t stop talking about the need for rapid COVID tests. The country may finally be listening. But is it too late?

“I feel we’ve learned so little despite so much pain,” said the former Brigham and Women’s epidemiologist.

A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt

From bell hooks to Virgil Abloh to your local creatives, the arts contribute to radical change

Activism requires organizers, policy, and protest. But first, there is imagination.

The Questions, featuring Derecka Purnell Follow @abeautifulresistance on Instagram See more from A Beautiful Resistance

Big Lux's Beautiful Resistance: A Veteran's Violin Sings Black Lives Matter

Created and produced by Jeneé Osterheldt/Globe Staff, Directed and edited by Daymian Mejia, Supervising Producer Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff, Illustrations by Paula Champagne, Photo by Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Opinion

"I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know how I’d pull it off." The author runs along a dilapidated street in Maracaibo.

IDEAS | ANTONIO MATHEUS

The lunacy of the long distance runner

Trading one compulsion for another, I ran 12 marathons in a year through a country in shambles.

Bottles of abortion pills at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. Earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration loosened some restrictions on the pill mifepristone.

IDEAS | RACHEL REBOUCHÉ, GREER DONLEY, AND DAVID S. COHEN

Progress in the bid to make abortion pills more widely available

Joan Vennochi

A gift that touches the heart

Joe Manchin updates reporters at the Capitol, in Washington, on Sept. 30, 2021.

EDITORIAL

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

California Governor Gavin Newsom has broached a gun-control initiative that borrows strategy from Texas' recent controversial abortion ban.

Laurence H. Tribe, Jonathan M. Metzl, and David Hogg

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms

Violent insurrectionists loyal to Donald Trump tried to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

America is ‘closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe,’ CIA adviser says

One of the world’s leading experts on political violence and terrorism is sounding the alarm on the state of democracy in America, warning that the country is increasingly on the path to being caught up in the throes of a second civil war.

Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson (center) has seven interceptions.

Patriots J.C. Jackson, Matthew Judon, and Matthew Slater all land Pro Bowl spots

It was the first nod for Jackson, the third for Judon, and the 10th for Slater.

Ben Affleck, left, and Tye Sheridan in "The Tender Bar."

MOVIE REVIEW | ★★½

Ben Affleck gives a Cadillac of a performance in ‘The Tender Bar’

George Clooney directed this adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s best-selling memoir, costarring Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe, and Christopher Lloyd.

Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered to Hawaii

A Hawaii mom of three was shocked over the weekend to find a package believed to contain hundreds of COVID-19 test samples mistakenly delivered by FedEx to her home on Oahu.

Supreme Judicial Court broadens police power to use pat frisks in sharply divided opinion

A sharply divided Supreme Judicial Court Wednesday expanded the legal standard police must use to justify frisking a person suspected of being armed, but they did so by endorsing a concept three dissenting justices say will harm communities of color.

Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan

The House panel investigating the Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday.

Wu names Jessicah Pierre new communications chief

Mayor Michelle Wu says Pierre “shares our vision of a Boston for everyone.”

DA Rollins dismisses murder case against man recently freed from prison following revelations of misconduct by police, prosecutors

Shaun Jenkins was released in September after recently uncovered files showed a Boston police detective paid a key witness $100 and prosecutors withheld evidence that could have pointed to another suspect in the murder of his cousin in 2001.

QUICK BITE

A tiny Watertown spot features four superb Thai chicken and rice entrees

The big white bird on the bright yellow storefront is as welcoming as the staff.

Globe Santa

Remembering a little gray cat with a Globe Santa donation

If you read the Globe Santa donor listings, you know them as “Santa’s friends.” They are the donors to the Globe Santa campaign and their names are listed in the newspaper in the weeks leading up to Christmas. For many of the generous benefactors, giving to Globe Santa has become a holiday tradition.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBE SANTA

Read the latest stories Make a donation. Make a difference.

Best of the holidays

People under the holiday lights on Boston Common.

9 places around Boston where you can get into the holiday spirit (for free)

Every holiday season comes with a gamut of things to do and gifts to buy, and it can take a toll on the old wallet. That got us thinking about some activities in and around the city where you can revel in the holiday spirit for free.

Boston is dressed in its wintery best. Here’s where to see Christmas trees, menorahs, and other decorations 20 family-friendly events to put you in the holiday spirit

Experts share how the recent COVID surge has changed their holiday plans

We asked infectious disease experts what precautions they’re taking this season, whether the rise of Omicron has changed their plans, and what advice they have for holiday gatherings.

Crime reports paint a picture of violence radiating through Mass. and Cass

Mass. and Cass has been the scene of a disturbing level of violence, with six killings, more than a dozen rapes and attempted rapes, numerous assaults and stabbings, and two dozen unattended deaths in the past year.

Chuck Hunt, who ‘had a kindness toward the least powerful,’ dies at 67

The husband of former acting governor Jane Swift, Mr. Hunt "was our friend, but he was also who we aspired to be," said a friend since childhood in Williamstown.

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading

While much remains unknown about the variant, it’s clear that it’s incredibly transmissible, becoming the dominant strain in the country in just a few weeks since it was first identified.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Boston Ballet dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy (center) performs in the company's "Bach Cello Suites," at Jacob's Pillow in Becket in 2019.

‘Crying happy tears’: Chyrstyn Fentroy promoted to principal dancer at Boston Ballet

Pages from "Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom," a new book curated by his daughter, Nora Guthrie

In a new book about Woody Guthrie, his daughter tells his story through what he left behind

Billy Conway died at age 65 after battling cancer for several years.

APPRECIATION

It didn’t take a lot for drummer Billy Conway to make a big impression

"The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a grassy Bench."

A drawing sold for $30 at a Concord estate sale. It is believed to be an original Dürer worth $50 million

Special Projects

An older lobsterman passed by Tanner Lazaro as he hauled up his traps in his boat, Used N Abused, on Aug. 24. During the summer Tanner hauled his own traps on whatever days his mentor Frankie Thompson or another lobsterman didn't need his help.

The lobster trap

The plentiful catch that brought wealth to fishing families is at risk, as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine. A way of life is on the line, but lobstermen can't, or won't, imagine another.

The 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

Is your employer among the 150 companies to make the list?

Jeneé Osterheldt

A Beautiful Resistance

Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt.

‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

EDITORIAL

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

Laurence H. Tribe, Jonathan M. Metzl, and David Hogg

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms

A voter submits their ballot on the first day of early voting in the New York City primary election on June 12, 2021.

JEFF JACOBY

Voting is for citizens

Crowds fill Copley Square during the First Night celebration in Boston, Dec. 31, 2016.

RENÉE GRAHAM

COVID-19 is surging. Cancel First Night Boston.

Honduras's president-elect, Xiomara Castro.

IDEAS | STEPHEN KINZER

The politics of immigration makes the US sing a new tune in Central America

IDEAS | ABDALLAH FAYYAD

Editing the Constitution

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Supreme Court will consider Biden vaccine mandates; Pfizer pill is authorized for home treatment

The latest news and guidance on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in New England and beyond.

DA Rollins dismisses murder case against man recently freed from prison following revelations of misconduct by police, prosecutors

Amid cautious hope on Omicron, Massachusetts sets daily record for COVID cases

Doctors in the state say the current surge has pushed hospitals and health systems to a “crisis point."

On college campuses, Omicron is fueling more stress for students as it causes another round of closures

The highly contagious Omicron variant is compounding pressure on college students and administrators, prompting some to announce at least a temporary return to remote learning in January.

Sports

In addition to finishing as the Celtics scoring leader with 34 points, Jaylen Brown also had a hand in Boston's defensive effort against the Cavaliers, blocking Ricky Rubio's layup attempt in the first quarter of Wednesday night's game.

Celtics 111, Cavaliers 101

Jaylen Brown helps shorthanded Celtics overpower the Cavaliers

Brown led the way for the Celtics with 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in a 111-101 victory over the Cavaliers.

Patriots

Patriots J.C. Jackson, Matthew Judon, and Matthew Slater all land Pro Bowl spots

It was the first nod for Jackson, the third for Judon, and the 10th for Slater.

Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe (34) reaches for a rebound against the Western Kentucky Hilltopper sat Rupp Arena on Wednesday night in Lexington, Kentucky.

SPORTS LOG

Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe pulls 28 rebounds for Rupp Arena-record during Wildcats’ rout of Western Kentucky

Oscar Tshiebwe flirted with 30 before being pulled with 2:06 remaining as the Wildcats owned the glass 50-27.

Patriots

In Patriots-Bills rematch, you can throw previous game’s plans out the window

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS' BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

After tackling new challenge, Meg Olbrys has become a star on the basketball court for Norwood

live updates

COVID-19 sports updates: Robert Saleh tests positive, 14 Jets players on COVID-IR

Business

Omicron brings new risks to mostly unvaccinated pregnant women

The Omicron variant is heightening risks for this little-talked-about demographic: pregnant women

Lab project near Somerville’s Union Square lines up financing

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

As 3G dies, old phones aren’t the only victims

Biden and Democrats scramble to salvage social, climate package

STAT

Listen to our "First Opinion" podcast

Listen to our "Readout LOUD" podcast

Subscribe to STAT Plus

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities

A STAT investigation shows that researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers.

Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms

STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

DISTANCED: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South

Photographer Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real

The procedure aims to restore proprioception, the ability to sense where our limbs are in space and how fast and forcefully they’re moving.

magazine

2021

Meet this year's Bostonians of the Year

PERSPECTIVE

Devin McCourty and Tito SantosSilva on ending gang violence now

MISS CONDUCT

I'm heading to QAnon country for Christmas. How do I stay cool?

Cooking

Amid cautious hope on Omicron, Massachusetts sets daily record for COVID cases

In radio appearance, Wu discloses racist pushback to vaccination mandate, COVID-19 policy

Boyfriend of woman found dead in Saugus arrested on charges of larceny, obstruction, tampering with evidence

Celtics 111, Cavaliers 101 Jaylen Brown helps shorthanded Celtics overpower the Cavaliers Brown led the way for the Celtics with 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in a 111-101 victory over the Cavaliers.

YVONNE ABRAHAM Even at a dark time, there’s plenty to give us hope I reached out to some of my favorite thinkers, some of them inveterate optimists, to ask what gives them hope. They offered plenty of good cheer, some finding it in the unlikeliest of places.

On college campuses, Omicron is fueling more stress for students as it causes another round of closures

Found yourself in quarantine? We asked public health experts for suggestions on how to spend the time

These charts show where COVID-19 cases are surging in the US

Michael Mina can’t stop talking about the need for rapid COVID tests. The country may finally be listening. But is it too late? “I feel we’ve learned so little despite so much pain,” said the former Brigham and Women’s epidemiologist.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance

Vaccinations

Cases and deaths

Other resources:

From bell hooks to Virgil Abloh to your local creatives, the arts contribute to radical change

The lunacy of the long distance runner

Progress in the bid to make abortion pills more widely available

A gift that touches the heart

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms

America is ‘closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe,’ CIA adviser says

Patriots J.C. Jackson, Matthew Judon, and Matthew Slater all land Pro Bowl spots

Ben Affleck gives a Cadillac of a performance in ‘The Tender Bar’

More recent stories

Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered to Hawaii A Hawaii mom of three was shocked over the weekend to find a package believed to contain hundreds of COVID-19 test samples mistakenly delivered by FedEx to her home on Oahu.

Supreme Judicial Court broadens police power to use pat frisks in sharply divided opinion

Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan The House panel investigating the Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday.

Wu names Jessicah Pierre new communications chief Mayor Michelle Wu says Pierre “shares our vision of a Boston for everyone.”

DA Rollins dismisses murder case against man recently freed from prison following revelations of misconduct by police, prosecutors

QUICK BITE A tiny Watertown spot features four superb Thai chicken and rice entrees The big white bird on the bright yellow storefront is as welcoming as the staff.

Remembering a little gray cat with a Globe Santa donation

LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBE SANTA

Best of the holidays

9 places around Boston where you can get into the holiday spirit (for free)

Recommended reads

Experts share how the recent COVID surge has changed their holiday plans

Crime reports paint a picture of violence radiating through Mass. and Cass Mass. and Cass has been the scene of a disturbing level of violence, with six killings, more than a dozen rapes and attempted rapes, numerous assaults and stabbings, and two dozen unattended deaths in the past year.

Chuck Hunt, who ‘had a kindness toward the least powerful,’ dies at 67 The husband of former acting governor Jane Swift, Mr. Hunt "was our friend, but he was also who we aspired to be," said a friend since childhood in Williamstown.

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading While much remains unknown about the variant, it’s clear that it’s incredibly transmissible, becoming the dominant strain in the country in just a few weeks since it was first identified.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

‘Crying happy tears’: Chyrstyn Fentroy promoted to principal dancer at Boston Ballet

In a new book about Woody Guthrie, his daughter tells his story through what he left behind

It didn’t take a lot for drummer Billy Conway to make a big impression

A drawing sold for $30 at a Concord estate sale. It is believed to be an original Dürer worth $50 million

Special Projects

The lobster trap

The 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

A Beautiful Resistance

‘On the Street’: The changing face of Greater Boston neighborhoods

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Debunking Manchin’s anti-Build Back Better myths

Democrats should apply Supreme Court’s abortion decision to firearms

Voting is for citizens

COVID-19 is surging. Cancel First Night Boston.

The politics of immigration makes the US sing a new tune in Central America

Editing the Constitution

Metro

Supreme Court will consider Biden vaccine mandates; Pfizer pill is authorized for home treatment

DA Rollins dismisses murder case against man recently freed from prison following revelations of misconduct by police, prosecutors

Amid cautious hope on Omicron, Massachusetts sets daily record for COVID cases

On college campuses, Omicron is fueling more stress for students as it causes another round of closures

Sports

Jaylen Brown helps shorthanded Celtics overpower the Cavaliers

Patriots J.C. Jackson, Matthew Judon, and Matthew Slater all land Pro Bowl spots

Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe pulls 28 rebounds for Rupp Arena-record during Wildcats’ rout of Western Kentucky

In Patriots-Bills rematch, you can throw previous game’s plans out the window

After tackling new challenge, Meg Olbrys has become a star on the basketball court for Norwood

COVID-19 sports updates: Robert Saleh tests positive, 14 Jets players on COVID-IR

Business

Omicron brings new risks to mostly unvaccinated pregnant women

Lab project near Somerville’s Union Square lines up financing

As 3G dies, old phones aren’t the only victims

Biden and Democrats scramble to salvage social, climate package

STAT

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities A STAT investigation shows that researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers.

Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

DISTANCED: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South Photographer Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real The procedure aims to restore proprioception, the ability to sense where our limbs are in space and how fast and forcefully they’re moving.

Meet this year's Bostonians of the Year

Celtics 111, Cavaliers 101

Jaylen Brown helps shorthanded Celtics overpower the Cavaliers

Brown led the way for the Celtics with 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in a 111-101 victory over the Cavaliers.

YVONNE ABRAHAM

Even at a dark time, there’s plenty to give us hope

I reached out to some of my favorite thinkers, some of them inveterate optimists, to ask what gives them hope. They offered plenty of good cheer, some finding it in the unlikeliest of places.

Michael Mina can’t stop talking about the need for rapid COVID tests. The country may finally be listening. But is it too late?

“I feel we’ve learned so little despite so much pain,” said the former Brigham and Women’s epidemiologist.

Package of COVID-19 test samples from Methuen mistakenly delivered to Hawaii

A Hawaii mom of three was shocked over the weekend to find a package believed to contain hundreds of COVID-19 test samples mistakenly delivered by FedEx to her home on Oahu.

Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan

The House panel investigating the Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday.

Wu names Jessicah Pierre new communications chief

Mayor Michelle Wu says Pierre “shares our vision of a Boston for everyone.”

QUICK BITE

A tiny Watertown spot features four superb Thai chicken and rice entrees

The big white bird on the bright yellow storefront is as welcoming as the staff.

Crime reports paint a picture of violence radiating through Mass. and Cass

Mass. and Cass has been the scene of a disturbing level of violence, with six killings, more than a dozen rapes and attempted rapes, numerous assaults and stabbings, and two dozen unattended deaths in the past year.

Chuck Hunt, who ‘had a kindness toward the least powerful,’ dies at 67

The husband of former acting governor Jane Swift, Mr. Hunt "was our friend, but he was also who we aspired to be," said a friend since childhood in Williamstown.

These 5 charts show how fast Omicron is spreading

While much remains unknown about the variant, it’s clear that it’s incredibly transmissible, becoming the dominant strain in the country in just a few weeks since it was first identified.

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities

A STAT investigation shows that researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers.

Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 as the season looms

STAT spoke with infectious disease experts and others about what to expect from Covid-19 as the seasons change.

DISTANCED: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South

Photographer Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real

The procedure aims to restore proprioception, the ability to sense where our limbs are in space and how fast and forcefully they’re moving.