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Baker touts 2 million booster doses jabbed into Mass. residents’ arms as COVID-19 battle rages on

Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced that 2 million booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Massachusetts amid the ongoing battle against the pandemic.
‘Is COVID-19 ever going to go away?’: Mass. surpassed 1 million cases … and counting
COVID-19: THE LATEST

US breaks daily coronavirus case record; leaders urge Americans to cancel New Year’s plans

THE GREAT DIVIDE

As COVID rates soar, Mass. schools brace for a chaotic January — and lots of testing

In their quest to safely reopen classrooms in January amid a surge of COVID infections, schools across Massachusetts are ramping up testing, tightening COVID restrictions, and bracing for some chaos.

Pharmacist intern Kevin Kim of VaxinateRx administered a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5-11 to Cameron Godsoe, 6, as his sister Isabella, 8, and mother, Kristen, watched during a vaccination clinic at A. W. Coolidge Middle School in Reading.
Hospitals prepare for more children, but so far, few are getting very sick from Omicron
Boston Children’s Hospital, which cares for the region’s sickest children, had 17 children with COVID-19 in the hospital this week, up from just six on Nov. 23.

Mass. coronavirus at a glance
Vaccinations
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Trend:
1+ dose received:
Fully vaccinated:
Cases and deaths
Total cases:
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Total deaths:
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Other resources:
Last updated: . NOTE: Mass DPH releases data Monday-Friday starting July 2021. Mass. population of 6,892,503 is used to calculate vaccination percentages. SOURCE: Mass. Dept. of Public Health
Our Beautiful Resistance
Behind the scenes of A Beautiful Resistance, Season 2 with Jeneé Osterheldt, Chaney Carlson-Bullock, Daymian Mejia, and Katherine Otuechere. ( Created and produced by Jeneé Osterheldt/Globe Staff, Directed and edited by Chaney Carlson-Bullock, First Assistant Director Mikayla Litevich, Supervising Producer Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff, Illustrations by Paula Champagne )
A Beautiful Resistance | Jeneé Osterheldt

Behind the scenes of Season 2

We didn't just feature Black folk in front of the camera. We teamed up with three local visual storytellers to help direct and film every episode.
Watch Season 2 Follow @abeautifulresistance on Instagram
Opinion
Shoes worn on court by Enes Kanter Freedom of the Boston Celtics.
Enes Kanter Freedom

The Boston Celtics, my political activism, and a call for greater freedom

When I was targeted by Turkey for speaking out against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, my Celtic teammates consistently checked in on me and offered to help in any way they could.
A man picking is reflected in a puddle as he reaches down to pick up a used needle on Nov. 1 at the intersection of Mass. Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
Brendan Little

Truth and reconciliation at Mass. and Cass
In America, sheep have long been prized for their wool. Their meat? Not so much.
IDEAS | IKER SAITUA

The long history of Americans’ sheepishness about lamb
If corporate greed is Senator Elizabeth Warren’s one-size-fits-all explanation for why prices go up, how does she explain why they go down?
JEFF JACOBY

Elizabeth Warren’s one-trick inflation pony
Richard Sackler, the former president of Purdue Pharma, appears in a 2015 deposition video.
EDITORIAL

Throwing out the $4.5 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma is the right call
Firefighters were battling a 3-alarm fire in Cambridge Wednesday morning.

Elderly woman dies in 3-alarm fire in Cambridge

The fire was in a building on Webster Avenue, fire officials tweeted. Cambridge Fire Chief Gerry Mahoney confirmed that the woman, whose name was withheld, died on the second floor of the three-decker wood-frame residence.
Rhode Island state Representative Patricia Morgan.

How people reacted to state Representative Patricia Morgan’s tweet about losing ‘a black friend’ and CRT

Twitter was still on fire a day after the Rhode Island lawmaker’s most-recent lament about critical race theory. Here’s a roundup of the biggest reactions.
PERSPECTIVE

2021 was so weird, we barely registered that big UFO news

Is the potential reality of extraterrestrials too overwhelming — or too frightening — for our human brains to absorb?

More recent stories

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Mayor Wu announces slate of Cabinet re-appointments
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Wednesday announced an array of Cabinet re-appointments, as the leadership team of her administration continues to take shape.

TV CRITIC'S CORNER | Matthew Gilbert
Rebecca Breeds in "Clarice."
Seven TV shows that were major disappointments this year
A look back at some of the year’s most disappointing shows.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have muscled their way to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
If the playoffs started today, here’s how the postseason schedule would look
With just two weeks remaining, the AFC playoff picture is starting to come into sharper focus.

A resident walked through floodwater left behind by Hurricane Ida, the fifth strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States, in LaPlace, Louisiana. on Aug. 30.
In a record-breaking year of weather, signs of a changed world
The year 2021 was, for many people, the year in which climate change jumped from the part of our brains reserved for future-think — for worries not yet realized — and landed squarely in the now.

Taunton woman, 21, charged with drunken driving and vehicular homicide in connection with fatal Middleborough crash
A Taunton woman was allegedly intoxicated Tuesday when her vehicle collided with another car in Middleborough, killing the other driver, police said.

Three juveniles arrested for allegedly beating man, 66, at MBTA station

A group of six to seven juveniles, ranging in age from 14 to 16, were “engaging in harassing and intimidating behavior,” including pointing Nerf toy guns at several passengers, MBTA Transit Police said in a statement.

THE GREAT DIVIDE ⟶

See the latest from our education team focused on race, class, and opportunity in schools.

RHODE ISLAND ⟶

See the latest from Globe Rhode Island.

NEWTON ⟶

See the Globe’s expanded Newton coverage in partnership with Boston University.

Recommended reads

They took rapid COVID tests. The next 15 minutes were agonizing

Oh, rapid at-home tests, how much we need you. And how stressful you are.

Mass General Brigham offices in Somerville.
New report says Mass General Brigham’s expansion plans won’t raise costs
The new analysis contradicts a tough assessment issued last month by Attorney General Maura Healey.

Spotlight team report
Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, then president of Brigham Health, brought a Boston delegation in April 2018 to celebrate the opening of the Boao Evergrande International Hospital in China, constructed in a new medical tourism hub.
How Brigham Health helped create a Chinese hospital for elites — and almost nobody came
In a deal worth millions with Chinese developer Evergrande, a Harvard teaching hospital risked its reputation on what would become a near-empty shell.

A couple paused to take in the lights in the park across from the Boston Harbor Garage on New Year's Eve in 2020.
Where to safely celebrate New Year’s Eve outdoors in Massachusetts
For those feeling comfortable enough to venture out this New Year's Eve, outdoor events are still happening in and around the city.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

The Main Stage cast at Improv Asylum will be performing three New Year's Eve shows.

Six local New Year’s Eve comedy shows to help you get the last laugh on 2021
Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke at their Dublin home. The former Pogues frontman, who turned 64 on Christmas, has been slowed significantly by a series of health issues.

Speaking of Shane MacGowan, and for him: ‘I think he’s getting his mojo back. But it’s been a painful process.’
A scene from “My Dad Is a Sausage,” one of the films to be shown at Belmont World Film’s 19th annual Family Festival.

At this family film festival, see the world through kids’ eyes
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

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.

Opinion, ideas, and commentary

RENÉE GRAHAM

2022 has got to be better than 2021, right?
A lot of little things in the Constitution would be returned to a grammar school student, circled in red.
IDEAS | BARBARA WALLRAFF

May I have a word: Copyediting the Constitution
Massachusetts State Police takes photographs of a heavily-damaged unmarked state police cruiser that was struck by another car on March 16, 2016. Thomas Clardy, a Massachusetts State Police trooper, died of injuries from the crash. The other driver was found to have THC in his blood at the time he lost control of his vehicle.
EDITORIAL

Toking and driving just isn’t cool
Even if said in a casual way, "Good to see you!" invites a deeper bond.
IDEAS | KALLE OSKARI MATTILA

Good to see you!
OPINION

Words of the Year
"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

Metro

Mayor Wu announces slate of Cabinet re-appointments

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Wednesday announced an array of Cabinet re-appointments, as the leadership team of her administration continues to take shape.

The Globe’s 10 most-read stories of 2021

As the year comes to a close and we prepare to enter 2022, we’re taking a look back at the stories that resonated most with our readers.

Our Beautiful Resistance

Behind the scenes of A Beautiful Resistance, Season 2 with Jeneé Osterheldt, Chaney Carlson-Bullock, Daymian Mejia, and Katherine Otuechere.
Coronavirus Live Updates

US breaks daily coronavirus case record; leaders urge Americans to cancel New Year’s plans

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

Sports

The Bruins came out 5-2 winners when they tangled with the Canadiens at the Garden Nov. 14.
bruins

Bruins-Canadiens game at TD Garden March 21 is now off the schedule

Fans holding tickets for that game must use them Jan. 12 for the game that was moved from Montreal to Boston.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona missed the last two months of the 2021 season with health issues.
dan shaughnessy

Catching up with Terry Francona, who plans to be back in the Cleveland dugout

The former Red Sox manager is prohibited from discussing baseball matters, but he talked about his improving health and the late Jerry Remy.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have muscled their way to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Point After

If the playoffs started today, here’s how the postseason schedule would look

With just two weeks remaining, the AFC playoff picture is starting to come into sharper focus.
live updates

COVID-19 sports updates: Unvaccinated Carson Wentz lands on reserve list amid Colts’ playoff push
2021 Year In Review

The 18 best sports photos of 2021 by Boston Globe photographers
TUESDAY'S Hockey ROUNDUP

A little later than planned, Austin Prep boys’ hockey is off to a flying start this season

Business

shirley leung

Twice, Anne Finucane stepped back from her career. She still became one of the most powerful women in Corporate America

Finucane is among a cohort of trailblazing Boston women leaders who broke up the city’s old boys club. It can be easy to forget how hard they fought to be where they are, and how many barriers they knocked down along the way.

China’s COVID rules led fugitive to surrender after three years

A Chinese man sought by the police for three years turned himself in after being unable to withstand the restrictions on life amid the government’s Covid-19 curbs.

Three planes to fly potatoes to ease Japan french fries shortage

New report says Mass General Brigham’s expansion plans won’t raise costs

STAT

Dr. Monica McLemore, Associate Professor in the Family Health Care Nursing Department at UCSF, stands for a portrait at the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Friday, September 10th, 2021 in Oakland, Calif.
‘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.

Covid winter illustration
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.

Funeral goers sing during a service for Daisy Pace at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in January 2021.
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.

Boston, MA -- 05/12/21 -- Dr. Matthew Carty examines patient Jerry Majethic at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital on May 12, 2021, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Kayana Szymczak for STAT)
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
The best photos of 2021 from Boston Globe photographers.
2021

The 24 best photos of the year by Globe photographers
best features

The top 12 most popular Globe Magazine stories of 2021
Dave Barry looks back at the newsmakers of 2021.
GLOBE MAGAZINE

Dave Barry’s 2021 Year in Review: A variant of 2020, so to speak
Jonathan Way plays with two coyotes he helped raise at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham in 2004.
GLOBE MAGAZINE

This scientist bottle-fed and bayed with coyotes. Was he sidelined for loving them too much?

metro

People received their COVID-19 booster shot hosted by the Boston Public Health Commission at Boston City Hall.

Baker touts 2 million booster doses jabbed into Mass. residents’ arms as COVID-19 battle rages on

How people reacted to state Representative Patricia Morgan’s tweet about losing ‘a black friend’ and CRT

Some good news as COVID-19 cases hit a record high in Rhode Island

sports

Needham's Alina Ouligian (left) and Foxborough's Camryn Collins scrap for a loose ball in Tuesday night's nonleague matchup.

Foxborough girls’ basketball survives Needham rally after defensive refocus

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook notch triple-doubles as Lakers end losing skid at five

No. 1 Baylor wins 18th in row, cracks 100 points in beating Northwestern State

business

(FILES) In this file photo the Moderna headquarters is seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 18, 2020.

Moderna sheds $98 billion in value as stock slumps 50% from peak

More than 1,000 flights canceled Tuesday as Omicron, weather take toll on air travel

Apple aims to prevent defections to Meta with rare $180,000 bonuses for top talent

politics

Harry Reid delivered a speech in Las Vegas in 2006.

Leaders mourn former Senate majority leader Harry Reid

Harry Reid dies at 82. A master Senate technician, he was key to passing health care expansion

No charges for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo from allegations by two women, DA says

Nation

Clockwise from top left: Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert, President Biden, former hockey player Jimmy Hayes, people waiting in line at a COVID-19 testing site and former Globe reporter Jack Thomas.

The Globe’s 10 most-read stories of 2021

US breaks daily coronavirus case record; leaders urge Americans to cancel New Year’s plans

Baker touts 2 million booster doses jabbed into Mass. residents’ arms as COVID-19 battle rages on

World

Social distancing signs on precautions against the coronavirus are displayed in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021.

Asia keeps Omicron at bay, but a surge may be inevitable

China’s COVID rules led fugitive to surrender after three years

Three planes to fly potatoes to ease Japan french fries shortage

opinion

Flags and wreaths honor veterans on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, April 28, 2020, where 77 people died due to COVID-19.

Individual accountability alone won’t change things at Soldiers’ Home

Get the lead out

Good to see you!

lifestyle

Row 34 offers a pairing of Krug champagne and caviar for one night only as part of its New Year's Eve special.

New Year’s Eve restaurants where you can dine in or order takeout to keep you full until the new year

Get spicy with Ricky’s Hot Stuff

With On The Rocks cocktails, all you need is ice

food & dining

Hot sauces by Ricky’s Hot Stuff.

Get spicy with Ricky’s Hot Stuff

With On The Rocks cocktails, all you need is ice

‘If you’re looking for weird things, then shop here’

travel

Guests enjoyed the oceanside view from the front porch of the Chatham Bars Inn.

Chatham Bars Inn ranked among the world’s best hotels by Condé Nast Traveler

New Year’s at the Mystic museum, curling at the Liberty Hotel, and a test lab in the palm of your hand

Jenna Rubaii seeks out parks and the unexpected when traveling

Arts

One of the video monitors looking outward from Fountain Street Gallery, displaying a work of video art by Hogan Seidel that was on view earlier this year.

In SoWa Art + Design District, video gallery brings art to the sidewalk 24/7

‘Imagine Van Gogh’ doesn’t leave much to the imagination

Adria Arch, known for airborne sculptures, grounds herself with ‘The Visitors’

Books

Novelist Mameve Medwed photographed in the third floor study of her Cambridge home. Medwed, whose seven witty novels included “Mail” and “How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life,” died Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021.

Mameve Medwed, novelist with an ‘irrepressible sense of humor,’ dies at 79

Away in a manger in ‘The First Christmas’

She reads about politics — and everything else

Movies

Charlton Heston in "Soylent Green."

‘Green’ technology of a different sort

They called him ‘The Torso Killer’

At this family film festival, see the world through kids’ eyes

Television

Rebecca Breeds in "Clarice."

Seven TV shows that were major disappointments this year

Fans thank Issa Rae, ‘Insecure’ for its portrayal of growth — and its representation of Black women

10 New Year’s Eve-themed sitcom episodes to ring in 2022

music

Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke at their Dublin home. The former Pogues frontman, who turned 64 on Christmas, has been slowed significantly by a series of health issues.

Speaking of Shane MacGowan, and for him: ‘I think he’s getting his mojo back. But it’s been a painful process.’

6 New Year’s Eve performances from Boston-bred artists

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

Theater/Dance

Gregg Mozgala and Shannon DeVido in the Huntington's "Teenage Dick."

‘Teenage Dick’ closes early at the Huntington due to COVID cases

Six local New Year’s Eve comedy shows to help you get the last laugh on 2021

On New Year’s Eve, a cautious return to comedy

globe local

A leatherback sea turtle ice sculpture was being created outside the New England Aquarium Wednesday. It was designed by Don Chapelle of Brilliant Ice Sculpture. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff

First Night Boston 2022 back after virtual programming

Mameve Medwed, Cambridge novelist and writing teacher, dies at 79

Desmond Tutu left his mark on New England

Obituaries

Harry M. Reid of Nevada was one of the longest serving Senate majority leaders.

Harry Reid dies at 82. A master Senate technician, he was key to passing health care expansion

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting icon John Madden dies at age 85

Mameve Medwed, novelist with an ‘irrepressible sense of humor,’ dies at 79