Obama, Romney exhort crowds in dashes to vital states

By Brian MacQuarrie and Callum Borchers

The race remains extremely close, with both President Obama and Mitt Romney predicting victory but passionately urging their supporters to vote.

Lawyers for both parties ready to challenge results

By Matt Viser

Presidential elections are decided at the ballot box, but this one could get a little assistance from the courtroom.

Cold threatens victims left homeless by Sandy

By Michael Schwirtz

Cold weather added to the plight of victims of Hurricane Sandy, with as many as 40,000 people in New York in need of new housing.

By Joel Greenberg

President Mahmoud Abbas ignited a controversy by suggesting that he is willing to waive the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes.

Clashes erupted Sunday in Tripoli between two militias aligned with Libya’s security forces.

US presence on Okinawa protested

Thousands rallied Sunday against American deployment of ­Osprey military aircraft on a southern Japanese island.

JULIETTE KAYYEM

Marathon misery

By Juliette Kayyem

Leeches and frostbite don’t compare to the horrible pain that is running the Boston Marathon.

JULIETTE KAYYEM

After Sandy, environmentalists, military find common cause

By Juliette Kayyem

After the deadly storm Sandy, environmental activists have found an unexpected ally: the military, a group not usually known for its liberal leanings.

JAMES CARROLL

By James Carroll

The largest unveiling, on election eve, is that it took a storm’s raw fury to transform the meaning of politics.

By Peter Schworm

In a pair of nonbinding ballot questions, some Mass. voters have the chance to tell the newly elected officials what they would like them to do when they get to Capitol Hill.

By David Filipov

Dedicated followers of both candidates are taking their talents to places where the election will be decided, first and foremost just over the border in N.H.

Audit details turmoil at Somerville nonprofit

By Matt Byrne

The former director of the agency that provides Head Start for preschoolers in Somerville and Cambridge freely used the agency’s credit card for personal expenses.

Hub Spot raises $35m

By Scott Kirsner

The Cambridge marketing firm, which helps businesses reach prospective customers using social media, is announcing Monday that it has raised an additional $35 million.

Harvard senior sets his record straight

By Allison Knothe

Nathan Georgette has been lauded for retracting a flawed scientific study he published at age 17.

By Michael B. Farrell

Social media platforms have been influential sounding boards, but some say they are not reliable barometers of political opinion.

Izona Fripp, grandmother became lab supervisor at state agency

By Emma Stickgold

Mrs. Fripp, who worked for the state Department of Public Health for nearly three decades, died Oct. 7 at age 88.

Mr. Dees, who died Oct. 24, had said that writing the song with Roy ­Orbison in 1964 changed his life.

Richard N. Current, 100, ‘dean of Lincoln scholars’

By Matt Schudel

Dr. Current was a wide-ranging scholar of American history who came late to the study of Abraham Lincoln.

Patriots’ Donald Thomas happy in either guard spot

By Shalise Manza Young

After years of feeling as though he didn’t like playing left guard, Thomas has been pushed into action at the position and is more than holding his own.

Dan Shaughnessy

By Dan Shaughnessy

Among his picked-up pieces column, Dan Shaughnessy says he just doesn’t see much competition for the Patriots in the AFC.

ON BASKETBALL

Jared Sullinger making strong impression on Celtics

By Gary Washburn

Rookies typically don’t earn much love from Kevin Garnett or Doc Rivers. But Sullinger is showing early signs he deserves some attention.

G Cover

Hospitals look to lower readmission rates

By Chelsea Conaboy

In the face of new federal penalties, many hospitals are rolling out programs to cut readmission rates for seniors who are treated for pneumonia, heart failure, or heart attacks.

Q&A

Pediatrics leader talks about biggest issues facing kids

By Karen Weintraub

Last month, Dr. James M. Perrin became the president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a professional group of 60,000 doctors.

MD mama

Making sense of arsenic and rice concerns

By Dr. Claire McCarthy

After doing some research, Dr. Claire McCarthy thinks that we all need to eat less rice, especially babies and children.