By Jennifer Steinhauer

Sharp divisions are forming between Democrats who believe the best path to gun control is through narrowly written bills and those who advocate a more guerrilla approach.

By CURT ANDERSON

Citing a lack of evidence, a judge dismissed terrorism support and conspiracy charges against one of two Muslim clerics accused of funneling money to the Pakistani Taliban.

By DON BABWIN

The student’s family said the $22.5 million settlement with the city is a ‘‘bittersweet victory’’ that will help pay for her extensive continuing therapy.

By Jason Straziuso

A 14-year study of a nearly 1,000 elephants in Kenya shows an alarming death rate among older males.

By Adam Nossiter and Rick Gladstone

Without warning other governments, Algeria mounted an assault Thursday on the heavily armed fighters holding American and other hostages.

By Sameer N. Yacoub

Insurgents unleashed a string of bomb attacks mainly targeting Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims across Iraq on Thursday.

Joshua Green

Do gun laws stand a chance?: Electorate wants change

By Joshua Green

President Obama’s new measures on gun control are useful policies but they won’t seriously restrict access to firearms.

Argeo Paul Cellucci

By Argeo Paul Cellucci

This should not be a partisan fight. We should honor the unbearable grief of so many by acting now so that others don’t suffer the same.

carlo rotella

He beat Mike Tyson

By Carlo Rotella

“One punch can change the chapters of anybody’s story,” Dorchester boxer Kevin McBride says in a new mini-documentary, “and my story is that I beat Mike Tyson.”

Officials hope gang raid results in long prison terms

By Andrew Ryan

After two years of work, an army of 300 law enforcement set out to crush two violent Dorchester street gangs.

More tax hikes in Patrick’s blueprint

By Michael Levenson and Noah Bierman

Governor Deval Patrick’s tax plans would eliminate 45 personal tax deduction including those for T passes, college scholarships, and dependents under 12.

Kevin Cullen

Ortiz should offer answers

By Kevin Cullen

US Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s reticence in refusing to fully explain decisions in the Aaron Swartz case bodes poorly for someone contemplating a political future.

Fishy business

Bill carries fines for mislabeled seafood

By Jenn Abelson

Legislation would impose fines on places that mislabel seafood and make Mass. the first state to ban escolar, known as the “ex-lax” fish.

By Megan Woolhouse

The unemployment rate ticked upward to 6.7 percent in December, the seventh straight month that the rate held steady or increased.

Lockout drives Bruins ticket prices higher

By Callum Borchers

Now that the labor dispute is over, some Bruins supporters are so eager to see the team they are paying much more than face value for tickets.

John Thomas dead at 71; set records in high jump

By Bryan Marquard

The Cambridge-bred Olympic medalist shattered world high jump records in the early 1960s but fell short of the gold while medaling in two Games.

Pauline Phillips; for decades, America’s dear confidante

By Margalit Fox

Mrs. Phillips, 94, was a California housewife who nearly 60 years ago, transformed herself into the syndicated columnist Dear Abby.

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Yale psychologist

By Benedict Carey

The 53-year-old psychologist and writer’s work helped explain why women are twice as prone to depression as men and why such low moods can be so hard to shake.

Smaller players fill vital roles for Patriots

By Michael Whitmer

Some of the Patriots’ biggest playmakers are relatively tiny for the NFL. They prove that little guys can still do big things in the league.

Patriots-Ravens has risen into prime NFL rivalry

By Shalise Manza Young

Forget the Jets and the Colts, Baltimore is perhaps the Patriots’ fiercest rival, and a team that not only talks a lot but can actually back it up.

Christopher L. Gasper

Rob Ninkovich is the new Mike Vrabel

By Christopher L. Gasper

Ninkovich has an uncanny knack for the big play — just like another No. 50 from the Patriots’ glory days, Vrabel.

Movie Review

‘Amour’ bears witness to an awful ­­— and intimate — truth

By Ty Burr

A simple yet devastatingly profound story of an elderly French couple (Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva) during the long, squalid months of the wife’s decline.

Stage Review

On Broadway, ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is merely tepid

By Don Aucoin

Tennessee Williams’s title character presents a tricky challenge for any actress, and one that Scarlett Johansson, who plays Maggie in the Broadway revival, proves unable to meet.

Gift boosts MFA’s contemporary stock

By Geoff Edgers

A gift from art collector Daphne Farago will dramatically upgrade the Museum of Fine Arts’s holding of contemporary glass and craft.