The Boston Globe

Visitor experience manager Julius Hobert, near the altar of the Old North Church.

Old North Church, an icon of the past, adds racial justice to its 21st-century mission

Old North Church has struggled along with Boston’s other Revolutionary War sites to weather the pandemic. But the long, stubborn crisis also has meant a fresh start, and a chance to reexamine the mission and message of the iconic church.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Invoking Martin Luther King Jr., advocates, faith leaders call on Congress to pass voting rights legislation
Their message was strong, one that has been repeated by Democrats and advocates for voting rights nationwide in recent weeks: Pass “the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act,”

Here are 10 ways to celebrate Martin Luther King Day in Boston

‘The Embrace,’ Boston’s long-awaited tribute to the Kings, will be unveiled on MLK Day 2023

What’s open and what’s closed on MLK Day

Dave Epstein | Forecast
Storm causes high winds, flooding, and snow for some areas
After peaking around sunrise, the storm will wind down by noon on Monday. It’s in this window that we will see the snow, the rain, the wind, and the coastal flooding.

Heavy snow and rain is expected across the region overnight.

Here’s how much snow, rain, and wind to expect from today's storm

The icy, below-freezing conditions that have chilled the northeast region this weekend will give way Sunday night to a storm with tropical origins that will dump heavy snow and rain on Massachusetts into Monday evening and bring whipping winds to coastal communities.

Omicron strains marijuana industry supply chain

Despite a requirement that all marijuana be grown and processed in-state, the Massachusetts cannabis sector nonetheless relies on foreign vendors for a wide array of critical supplies.

US surgeon general warns that Omicron has not yet peaked

Restaurants call for more federal aid as business plummets amid the Omicron surge

THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS

Scammers see opportunity in demand for virus testing in US, officials say

9:39 a.m.
Fauci says it’s too soon to say Omicron heralds end of the pandemic
6:07 a.m.
Hong Kong faces both Delta and Omicron outbreaks
5:03 a.m.
New Virginia governor cuts COVID-19 restrictions

Boston Globe Spotlight Team Follow-up
Evergrande reneges on multimillion-dollar pledge to Harvard-led COVID project, another stumble in its ties to school
The company, which is now officially in default, has been in crisis, laboring to pay creditors as it grapples with more than $300 billion in liabilities.

Who’s in, who’s out: Running through the Patriots’ free agents
Fourteen Patriots are set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, free to negotiate with any team, with another three restricted free agents on which Bill Belichick will have either matching rights or draft compensation.

Ben Volin: The Patriots lost, but two of their old quarterbacks keep on rolling

The Oscars haven't yet named a host for this year's March 27 show. Steve Martin (left) and Martin Short could handle the task with aplomb, but so could many others.

MATTHEW GILBERT | YOUR TV GPS

This week’s TV: ‘Ozark’ is back, ‘How I Met Your Father’ arrives, and who should host the Oscars?

The Oscars haven't named a host yet, but we have some ideas, plus a peek at what's new on TV this week, including the first batch of episodes from the final season of "Ozark."

Massport's newest cranes are unloading and loading the largest cargo ship to visit Boston.

Boston port served by the largest-ever cargo ship to visit the city

The Ever Fortune is the first of the larger ships that the Massachusetts Port Authority is hoping to attract following an expansion of the Conley terminal and a harbor dredging project.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu read through scripts before recording video messages for MLK day events that had to pivot from in person to online because of the rise in positive COVID cases on Jan 10.

For new Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, it’s trial by fire

Wu has already made Boston history as the first woman, person of color, millennial, and mother elected mayor. Now, with the fate of her early initiatives, she’ll show whether she can transform the city’s future.

In this March 7, 1965, file photo, state troopers swinging billy clubs to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala.

MLK’s legacy, today’s voting rights challenge

Those who fear the will of voters use bills instead of billy clubs, but the impact remains the same.

Laura Coates, author of "Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor's Fight for Fairness."

A former federal prosecutor interrogates the inequities of the criminal justice system

Second-grade teacher Rachelle Milord helps Schemaeja Paillant learn to tell time at Mozart Elementary School in Boston, June 15, 2021. Principal Michael Baulier says hiring and retaining great teachers of color is one of his top priorities in running the Boston Public School.

With the necessary resources, urban leaders and parents of color can lift up Boston’s schools

A student listens to a teacher as he calls off names for each new classroom in the 7th and 8th grade community meeting on the first day of school at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Hyde Park on Aug. 30, 2021.

Roger Lowenstein

Boston Public Schools should go into receivership

The Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.

In Charlestown, the seed for a new kind of school — in a city failing too many of its kids

More recent stories

‘There may be’ federal role in Boston’s Mass. and Cass crisis, Rollins says
US Attorney Rachael Rollins told WCVB’s “On The Record” program Sunday morning that human trafficking and drug trafficking cases will be a priority for her office — issues that have been a scourge in the Mass. and Cass area.

Dog attacks Stoneham police officer

Officer Joe Ponzo required 30 stitches to his face and head after he was attacked while responding to a call at a Stoneham residence.

FBI identifies man who took hostages at Texas synagogue
The FBI’s hostage rescue team freed four hostages from a Texas synagogue Saturday night after a harrowing day of threats, negotiations, and prayers. The suspect is dead, officials said, and his motives are still under investigation.

love letters
I’m worried about moving in together
"I don’t know why, but I don’t feel as excited as I should."

Famed Tuskeegee Airman Charles McGee dies at 102
Mr. McGee flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars.

After a rough first year, CDC director Rochelle Walensky tries to correct course

A series of stumbles by the former Mass General star have underscored just how rough the transition from running an infectious disease department at a hospital to a sprawling, public-facing government agency has been.

Special Project

UNDER THE WHEEL

This is the story of Anthony Pledger and his mother, of Anthony’s lives and deaths, of Anthony and me.

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

In this Aug. 29, 1957, photo, Senator Strom Thurmond, then a Democrat from South Carolina, waved as he left the Senate chamber at the end of his 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster against the Civil Rights Act.

‘Jim Crow relic’: A short history of the filibuster

Dating to the 1800s, the filibuster has been used by lawmakers to both advance and thwart Black racial progress — but it is in the thwarting of that progress that it has been used with greatest frequency and success.

Analysis
Biden is ending his first year in office with arguably the worst week of his presidency
Next week, President Biden will celebrate his first year in office. But the past week was so bad for Biden on multiple fronts that it might be hard to claim victory on much.

Everything you need to know about masks: What kind to get, where to buy them, and how often you can reuse them
Shifting guidance and shady online retailers marketing masks that turn out to be counterfeit have left many scratching their heads.

In less vaccinated Western Mass., overwhelmed hospitals, but progress on vaccinations
As the highly contagious Omicron variant storms across the state, Hampden — home to Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke — remains the least vaccinated county in Massachusetts.

video

Culture & Lifestyle

Sketch for Ed Emberley's "Drawing Book of Animals."

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS

A poet’s inviting new collection, drawing lessons, and speaking for the silenced

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth."

MOVIE REVIEW | ★★★½

Denzel Washington is magnificent in Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’

Alvin Ailey (pictured in the 1950s with Misaye Kawasaki, Larry Maldonado, and Lelia Goldoni of the Lester Horton Dance Group) in a scene from the documentary "Ailey."

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Mackenzie Davis as Kirsten in "Station Eleven," with the titular graphic novel.

MATTHEW GILBERT

In ‘Station Eleven,’ the arts outlast an apocalypse

Special Projects

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.

Spotlight team report

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.

Hanson-11/20/2021- Hingham vs Natick in the MIAA Division1 title game.
The Natick girls soccer team celebrate their Division 1 MIAA win over Hingham at Whitman - Hanson High school. Photo by Debee Tlumacki for the Boston Globe (sports)

Meet the Globe’s Fall 2021 All-Scholastics

The Globe salutes the region's best high school athletes and coaches in the seven fall sports.

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.

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Opinion, ideas, and commentary

Sunset over the Salar de Uyuni salt flats.

IDEAS | Boštjan Videmšek with photos by Matjaž Krivic

In search of Bolivia’s white gold

Medical workers put new PPE on for each visit to a COVID-19 patients room in the COVID-19 ward at the US Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare system campus and medical center in West Roxbury on Tuesday.

Workers who braved darkest days of COVID-19 deserve extra pay

Research indicates you're substantially more likely to eat this kale salad if you're told it tastes good than if you're told it's healthy.

IDEAS | Ayelet Fishbach and Bradley Turnwald

Feeding two birds with one scone

Flags fly above Boston City Hall on Nov. 11, 2021. The city allows private groups to fly a flag on the pole on the right.

Rachel Laser and Brian Kaylor

Boston was right to refuse to fly Christian flag

Governor Baker loves to dwell on numbers that make his case that Massachusetts is doing better than most everyone else. But it takes more than numbers to make people feel better.

Governor Baker, we have a COVID-19 data problem

Kareem Farah, who founded the Modern Classrooms Project, in his classroom in Washington, D.C., in 2017.

IDEAS | THOMAS ARNETT

A better way to do online learning

Metro

Coronavirus Live Updates

Scammers see opportunity in demand for virus testing in US, officials say

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

What’s open and what’s closed on MLK Day

Monday, Jan. 17, is Martin Luther King Day. Here's a look at what's open and what's closed on this holiday.

Hey wine lovers, here’s a beer for you

Bryan Benedict, co-owner of Moniker Brewery, said they are considering creating a German white wine-lager mix of some sort next year.

Blu Violet brings complex Haitian flavors to Providence

Chef Joël Eugène is combining classic ingredients from Haiti with familiar dishes in his new restaurant at the top of the Aloft hotel. The result: A fusion like you’ve never seen before

Sports

Novak Djokovic returned to Serbia on Monday.

If he remains unvaccinated, could Novak Djokovic be barred from the French Open too?

Under a new law intended to exclude the unvaccinated from stadiums and other public places, the No. 1 ranked player could be barred. But much could change between now and the start of the Grand Slam tournament in late May.

Fans take a selfie with a photo of defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Djokovic out, but vaccine debate stays in Australian Open

To some, it seemed a cloud had been lifted from the Australian Open. To others, Novak Djokovic still was almost palpably present, the name on everyone’s lips on the opening day of the first major tennis tournament of the year.

Naomi Osaka won the first five games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Australian Open

With Novak Djokovic gone, Naomi Osaka starts her Australian Open defense with a victory

Osaka’s return to action has been overshadowed by Djokovic.

afc playoffs | chiefs 42, steelers 21

Patrick Mahomes throws five touchdown passes, Chiefs roll into playoff rematch with Bills

Hideki Matsuyama rallies to claim Sony Open win over Russell Henley

Ben Volin | On Football

Wild-card playoffs in review: Could we see a Tom Brady vs. Jimmy Garoppolo showdown in the NFC title game?

Business

Fauci says it’s too soon to say Omicron heralds end of the pandemic

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top coronavirus adviser to President Biden, said it's still unclear whether the Omicron variant signals and transition of the pandemic to endemic.

China toughens COVID-19 response as Omicron hits its power centers

Omicron has breached the political, financial and technology centers of China for the first time, putting pressure on the country’s response to the more transmissible variant as it awaits the Winter Olympics starting in less than three weeks.

Sheriff Tompkins still ‘ready to assist’ on Mass. and Cass

Credit reporting agencies responded to fewer complaints during the pandemic

STAT

Listen to our "First Opinion" podcast

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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.

I'm a woman of color often overlooked at work - until people realize I outrank them

The unexpected guest, “Mr. Cluck,” at the writer’s home in the Back Bay.

How rescuing a runaway chicken taught me about accepting others

It's been 50 years since the groundbreaking kids' show "Zoom" debuted on WGBH.

In 1972, the kids took over TV on the first "Zoom" to enter our homes

The roller-skating heroes who fought racism in Boston

metro

Charles McGee was awarded an honorary rank of general in 2019.

Famed Tuskeegee Airman Charles McGee dies at 102

Dog attacks Stoneham police officer

Coronavirus levels continue decline in region’s wastewater, amid national COVID-19 surge

sports

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz's, front left, decision to end the alumni advisory committee came shortly after its leader, former offensive lineman David Porter, suggested it was time for Iowa to part ways with Ferentz.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz disbands diversity group after call for his dismissal

Celtics need Al Horford to revitalize his shooting game

Who’s in, who’s out: Running through the Patriots’ free agents

business

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks with journalists in Brussels, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.

Ukraine says Russia behind cyberattack in ‘hybrid war’ move

At many churches, pandemic hits collection plates, budgets

Surgeon general defends Biden’s response to steep COVID-19 surge

politics

President Joe Biden.

After Biden’s first year, the virus and disunity rage on

Restaurants call for more federal aid as business plummets amid the Omicron surge

For Oath Keepers and founder, Jan. 6 was weeks in the making

Nation

Pedestrians walk on Washington Street.

Scammers see opportunity in demand for virus testing in US, officials say

Fauci says it’s too soon to say Omicron heralds end of the pandemic

After Biden’s first year, the virus and disunity rage on

World

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea fires projectile into sea in fourth launch this month, South Korea says

Microsoft warns of destructive cyberattack on Ukrainian computer networks

New Zealand sends flight to see damage from Pacific volcano

opinion

Research indicates you're substantially more likely to eat this kale salad if you're told it tastes good than if you're told it's healthy.

Feeding two birds with one scone

The Bay State — a mecca? Or a place to put in your rearview mirror?

Two commutations should be just the beginning

lifestyle

Moniker Brewing and Anchor & Hope Wine recently co-released a new beer called Tethered Optimism, which is a saison brewed with Cabernet Franc juice from Anchor & Hope, with grapes grown at Greenvale Vineyards in Rhode Island.

Hey wine lovers, here’s a beer for you

Blu Violet brings complex Haitian flavors to Providence

Typhoons, wildfires, missiles: Teen flies solo around world

food & dining

Moniker Brewing and Anchor & Hope Wine recently co-released a new beer called Tethered Optimism, which is a saison brewed with Cabernet Franc juice from Anchor & Hope, with grapes grown at Greenvale Vineyards in Rhode Island.

Hey wine lovers, here’s a beer for you

Blu Violet brings complex Haitian flavors to Providence

Mayor Wu: vaccine mandates for city workers, businesses, not meant to ‘punish’ people

travel

Church motifs, like stained glass in the gospel gallery, reveal the attention to detail at the National Museum of African American Music.

Sing some gospel, bust a move, and feel the love at Nashville’s African American music museum

Best things to do in RI this week: Jan. 14-21

Adam Pascal on TSA PreCheck, his crossword app, and ancient megalithic cultures

Arts

Rendering of “The Embrace,” the memorial monument and plaza dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King on Boston Common. The completed project, created by Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group, will be installed early next year.

‘The Embrace,’ Boston’s long-awaited tribute to the Kings, will be unveiled on MLK Day 2023

At the MFA, a sleeping giant awakens

Humanity hangs in the balance in Sally B. Moore’s ‘Teetering’

Books

A history of addiction in ‘The Urge’

‘The Hard Sell’ is a vivid tale of opioid firm showcased at Boston trial

Lisa Gardner: She reads for story, not genre

Movies

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi poses with the best screenplay award for "Drive My Car" last July at the Cannes Film Festival.

‘I think acting is an impossibly difficult thing’: Talking with Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, director of ‘Drive My Car’

Two films to observe Martin Luther King Day

Doc Talk: garden-fresh ideas; portraits from the artist; prison diary

Television

The Oscars haven't yet named a host for this year's March 27 show. Steve Martin (left) and Martin Short could handle the task with aplomb, but so could many others.

This week’s TV: ‘Ozark’ is back, ‘How I Met Your Father’ arrives, and who should host the Oscars?

SNL is back from winter break and Ariana DeBose used her Broadway talents as host

A film, and a filmmaker, transformed in ‘A Reckoning in Boston’

music

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performed Liszt's Second Piano Concerto with the BSO led by music director Andris Nelsons on Jan.13, 2022.

Glimpsing what a new era at the BSO might bring

After some of the darkest days of Gregory Porter’s life, music lights the way

From Berlin to the BSO: Pianist Igor Levit returns to Boston

Theater/Dance

Adam Pascal (in gray suit) and Olivia Valli in the production of "Pretty Woman: The Musical."

How ‘Pretty Woman’ became a head-turner

This driveway dancing duo is helping to lighten neighbors’ spirits

Comedian Demetri Martin has something he’d like to say, but he’ll keep it short

globe local

Massport's newest cranes are unloading and loading the largest cargo ship to visit Boston.

Boston port served by the largest-ever cargo ship to visit the city

Seven new mayors across Greater Boston offer hope, visions for the future

Should Massachusetts require public projects to give priority to American-made steel?

Obituaries

Charles McGee was awarded an honorary rank of general in 2019.

Famed Tuskeegee Airman Charles McGee dies at 102

Charles Willie, an architect of Boston’s ‘controlled-choice’ school desegregation plan, dies at 94

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Malian president deposed in coup, dies at 76