Boston Globe Today | December 12, 2023

WATCH: Tuesday's episode of Boston Globe Today. Stories include: can Gen-zers live without a smartphone? The 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party Watch →

Bostonians of the Year: The beleaguered, absolutely essential MBTA rider

WATCH: They’ve suffered through shutdowns, slow zones and breakdowns, but they ride. Business enterprise reporter Janelle Nanos has the story behind the honor. Watch →

Biden aggressively calls out Trump by name

WATCH: For two-plus years, the President rarely uttered the name of the person he replaced. Washington bureau chief Jim Puzzanghera unpacks the strategic shift. Watch →

Nation

Cannabis use linked to higher risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, study finds

Experts say the study adds to a growing body of evidence that no amount of cannabis is safe during pregnancy, and that health-care providers need to work on better messaging about cannabis. Continue reading →

Nation

Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant, inquiry finds

Pharmacies' records hold some of the most intimate details of their customers' personal lives, including years-old medical conditions and the prescriptions they take for mental health and birth control. Continue reading →

Politics

Zelensky’s pleas for US aid hit a wall of resistance by Republicans

Senate Republicans emerged from their meetings with Ukraine's leader unmoved and reiterated their stance that they would not agree to any new aid for Ukraine unless Biden and Democrats bowed to their demands to clamp down on migration at the southern border. Continue reading →

World

Cyberattack hits Kyiv, knocking out phone and internet service

In some parts of the country, the loss of mobile phone and internet service cut off early-warning air raid systems. Continue reading →

World

Poland’s new prime minister vows to press the West to continue helping neighboring Ukraine

Donald Tusk's challenges include restoring democratic standards in Poland and seeking to manage the migration that is causing political upheaval in Europe. Continue reading →

World

Rishi Sunak gets a respite after UK lawmakers vote in favor of the Rwanda migration bill

The result averts a defeat that would have left Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s authority in tatters and his government teetering. It buys Sunak some breathing space, but tees up further wrangling in the coming weeks. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

To fight climate change, we need to switch to electric vehicles. The transition isn’t going as well as hoped.

Getting more people into EVs will require creative thinking — and greater urgency. Continue reading →

OPINION

What to make of Massachusetts’ lawsuit against neo-Nazi group NSC-131

The suit underscores that citizens don’t have to sit on the sidelines and idly witness in shock what NSC-131 has been accused of doing to promote its white supremacist ideology. Continue reading →

OPINION

Carol DiMaiti Stuart’s murder was an act of domestic violence

"It was easier to blame and persecute a Black man … than acknowledge the harm that happened in that relationship." Continue reading →

Politics

Ahead of possible vote, City Council drills down on details of police patrolmen’s contract

The council could vote Wednesday on whether to approve funding for the $82 million pact. Continue reading →

Politics

Citing inequity in child care, state officials endorse new subsidy rate for providers

The goal is to address “some long standing inequity” for the roughly 56 percent of child care providers in the state who accept children that receive state subsidies, according to state Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. Continue reading →

NH Politics

N.H. Governor Chris Sununu endorses Nikki Haley in GOP primary

His endorsement could consolidate voters opposed to Donald Trump behind Haley and help her to post at least a strong second-place showing in the Granite State, if not an upset. Continue reading →

CELTICS NOTEBOOK

Joe Mazzulla expresses surprise at what got Jaylen Brown ejected on Friday

“They said the second one was a wave-off and that’s why he got a tech? Is that in the rule book? I haven’t heard that one,” the Celtics coach said. Continue reading →

COLLEGES

Baseball player settles with UMass Lowell over coach’s alleged discrimination

Chancellor Julie Chen is scheduled to meet with Cedric Rose and his parents to mark a settlement agreement between the former player — who was dismissed by former baseball coach Ken Harring — and the university. Continue reading →

Chad Finn

Bill Belichick should remain Patriots coach because no one in NFL history has been better when all looked lost

It's annoying that some fans, particularly those who lived through the two-decade dynasty, are so quick to minimalize Belichick's role. Continue reading →

Trendlines

There’s no relief in sight for Boston renters

Rent growth accelerated this year. Next year won’t be much different. Continue reading →

innovation beat

Google lost its antitrust case. Changes are coming faster than you think.

The tech giant was found guilty on Monday of violating antitrust laws with its Android app store, in a first-of-its-kind ruling that could potentially blow up the business model underlying the smartphone economy. Continue reading →

Biotech

Somerville-based Bluebird Bio got its sickle cell gene therapy approved. Will it matter for the struggling biotech?

The company’s stock fell by more than 40 percent Friday after the approval of Lyfgenia, the release of its pricing, and comparison to a less expensive gene-edited drug approved the same day. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Jane Wodening, experimental film star and intrepid writer, dies at 87

The longtime collaborator and wife of Stan Brakhage, the avant-garde filmmaker, she wrote about life out of a Honda Civic and in a mountain shack. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Isabella de la Houssaye, athlete who endured against the odds, dies at 59

Isabella de la Houssaye, a lawyer and prolific endurance athlete who continued to go on daunting adventures around the world with her five children after being diagnosed with Stage 4 non-small-cell lung cancer, died Saturday in Hermosa Beach, California. She was 59. Continue reading →

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BEST POETRY OF 2023

Here are 6 of our favorite poetry collections in 2023

This year's poets were not afraid to wrestle with larger questions of history and existence. Continue reading →

MUSIC REVIEW

Mariah Carey makes merry at TD Garden

As befits the “Queen of Christmas” title that’s attached itself to Carey over the past decade, the show was designed more in the vein of a Rockettes holiday spectacular than a pop concert. Continue reading →

Books

Penguin Random House reaches for underrepresented audiences with The Reader Lounge

With a social media campaign launched in October, The Reader Lounge has made itself cozy in readers’ inboxes. Continue reading →