All of the headlines from today's paper.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Today's Headlines

📅 Feb. 16 | 8 p.m. (ET): Join Globe culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt in conversation with Representative Ayanna Pressley (D‑Boston) at the Museum of Science. 🎟️ RSVP HERE

Page one

SPOTLIGHT TEAM FOLLOW-UP

Child protection experts urge more compassionate treatment of infant sleep death cases

Maria Mossaides, the state’s child advocate, said her office is considering possible changes. Continue reading →

Health

Mass. burdens poor by overly aggressive policy to recoup Medicaid costs after death, report says

There’s no upper limit on how much Massachusetts can try to recoup, and for some the bill can total hundreds of thousands of dollars. Continue reading →

Housing

‘It’s sad that makes me a villain’: Longtime Newton councilor got voted out after leading zoning rewrite

The state’s MBTA communities law can put local officials in a difficult spot, drafting zoning laws their communities oppose. Deborah Crossley learned that the hard way. Continue reading →

Higher Education

Megadonors to universities flexing their muscle in an unprecedented way

It is a new and stunning kind of public power-push by uber-rich donors, whose ranks are growing, and who suddenly appear hungry to use their money to shape higher education in America today, experts said. Continue reading →

Biotech

A Jewish American and a Palestinian American are tackling science’s toughest challenges

Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg have co-published 10 scientific papers, launched several biotech companies, and jointly run a Harvard lab. Continue reading →

Boston Globe Today

Boston Globe Today | February 13, 2024

WATCH: Tuesday's episode. Stories include the crisis happening at a children's home at Rhode Island. Watch →

Eastie's battle against the sea

WATCH: Climate reporter Erin Douglas on the city’s plan to safeguard neighborhoods as sea level continues to rise. Watch →

New technology helping scientists unlock mysteries of the sea

WATCH: Reporter Alexa Gagosz details new methods to better understand marine life. Watch →

The Nation

Nation

Mental health emerges as a dividing line in abortion rights initiatives planned for state ballots

Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect the mental health of the woman on the ballot in several states this year. Continue reading →

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK

Supreme Court gives prosecutors a week to respond in Trump immunity case

In asking the special counsel to respond by Feb. 20 at 4 p.m., the justices did not set a particularly speedy schedule. Continue reading →

Climate

Latest nor’easter revives concerns of sea’s unceasing march on Nantucket

Tuesday's storm brought wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and 9 inches of snow to Nantucket. And every time a storm hits, it chips away at the island’s edges. Continue reading →

The World

World

Israel and Hamas are making progress in cease-fire and hostage release talks, officials say

A senior Egyptian official said mediators have achieved “relatively significant” progress ahead of a meeting Tuesday in Cairo of representatives from Qatar, the United States, and Israel. Continue reading →

World

La Scala concert features violins that inmates made from battered migrant boats

The project focuses on transforming what otherwise might be discarded into something of value to society: rotten wood into fine instruments, inmates into craftsmen. Continue reading →

World

A new report says the world faces a ‘dangerous decade’ as instability and military spending rise

Countries around the globe are increasing military spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas attack on Israel, and China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

OPINION

The seventh-grader and the First Amendment

Liam Morrison’s school said he couldn’t wear a "two-genders" T-shirt. The Constitution says he can. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

Healey’s high court picks send message that outsiders need not apply

And the optics of nominating a former partner are just plain awful. Continue reading →

OPINION

Why is it so hard for low-income students to apply to college?

Colleges — and the education bureaucracy that purports to support them — need to get back to basics. Continue reading →

Metro

Weather

‘I wanted to go sledding’: The big snow bummer

As the climate warms, southern New England is losing its snow days. Continue reading →

Weather

FEMA rejects Healey’s request for disaster relief in three counties after Sept. flooding

The mid-September deluge brought flash-flooding to parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island that damaged homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. Continue reading →

Money, Power, Inequality

Sarah-Ann Shaw left ‘big shoes to fill’ for Boston journalists, advocates

At WBZ, Shaw told some of Boston's biggest stories for more than 30 years. Continue reading →

Sports

bruins notebook

Bruins’ Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie got as much out of street hockey clinic as the kids they were teaching

Frederic and Geekie taught the basics of stickhandling, passing, and shooting to kids ages 6-12 at the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center in Dorchester Monday afternoon. Continue reading →

Celtics notebook

Celtics have two All-Stars, but coach Joe Mazzulla believes they should have two more

Mazzulla had been hopeful that the Celtics’ high-scoring duo would be joined by center Kristaps Porzingis and guard Derrick White. Continue reading →

Red Sox

As spring training begins, will the Red Sox make more changes?

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, in reviewing his moves, acknowledged that the shape of the club isn’t the one he envisioned. Continue reading →

Business

AI/Robotics

OpenAI CEO warns that ‘societal misalignments’ could make artificial intelligence dangerous

Sam Altman reiterated his call for a body like the International Atomic Energy Agency to be created to oversee AI, which is likely advancing faster than the world expects. Continue reading →

Housing

In Milton, the vote will go on. Here’s what to know about the pivotal housing referendum.

Regardless of which side residents choose on Wednesday, the vote will reverberate throughout Eastern Massachusetts. Continue reading →

THE FINE PRINT

Vantage Travel is back — or, at least, its name is

Vantage Explorations, owned by a company based in Australia, is embracing its Vantage Travel roots to sell tours around the world, while conspicuously ignoring the former company's bankruptcy and the $100 million it failed to refund to customers. Continue reading →

Obituaries
Arts & Lifestyle

MOVIE REVIEW | ★★★★

‘The Taste of Things’: Juliette Binoche has never been better

The characters on screen get to eat the food, but the viewer reaps the ultimate reward of longing for it. Continue reading →

BOOKS

Beyond ‘Bridgerton,’ there’s a whole universe of historical romance classics ripe for the screen. Here are six of our favorites.

Jane Austen doesn’t have a monopoly on wit and romance. Continue reading →

MOVIE REVIEW | ★½

‘Madame Web’ spins a convoluted superhero story

Dakota Johnson tries her best as the future-seeing Cassandra Webb, but it’s not enough to save this Marvel "standalone." Continue reading →