Boston Globe Today | March 21, 2024

WATCH: Thursday's show. Stories include: The people you'll meet in Cambridge's Danehy Park. And, why UConn is the favorite to repeat this March Madness. Watch →

Fast-food restaurants and surge pricing

WATCH: Could chains start charging more during busier times? Maybe. Technology reporter Hiawatha Bray explains how that might work. Watch →

Milton defies Mass. housing law. How did we get here?

WATCH: And now, the state is suing the town. Housing reporter Andrew Brinker explains if this is a case of ‘not in my backyard’ racism and what happens next. Watch →

Nation

Congress gets a $1.2 trillion spending bill days before shutdown

The bill is the product of a deal between President Biden, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Democratic Senate majority leader Charles E. Schumer. Continue reading →

Politics

Biden suggests a bigger federal role to reduce housing costs

The policy proposals in a White House report released Thursday include what could be an aggressive federal intervention in local politics. Continue reading →

Political Notebook

Student loans for 78,000 public service workers forgiven

The Education Department is canceling the borrowers’ loans because they reached 10 years of payments while working in public service, making them eligible for relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Continue reading →

World

Russia targets Kyiv with biggest missile attack in weeks

Russian missiles streaked into Kyiv early Thursday in the biggest assault on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, injuring at least 13 people and damaging several residential buildings and industrial facilities, according to local officials. Continue reading →

World

Blinken says Israeli assault on Gaza’s Rafah would be a ‘mistake’ and isn’t needed to defeat Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be “a mistake” and “unnecessary” to defeating Hamas, underscoring the further souring of relations between the United States and Israel. Continue reading →

World

Far-right’s success is a measure of a changing Portugal

The sun-soaked Algarve region on Portugal’s southern coast is a place where guitar-strumming backpackers gather by fragrant orange trees and digital nomads hunt for laid-back vibes. It is not exactly what comes to mind when one envisions a stronghold of far-right political sentiment. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

A new rule to curb judge shopping is a good start. If federal judges don’t follow it, Congress should make them.

Judges should be randomly assigned to cases so that advocacy groups can’t game the system. Continue reading →

LETTERS

Biden’s, Harris’s distinct tunes on abortion? They’re orchestrated.

In terms of the issue of abortion policy, think good cop, better cop. Continue reading →

LETTERS

Even under stricter rules, we’d still hasten horseshoe crabs’ demise

Massachusetts will still allow 140,000 horseshoe crabs to be killed for use as bait and 200,000 more to be bled in laboratories. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

A brief history of animal-to-human transplants

From corneas to hearts, surgeons around the world have looked to pigs to prolong human life. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

Martha’s Vineyard officials condemn DeSantis remarks on sending more migrants but say they’d be ready to respond

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Edgartown opened its doors when 49 migrants, most of them Venezuelan, were flown to Martha’s Vineyard Airport in 2022. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

‘It’s like an obstacle course’: Local drivers navigate the city’s gaping potholes

“It’s like they forgot to pave the roads,” said Sheila Murray, who lives on Beacon Street. “There’s no fill-ins at all, it’s terrible.” Continue reading →

Baseball

In Japan, Shohei Ohtani’s ‘perfect person’ image could take a hit

“Ohtani’s image is like clean, white porcelain, and that could make a speck look bigger than it is,” said Lee Seung-yun, a marketing professor at Seoul’s Konkuk University. Continue reading →

RED SOX

After two lost seasons, Trevor Story needs a fresh start. Will 2024 be the year?

He signed in 2022 — to play a position he had never played. An elbow injury kept him off the field for much of 2023. But this year? "In some ways this feels like my first year,” he said. Can he deliver? Continue reading →

RANGERS 5, BRUINS 2

Bruins lose their way against Rangers, again, in matchup of top contenders in Eastern Conference

The Bruins evened the score on a Justin Brazeau goal early in the third period, but the Rangers answered almost immediately to finish a sweep of the season series. Continue reading →

Future of Work

Boston University graduate workers vote to strike starting Monday

The union of nearly 3,000 graduate students is calling for improved health care coverage and better pay. Continue reading →

Business

Ben & Jerry’s could be scooped up by a new owner. Will its progressive activism hold it back?

The Vermont ice cream maker has long fused progressive causes — be it climate change, racial equity, or abortion rights — into its business model. Continue reading →

Consumer

Five things to know about Reddit as the social network makes its public market debut

Reddit is going public after nearly two decades as the self-appointed "front page" of the internet. Here's why it matters. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Sarah-Ann Shaw, advocate-journalist who broke barriers at WBZ, dies at 90

“I tried to do stories that showed positive events in the Black community,” Ms. Shaw, who joined WBZ-TV in 1969, said of her work as the first Black reporter hired to work on a local network news show. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Martin Greenfield, tailor to Sinatra, Obama, Trump, and Shaq, dies at 95

A survivor of Auschwitz who made his way to America, Martin Greenfield made suits for President Dwight Eisenhower, gangster Meyer Lansky, Leonardo DiCaprio, and LeBron James, among many others. Continue reading →

Obituaries

M. Emmet Walsh, actor who shined in seedy, menacing roles, dies at 88

In a career spanning more than a half-century, the character actor was credited with enlivening both comedies and dramas with his convincing turns as troubled everymen, crooked authority figures, sadists, intense weirdos, and outright maniacs. Continue reading →

SOUND CHECK

Introducing Sound Check, the Globe’s weekly go-to guide for music lovers

With new releases on the way, Buffalo Tom, Joyner Lucas, and Ballroom Thieves are among a bevy of local artists with some spring in their step. Continue reading →

MOVIE REVIEW | ★★

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ serves nostalgia, lukewarm

“Stranger Things” is ′80s nostalgia for people who didn’t live through the ′80s. The original “Ghostbusters” series evokes firsthand memories for people who did. See how this doesn’t work? The combination is like discovering your parents like the cool thing you like — except this discovery ruins it for your parents, not you. Continue reading →

TELEVISION REVIEW

Even if sci-fi isn’t your thing, ‘3 Body Problem’ might be

The Netflix series reestablishes the reputations of “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss as top-notch adaptors. Now they’ve opened up another genre. Continue reading →