All of the headlines from today's paper.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Today's Headlines
Page one

Crime & Courts

After federal investigation found Worcester police had sex with suspected prostitutes, calls for police reform grow

Last week, the Justice Department issued a scathing report on the Worcester Police Department, finding that officers engaged in a “pattern or practice” of sexual contact with women suspected of prostitution. Continue reading →

Elections

Stumping for confirmation as health secretary, RFK Jr. tells Republican senators what they want to hear

Kennedy reportedly said the right things when confronted over past positions and statements that have made some Republicans uneasy. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

‘You feel like you’re at war with an enemy you can’t see.’ As porch pirate thefts mount, residents feel besieged.

The thieves stealing packages from our front doors are getting more aggressive. And Bostonians are fighting back. Continue reading →

Metro

Gloucester, not Charlestown, standing in for ‘Bunker Hill’ 250th reenactment

Urban congestion and National Park Service restrictions were cited for moving the reenactment 35 miles north of Charlestown. Continue reading →

Economy

Fed reduces benchmark rate by a quarter point, but signals fewer cuts in 2025

Fed officials wrapped up their last meeting of the year with a vote to lower their benchmark lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to about 4.3 percent. Continue reading →

Boston Globe Today

2024 in Politics: Migrant crisis in Massachusetts

WATCH: Immigration took center stage this year. Political reporter James Pindell sat down with reporter Samantha J. Gross to break down the facts and pushback. Watch →

Shell shock: Crisis for local clam industry

WATCH: Contributing reporter David Abel explains why climate change and closures are threatening Massachusetts' clam digging tradition. Watch →

2024 in Politics: Courtroom drama

WATCH: This year, the cases against Trump took dramatic twists and turns. Political reporter James Pindell sat down with reporter Jim Puzzanghera to look back. Watch →

The Nation

Politics

House ethics panel voted secretly to release the Gaetz report

The report was expected to be released after House members cast the final votes of Congress this week and have left Washington to return to their districts, sources said. Continue reading →

Politics

Defense bill orders military to take new action on brain injury

Lawmakers said that emerging research, combined with fallout from a mass shooting in Maine, committed by an Army Reserve soldier whose brain was found to have signs of blast-related injury, prompted both the Pentagon and the Congress to reconsider the hazards. Continue reading →

Politics

Senate passes Pentagon policy bill that set off transgender-care debate

Several Democrats opposed the bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson added a provision that would ban the military health system from providing transgender medical care for children. Continue reading →

The World

World

Hopes for a new Syria take flight

The new leaders want to prove they can provide Syrians with basic services, including domestic and international flights. Continue reading →

World

Russia detains a man it says killed a general on Ukraine’s orders

The general’s killing came days after reports began to emerge about the death of a rocket scientist in Moscow’s outskirts. Continue reading →

World

Pentagon repatriates Malaysian prisoners who pleaded guilty to war crimes

The men gave testimony that prosecutors hope will be useful in the eventual trial of Encep Nurjaman, who is accused of being the mastermind of the Bali bombing and other terrorist attacks. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

EDITORIAL

Drones: The truth is out there

But state officials shouldn’t have to beg feds for anti-drone technology. Continue reading →

OPINION

Will a federal call for fast-fashion climate action ring hollow in the Trump era?

Fixing the fast-fashion climate problem isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for American businesses and farmers. Republicans should heed the call. Continue reading →

LETTERS

When will the US abolish the death penalty?

"In every country’s history, there are certain seminal dates that mark its moral development. … When will we be able to say: On this date, the United States abolished the death penalty?" writes one contributor. Continue reading →

Metro

Metro

Gloucester, not Charlestown, standing in for ‘Bunker Hill’ 250th reenactment

Urban congestion and National Park Service restrictions were cited for moving the reenactment 35 miles north of Charlestown. Continue reading →

K-12

School Committee could make another change to BPS exam schools admissions policy

The new policy would consolidate the number of geographic tiers students compete for seats within. Continue reading →

AS I SEE IT

In these darkest days, light dances with wonder

“As I See It,” a weekly photo column by Pulitzer Prize winner Stan Grossfeld, brings the story of Mount Auburn Cemetery and its celebration of light. Continue reading →

Sports

Christopher L. Gasper

Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has to go

Van Pelt hasn't had a lot to work with, but it's time. Jerod Mayo needs a proven offensive mind, preferably with head coaching experience, as his co-pilot to prevent his coaching career from crashing. Continue reading →

ON BASKETBALL

The Celtics love 3-pointers. Can the rest of the NBA beat them at their own game?

The NBA has become a copycat league. Teams acquire players and build schemes around the most popular, effective style, and that is taking more threes than twos. Continue reading →

On football

The Krafts need to open up the wallet and make some first-class hires — including someone to replace Jerod Mayo

The best path forward is for the Krafts to act like fans, which means that every decision should be geared toward getting the most out of Drake Maye, their golden asset. Continue reading →

Business

Healthcare

Mass General Brigham is $2 billion richer, financials show

The latest earnings release ran counter to a drumbeat of concern that the state’s hospitals are all in financial jeopardy. Continue reading →

innovation economy

MIT paid $1.3 million for a landscape artwork by Maya Lin. Then it forgot to tell anyone.

“The Sound we Travel at," a series of 11 grass-covered, wave-like mounds of earth, can be found in Kendall Square — though there's no sign installed to tell you what you're looking at. Continue reading →

Housing

Another slow month for Greater Boston’s frozen housing market, but home prices tick ever upward

Only 835 homes were sold throughout the region last month, according to new figures out this week, a sign that the region’s housing market still has not recovered from nearly three years of elevated mortgage rates. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Obituaries

E.B. Furgurson III, who covered massacre at his newspaper, dies at 70

Mr. Furgurson, who had gone for lunch at the food court across the street from the newspaper, set up an impromptu newsroom in the bed of his pickup truck to report on the tragedy. Continue reading →

Obituaries

John Spratt, South Carolina congressman and fiscal steward, dies at 82

Mr. Spratt was a Democrat who served for 28 years in the US House of Representatives, where he chaired the Budget Committee and was known on both sides of the aisle as a conscientious steward of the nation’s pocketbook. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Arlene Croce, dance critic with a biting wit, dies at 90

Ms. Croce was loved for her wit — but her criticism could be wicked, even merciless. Continue reading →

Arts & Lifestyle

Movies

‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among movies entering the National Film Registry

Nobody puts Baby in a corner, but they’re putting her in the National Film Registry. Continue reading →

Music

Amanda Shires is working things out onstage

The singer heads to City Winery on Thursday night to test out some new material. Continue reading →

ASKING ERIC

Regular manicurist came close to drawing blood. Time to fire?

Advice from R. Eric Thomas. Continue reading →