All of the headlines from today's paper.
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Today's Headlines
Page one

Politics

Trump’s second term has often tested GOP loyalty. His National Guard request is the starkest example yet.

In President Trump’s second term, many of his most high-profile initiatives have doubled as opportunities to test the loyalty of Republican leaders. Continue reading →

Higher Education

Harvard students are so overscheduled with extracurriculars that they don’t attend class, professors say

The unusual amount of time students invest in extracurriculars is perhaps one reason why Harvard finds itself in a crisis over academic freedom. Continue reading →

Healthcare

South Shore Hospital stepped up amid Steward, Brockton Hospital problems. Now it’s laying off staff.

Challenges for the region’s hospital system have continued to reverberate long after the crises have ended. Continue reading →

Nation

Amtrak’s Mardi Gras train returns, joyfully, 20 years after Katrina

There it was again, after all these years: an Amtrak passenger train, its red and blue cars gleaming in the moonlight as it idled at a platform in Mobile, Ala. Continue reading →

Politics

Epstein’s former girlfriend told Justice Department she did not see Trump act in ‘inappropriate way’

The records show Maxwell repeatedly showering Trump with praise and denying, under questioning from Blanche, that she had observed Trump engaged in any form of sexual behavior. Continue reading →

The Nation

Politics

Russia’s chief diplomat says no Putin-Zelensky meeting is planned

President Trump said in a social media post Monday that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and set in motion arrangements for a summit at a location to be decided. Continue reading →

Nation

Kilmar Abrego García set free after illegal deportation, smuggling charges

Federal officials obeyed a pair of court orders to release Abrego from jail in Tennessee, where he is accused of smuggling migrants based on a 2022 traffic stop in that state, and allow him to return to Maryland with orders to wear a GPS tracking device. Continue reading →

The World

World

Amid crackdown, Mexicans in US are sending less money home. It’s leaving a mark.

Families now struggle to pay medical bills. Men who relied on construction work are going back to the cornfields. And the half-built houses are staying that way. Continue reading →

World

Philippines condemns China’s forces near disputed shoal

The latest flare-up in the long-seething territorial disputes around the Second Thomas Shoal came up in closed-door talks between Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his visiting Australian counterpart, Richard Marles. Continue reading →

World

Congo has astronomical rates of sexual violence. Now victims have lost access to care.

Over decades of fighting in eastern Congo, and through the current conflict that has left the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 in control of much of the east of the country, the warring parties on all sides have targeted a particular viciousness at women and girls, carrying out acts of sexual violence so widespread that rape has been almost normalized. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

OpEds

The ABCs of dog ownership

Adopt the dog or buy the dog. Crate-train the dog — never mind. Not gonna happen. Continue reading →

OpEds

AI should come with green, yellow, and red lights for mental health

Help people separate the good chatbots from the bad. Continue reading →

Letters

Why not a special state commission to protect all students from hate?

"Perhaps what is actually taking place in our schools is a crisis of religious-based violence and harassment — even if that sad fact doesn’t fit the narrative that some prefer," writes one reader. Continue reading →

Metro

Crime & Courts

‘Spiraling out of control’: Boston fire lieutenant held on multiple gun, drug charges

Officers found five “assault-style” rifles and five handguns at the lieutenant's home, as well as ammunition, body armor, methamphetamine pills, and tourniquets. Continue reading →

Metro

Crash, rattle, and roll. The demolition derby is a fan favorite at Marshfield Fair.

Winners from multiple rounds held throughout the week will advance to the final derby on Saturday night. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

Man with bullet lodged in buttocks, woman shot by officer sue Easton police for excessive force

Dwayne Gervais and Ashley Brewster filed a $44 million federal lawsuit alleging excessive use of force by police on Oct. 28, 2022. Continue reading →

Sports

Celtics

Will Bill Chisholm be as good as Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca were? Celtics fans can only hope.

New England fans have high expectations for the stewards of their beloved teams. Grousbeck and Pagliuca will be a tough act to follow. Continue reading →

Patriots

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel announces 14 cuts prior to Tuesday’s deadline

None of the moves came as a major surprise.  Continue reading →

Red Sox

Red Sox shut out Yankees behind Brayan Bello, bullpen to clinch season series

Bello tossed seven shutout innings. Nathaniel Lowe came through with a pinch-hit double and scored on Connor Wong’s double in the seventh. Continue reading →

Business

Technology

Robinhood app to allow local wagers on Boston College football despite state ban

The stock trading app is relying on federal law to offer sports wagers and get around Massachusetts restrictions. Continue reading →

Retail

The North Andover Market Basket is dead. Long live the North Andover Market Basket.

The 44-year-old local location was replaced by a newer store just steps away. Continue reading →

Retail

Why Target is falling behind Walmart

Rivals Target and Walmart have long been considered polar opposites. The biggest difference lately, though, is financial performance, underscored by the retailers' earnings reports this week. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Obituaries

Stephanie Shirley, who created a tech world for women, dies at 91

When she started her software business, Freelance Programmers, in 1962, British women could not work on the stock exchange floor or even drive a bus. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Brent Hinds, Mastodon guitarist, dies in motorcycle crash

The former frontman and singer of the acclaimed Atlanta heavy metal band was 51. Continue reading →

Arts & Lifestyle

Theater

Ayo Edebiri to make Broadway debut next year alongside Don Cheadle

The Dorchester native will hit the stage in next year's revival of the play "Proof." Continue reading →

Music Reviews

Neil Young offers folk songs, fist-shaking feedback anthems in Gilford, N.H.

Young, who will turn 80 in November, brought his new backing band the Chrome Hearts to the BankNH Pavilion Thursday night. Continue reading →

Love Letters

My brother-in-law is cheating

Do I tell? A Love Letters classic. Continue reading →