Is the subway risky? It may be safer than you think.

Five months after the coronavirus outbreak engulfed New York City, riders are still staying away from public transportation in enormous numbers, often because they are concerned that sharing enclosed places with strangers is simply too dangerous. Continue reading →

Data breach at genealogy site has privacy experts worried

The peculiar matches began early on a Sunday morning. Across the world, genealogists found that they had numerous new relatives on GEDmatch, a website known for its role in helping crack the Golden State Killer case. Continue reading →

Both sides say progress made in talks on pandemic relief

Negotiations between top White House officials and congressional Democrats on coronavirus relief legislation showed signs of progress Saturday, after days of stalemate that caused 30 million Americans to lose emergency unemployment benefits. Continue reading →

Iran will expand nuclear program and won’t talk to United States, supreme leader says

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said in a televised address that Iran will expand its nuclear program and will not negotiate with the United States, doubling down on his defiance of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy. Continue reading →

Indian billionaires bet big on head start in coronavirus vaccine race

The Serum Institute of India is doing what few other companies in the race for a vaccine are doing: mass-producing hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine candidate that is still in trials and might not even work. But if it does, Adar Poonawalla, Serum’s chief executive, will become one of the most tugged-at men in the world. He will have on hand what everyone wants, possibly in greater quantities before anyone else. Continue reading →

Continue reading →

OPINION

It was all a lie

A new book from a Republican insider exposes the moral failings of the GOP Continue reading →

OPINION

I love baseball — but not during a pandemic

This season feels more like an ill-fated experiment than the National Pastime. Continue reading →

Continue reading →

Eurie Stamps died in a 2011 police shooting. Now there are new calls for justice in his death

Eurie Stamps Sr., a Framingham man accidentally shot and killed in his home by police in 2011, has not figured as prominently in the national movement. But public recognition of Stamps -- and calls for justice in his killing -- have grown louder as Massachusetts faces its own reckoning over systemic racism in policing. Continue reading →

Uncertainty looms over new exam schools test

The test accounts for half of the exam schools’ admissions criteria. The other half is based on students’ grades. But with the test roughly three months away, confusion is rising over what will be on it and how to adequately prepare. Continue reading →

YVONNE ABRAHAM

Don’t make me choose

Until Joe Kennedy decided to try and take Ed Markey's place in the US Senate, Massachusetts got to have both in Congress, and that was good. Continue reading →

Patriots

Will Cam Newton’s history of success – from Blinn College, to Auburn, to the NFL – continue with the Patriots?

Newton won a junior-college title, an NCAA title, and an MVP award. Now, after an injury-plagued final year in Charlotte, he's starting over once more. Continue reading →

Tara Sullivan

For Jeff Hafley, everything about being BC’s football coach has been a new experience

The new BC football coach has worked as hard as he ever has, but he has been doing it from home. Continue reading →

ON BASEBALL

Red Sox shut down Eduardo Rodriguez, again reminding what MLB, nation is facing

Continued inflammation in the heart of a 27-year-old athlete after his battle with coronavirus is a message difficult for anyone to ignore. Continue reading →

Small businesses held out hope the fall would be somewhat normal. Not anymore. Not a chance.

Mom-and-pop companies are bracing for what could be tougher times ahead and undergoing another round of cost cutting and layoffs as they exhaust their federal loan money. Continue reading →

TALKING POINTS

The week in business

Some of the top stories from the past week. Continue reading →

Continue reading →

IDEAS

The dangerous pursuit of safety

If our response to the coronavirus prioritizes being safe above everything else, we risk losing far too much. Continue reading →

IDEAS

Trump’s devastating effect on global health

A policy originally meant to prevent US funding for abortions overseas is being wielded by the White House against programs that treat malaria, improve child nutrition, and detect new diseases. Continue reading →

Martha Nierenberg, entrepreneur who sought art’s return, dies at 96

Martha Nierenberg had barely turned 20 when she was bundled off a train in central Hungary and hidden by nuns in a Roman Catholic hospital. It was March 1944, and a Nazi occupying force that included Adolf Eichmann was marching into her home city, Budapest. Continue reading →

Malik B., longtime member of the Roots, dies at 47

Malik B., the elusive emcee best known for his work with the Roots, died Wednesday. Continue reading →

Woodrow Cross, who built his insurance firm into a major New England business, dies at 103

Woodrow Cross started Cross Insurance on his kitchen table in Bangor, Maine, and built it into a firm with more than 900 employees and more than 40 branches. Continue reading →

What’s your favorite movie hug?

"The Old Guard" made me consider other cinematic hugs and the supercut I’d make of memorable onscreen embraces. Continue reading →

Embracing the embrace

"The Old Guard" has a lot of excellent kicking, punching, running, and comic-book cliffhangers, but it's also a film with beautiful embraces. It celebrates platonic hugs between chosen family. Continue reading →

THIRD EAR

With an online Tanglewood, the BSO edges toward its digital future

In many ways, this year's online festival provides a glimpse into the orchestra's future. Continue reading →

Subpar Parks takes you on a tour of national parks through the lens of hilarious 1-star reviews

Designer Amber Share's popular Instagram page is comic relief in strange times. Continue reading →

TRAVEL

In the mood for some great chocolate? Check out Vermont’s sweetest DIY tour

To practice social distancing, stay “one cow apart,” according to local signage. Continue reading →

Home of the Week: A Gloucester contemporary with a rocky outpost

Backpackers (maybe it’s backpackers of an certain age) call sun-splashed rocky outcroppings “lizard rocks,‘' to honor the original solar heating unit and its chill customer. The backyard of this Gloucester home has an exquisite example of a lizard rock sitting halfway between the decks of the tri-level house and an irregularly shaped in-ground Gunite pool. Continue reading →

Home of the Week: A Gloucester contemporary with a rocky outpost

Backpackers (maybe it’s backpackers of an certain age) call sun-splashed rocky outcroppings “lizard rocks,‘' to honor the original solar heating unit and its chill customer. The backyard of this Gloucester home has an exquisite example of a lizard rock sitting halfway between the decks of the tri-level house and an irregularly shaped in-ground Gunite pool. Continue reading →