Sunday, December 19, 2021 View web version
Today's Headlines
Page one

Arts

‘From Dürer’s hand’ to the global market

“I just sat dumbstruck for a while, trying to reconcile whether I was looking at the greatest forgery I’ve ever seen — or a masterpiece,” said Clifford Schorer, an entrepreneur and art dealer. Continue reading →

Higher Education

‘The urgency is greater than it has ever been’: Four suicides rock WPI campus as colleges grapple with student mental health concerns

Students across the country have spoken out for years about the need for better systems to support their mental health. Now, amid the pandemic, the conversation has taken on an unprecedented level of gravity and candor. Continue reading →

Celtics

Inside the long, winding, sometimes tragic journey Ime Udoka took to the Celtics

Growing up, life for Ime Udoka was "just basketball." But Udoka lost his father at the moment he cracked a roster, and his mother when his child was born. Despite the tragedy, he's always saved space for hope. Now, that's paying off. Continue reading →

Investigations

‘They were willing to let me die in there.’ The sins of Boston police past are leading to overturned convictions and prison releases

Since 2020, judges have released at least nine men from prison because of Boston police or prosecutorial misconduct, shoddy investigations, or evidence that pointed to someone else. Continue reading →

Politics

Could Donald Trump really be the next House speaker?

Every previous speaker has been an elected House member, yet the Constitution does not require it and scholars agree there is nothing legally preventing Republicans from electing Trump to the job. Continue reading →

The Nation

Nation

Paul Rudd hosts ‘SNL’ with no audience, Charli XCX pulls out amid Omicron

People’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 was indeed inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging Omicron variant of the coronavirus meant there was no live audience to see it happen. Instead, viewers at home saw new sketches taped earlier in the week, as well as highlights from years past. Continue reading →

Nation

Restaurants are closing again as staff test positive for coronavirus amid Omicron surge

For many restaurant owners, this is not just about business. It's about their responsibilities to staff and the public health, and some say they don't have a reliable road map for the Omicron variant, Continue reading →

Nation

Judge finalizes jury instructions at Maxwell sex abuse trial

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in court on Saturday for a rare weekend hearing where attorneys made arguments about how the judge should instruct a jury on the law in Maxwell’s sex abuse trial. Continue reading →

The World

World

Russian military planes evacuate 200 people from Afghanistan

Russian military transport planes on Saturday delivered a shipment of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan and flew back 200 Russians, Afghan students, and others, the defense ministry said. Continue reading →

World

Europeans reimpose restrictions as Omicron sweeps continent

Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. Continue reading →

World

Israeli army arrests four suspects in deadly West Bank shooting

The Israeli military said Sunday that its forces apprehended four Palestinian suspects believed to have taken part in a deadly shooting in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

LETTERS

Grappling with how best to deal with waste in Mass.

To get to zero waste, we need to invest in infrastructure to make it easier to reduce and reuse and stop burying and burning. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

The MFA is showing looted African art. Here’s how to deal with it.

The ownership of the Bronzes stolen from the Benin Kingdom in the 19th century must be transferred to Nigeria. Continue reading →

OPINION

Lives taken, dreams lost, and communities shattered by anti-trans violence

“The person that’s responsible has no idea what they took from us,” said one victim’s grieving mother. Continue reading →

Metro

Massachusetts

‘I think my tears have slowed down.’ Business owners face rebuilding after devastating eight-alarm Brighton fire

As investigators worked Saturday to learn what sparked a devastating eight-alarm blaze that tore through a Brighton commercial building Friday, a group of longtime business tenants grappled with their losses and described a growing wave of community support in the wake of the tragedy. Continue reading →

Transportation

Mayor Wu said she’ll know she’s succeeded on transportation when more people are riding the T with her

She has hired a chief of city streets to implement her transportation agenda, which includes free bus fare programs and creating more protected bike lanes and bus lanes. Continue reading →

YVONNE ABRAHAM

Another grim COVID milestone leaves us grieving, enraged, numb.

How do we process 800,000 deaths? Continue reading →

Sports

Celtics Notebook

Shorthanded Celtics use hardship exception, sign Justin Jackson from G League

With five players in health and safety protocols and a couple more sidelined, the Celtics signed the veteran Jackson from the Texas Legends on Saturday. Continue reading →

Dan Shaughnessy

Danny Ainge says he wasn’t pushed out by the Celtics when he ‘retired,’ and other picked-up pieces from the sports world

Ainge, who recently took a job in the Jazz's front office, also said he thinks "today’s Celtics have a very bright future." Continue reading →

Bruins

NHL shuts down Bruins through at least Dec. 26 amid COVID-19 outbreak

Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar have been added to the list of players in COVID-19 protocol, bringing the total to nine. At least four games will be postponed, and players won't be allowed to train at the Brighton facility. Continue reading →

Business
Ideas

IDEAS

Editing the Constitution

The Constitution is undergoing massive changes in the Supreme Court. It’s time to put the founding document in the hands of the people. Continue reading →

IDEAS

May I have a word: Tackling the ‘you plural’ problem

Listen up, you guys: Y’all need a better way to refer to a group of people. Continue reading →

Obituaries
Arts & Lifestyle

TABLES

Giulia’s Michael Pagliarini will open Moeca this spring

Plus, Mexican food in Kendall Square and Cambodian sandwiches in the North End. Continue reading →

Best of the Arts 2021

Don Aucoin’s Top 10 theater productions of 2021

The year's best include "Hadestown," "The Sound Inside," and "Hype Man," as well as some Shakespeare (and Shakespeare-inspired) productions, Continue reading →

QUICK BITE

At The Heights Pub in Arlington, neighborhood cheer during sobering times

Come for beer and comfort food in convivial surroundings, in a formerly dry town. Continue reading →

Travel

CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

Boston is getting a new low-cost airline from Iceland. Can this one actually survive?

After WOW Air went bankrupt, an airline called Play is hoping to fill the void. Continue reading →

TRAVEL

The New England Carousel Museum was the ride I needed it to be

If you like museums with a narrow focus, get yourself to Bristol, Conn. Continue reading →

Real Estate