Friday, December 24, 2021 View web version
Today's Headlines
Page one

Crime & Courts

Former BC student pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the suicide of her boyfriend

Inyoung You admitted in Suffolk Superior Court that she sent tens of thousands of texts in what prosecutors called months of emotional and psychological abuse in the weeks leading up to the death of her boyfriend, Alexander Urtula. Continue reading →

Religion

A challenge for church leaders: How to deliver a holiday message of hope in trying times

Religious leaders are grappling with their holiday messages as congregants fill church pews — or Zoom video windows — seeking solace in another pandemic winter. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

Harvard professor’s conviction brings scrutiny of China Initiative

After Harvard Professor Charles Lieber became the first academic convicted at trial under the Justice Department’s China Initiative, the former prosecutor who brought the case said the government should stop targeting researchers and focus on cases involving espionage and the theft of trade secrets. Continue reading →

Health

Omicron forces an upheaval in outpatient treatment

Two types of monoclonal antibodies, which physicians have relied on to keep high-risk patients from falling seriously ill, do not work against Omicron. A third is effective but in short supply. Continue reading →

Politics

Racist, misogynist vitriol continues against Wu after vaccination policy announcement

Mayor Michelle Wu said hateful messages have been spewed not only at her, but also at workers on the city’s 311 hot line. Continue reading →

The Nation

Politics

Trump asks Supreme Court to block release of Jan. 6 records

Lawyers for former president Donald Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records concerning the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, arguing that he had a constitutional right to shield the materials from Congress even though President Biden declined to invoke executive privilege over them. Continue reading →

Politics

Heir apparent or afterthought? The frustrations of Kamala Harris.

Without a headlining role in some of the most critical decisions facing the White House, the vice president is caught between criticism that she is falling short and resentment among supporters who feel she is being undercut by the administration she serves. Continue reading →

Nation

Trump fraud inquiry won’t be resolved when Vance’s term ends next week

Even as prosecutors in his office have ramped up their long-running investigation into Donald Trump in recent weeks, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is set to leave office soon without seeking criminal charges against Trump. Continue reading →

The World

World

US effort to combat forced labor targets corporate China ties

A far-reaching bill aimed at barring products made with forced labor in China became law after President Biden signed the bill Thursday. Continue reading →

World

South Africa to stop quarantines as 80 percent have past infection

South Africa will stop contract tracing and won’t quarantine people as it shifts focus on COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Continue reading →

World

COVID-19 spike worsens Africa’s severe poverty, hunger woes

Outside a foreign currency exchange in Zimbabwe’s capital, hordes of people desperate for US dollars are pushed up against each other. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

OPINION

Cleaning up America’s lead water pipes

Ten million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers lack safe drinking water. Continue reading →

OPINION

No, no, nocebo!

Some think that obsessive self-monitoring creates a “nocebo effect,” from the Latin “nocere” (“to harm"), meaning that information overload about your health or well-being can make you feel worse. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

Peering into the darkness of the past to see a brighter future

The James Webb Space Telescope could give humanity a dose of what it needs right now. Continue reading →

Metro

Metro

The best Christmas present ever

The last few Christmases have not been so merry and bright for the Romanos. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

For relatives of the incarcerated, holidays are marked by grief and loss

Thousands of families across the state with incarcerated relatives grapple with the acknowledgment of their loved ones’ mistakes and wrongdoings but nonetheless long to be with them. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

Gary Lee Sampson, convicted of brutally murdering three men, dies in federal custody at 62

Gary Lee Sampson, an Abington native twice sentenced to death after brutally murdering three men in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in a single week in 2001, died Tuesday at the age of 62 in federal custody while his most recent appeal of his sentence was pending, records show. Continue reading →

Sports

High Schools

Danvers officials, shifting course, say they will still inform the community about hateful graffiti

On Monday, Danvers officials said the town would stop informing the public about incidents of hateful graffiti in the community. Continue reading →

On football

Ranking the 13 teams still alive in a wide-open AFC playoff race

This season marks the first since 2002 that no AFC team has clinched a playoff spot entering Week 16. Continue reading →

On Basketball

For both Joe Johnson and the Celtics, this could turn out to be a really good thing

While Johnson was signed to just a 10-day emergency contract, a longer stay by the respected veteran could have a significant impact on the Celtics' team culture. Continue reading →

Business

INNOVATION BEAT

Boston startups seek to crack the crypto market

Boston is not the center of crypto tech — that is probably New York or San Francisco — but it’s also not a crypto desert. Funding for startups is at a record level, and big ideas are percolating. Continue reading →

Talking Points

Sales of new homes were up nationwide in November

Stories you may have missed from the world of business Continue reading →

Business

US consumer spending buffeted by fastest inflation in decades

Purchases of goods and services, after adjusting for higher prices, were little changed following a solid 0.7 percent gain in October. Continue reading →

Obituaries
Arts & Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Beware the Elf on the Shelf, privacy watchdogs warn

As spies go, he is undeniably adorable. Continue reading →

Visual Arts

‘Imagine Van Gogh’ doesn’t leave much to the imagination

The display at SoWa Power Station is one of five immersive exhibitions of the Dutch artist’s greatest hits now making their way around the world. Continue reading →

Theater

Enter, stage left: Omicron

A few months after getting back to business, theaters must cope with a new wave of uncertainty in the wake of recent cancellations attributed to the coronavirus. Continue reading →