Saturday, December 25, 2021 View web version
Today's Headlines
Page one

RI NEWS

Just in time for Christmas, a special homecoming

Yarielis Paulino-Pepin was born into the pandemic with a heart defect and a rare genetic disorder. Now, for the first time in her life, the 17-month-old girl is leaving the hospital to live at home. Continue reading →

GLOBE SANTA

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a THANK YOU!

Thousands have made the decision to help Globe Santa, and the campaign is profoundly grateful. Continue reading →

Health

Mass. offers cash incentive to nursing homes to increase staff booster shots

Less than half the workers have gotten the shots, despite the federal recommendation. Continue reading →

Retail

What if returning to the office doesn’t involve an ‘office’?

Companies are working from anywhere, including former restaurants, apartments, design studios, and even auto body shops. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

Mashpee Wampanoag reservation regains legal status; Taunton casino project’s future unclear

The reservation’s status had been in limbo since March 2020 when the Interior Department, then under Donald Trump’s administration, ordered the land to be taken out of trust. Continue reading →

The Nation

Nation

Despite uproar over Floyd’s death, the number of fatal encounters with police hasn’t changed

Despite the two high-profile convictions in Minneapolis, a review of the data a year and a half after America’s summer of protest shows that accountability for officers who kill remains elusive and that the sheer numbers of people killed in encounters with police have remained steady at an alarming level. Continue reading →

Nation

Are more defendants testifying at trial?

The run of testifying defendants raises the question of whether a shift in thinking is occurring among lawyers, many of whom have long regarded putting clients on the stand as a desperate, last-resort option. Continue reading →

Nation

San Francisco board OKs mayor’s emergency order over opioids

Advocates for the homeless and substance users urged supervisors to reject the emergency order because Mayor London Breed has also pledged to flood the district with police to halt crime, which some residents want. Continue reading →

The World

World

Japan approves major hike in military spending, with Taiwan in mind

Japan’s Cabinet on Friday approved the country’s biggest increase in military spending in decades, as officials expressed growing concern about the possibility of being pulled into a conflict over Taiwan. Continue reading →

World

South Korea to pardon ex-president Park Geun-hye, imprisoned for corruption

The government of President Moon Jae-in said Friday that it would pardon former President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a 20-year prison term after she was convicted on bribery and other criminal charges. Continue reading →

World

Pope celebrates Christmas Eve Mass as virus surges in Italy

Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve Mass before an estimated 2,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday, going ahead with the service despite the resurgence in COVID-19 cases that has prompted a new vaccine mandate for Vatican employees. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

OPINION

In defense of materialism: Why shopping and holiday gift-giving is my love language

Figuring out what a person would appreciate as a gift is a way of creating a unique connection with the recipient, making space for gratitude and joy. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

The best tribute to health care workers? Follow the guidelines for staying healthy.

This year, the holiday spirit means respecting the burden on those who treat the sick and wounded. Continue reading →

LETTERS

2021, in Globe readers’ own words

If 2020 felt like a year like no other, then 2021 felt like more of the same. Continue reading →

Metro

GLOBE SANTA

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a THANK YOU!

Thousands have made the decision to help Globe Santa, and the campaign is profoundly grateful. Continue reading →

Metro

‘Mass Whole’: A father, his two kids, and a desire to visit every city and town in the state

Alex Strum took his sons to around 300 communities during the past 18 months. Adding in places he’s already been and some solo trips, Strum has now personally visited every town in the state, he says. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

‘Perfect way to celebrate safely’: Christmas churchgoers brave freezing outdoor services amid Omicron surge

As surging coronavirus cases prompted many churches to cancel Christmas services nationwide, some parishes in Massachusetts were determined Friday to maintain their annual Christmas Eve traditions, no matter the obstacles. Continue reading →

Sports

bruins

We held an all-time Bruins draft. Here’s how four Globe journalists chose their teams

Our hockey experts compiled their rosters from team history, picking one after another. Team president Cam Neely weighed in on the four resulting teams — including one that featured him. Continue reading →

Celtics notebook

Center Robert Williams is showing off his passing skills

Against Cleveland Williams had a team-high 7 assists, the second highest total of his four-year career. Continue reading →

High school basketball

Why five-star forward Taylor Bowen could be New England’s next great basketball star

Bowen made an official visit to UConn and holds offers from the Huskies, Providence College, Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa, LSU, and USC. Continue reading →

Business

INNOVATION BEAT

Meet Boston’s ‘She-wolf of Wall Street’

Zoe Barry created Zingeroo, a new entrant on the mobile app stock-trading scene that raised $8.5 million in funding this week. Continue reading →

INNOVATORS Q&A

What did your child’s school cafeteria serve for lunch?

Sunflower Kids, a brainchild of two Johnson & Wales students, is a health-focused single-serving meal project for school-aged children, meant to provide them with a nutrient-dense plate. Continue reading →

Business

Remdesivir could help high-risk COVID patients outside the hospital, study finds

A three-day course of the antiviral drug reduced the chances of hospitalization and death by 87 percent in participants with at least one risk factor, like age, obesity, or an existing medical condition. Continue reading →

Obituaries
Arts & Lifestyle

Names

Alana Haim on ‘Licorice Pizza,’ working with Bradley Cooper, and a role made just for her

The singer credits writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson with identifying and supporting the actor inside of her. Continue reading →

Lifestyle

A field guide to the pandemic’s most annoying people

It’s not over yet. As you navigate the latest COVID wave, here are some of the season’s worst personalities. Continue reading →

TV CRITIC'S CORNER

‘The Chair’ got academia right, romance wrong

The Netflix series starring Sandra Oh had its charms — and a central flaw. Continue reading →