Friday, January 7, 2022 View web version
Today's Headlines
Page one

Health

‘It’s all hands on deck’: Hospitals scramble to staff the front lines as surge continues

Many facilities, struggling with worker absences, are already at or near capacity with critically sick patients. Continue reading →

COVID

By using COVID-positive workers, R.I. health facilities reach their last resort

In other New England states, no hospitals have reached the “crisis” staffing standard of allowing COVID-positive employees to work with patients. But experts say it’s just a matter of time. Continue reading →

Politics

A day of truth in a divided nation

President Biden and other Democrats sought to use the searing memories of Jan. 6 to beat back Donald Trump’s lies about what happened a year ago. Continue reading →

News analysis

A year later, Jan. 6 becomes just another wedge in a divided nation

The nearly universal outrage after the assault on the Capitol has reverted to separate blue and red realities, and former president Donald Trump has remained the dominant force in his party. Continue reading →

Metro

Suffolk District Attorney Rollins launches criminal probe into MBTA

Outgoing Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said the inquiry will look into a potential “lack of oversight or negligence” at the MBTA stemming from a July Green Line crash that sent 27 people to the hospital, among other safety incidents. Continue reading →

The Nation

Nation

Oregon election officials rule ex-columnist ineligible for run for governor

Oregon election officials ruled Thursday that former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is ineligible to run for governor because he does not meet the state’s three-year residency requirement. Continue reading →

Nation

‘I have absolutely nothing’: After a massive winter fire, what is left?

Like the coals that were still glowing days later under the frost, the extent of what was lost and the challenge of what comes next is only now becoming apparent to those who lived in the 991 homes that were lost in one of the worst wildfires in Colorado history. Continue reading →

COVID-19

Lifesaving COVID treatments face rationing as virus surges again

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, scarce ventilators and protective equipment faced strict rationing. Today, as the pandemic rages into its third year, another precious category of products is coming under tight controls: treatments to stave off severe COVID-19. Continue reading →

The World

World

Pope scolds couples who choose pets over kids

Pope Francis has not been reluctant to offer his views on polarizing subjects, but Wednesday, he waded into an issue involving two subjects on which consensus is almost impossible to find. Pets and kids. Continue reading →

World

Russian troops intervene in protest-roiled Kazakhstan, where security forces have killed dozens of demonstrators

Russian troops landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after the Central Asian country’s president asked for help to quell sweeping antigovernment protests — a major test of a Moscow-led military alliance as the Kremlin deepened its role in the crisis. Continue reading →

World

Ethics adviser rebukes Boris Johnson over Downing Street decorations

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a stinging rebuke from his ethics adviser Thursday over the costly refurbishment of his Downing Street apartment, after the British leader blamed a change of cellphones for his failure to disclose messages about the makeover. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

OPINION

Hospitals are doing their part on COVID-19; we ask the public to do theirs

We can’t do it alone. As much as we believe in the power of individual choice, there are times that require individual action for the common good. This is one of those times. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

Threats against election officials must be stopped

It’s time for Congress to make intimidation and harassment of election officials a federal crime. Continue reading →

OPINION

Omicron gives new meaning to calculated risk

Forty-odd years ago, Stanford engineering professor Ron Howard coined the term “micromort” to quantify a 1-in-a million chance of death. Continue reading →

Metro

Metro

Suffolk District Attorney Rollins launches criminal probe into MBTA

Outgoing Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said the inquiry will look into a potential “lack of oversight or negligence” at the MBTA stemming from a July Green Line crash that sent 27 people to the hospital, among other safety incidents. Continue reading →

Crime & Courts

Baker picks Kevin R. Hayden as Suffolk DA, with Rachael Rollins poised to become US attorney

Governor Charlie Baker has appointed Kevin Hayden to serve as Suffolk district attorney for the remainder of the term vacated by Rachael Rollins, who’ll be sworn in as US attorney for Massachusetts on Monday. Continue reading →

Metro

The silent screams of invisible children

Seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery is the latest child to tragically fall through the cracks of a system unable to keep pace with drug-accelerated familial dysfunction. Continue reading →

Sports

Bruins notebook

Tuukka Rask signs Providence deal and was ready to play, but AHL postpones weekend games

Rask was slated to start for Providence Friday, but COVID issues forced a postponement. The plan for incumbent goalies Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman is unclear. Continue reading →

Celtics notebook

Should Celtics’ big men be used more as playmakers? Jaylen Brown says yes

Brown said it would create better ball movement and prevent traps and blitzes of Brown and Jayson Tatum when they have the ball in isolation situations. Continue reading →

christopher l. gasper

Like the Bruins, the Celtics can trace a lot of their current problems to the draft

With a treasure chest of picks from 2014-20, the Celtics used too many on ordinary players or ones who had little impact. Continue reading →

Business

Technology

Another Boston tech boss is stepping down

Software company LogMeIn said Thursday that chief executive Bill Wagner is stepping down. He will be replaced by Mike Kohlsdorf, president of Francisco Partners. Continue reading →

Business

Paul English’s newest venture: A startup studio for new consumer-oriented apps

Paul English hopes to create a new anchor — or anchors, as the case may be — for Boston’s consumer-tech scene. Continue reading →

THE FINE PRINT

You can return an ugly sweater. What about a gift card you don’t want?

Tens of billions of dollars’ worth of gift cards got handed out during the holidays. Here’s everything you need to know. Continue reading →

Obituaries
Arts & Lifestyle

FOOD

January is National Soup Month. Here are 16 must-stop spots for soup in the Boston area

Luckily, unlike on “Seinfeld,” there’s more than one soup game around here. Continue reading →

Visual Arts

Mass. and Cass, cast in bronze and on canvas

For artist and activist Domenic Esposito, the ravages of the opioid epidemic are personal and political. Continue reading →

THE TICKET

Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

Music, theater, comedy, museum, and family events, and more, selected by Globe critics and writers. Continue reading →