Monday, January 17, 2022 View web version
Today's Headlines
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Massachusetts

Old North Church, an icon of the past, adds racial justice to its 21st-century mission

Old North Church has struggled with Boston’s other Revolutionary War sites to weather the pandemic. But the long, stubborn crisis also has meant a fresh start, and a chance to reexamine the mission and message of the iconic church, its leaders said. Continue reading →

Boston Globe Spotlight Team Follow-up

Evergrande reneges on multimillion-dollar pledge to Harvard-led COVID project, another stumble in its ties to school

The company, which is now officially in default, has been in crisis, laboring to pay creditors as it grapples with more than $300 billion in liabilities. Continue reading →

Marijuana

Omicron strains marijuana industry supply chain

Despite a requirement that all marijuana be grown and processed in-state, the Massachusetts cannabis sector nonetheless relies on foreign vendors for a wide array of critical supplies. Continue reading →

Politics

Restaurants call for more federal aid as business plummets amid the Omicron surge

They want Congress to replenish the rescue plan’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which blew through its $28.6 billion funding last year after only about a third of eligible restaurants received grants to help cover lost revenue from the pandemic. Continue reading →

Politics

What kind of prosecutors do Massachusetts voters want? DA races raise profound questions about a powerful position

Residents in at least three counties will elect new prosecutors this year. The contests — amidst the wave of calls for criminal justice reform — have the potential to push district attorney’s races long considered down-ballot afterthoughts to the political forefront. Continue reading →

The Nation

Nation

Texas rabbi: Captor grew ‘belligerent’ late in standoff

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker credited security training that his suburban Fort Worth congregation has received over the years for getting him and the other three hostages through the ordeal, which he described as traumatic. Continue reading →

Nation

The Justice Dept. alleged Jan. 6 was a seditious conspiracy. Now will it investigate Trump?

The Justice Department’s decision to charge Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy last week makes clear that prosecutors consider the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol part of an organized assault to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Continue reading →

Nation

Jan. 6 panel grapples with how to secure testimony from GOP lawmakers, Pence

The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is in the middle of a pivotal debate over how aggressively to seek cooperation from key witnesses who are resisting providing testimony to the committee, including several members of Congress and former vice president Mike Pence. Continue reading →

The World

World

New Zealand sends flight to see damage from Pacific volcano

New Zealand’s military on Monday morning was able to send a surveillance flight to Tonga to assess the extent of the damage from a huge undersea volcanic eruption. Continue reading →

World

Microsoft warns of destructive cyberattack on Ukrainian computer networks

Microsoft warned Saturday evening that it had detected a highly destructive form of malware in dozens of government and private computer networks in Ukraine that appeared to be waiting to be triggered by an unknown actor. Continue reading →

World

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Malian president deposed in coup, dies at 76

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the former president of Mali who was elected in 2013 in the wake of a coup, then ousted by the military after a turbulent seven-year rule, died Jan. 16 at his home in Bamako, the capital. He was 76, and had been in poor health in recent years. Continue reading →

Editorial & Opinion

LETTERS

Mass., New England seen as a kind of ground zero in climate fight

Readers weigh in on climate change issues, from forecasts of a fast-warming region to ambitious green energy plans outlined by candidates for Massachusetts governor. Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

MLK’s legacy, today’s voting rights challenge

Those who fear the will of voters use bills instead of billy clubs, but the impact remains the same. Continue reading →

OPINION

With the necessary resources, urban leaders and parents of color can lift up Boston’s schools

Making the move to take BPS into receivership is inherently anti-democratic in a time when 78 percent of Boston voters approve of returning to an elected school committee. Continue reading →

Metro

Health

Strong new evidence suggests a virus triggers multiple sclerosis

Infection with Epstein-Barr virus, best known for causing mononucleosis, increased the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis, or MS, by more than 32-fold, a team of scientists led by Harvard University’s Neuroepidemiology Research Group reported in the journal Science on Thursday. Continue reading →

Massachusetts

Invoking Martin Luther King Jr., advocates, faith leaders call on Congress to pass voting rights legislation

Their message was strong, one that has been repeated by Democrats and advocates for voting rights nationwide in recent weeks: Pass “the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act,” Continue reading →

Globe Local

‘It’s a systemic breakdown’: With jury trials suspended, an unprecedented backlog snowballs

The pandemic has spurred stop-and-go pauses in trials and caused courthouse closures over the past two years, creating an epic backlog of trial-ready cases in the Massachusetts Trial Courts. Continue reading →

Sports

Ben Volin | On Football

Wild card in review: The Patriots lost, but two of their old quarterbacks keep on rolling

Tom Brady will get a home game next weekend, and Jimmy Garoppolo will travel to Green Bay for a date with the No. 1 seeded Packers, with a potential Bucs-Niners NFC Championship game showdown fun to dream about. Continue reading →

Patriots

Who’s in, who’s out: Running through the Patriots’ free agents

Fourteen Patriots are set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, free to negotiate with any team, with another three restricted free agents on which Bill Belichick will have either matching rights or draft compensation. Continue reading →

Christopher L. Gasper

As for Bill Belichick’s competitive advantage, Bills shattered that myth

Belichick’s first foray into the playoffs as Patriots coach without Tom Brady ended up as the NFL emperor has no clothes. Continue reading →

Business

THE FINE PRINT

Credit reporting agencies responded to fewer complaints during the pandemic

There's been a surge of complaints about errors in credits reports. But credit bureaus corrected mistakes in only about 2 percent of them, a report found. Continue reading →

Business

Telehealth companies seek a bigger financial stake in patient care

A handful of companies are dipping into payment systems that reward them for keeping patients’ costs low and penalize them for overspending. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Obituaries

Charles Willie, an architect of Boston’s ‘controlled-choice’ school desegregation plan, dies at 94

Dr. Willie, whose grandparents were enslaved, became a leading voice for equality and fairness. Continue reading →

Arts & Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Typhoons, wildfires, missiles: Teen flies solo around world

As teenage pilot Zara Rutherford flew ever onward in a record-challenging global odyssey, she met little as strange or scary as when she tried to squeeze in between North Korean airspace and a massive cloud threatening to cut off passage for her ultralight plane. Continue reading →

Names

Coolidge Corner Theatre presents Big Screen Classics lineup for early 2022

Through April, the Coolidge will run 7 p.m. screenings of these films in the theatre’s 432-seat Moviehouse I. Though all fall under the “groundbreaking” theme, there are few restrictions placed on the film selections except a “loose working rule” that they be over 10 years old. Continue reading →

Names

Here are 10 ways to celebrate Martin Luther King Day in Boston

Celebrate the late civil rights leader with local volunteer opportunities, art exhibits, and community discussions. Continue reading →