Nation

Whiskey fungus fed by Jack Daniel’s encrusts a Tennessee town

For months, some residents have complained that a sooty, dark crust has blanketed homes, cars, road signs, bird feeders, patio furniture and trees as the fungus has spread uncontrollably, fed by alcohol vapors wafting from charred oak barrels of aging Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Continue reading →

Nation

‘It’s disgusting’: The con artists who exploit mass shootings

Experts say it is part of a troubling pattern that plays out over and over again in the United States: Where mass shootings happen, fraud often follows. Continue reading →

Nation

Global race to boost electric vehicle range in cold weather

Some automakers and drivers fear lower battery range in the cold could limit acceptance of electric cars, trucks and buses, at a time when emissions from transportation must go down sharply to address climate change. Continue reading →

World

Athlete dead in shipwreck left Pakistan to help disabled son

Shahida Raza, who also played for Pakistan's national field hockey team and was from Quetta in southwestern Baluchistan province, was one of at least 67 people who perished in the shipwreck. The overcrowded wooden boat they were traveling in broke apart in rough waters in the Ionian Sea off of Calabria before dawn last Sunday. Continue reading →

World

In Chernobyl’s stray dogs, scientists look for genetic effects of radiation

Hundreds of free-ranging dogs live in the area around the site of the disaster, known as the exclusion zone. Continue reading →

World

First evidence for horseback riding dates back 5,000 years

“When you get on a horse and ride it fast, it’s a thrill – I’m sure ancient humans felt the same way,” said David Anthony, a co-author of the study and Hartwick College archaeologist. “Horseback riding was the fastest a human could go before the railroads.” Continue reading →

LETTERS

Buchanan tried to hold Union together. That merits some revisionism, at least.

War is a blunt instrument and must be accompanied by a plan for significant postwar social change. Despite more than 600,000 Civil War deaths, the postwar suffering of freed Black people under an abusive sharecropping system made a mockery of "freedom." Continue reading →

EDITORIAL

License midwives to help struggling birth centers

Birth centers give women with low-risk pregnancies a more homey setting than a hospital and can improve patient health outcomes. Continue reading →

LETTERS

Families face agonizing choices in nursing home crunch

Our journey has taught us that the private sector cannot be relied on to take care of our vulnerable loved ones and that the public sector feels no sense of urgency to address this heartbreaking issue. Continue reading →

Immigration

‘It becomes part of your life’: Ukrainians experience grief, resolve as Russian invasion enters second year

“It’s been a lot of pain and grief and just feeling anxiety over the past year,” said Alex Nikanov, 20, a Northeastern University student whose family is in Ukraine. “It’s something that we think about every day. ... It becomes part of your life.” Continue reading →

Higher Education

Higher ed advocates laud Healey proposal, call for more effort to make college affordable

Higher education leaders lauded Governor Maura Healey’s budget, which would increase spending on public colleges and universities by nearly 25 percent and keep prices flat across four years. Continue reading →

Metro

An early climate warning lies in the paintings of JMW Turner and Claude Monet, new research shows

As pollution increased during the Industrial Revolution, depictions of London and Paris in the Impressionist and Romantic paintings of Monet and his contemporary, Joseph Mallord William Turner, got smoggier, the authors say. Continue reading →

On baseball

Injuries add clarity to a second projection at Red Sox Opening Day roster

New issues for Brayan Bello, James Paxton, and Connor Wong, plus Garrett Whitlock's recovery from hip surgery, thin the chases for spots on the 26-man roster. Continue reading →

Bruins 4, Rangers 2

Newcomers sure make Don Sweeney look good, and the Bruins beat the Rangers for 10th straight win

Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, and Garnet Hathaway contributed in their own ways against shorthanded New York. Continue reading →

dan shaughnessy

Getting baseball up to speed again is reason to rejoice, and other thoughts

In this opinion, the pitch clock is one of the three most important changes in the game over the last 100 years. Continue reading →

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IDEAS

Threading the needle to keep clothing manufacturing alive in Massachusetts

“Left with scraps” after Brooks Brothers shut down its Haverhill factory in 2020, some workers have found new opportunity in a Lawrence startup. Continue reading →

IDEAS

The surprisingly short history of creativity

Artists lay claim to it. So do industry leaders looking to engineer profits. The short, surprising history of a buzzword. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Pierre Apraxine, assembler of a remarkable trove of photos, dies at 88

Pierre Apraxine, a courtly self-taught connoisseur of photography who helped build one of the greatest private holdings of pictures, the Gilman Paper Company Collection, which vaulted the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the forefront of photography institutions after its acquisition, died Feb. 26 at his home in Manhattan. He was 88. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Bernadette Carey Smith, barrier-breaking reporter, dies at 83

Bernadette Carey Smith, a journalist who in the 1960s became one of the first Black reporters at the New York Times and The Washington Post, where she wrote for the women's news sections, died Dec. 5 at an assisted-living center in Tuckahoe, N.Y. She was 83 and lived in Bronxville, N.Y. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Greta Andersen, champion marathon swimmer, dies at 95

The Danish-born Olympic champion and elite swimmer who then found greater fame as a star of long-distance open water swimming — often besting her male competitors — died Feb. 6 at her home in Solvang, California. She was 95. Continue reading →

Theater

Fran Lebowitz’s withering view of humankind is kvetched in stone

The humorist and hardcore New Yorker has a few complaints. OK, more than a few. She'll be sharing some of those from the stage at Emerson Colonial Theatre. Continue reading →

Visual Arts

At the MFA, a small photography show leaves a big impression

"Who Holds Up the Sky" bears witness to the war in Ukraine. Continue reading →

Buzzsaw

With ‘The Last of Us,’ the waiting is the best part

HBO’s commitment to the weekly episode drop lets us enjoy what TV does best, and connect with each other too. Continue reading →

TRAVEL

What you need to pack in the ultimate carry-on bag

A well-packed carry-on bag transforms life in the air, erasing common nuisances while creating little moments of joy. Here's advice from a frequent flier who's been honing his kit for years. Continue reading →

TRAVEL

Why does everyone love Charleston so much? We have some thoughts.

We’re suckers for beauty and good food, and this place nails them. And the weather is pretty darn fine. But it’s not all sunshine and sweet tea, and local folks aren’t shy about discussing the dark aspects of hometown history. Continue reading →

Real Estate

So you want to turn part of your lawn into a wildflower meadow. Here’s what you’re getting yourself into.

Simply broadcasting wildflower seed over existing vegetation without proper preparation is rarely successful in the long term. Continue reading →

Real Estate

Plant pairings can deter pests, increase yield, and reduce our reliance on chemicals

Diversity confuses insect pests who would have no trouble finding their favorite vegetable if it were presented in isolation like a sandwich on a plate. Continue reading →