More local cities go mask-free

Also: Fed's coming interest rate hikes; why student loan payments may be delayed again [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 14, 2022 🌞 Sunny, with a high near 51. Good Morning Boston, Yes, it's Monday, BUT it's also Pi(e) Day. I think the only appropriate way to celebrate is with one (or all?) of [these three savory pies]( from Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst. You could also just take the [homemade dough recipe]( go crazy with [our reader recommendations](. To quote Elle Simone Scott: “[I don't know anyone who's not happy when they're eating pie]( Let's take a bite out of the news, shall we? - Masks off: Face masks are no longer required indoors as of today in Cambridge and Revere. Individual businesses are allowed to enforce their own masking requirements and they're still required in city buildings until the end of the month. - Also starting today: Somerville Public Schools is dropping its mask requirement for students and staff. And as of next week, the city won't make residents mask up in city buildings or at city events. - A reminder: Don't toss your masks just yet. They're still required on public transportation and in medical settings. - The Boston City Council will discuss today an ordinance that would put a stop to so-called "targeted residential picketing." Mayor Michelle Wu filed the ordinance after having protestors outside her Roslindale home early in the morning for more than two months. If passed, the restriction wouldn't stop protests, but it would restrict them from targeting individual homes between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. - State health officials want the FDA to remove a policy that bans men who have sex with other men from donating blood. Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke are joining representatives from eight other states who are also calling the policy discriminatory. - This move comes [amid a national blood shortage]( the "worst in over a decade," according to the Red Cross. - Brent Renaud, a U.S. journalist and former Neimen fellow at Harvard, [was killed in Ukraine]( over the weekend. He was working on a documentary in a suburb of Kyiv. - Cognoscenti contributor Steve Almond taught Renaud while at Harvard and told WBUR's Morning Edition team this about the loss: "We need desperately storytellers like Brent to make real what is happening in places like Ukraine, where there's just massive barbarism and suffering human suffering. But because they have that extra amount of courage, they are at risk of terrible things, even losing their lives. It's just a terrible irony." - Tom Brady is following in the paths of Jay-Z and Cher. By that, I mean he's [coming out of retirement]( – less than two months after the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced he was leaving professional football. Why? "Unfinished business." - Sorry, Pats fans, he's back with the Bucs for his 23rd NFL season. P.S.– A Nicolas Cage and John Travolta ["face/off"]( I didn't know I needed it until now. Meagan McGinnes Senior Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [With the mask mandate lifted, Boston restaurants look ahead]( Some restaurant owners in Boston are glad the mask mandate has been lifted, others say they'll still ask staff to mask and keep other safety protocols in place. [Read more.]( [With the mask mandate lifted, Boston restaurants look ahead]( Some restaurant owners in Boston are glad the mask mandate has been lifted, others say they'll still ask staff to mask and keep other safety protocols in place. [Read more.]( [Fed's coming interest rate hikes may present another economic challenge for Democrats]( In an attempt to curb high inflation, the Federal Reserve is expected this week to begin raising interest rates for the first time in three years. [Read more.]( [Fed's coming interest rate hikes may present another economic challenge for Democrats]( In an attempt to curb high inflation, the Federal Reserve is expected this week to begin raising interest rates for the first time in three years. [Read more.]( [Surging gasoline prices bring back memories of past energy wars]( American gas stations displaying high prices this summer and fall will matter more than all the campaign billboards put together in affecting the November midterm elections. [Read more.]( [Surging gasoline prices bring back memories of past energy wars]( American gas stations displaying high prices this summer and fall will matter more than all the campaign billboards put together in affecting the November midterm elections. [Read more.]( [Photos: Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine as refugees flee]( More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since Russia invaded more than two weeks ago, and around 1.5 million of the refugees are believed to be in Poland. [Read more.]( [Photos: Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine as refugees flee]( More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since Russia invaded more than two weeks ago, and around 1.5 million of the refugees are believed to be in Poland. [Read more.]( [Better air in classrooms matters beyond COVID. Here's why schools aren't there yet]( Boosting ventilation and filtration not only lowers the risk of transmission, it's also linked to higher test scores and better health. But making upgrades is more complex than it sounds. [Read more.]( [Better air in classrooms matters beyond COVID. Here's why schools aren't there yet]( Boosting ventilation and filtration not only lowers the risk of transmission, it's also linked to higher test scores and better health. But making upgrades is more complex than it sounds. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Your student loan payments may be delayed (yes, again). [Here's why]( NPR thinks President Biden is likely considering another extension of the student loan payment freeze beyond May 1. - Five “reimagined” galleries have now opened at the MFA and expand the display of the museum’s impressive collection of art from Ancient Greece, Rome and the Byzantine Empire. [WBUR contributor Lloyd Schwartz shares his experience visiting.]( - Black women like me and my mom are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer, writes Theresa Okokon [in this commentary](. I shouldn’t have had to wait so long for my first mammogram. What We're Reading 📚 - The Weakness of the Despot ([The New Yorker]( - The White House is briefing TikTok stars about the war in Ukraine ([The Washington Post]( - Inside the workshops of some of the region’s premier musical instrument makers [(The Boston Globe]( Tell Me Something Good [The Songs That Get Us Through It (The New York Times Magazine)]( Featuring music from Mary J. Blige, Olivia Rodrigo, Beach House, Mitski and more. [Read more.]( [The Songs That Get Us Through It (The New York Times Magazine)]( Featuring music from Mary J. Blige, Olivia Rodrigo, Beach House, Mitski and more. [Read more.]( Before you go: I-93 truly is [lawful evil.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? 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