Social Responsibility

Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat charged last month with taking bribes in exchange for lucrative political favors, faced a stunning new accusation on Thursday — that he conspired to act as an agent of Egypt even as he served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Manhattan federal prosecutors filed the latest charge against Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, as well as a third defendant, Wael Hana, accusing them of conspiring to have the senator work on Egypt’s behalf without registering with the Justice Department.The prosecutors have asked a judge to seize the Menendezes’ residence…

The nomination of Mr. Scalise, 58, who has been the No. 2 leader in the chamber, was a vote of confidence for a deeply conservative Republican who once described himself, according to a local columnist, as “like David Duke without the baggage.” He represents the Louisiana congressional district that elected Mr. Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, to the State Legislature in 1989. His conservative governmental philosophy, the columnist wrote, was not much different from the one Mr. Duke embraced as a politician, including oppositions to taxes and social safety net programs.Mr. Scalise apologized in 2014 for having attended…

This may be a tale about the rise of a German sandal brand, but it is not a straightforward fashion story.After all, for a large chunk of its 249-year history, Birkenstock was synonymous with extremely unfashionable stereotypes. The sandals were often worn by hippies and off-duty hikers, eccentric aunts and science teachers with a penchant for pairing them with ankle socks.Over time, these orthopedic-looking shoes drew a loyal following thanks to their comfortable cork and latex molded footbeds and their durability. They found particular favor with German health care professionals and a handful of high-profile anti-establishment, anti-conformist types like the…

Within a few days of the George Floyd killing and Russia’s war against Ukraine, Harvard and other universities issued statements, claiming solidarity with the victims. Immediately after the Hamas attacks in Israel — in which assailants killed women and children — Harvard was quiet even as criticism mounted over an open letter from a student coalition.The letter, from Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, said it held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”The backlash to that letter turned Harvard’s silence into a roar.On Monday, Lawrence H. Summers, the former Treasury secretary and former Harvard president, condemned the university’s leadership,…

Charles F. Feeney, a pioneer of duty-free shops and a shrewd investor in technology start-ups who gave away nearly all of his $8 billion fortune to charity, much of it as quietly as he had made it, died on Monday in San Francisco. He was 92.His death was announced by the Atlantic Philanthropies, a group of foundations he had started and funded since the early 1980s. He lived in a modest rented apartment in San Francisco.In December 2016, with his donation of $7 million to his alma mater, Cornell University, for student community-service work, Mr. Feeney officially emptied the Atlantic…

Details are still emerging from many communities for miles around the Gaza Strip, and the authorities are still tallying the toll. But videos, photos and survivors have portrayed many attacks across the region.One 30-minute video that was posted on Facebook and whose location was verified by The Times shows Palestinian gunmen crossing the border fence and heading toward the southern community of Nir Oz. The video follows the group to what appears to be a kibbutz. The sounds of loud shouting and gunshots follow.The video eventually shows the inside of a room, where at least six bloodied bodies lie on…

Mary Lou Retton, who became one of the most popular athletes in the country after winning the all-around women’s gymnastics competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, has pneumonia and is “fighting for her life” in the intensive care unit, her daughter said in a statement this week.Retton’s daughter McKenna Lane Kelley said on Instagram that her mother “is not able to breathe on her own” and that she had been in the intensive care unit for more than a week.Kelley did not share more specific information about her mother’s condition, though she said that her pneumonia was…