Social Responsibility

House Republicans on Friday nominated Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to be their next speaker, but quickly postponed a floor vote to elect him as scores of their members refused to commit to backing him.By a vote of 124 to 81, Mr. Jordan defeated Representative Austin Scott of Georgia, a mainstream conservative and an ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy who had decided just hours earlier to seek the nomination. Mr. Scott had effectively put himself forward as a protest candidate against Mr. Jordan, the co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and…

Technological progress is a key source of economic growth, but its effects aren’t always fully captured by its effects on gross domestic product. Sometimes a new technology changes everything — the way we work, the way we live, the way we relate to one another in society.Consider, for example, the effects of the birth control pill.If it never occurred to you that modern birth control was a transformative technology, or more broadly that expanding women’s ability to choose had profound economic as well as social effects, you have plenty of company. There have been innumerable books and articles about the…

Almost a week after Palestinian terrorists launched one of the biggest attacks on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military warned on Friday that residents of northern Gaza should relocate to the southern half of the territory within 24 hours.The demand has fueled speculation that Israel, which has been amassing soldiers on the border with Gaza, is preparing a ground invasion of the territory. Already, more than 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the war began. The United Nations pleaded on Friday for Israel to rescind the forced relocation order.Israel has been pounding Gaza with retaliatory strikes…

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…