Social Responsibility

A New York judge put a spotlight on former President Donald J. Trump’s business empire this week, determining in a ruling that he had inflated the value of his properties by considerable sums to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance.If the ruling stands, Mr. Trump could lose control over some of his best-known New York real estate — an outcome the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, sought when she filed a lawsuit last year that accused him of fraud and called for the cancellation of his business certificates for any entities in the state that benefited from deceitful practices.The…

Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud trial over accusations that he inflated the value of his properties by billions of dollars will likely begin Monday after a New York appeals court rejected the former president’s attempt to delay it.The appeals court, in a terse two-page order Thursday, effectively turned aside for now a lawsuit that Mr. Trump had filed against the trial judge, Arthur F. Engoron. The lawsuit had sought to delay the trial and ultimately throw out many accusations against the former president.The case was brought last year by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who says Mr. Trump exaggerated…

A New York judge ruled on Tuesday that Donald J. Trump persistently committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets, and stripped the former president of control over some of his signature New York properties.The surprising decision by Justice Arthur F. Engoron is a major victory for Attorney General Letitia James in her lawsuit against Mr. Trump, effectively deciding that no trial was needed to determine that he had fraudulently secured favorable terms on loans and insurance deals.Ms. James has argued that Mr. Trump inflated the value of his properties by as much as $2.2 billion and is seeking…

Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. The 72-story office building in the heart of the financial district. The Trump International Hotel overlooking Central Park.These are Donald J. Trump’s flagship New York properties, embodiments of the rise of a developer who parlayed real estate riches into reality television fame, and ultimately, the White House.Now, Mr. Trump could lose his grip on all three buildings after a state judge on Tuesday ruled that he had persistently committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets. The judge sided with New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who had brought a civil case against the…

Brooks Robinson, the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer who was perhaps the finest third baseman in baseball history, died on Tuesday at his home in Owings Mills, a suburb of Baltimore. He was 86.The cause was coronary disease, Diane Hock, his longtime friend and agent, said.His death was announced by the Orioles in a statement that did not include further information.In his 23 seasons with the Orioles, from 1955 to 1977, Robinson became known as the Human Vacuum Cleaner for his ability to snare just about anything hit his way.Charging topped grounders or bunts, backhanding smashes, ranging to his left…

Pvt. Travis T. King, the American soldier who crossed into North Korea on July 18, was released into U.S. custody on Wednesday after weeks of diplomacy mediated by the Swedish government, American officials said.Private King was to be reunited with his family in the United States and given physical and mental health support after being held by the North Koreans for 70 days.“U.S. officials have secured the return of Pvt. Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said in a statement.Private King’s first stop after leaving North Korea was China, where U.S.…

A merciful evening breeze kicked up, swatting away the Arkansas heat and giving wing to the melodies coming from two of the gazebos in the grassy park. In the larger one, a dozen people were playing the last strains of “Barbry Allen” on fiddles, mandolins, guitars, a stand-up bass, dulcimers, banjos and even a dulci-banjo.A pretty tune I did not recognize drew me over to the smaller group. But I never got to ask what it was because, just as I approached, they stopped. Then their fiddler lowered his instrument and, in a clear, bold bass, started singing “I’ve Been…

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states sued Amazon on Tuesday, setting up a long-awaited antitrust fight with the e-commerce giant that could alter the way Americans shop for everything from toilet paper to electronics online.The 172-page suit, the federal government’s most significant challenge to the power of the online store, accused Amazon of protecting a monopoly over swaths of online retail by squeezing merchants and favoring its own services.For consumers, that meant “artificially higher prices” as merchants were blocked from selling their products for less on other sites, and a worse shopping experience as Amazon boosted its own products…

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey returned Monday to the familiar territory of Hudson County, N.J., a Democratic bastion where he rose to political prominence, to publicly address the corruption charges that now threaten his career and his freedom.Standing alone at a lectern, accused of bribery for the second time in a decade, he indicated that he had no intention of bowing to the chorus of voices calling for his resignation.The allegations, he said, were framed by prosecutors to “be as salacious as possible.”“I recognize that this will be the biggest fight yet,” Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, said as heavy…