Social Responsibility

IN THE 1970S, buying a print of Ernie Barnes’s “The Sugar Shack,” the iconic 1976 dance club painting that adorns the cover of Marvin Gaye’s album released that spring, “I Want You,” and appears in the credits for the classic sitcom “Good Times” (1974-79), required nothing more than mailing a $20 check to the artist’s West Hollywood studio. In 2022, the second of two originals — inspired by a childhood adventure of sneaking into a famed dance hall to watch couples drag and sway to the live performances of Clyde McPhatter or Duke Ellington — came up for auction at…

Naomi Shatz, a lawyer who has represented accusers and accused in other hearings, has noticed an uptick in such suits, but they are uncommon, she said. The accused usually wants to move on, especially if the case is not public. (Mr. Khan’s case had received significant news media coverage, including in The Times, before he filed his lawsuit.)“It’s a huge emotional and financial burden to be dragged into a defamation lawsuit,” she said, citing the successful lawsuit by the actor Johnny Depp against his former wife, Amber Heard. “Nobody wants to be in Amber Heard’s position, especially as a young…

The credenza in the back of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van groaned as Lars Balderskilde drove through the woodlands near Vejle, a city on a fjord about two and a half hours from Copenhagen.It was late January, and after passing a lake filled with swans, Mr. Balderskilde stopped at a house where he picked up an old bar cabinet that he paid for in cash. Then came stops at other homes to collect nesting tables and a mirror. The sun had set by the time he met Nina Toft and Grethe Kock, two sisters, at the home of their mother, whose…

Her face has lit up a billboard in Times Square, and been painted on murals in Paris and Berlin. It has been splashed on the Barcelona soccer team’s private jet and commemorated on T-shirts with the red, white and green colors of Iran’s flag. Vienna and Los Angeles have even named streets after her.At rallies across Iran and the world last year, tens of thousand of men and women waved placards with her face shouting, “Say her name: Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini.”Saturday will mark one year since the 22-year-old woman from Saghez, a small city in a Kurdish province in…

They thought they had him cornered.Danelo Cavalcante, facing life in prison for murder, had clambered his way out of the Chester County jail on Aug. 31 and was on the run in exurbs of eastern Pennsylvania.Local and state police set up a perimeter around the expanse where they suspected Mr. Cavalcante was hiding out. It might take a while, but they had him penned in, they thought.Just before midnight the next day, Mr. Cavalcante broke into a house, apparently in search of provisions. He found a peach, an apple and some snap peas.He also found himself steps from the man…

In 1994, Leah Wong Ashburn’s father, Oscar, did something very few, if any, Chinese Americans had tried before: He opened a craft brewery.Mr. Wong, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica in the 1960s, had retired to Asheville, N.C., after a long and successful career running an engineering firm. Beer wasn’t on his mind until a friend and local brewer proposed starting their own operation — the city’s first since Prohibition. They called it Highland Brewing.“When my dad opened the brewery, he was easy to find because he was the only Chinese guy selling beer in the South,” said…

President Biden forcefully sided with the striking United Auto Workers on Friday, dispatching two of his top aides to Detroit and calling for the three biggest American car companies to share their profits with employees whose wages and benefits he said have been unfairly eroded for years.In brief remarks from the White House hours after the union began what they called a targeted strike, Mr. Biden acknowledged that the automakers had made “significant offers” during contract negotiations, but he left no doubt his intention to make good on a 2020 promise to always have the backs of unions.“Over generations, autoworkers…

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of Canada and a wide stretch of coastal New England late Friday as Hurricane Lee moved toward Canada, where it was expected to make landfall on Saturday.New England is likely to experience weather similar to what occurs during a nor’easter, said Andrew Loconto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston. During such storms, which typically occur in late fall and through the winter, large waves crash ashore and often flood coastal roads.The tropical-storm-force winds extend far from the center of the storm and are expected to reach the coastline. But…

Tucked away in the wooded suburbs south of Atlanta is a small family-owned amusement park that used to bring in customers thanks to humble attractions like its Ferris wheel, bumper boats, Tilt-a-Whirl, go-kart tracks, Scooby Swing and batting cages.But as of this year, Fun Spot America Atlanta has transformed itself into something of a destination for the nation’s roller coaster enthusiasts, with the unveiling of a marquee ride, ArieForce One.It towers above the green landscape, its steel tracks shimmering in the Georgia sun. Its 154-foot lift hill and steep first drop are visible from Highway 85, beckoning to and intimidating…