The government has clamped down on aid groups it claims are backing the opposition, relief agencies say.

In a Crackdown, Zimbabwe Curbs Aid Groups

Dubbed “The Ghost” for his ability to make opponents swing and miss, boxer Kelly Pavlik has quietly and suddenly amassed two of the four middleweight belts.

Pride of Youngstown: A ‘Ghost’ Who Didn’t Vanish

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his advisers have been exploring strategies to allow him to remain in public life.

Bloomberg Is Said to Explore a Third Mayoral Term or a Bid for Governor

Even the most experienced cooks have an ingredient, technique or phrase that will make them bypass a recipe.

Recipe Deal Breakers: When Step 2 Is ‘Corral Pig’

Barack Obama now faces the task of repairing relations with Hillary Rodham Clinton and deciding whether to offer her a spot on his ticket.

Next on Agenda Is Clinton’s Role

These three books on drinking, reissued under one cover, are so delicious they impart a kind of contact high; they make you feel as if you’ve just had the first sip of the planet’s coldest, driest martini.

Toasting the Joys of Imbibing Properly

The movie “Saved,” about Christian youth struggling with issues of faith and identity, has been adapted into a bland, innocuous musical.

At School, Sin’s a-Poppin’ and Cherubs Are Singing

With its essentially amoral tenor, one can almost think of Age of Conan as akin to Grand Theft Auto, with swords instead of machine guns.

At Play in a World of Savagery, but Not This One

From the smallest growers to the biggest houses, the standards of grape-growing and winemaking in Burgundy have surpassed anybody’s expectations.

Burgundy Learns to Bottle Consistency

With no end in sight for elevated gas prices, G.M. announced drastic cuts in production of sport utility vehicles and pickups and stepped up plans for smaller cars.

G.M. Shifts Focus to Small Cars in Sign of Sport Utility Demise

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry has enough chapters to fill the Smithsonian, but its DNA formed over seven games in April 1962.

Celebrated Rivalry Has Its Roots in ’62 Finals

Everton Wagstaffe has waged an unyielding campaign to clear himself of involvement in the death of a teenage girl in 1992 in East New York, Brooklyn.

DNA Test Offers Inmate a Chance at Freedom After 16 ½ Years

The growing costs of auto ownership are leading Americans to change their driving habits quickly.

Big Vehicles Stagger Under the Weight of $4 Gas

The recent announcement from the New York City Opera about its plans for the next two seasons suggests that this essential 65-year-old company is poised for a near-complete makeover.

In Charting Its Future, City Opera Chooses an Adventurous Path

Donald C. Leo, the operator who died in last week’s crane collapse, was remembered as a man who so loved sports that kids on his street would shout for him to come out and play wiffle ball.

Mourners Gather to Honor a Crane Operator’s Life, Full but All Too Brief

In Lara Vapnyar’s new collection of short stories, food has the power to define characters, propel plots, cause riots and even commit manslaughter.

Her Killer Meatballs Are the Stuff of Fiction

Under fire for the high ratings they awarded to subprime mortgage securities, three large credit rating firms are close to announcing a broad deal with the New York attorney general.

Rating Firms Seem Near Legal Deal on Reforms

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden should make everyone, on both sides of the Atlantic, think twice about cultural economics and the costs of achieving true quality in the arts.

Courting Donors, Finding Freedom

With his horse just one race away from becoming the first Triple Crown champion since 1978, Rick Dutrow cannot help but talk trash.

Final Workout for Big Brown as Trainer’s Chatter Gallops On

Mr. Obama is a protean figure who inspires devotion in his supporters but remains inscrutable to critics.

Barack Obama: Calm in the Swirl of History

Joba Chamberlain was wild in his first start, which lasted less than three innings, and the Blue Jays took advantage of a sloppy performance by a bullpen that misses him.

Chamberlain Hits Pitch Count, Not Plate

The billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn vowed to remove Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s chief executive, if he succeeds in replacing the company’s board with his own slate of directors.

Icahn Wants New Chief for Yahoo

Senator Barack Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening after a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters.

Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket

A new program at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan aggressively treats people with bipolar disorder by involving their family members.

Clinic Treats Mental Illness by Enlisting the Family

As pressure grows on European businesses to go global, European companies are breaking down the glass ceiling that has long reserved their top spots for a local.

June 4, 2008

Headlines from June 4, 2008

In a Crackdown, Zimbabwe Curbs Aid Groups

Pride of Youngstown: A ‘Ghost’ Who Didn’t Vanish

Bloomberg Is Said to Explore a Third Mayoral Term or a Bid for Governor

Recipe Deal Breakers: When Step 2 Is ‘Corral Pig’

Next on Agenda Is Clinton’s Role

Billboard 200

3 Doors Down

II Trill

Julianne Hough

Nothing But The Best

Narrow Stairs

Historical Context for June 4, 2008