NEW YORK — Eric Benz didn’t worry very much when his graphic design firm in Atlanta laid him off in March. He felt sure he’d be recalled to work once the viral pandemic eased and his firm’s clients resumed spending. Three months later, there’s been no call. Instead, Benz has applied for gig work as an Instacart shopper. Hope has given way to an urgent need to pay bills because Benz’s unemployment benefits haven’t yet come through. Benz has negotiated with his mortgage lender to defer payments...

Eric Benz didn't worry very much when his graphic design firm in Atlanta laid him off in March. He felt sure he'd be recalled to work once the viral pandemic eased and his firm's clients resumed spending. Hope has given way to an urgent need to pay bills because Benz's unemployment benefits haven't yet come through. Benz has negotiated with his mortgage lender to defer payments on the home he and his wife bought earlier this year. But the deferral won't last long. Even as the U.S. economy...

New York — Eric Benz didn’t worry very much when his graphic design firm in Atlanta laid him off in March. He felt sure he’d be recalled to work once the viral pandemic eased and his firm’s clients resumed spending. Three months later, there’s been no call. Instead, Benz has applied for gig work as an Instacart shopper. Hope has given way to an urgent need to pay bills because Benz’s unemployment benefits haven’t yet come through. Benz has negotiated with his mortgage lender to defer payments...

America's painful struggles over racism have finally caught up with Aunt Jemima, that ubiquitous fixture served up at breakfast tables for 131 years. Quaker Oats announced Wednesday that it will retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the character's origins are "based on a racial stereotype." Indeed, the logo was inspired by 19th century minstrel celebrating the "mammy," a Black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face...

NEW YORK — (AP) — America’s painful struggles over racism have finally caught up with Aunt Jemima, that ubiquitous fixture served up at breakfast tables for 131 years. Quaker Oats announced Wednesday that it will retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype.” Indeed, the logo was inspired by 19th century minstrel celebrating the “mammy,” a black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green,...