North Carolina's high court says elections board shift can continue while governor appeals
The Republican majority on the court declined or dismissed requests that Gov. Josh Stein made three weeks ago to block for now the enforcement of the law approved last year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly shifting authority to GOP State Auditor Dave Boliek.
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Global News
4 minutes ago
- Global News
Sydney Sweeney's controversial jeans ad draws praise from President Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump is commending Sydney Sweeney for her recent American Eagle campaign, following a wave of social media backlash over its messaging. The denim brand's latest advertisement, fronted by the Euphoria actor, whose tagline plays on the words 'jeans' and 'genes,' has been criticized for its celebration of traits typically associated with whiteness. 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue,' Sweeney says in the ad, which appears to have been scrubbed from the internet. Other versions still remain, such as this one, below. Story continues below advertisement On Monday, Trump told a reporter while disembarking a plane in Pennsylvania, 'Oh, she's a registered Republican, oh, now I love her ad. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,' he said. His comments followed a claim that The White Lotus star registered with the Republican Party ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. (Several news outlets confirmed and corroborated with publicly available records that Sweeney is a registered Republican. Global News has not reviewed the public records and thus cannot confirm Sweeney's membership.) Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The president continued to share his thoughts on the ad campaign on Truth Social. 'Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there. It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.' Go get 'em Sydney,' he wrote. Story continues below advertisement American Eagle has defended the campaign, saying it is simply referring to the colour of Sweeney's jeans. The campaign 'is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone,' the retailer wrote on Instagram. The message marked the first response from the brand following days of backlash since the campaign's launch last week. In the run-up to its release, the company's chief marketing officer told trade media outlets that it included 'clever, even provocative language' and was 'definitely going to push buttons,' The Associated Press reported. Story continues below advertisement Some critics have argued that the 'genes' 'jeans' wordplay is a nod, whether intentional or not, to eugenics, a discredited theory that held humanity could be improved through selective breeding for certain traits, including blue eyes and blonde hair. View image in full screen Sydney Sweeney attends the 'Echo Valley' European Premiere at the BFI Southbank on June 10, 2025, in London, England. Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images Others have accused those knocking the campaign of reading too deeply into the messaging and imagery. Some marketing experts said the buzz is always good, even if it's not uniformly positive. 'If you try to follow all the rules, you'll make lots of people happy, but you'll fail,' Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said. 'The rocket won't take off.' Sweeney has not commented on the backlash or confirmed her political affiliations. — With files from The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
4 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ion Iliescu, Romania's first freely elected president after 1989 revolution, has died at 95
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Ion Iliescu, Romania's first freely elected president after the fall of communism in 1989, who later faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody revolution, has died. He was 95. Iliescu, who held de facto military authority during the anti-communist revolt, assumed power after Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and his wife Elena, were executed on Dec. 25, 1989. More than 1,100 people died during the uprising, 862 of them after Iliescu had seized power. He repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Twice re-elected, in 1992 and 2000, Iliescu had largely withdrawn from public life by 2017. In recent years, his health had declined. In 2019, he underwent heart surgery, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer in June. The hospital in the capital, Bucharest, where Iliescu had been receiving medical treatment since Jun. 9, said on Tuesday that he died at 3.55 p.m. local time after medics 'made all efforts to provide him the necessary care and treatment.' Romania's government also confirmed his death and extended its condolences to his family and those close to the former president. It added that it would announce plans for a state funeral soon. In a statement on its official website, Romania's Social Democratic Party, or PSD, which Iliescu founded, called it 'a very sad day for Romania.' 'A prominent figure of the Romanian Revolution and the history of contemporary Romania, Mr. President Ion Iliescu will remain for all of us a symbol of the politician and statesman,' the statement read. 'He had the courage to confront Ceausescu and his dictatorship, and directed Romania irreversibly on the Euro-Atlantic path.' 'He was a strong leader, loved by most, contested by others, as happens in democracy,' it added. In 2018, military prosecutors charged Iliescu with crimes against humanity for failing to prevent 'numerous situations' in which civilians were needlessly killed during the revolution. Prosecutors alleged he had spread false information through state media, creating a 'generalized psychosis' that fueled chaos and bloodshed. The charges against Iliescu, who served as a minister in the communist government until he was sidelined in 1971, refer to a five-day period during the uprising, after Ceausescu had fled Bucharest on Dec. 22, 1989. At the time of Iliescu's death, he had never been convicted, and the case remained open. In January this year, Iliescu's legal woes mounted when prosecutors charged him with crimes against humanity in a second case. Prosecutors allege he implemented policies that led to a violent crackdown on civilian protesters in Bucharest in 1990, who were demanding the removal of former communists from power. Iliescu had called on coal miners from the Jiu Valley to 'restore order' in the capital. At least four people were killed. Despite maintaining good relations with the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, Romania became a member of the NATO military alliance in 2004 during his last presidential term. After his last term ended, he served as a lawmaker in the Social Democratic Party, Romania's most dominant political party since communism ended 35 years ago. For two decades after the revolution, Iliescu was Romania's most consequential political figure who helped define the country's new democratic institutions and its Constitution, said Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant. 'His legacy spans from the one to oust Ceausescu to being himself a break in Romania's development and transition to full functioning democracy and market economy,' he told The Associated Press. 'He was later accused by a growing number of Romanians of being the continuator of the Communist apparatus … trying to hold on to power in an authoritarian-communist style.' After Nicusor Dan's victory in Romania's tense presidential rerun in May, Iliescu congratulated the new pro-Western leader in a blog post, noting that Romania 'is going through a complex period' and faces economic, social, and geopolitical challenges. 'Romania needs coherence, dialogue and a firm commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and its European path,' he said. 'I am convinced that you will exercise this responsibility with dignity and a sense of duty to the nation.'
Toronto Star
34 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Philippines condemns China's rocket launch after suspected debris sparked alarm
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A top Philippine security official on Tuesday condemned China's latest rocket launch, which caused suspected debris to fall near a western Philippine province. Authorities said the incident sparked alarm and posed a danger to people, ships, and aircraft. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the suspected Chinese rocket debris that fell near Palawan province Monday night, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said. However, he added that these posed 'a clear danger and risk to land areas and to ships, aircraft, fishing boats and other vessels' near the expected drop zones.
