Good Wednesday morning.
I like to think that I keep up on the news – including pop culture – but there’s a certain erosion of awareness that comes along with passing the age of, let’s say, 50.
I know a lot about politics, particularly here in New York, and am conversant on esoteric matters that most people don’t have a clue about – or care to, probably. But when it comes to the finer points of the latest celebrity doings, I tend to get a little lost.
I certainly felt that cluelessness when I read the coverage of the Emmys, one of Hollywood’s most well known awards ceremonies, which might have more to do with the fact that I don’t watch TV, now that I think of it. Because, to be clear, I did not WATCH the Emmys, which drag on far past the time I prefer to be in bed (not sleeping, mind you, but staring at the ceiling) on a Sunday night.
I did, however, click through the endless lists of who wore what, which is a guilty little pastime of mine. And while I enjoyed the clothes immensely, I recognized maybe 1/4 of who had them on. And that’s probably being generous.
One person I did recognize, resplendent in her (as usual) cleavage enhancing red evening gown, was the actress Sydney Sweeney. You have to pretty much live under a rock not to know Sweeney, though, because she recently joined the small-ish group of celebrities who expanded their news-making into the mainstream space.
This wasn’t something Sweeney wanted or meant to do, from what I can tell. In case you’ve been hiking in the remote reaches of Peru without online access of late, here’s a short recap of the controversy that has embroiled the 28-year-old TV and film star who was prior to this perhaps best known for her roles in the HBO hit series Euphoria and White Lotus (among other things):
This past July, Sweeney starred in an ad campaign for American Eagle, a trendy clothing store that is often found in malls and is frequented by young people (though I do own a few pairs of their jeans). It was the brand’s most ambitious and largest campaigns to date, featuring videos, print ads, a Times Square billboard etc., and was titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.”
The campaign was, in one sense, a great success. It aimed to attract Gen Z shoppers and generate new customers for American Eagle, which it arguably did. Items in the line sold out within a week, with some snapped up in just one day, generating many millions of dollars.
The company’s stock rose, as did its name recognition, though in the eyes of some people, not in a terribly good way. Some critics said the ads featuring Sweeney were hyper-sexualized, especially since the campaign was supposed to generate funds for domestic violence awareness – an issue about which the actress is reportedly very passionate.
In addition, some interpreted the ad as promoting eugenics, a selective breeding theory embraced by the Nazis and still popular among white supremacists, as it seemed to suggest that Sweeney’s porcelain skin, blonde hair, and blue-eyed “genes” are somehow superior. The backlash was stoked by the White House – and President Donald Trump himself – and the uproar reached a fever pitch after it turned out that Sweeney, 27, is a registered Republican.
The ruckus has died down considerably, though Sweeney’s reception at the Emmys by the largely liberal Hollywood crowd was markedly muted, and she reportedly skipped the after parties. (She said it was because she had a big day of filming ahead and wanted to get some rest).
So, why are we revisiting this? It turns out that today is National Jeans for Genes Day, which actually appears to be an entire week (?) and is held in the UK and Australia to raise money for research and treatment of genetic diseases. The whole play on words really works, and I hope the dustup over Sweeney and AE doesn’t negatively impact this effort.
I’m starting to feel a little like a broken record – in a good way – when it comes to the weather. It will again be unseasonably warm, with a mix of sun and clouds and temperatures soaring into the low 80s.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, are set to spend the day with the British royal family today at Windsor Castle outside of London, beginning a two-day state visit swaddled in the kind of pomp and grandeur that so thrills this president.
Trump’s visit to Britain this week is being used by some of America’s biggest tech companies to announce more than $40 billion in investments for artificial intelligence, data centers and other new technologies.
Ed Davey, of the Liberal Democrats, says that Trump does not represent British values, and is boycotting a state dinner with the U.S. leader over Gaza.
British activists upset about Trump’s state visit this week protested his arrival by projecting a picture of the U.S. president with Jeffrey Epstein on the walls of Windsor Castle and unrolling a massive banner of the picture on the castle’s grassy lawn.
Trump has begun a major escalation to stifle political opposition in the U.S., using Charlie Kirk’s assassination to make the baseless argument that Democratic organizations and protesters are part of a violent conspiracy against conservative values.
The man accused of shooting Kirk left a trail of evidence and had no way to outrun his parents’ recognition, court documents showed.
Kirk’s killing is having a galvanizing effect on the conservative movement as both parties prepare for next year’s midterm elections.
Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance will deliver remarks this Sunday at the memorial service for the late conservative activist, Turning Point USA announced.
An ABC News correspondent is getting panned for his bizarre empathetic and gushing interpretation of the text messages between accused Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and his transgender partner which were revealed yesterday.
Less than three hours after the Sept. 10 killing, the 22-year-old Robinson told his live-in partner, Lance Twiggs, that he had been planning the killing for a week, according to an indictment filed.
Former President Barack Obama suggested that Trump and his allies were using Kirk’s assassination to stoke division and silence debate about the conservative activist’s ideas.
Susan Monarez, the former head of the CDC who was ousted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amid a dispute over vaccine policy, will tell her story during a Senate hearing today that promises to be a referendum on Kennedy’s leadership.
University of California leaders, besieged by a billion-dollar demand from the Trump administration, will meet today as they weigh how to confront Washington’s campaign to remake American campuses.
A New York state judge dismissed state terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione yesterday but kept second-degree murder charges in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
Five executives of a strip club company were indicted for tax fraud and bribing a tax auditor, State Attorney General Letitia James announced — charges that could draw prison stints from eight to 25 years if convicted.
The chief executive of publicly traded RCI Hospitality Holdings, its chief financial officer and three colleagues provided the trips to clubs, hotels and restaurants in Florida and New York to bribe the official, prosecutors said.
The New York Power Authority has embraced the state’s clean energy goals, but regularly flies its top executives, media personnel and board members on a $7.5 million plane that burns tens of thousands of gallons of carbon-spewing jet fuel every year.
There’s another mid-decade redistricting question that will be at the forefront of state politics in the coming months: Democratic legislators are hoping for the first remapping of upstate judicial districts since the 1800s.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed this week that they did have a criminal warrant for the raid in Cato earlier this month, refuting what Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday during her visit to the business.
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction ordering the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to stop keeping dozens of mentally ill inmates in solitary-like conditions at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has widened her lead over U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in next year’s race for governor, according to a new poll from the Siena Research Institute.
Hochul defended her endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, arguing that the socialist mayoral contender is the best candidate to fight Trump.
Hochul’s endorsement may have boosted Mamdani’s candidacy, but also potentially deepened the divide among several groups, including Jewish voters, where various stands have polarized the electorate.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ progressive members are reportedly growing increasingly agitated at him for not yet endorsing Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race.
Carl Heastie, the speaker of the New York State Assembly, is expected to endorse his legislative colleague, Assemblyman Mamdani, for New York City mayor this week, according to two people with knowledge of his plans.
Heastie will reportedly offer the endorsement during a press conference in the Bronx. A spokesman for Heastie, who represents portions of the northeast Bronx, didn’t immediately return a request for comment, and neither did a rep for Mamdani.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered a scathing assessment of Democrats this week, saying he was unable to name any living member of his party whom he admired.
Cuomo quipped that Mamdani should be the one who gets arrested after saying he’d order the NYPD to cuff Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister steps foot in New York City.
Cuomo seemed keen on dismissing the value of both Hochul’s and Heastie’s support for Mamdani as being part of a left-wing wave taking over the party.
Cuomo said he wants the war in Gaza to end, a stance some see as a modest shift in approach but that the former governor denied was a new position for him.
Many polls now show Democratic nominee Mamdani winning handily. But if the polls were wrong leading up to the June primary, how do we know they won’t be again? And which ones should you trust?
The relationship between Mamdani and his erstwhile primary foe-turned-ally, Comptroller Brad Lander, has reportedly become strained.
The city’s push to collect garbage from bins in the street rather than foul heaps of bags on the sidewalk is worth the “sacrifice” of a handful of parking spots, Mayor Eric Adams said, as he announced the Department of Sanitation expansion into Brooklyn.
Adams said schools in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill will get the bins as soon as this fall while sanitation officials conduct door-to-door outreach to plan the wider rollout.
Adams touted his administration’s “Bridge to Home” initiative in an amNY op-ed.
Vision Zero, NYC’s ongoing mission to eliminate traffic fatalities, is working, according to items in the Mayor’s Management Report, scheduled to be released today.
Local community aid groups testified at a City Council hearing that immigrant New Yorkers are forgoing doctors’ appointments, failing to report domestic violence, and doing without public benefits such as food stamps out of fear of immigration enforcement.
The family of a man who died at Rikers Island in August is suing the city, alleging he took his own life after corrections officers ignored explicit warnings about his mental health, according to court documents.
A State Police sergeant died early yesterday following a motorcycle crash in Dutchess County. Nigel Barnett, 49, was thrown from his motorcycle while riding on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of East Fishkill around 6:30 a.m.
Joel Moss, a music producer and recording engineer who won multiple Grammy Awards and lived in the Spa City for more than 20 years, where he was long associated with the venue Caffe Lena, died Monday of an aneurysm.
Cohoes officials say there have been no leads or sightings regarding the whereabouts of accused killer Anthony “Tony” Bechand. Police are now seeking the public’s assistance.
A Colonie man riding his motorcycle was killed in a crash Monday on a notorious stretch of Route 7 where several other people have died in vehicle wrecks, police said.
On Friday, the executive director of Shelters of Saratoga will step down from the nonprofit to take on a role as commissioner of the Washington County Department of Social Services.
Barely a month after Matthew Reinemann was promoted to assistant city fire chief, the Schenectady County Civil Service office appears to be taking a closer look at the job’s potential residency requirements, although the mayor insists there are none.
Robert Redford, the actor-director known as much for his classic, all-American good looks as his mission to foster independent cinema through his Sundance Institute and film festival, has died. He was 89.
The actor, director, producer and activist died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” said his publicist, Cindi Berger. “He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”
Photo credit: George Fazio.
