Pierre Cardin, French Fashion Designer, Dies At 98

French designer Pierre Cardin, who extended his brand far beyond the fashion world, has died at age 98. The son of Italian immigrants worked with luminaries such as filmmaker Jean Cocteau and designer Christian Dior before launching his own fashion house, drawing on his love for futuristic design.

Cardin's family announced his death to Agence France-Presse Tuesday. The French Académie des Beaux-Arts also issued several statements mourning his passing.

"Immense sadness," the academy's secretary general Cyril Barthalois said via Twitter, adding, "Equally great joy of having known him" through the academy.

Cardin was known for his forward-thinking designs, helping shape what we now see as space-age aesthetics: Clean, curved lines. Bold, beautiful colors contrasted with black tights and leggings. Helmets, visors and experimental materials that exuded both a sense of adventure and a knowing playfulness.




https://www.npr.org/2020/12/29/951062266/pierre-cardin-french-fashion-designer-dies-at-98?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews

Phoenix police officer said, 'If the mayor defunds the police, I'm going to shoot her'

On the afternoon of October 21, seven Phoenix police officers gathered for a briefing in a Cave Creek station when the meeting diverged into a discussion about the defund-the-police movement.

When Officer Steven Poulos expressed his thoughts, the room went quiet: "If the mayor defunds the police, I'm going to shoot her," Poulos' sergeant recalled hearing the officer say, referring to Mayor Kate Gallego.

The sergeant broke the silence, saying, "You're not going to shoot the mayor."

Poulos doubled down, "That's a promise," he responded.

Poulos's comments were detailed in a Tempe police report recently released to The Arizona Republic as part of a public records request. A Tempe police detective interviewed the sergeant and the other five officers who were at the meeting with Poulos.

Some officers remembered Poulos's threat differently, according to the police report.

One officer said he remembered Poulos saying, "If they defund us, the first person on my list is the mayor."





https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2020/12/28/report-phoenix-police-officer-threatened-to-shoot-mayor-over-budget/4062470001/

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) announced she has tested positive for CV19

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Andrew Yang files paperwork to run for mayor of New York City

Andrew Yang, the tech entrepreneur who rose to national prominence as a 2020 Democratic candidate for president, has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City. The move sets him up to join a crowded Democratic race just six months before a primary will likely determine the next mayor.


A financial form for Yang's potential campaign was filed with the city's Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday. Yang also now appears as a mayoral contender on the finance board's list of 2021 citywide candidates.

The paperwork does not guarantee that Yang is running, and he so far has no campaign contributions. A source close to Yang told CBS News that these steps are "just procedural" and no decision has been made, but added Yang is "seriously considering it and this was the necessary next step."

A poll released this week by Education Reform Now Advocacy, a charter school advocacy group, showed Yang as the top candidate for New York's next mayor, even though he hadn't yet filed paperwork or announced a campaign. Yang led the poll with 17 percent support — 1 percent higher than Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president who's seen as a leading candidate.

Yang has also been floated as a possible contender for U.S. Commerce Secretary in the incoming Biden administration, sources told CBS News — though one source said a mayoral run would likely conflict with that.





https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andrew-yang-files-paperwork-to-run-for-mayor-of-new-york-city-2020-12-24/

They Fueled A.O.C.'s Win. Can They Shape the N.Y.C. Mayor's Race?

ast summer, the rising influence of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in New York seemed almost boundless.

Progressive activists helped knock off an incumbent congressman, fueled upsets in several state legislative races and pushed policies on taxation and policing that put an anxious business community further on edge.

Next year, the movement may face its sternest test in the New York City mayoral race, a wide-open contest that will be the city’s most momentous in decades.

New York officials and strategists across the ideological spectrum say that the Democratic electorate has plainly shifted to the left in recent years, and a unified liberal front helped make the difference in a number of high-profile congressional and legislative races in the city and around the country.

But at a time of extraordinary economic crisis, staggering public health challenges and rising gun violence, the mayor’s race may serve as a barometer of whether the electorate will be swayed more by bold, progressive ideas or evidence of managerial competence — or whether they believe a single candidate can deliver both.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/nyregion/nyc-mayors-race-progressives.html

Bonus Tweet of the Day

A Holiday Message From The Bidens (VIDEO)

The Queen's Christmas Broadcast 2020 (VIDEO)