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The day after French President Emmanuel Macron wore a pair of Henry Jullien Pacific S 01 aviator sunglasses during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the world wanted to know more about his eyewear. Search interest for Macron’s shiny, reflective sunglasses spiked Wednesday, and the French luxury eyewear brand’s website is down at time of this writing. All it takes is one world leader sporting a ready-to-wear garment or accessory for a brand to get a global spotlightand just maybe become a meme. Like interest shown to the Nike tracksuit Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was pictured wearing earlier this month after he was seized by the U.S., interest in Macron’s shades is just the latest example of a newsmaker driving attention to a piece of fashion, and parlaying a news item into an internet meme. Before you could buy a “Make America Great Again” hat on President Donald Trump’s website back in 2016, he wore one himself. Watch the news and shop the look. Macron’s shades, which cost 659 euros, or $770, weren’t worn primarily as a fashion statement, but to prevent something more unsightly, according to the explanation from his press office. Macron’s office told Reuters he wore the sunglasses because of a burst blood vessel in his eye, and he was indeed spotted last week with one bloodshot eye. While Macron’s sunglasses hid his eye, they also had the added benefit of sending a visual message that accompanied the contents of his speech. Macron called out U.S. tariffs during his address and urged “more stability” in the world and respect over bullying while wearing a more-than-a-century-old French luxury brand. Online, some people thought Macron’s sunglasses looked cool, whereas Trump mocked him. “I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?” Trump remarked during his Wednesday address in Davos. But if Macron hadn’t worn the sunglasses, everyone would be talking about his red eye. Instead, they’re talking about his expensive aviators. The sunglasses drew attention to Macron’s speech, but they also made him look like a French Top Gun fighter pilot at a moment when he needed to communicate that he meant business. They also recalled former President Joe Biden at a time when the West feels unmoored as the U.S. shrinks from its post-World War II leadership under Trump. This wasn’t the type of speech one could wear Oakleys to. Macron’s choice of sunglasses for such an important speech was just right.
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration is dropping its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked a campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion threatening federal funding to the nation’s schools and colleges. The Education Department, in a court filing Wednesday, moved to dismiss its appeal. It leaves in place a federal judges August decision finding that the anti-DEI effort violated the First Amendment and federal procedural rules. The dispute centered on federal guidance telling schools and colleges they would lose federal money if they kept a wide range of practices that the Republican administration labeled as diversity, equity, and inclusion. The department did not immediately comment. Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy firm representing the plaintiffs, said the dismissal was a welcome relief and a meaningful win for public education. Todays dismissal confirms what the data shows: government attorneys are having an increasingly difficult time defending the lawlessness of the president and his cabinet, said Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO. The department sent the anti-DEI warning in a Dear Colleague Letter to schools last February. The memo said race could not be considered in decisions involving college admissions, hiring, scholarships and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life. It said efforts to increase diversity had led to discrimination against white and Asian American students. The department later asked K-12 schools to certify they did not practice DEI, again threatening to cut federal funding. Both documents were struck down by U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland. In her ruling, she said the guidance stifled teachers’ free speech, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished. The challenge was filed by the American Federation of Teachers. ___ The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. By Collin Binkley, AP education writer
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E-Commerce
The U.S. stock market is steadying following its worst day since October, though some signs of fear remain on Wall Street Wednesday about President Donald Trumps desire to take Greenland. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% after Trump said in a speech before business and government leaders in Europe that he would not use force to take the piece of ice. The potential de-escalation in rhetoric, which had ramped up earlier with talk of tariffs crossing the Atlantic, helped the index recover some of its 2.1% drop from the day before and pull closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 336 points, or 0.7%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher. Treasury yields also eased in the bond market, a day after jumping in a potential signal of worries about higher inflation in the long term. They got help from a calming of bond yields in Japan, which surged earlier on concerns about the size of its government’s debt. The value of the U.S. dollar also held steadier against the euro, Swiss franc and other currencies after sliding the day before. But some nerves seemed to remain in the market, and the price of gold rose another 1.7% and topped $4,800 per ounce for the first time. Trump himself acknowledged how his desire for Greenland led to Tuesdays drop in the U.S. stock market, but he called it peanuts compared to what its gone up in the first year of his second term and said it would go up further in the future. While saying he would not use force to take Greenland, he called for immediate negotiations for the United States to acquire it from Denmark. Trump has a history of making big threats that send financial markets sliding, only to pull back later and reach deals that are seen as less bad for the economy or for inflation than his initial suggestion. On one hand, the pattern has given rise to the TACO acronym suggesting Trump Always Chickens Out if financial markets react strongly enough. On the other, has ultimately struck deals that outsiders may have earlier considered unlikely, ones that he’s crowed about later. The most obvious example is Trump’s announcement of high tariffs on Liberation Day, which eventually led to trade deals with many of the world’s major economies. Helping to lead the U.S. stock market Wednesday was Halliburton, which rose 4.9% after the oilfield services company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. United Airlines climbed 2.9% after likewise reporting a better profit for the end of 2025 than expected. CEO Scott Kirby said that the airlines strong momentum in revenue is continuing into 2026. They helped offset a 4.8% drop for Netflix. The streamer sank even though it reported a stronger profit than expected as investors focused instead on its slowing subscriber growth and its lower-than-expected forecast for profit in the current quarter. Kraft Heinz sank 5.4% after Berkshire Hathaway warned investors Tuesday that it may be interested in selling its 325 million shares in the food giant that former CEO Warren Buffett helped create in 2015. Berkshire took a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft-Heinz stake last summer. Buffett said last fall that he was disappointed in Kraft Heinz plan to split the company in two, and Berkshires two representatives resigned from the Kraft board last spring. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.27% from 4.30% late Tuesday. But it’s still above the 4.24% level where it was at on Friday. That’s before Trump threatened to impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland beginning in February for opposing U.S. control of Greenland. That would be on top of a 15% tariff specified by a trade agreement with the European Union that has yet to be ratified. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%. The country’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called a snap election for Feb. 8, which had sent yields of long-term government bonds to record levels. The expectation is that Takaichi, who is capitalizing on strong public support ratings, will cut taxes and boost spending and increase the government’s already heavy load of debt. The yield on the 40-year Japanese government bond pulled back to 4.05% Wednesday, down from the 4.22% level that it had surged to on Tuesday. Stan Choe, AP business writer AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.
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E-Commerce
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