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Romanians are casting ballots on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that could pit a far-right nationalist against the incumbent leftist prime minister in the runoff. Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency in the European Union and NATO member country, and the vote is expected to go to a second round on Dec. 8. Polls opened at 7.00 a.m. local time (0500GMT) and will close at 9.00 p.m. (1900GMT). Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday. By 8 p.m. local time (1800GMT), 9.2 million people — about 51% of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. The final vote could see George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, face off against incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, backed by Romania’s largest party, the Social Democratic Party or PSD. The presidential role carries a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy, and judicial appointments. Romania will also hold parliamentary elections on Dec. 1 that will determine the country’s next government and prime minister. Simion, 38, is a vocal supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and has long been a controversial figure. He campaigned for reunification with Moldova, which this year renewed a five-year ban on him from entering the country over security concerns, and he is banned for the same reason from entering neighbouring Ukraine. “I would like that in the next five to ten years, for Romanians to be really proud to be Romanians, to promote Romanian culture, Romanian products,” he told reporters on Wednesday in the capital, Bucharest. “As a Romanian president, I will promote Romanian interests. In most cases, Romanian interests coincide with partner interests.” Ecaterina Nawadia, a 20-year-old architecture student, said she voted for the first time in a national election on Sunday and hopes young people turn out in high numbers. “Since the (1989) revolution, we didn’t have a really good president,” she said. “I hope most of the people my age went to vote ... because the leading candidate is not the best option.” Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, says Sunday’s vote will be “a tight race” in which the diaspora will likely play a key role in which candidates make it to the runoff. “We are at a point where Romania can easily divert or slip toward a populist regime because (voter) dissatisfaction is pretty large among a lot of people from all social strata,” he told The Associated Press. “And the temptation for any regime, any leader — will be to go on a populist road.” He added that Romania’s large budget deficit, high inflation, and an economic slowdown could push more mainstream candidates to shift toward populist stances amid widespread dissatisfaction. Ciolacu told the AP that if he is elected, one of his biggest goals is “to convince Romanians that it is worth staying at home or returning” to Romania, which has a massive diaspora spread throughout EU countries. “Romania has a huge chance to become a developed economy in the next 10 years, where honest work is fairly rewarded and people have the security of a better life,” he said. “But for this, we need balance and responsibility ... I am running for the Presidency of Romania because we need a change.” Other key candidates include Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, or USR former NATO deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana, who is running independently and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and head of the center-right National Liberal Party, which is currently in a tense coalition with the PSD. Geoana, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the United States, told the AP that he believes his international experience qualifies him above the other candidates. “I think I bring a lot of competence and experience and connections in this complicated world,” he said. Lasconi, a former journalist and the leader of the USR said she sees corruption as one of the biggest problems Romania faces and that she supports increased defence spending and continued aid to Ukraine. Romania has been a staunch ally of war-torn Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. But Simion of the AUR party said he opposes Romania — which has sent a Patriot missile system to Ukraine — contributing further military aid and that he hopes Trump can “stop the war.” In 2020, the AUR party went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote, allowing it to enter parliament. Opponents have long accused Simion and AUR of being extremists, charges he denies. “We are sort of a Trumpist party in this new wave of patriotic political parties in Europe,” Simion said.Stanford Professor Accused of Using AI to Write Expert Testimony Criticizing Deepfakes
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Jean-Philippe Mateta struck in the second half with the only real piece of quality in a nervy encounter between two struggling teams. It is now two wins and three draws from the last six matches for Glasner’s side, whose winter revival is gathering pace nicely following a sticky start to the campaign. “I feel very happy, we’re all very pleased with the result, it was not the best performance but the result was more important,” said the Eagles boss. “Most of the time we controlled the game and we scored an amazing goal, a fantastic finish from JP. “We had more chances to decide the game but we couldn’t, but I think the win was well deserved. “We didn’t give them any chances from open play and with a clean sheet you can always take the win. “It’s a big win. Now it’s not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path.” Ipswich looked the likelier to score as a low-key first half drew to a close and were denied by a point-blank save by Dean Henderson from Harry Clarke’s near-post header. Shortly after the interval Wes Burns got clear down the right and lifted an inviting cross towards Liam Delap, whose header was straight at Henderson. However, from out of nowhere Palace conjured up a lightning counter-attack to go ahead on the hour. Eberechi Eze led the charge before feeding Mateta, who surged forward with a couple of stepovers before brushing off the attention of Jacob Greaves and finishing superbly past Arijanet Muric. It was the French forward’s sixth goal of the season, and his first away from Selhurst Park. Back came Ipswich with Leif Davis fizzing in another cross for Delap, who somehow mistimed his jump and completely missed the ball from six yards. As time ticked down Greaves looped a header against the far post, with the rebound just eluding substitute Ali-Al Hamadi. “Frustrating night,” said Town boss Kieran McKenna. “It was a tight first half, we weren’t fantastic in terms of the flow of the game and didn’t create as many opportunities as we wanted. But having said that neither did our opponents. “In the second half we conceded a really poor goal and that proved decisive. We can do better than we did tonight.”Swiss Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger dies in avalanche, aged 26
NoneHealth and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “We do the best we can,” after being asked if he would change anything about his tenure. HHS, the Inspector General (IG) revealed , has lost contact with thousands of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) after they were released to adult sponsors in the United States. During a hearing before the House Immigration Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Becerra testified that he would not change any decisions or policies about his tenure. “Would you change anything that you’ve done in the last four years, with 320,000 children unaccounted for by your administration?” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) asked Becerra, to which he responded: We work tirelessly to strengthen and improve the program of the unaccompanied children that come before us and we work really hard to make sure that we first and foremost protect the safety and the wellbeing of those kids. Every day is a challenge and we do the best we can. [Emphasis added] Some 365,705 UACs have been released into the United States interior from Fiscal Year 2021 through Fiscal Year 2023 — on Becerra’s watch. For comparison, the last two fiscal years of the Trump administration just about 83,100 UACs were released into the U.S. interior. Tens of thousands of UACs are not showing up to their immigration hearings following their release into the United States interior and, more alarmingly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has failed to provide Notices to Appear (NTAs) in immigration court to hundreds of thousands of UACs. “Based on our audit work and according to ICE officials, UACs who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor,” the IG’s report states: Although we identified more than 32,000 UACs who did not appear for their immigration court dates, that number may have been much larger had ICE issued NTAs to the more than 291,000 UACs who were not placed into removal proceedings. By not issuing NTAs to all UACs, ICE limits its chances of having contact with UACs when they are released from HHS’ custody, which reduces opportunities to verify their safety. Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UACs, ICE has no assurance UACs are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor. [Emphasis added] Likewise, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) pressed Becerra on whether he could state without any doubt that thousands of UACs whom the agency has lost contact with are safe from harm. “Can you account for the whereabouts of those 400,000-something children — the 320,000 that were put in the report by the Inspector General and the 85,000 that we talked about before in 2023? Do you know where all of these children are and that they are safe?” Roy asked. “Congressman, as I explained the process, we get these kids when they are referred to us by the Department of Homeland Security,” Becerra responded. “We then provide them with care while they are in our custody. We lose custody of those kids once we find a vetted sponsor with whom they can stay.” In February, the HHS IG published a report revealing that in 22 percent of cases, the agency did not conduct proper and safe follow-up calls to check in with UACs released to adult sponsors in the United States. The Labor Department in Fiscal Year 2023 found an 88 percent increase in child labor trafficking compared to Fiscal Year 2019. Last year, nearly 6,000 children, many of them UACs, were discovered illegally working brutal and often life-threatening jobs. In April of last year, an HHS whistleblower testified before Congress and warned that the agency is operating a “multi-billion-dollar child trafficking operation” where UACs are being mass released to unvetted adult sponsors. “Some sponsors view children as commodities and assets to be used for earning income — this is why we are witnessing an explosion of labor trafficking,” the whistleblower said. John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here .
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