But here we are. Happening Now: A woman is currently proudly waving a Hamas flag in NYC. A reminder that Hamas brutally executed an American citizen yesterday. This is the current state of radicalism on the streets of this nation. pic.twitter.com/oMOnDprgsv — Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) September 2, 2024 One flag included images of Hamas leader […]

China’s consul general in New York, Huang Ping, has been removed from his position after shocking spy accusations against a top official for New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo was charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government. Hochul reported the news on Wednesday. Before taking questions at an event, Hochul said […] The post China’s Consul General Ousted After NY Official Arrested for Spying appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Princeton University and Yale University both saw their percentages of Asian American freshman dip this fall despite the Supreme Court eliminating affirmative action in college admissions last year. At Princeton, the percentage of Asian American freshmen dropped two percentage points from 26% last year to 24% this year. At Yale, the decline was bigger at six percentage points, from 30% last year to 24% this year. At both Ive Leagues, the share of black freshmen remained the same — 9% at Princeton and 14% at Yale. Last year in June, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race-based admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina unconstitutional and in violation of the Civil Rights Act. Students for Fair Admissions, the group that sued over affirmative action, had pointed to the high test scores of Asian American and white applicants who were rejected. The high court’s decision has had a profound effect on the admissions processes at universities across the country. Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) the percentage of black students plummeted in the wake of the court’s decision. The incoming freshman class this fall is only 5% black, down from an average of 13% in recent years, MIT said last month. Amherst College, a historic liberal arts in Massachusetts, also reported that its percentage of black freshman students fell to 9% from 19% this year. Hispanic students also declined to 10% from 14% last year. Meanwhile, the percentage of white and Asian American students increased slightly. At the same time, universities have scrambled to find other ways to diversify their student bodies. Yale and Princeton both pointed to more students receiving financial aid. At Yale, more than 58% of students are now getting need-based financial aid. “I am especially excited that the Class of 2028 includes the greatest representation of first-generation and low-income students on record, and that Yale College now enrolls more veterans than it has in many decades,” said Jeremiah Quinlan, Yale’s dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid. “At Princeton we make big bets on human talent from all sectors of society,” Princeton Provost Jennifer Rexford said. Some schools moved away from considering standardized test scores as the argument that standardized testing harms minority students picked up steam. One Ivy League, Columbia University, permanently scrapped its standardized test requirement. Some schools are also considering requiring more essays for admissions to get a better idea of a student’s background, while others plan to recruit students from minority areas or admit more students transferring from community colleges. A majority of Americans, 62%, oppose race-based college admissions, according to a Reuters poll last year.

The suspected shooter who killed four people and wounded at least nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday is a 14-year-old student at the high school and was engaged by a school resource officer before surrendering to authorities, officials said. After being confronted by a school resource officer, the suspected shooter “gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. The 14-year-old gunman killed two teachers and two students before he surrendered, CNN reported. The sheriff added that at this time, law enforcement is not aware of any connection between the gunman and those he shot. The nine victims who were wounded in the shooting were hospitalized after being shot “in some capacity,” said Smith. “I went to school in this school system. My kids go to this school system. I’m proud of this school system,” Smith said. “My heart hurts for these kids, my heart hurts for our community, but I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. I want that to be very clear and known. Love will prevail over what happened today, I assure you of that.” The shooter, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, said Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Police responded to an active shooter situation at Apalachee High School at 10:23 a.m. ET. One student told the Associated Press that he heard 10 gunshots and then heard a law enforcement officer yelling at someone, telling him to put his gun down. Another student told ABC News that he heard the gunfire ring out while he was in chemistry class. “My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” he said. The student added that they all “huddled up” in the classroom and heard someone knock on the door and yell, “Open up!” before more gunshots were heard. Students who survived the shooting were reunited with their parents over an hour later at around 11:30 a.m. Apalachee High School is 45 miles east of Atlanta and has nearly 2,000 students.

Anthony Constantino, co-founder and CEO of international custom printing company Sticker Mule, has done what few other executives have: publicly endorsed Donald Trump for president. Constantino, who spoke to The Daily Wire by phone on Wednesday, says he wants to be the blueprint for others going public with their support — and that he wants to stop the hate. “I think my unique perspective, which I haven’t heard anyone say, is if all Trump supporters spoke up at the same time, this hate problem would disappear all at once,” Constantino told The Daily Wire. “Then the people who are trapped in this hateful worldview” would have to confront the reality that people they like and care about also support Trump and “are not hateful,” contrary to media portrayals. The 41-year-old first made waves in July, immediately following the assassination attempt on Trump, when he put out a public statement calling for an end to “political hate.” The post quickly went viral, racking up 12.2 million views and write-ups in The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and other notable outlets. “No one should have to die and sacrifice the happiness of their family to run for office,” he wrote, referring to the attempt on Trump’s life at a political rally in Pennsylvania. “If Donald Trump can risk that, the least the rest of us can do is vocalize our support and help end the hate.” Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you. “The more people realize that kind-hearted, compassionate people support Trump, the sooner the hate will end,” Constantino said. “I’m speaking up today and will do more in the future to stop this insane political hate.” On Tuesday, Constantino took his argument a step further and officially endorsed Trump for president, calling him the “max happiness president,” citing the “rockin’ economy” and “global peace” during Trump’s term, as well as the president’s “comedy” and “courage.” He told The Daily Wire he’s been a supporter of Trump since the 2016 GOP primary. “I’ve been a person who just doesn’t like bullying, and I feel like he’s been a victim of bullying,” Constantino said, also noting the recent legal attacks against the former president. “His supporters really have been victims of bullying.” TRUMP IS THE MAX HAPPINESS PRESIDENT I’m endorsing Donald J. Trump for President and encourage others to do the same. Why? Donald Trump is the max global happiness President. He made the world happier once and will perform better the second time. Experience makes us all better.… pic.twitter.com/ZhMP71jCrq — Sticker Mule (@stickermule) September 3, 2024 Following his remarks about Trump and political hatred, Constantino said he was — ironically — inundated with threats and hateful emails. “The people working in customer service, they were inundated with nasty emails, death threats, calls to commit suicide,” he told The Daily Wire. “I would say our email volume went up, I don’t know, 50 or 100 times — a lot of people saying I should kill myself, [and that happened] within an hour.” But closer to home, he said not a single employee quit, which he credited to the “goodwill” he’s invested into his employees. “I issued a $2,500 bonus to everybody in customer support, because they were getting hit hardest,” he said. “I guess I built enough goodwill with people that, whether people agreed or disagreed, we just went back to business as usual, and everyone maintained a sense of calm. I don’t think there was a disturbance within the company.” Sticker Mule operates in 39 countries, employs 1,200 people, and services big-name customers, like Google and Facebook. Constantino also received a lot of positive feedback, including from people who continue to keep their support for Trump private. The CEO hopes his decision to be vocal on the issue inspires others. “I think it’s important for people to see what happened to me and learn from it and realize that as long as you speak up in a respectful way, everything’s gonna be fine, and you can help fix this problem,” he said, referring again to the political hatred bubbling in our nation. “I think it’s in everyone’s interest to fix it. I don’t want to — nobody wants to live in a country like that,” he continued. “It’s not good for anyone.” “People think I’m just helping one side, but I’m really helping the Trump haters maybe more than the people who like Trump, because the Trump haters aren’t living in a great world,” he explained. “They’re living in a world where they’re waking up every day thinking 100 million people are demons —  that’s not good for them, and it’s not true.” Disclaimer: The Daily Wire is a Sticker Mule customer.

For Kamala Harris, the “joy” is running out. The thrill, as they say, is gone. She feels as though she is in the mire. She feels as though she is stagnating — because she is. There’s been no movement in the polls in her favor. The state polls are not moving in her favor. She has basically flatlined at this point. The momentum is clearly no longer with her.  Most Americans know nothing about her. How long can Harris go without the American people becoming acquainted with her?  That suggests we are about to be subjected to a great censorship regime in the United States. That’s precisely what happened in 2020. In 2020, there was a full-scale media lockdown on the Hunter Biden story the month before the election in an attempt to secure the election for Joe Biden.  But now, we are at the point where there’s no information about Harris, which requires a much bigger lockdown if the goal is to get Harris through unscathed. That’s why we are seeing an elevated level of attack on Elon Musk. WATCH: THE BEN SHAPIRO SHOW The Left has decided it is absolutely necessary that Elon Musk’s X be punished. Many of the other social media tech pros have done what they can in favor of Democrats in order to prevent the dissemination of material that Harris wouldn’t like. But on X, it’s freewheeling access, open for all the good and all the bad. And the Left is furious that Musk has declared he supports President Trump. None of the other social media pros have. All of them are well-known Democratic voters — or they’ve tried to stay out of it completely.  But Musk has supported Trump. This is why you are seeing the Left cheer along as dictatorial regimes attempt to shut down X.  Remember what happened in Brazil? Jair Bolsonaro, the conservative Right-wing leader, narrowly lost an election in disputed circumstances, then was immediately arrested and barred from running in the future. And leftist Lula da Silva, who is treated by the media of the United States as a great liberator, turned out to be quite dictatorial, and he and the Brazilian judiciary basically rewrote the constitution in tyrannical ways.  Now, Brazil is outlawing X. According to the Wall Street Journal: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said his country should serve as an example for the rest of the world on how to deal with Elon Musk after the Supreme Court voted to uphold a ban on the billionaire’s social-media platform X.  “The world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich,” Brazil’s leftist leader told local media late Monday. You might think the world should be obliged to hear a lot of points of view they don’t like; we do it all the time here in the United States. But apparently not.  Brazil, one of the world’s largest democracies, shut down X over the weekend after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes outlawed the social-media platform for failing to suspend accounts that he asserted contained hate speech and misinformation, as well as complying with other legal requirements. A five-member panel of justices voted unanimously in favor of the ban Monday after de Moraes called on the court to review his decision. He and the court have been facing accusations of overstepping their mandate, both here in Brazil and far beyond. Musk has referred to de Moraes as a “dictator” on X. … the ban on X, which took effect early Saturday, is one of his most audacious moves yet, jurists say, drawing criticisms from free speech advocates and also some investors concerned about judicial overreach and the impact it might have on business.  Dictatorship of the Left is hunky-dory with many people on the American Left, so long as it targets their political opponents.  X is being targeted by Brazil for not shutting down “hate speech and misinformation,” terms that have been applied to everything that disagrees with the Left-wing social agenda. That is being celebrated by the Left in the United States. For example, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, former Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee, posted on X, “obrigado Brasil!” — which means, “Thank you, Brazil.”  Musk replied, “The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment –now wants to destroy the First Amendment.” True. Guess who used to be very much in favor of banning people from X for things she disliked? Kamala Harris, when she called for X (then Twitter), to ban Donald Trump, declared in 2019, “Look, let’s be honest. @realDonald Trump’s Twitter account should be suspended.” Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, penned an article titled, “Elon Musk Is Out Of Control.” Noting that Musk endorsed Trump, he suggested a boycott of Tesla, that “advertisers should boycott X,” that “regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X,” that “the Federal Trade Commission should demand that Musk take down lies that are likely to endanger individuals – and if he does not, sue him,” and that “the US should terminate its contracts with him, starting with Musk’s SpaceX.” Am I suspicious there will be an attempt to shut down information dissemination through pressure tactics on social media before the election? You bet I am. I am very grateful that Elon Musk bought X in the first place because if X were in other hands, you’d be getting ready for the coercive and collusive attempt to shut down speech right before another presidential election.

Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, are celebrating their 36th anniversary. Nearly four decades together is an impressive feat, and this duo is still enamored with one another. The pair have been married since 1998 and decided to share their love in a romantic video on Instagram for their anniversary. Kevin Bacon Kyra Sedgwick’s Romantic Anniversary Post View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) A typical anniversary date just would not be enough to show the world how much these two mean to one another. So, while Kyra was finishing up getting ready for their date, her hubby decided to come in and start a duet with her. In the video, Kevin Bacon comes into the bathroom where his wife, Kyra Sedgwick is applying her makeup. He begins by asking her “You almost ready to go?” Although she responds yes, Kevin makes no moves to leave the bathroom. Instead, he enters the room with his guitar and starts strumming away. Romantic Personal Song Nothing says romance like a personal song. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick sing a duet of a personal song about their love story. Kevin starts solo while his wife finishes her makeup. He makes it through the whole chorus of the song before she joins him. She starts off singing a tease to her husband, “You’re always thinking about relaxing like there is nothing else to think about.” She continues to sing alone until she reaches the chorus again. Now, Kevin joins in, and the two share their skills in a romantic duet. The lyrics were, ” We got married in a fever hotter than a pepper sprite, and we’ve been doing some relaxing, making sure the fire doesn’t go out. Yeah, we like relaxing, which is our favorite thing to do. Yeah, we like relaxing. Hope you’re relaxing too.” The video ends with Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick sharing a kiss and saying “Happy Anniversary” to one another. Internet Loves The Romance Fans went gaga over the romantic song and shared their congratulations in the post’s comment section. One user wrote, “Love you guys, congrats!!! .” Another added, “Happy 36th Wedding Anniversary Love you both.” A third user said, “You both are too FABULOUS!! Happy Anniversary! Many more #couplegoals.” In addition to that romantic post, Kyra Sedgwick shared another mushy post on her Instagram to celebrate their anniversary. It was a video montage of the couple’s cutest moments together throughout the years. Paramore’s song “Still Into You” played over the photos and videos, sharing the romantic notion that Kyra is still into her husband after all this time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kyra (@kyrasedgwickofficial) You can find this story’s featured image here. The post Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick Sing Romantic & Sweet Duet While Celebrating 36th Anniversary appeared first on InspireMore.

Adrenaline pulses through my veins. I’m overcome simultaneously with terror, anger, and agony. Watching the breaking news of another school shooting, this time in Winder, Georgia, with casualties of defenseless children, I’m reminded again of the horror of evil. My mind races to my three boys. Our routine school drop-offs will be a bit harder tomorrow morning. Ushering my kids out of the car at 7:55 a.m., I’ll think of the parents who did that for the last time this week. The pain of those grieving today is difficult to even imagine. What words can I possibly utter? As I lead our church, what can we pray as we witness this same tragedy yet again? How does the gospel inform these dark moments? As I drop to my knees in prayer, my mind turns to five places in Scripture that guide our cries to our heavenly Father. 1. ‘How long, O Lord?’ In Psalm 13, David cries out to God in his lament. His grief is overwhelming; he feels forgotten by the Lord. As his enemy exalts over him, sorrow consumes his heart “all the day.” And yet the beauty of this psalm is that David’s pain leads him to prayer. He chooses to take his complaint to God. He’ll place his trust in God’s covenantal love and salvation. With every news report of young lives being taken, we fall before our God in mourning. With every senseless act of violence, we declare God is still trustworthy. With every cry of grief, we rightly ask, “How long, O Lord?” With every news report of young lives being taken, we fall before our God in mourning. 2. ‘Be near.’ As Christians, we ought to be the first to mourn with the families of the victims. We weep with those who weep. Watching news reports of another set of names, pictures, and stories leaves us aching for those who are crushed, afflicted, and brokenhearted. Scripture puts words to their pain, reminding us that “the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18). We’re right to turn in prayer to the Great Comforter, asking that he’d be near to these families in their anguish. 3. ‘Preserve us, O God.’ Fear and powerlessness are instinctive in these moments. What can a parent possibly do in light of such wickedness? We can and we must take steps to combat such evil. But my hope for my children isn’t in the newest safety procedures, the response time of law enforcement, or the safety of our suburban town. My hope isn’t in my ability to protect them from potential evil. Instead, my hope must rest with our God who in complete sovereignty protects his children. Tonight, we cry out with the psalmist, “Preserve [us], O God, for in you [we] take refuge” (Ps. 16:1). 4. ‘Father, forgive them.’ If the other prayers felt impossible, this one is otherworldly. It’s no coincidence that this week I’ve been studying Luke 6, where Christ tells his disciples to “love [their] enemies”, to “pray for those who abuse [them],” and to “forgive.” When we watch the news, these enemies seem more identifiable than ever. How can we possibly pray for them? What radical love is this? Then I remember that Christ models what he commands. On the cross, Christ looked at those committing violent evil against him and prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Only radically gospel-oriented love could look beyond the moment to pray for those who pursue such gross evil. We must join Christ in this prayer. 5. ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’ John ends the book of Revelation with the aching cry of our hearts. After gazing upon the coming and complete victory of King Jesus, John prays for Christ’s arrival to hasten: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). My heart joins with John’s—Christ must come! In the face of senseless violence, Christians have an enduring hope unlike the world around us. We look to a future where Christ redeems this world with a new heavens and new earth, rescuing his people from the brokenness and wickedness of sin. Scripture teaches us to hope for this future day with anticipation and to hasten it by prayer. Together we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”