Gary Lineker is facing down another X (Twitter) storm after the BBC sports presenter reposted Palestinian call for Israel to be banned from international football due to the Gaza war. The former footballer was criticised by MPs and the Jewish community for retweeting a post by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic &; Cultural Boycott […]

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards took credit for bombing Northern Iraq near the US embassy. They claimed they blew up a Mossad spy headquarters. They didn’t. They blew up a prominent Kurdish businessman’s villa. The villa of the Kurdish businessman Pasharo Dizai‚ [did we spell that correctly? Never heard of him before] who was killed yesterday by […] The post Iran’s Strike on ‘Mossad Spy Center’ Killed a Kurdish Businessman appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Jason Kelce reportedly said he’s retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons following Philadelphia’s Monday loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card game. The 36-year-old All-Pro center became noticeably emotional on the sidelines as the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter and the Eagles’ season came to an end as the Bucs secured a 32-9 victory. After the game‚ Kelce reportedly told teammates that he’s walking away from the NFL‚ according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “Six-time All-Pro and future Hall-of-Fame center Jason Kelce told his Eagles’ teammates in Monday night’s postgame locker room that he is in fact retiring‚ per league sources‚” Schefter wrote on X. An emotional Jason Kelce finds his family in the stands postgame 💚 pic.twitter.com/nIJxKDHpxA — NFL (@NFL) January 16‚ 2024 “The 36-year-old Kelce became visibly emotional at the end of the Eagles’ 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers‚” he added. “He has considered retiring after other recent seasons‚ but this time is said to be real and happening.” Cameras remained on Kelce at the end of the game as he walked over to the stands and met up with his wife‚ Kylie Kelce‚ who was in the front row with his father Ed Kelce‚ the New York Post noted. Veteran Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson told reporters Kelce has “hinted” to teammates that this would be his final season‚ according to ESPN.  “I love him. He’s one of the best to ever play the game‚” Johnson said. “The things he can do on the football field athletically — I don’t think we’ll see another one like him for a long time.” Last February‚ Kelce’s future in the league seemed up in the air after the Eagles’ trip to the Super Bowl ended when his brother Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs came away with the 38-35 victory. After the game‚ speculation surfaced about whether the Eagles star was done or would return for another shot at the championship ring. In March‚ Kelce made clear he would “return for another year after talking it over with my wife and many other friends and family.” “I have put much thought into whether it makes sense to play another season…‚” Kelce wrote on X. “Thank you to all my supporters and detractors for fueling me‚ I ain’t f***ing done yet!” Kelce was picked in the sixth round (No. 191 overall) by the Eagles in the 2011 NFL Draft by former Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid before Reid joined Kansas City in January 2013. The Philadelphia player helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl LII victory in 2018 against the New England Patriots.

Former President Donald Trump was back in a New York City courtroom on Tuesday morning‚ hours after winning the Iowa Republican caucuses‚ for a case concerning defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll. A judge in September ruled that Trump is liable for making defamatory remarks about Carroll in 2019‚ when she first publicly accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store during the mid-1990s. This trial is limited to damages stemming from that ruling; Carroll is seeking at least $10 million. Notably‚ Trump’s legal team has asked U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan if the trial could be delayed so the former president could attend his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs’ funeral on Thursday. Judge Kaplan said no‚ and on Tuesday‚ Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba asked Kaplan if the trial could continue‚ but to “grant an adjournment” Thursday so Trump could attend the funeral. That‚ too‚ was denied. CNN reported Tuesday that Kaplan said Trump did not have to be present for the entire trial and could testify if he wanted to on a different day and‚ therefore‚ doesn’t need to pause the trial on Thursday. Trump has been outspoken about Judge Kaplan and Carroll. He posted to his Truth Social account on Tuesday that the judge is biased and has “absolute hatred” for him‚ and said he never “touched” Carroll. “The only right‚ honest‚ and lawful thing that Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan‚ who has so far been unable to see clearly because of his absolute hatred of Donald J. Trump (ME!)‚ can do is to end this unAmerican injustice being done to a President of the United States‚ who was wrongfully accused by a woman he never met‚ saw‚ or touched (a photo line does not count!)‚ and knows absolutely nothing about‚” Trump wrote in a post. “I have been considered an A-List celebrity for many decades‚ so even decades ago‚ since no one knows which date or dates to refer to‚ because the accusing woman can’t say the day‚ month‚ season‚ year‚ or decade‚ it would have been impossible for me to walk into a crowded department store (surrounded by buildings I own)‚ right opposite the cashiers’ checkout desk‚ without being written about on Page Six‚ and every other outlet at the time‚” he continued. “Remember‚ those gossip columnists were‚ perhaps‚ even more vicious and obsessed than the Internet of today.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP The president also posted a viral video of Carroll speaking to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper about rape being largely viewed as a “fantasy.” Cooper looks visibly uncomfortable during the exchange and cuts to break. “Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman’s fake story?” Trump captioned the video. Trump shares the E Jean Carroll clip where she told Anderson Cooper that people "think rape is sexy." Trump: "Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman's fake story?!" pic.twitter.com/6EiRHo64YH — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 16‚ 2024 Related: Trump Found Liable For Defamation In Second E. Jean Carroll Case‚ Judge Rules

On his Tuesday podcast‚ Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro ripped President Biden as stories of forced child marriages emerge from the country Biden abandoned‚ Afghanistan. “Remember that time that Joe Biden left Afghanistan in complete tatters and then his people claimed that nothing bad would happen there?” Shapiro began. “Now people are selling their eight-year-old girls into marriage.” Shapiro referred to a Washington Post opinion piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Stephanie Sinclair titled‚ “In the new Afghanistan‚ it’s sell your daughter or starve.” Sinclair wrote: Their names are Khoshbakht‚ Saliha‚ Fawzia‚ Benazir‚ Farzana and Nazia — Afghan girls ages 8 to 10 who have been sold into marriage. Desperation forced their parents to thrust them into brutal adulthood. In Shahrak-e-Sabz‚ a settlement of makeshift mud-brick homes and tents for the displaced in Herat province that we visited last month‚ our researchers counted 118 girls who had been sold as child brides‚ and 116 families with girls waiting for buyers. This amounts to 40 percent of families surveyed‚ even though the Taliban decreed in late 2021 that women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage. Sinclair described conditions in Shahrak-e-Sabz as “hellish … set in a vast desert with no shade trees in sight; scant protection from sandstorms and harsh weather; no running water‚ electricity‚ heat or work; and only a trickle of aid from the outside world. Most families living here left behind decent lives to escape climate change and conflict. They subsist on stale bread and black tea; many are close to starving.” Noting that in Afghanistan‚ child marriages have skyrocketed‚ Sinclair pointed out that “school is prohibited for girls after the sixth grade‚” adding: “Sequestered at home‚ a girl becomes just another mouth to feed. But as a bride‚ she’s a valuable commodity. A $2‚000 bride price is enough to feed a family for a year.” Sinclair wrote that the girls’ nightmares in their new in-laws’ homes included “verbal‚ physical and sexual abuse — slavery under the guise of matrimony.” “So things are going amazingly well in Afghanistan‚” Shapiro commented. “It turns out that Joe Biden’s cowardice actually has real-world consequences. These stories are absolutely horrifying.” “So Farzana is nine years old. Her mom has seven kids ranging in age from 1 to 15 after the mom’s husband died in a car accident last year‚” he noted from the article. “She had to borrow money to survive. And then she was forced to sell Farzana for $4‚300. The buyer insists he’s entitled to take Farzana right now. The mom is trying to keep her until she is 18 years old. But the buyer presumably wants Farzana at nine‚ you would assume‚ to rape her. That or … treat her as a slave.” “Joe Biden’s world‚ ma’am. It’s a great‚ wonderful‚ wonderful place‚” Shapiro concluded.

A Biden administration claim that the state of Texas prevented federal Border Patrol agents from rescuing three migrants who drowned at the southern border was undermined by its own Department of Justice. The allegation from Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Border Patrol agents “responding to a distress call from the Mexican government … were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the area.” The DHS spokesperson went on to call Texas “cruel‚ dangerous‚ and inhumane.” But the administration’s own accounting of the incident by the DOJ makes clear that the allegations against Texas authorities were false. The DOJ states that at 9:00 p.m. on January 12‚ the Mexican government informed Border Patrol that three migrants‚ two children and one woman‚ had drowned at 8:00 p.m. Border Patrol informed the Texas Military Department of the drowning over an hour after it had occurred. The Biden administration once again pushed a false narrative at the border‚ now refuted by their own DOJ. White House claim: “On Friday night‚ a woman and two children drowned near Eagle Pass‚ and Texas officials blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency… pic.twitter.com/B8bsP13Mxv — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 16‚ 2024 The allegation came days after the state of Texas took control of a park in Eagle Pass that was previously used by members of Border Patrol to process illegal immigrants before releasing them into the interior of the United States. The takeover is part of an ongoing feud between Texas and the federal government‚ with the two locked in legal battles over the federal government’s decision to cut razor wire placed on the border by the state. The Texas Military Department also addressed the claim directly. “At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants‚ nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period‚” it said in a statement. Other migrants who struggled as they attempted to cross the Rio Grande into the United States were rescued by the Mexican government about 45 minutes after Border Patrol made Texas authorities aware of the situation‚ Governor Greg Abbott’s office said. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) seized on the drowning to blast the state of Texas for defending its borders‚ arguing that it “bears responsibility” for the deaths. Texas’ decision to secure its border comes as the United States faces an unprecedented surge of illegal aliens with over 10 million crossing the border since Joe Biden took office. The increased figures include a record-breaking number of Chinese nationals and a 1‚000% increase in illegal immigration from Afghanistan‚ Ethiopia‚ and the Dominican Republic‚ among other countries. The previous monthly record for southern border encounters was just broken in November‚ when just under a quarter million migrants were encountered‚ according to official DHS statistics. A total of 308‚728 encounters were reported by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) nationwide during the month. DHS has yet to release statistics for December‚ but the reported number of encounters at the southern border was over 300‚000.

An aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked for subtlety when making a 911 call seeking an ambulance for the Biden Cabinet official at his residence on New Year’s Day‚ according to a new report. The request was revealed on Tuesday by The Daily Beast‚ which obtained a recording of the call through a Freedom of Information Act request in Virginia‚ as multiple inquiries get underway looking into Austin’s secretive hospitalization for complications following a December procedure to treat prostate cancer. “Can I ask — can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm‚ we’re trying to remain a little subtle‚” the aide said in the January 1 call. In reply‚ the dispatcher said ambulances would “usually” turn lights and sirens off when entering a residential neighborhood but are required by law to use them on main streets. The Daily Beast also reported that the caller‚ whose name was redacted‚ said Austin was not experiencing any chest pain at the time‚ did not pass out or feel like he was going to pass out‚ and was alert and not confused. Other details were also withheld‚ including Austin’s name and title‚ but the news outlet noted that it assessed the defense secretary was involved based on the time and location. Austin‚ 70‚ faced blowback when it emerged that many top officials‚ including President Joe Biden and the deputy who took on some of his duties‚ were not privy to his health situation for days‚ if not weeks. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and former President Donald Trump have called for Austin to resign or be fired over the defense secretary’s secretive hospital stay. Several investigations‚ including a probe by the Department of Defense’s inspector general‚ a White House review of Cabinet protocols‚ and an inquiry in the GOP-led House‚ have been announced over the past week. The Department of Defense announced on Monday that Austin was being released from the hospital‚ ending a roughly two-week stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Austin said he would continue to perform his duties from home as he recuperates. White House officials insisted last week that Biden has “complete confidence” in Austin‚ who has said he takes responsibility for the lack of disclosure‚ and the president plans to keep the secretary in place through the remainder of his term despite it being “not optimal” that the commander-in-chief and other leaders did not know what happened for so long.

A former Harvard lecturer and evolutionary biologist who bucked gender ideology claims the Ivy League school failed to support her as her career was imploding. Carole Hooven‚ who previously taught the “Hormones and Behavior” human evolutionary biology course at Harvard‚ first ignited controversy back in 2021 when she declared that there are only two biological sexes. “This was 2021 and I didn’t know everything I know now. I had expected that they would [support me]‚ but nobody knew what to do‚” Hooven told The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan earlier this month. In July 2021‚ Hooven defended biological sex during an appearance on Fox News. “The ideology seems to be that biology really isn’t as important as how somebody feels about themselves or feels their sex to be‚” Hooven told Fox News at the time. “The facts are that there are‚ in fact‚ two sexes — there are male and female — and those sexes are designated by the kind of gametes we produce‚” added Hooven‚ who has also authored a book about testosterone. The interview sparked a backlash from one of her Harvard graduate student colleagues. Laura Simone Lewis‚ the director of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force at Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology‚ criticized Hooven on social media shortly after the interview. Lewis said she was “appalled and frustrated by the transphobic and harmful remarks” made by a member of her department. “I respect Carole as a colleague &; scientist. But this dangerous language perpetuates a system of discrimination against non-cis people within the med system‚” Lewis posted on X at the time. What followed was postgraduates calling Hooven a “bigot” and refusing to be her teaching assistant‚ she claimed. Eventually‚ Hooven decided to leave her role at Harvard. “I gave everything to that place‚” she said of the university during her interview on The Dishcast this month. “This happened because DEI is so powerful in the university‚” Hooven said. “None of them were willing to do anything.” “It was very influential‚ and I know for a fact that faculty were nervous about p—–g off the people on the DEI task force‚” she said. On Monday‚ Hooven urged her supporters not to harass Lewis‚ saying no individual is “solely responsible” for her departure from Harvard. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP “The graduate student who tweeted about my views on language &; sex did what was encouraged by the campus culture. While she is a key part of the story‚ she is not to blame. Please let her be‚” Hooven posted on X. No individual is solely responsible for the circumstances that led to my departure from @harvard. The graduate student who tweeted about my views on language &; sex did what was encouraged by the campus culture. While she is a key part of the story‚ she is not to blame. Please let… — Carole Hooven (@hoovlet) January 15‚ 2024 Hooven’s remarks come as Harvard has been embroiled in several controversies over the last few months. Harvard’s former president‚ Claudine Gay‚ resigned from her post earlier this month after multiple allegations of plagiarism in her academic work. Before that‚ the Ivy League university was already embroiled in controversy over its handling of antisemitism on campus and Gay’s response to those concerns‚ which was criticized as weak.