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The Biden White House on Monday denounced a wave of antisemitism on college campuses and announced a series of actions to address it, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre labeling the uptick in threats against Jewish people alarming.

The Anti-Defamation League said in a report last week that antisemitic incidents across the United States had increased significantly since the Hamas attack on Israel, with 312 antisemitic incidents recorded between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23 — a 388 percent increase compared to the same timeframe last year. Much of the increase had taken place on college and university campuses, ADL said.The report was released prior to a string of new incidents, including online death threats against Cornell Universitys Center for Jewish Living. 

The Biden-Harris administration is taking multiple actions to address this alarming rise, Jean-Pierre said. President Biden has been clear: We cant stand by and stand silent in the face of hate. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.

Senior administration officials, she said, are meeting with Jewish leaders and universities to discuss the threat of antisemitism on campuses and what the administration is doing to act. 

The Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, she said, have taken steps to ensure campus law enforcement is included in engagements with state and local law enforcement and have taken numerous steps to provide outreach and support directly to campuses. The Department of Education, she said, is expediting the process of making it easier for students and others who experience antisemitism, Islamophobia, or other discrimination to file a complaint under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

A series of threatening messages to the Jewish community and to the Jewish center were posted on Cornells Greekrank forums over the weekend, including one promising to bring a rifle to campus and shoot Jewish people. Cornell University President Martha Pollack released a statement saying law enforcement was investigating the threat and that the university will not tolerate antisemitism. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the school Monday for a roundtable discussion about antisemitic threats, saying the students deserve to have the support of an entire campus and indeed the entire state to help them get through these difficult times.

The Cornell incident was only the latest example of antisemitism and anti-Israel messages on college campuses. 

At George Washington University, opponents of Israel projected messages on the library at night reading, Divestment from Zionist genocide now, Free Palestine From the River to the Sea and Glory to our martyrs.

At Cooper Union, a private college in New York City, Jewish students took cover inside the library as pro-Palestinian students chanted outside and banged on the locked library doors. Security escorted the students to a safer place, one student told CBS News. 

They were chanting: Long live the Intifada, another student said.

At Columbia University, a swastika was found drawn in a restroom of a school building. 

At American University, swastikas and a Nazi slogan were found in a bathroom and dorm rooms of two Jewish students, according to Insider Higher Ed.

The White House previously issued a statement expressing concern about the incidents. 

Amidst the rise in poisonous, antisemitic rhetoric and hate crimes that President Biden has fought against for years, there is an extremely disturbing pattern of antisemitic messages being conveyed on college campuses, Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement. Just over the past week, weve seen protests and statements on college campuses that call for the annihilation of the state of Israel; for genocide against the Jewish people. Jewish students have even had to barricade themselves inside buildings. These grotesque sentiments and actions shock the conscience and turn the stomach. They also recall our commitment that cant be forgotten: never again.

Photo Courtesy: Getty Images/Spencer Platt / Staff

Video Courtesy: CBS Evening News via YouTube

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.READ: THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL: WHAT CAN I DO?Immediate Humanitarian Aid Needed3 Ways to Pray for Israel5 Powerful Prayers for IsraelA Prayer against Anti-SemitismLISTEN: Special Update – Biden in Israel (#7 below)

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group. WATCH: A Prayer for Israel

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

OTTAWA, Ontario — Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a series-clinching 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round matchup.

William Nylander had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final seconds, and an assist, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal in the first period for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves.

The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series.

Toronto grabbed a 3-0 series lead, but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5.

The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6.

With the game tied at 2, Pacioretty — a heathy scratch to start the series — scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side. It was Pacioretty’s first goal of the playoffs.

Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left.

Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic.

Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush.

Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz’s back to make it 2-2.

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Eichel’s 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

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Eichel's 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the series to give Vegas the lead late in the second period, and Adin Hill held it up on a 29-save night to spur the Golden Knights on to the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

Shea Theodore scored first and Mark Stone scored last for Vegas, which will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead on the Kings into Game 6 on their home ice later Thursday.

Minnesota has lost nine consecutive series in the NHL playoffs and last made it out of the first round 10 years ago.

Ryan Hartman had two goals for the Wild, including a wraparound with 3:27 left that came 31 seconds after Stone had just given the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

Stone, who set up Eichel with a long pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway, had four points in the last three games. Neither Stone nor Eichel recorded a single point in the first three games.

Hartman tied the game for the Wild with four seconds left in the first period, a goal safe from replay review unlike his go-ahead score in Game 5 with 1:15 remaining in regulation that was revoked for an offside call after Vegas challenged.

The Wild were unshaken by the consecutive overtime losses that erased their 2-1 lead, confident they measured up to the deeper Golden Knights and could still take the series.

They were quickly playing from behind, though, after Marco Rossi got the dreaded double minor penalty for high-sticking Brayden McNabb with just 2:27 elapsed in the game.

Theodore wristed in a shot from the high slot with Stone and Tomas Hertl screening Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, immediately quieting the crowd near the end of the first power play. Gustavsson, who was forced out of Game 5 after two periods due to an illness, had 20 saves.

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NHS may offer weight loss jabs over the counter at pharmacies

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NHS may offer weight loss jabs over the counter at pharmacies

Patients will be able to get weight loss injections from pharmacies, according to reports. 

It’s claimed drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro could be available over the counter after a short consultation – at the cost of an NHS prescription.

This would broaden access to these jabs considerably, as the health service currently restricts injections to those regarded as having the highest clinical need.

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Weight loss drugs ‘changing way we see obesity’

At the moment, there is a two-year waiting list for Wegovy on the NHS – and last year, research by Sky News showed the rollout is happening far more slowly than planned.

Thousands of people with severe obesity have been denied access to the treatment, with doctors previously claiming that a “soul-destroying” postcode lottery has emerged.

According to the Daily Mail, a multimillion-pound deal for a pilot scheme will be struck with a pharmaceutical firm, with a view to issuing prescriptions through chemists and health centres.

They would be priced at £9.90 – the same as an NHS prescription – and substantially less than the £150-a-month cost of obtaining these injections privately.

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But the reports have been described as “speculative”, with health experts warning obesity drugs must only be used under medical supervision by those who are eligible.

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The weight loss drug that’s ‘too good’

A government spokesperson said: “As the government shifts the NHS from sickness to prevention, we will be looking across the board at how these drugs can be made available to more people who can benefit from them.

“The NHS is already tackling obesity in innovative ways, including through community care models and digital technologies, to help deliver these drugs as part of a rounded package of care.”

Previous estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have suggested that 3.4 million people in England could benefit from weight loss injections.

But last December, NICE said these jabs would only be available to 220,000 patients on the NHS in the first three years – meaning millions of others could end up waiting up to 12 years for treatment.

Read more from Sky News:
Harrods targeted by cyberattackers

UK’s hottest start to May on record
Police horses attacked by dog in park

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‘I need weight loss drug but can’t get it’

Studies show people lose on average 15% of their body weight within months of starting treatment with Wegovy. The drug mimics a natural hormone and people feel fuller faster and for longer.

Obesity costs the NHS £6bn a year and is linked to 200 different diseases.

Half of all obese people with three related problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, die within 10 years.

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