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Representative Lauren Boebert had an important point to make. But it could be difficult to hear the rabble-rousing Republican from Colorado over a packed-in crowd of counter-agitators.

So this is what the students here at GW University are facing each and every day, Boebert was trying to say into a bank of microphones in the middle of the downtown Washington, D.C., campus of George Washington University on Wednesday afternoon. She and five of her GOP colleagues from the House Oversight Committee had just toured an encampment of tents, or a liberation camp, that protesters had put up last week in opposition to Israels war in Gaza.

Their learning activities are being disrupted, Boebert said of the students. Their finals are being disrupted.

But protesters kept disrupting Boebert. Or were she and her friends from Congress the disrupters in this particular Washington-bubble showdown? Who were the rabble in this equation, and who were the rousers?

What about you in that theater? one woman called out at Boebert from the back of the crowd, referring to a September incident in which the congresswoman was kicked out of a musical comedy after canoodling with a date, vaping, and talking in the midst of the production.

This was not the same protester as the one who had been trailing behind Boebert holding up a cardboard sign that said, simply, Beetlejuice , referring to the play that shed been evicted from. (Google it, and youll find security footage of the episodeor dont.)

David A. Graham: Bidens patience with campus protests runs out

If only theaters could always incubate such frivolity. But these are bloody days in the embattled theater of the Middle East, which have in turn triggered a spate of protests on American campuses, marked by episodes of bigotry, sporadic violence, and arrests. Combine this with a group of elected performance artists who couldnt help but try to grab a cheap morsel of attention from this bitterly serious conflict, and you have the political theater that played out on Wednesday.

Dude, are you gonna talk, or am I gonna talk? Representative Byron Donalds, Republican of Florida, admonished a protester who interrupted his turn at the mic, after Boebert had spoken. Donalds wore dark glasses and a tight-fitting navy suit.

Like his colleagues, Donalds called for the immediate removal of the protesters from campussomething that, to this point, the D.C. police department has declined to do. The mayor is weak in the face of foolishness, Donalds said, referring to Washingtons chief executive, Muriel Bowser.

You wouldnt allow someone to stay in your house or stay in your dorm room. You would have them removed, Donalds said. Everybody believes in peaceful protest, but this is trespassing.

What about January 6? a man standing next to me called out. Yes, what about that, sir?

Calm down. Im talking now, Donalds said, addressing another heckler.

Tyler Austin Harper: Americas colleges are reaping what they sowed

About 20 minutes earlier, Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, had also urged calm as he paraded through the tent city. People shouted after Comer, mocking his committees fizzling effort to impeach President Joe Biden, while another said something about Hunter Biden. The voices and signs all blurred together into a muggy cacophony.

Lauren Boebert, seen any good movies lately?

Lesbians for Palestine .

I Stand With Israel .

Comer led his delegation past a row of tables covered with donated food for the protesterspizza, granola bars, peanuts, bags of tangerines. Everything is FREE, like Palestine will be free , advertised a poster on the food spread, which covered several yards at the edge of the quad.

Mr. Chairman, do you think your appearance today is going to lead to police violence on campus? a man with a British accent asked Comer.

Probably, the congressman said, projecting zero concern.

You want some pizza? another onlooker asked Comer, who kept walking.

The congressman seemed eager to get on with the quick and chaotic press conference that would punctuate the lawmakers visit. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you, an outnumbered supporter yelled out. The congressman waited for his colleagues to make their brief statements and seized the closing message for himself.

Help is on the way for George Washington University, promised Comer, who then joined his colleagues as they struggled through a thick crowdand a Beetlejuice chantbefore departing this enclave of academia and heading back to their own pillared sanctum on Capitol Hill.

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Irish jockey O’Sullivan, 24, dies after Thurles fall

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Irish jockey O'Sullivan, 24, dies after Thurles fall

Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan died on Sunday, 10 days after sustaining injuries in a fall at Thurles Racecourse in Ireland, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) said.

O’Sullivan, aged 24, who has ridden 90 winners in Ireland and five in Britain, and his mount Wee Charlie were one of three fallers at the final fence in the second race on the Feb. 6 card.

O’Sullivan was treated on the course before being airlifted to hospital, where he was placed in intensive care.

“Michael sadly passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning surrounded by his loving family in Cork University Hospital,” Dr Jennifer Pugh, Chief Medical Officer of the IHRB, said in a statement.

His family took the decision to donate his organs, Pugh said.

“I have had the privilege of knowing Michael through his amateur and professional career and his dedication, modesty and kind nature always made him a pleasure to be around,” Pugh added.

“The O’Sullivan family have asked for privacy at this time.”

O’Sullivan turned professional in 2022 and he won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Fred Winter at Cheltenham the following year.

“Michael was an exceptionally talented young rider who was always popular in the weighroom and will be deeply missed by everyone in racing who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Darragh O’Loughlin, chief executive of the IHRB, said.

As a mark of respect, Sunday’s fixture at Punchestown and the point-to-point fixtures in Ireland have been cancelled.

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Indian authorities seize $190M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

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Indian authorities seize 0M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

Indian authorities have seized nearly $190 million worth of crypto tied to the notorious BitConnect Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2018.

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Granlund OT goal gives Finland 1st 4 Nations win

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Granlund OT goal gives Finland 1st 4 Nations win

MONTREAL — Mikael Granlund scored the overtime winner, and Finland beat Sweden 4-3 Saturday in an instant classic, back-and-forth game between the bitter rivals at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Granlund scored 1:49 into 3-on-3 OT, sending fans in Finland’s blue and white at Bell Centre to the exits cheering and chanting, “Suomi!”

“It’s always great to beat Sweden,” Granlund said in his postgame media availability.

Anton Lundell and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Finland, and Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves in his debut at the NHL-run international tournament, including a pad stop on Mika Zibanejad seconds into overtime. Coach Antti Pennanen switched from Juuse Saros to Lankinen after his team lost 6-1 to the United States on Thursday night.

“I don’t think we needed to do much, we knew that there was a lot of good things we did in the game against USA,” Finland captain Aleksander Barkov said in his postgame interview on SportsNet. “Obviously, the result, 6-1, was not great, it did not look good. But I thought we did a lot of good things. And same thing today.”

Knocking off Sweden puts the Finns right back in it with one game for them left in round-robin play. The top two teams among the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland meet in the championship game next week in Boston.

Despite goals from Zibanejad and Rasmus Dahlin, the Swedes are in trouble and now might need some help to make the final. Filip Gustavsson was pulled after allowing two goals on four shots in the first period, and Linus Ullmark allowed two on 17 the rest of the way.

Finland also has a potential injury situation to monitor after Barkov came up limping from blocking a shot late in the second. The reigning Stanley Cup champion from the Florida Panthers continued playing through it.

“We got a little better, and played for a full 60-something minutes,” Barkov said. “We knew, playing against Sweden, even if it’s 4 a.m., it doesn’t matter. Everyone is going to be fired up. We came out hard, and we played really well.”

The U.S. faces Canada on Saturday night in the most anticipated game in Montreal, but Sweden and Finland put on quite the show in the matinee. Facing off 19 years after Sweden defeated Finland in the 2006 Olympic gold medal game in Turin, this time the Finns were on the winning end of an entertaining game featuring a blend of speed, skill and physicality — and some pushing and shoving after the whistles, which was expected of players from countries that do not like each other.

The tournament shifts to Boston, where Finland faces Canada on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET and Sweden plays the United States at 8 p.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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