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The protest began with a prayer. Several thousand Muslims knelt in rows before the Capitol building yesterday afternoon, their knees resting on the woven rugs theyd brought from home. Women here and men over there, with onlookers to the side. Seen from the Speakers Balcony, this ranked congregation would have looked like colorful stripes spanning the grassy width of the National Mall.

We are witnessing, before our eyes, the slaughter of thousands of people on our streets, Omar Suleiman, the imam who led the prayer, had said beforehand. We are witnesses to the cruelty that has been inflicted upon our brothers and sisters in Palestine on a regular basis.

The prayer group was part of a demonstration hosted by more than a dozen self-described progressive and religious organizations to call for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire. After Hamas massacred more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, in its October 7 attack, Israeli bombardments of Gaza have reportedly killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, the great majority of whom were also civilians.

Peter Wehner: The inflection point

Although the protests organizers spanned a broad spectrum of faiths and group affiliations, it appeared that most of the rally attendees were Muslim, judging by the sea of multicolored head scarves and traditional dress. But progressives of other faiths were there, too, waving the red, white, and green flag of Palestine. Rally-goers called for President Joe Biden and the United States to stop supporting Israels blockade and air assault on Gaza. (The first convoy of trucks carrying aid entered Gaza through Egypt this morning, the United Nations reported.) As I moved through the crowd, we heard speeches from Gazan expats and representatives of progressive groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, the Movement for Black Lives, the Working Families Party, and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Enough is enough, Alpijani Hussein, a Sudanese American government employee who wore a long white tunic, told me. He and a friend carried a banner reading BIDEN GENOCIDE . Every time Hussein, a father of four, sees coverage of children killed in Gaza, he told me, he imagines his own kids wrapped in body bags. Im a father, he said. I can feel the pain.

For nearly two weeks, the world has watched, transfixed, as a litany of horrors from the Middle East has unspooled before our eyes. First, the footage from October 7: the tiny towns on the edge of the desert, bullet-riddled and burning. Parents shot, their hands tied. Women driven off on motorcycles and in trucks. The woman whose pants were drenched in blood. And approximately 200 peopleincluding toddlers, teenagers, grandparentsstolen away and still being held hostage.

Then, more death, this time in Gaza. The body of a boy, gray with ash. Rubble and rebar from collapsed concrete buildings or their ghostly shells. TikTok diaries from teenagers with phones powered by backup generators. Theyre bombing us now, the teens explain, somehow sounding calm. Almost half of Gazas population are under 18; all they have known is Hamas rulethe Islamist group took over in 2007and a series of similar conflicts. A barrage of rockets fired by Hamas and other militants; a wave of air strikes from Israel.

But this time is different: Israel has never been wounded this wayOctober 7 represented the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaustand over the protest hung a frantic sense that the vengeance had only just begun. Hackles were up and, at one point, a police car drove by, sirens blaring. Two women near me clutched each other nervously, but the officer drove on without stopping.

Conor Friedersdorf: A collection of narratives on the Israel-Hamas war

Inside the Capitol, a plain consensus prevailed: Many members of Congress from both parties have opposed a cease-fire and expressed strong support for the U.S. providing military aid to Israel. But outside, things werent so simple; they never are. None of the people I met said they supported Hamas, and certainly not the recent atrocities. But many said that the violence cuts both ways. Israel is a terrorist country in my eyeswhat theyve been doing to the Palestinians, Ramana Rashid, from Northern Virginia, told me. Nearby, people held placards reading ISRAEL=COLONIZERS and ZIONISM=OPPRESSION . Many protesters told me they did not believe that Israel has a right to exist. At various points in the protest, the crowd broke into the chant Palestine will be free! From the river to the sea! (Whatever that slogan might mean for protestersan anti-colonial statement or an assertion of homelandfor most Israelis it is clearly denying the Jewish states right to exist.)

A cease-fire is the minimum to save lives, a D.C. resident named Mikayla, who declined to give her last name, told me. But what we really need is an end to the occupation. Leaning against her bike, she shook her head no when I asked whether Egypt should open its doors to fleeing Palestinians. If Egypt lets Gazans leave the Gaza Strip, then that is the definition of ethnic cleansing, Mikayla said.

Other protesters I spoke with expressed concern only for ending the daily suffering of Gazans. The humanitarian crisis came first; the rest, the political stuff, would come later.

Sheeba Massood, whod come with her friend Rashid from Northern Virginia, burst into tears when I asked why shed wanted to attend. It was important to pray together, she told me. It doesnt matter if youre Muslim, if youre Palestinian, if youre a Christian, if youre Jewish, Massood said, we are all witnessing the killing of all of these children that are innocent. Everything else, she said, was politics.

When I asked the demonstrators what might happen in the region, practically, after a cease-fire was enforced, most of them demurred. Im not a politician to know all the details and technicalities of it, a Virginia man named Shoaib told me. But I think just for one horrible thing, you dont just go kill innocent kids.

Every person I met was angry with Biden. The president has been unwavering in his support for Israel since October 7, and in an Oval Office address on Thursday, he reiterated his case for requesting funds from Congress for military aid to Israel. That same day, a senior State Department official resigned over the administrations decision to keep sending weapons to Israel without humanitarian conditions.

Read: Around the world, demonstrations of support, grief, and anger

In his remarks on Thursday, Biden spoke of the need for Americans to oppose anti-Semitism and Islamophobia equally. Fridays demonstrators, so many of whom were Muslim Americans, were not impressed with that evenhandedness.

Mr. President, you have failed the test, Osama Abu Irshaid, the executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, said from the podium outside of the Capitol. Ice-cream trucks parked nearby for tourists played jingles softly as he spoke. You broke your promise to restore Americas moral authority. Frankie Seabron, from the Black-led community group Harriets Wildest Dreams, led the crowd in chants of Shame directed at Biden. This is a battle against oppression, she said. We as Black Americans can understand! The crowd, which was beginning to thin, cheered its agreement.

As is generally the case, the program went on far too long. After two hours of speeches, the enthusiasm of an already thinned-out crowd was waning. The temperature dropped and raindrops fell, gently at first, then steadily. Finally, after organizers distributed blood-red carnations to every rally-goer, the group began the trek to the presidents house.

The demonstrators marched slowly at first up Pennsylvania Avenue, struggling with their banners in the driving rain. But as the remaining protesters got closer to the White House, the rain paused, and the sun peeked through the dark clouds. The protesters laid their flowers in the square before the White House gatesan offering and a demand for a different future for Gaza.

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Nerys Lloyd: Details of fatal paddleboarding trip instructor’s police sacking revealed

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Nerys Lloyd: Details of fatal paddleboarding trip instructor's police sacking revealed

Police have revealed details around the dismissal of the co-instructor in a fatal paddleboarding trip.

Nerys Lloyd was jailed last month for the gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.

The 39-year-old had also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The four were part of a stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) tour of the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.

They got into difficulty after their paddleboards passed over a weir in the town of Haverfordwest during “extremely hazardous conditions” in October 2021.

Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm which had organised the tour.

Paul O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after they got into difficulty in the River Cleddau, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.
Image:
(L-R) Nicola Wheatley, Andrea Powell, Paul O’Dwyer and Morgan Rogers. Pics: Family handouts (via South Wales Police)

The defendant, who worked as a firearms officer for South Wales Police, was separately accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour.

More on Wales

The misconduct hearing took place on 14 January 2022, but the publication of the outcome was postponed.

Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, South Wales Police has published the outcome of the hearing, which details that Lloyd was accused of making a fraudulent insurance claim.

Lloyd was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.

Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court, where she guilty to five charges in connection with the deaths of Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell.
Pic: PA
Image:
Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court after her plea hearing. Pic: PA

The decision on the outcome, compiled after the hearing, states that Lloyd did not attend it and neither had she submitted a written response to the allegations.

Lloyd made a claim against the South Wales Police Federation group insurance scheme for her vehicle’s repair costs.

The cost of the work to repair the vehicle was somewhere between £16 and £20 but the insurance claim made by Lloyd was for £577.55.

Read more from Sky News:
Body recovered after teen went missing while swimming
Tesla board members reportedly start search for Musk successor

The report into her dismissal states that, when the matter came to light, she admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised.

She was interviewed under caution on 11 October 2021, less than three weeks before the fatal paddleboarding tour.

When interviewed by police, Lloyd said she had made a “massive error of judgement” in relation to the insurance claim and she later repaid the amount in full.

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Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

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Bitcoin to M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

Bitcoin to M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

Bitcoin’s expanding institutional adoption may provide the “structural” inflows necessary to surpass gold’s market capitalization and push its price beyond $1 million by 2029, according to Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch.

“Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match gold’s market cap and total addressable market by 2029,” he told Cointelegraph during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on April 30.

Gold is currently the world’s largest asset, valued at over $21.7 trillion. In comparison, Bitcoin’s market capitalization sits at $1.9 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.

Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec
Top 10 global assets by market capitalization. Source: CompaniesMarketCap

Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

For the 2025 market cycle, Bitcoin may surpass $200,000 in the “base case” and $500,000 with more governmental adoption, Dragosch said.

“But once you see sovereign bias like the US government stepping in, all this will change to $500,000.”

“So the base case is $200,000, conditional on the US government not stepping in. If they step in, it will move closer toward $500,000,” said Dragosch, referring to the US government’s plan to potentially make direct Bitcoin acquisitions through “budget-neutral” strategies.

The US is looking at “many creative ways” to fund its Bitcoin investments, including from tariff revenue and by reevaluating the US Treasury’s gold certificates, creating a paper surplus to fund the BTC reserve without selling gold, Bo Hines of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets said in an interview on April 14.

Related: Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain

“Structural” ETF inflows, institutional adoption prolong Bitcoin cycle

The US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surpassed all expectations during their first year of trading, exceeding record trading volumes as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF became the fastest-growing ETF in history.

The first year is usually the “slowest” for ETFs, Dragosch said, highlighting the launch of the gold ETF:

“That alone implies that in the second and third year, we will see growing inflows. In terms of the four four-year cycle, implies that, this cycle will be prolonged by these structural inflows.”

The Bitcoin cycle may also be prolonged when US wirehouses start gaining exposure to Bitcoin and ETFs.

“In the US, the major distribution channels go via Wirehouses, which are essentially the big banks like Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley. […] Not even half of these wirehouses have opened up their distribution channels to US Bitcoin ETFs,” the analyst said.

Adoption from US wirehouses may bring a “huge amount of capital,” since these control over $10 trillion worth of customer assets, Dragosch added.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

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Is Anthony Stolarz the Maple Leafs’ goaltending savior?

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Is Anthony Stolarz the Maple Leafs' goaltending savior?

TORONTO — Anthony Stolarz came into this season with less NHL playoff experience than the average episode length of a prestige drama show.

Now the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender is writing his own script — starring the Edison, New Jersey, native as the steady, reliable netminder Toronto has been desperately seeking through one failed postseason run after another. The Leafs have a Stanley Cup drought going back to 1967.

And — spoiler alert! — Stolarz could have a potential hit on his hands in the Leafs’ first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators. All Toronto needs is one more win — featuring a top-notch performance from Stolarz. It’s for him to stand and deliver.

Flash back to one year ago, and Stolarz was backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida. He made his lone playoff appearance in Game 4 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against Edmonton, replacing Bobrovsky after the Panthers had fallen into a 5-1 hole.

That became Stolarz’s playoff résumé — less than 35 minutes of cleanup duty in an 8-1 defeat. Bobrovsky returned for Game 5 and backstopped Florida to its first Cup win.

Stolarz rightly drank in the victory with his teammates. But would champagne from hockey’s holy grail have tasted sweeter to Stolarz if he’d had more opportunity to help earn it? He’s hoping to find out.

Florida let Stolarz explore free agency in the summer, and Toronto stepped in with a two-year, $5 million contract. The Leafs, who had moved on from Ilya Samsonov, needed a veteran to play in tandem with up-and-comer Joseph Woll and believed Stolarz, 31, could fill the role. To that point he’d never been a true starter — his busiest season had been in 2021-22 with the Anaheim Ducks, appearing in 28 games with a .917 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average.

Stolarz might have grown used to being second on the call sheet. Going to Toronto gave him a chance at top billing. And Stolarz hasn’t taken the investment for granted.

He was sensational from the start, compiling a regular-season record of 21-8-3 with a .926 SV% and 2.14 GAA. Stolarz’s impact on the Leafs was further reflected by his absence — the netminder missed 23 games following a December knee surgery and Toronto produced a 13-10 record. The Leafs were 20-7-2 after Stolarz’s return. Coincidence? Unlikely.

That’s not to say Woll didn’t pull his weight alongside — and without — Stolarz. The 26-year-old was 27-14-1 in the regular season with a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA. But when it came time for Toronto coach Craig Berube to choose a playoff starter, it seemed like a no-brainer to tap Stolarz.

“He has experience in the playoffs,” Berube said. “He didn’t start [games], but he has experience of being there and seeing it. He’s been around for quite some time now. He’s played extremely well this year, and so he’s ready to go.”

Even that feels like an understatement. Stolarz has stood tall — with all of his 6-foot-6, 243-pound frame — in what could become the most successful postseason run Toronto has enjoyed in decades. If anyone can play their part to keep it going, it’s him. And what awaits Toronto on the other side would be more than just a second-round bout, but one against Bobrovsky and the Panthers — where Stolarz can flaunt his now-leading man status.


COUNTLESS INTERNET MEMES have been launched featuring the Maple Leafs’ backlog of disappointing postseasons. Goaltending wasn’t entirely responsible for all of the Leafs’ floundering, but — especially lately — it hasn’t been a real boost, either.

The Leafs have flamed out in six first-round playoff series since 2016-17. The losses have come with impressive variety — from blown multigame leads to stomach-churning Game 7 overtime defeats — and through it all there’s been some lingering question of what a difference timely goaltending could have made.

Because that’s the key: It’s not just how many saves a goalie can accumulate but when they occur. That has been Stolarz’s calling card — that his dependability, not perfection, is a virtue.

Consider Toronto’s recent postseason history:

  • In the 2021-22 playoffs, Jack Campbell had a marvelous regular season (.914 SV%, 2.64 GAA) and then stumbled in the playoffs (3-4, .897 SV% and 3.15 GAA). Toronto lost in the first round to Tampa Bay.

  • In 2022-23, Samsonov was terrific in the regular season (.919 SV%, 2.33 GAA) but turned increasingly mediocre in the playoffs (4-4 record, .898 SV% and 3.13 GAA). Woll made three starts that postseason, going 1-2 with a .915 SV% and 2.43 GAA. Toronto lost in the second round to Florida.

  • The Leafs’ most painful playoff chapter between the pipes might have been last season. Samsonov’s poor play contributed to Toronto’s 3-1 series deficit against Boston in the first round. Woll took over and salvaged the series with two sensational performances that forced Game 7. He then suffered an injury and couldn’t start in that deciding tilt. Toronto had no choice but to go back to Samsonov, who failed to shut the door in a 2-1 overtime loss. Samsonov finished the playoffs 1-4, with an .896 SV% and 3.01 GAA.

Stolarz has already backstopped the Leafs to a pair of overtime victories in this year’s first-round series against the Senators (although Ottawa managed just one OT shot on goal combined in those losses) and appears generally unruffled no matter the stakes.

He’s also a beacon of consistency: Toronto’s Game 3 win in extra time marked Stolarz’s 11th straight win going back to March 20. That stretch included shutouts in three of his past four starts.

That streak ended in Game 4. Ottawa’s desperation to stay alive in the series won out over the Leafs’ limp efforts in overtime — Toronto couldn’t capitalize on a four-minute power play, and later, after the Leafs failed to clear the zone, Jake Sanderson sent a shot sailing over Stolarz’s shoulder to give the Senators a 4-3 victory. Stolarz ended the night with an .810 SV%, his lowest of the season.

“I picked up [Sanderson’s shot] a little late. Tried to get there and fight through the screen,” Stolarz said after the defeat. “I thought we played a hell of a game. [The loss] boils down to making one more save on my end. But I like where our game is at; keep doing what we’re doing.”

Game 5 was slightly better for Stolarz — if worse overall for the Leafs. Toronto’s once dominant offense went ice cold as Senators’ goaltender Linus Ullmark turned in a 29-save shutout to lead Ottawa to a 4-0 victory and force a Game 6 on Thursday. Stolarz allowed two goals — one shorthanded, for the second consecutive game — on 17 shots to finish with an .882 SV%. He’s now 3-2 in the postseason, with an. 899 SV% and 2.25 GAA.

A pair of lackluster showings can’t snowball for Stolarz though if the Leafs expect to see Ottawa out of their first playoff appearance since 2017.

“We like our game, we’re doing a lot of good things,” Stolarz said after Game 5. “It’s always the toughest game to win, the fourth one. But if you had told us before the series we’d be up 3-2 going back to their place, that’s a position we’d take.”

Stolarz — who confirmed he “felt fine” despite a heavy workload in the series with three consecutive overtimes under his belt — learned a thing or two on the Panthers’ Cup run as well.

“No team is going to lay over,” he said. “[The Senators] have come out hard. It’s a little adversity for us. [The team] is making my job easy, it’s just fighting to make that one save.”

Those who know Stolarz best would expect no lesser response.

“He’s a gamer,” said Leafs winger Max Domi, who played with Stolarz on the OHL’s London Knights as they battled to consecutive Memorial Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014. “Unbelievable teammate.”


STOLARZ DOES MORE to look out for the Leafs than just turn pucks aside. In the emotionally charged Battle of Ontario, Stolarz has used his imposing frame to keep the Senators from controlling his crease. Ottawa established a physical, net-front presence from the get-go, and Toronto has had to adjust accordingly. And when Senators forward Ridly Greig got in Stolarz’s face during Game 2, Stolarz required no invitation to push back — literally — at Greig, earning himself a roughing penalty.

There were no regrets from the goaltender.

“I’ve taken quite a few penalties in my day,” he said after the game. “Caught up in the heat of the battle. It is what it is.”

Stolarz’s teammates appreciate his enthusiasm and the way it drives his success guarding the cage.

“He’s just a competitor,” defenseman Brandon Carlo said. “There was that moment there where he and Greig got bodied up, but [Stolarz] is so focused on the present moment, and I love that. His compete level is just there the whole game, and I think that’s all you’re seeing is a ferocious competitor.”

That has spelled bad news for the Senators, as Stolarz has continuously stymied Ottawa’s offensive efforts. That could have been what drew the Senators’ Nick Cousins to get playful with Stolarz during warmups before Game 3, with the forward flipping a puck across the center ice line at Stolarz. The two had been teammates before — with Philadelphia in 2016-17 and last season with the Cup-winning Panthers — but the NHL didn’t see it as friendly fire. The league fined the Senators $25,000 and Cousins’ $2,083.33 for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Stolarz was hardly thrown off his game.

“I didn’t even notice, to be honest with you,” the goalie said. “I know [Cousins], played with him for a number of years. I’m sure he didn’t mean any malicious intent by it.”

Stolarz was open to toning down his own physicality, under the right circumstances. He followed up with officials before Game 3 about the Greig incident and delivered a clear message — “watch my back, and I’ll behave.”

The way Stolarz executes at his best, it’s tough taking your eyes off him. But he can be his own toughest critic. He shouldered responsibility for not tracking that Sanderson winner and closing the Senators out. And it wasn’t the first goal he’d lamented letting in. When Toronto led Ottawa 2-1 midway through the third period of Game 3, Stolarz allowed a wrister from Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa’s first shot of the frame, to go top shelf. That teed up an overtime session — though it lasted only 19 seconds before Simon Benoit called game.

The happy outcome didn’t dissolve Stolarz’s frustration about the Tkachuk score.

“Tough one for me to give up,” he said. “But that’s the great thing about playoff hockey, you’ve got 19 other guys there to help pick you up, and I knew after that I’d be dialed and the next shot I’d be ready for.”

Perhaps that’s one of Stolarz’s superpowers, too. He can shake off a bad goal or a bad game easier than others. The only time all season Stolarz lost consecutive starts was during a five-game skid through March. He followed that up with the 11-game win streak.

“He’s been outstanding all year,” defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “As teammates, we have to do what we can to support him and make his life a little bit easier. He’s been outstanding all year, and playoffs have been no different.”


BERUBE KNEW THAT Stolarz wanted to be more than a career backup.

His time with Stolarz goes all the way back to Philadelphia, when the fresh-faced goaltender was finally entering the Flyers’ lineup after nearly three seasons in the American Hockey League. Berube — then the Flyers’ coach — sensed Stolarz, a second-round draft pick (No. 45 overall) in 2012, was eager to get rolling in the NHL. And Stolarz clearly never gave up on his goal of being a No. 1.

“He came in this year wanting to be a starter,” Berube said. “He’s been excellent all year. It took him a bit of time to establish himself again, but he’s doing the job for us right now.”

As long as that remains true, the Leafs can reasonably believe their postseason fortunes will turn, too. It wouldn’t be just because of Stolarz, of course. But for the Leafs, it’s nice to know he’s there.

And loving every minute of being a leading man — at last.

“It’s fun. I go out there and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the game,” Stolarz said. “[We’re] all striving for the same goal. You want to go out there with a smile on your face and enjoy it.

“At the end of the day, it’s intense, heat of the battle. This is what you live for. This is playoff hockey.”

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