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A Philadelphia arts school gave 7 days' notice it was closing. Now its students and faculty want answers.

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A Philadelphia arts school gave 7 days' notice it was closing. Now its students and faculty want answers.

Students and staff members from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia are scrambling to figure out their next steps after the school’s abrupt closure last week and are calling on the university to answer questions about why it shut down so quickly.

The university announced it would be shutting its doors in a statement on May 31, after news had already begun to leak about an hour and a half earlier, saying in part that it “has been in a fragile financial state, with many years of declining enrollments, declining revenues, and increasing expenses.”

The nearly 150-year-old university, a longtime home for artists of all kinds, shut down a week later on June 7, leaving its more than 1,000 students and hundreds of faculty and staff confused and anxious.

Among them is Owen Spaloss, who walked across the stage at the university’s graduation in May, but still needs to complete a three-credit summer internship to receive his degree in creative writing. The unexpected shutdown has put his once imminent degree completion at least temporarily out of reach.

“A lot of these universities don’t have a creative writing major, and even if they do, there’s no guarantee that they would accept all of my credits or that they would accept scholarships,” Spaloss said.

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“The only reason I can afford to go to the University of the Arts is because of the donors and the scholarships that I’ve gotten. I couldn’t financially afford this on my own.”

Protests at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on June 3, the day of a town hall.Owen Spaloss

News of the University of the Arts’ closure has led to protests on campus by students and staffers alike who question why the university didn’t alert its community sooner or better prepare for its financial failure. The university did not respond to requests for comment.

Krista Apple, who has worked at the university for more than 10 years and was serving as the director of the bachelor of fine arts in acting program, said she didn’t initially believe the school was closing after learning about it first in a Philadelphia Inquirer article.

“I thought it was a joke, or I thought the Inquirer had gotten something wrong. I thought maybe somebody was pranking me,” Apple said.

Students and staff said the Inquirer article made the rounds on social media, group texts and emails before the university released a statement. Some community members said they first heard about the closure on TikTok.

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“It continues to be disorienting and heartbreaking. This is a massive loss of community for all of us who taught and worked together for many years. It’s also a massive loss for the city of Philadelphia,” Apple said. “Our students really were one of a kind, both in terms of the cohort of humans that they were, but also individually.”

The university said in the statement announcing its closure that it had “worked hard this year alongside many of you to take steps that would secure the University’s sustainability. The progress we made together has been impressive.”

“Unfortunately, however, we could not overcome the ultimate challenge we faced: with a cash position that has steadily weakened, we could not cover significant, unanticipated expenses. The situation came to light very suddenly. Despite swift action, we were unable to bridge the necessary gaps.”

The university’s accreditation was withdrawn June 1, three days after the school notified its accrediting body that it would close, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education said in a news release on May 31.

The Philadelphia City Council voted June 6 to hold hearings to examine the university’s sudden closure and its impact on the city’s higher education system and the school’s current students and staff.

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Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office confirmed to NBC News that it is “reviewing the circumstances of the closure and any transfer or loss of assets.”

DJay Jean, a rising sophomore who was studying vocal performance at the University of the Arts, said attending college has been a personal milestone.

“I’m a first-generation American, let alone I’m a first-generation student. My dad did not finish high school. My mom didn’t go to college,” Jean said.

“I grew up with just my father and it wasn’t a great upbringing. I eventually ended up in foster care at 16,” Jean said. “College never felt like an option to me financially.”

Jean was able to attend the university after receiving several scholarships, taking out loans and working part-time jobs. But now, they are unsure of what’s next and said they feel trapped after signing an apartment lease in Philadelphia.

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“I spent so much money to go to this school, and I put so much trust in the faculty and the board. It’s an investment,” Jean said.

“You would think that after putting so much more money into something when it’s going away, the people responsible would want to inform you, and they’d want to let you know, ‘Here’s what’s going on.’ But they weren’t interested in that. And it made me feel very disrespected and made me feel like I wasted my money,” they added.

The university is facing criticism from students and staff about what they say has been a lack of communication and transparency from the administration.

Several students sent videos to NBC News showing demonstrations, performances and marches at the school.

The University of the Arts Philadelphia
Protests at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on June 7, the day it closed.Owen Spaloss

They also said community members had been locked out of Hamilton Hall, one of the main buildings on campus, at one point during the demonstrations.

“They shut off the power to Hamilton Hall. … They didn’t want us to demonstrate. They closed their bathrooms to us and they shut off the power,” Jean said.

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The university scheduled a virtual town hall on June 3 with a cap of 500 attendees, but it was canceled minutes before it was scheduled to start, according to several students. The university’s president, Kerry Walk, resigned the next day.

On the university’s official last day, June 7, campus community members who had been protesting and camping out in front of Hamilton Hall organized a “Last Jam” event to show their frustration and process the shocking news together.

Apple said staff were also called into a virtual meeting on the school’s final day.

“We were effectively fired en masse via Zoom by a member of the management team that had been hired, someone we had never met before,” she said.

“Based on the brief information they shared, I have reason to believe that I will receive at least my next paycheck, which is due at the end of June. But I’ll be honest, I’m not holding my breath,” Apple said.

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Krista Apple on the last day of teaching
Krista Apple, second from left in the front row, who was the director of the bachelor of fine arts in acting program, on June 7, the last day of teaching.Courtesy Krista Apple

Apple said she wants those who had been charged with making decisions about the university’s fate to face consequences for its closure.

“I would like to see some accountability, not just from the most recent administration, but also from the board of directors and also from the previous administration too, that was working really closely with this budget,” Apple said. “Because I just keep wondering at what point was it clear that this university’s finances were not salient, and I can’t fathom the notion that it was just two weeks ago, on May 29, that someone looked at our books and went, ‘Oh, no, we can’t keep going.’”

The board’s chair did not respond to a request for comment.

This week, the university announced a call center and support email for the campus community.

Students have also received an email confirming that any payments made for the summer or fall semesters will be refunded. Meanwhile, a Temple spokesperson said the university is exploring a potential merger with the school.

“The amount of support and care from our education and arts community across the country is one of the things that gives me hope. And it just proves to me that artists are incredibly resilient. And no matter how much funding we don’t have, we are not going away,” Apple said.

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Originally founded in 1876, the University of the Arts is just the latest arts institution to shut down in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts closed its doors in January, with some of its students enrolling in the University of the Arts.

Last year, at least 14 colleges and universities shut down or merged according to Inside Higher Ed, amid lower college enrollment rates and the pressure of inflation.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college enrollment fell from about 18 million in 2010 to about 15.8 million in 2023.

Despite the chaos and confusion, several students have found solace with those in the extended arts community.

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“If nothing else, we are showing that we are committed to each other in our community. We’re showing that we are not willing to just go quietly into the night. We are going to stand strong and show what we stand for, because as artists it’s already hard enough to make it in the world,” Spaloss said.

“Our schools are closing down, but that doesn’t mean our community shuts down, too,” Jean added.

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Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City

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Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Eastern. The New York Times

A minor, 2.3-magnitude earthquake struck about 12 miles north of New York City on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 10:17 a.m. Eastern in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., data from the agency shows.

The Westchester County emergency services department said in a statement that it had not received any reports of damage.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Eastern. Shake data is as of Tuesday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Tuesday, March 10 at 2:18 p.m. Eastern.

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Ed Martin, outspoken Justice Department lawyer, is formally accused of ethical violations | CNN Politics

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Ed Martin, outspoken Justice Department lawyer, is formally accused of ethical violations | CNN Politics

Ed Martin, an outspoken Trump administration official, is facing attorney discipline proceedings in Washington, DC, for a letter he sent to Georgetown Law about its diversity programs, the district’s professional conduct investigator announced on Tuesday.

Martin is formally accused of violating his ethical codes as an attorney for telling Georgetown Law’s dean last year that his Justice Department office wouldn’t hire students because of the school’s diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives programs, according to the filing from Hamilton Fox, the disciplinary counsel for DC who acts as a quasi-prosecutor on attorney discipline matters.

Unlike unsolicited complaints, Fox’s formal disciplinary complaint kicks off professional conduct proceedings for Martin in which he will need to respond and could be sanctioned or ultimately lose his law license.

Fox’s announcement on Tuesday marks the first major bar discipline proceeding against a high-profile administration official or attorney supporting President Donald Trump during Trump’s second term. Several Trump lawyers faced disciplinary proceedings after the efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, including Rudy Giuliani, who lost his law license.

“Acting in his official capacity and speaking on behalf of the government, he used coercion to punish or suppress a disfavored viewpoint, the teaching and promotion of ‘DEI,’” Fox wrote in the complaint. “He demanded that Georgetown Law relinquish its free speech and religious rights in order to continue to obtain a benefit, employment opportunities for its students.”

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Martin was removed from the top prosecutor job in DC after senators made clear he would not be confirmed to the role, but has remained at the Justice Department in several roles, including as pardon attorney.

“Mr. Martin knew or should have known that, as a government official, his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,” Fox wrote.

Martin is being represented by a Justice Department attorney, a source told CNN.

A spokesperson for DOJ attacked Fox’s complaint. “The DC bar’s attempt to target and punish those serving President Trump while refusing to investigate or act against actual ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama administration attorneys is a clear indication of this partisan organization’s agenda,” DOJ said.

Martin had sent the letter to Georgetown Law while serving temporarily as US attorney for DC, a prominent Justice Department position, and told the school his federal prosecutors’ office wouldn’t hire Georgetown’s law school students. It came at a time when the Trump administration was beginning to crack down on universities for their DEI efforts.

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In his letter, Martin claimed a whistleblower told him that the school was teaching and promoting DEI.

Martin also violated attorney ethics rules by contacting judges of the DC court directly, Fox alleged, rather than going through official channels, once he was informed he was under investigation for his professional conduct. The DC Court of Appeals ultimately signs off on attorney discipline findings.

Early last year, Fox’s office had formally asked Martin to respond to a complaint it received by a retired judge regarding the Georgetown letter.

Martin instead wrote to the judges on the DC court complaining about Fox.

“In that letter, he stated that he would not be responding to Disciplinary Counsel’s inquiry, complained about Disciplinary Counsel’s ‘uneven behavior,’ and requested a ‘face-to-face meeting with all of you to discuss this matter and find a way forward,’” Fox wrote.

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“He copied the White House Counsel ‘for informational purposes because of the importance of getting this issue addressed,’” Fox said.

The top judge in the DC courts told Martin the court wouldn’t meet with him about the disciplinary matter and that he would need to follow procedure.

With Fox’s complaint, there will now be several steps ahead of bar discipline authorities looking at Martin’s action, and Fox didn’t specify how Martin should be reprimanded or punished if the discipline boards and the court ultimately determine he violated his ethical codes.

Spokespeople for the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday morning.

In recent days, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced her office would have a more powerful role in reviewing attorney discipline complaints against Justice Department attorneys, potentially setting up an approach that could keep the department at odds with the bar on behalf of DOJ attorneys facing their own individual disciplinary proceedings.

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CNN’s Paula Reid contributed to this report.

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Europe and Asia battle for LNG as Iran war chokes supply

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Europe and Asia battle for LNG as Iran war chokes supply

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Asian and European buyers are battling to source liquefied natural gas after the war in the Middle East choked off shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, blocking a fifth of global supplies.

In an indication of the intensifying contest for LNG since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, a handful of gas carriers have abruptly changed course while sailing to Europe and swung towards Asia instead, according to ship monitoring data analysed by the FT.

Countries across Asia are highly dependent on oil and gas sent through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway where shipping has slowed to a near standstill.

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Most of the LNG produced in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is ordinarily shipped through the strait to Asia, and Asian LNG prices surged almost immediately after war broke out, creating an incentive to divert US gas to the region.

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Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are among the countries that need to source LNG to make up for supplies they will not receive from the Gulf, said Massimo Di Odoardo, head of gas and LNG analysis at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Taiwan relied on Qatar for more than 30 per cent of its gas consumption in 2025, according to Citigroup, while for South Korea and Japan the figures were 15 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Asia typically uses more gas than Europe in the hotter summer months because of more air-conditioning use, creating urgency for Asian utilities to secure cargoes.

The vast majority of LNG is sold under long-term contracts rather than on the spot market, but some buyers are able to change the final destination of their purchases and some sellers are willing to break contracts if prices rise high enough.

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By Thursday, surging European gas prices and rocketing shipping rates had swung the balance back against diversion of US LNG to Asia, according to data company Spark Commodities.

The decision on where to send gas carriers can depend on the relative levels of the European gas price, Asia’s JKM benchmark for LNG and shipping rates.

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For European buyers, the battle with Asia for LNG supplies is eerily familiar to the situation four years ago after Russia slashed pipeline natural gas flows to the continent following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Competition for spare cargoes then pushed prices to record levels.

On Monday, European gas prices reached as high as €69.50 per megawatt hour, more than double their level before the Iran conflict began. Even so, prices are still far from the €342 per megawatt hour reached in 2022.

JKM gas prices also more than doubled since the start of the war to $24.80 per 1mn British thermal units by Monday, equivalent to €73.10/MWh.

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European buyers have learnt from their experience in 2022. “Europe has more weapons at its disposal in this extreme price scenario to try and fight,” said Alex Kerr, a partner at law firm Baker Botts.

Buyers had started putting clauses in contracts to say that suppliers would face much higher penalties if they diverted cargoes for commercial gain, Kerr said.

There is also much more LNG on the market now that is not committed to set destinations, largely because of new projects starting in the US.

While producers such as Qatar impose strict rules on where its LNG can be sent, almost all US exports are allowed to sail wherever buyers want. Several analysts said there had also been an increase in the willingness of some producers to break contracts for financial advantage.

This makes diversions more likely, while the reluctance of some European buyers to sign long-term supply contracts before the outbreak of war this month could prove costly.

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Expectations of a global supply glut convinced some European buyers that it would be cheaper to wait until later in the year to sign supply deals.

Wood Mackenzie’s Di Odoardo said the buyers had also held off on LNG purchases because new EU legislation on methane emissions made it unclear whether they could incur penalties in the future.

The risk of prices rising as Europe and Asia fight for available cargoes is increasing every day the Strait of Hormuz stays almost closed.

Gas is more difficult to store and to carry in tankers than oil, making its markets more vulnerable to shortages and price shocks.

“The longer the Strait remains shut, the greater the risk that the shipping disruption turns into a genuine gas shortage, as tankers cannot load and facilities have limited storage,” said consultancy Oxford Economics in a research note.

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Additional reporting by Harry Dempsey in Tokyo. Data visualisation by Jana Tauschinski

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