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Chaos as Biden’s speech is derailed by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting ‘ceasefire now’: President, 81, says he IS working to get Israel ‘out’ of Gaza after demonstrator interrupted to ask if he ‘cares’ about civilian deaths

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Chaos as Biden’s speech is derailed by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting ‘ceasefire now’: President, 81, says he IS working to get Israel ‘out’ of Gaza after demonstrator interrupted to ask if he ‘cares’ about civilian deaths

President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during his pilgrimage to a church in Charleston, S.C., to appeal to black voters as part of his campaign against Donald Trump.

Calling ‘ceasefire now,’ the group interrupted the president as he was speaking on Monday about his ties to the Mother Emanuel AME Church, the historically Black church in Charleston where nine people were killed after a gunman opened fire on a Bible study group in 2015.

‘If you really care about the lives lost here you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine,’ one protester yelled, setting off a repeated chant of ‘ceasefire now.’ 

The crowd in the church yelled back ‘four more years’ in an attempt to overshadow the protest, which lasted about 45 seconds. The protest came as fears grow about a wider war in the Middle East that could engulf U.S. troops. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in region to try and bring down the tone.

President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters during his speech at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston

'Ceasefire now,' the protesters yelled during Biden's speech

‘Ceasefire now,’ the protesters yelled during Biden’s speech

Biden addressed the matter after the crowd calmed down, offering reassurances he was working to get hostages out of Gaza.

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‘Look folks I undertsand their passion. I’ve been quietly working…I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza. I’m using all that I can to do that. But I understand the passion,’ he said.

The president was in South Carolina for a campaign speech where he attacked Trump’s role on January 6th, the day a mob took over the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.

He also blasted his GOP rival for refusing to concede the last presidential election. 

‘Losers are taught to concede when they lose and he’s a loser,’ Biden said of the former president. 

He also bashed Trump and his supporters for attempting to rewrite the facts of January 6 and the Civil War.

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‘They tried to steal an election, now they’re trying to steal history by telling us that violent mob was and I quote, a peaceful protest,’ Biden said. 

Trump’s ‘actions were among the worst dereliction of duty by any president in American history,’ Biden charged. 

He also attacked Nikki Haley for not listing slavery when she was asked about the causes of the Civil War and mocked Trump for suggesting the conflict could have been avoided by negotiations.

 ‘Slavery was the cause of the Civil War. There’s no negotiation about that,’ he said to applause.

Trump leads the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. GOP voters will begin their nominating contest later this month with the Iowa caucuses taking place next Monday. 

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His speech also contained personal touches. Biden recalled his family’s own pain from loss, choking up as he spoke about the loss of his son Beau. 

‘We were in more pain than we knew,’ he said.

Biden lost his oldest son to brain cancer about a month before the shootings at the church in 2015. He talked about how the family found comfort in the church after their loss.  

‘We came here to offer comfort. We receive comfort from you,’ he said.

During Biden’s remarks, the pews were filled by survivors and the families of the victims of the 2015 shooting, as well as clergy and interfaith leaders.

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The crowd shouted ‘four more years’ repeatedly when the president got up to speak.

‘It’s going to go to my head,’ Biden joked in response.  

The president met with survivors and the families of those killed in the shooting after his remarks.

Biden is the first sitting president to speak at the historic church. His visit comes at a time when polls indicate he is losing support among black voters.

‘I’ve done my best to honor your trust. That means rejecting the small, narrow, cramped view of America, as well as lifting up a bigger and broader view of America,’ Biden told the crowd.

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He also listed off his accomplishments including his work to heal the economy, making Juneteenth a federal holiday, and naming a black woman to the Supreme Court. 

‘We’ve come to far from where we started. Nobody told me the road would be easy,’ he said. ‘I don’t think the good Lord brought us this far to leave us behind.’ 

Protesters in the church interrupted President Biden for about 45 seconds

Protesters in the church interrupted President Biden for about 45 seconds

South Carolina Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn introduced Biden at the church

South Carolina Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn introduced Biden at the church

South Carolina, where African Americans make up about 60 percent of the Democratic electorate, hosts the party’s first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 3. 

In the 2020 Democratic primary, Biden’s victory in South Carolina, won largely thanks to black voters, set him on the path to the Democratic nomination. 

Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, an early Biden supporter who propelled him to victory in South Carolina, said he is ‘very concerned’ with the president’s standing with the black community. 

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‘I’m not worried — I’m very concerned,’ he told CNN ahead of Biden’s visit.

‘My problem is that we have not been able to break through that MAGA wall in order to get to people exactly what this president has done,’ Clyburn said.

Clyburn introduced Biden at the church on Monday. In his remarks, Clyburn emphasized what Biden has done for the black community including student loan forgiveness and appointing a black woman as a justice on the Supreme Court.

Biden has gone after Trump heavily behind closed doors in fundraising, slamming him for his invoking of Nazi-type speech and charging him with being the reason Roe vs. Wade was overturned, rolling back abortion rights in many states.

But with the start of the new year, he’s been taking his criticism public. 

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Trump leads Biden in the polls. The margin is close but Trump’s lead has been steady. In the RealClearPolitics polling average on the general election, Trump has a 2 point lead. 

More worryingly, Trump was beating Biden in two key voter groups, giving him an overall lead in the presidential race, the first new poll of 2024 found. 

Trump leads Biden among Hispanic voters by five points, 39%-34% and among younger voters by three points, 37%-34%, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll.

Biden won both those voting groups in the 2020 presidential contest, where he defeated Trump to win the White House. 

The poll also shows Biden is losing support among black voters, another key voting bloc.

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He now has the support of just 63% of black voters, a group he carried by a whooping 87% in 2020.

The president’s trip to South Carolina on Monday will be his fourth as president as he looks to court the highly-important voting bloc.

His last trip to Mother Emanuel was almost nine years ago, in the spring of 2015. 

About a month days before the shootings, his oldest son Beau died of brain cancer. He and Jill Biden were vacation on Kiawah Island, just outside of Charleston, when the shootings occurred. 

The Bidens – he was then vice president – attended the memorial service for the victims where President Barack Obama spoke. 

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The then-vice president also addressed the congregation. 

‘No words can mend a broken heart, no music can fill a gaping void,’ he said then. ‘Sometimes even faith leaves you, just for a second, sometimes you doubt.’

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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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