EPA froze ‘green bank’ funds worth billions, climate group suit says

By MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A nonprofit that was awarded nearly $7 billion by the Biden administration to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects has sued President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of improperly freezing a legally awarded grant.

Climate United Fund, a coalition of three nonprofit groups, demanded access to a Citibank account it received through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a program created in 2022 by the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act and more commonly known as the green bank. The freeze threatens its ability to issue loans and even pay employees, the group said.

“The combined actions of Citibank and EPA effectively nullify a congressionally mandated and funded program,” Maryland-based Climate United wrote in a Monday court filing.

In a related action, the Coalition for Green Capital, a separate group that received $5 billion from the Biden-era program, sued Citibank Monday, alleging breach of contract over the refusal to disburse the grant funds awarded by the EPA.

“Citi’s actions have blocked CGC from deploying funds appropriated by Congress for energy projects to lower electricity costs and provide clean air and water for all Americans,” the Washington-based group said in a statement.

The two nonprofits are among eight groups tapped by then-EPA Administrator Michael Regan to receive $20 billion to finance tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice. The money was formally awarded in August.

While favored by congressional Democrats, the green bank drew immediate criticism from Republicans, who routinely denounced it as an unaccountable “slush fund.” Regan sharply disputed that claim.

The bank was quickly targeted by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was confirmed to the role in late January. In a video posted on X, Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for the still-emerging program. Zeldin cited a conservative journalist’s undercover video made late last year that showed a former EPA employee saying the agency was throwing “gold bars off the Titanic” — presumably a reference to spending before the start of Trump’s second term.

Zeldin has repeatedly used the term “gold bars” to accuse the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s recipients of misconduct, waste and possible fraud.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court, Citibank cut off access to Climate United’s bank account on February 18 — an action the bank did not explain for weeks.

The cutoff took place as Zeldin made multiple public appearances accusing Climate United and other groups of misconduct, eventually announcing that the funds were frozen, according to the lawsuit. Climate United said the EPA has refused to meet with the group.

Several Democratic lawmakers slammed Zeldin’s attacks on the green bank as a “sham investigation and unsubstantiated funding freeze.”

The Trump administration’s “baseless attacks on these investments will only cost jobs, increase prices and harm our communities,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said in a statement Monday. The three Democrats pushed for creation of the green bank.

Citibank said it was reviewing the Climate United lawsuit.

“As we’ve said previously, Citi has been working with the federal government in its efforts to address government officials’ concerns regarding this federal grant program,” the bank said in a statement Monday. “Our role as financial agent does not involve any discretion over which organizations receive grant funds. Citi will of course comply with any judicial decision.”

The EPA declined to comment, citing pending litigation. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In its court filing, Climate United pointed to the resignation of Denise Cheung, a high-ranking prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Washington office, who said she was forced to step dow n after refusing demands from top Trump administration officials to freeze the climate groups’ assets.

Zeldin raised questions in a letter to the agency’s watchdog about the EPA’s use of Citibank to hold the money, a structure that allowed the eight entities to be used as “pass throughs” for eventual grant recipients. The process undermined transparency, Zeldin alleged.

He also questioned the qualifications of some of the entities overseeing the grants and said some were affiliated with the Biden administration or Democratic politics, including Stacey Abrams, a former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor. Trump singled out Abrams over her ties to the green bank in his address to Congress last week.

In a letter to EPA officials on March 4, Climate United disputed Zeldin’s allegations. The group’s lengthy application material is publicly available and the EPA used a rigorous selection process, Climate United said, adding that its spending is transparent.

In addition to Climate United, the new fund has awarded money to other nonprofits, including the Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. Those organizations have partnered with a range of groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.

The green bank represents ideas Congress enacted that the Trump administration doesn’t like: fighting climate change and helping communities that are often low-income or majority-Black and Hispanic, said Ilmi Granoff, a climate finance expert at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

“The resources have already been spent, which means they’re trying to come up with pretexts to do something the government is not supposed to do, which is claw back resources” that Congress provided, Granoff said, comparing the Trump administration’s investigations to a “fishing expedition.”

The Trump administration said Friday that it’s pulling $400 million from Columbia University, canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.

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Phillis reported from St. Louis.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Elon Musk claims X being targeted in ‘massive cyberattack’ as service goes down

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

Hours after a series of outages Monday that left X unavailable to thousands of users, Elon Musk claimed that the social media platform was being targeted in a “massive cyberattack.”

“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” Musk claimed in a post. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing …”

Complaints about outages spiked Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern and again at 10 a.m, with more than 40,000 users reporting no access to the platform, according to the tracking website Downdetector.com.

A sustained outage that lasted at least an hour began at noon, with the heaviest disruptions occurring along the U.S. coasts.

Downdetector.com said that 56% of problems were reported for the X app, while 33% were reported for the website.

In March 2023 the social media platform then known as Twitter experienced a bevy of glitches for over an hour as links stopped working, some users were unable to log in and images were not loading for others.

Banned Toys in America

Top Toys You Won’t See On Shelves

Easy Bake Oven

Every kid growing up in the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s wanted the amazing Easy Bake Oven, first produced by Kenner then by Hasbro. It was just like the title implied, an easy toy that baked fun and delicious treats. Sadly its history has been very rocky with it being recalled not once but twice due to its mechanism catching fingers and even some burns.

Lawn Darts

This game involves either two people or two teams where they throw 12 inch darts, with very sharp points, across the yard to the corresponding rings. It can be very fun if played correctly. Unfortunately, it was banned in December of 1988 when several deaths were linked to the lawn game.

Mini Hammocks

Hammocks are the delight of spring and summer, especially if you are visiting the beach or even the mountains. You can recline back and listen to nature around you or take a quick snooze. This is all thanks to the spreader bars either ends of the hammock, it keeps the sides from rolling up. All of this is because in 1996, mini hammocks had to be recalled due to a record of 12 children’s deaths.

Rollerblade Barbie

Barbie is the icon among little girls since March of 1959. She has the largest wardrobe among the toys, but one of those “outfits” had to be recalled in 1992. Rollerblade Barbie was in hot water when the sparks in the rollerblades, which was suppose to make Barbie look like she was going fast, caused fires and injuries.

Snack Time Cabbage Patch Doll

This timeless toy was a hit for the kids, the toys began in 1982 and can still be seen on shelves today. That is except for the Snack Time Doll. This toy had a motorized mouth this could move up and down, chowing down on little plastic food pieces. Disaster struck when it was found that the mouth could not distinguish between toy and human fingers and sometimes even hair. There was no off switch so it kept eating, pulling the object in.

Toy Crossbows

These medieval looking toys were all the rage in the 1970’s. Though they look very fun they are very dangerous. The projectiles were toothpicks, and usually toothpicks are helpful. Yet this case they can cause blindness and other injury.

Did You Know Snakes…

Fun Facts about Snakes

Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes, and many people have this fear. A lot of people are afraid of snakes because they don’t know much about them. Here are a few interesting things about snakes and maybe it will help you get to know them a little better. For more information about these slithering creatures, check out The Nature Conservancy.

Snakes can be found just about everywhere. They are in the mountains, deserts, forests and the water. They are very versatile and can adapt.
Snakes are not slimy. Many people are frightened of them because they see the snakes slither so naturally, they must be slimy. This is not the case, they are scaley and dry.
There are over 4,000 snake species but only about 600 are venomous. Just because you see a snake, does not make it venomous. Though it might just get away if you find one, it is best to leave it alone, you don’t know if it is venomous or not.

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Antipasto Skewers

Antipasto Skewer Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: N/A

Serving size: 12 servings

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Pinch of kosher salt
12 ciliegine mozzarella balls, drained
1 roasted red pepper (from a jar)
12 pitted kalamata olives
24 slices salami (about 5 oz.)
24 large fresh basil leaves (about 1/4 c.)
12 bite-size pieces marinated artichoke hearts (from a jar)
12 cherry tomatoes
12 pepperoncini
Balsamic glaze, for drizzling

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, and salt. Add the mozzarella balls to the dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 12 hours. Slice the roasted red pepper into 12 (1-by-1-inch) squares.
Thread the ingredients onto 12 (6-inch) wooden skewers in the following order: roasted red pepper (folded in half), olive, salami slice (folded into quarters), basil leaf, marinated mozzarella ball, artichoke heart, tomato, basil leaf, salami slice (folded into quarters), and pepperoncini. Place the skewers on a platter and drizzle with the balsamic glaze just before serving.

March 10th 2025

Thought of the Day

Use a kind word to inspire confidence and encourage kids to develop good values.

NC State fires coach Kevin Keatts a year after improbable ACC title and Final Four run

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State fired men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts on Sunday, an abrupt end to an eight-year tenure coming less than a year after the Wolfpack’s improbable run to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the Final Four.

The school announced the move a day after the Wolfpack closed a 12-19 season.

“I want to thank Coach Keatts for his contributions to N.C. State and for always representing the university with class,” athletic director Boo Corrigan said in a statement. “He will always have a treasured place in Wolfpack history for the accomplishments of his 2023-24 squad and I appreciate the passion he brought to this role. We wish him and his family the best in the future.”

Keatts posted his own statement on social media, calling the past eight years “a dream come true.”

“As we enter this new era of college sports, I wholeheartedly believe that I am leaving the program in better position to succeed than when I started — and that the basketball program will continue to thrive when supported to the level necessary to compete,” Keatts said.

He signed off with a nod to players being able to transfer freely in a rapidly evolving college sports landscape.

“I am officially entering the portal,” Keatts said.

Keatts went 151-113 at N.C. State, including 69-84 in ACC play. His teams earned three NCAA Tournament bids, the last coming when the Wolfpack followed a five-games-in-five-days ride to their first ACC Tournament title since 1987 with a just-as-unexpected run to the program’s first Final Four since the late Jim Valvano led the “Cardiac Pack” to the 1983 NCAA title.

It was difficult to predict that Keatts would be out of a job a year later.

But he couldn’t sustain that momentum as this season turned into a crashout, with the Wolfpack’s retooling through the transfer portal — which had worked well enough to get N.C. State to back-to-back NCAA bids — proving to be a major miss. N.C. State went just 5-15 in league play, suffering the ignominy as the reigning champion to miss the 15-team ACC Tournament in an expanded 18-team league.

That included going 0-11 on the road, an ugly mark considering Keatts had made it a tradition for the team to get ice cream after road wins. The finale came with the Wolfpack giving up the last 10 points in Saturday’s loss to a Miami team that had won just six games all year.

The firing comes after Keatts faced multiple challenges in his tenure, starting with stabilizing a wobbly program on the court and then working for years amid the shadow of a federal corruption investigation into the sport that was tied to predecessor Mark Gottfried’s tenure. That case hovered for years before the program was placed on a year of probation in December 2021.

Ultimately, Keatts had five 20-win seasons but never delivered a consistent winner that Wolfpack fans have desperately craved, with the wild swing from the past 12 months illustrating that problem.

He arrived in 2017 from UNC Wilmington promising that “Kevin Keatts is a winner” in his introductory news conference. In many ways, he matched that, particularly after the program had bottomed out in Gottfried’s final two seasons after four straight NCAA bids. Keatts started with a 21-win season that included taking down highly ranked Duke, UNC and Arizona teams before reaching the NCAAs.

That was the first of the 20-win seasons, though one ended with the Wolfpack falling on the wrong side of the bubble on Selection Sunday (2019) and had another likely bid vanish when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament. Then came two years of struggles, notably with a program-record 21 losses in 2022 before the final two-year upturn that culminated with last year’s remarkable run.

March 9th 2025

Thought of the Day

Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes radiance.

Japanese Fruit Sandwiches

Japanese Fruit Sandwiches Recipe from Cozy Meal

Prep time: 30 minutes – 2 hours

Cooking time: N/A

Serving size: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

3 small kiwis
12 strawberries
5 small, seedless Mandarin or clementine oranges
1 batch of stabilized whipped cream
8 slices of Japanese milk bread or the bread of your choosing
mint leaves, for garnish

For the Stabilized Whipped Cream

1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 tbsp water, cold
1 1/2 cup(s) heavy whipping cream plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/3 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract or rum

Directions

Prepare the fruit. Rinse and dry all of the fruit. Slice both ends off of the kiwi and peel off the skin. Create small divots around the kiwi, creating a flower shape. Repeat with the remaining kiwis. Use a knife, remove the core of each strawberry. Peel the mandarin and remove all of the stringy pith.
Prepare the stabilized whipped cream.
1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the cold water and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin hydrate for 5 minutes.
1. Microwave the gelatin until it dissolves and becomes liquid but not hot, about 8 seconds. If it is not completely melted, microwave in 3-second intervals until it is completely dissolved. Stir in one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. Set aside.
1. In a mixing bowl, add the remaining cold heavy whipping cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract (or rum). Beat the mixture with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
1. While beating continuously, pour in the gelatin mixture in a thin stream. Continue to beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Be sure not to overwhip. The whipped cream should be very smooth and not grainy.
Assemble the Japanese fruit sandwich. Place one slice of Japanese milk bread on a large piece of plastic wrap. Place a thin layer of whipped cream.
Before placing the fruit, remember it is important to remember where the sandwich will be sliced for the prettiest presentation. For the strawberry Japanese fruit sandwich, place three to four strawberries diagonally. Fill the remaining spaces with one or two strawberries. For the Mandarin Japanese fruit sandwich, divide the orange in half. Place the orange halves along the diagonal with the center lining up with the diagonal line. Fill the remaining spaces with the remaining oranges.
After the fruit is lined up, cover and fill the space around the fruit with a generous spread of whipped cream.
Top with a second slice of Japanese milk bread and spread the whipped cream around the edges of the sandwich to fully cover the fruit.
Wrap the milk bread tightly with plastic wrap. Twist the ends if necessary to get a compact seal. Use a piece of tape or a marker to mark the plastic wrap where the diagonal cut should be. Refrigerate the sandwiches for at least two hours or overnight for the fruit and cream to settle.
Remove the sandwiches from the refrigerator and peel the plastic wrap. With a clean knife, diagonally slice the sandwich as marked. Keep the sandwich together.
Reveal the beautiful fruit pattern of each sandwich and adorn it with mint leaves if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Note: Wipe the knife clean and slice off the crusts, wiping the knife clean after each cut.

(For the mixed fruit Japanese fruit sandwich, line up a strawberry, a 3-segment orange, kiwi, a 3-segment orange, and a strawberry along the diagonal line. Fill the remaining spaces with leftover fruit.)

House GOP campaign chairman says voters will ‘reward us’ for the Trump-Musk DOGE cuts

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Almost two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, the chairman of the House Republican campaign committee is already predicting his party will pick up seats in the midterm elections some 20 months away.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., is in charge of increasing the GOP’s slim majority in the House, or at least defending it. After Republicans met privately this past week with Elon Musk, Hudson said the cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency are resonating with voters.

With disruptions at GOP town halls during the recent break, Hudson and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have told Republican lawmakers to skip the events for now and meet with constituents elsewhere. Nevertheless, Hudson said Republicans are confident their budget-cutting is “on the side of the angels.”

Here’s the political outlook from the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee as he confronts Democrats trying to win back the House in 2026. This Q&A has been edited for brevity and length.

What was your advice about holding town halls?

HUDSON: “I just said that, it’s very important that all of us are communicating with our constituents, are very visible in our districts, very accessible. And it’s a shame that Democrat organizations are paying people to disrupt in-person town halls. And so this normal dialogue that we want to have with our constituents isn’t possible at in-person town halls. So we need to use technology to reach our constituents.”

Do you think the DOGE cuts will be a tough sell?

HUDSON: “I think it’s the greatest thing that’s happened since I’ve been in Congress.”

“My biggest frustration as a member of Congress is these massive bureaucracies that hide all their spending and when I ask questions or send letters, ignore it. And now it’s all mapped. You can see it all. There’s transparency for the American people. Now we can go in and decide, do we like the taxpayers’ dollars being spent on this program? Yes. Let’s keep it. This one? No, let’s cut it. I mean, we actually can do our job.”

“It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating.”

Do you feel any blowback back home from people losing their jobs, cuts to veterans?

HUDSON: “(Musk) did say that the the the firings at the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) were a mistake done by that agency, by the VA.”

“He said mistakes were made by bureaucrats.”

What do you make of the 80,000 cuts at the VA?

HUDSON: “I’m disturbed when I hear veterans are being fired. I think we ought to give veterans priority. But, you know, I do acknowledge that there may need to be firings in all these agencies.”

“When it comes to the VA, for example, what I’m concerned about is giving world class health care to our veterans in a timely manner. And so any waste, fraud and abuse that makes that difficult or messes that up, I’m interested in cutting.”

What’s your message to the fired federal workers, what do you say to them?

HUDSON: “Hang tight.”

What’s that mean?

HUDSON: “I mean there may be some mistakes that are being corrected.”

Do you think that will be an OK message for other GOP lawmakers to use?

HUDSON: “The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse. For the first time. ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going to reward us.”

Democrats envision a repeat of Trump’s first term, when they won back the House?

HUDSON: “I think they’re digging their own grave politically.”

“We’re on the side of the angels. We’re doing what the American people asked us to do, what 77 million people voted for Donald Trump to get.”

“We’re going to pick up seats.”

Top Toys You Won’t See On Shelves

Easy Bake Oven

Lawn Darts

Mini Hammocks

Rollerblade Barbie

Snack Time Cabbage Patch Doll

Toy Crossbows

Fun Facts about Snakes

Antipasto Skewers

Ingredients

Directions

Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day

Japanese Fruit Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

What was your advice about holding town halls?

Do you think the DOGE cuts will be a tough sell?

Do you feel any blowback back home from people losing their jobs, cuts to veterans?

What do you make of the 80,000 cuts at the VA?

What’s your message to the fired federal workers, what do you say to them?

What’s that mean?

Do you think that will be an OK message for other GOP lawmakers to use?

Democrats envision a repeat of Trump’s first term, when they won back the House?

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