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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, he group said. The combined actions of Citibank and EPA effectively nullify a congressionally mandated and funded program,” Climate United wrote in a Monday court filing. Last April, then-Vice President Kamala Harris announced that EPA had selected eight groups, including Maryland-based Climate United, 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.” Former EPA Administrator Michael 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 journalists 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 Trumps 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 Uniteds 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. The Trump administrations malicious and unfounded attacks on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund have resulted in a sham investigation and unsubstantiated funding freeze, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said in a statement. The three Democrats pushed for creation of the green bank. Citibank said it was reviewing the lawsuit. As weve 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. In its court filing, Climate United pointed to the resignation of a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Washington office after refusing demands from top Trump administration officials to freeze the group’s assets. Zeldin raised questions in a letter to the agency’s watchdog about the EPAs 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 groups 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 EPA’s former inspector general had urged more oversight of the green-bank program. The rapid implementation of the program, combined with the relatively narrow window of availability for such a significant amount of funding, may lead the EPA to expend the funds without fully establishing the internal controls that mitigate the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, then-inspector general Sean O’Donnell told Congress in 2023. Trump fired ODonnell in January, along with more than a dozen other inspectors general. Acting Inspector General Nicole Murley has said she is looking into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. 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. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment Michael Phillis and Matthew Daly, Associated Press
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The country’s preeminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy courses were canceled amid a process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities, according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice. Firefighters, EMS providers and other first responders from across the country travel to the NFA’s Maryland campus for the federally funded institution’s free training programs. The NFA is a powerhouse for the fire service,” said Marc Bashoor, a former Maryland fire chief and West Virginia emergency services director with 44 years of fire safety experience. Its not a nice to have. It is the one avenue we have to bring people from all over the country to learn from and with each other. If we want to continue to have one of the premier fire services in the world, we need to have the National Fire Academy. The academy, which also houses the National Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial, opened in 1973 to combat a growing number of fatal fires nationwide. At the time, the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control envisioned it to be the West Point of the Fire Service, according to a report form the organization. Bashoor said the NFA was set to welcome a new set of fire safety officers for training next week. People had made their plane and travel reservations. And all of a sudden, they get an email that Sorry, its been canceled,'” he said. “Its really upsetting. For firefighters, including those on the frontlines of deadly fires that ravaged California this year, having an essential training institution shut down under the presumption that theres waste, fraud and abuse has been demoralizing, Bashoor said. He said losing NFA training could make the coordinated response that prevented additional deaths and destruction in California more difficult. FEMA and the National Fire Academy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. While surveying disaster zones in California in January, Trump said he was considering getting rid of FEMA altogether, previewing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization of responding to disasters. Firings at the U.S. Forest Service on the heels of the deadly California blazes also sparked outcry among discharged workers and officials who said it would mean fewer people and less resources will be available to help prevent and fight wildfires. Christine Fernando, Associated Press
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A trippy, futuristic grocery store. A pit stop on an interdimensional road trip. A radio station in another realm. These might sound like products of a particularly vivid fever dream, but theyre actually separate exhibitions from Meow Wolf, the immersive entertainment company known for its wild art installations. And now, Meow Wolf is headed to New York City with a brand new otherworldly museum, it was announced today from the stage of SXSW 2025. While the NYC installation’s opening date has yet to be announced, it will be Meow Wolfs seventh museum overall. The company already operates five distinct experiences in Las Vegas; Grapevine, Texas; Houston; Denver; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Another exhibition, centered around the forgotten sad side of Hollywood is slated to open in Los Angeles next year, with Meow Wolf New York expected to open sometime after thatand said to be the companys biggest investment yet. Were excited to create a Meow Wolf experience that feels uniquely NYC, reflecting the citys rich arts and cultural landscape, said Meow Wolf CEO Jose Tolosa via email. The broader theme will be one that feels right at home in New York City. Denver, Convergence Station [Photo: Atlas Media/courtesy Meow Wolf] What we know about Meow Wolf New York so far Tolosa was able to share a few other details about the upcoming location: As in all past locations, the New York installation will be realized through a collaboration between Meow Wolfs own artists and a select group of local creatives. Tolosa said that “external artist scouting” is set to begin soon. Our goal is to build strong relationships with the artistic community and local arts nonprofits. Its location was also announced: Manhattans Pier 17, chosen both for its proximity to public transit and its rich cultural history. The South Street Seaports history represents the evolution and reinvention of New York City in many ways, Tolosa said. It dates back 400 years to its origins as a Dutch fur trading port . . . and now serving as a cultural hub filled with museums, music venues, restaurants, and entertainment. Denver, C Street [Photo: Kennedy Cottrell/courtesy Meow Wolf] From local art collective to $400 million corporation Meow Wolf was founded in 2008, when a collective of Santa Fe artists became known for hosting eccentric parties-slash-art installations in local warehouses. In its early days, the group specialized in building imaginary worlds entirely out of trash, positioning itself in opposition to the closed-off world of fine art galleries. Over time, though, Meow Wolf evolved from a local art collective to a national, multimillion-dollar company. Santa Fe, The Ancestral Crypt [Photo: Atlas Media/courtesy Meow Wolf] The collectives first large-scale interactive museum, House of Eternal Return, was opened in 2016 in Santa Fe by a group of seven of its original artists. The exhibition, still open today, centers around the idea of a gothic Victorian house that appears normal on the outside but contains a surreal multiverse within. A $3 million buy-in from Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin helped make it possible. Im a science fiction guy, so talking about a Victorian mansion thats been ripped loose from time and space, with portals to other dimensions and planets and strangenessesit was right up my alley, Martin told Fast Company in 2016. Santa Fe, The House of Eternal Return (detail) [Photo: Kate Russell/courtesy Meow Wolf] Over the course of its first year, the House of Eternal Return made three times its projected revenue and drew three-hour lines. In 2017, Meow Wolf reformed as a B Corp, guided by a board and CEO. Today, Tolosa said, the company is majority-owned by the long-term investor Invus Group, and has raised more than $400 million in funding overall. Meow Wolfs whole premise of live adventure has been often cited as an example of the growing experience economy, or the idea that, as materialism reaches an all-time high, consumers will start wanting to use their financial resources to actually do things rather than buy things. While the pandemic initially put a damper on this premise, it ultimately only augmented Americans desires to try new activities in-person. Meow Wolf opened its second location, the futuristic grocery store Omega Mart (now a TikTok favorite) in Las Vegas in 2021, followed by Denvers cosmic Convergence Station that same year. The two Texas locations came shortly after. Nearly a decade out from opening the House of Eternal Return, its become clear that the desire for live art installations is more than a passing fadand fans can expect Meow Wolf New York to push the boundaries of wacky world-building even further, Tolosa said. We will embrace the grandeur and international position of NYC and take Meow Wolf NYC to a level no one has ever seen before in immersive entertainment.
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