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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 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. “The Trump administration’s 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 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. In its court filing, Climate United pointed to the resignation of a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s 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 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 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 O’Donnell 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 AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment —Michael Phillis and Matthew Daly, Associated Press View the full article

In a packed courtroom, a federal judge parsed whether the Trump administration's aggressive actions to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are part of a "normal" transition of power or would impede its statutorily required functions. View the full article

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. “It’s 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, it’s been canceled,'” he said. “It’s 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 there’s 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 View the full article

Software updates are supposed to introduce new features while improving the stability of the operating system. Occasionally, however, additional bugs and glitches can slip through the cracks. That's the case with the latest Pixel update: While Google added a number of new features to Android and patched 43 security vulnerabilities, users who have installed it are complaining of strange glitches on their Pixel phones. March 2025 Pixel drop glitches: Brightness, vibrations, and moreFirst up, as spotted by 9to5Google, some Pixel users are experiencing brightness variations while using their phones—without touching the brightness settings themselves. The issue seems to be limited to video playback, where the brightness will dip or flicker at random. This user reports it happens in just about every video app they use, including Netflix, Prime Video, VLC, or Google's built-in player. 9to5Google confirmed the bug on a Pixel 9, though the brightness glitch happened inconsistently. In addition to this brightness glitch, you may also experience changes with your device's vibrations. This thread represents a wide range of experiences with the issue: Some users are complaining that haptics are much stronger than they were before the update, with one user describing the change as a "spring instead of a thump." On the other hand, another user says the vibrations of their Pixel are now weaker than they were before. Regardless, many seem to feel vibrations are "different" following the update. These are the bugs that have made the most buzz on forums since the Pixel Drop. However, there could be other issues that aren't quite as widespread. One r/GooglePixel user rounded up the bugs they've experienced so far, and, in addition to the brightness bug, they're also experiencing audio issues, including an issue with EQ settings, and a problem where song volume is much louder than video volume. That last point would make it quite annoying to jump between, say, Spotify and Netflix: Stranger Things will launch too quiet, and will make your brightness go berserk. How to fix the brightness glitch on Pixel phonesWhile Google is likely working on patches for the biggest bugs from the latest Pixel drop, there's currently a workaround for the brightness glitch: drop your phone's refresh rate. It appears that flickering and dimming problems only occur at this time when watching videos with 120Hz. Drop the refresh rate to 60Hz, and the brightness issues appear to dissipate. To change the refresh rate, head to Settings > Display, then disable the toggle next to Smooth Display. View the full article

Outage is latest trouble for world’s richest person’s business interests since he joined the Trump administration View the full article

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 they’re 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 Wolf’s 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 that—and said to be the company’s biggest investment yet. “We’re excited to create a Meow Wolf experience that feels uniquely NYC, reflecting the city’s 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 Wolf’s 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: Manhattan’s Pier 17, chosen both for its proximity to public transit and its rich cultural history. “The South Street Seaport’s 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 collective’s 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. “I’m a science fiction guy, so talking about a Victorian mansion that’s been ripped loose from time and space, with portals to other dimensions and planets and strangenesses—it 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 Wolf’s 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 Denver’s cosmic Convergence Station that same year. The two Texas locations came shortly after. Nearly a decade out from opening the House of Eternal Return, it’s become clear that the desire for live art installations is more than a passing fad—and 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.” View the full article

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the launch of the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, an effort aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing by cutting regulations, expanding access to capital, and strengthening supply chains. The initiative, unveiled by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, aligns with the administration’s broader agenda to restore American economic dominance and bolster national security. Supporting Small Manufacturers According to the SBA, approximately 99% of American manufacturers are small businesses, and the initiative aims to further support their resurgence. The agency highlighted recent job growth in the sector, citing the addition of 10,000 manufacturing jobs in the President’s first full month in office, reversing previous job losses in the industry. “With the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, we’re slashing red tape, expanding access to capital, and fueling a manufacturing resurgence that will create high-paying jobs and revitalize communities across the country,” Loeffler said in the announcement. Key Components of the Initiative The SBA outlined several measures under the initiative to support small manufacturers, including: Regulatory Reduction: The agency plans to cut $100 billion in regulatory burdens through its Office of Advocacy, which will work across federal agencies to eliminate policies that disproportionately impact small manufacturers. Red Tape Hotline: A new hotline will allow small business owners to submit feedback on excessive regulations for review. Office of Manufacturing and Trade: A newly established office will provide dedicated resources, training, and support to small manufacturers in collaboration with SBA field offices nationwide. Loan Program Enhancements: The SBA will reduce barriers to its 504 loan program, which provides funding for real estate, construction, and equipment purchases without requiring ongoing taxpayer subsidies. Additionally, the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot program will be expanded to help small businesses finance inventory purchases and export-related expenses. Workforce Development: The SBA will partner with agencies, trade schools, and private sector stakeholders to promote a pipeline of skilled manufacturing workers. Trade and Tax Policies: The initiative supports broader manufacturing policies, including tariffs for fair trade, tax cuts on domestic production, and 100% expensing retroactive to Jan. 20, 2025. Made in America Roadshow As part of the initiative, representatives from the newly established Office of Manufacturing and Trade will embark on a multistate “Made in America Roadshow” over the next two months. The tour will feature roundtables with small manufacturers across the country to gather industry feedback and identify further opportunities for support. Administrator Loeffler will formally launch the initiative today at an aerospace and defense manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, where she will be joined by state and federal leaders as well as small business owners in the manufacturing sector. The SBA stated that this initiative reflects a commitment to bolstering the nation’s industrial base while ensuring that essential goods are produced domestically. The agency emphasized that supporting small manufacturers is a key component of economic growth, job creation, and national security. This article, "SBA Launches Made in America Manufacturing Initiative to Boost U.S. Industry" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the launch of the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, an effort aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing by cutting regulations, expanding access to capital, and strengthening supply chains. The initiative, unveiled by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, aligns with the administration’s broader agenda to restore American economic dominance and bolster national security. Supporting Small Manufacturers According to the SBA, approximately 99% of American manufacturers are small businesses, and the initiative aims to further support their resurgence. The agency highlighted recent job growth in the sector, citing the addition of 10,000 manufacturing jobs in the President’s first full month in office, reversing previous job losses in the industry. “With the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, we’re slashing red tape, expanding access to capital, and fueling a manufacturing resurgence that will create high-paying jobs and revitalize communities across the country,” Loeffler said in the announcement. Key Components of the Initiative The SBA outlined several measures under the initiative to support small manufacturers, including: Regulatory Reduction: The agency plans to cut $100 billion in regulatory burdens through its Office of Advocacy, which will work across federal agencies to eliminate policies that disproportionately impact small manufacturers. Red Tape Hotline: A new hotline will allow small business owners to submit feedback on excessive regulations for review. Office of Manufacturing and Trade: A newly established office will provide dedicated resources, training, and support to small manufacturers in collaboration with SBA field offices nationwide. Loan Program Enhancements: The SBA will reduce barriers to its 504 loan program, which provides funding for real estate, construction, and equipment purchases without requiring ongoing taxpayer subsidies. Additionally, the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot program will be expanded to help small businesses finance inventory purchases and export-related expenses. Workforce Development: The SBA will partner with agencies, trade schools, and private sector stakeholders to promote a pipeline of skilled manufacturing workers. Trade and Tax Policies: The initiative supports broader manufacturing policies, including tariffs for fair trade, tax cuts on domestic production, and 100% expensing retroactive to Jan. 20, 2025. Made in America Roadshow As part of the initiative, representatives from the newly established Office of Manufacturing and Trade will embark on a multistate “Made in America Roadshow” over the next two months. The tour will feature roundtables with small manufacturers across the country to gather industry feedback and identify further opportunities for support. Administrator Loeffler will formally launch the initiative today at an aerospace and defense manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, where she will be joined by state and federal leaders as well as small business owners in the manufacturing sector. The SBA stated that this initiative reflects a commitment to bolstering the nation’s industrial base while ensuring that essential goods are produced domestically. The agency emphasized that supporting small manufacturers is a key component of economic growth, job creation, and national security. This article, "SBA Launches Made in America Manufacturing Initiative to Boost U.S. Industry" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Toronto-based Simply Approved Mortgages is opening for business in Florida and Colorado, looking for the cross-border success that eluded companies like Rocket. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. For many years, I've depended on my phone to get me out of bed in the morning, and I've hated it. I'd easily snooze or catch myself doom scrolling instead of starting my morning routine. That all changed after my brother gifted me perhaps the best Christmas present I've received over the last few years: a Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo, which you can now get on Walmart or Target for $99.99. It was previously only available on the Nintendo store. Display: Digital, Power type: Corded Electric, Alarm clock type: Projection Alarm Clocks. Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo (Walmart) $99.00 at Walmart $317.50 Save $218.50 Shop Now Shop Now $99.00 at Walmart $317.50 Save $218.50 Display: Digital, Power type: Corded Electric, Alarm clock type: Projection Alarm Clocks. Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo $99.98 at Target Shop Now Shop Now $99.98 at Target SEE -1 MORE The Alarmo is a digital alarm clock that needs to be connected to an outlet with a USB cable to be powered on. You no longer need a Switch Online membership to buy (or use it). It comes with many built-in themes you can choose from, including Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, and Ring Fit Adventure. Nintendo says you can expect to download more in the future for free, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Alarmo uses a motion sensor to detect that you're getting out of bed to stop the alarm from going off. I've been using the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild theme since I set it up and have been using it for months with great results. Because I need to get up to stop the alarm, and I don't want the alarm to wake up my fiancée, it's been effective. I never thought Nintendo would be the one to fix my morning issues and over-dependence on my phone. Something to note is that although there is no snooze feature, it is designed to temporarily stop the music when you move, essentially snoozing. But it's not a pleasant snooze since the music will keep on playing, progressively getting louder. You can also easily unplug it to turn it off completely since there's no battery, but it has been working great for me regardless. View the full article

It was a busy week for Colossal Biosciences: On Tuesday, it introduced the world to the first-ever woolly mice; by Wednesday, those mice were going viral; and on Saturday, they were the topic of a bit on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update. The success of genetically engineering these little creatures represented a huge leap toward a bigger goal: bringing back the woolly mammoth. After spending 2.5 years editing mammoth genes, the team applied their work to mice rather than trying to create a creature that has been extinct for thousands of years. “The genetic engineering of the mouse, while it’s a mouse, it’s a marvel of science in terms of where we are from an innovation perspective,” Ben Lamm, cofounder and CEO of Colossal, said Sunday during a discussion at the Fast Company Grill at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin. What many people misunderstood, Lamm said, was that successfully creating woolly mice was a “validation step” rather than a “first step” in the woolly mammoth de-extinction process. “It shows that our precision editing, and the results of our precision editing, work and they worked the first time.” More than just hairy mice The woolly mice have bigger implications for the Dallas-based company, even beyond its de-extinction and species preservation pipeline of projects. What the team has learned about epigenetics and genome engineering can also be used to combat diseases, added Joe Manganiello, the actor and producer who is an investor in Colossal. “There are clues within genetic information as to eradicating all disease, and really all of the ills of man,” Manganiello told the audience. He’s had a lifelong fascination with biology, genetics and the field of epigenetics because his great-grandmother survived the Armenian genocide. He said his life’s mission has been to learn about generational trauma and find a way to end it. The de-extinction work, Manganiello said, is just the tip of a giant iceberg, as Colossal’s research has so many broad-reaching implications that could improve humanity and our communion with nature. “It would be unethical to not pursue this type of science, to not try to preserve and understand the ecosystems that are being destroyed and what needs to be replaced.” But as both Manganiello and Lamm acknowledged, there are a lot of ethical considerations inherent to this burgeoning field of science. There’s a respect for different life forms because in the wrong hands this technology could create some “weird” stuff, they agreed. “There’s a bit of a Manhattan Project to it as well, in that you want to make sure that it’s in the hands of people that are going to handle it ethically,” Manganiello said, referencing the World War II program to develop the first atomic bombs. Mammoth implications The work Colossal is doing is often compared to a modern-day Jurassic Park, but there are benefits to de-extinction that may not be so obvious. Lamm said he initially reached out to George Church, “the father of synthetic biology,” about an idea for a different company, but that conversation quickly turned to the beginnings of Colossal. “I just said, ‘George, if you had one project with unlimited capital, what would you do?’” Lamm recalled. “And he said, ‘I’d work to bring back wooly mammoths, reintroduce them into the Arctic, help suppress carbon and methane in the ecosystem, and make technologies for human healthcare and also for conservation.’” As a tech entrepreneur, Lamm said he saw the opportunity to inspire people and make a pretty big impact. The work colossal is doing could help improve the pregnancy outcomes for in vitro fertilization (IVF), for example, while Lamm said officials from the tropical island of Mauritius are “so excited” about Colossal’s plans to revive the dodo bird from extinction, and estimate it could triple GDP for the tropical island country. And Lamm said that conservation partnerships are key to such rewilding efforts that will spawn better carbon sequestration, better methane suppression, and lead to more fauna and more flora. “Colossal is not the silver bullet,” Lamm added. “We want to be one thread of a much larger tapestry of technologies that people can go use to actually bring back species or save other species.” Finally, one of the “halo effects” of this research is inspiring the next generation of scientists, Lamm said. This is particularly important given projections that the planet will lose up to 50% of all biodiversity by 2050 and current technology doesn’t work at commensurate speed. “We’re trying to do something insanely hard that no one’s ever done—that’s like moon landing-level shit—and we’re trying to do it in a couple years,” Lamm said. View the full article

Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, will host a new weekly podcast series starting this month featuring a special guest pulled from the world of entertainment, sports, health and business. “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” will address “everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us,” according to a press release. IMO is slang for “in my opinion.” Some of the guests slated to speak to the former first lady and Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, include the actors Issa Rae and Keke Palmer and psychologist Dr. Orna Guralnik. Other guests include filmmakers Seth and Lauren Rogan; soccer star Abby Wambach; authors Jay Shetty, Glennon Doyle and Logan Ury; editor Elaine Welteroth; radio personality Angie Martinez; media mogul Tyler Perry; actor Tracee Ellis Ross; husband-and-wife athlete and actor Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union; and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. The first two episodes — the first is an introductory one and the second features Rae — will premiere on March 12. New episodes will be released weekly and will be available on all audio platforms and YouTube. “With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” Obama said in a statement. “There is no single way to deal with the challenges we may be facing — whether it’s family, faith, or our personal relationships — but taking the time to open up and talk about these issues can provide hope.” Obama has had two other podcasts — “The Michelle Obama Podcast” in 2020 and another in 2023, “The Light We Carry.” Her husband, Barack Obama, offered a series of conversations about American life between him and Bruce Springsteen. The new podcast is a production of Higher Ground, the media company founded in 2018 by the former president and first lady. —Mark Kennedy, AP entertainment writer View the full article

The selloff in US equities accelerated Monday, with major averages tumbling to their worst day this year, as investors braced for a slowdown in the American economy. View the full article

Unpaid parking tickets happen to the best of us—and one of the latest phishing scams is counting on you to believe you've missed or forgotten to pay an outstanding fee. This text message scam prompts you to pay overdue parking fines and hand your credit card number and other personal information directly to the scammers to turn around and use. Scammers are using the threat of unpaid parking feesThe unpaid parking fee scam is one of many relatively unsophisticated text-based phishing attempts that depends on recipients responding to the threat of owing money and giving up personal and financial information in the process. It's similar to the current unpaid tolls scam text, which may seem just plausible enough that you might be tempted to click the link to settle your supposed fine. In this instance, scammers are impersonating city governments by sending notices of unpaid parking "invoices," which will accrue daily late fees until payments are made. The text message includes a web address or link spoofing an official government website, which directs you to enter details from your name and billing address to your credit card number. If you follow through, you obviously hand your credit card over to the scammers. The Salt Lake City phishing text, for example, reads "This is a notice from Salt Lake city. Your vehicle has an unpaid parking invoice of $4.35. To avoid a late fee of 355, please settle your balance promptly. To avoid late fees, access your file by typing the following link into your browser" with a web address that looks similar to the city's parking portal but is, in fact, fake. According to Bleeping Computer, these texts started circulating in December 2024 and have been spotted in numerous cities across the U.S., including major metro areas like Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, New York City, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, San Diego, and San Francisco. In some of the texts, there's a clickable link that uses an open redirect on Google.com, which avoids an iOS security feature that disables links from unknown senders and suspicious domains. How to spot a parking fee scam textLike we've said, this scam isn't especially elaborate, but it does attempt to create just enough doubt about your history of parking tickets in your own city that you'll engage. The first question you should ask yourself is whether you've used paid public parking recently—if not, that's an obvious giveaway. Even if you have, though, question whether a city government is likely to text you about unpaid parking fees, and look at the number the text is coming from. While official (legitimate) text messages typically come from five-digit senders, phishing texts often come from full phone numbers, international numbers (with a prefix like "+44"), or even email addresses. From there, other signs of a scam include directions to copy and paste or type a web address into a browser or to respond to the text itself. Non-hyperlinked URLs are a clear giveaway, but you should also be wary of clicking links in any texts from unknown senders and always go directly to official government websites. In the parking fee scam, there are also signs like misspelled words and missing or misplaced symbols, like the dollar sign coming after the amount. View the full article

Agreement will bring a bigger swath of fractured nation under the control of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration View the full article

Allies of tech billionaire say he has signalled he would back an alternative to populist partyView the full article

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development and he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department. Rubio made the announcement in a post on X, in one of his relatively few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams. Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and “our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid. President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 issued an executive order directing a freeze of foreign assistance funding and a review of all of the tens of billions of dollars of U.S. aid and development work abroad. Trump charged that much of foreign assistance was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda. Rubio’s social media post Monday said that review was now “officially ending,” with some 5,200 of USAID’s 6,200 programs eliminated. Those programs “spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio wrote. “In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping … to be administered more effectively under the State Department,” he said. Democratic lawmakers and others call the shutdown of congressionally funded programs illegal, saying such a move requires Congress’ approval. USAID supporters said the sweep of the cuts made it difficult to tell what U.S. efforts abroad the Trump administration actually supports. “The patterns that are emerging is the administration does not support democracy programs, they don’t support civil society … they don’t support NGO programs,” or health or emergency response, said Andrew Natsios, the USAID administrator for Republican former President George W. Bush. “So what’s left”?” Natsios asked. A group of former U.S. diplomats, national security figures and others condemned what it said was an opaque, partisan and rushed review process and urged Congress to intervene. “The facts show that life-saving programs were severely cut, putting millions of people in allied countries at risk of starvation, disease and death,” while giving Russia, China and other adversaries opportunities to gain influence abroad as the U.S. retreats, the group, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, said. The Trump administration gave almost no details on which aid and development efforts abroad it spared as it mass-emailed contract terminations to aid groups and other USAID partners by the thousands within days earlier this month. The rapid pace, and the steps skipped in ending contracts, left USAID supporters challenging whether any actual program-by-program reviews had taken place. Aid groups say even some life-saving programs that Rubio and others had promised to spare are in limbo or terminated, such as those providing emergency nutritional support for starving children and drinking water for sprawling camps for families uprooted by war in Sudan. Republicans broadly have made clear they want foreign assistance that would promote a far narrower interpretation of U.S. national interests going forward. The State Department in one of multiple lawsuits it is battling over its rapid shutdown of USAID had said earlier this month it was killing more than 90% of USAID programs. Rubio gave no explanation for why his number was lower. The dismantling of USAID that followed Trump’s order upended decades of policy that humanitarian and development aid abroad advanced U.S. national security by stabilizing regions and economies, strengthening alliances and building goodwill. In the weeks after Trump’s order, one of his appointees and transition team members, Pete Marocco, and Musk pulled USAID staff around the world off the job through forced leaves and firings, shut down USAID payments overnight and terminated aid and development contracts by the thousands. Contractors and staffers running efforts ranging from epidemic control to famine prevention to job and democracy training stopped work. Aid groups and other USAID partners laid off tens of thousands of their workers in the U.S. and abroad. Lawsuits say the sudden shutdown of USAID has stiffed aid groups and businesses that had contracts with it totaling billions of dollars. The shutdown has left many USAID staffers and contractors and their families still overseas, many of them awaiting back payments and travel expenses to return home. In Washington, the sometimes contradictory orders issued by the three men — Rubio, Musk and Marocco — overseeing the USAID cuts have left many uncertain who was calling the shots, and fueled talk of power struggles. Musk and Rubio on Monday, as Trump had last week, insisted relations between the two of them were smooth. “Good working with you,” Musk tweeted in response to Rubio’s announcement. “Tough, but necessary,” Musk wrote of Rubio’s announcement on the cuts. —Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press View the full article

The legislation is aimed at loosening regulation of new-home construction in the Grand Canyon State, where median prices have shot up by 59% since 2020. View the full article

If you’ve ever been personally victimized by one too many bad jokes from a boss around the water cooler, you’re not the only one—and now, there’s research to show that a boss who’s trying too hard to be funny might actually reduce job satisfaction. The finding comes from a new study published in the Academy of Management Journal and conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Over the course of several different sessions, the researchers found that leaders who went overboard on puns and jokes drained their employees’ emotional energy, leading to reduced job satisfaction. The results are clear: When it comes to keeping up rapport at the office, it’s probably best to drop the Michael Scott act. Pretending to find your boss funny is draining In an initial study, researchers took to the field in Southern China. They paired up 88 managers and employees for a week-long period, during which one group of managers was told to improve general leader-follower interactions, while the other group was “instructed to use humor in their interactions with employees,” according to an article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR). At the end of the week, employees in the latter group reported elevated rates of “surface acting”—basically, pretending to find their boss funny in order to keep up morale. This additional emotional labor caused employees in the “funny manager” group to experience elevated levels of exhaustion, and in turn, dissatisfaction with their jobs. Authenticity matters A second study, conducted in the lab, found that there are further variables which can heighten or lessen the negative “funny manager” effect. This study followed 212 participants at a U.S. business school, who were told they would be part of a series of focus groups at a campus bookstore and then divided into “high humor” and “low humor” manager groups. This time, the researchers experimented with two different kinds of leaders, one who wore formal attire and took a more authoritative tone, and another who dressed casually and introduced himself with his first name. Once again, participants in all of the high humor groups were more exhausted and less satisfied. However, their negative feelings were magnified when paired with the more authoritative boss. “The moderator had a lot of puns . . . I pretended to laugh to be nice,” one participant in the authoritative group recalled. According to the researchers, this difference is attributable to the perceived power difference between the boss and their employees. The wider that gap grows, the more likely it is that excessive jokes will leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Bosses, keep the puns to a minimum, even if they’re good For managers, these findings demonstrate that humor works best when it’s coming from an authentic place, rather than being used as a pre-calculated tool to encourage camaraderie. And even in the case of spontaneous humor, it might be best to think twice before you fire off the third pun in a row. “Our findings challenge the assumption that leader humor is always a good thing,” the researchers write for HBR. “When used too frequently—especially when followers hold high power distance values—it can backfire. [. . .] Instead, our results suggest that leaders should focus on fewer, higher-impact humor expressions. Less, in this case, might truly be more.” View the full article

While a "no-buy month" isn't anywhere in my future, I do stick to certain minimalist rules to keep my finances on track—specifically, the "one in, one out" method. Lifehacker's household expert Lindsey Ellefson recently covered this method for decluttering your homes. When you bring in a new shirt, an old one leaves your closet. I've found this principle works just as well when applied to personal finances. The concept is beautifully simple: Whenever I plan to purchase something new, I commit to selling something of equivalent value that I already own. Unlike traditional budgeting methods that focus solely on limiting purchases, this approach acknowledges our natural desire for new things while creating a healthy friction that forces me to ask: "Is this new item worth parting with something I already have?" How to decide what becomes the "one in"When I first tried out the "one in, one out" method, I noticed an immediate shift in my purchasing behavior. The extra step of identifying something to sell made me pause and consider each purchase more carefully. I found myself asking better questions: Do I really need this new item? Is it worth the effort of selling something else? What do I own that no longer serves me well? This simple mental exercise eliminated most impulse purchases. When I truly want something, I'm willing to part with something else. When I don't, the barrier of finding something to sell is enough to make me reconsider. In other words, I get all the benefits of a "no-buy" period, but avoid all the strictness that makes that method so tough. How to make the most of the "one out"Once you decide something is worth bringing into your life, it's time to decide what is getting the boot. I'm a huge fan of using online spaces like Facebook Marketplace. Here are some tips for actually making a profit on this hub. Research before pricingBefore listing anything, I search for similar items to understand the market rate. I often find that items I considered nearly worthless actually hold considerable value to the right buyer. Quality photography makes a differenceClear, well-lit photos from multiple angles significantly increase interest and selling price. I always make sure to capture any unique features or details that set my items apart. Timing mattersSeasonal items sell best in their respective seasons. Exercise equipment sells well in January, outdoor items in spring, and holiday decorations a month before the holiday. And for higher-value items, patience pays off. I've learned not to accept the first offer; waiting a few days often brings better offers from serious buyers Bundle related itemsI've found that bundling related items often commands a higher total price than selling individually, while reducing the number of meetups. The bottom lineThis method has also revealed which possessions truly enhance my life. When I'm reluctant to part with something, it signals that item's importance to me. Conversely, easily identifying items to sell highlights where I've made purchasing mistakes in the past. Like with any new habit, start small—perhaps with a single category like clothing or kitchen gadgets. As you build confidence, expand to other areas of spending. Soon, you'll find yourself naturally weighing each purchase against what you already own. Each purchase now requires intentionality. When I buy something new, I've already created space for it—both physically and financially. View the full article

Have your electricity bills skyrocketed this winter? Well, they are about to get even more expensive in three U.S. states as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariff war with Canada. On Monday, Canada’s Ontario province began adding a 25% retaliatory tariff on electricity imported into the U.S., which is estimated to add an extra $69 a month for 1.5 million Americans and businesses in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota (or $277,000 a day, total). “President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” Ontario premier Doug Ford said in a statement. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down.” And that’s not all. The new surcharge comes on top of Canada’s nationwide $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs, as our longtime ally and close neighbor to the north fights back against Trump’s barrage of on-again, off-again tariffs, countering with its own cost increases, fully suspending some imports, and has already removed some American-made good from its shelves, including alcohol. It’s a major blow “costing American businesses $1 billion in lost revenue.” On Wednesday, Trump will also levy a 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., just one more headache for our Canada neighbors. Canada’s newly elected prime minister Mark Carney warned Trump “Canada will win” this trade war with the U.S.: “We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.” And for intents and purposes, it looks like they mean business. View the full article

Tesla’s stock has dropped by nearly half in three months. Even so, investors are still debating whether Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker remains overpriced. The company’s market capitalization has dropped 45% since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after CEO Musk helped finance the election victory of U.S. President Donald Trump. The rout intensified Monday, as its shares dropped more than 15%, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Index. And yet, Tesla continues to fetch a valuation far above those of the world’s biggest automotive and technology firms, judging by standard financial metrics. That’s because most investors and analysts have bought Musk’s pitch that the world’s most-valuable automaker isn’t really a car company at all, but rather an artificial-intelligence pioneer that will soon unleash a revolution in robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla’s electric-vehicle business accounts for almost all of its revenue but less than a quarter of its stock-market value, according to a Reuters review of more than a dozen analyses by banks and investment firms. The bulk of its worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles Tesla hasn’t yet delivered, despite Musk’s promises in every year since 2016 that driverless Teslas would arrive no later than the following year. The stock’s decline since December stems from falling vehicle sales and profits; protests of Musk’s political activity, including his mass firings of U.S. government workers as a senior Trump advisor; and investor worries that politics are distracting the world’s richest man from tending to his cash cow. Still, Tesla’s market capitalization remains up about $65 billion since the election – an amount higher than the entire value of General Motors. Tesla’s total worth of $845 billion as of Friday’s close still tops the next nine most-valuable major automakers combined, which collectively sold about 44 million cars last year, compared to Tesla’s 1.8 million. Investors have long bet on Musk’s visions of Tesla’s tomorrow rather than its profits today. But the widening gap between its real-world performance and analysts’ earnings estimates for unborn products has prompted some to warn of irrational exuberance. “For how much longer can the stock remain divorced from the fundamentals?” JP Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman wrote in January, after Tesla reported poor earnings and its first-ever annual vehicle-sales decline. Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. In July, Musk said investors who don’t believe Tesla would “solve vehicle autonomy” should “sell their Tesla stock.” After this article was published on Monday, Tesla shares fell by more than 15%, slicing off more than $125 billion in market value, after UBS cut its forecast for the automaker’s first-quarter deliveries. The decline came in tandem with a broader market selloff on worries about tariffs and recession fears, with the Nasdaq was down more than 4% and the S&P 500 dropped more than 3%. Robotaxi pivot Tesla’s previous peak value of more than $1.2 trillion came in 2021, in response to concrete achievements. Soaring sales of its ground-breaking Model 3 and Model Y had proved that EVs could sell profitably in mass volumes. Musk vowed then that Tesla would produce even cheaper EVs and sell 20 million vehicles annually by 2030, nearly double what the world’s largest automaker, Toyota, sells now. Musk, however, shifted from the mass-volume goal last year. In April, Reuters reported Tesla had killed a long-awaited, all-new $25,000 “Model 2” that investors had counted on to drive growth. Since then, Musk has pitched investors on Tesla’s robotaxi focus. The pivot was persuasive: Tesla shares jumped 71% from last year’s low in April through the November election, even as its EV sales stalled and profits fell. Then the stock nearly doubled in the weeks after Trump’s election. Musk spent more than $250 million supporting Trump and now serves as his top advisor on slashing government staff and regulations. Musk’s political clout has convinced bullish analysts that Trump will clear regulatory roadblocks to deploying a vast fleet of Tesla robotaxis. Tesla, however, already faces little oversight from many U.S. states, which control most autonomous-vehicle regulation. Texas, where Musk promises to launch fare-collecting robotaxis by June, has barred cities from regulating them. “There’s absolutely nothing stopping him from releasing this self-driving technology right now,” said Gordon Johnson, chief executive of investment-advisory firm GLJ Research, which recommends shorting Tesla’s stock. The tech isn’t road-ready, Johnson argues: “If he released it tomorrow, the jig would be up. These things would be wrecking across America.” Tesla has faced lawsuits and federal investigations into accidents, including fatalities, involving the driver-assistance systems it has marketed as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. The company warns consumers the systems don’t make its cars autonomous and require drivers to pay strict attention. Musk has long said Tesla’s technology will soon be safer than a human driver. Falling sales, rising competition The automaker’s core EV business is struggling. The only vehicle Tesla has launched since the 2020 Model Y is the Cybertruck. The triangular pickup had sales of 38,965 units last year, Cox Automotive estimates, well below the 250,000 that Musk initially predicted Tesla would produce by 2025. Tesla has also cut prices on the now-aging models 3 and Y amid slowing electric-vehicle demand globally and rising competition, especially in China, where EVs start below $10,000. New data also show sharp Tesla-sales declines this year in European markets following Musk’s embrace of far-right political movements there. Tesla now faces headwinds from the president Musk helped elect. Trump, a frequent EV critic, has called for scrapping EV subsidies and policies that have added billions of dollars to Tesla’s bottom line. Musk has dismissed the impact on Tesla of losing subsidies, saying rivals would suffer more. When Tesla reported a 20% drop in annual operating profit in January, analysts on the earnings call asked no questions about Tesla’s financials or falling EV sales. They focused instead on Musk’s promises of “autonomous ride-hailing” in Austin, Texas, by June and a wider driverless-vehicle launch by year-end. Tesla shares rose 3% the next day. Tesla still trades at huge premiums, as measured by forward price-to-earnings ratios. The measure is used by investors to judge whether stocks are fairly valued. A high ratio suggests shares might be overpriced. Tesla’s forward PE ratio is more than nine times the average of the next 25 most-valuable automakers. It’s quadruple that of BYD, the Chinese automaker that passed Tesla last year as the world’s top EV seller. Unlike Tesla, BYD also has a booming business in gas-electric hybrids, driving total 2024 sales to about 4.2 million units, more than double Tesla’s deliveries. Yet BYD’s market capitalization is less than a sixth of Tesla’s. Tesla’s forward PE ratio also is more than double or triple those of tech giants Nvidia, Apple, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft — the other six high-flying stocks, along with Tesla, known as the Magnificent Seven. Optimistic models Bulls discount standard financial metrics for judging Tesla’s potential, arguing Musk is singularly capable of leading a transportation revolution. He has said robotaxis and robots will make Tesla the “most valuable company in the world by far.” Brian Mulberry, client-portfolio manager at Tesla investor Zacks Investment Management, said Musk “always pulls off the technology,” despite long-running concerns about his “mad-scientist personality.” Most analyst models reviewed by Reuters remain bullish. Such models typically justify Tesla’s market value by breaking it into several categories: Its auto business, including services such as EV charging (now 90% of revenue); its energy-generation and storage business (10% of revenue); and three embryonic businesses: robotaxis; licensing or subscriptions for self-driving technology; and Optimus humanoid robots. Three such models in January rated EV sales as a relatively minor factor in Tesla’s expected growth. Truist Securities attributed just 9% of Tesla’s value to car sales, 21% to driverless-tech services, 17% to robotaxis and 34% to robots. Bank of America’s model attributes about half of Tesla’s value to robotaxis and 28% to self-driving software subscriptions. Morgan Stanley attributes 21% to robotaxis and 39% to subscriptions for autonomous-tech and other services. Tesla investor Ark Investment Management projects the stock will hit $2,600 by 2029, with robotaxis accounting for 88% of the company’s value. Ark forecasts Tesla could produce millions of robotaxis by then, generating about $760 billion in annual revenue. That would be more than Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue. Tasha Keeney, Ark’s director of investment analysis and institutional strategies, said she believes Tesla will achieve such growth by slashing the cost-per-mile of ride-hailing, making human drivers obsolete. “It’s cheaper than driving your personal car,” she said. “Maybe people will stop even driving.” Tesla tech ‘does not work safely’ Trump could potentially clear the path for driverless cars with no steering wheels or pedals because the federal government regulates the safety of vehicle designs. Musk last October unveiled a concept car with such a configuration, the two-door Cybercab, saying it would go into production in 2026. But individual states govern autonomous-vehicle travel on public roads, limiting Trump’s influence. Some states, including Texas, have few rules. Tesla’s largest U.S. market, California, requires extensive driverless testing under state oversight before granting robotaxi permits. A Trump move to loosen robotaxi regulation could benefit all competitors, not just Tesla. The tiny U.S. robotaxi industry, for now, is dominated by Alphabet’s Waymo, which operates hundreds of driverless taxis in cities including Los Angeles and Phoenix. Waymo and most other autonomous-tech developers seek to ensure safety with many overlapping technologies, including artificial intelligence, radar and lidar. Tesla aims to develop much cheaper robotaxis by relying solely on cameras and AI. Some investors doubt Tesla has found a unique path to cut-rate robotaxis. Mark Spiegel, an investment manager at Stanphyl Capital Partners, is shorting Tesla’s stock, an investment that pays off if shares fall. Tesla’s approach to robotaxis “does not work safely and never will without radar and lidar,” Spiegel said. And China’s BYD said last month it would offer — for free, as a standard feature — a driver-assistance technology similar to the Full Self-Driving system that Tesla sells in China for more than $8,000. “BYD is telling you there’s no value in self-driving,” said Johnson, the GLJ Research analyst. “In fact, it’s so valueless that we’ll give it away.” —Chris Kirkham, Reuters Additional reporting by Abhirup Roy, Noel Randewich, and Geert De Clercq. View the full article

The Houston-based company is targeting 30% non-US revenue within 5 years. The post WorldVue eyes expansion in Middle East, Asia, & Europe as demand for better managed Wi-Fi & guest technology grows appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

The acting chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday he has directed staff to look at ways to abandon a plan that would have widened the definition of alternative trading systems to include some cryptocurrency firms. The SEC in 2022 proposed requiring some crypto firms to register as alternative trading systems, drawing criticism from the sector in the face of potentially heightened oversight and additional rules. Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda told an audience of bankers he has instructed staff to look at ways to abandon that portion of the plan, which has yet to be finalized. It was an expansion of an earlier effort aimed at trading of Treasuries markets, Uyeda said in prepared remarks. “In my view, it was a mistake for the Commission to link together regulation of the Treasury markets with a heavy-handed attempt to tamp down the crypto market,” Uyeda said. He said he has also asked SEC staff to renew discussions with the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and market participants to consider the original plans for regulatory changes on the government securities alternative trading systems. The 2022 proposal was part of a broader effort by the SEC under Democratic leadership to better protect investors by subjecting the crypto sector to a host of rules and requirements. Under Republican leadership, the SEC in January launched a crypto task force to overhaul its crypto policy and has begun pausing or dismissing pending lawsuits against crypto firms. —Chris Prentice, Reuters View the full article

Prime minister wants to reform disability benefit payments to help fund greater spending on defenceView the full article