“I wish to emphasize to those seeking to acquire money from the aircraft related to this incident that such money holds no legal value as it has not been authorized by the Central Bank and lacks a serial number; attempting to utilize this money constitutes a crime,” stated Defence Minister Marcelo Salinas.
On late Friday, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman announced that his company has finalized an agreement with the Department of Defense regarding the utilization of its artificial intelligence models, shortly after President Donald Trump indicated that the government would not collaborate with AI competitor Anthropic.
“This evening, we came to an accord with the Department of War to implement our models within their classified infrastructure,” Altman stated in a post on X. “Throughout our discussions, the DoW exhibited profound respect for safety and a commitment to partner for optimal results.”
Altman’s message arrives at the conclusion of a tumultuous week for the AI sector, which has been at the forefront of a political discourse concerning the applications of its models. Earlier today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth identified Anthropic as a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security” following weeks of strained discussions. This label is often reserved for foreign adversaries, compelling DoD vendors and contractors to confirm that they do not employ Anthropic’s models.
Additionally, President Trump instructed every federal agency in the U.S. to “immediately cease” all application of Anthropic’s technology.
Anthropic was the pioneering lab to utilize its models across the DoD’s classified network and had been in negotiations regarding the terms of its contract with the agency before the talks fell through. The firm sought assurances that its models would not be deployed for fully autonomous weapon systems or mass surveillance of Americans, while the DoD insisted on the understanding that the military could utilize the models for all lawful purposes.
In a memo to staff on Thursday, Altman conveyed that OpenAI held the same “red lines” as Anthropic. He mentioned in his Friday post that the DoD consented to these limitations.
“Two of our most significant safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human accountability for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” Altman wrote. The DoW endorses these principles, reflects them in regulations and policies, and we incorporated them into our agreement.
The rationale behind the DoD’s decision to favor OpenAI over Anthropic remains unclear, although government officials have recently criticized Anthropic for allegedly being excessively focused on AI safety.
Altman expressed that OpenAI intends to create “technical safeguards to ensure its models perform as intended,” and that the company will assign personnel to “aid with our models and ensure their safety.”
“We are urging the DoW to extend these same conditions to all AI companies, which we believe should be readily accepted by everyone,” Altman wrote. “We have shown our strong intent to transition from legal and governmental confrontations towards reasonable agreements.”
In a statement released on Friday, Anthropic expressed that it was “deeply saddened” by the Pentagon’s decision to categorize the company as a supply chain risk. It declared its intent to contest that designation in court.
WATCH: Hegseth directs Pentagon to classify Anthropic a supply-chain risk
“As soon as the footage of my statement today becomes available, I wish for it to inspire everyone to appear before Congress and share what they know,” Clinton remarked. “I hope it will encourage the justice department to ultimately disclose all the documents and guarantee that this never occurs again. The survivors warrant that.”
Anthropic has announced plans to contest the classification in court.
Anthropic has announced plans to contest the classification in court.
Shortly after President Donald Trump revealed on Truth Social that he was prohibiting Anthropic products from federal usage, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth escalated the situation by declaring the AI firm a “supply-chain risk,” which Anthropic states it is prepared to contest legally.
This move could have an immediate effect on a variety of significant tech firms that utilize Claude for their contracts with the Pentagon, including Palantir and AWS. It remains unclear how broadly the Pentagon may restrict companies that provide services through Claude for purposes outside of national security, with Anthropic asserting that the classification pertains solely to the use of its Claude AI in Department of Defense contract work.
Following a week of intense discussions regarding the company’s acceptable use policies, the Pentagon issued Anthropic an ultimatum: consent by Friday, 5:30 PM EST, allowing the Pentagon to use Claude for “all lawful purposes,” including autonomous lethal weapons without human oversight and mass surveillance, or face the classification as a supply-chain risk. This classification is generally applied to firms with connections to foreign governments that represent threats to national security and would prevent any organization using Anthropic products from engaging with the Department of Defense.
In a tweet made just after 5PM ET, Hegseth extended the designation to include companies engaging in “any business activity with Anthropic,” reiterating Trump’s instruction that firms had six months to sell off their interests in Anthropic products.
“Our stance has always remained firm and will continue to be: the Department of War requires complete, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defending the Republic,” he asserted. “Instead, @AnthropicAI and its CEO @DarioAmodei have opted for deceit. Masquerading in the pious language of ‘effective altruism,’ they have sought to coerce the United States military into compliance – a cowardly display of corporate virtue-signaling that prioritizes Silicon Valley values over the lives of Americans.”
Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense, possesses the discretion to designate a company as a “supply-chain risk.” Nevertheless, this choice follows multiple other efforts by the Pentagon to pressure Anthropic into allowing the use of Claude as they wished, including a warning to invoke the Defense Production Act.
On Friday evening, Anthropic replied to both the Department of Defense and the White House, stating in a blog post that it had not received direct communication from either entity about the negotiation developments. According to Anthropic, contrary to what Hegseth’s tweet suggested, it informs customers that “The Secretary lacks the statutory authority to substantiate this claim.”
The firm maintains that the classification can solely apply “to the deployment of Claude as part of Department of War contracts—it cannot influence how contractors utilize Claude for other clients,” asserting that simply having a contract with Anthropic is not relevant.
Regarding the classification itself and the DoD policy advocated by Hegseth, Anthropic has expressed its willingness to litigate:
Labeling Anthropic as a supply chain risk would represent an unprecedented measure—one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly designated to an American entity. We are profoundly disheartened by these events. As the pioneering AI company to integrate models into the US government’s classified systems, Anthropic has offered support to American military personnel since June 2024 and is committed to continuing that support.
We believe this classification would be legally questionable and set a perilous precedent for any American company engaging with the government.
No level of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will alter our position on mass domestic surveillance or completely autonomous weapons. We will contest any supply chain risk classification in court.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth:
This week, Anthropic displayed a master class in arrogance and betrayal, as well as a classic example of how not to conduct business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.
Our stance has never shifted and will not shift: the Department of War must have absolute, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for all LAWFUL purposes in defense of the Republic.
Instead, @AnthropicAI and its CEO @DarioAmodei, have opted for duplicity. Hiding behind the self-righteous language of “effective altruism,” they have attempted to coerce the US military into compliance – a cowardly display of corporate virtue-signaling that prioritizes Silicon Valley ideals over American lives.
The Terms of Service of Anthropic’s flawed altruism will never surpass the safety, preparedness, or lives of American troops on the battlefield.
Their true aim is crystal clear: to obtain veto authority over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable.
As President Trump articulated on Truth Social, it is the Commander-in-Chief and the American people who will decide the fate of our armed forces, not unelected tech executives.
Anthropic’s position is fundamentally at odds with American values. Consequently, their relationship with the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government has been irreversibly changed.
In line with the President’s directive for the Federal Government to halt all use of Anthropic’s technology, I am instructing the Department of War to classify Anthropic as a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security. Immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that conducts business with the US military may engage in any commercial activity with Anthropic. Anthropic will continue to supply the Department of War its services for a maximum of six months to facilitate a smooth transition to a more suitable and patriotic service.
America’s military personnel will never be held captive by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This determination is final.
Update, February 27th: Added reaction from Anthropic.
The agency will cease efforts to land on the Moon with Artemis III, postponing the landing until 2028 with Artemis IV.
The agency will cease efforts to land on the Moon with Artemis III, postponing the landing until 2028 with Artemis IV.
NASA revealed during a press briefing on Friday that it is postponing its Moon landing plans until Artemis IV in 2028. The Artemis III mission, which was set for 2027, was initially intended to attempt a Moon landing but will now serve as a test flight. NASA has also stated that it is “increasing its frequency of missions,” which includes adding a second test flight in 2027 and aiming for “at least one surface landing each year thereafter,” including the Artemis IV landing.
The revision to the Artemis launch timetable was prompted by a report from NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) this month that noted substantial safety hazards with NASA’s prior launch strategies. ASAP expressed significant concern over Artemis III, claiming that the report identified excessive “cumulative technical, operational, and scheduling risks tied to multiple first-of-a-kind objectives designated for a single mission.”
The Artemis II mission, planned for this year, has encountered numerous issues during testing over the past weeks, pushing its launch to no earlier than April. Artemis II aims to orbit the Moon — if successful, it will mark the first time humans reach lunar orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
If Paramount and WBD complete a merger, it would be the biggest consolidation in streaming history and would drive greater consolidation across the sector.
“What began as a fragmented yet adaptable streaming landscape is moving toward rebundling—fewer, bigger super-platforms with wider libraries and higher price points,” Mathur said.
Paramount’s bid for WBD stands out for its heavy emphasis on cable networks, many of which are losing audience and advertising dollars. A merged WBD would add channels such as HGTV, Cartoon Network, TLC, and CNN to Paramount’s linear lineup, which already includes Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and CBS.
Though both Paramount and WBD see declines in their cable divisions, those units remain profitable. Paramount’s TV and media arm — covering its cable channels and studios — reported $1.1 billion in adjusted OIBDA in Q4 2025. WBD’s cable business recorded $1.41 billion in adjusted EBITDA that quarter.
In the end, a Paramount-WBD combination could threaten a diversity of viewpoints. Since Ellison’s takeover, CBS News has shifted under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. There have been concerns about censoring CBS under Ellison’s Paramount, raised as well by Stephen Colbert, who this month said CBS prevented him from interviewing Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico; CBS has denied the claim. Additionally, Paramount could leave a lasting imprint on CNN, from cost-cutting and layoffs to altered coverage.
Regulatory scrutiny will dominate the conversation around a Paramount-WBD deal in the coming months. Federal sign-off seems possible, but the transaction will also face European review and potential state lawsuits. The theater industry is likewise lobbying against the proposed merger.
If regulators do greenlight a Paramount-WBD tie-up, two struggling companies will have a steep task creating a profitable combined entity. Even with approval, Paramount-Skydance-Warner-Bros.-Discovery faces significant hurdles.
Even if the bidding war concludes, the contest over WBD is far from over.
The Warner Bros. Discovery board might have benefited its investors on Thursday by opting for Paramount Skydance‘s purchase proposal as opposed to Netflix‘s, but it also unsettled many of its staff.
While some employees hold WBD shares and might favor the financial aspects of Paramount’s $31-per-share proposition compared to Netflix’s $27.75-per-share bid, CNBC conversed with 10 WBD team members in various positions within the organization. All 10, who wished to stay anonymous due to concerns of possible repercussions, voiced worries about prospective job cuts and uncertainties about who would lead their departments if Paramount and WBD were to merge.
“It’s reasonable to say that people feel dejected by the announcement,” remarked a veteran WBD official.
Regardless, a WBD-Paramount merger “is not a certainty,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated yesterday.
The deal must receive regulatory clearance in both the U.S. and Europe. WBD CEO David Zaslav recognized during a company-wide meeting on Friday that the agreement may still face hurdles and showed empathy for those experiencing a sense of disorientation moving from Netflix to Paramount, as mentioned by individuals familiar with the situation.
“The agreement may not finalize. If it falls through, we secure $7 billion, and we return to our tasks,” Zaslav indicated, according to leaked audio shared with Business Insider.
Nonetheless, numerous WBD employees informed CNBC that they wished Netflix had taken over WBD, pointing to several reasons.
While both Paramount and WBD excel in news, sports, theatrical films, and streaming TV, Netflix has significantly less overlapping interests. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has consistently stated he intended to keep the WBD operations intact, maintaining a separate theatrical segment from Netflix while also preserving HBO Max as an independent streaming service for the foreseeable future.
Netflix was also not looking to take over WBD’s linear cable division with its offer. Employees at CNN, TNT Sports, and the former Discovery networks would have kept their roles to pave the way for a standalone publicly traded entity.
Currently, WBD staff are facing the threat of extensive job reductions. Paramount leaders have previously declared intentions to save $6 billion by cutting “redundant functions” in “back office, finance, corporate, legal, technology, infrastructure, etc.,” as per Chief Strategy Officer Andy Gordon. Both WBD and Paramount have already undergone thousands of layoffs in recent years.
Concerns regard culture and leadership too. Mark Thompson presently oversees CNN, while Bari Weiss serves as the editor-in-chief at CBS News and could likely include CNN in her scope.
The Wall Street Journal reported in December that Paramount CEO David Ellison assured President Donald Trump he would implement extensive changes at CNN if he gained control over the network. Three CNN employees who conversed with CNBC reported a pervasive sense of fear among their peers concerning Weiss possibly enacting significant changes to the cable network’s anchors and style.
“In spite of all the speculations you’ve seen throughout this process, I would advise against jumping to conclusions about the future until more information is available,” Thompson noted in a memo to staff on Thursday.
CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter observed that CNN “is a very profitable entity, and it would be unwise for any owner to jeopardize that.”
In the entertainment realm, WBD employees worry that there could be an excess of decision-makers, which may stifle creativity and innovation for both film and television projects.
One WBD executive pointed out that Paramount’s President Jeff Shell, Chair of Direct to Consumer Cindy Holland, and Chair of Television George Cheeks are all accustomed to holding senior positions in their respective organizations. Shell was the CEO of NBCUniversal. Cheeks previously served as co-CEO of Paramount before its merger with Skydance. Holland was a high-ranking executive at Netflix for 18 years.
The interaction of this mix with WBD’s entertainment leadership team remains uncertain and could potentially result in culture clashes.
TNT Sports is managed by Luis Silberwasser and has predominantly guided WBD towards younger demographics with its programming choices and investments, such as Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. Conversely, CBS Sports caters to the audience demographics of CBS, which has historically focused on an older viewership. This could either cause cultural friction or allow the divisions to complement each other effectively.
Although Silberwasser will collaborate with CBS Sports President David Berson on employee redundancies, like every other unit, there is some reason to feel hopeful regarding the sports division, as WBD and CBS have enjoyed a longstanding partnership in producing March Madness, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. This has provided both units with a certain level of familiarity.
WBD also lost NBA rights in the last season. Merging with CBS’s extensive sports rights portfolio, including the NFL and the Masters, positions WBD as a formidable contender in sports, even as a subsidiary of CBS.
Another recurring concern among staff is the $64 billion in debt that accompanies the $111 billion total enterprise value of the arrangement. Several employees mentioned that managing such large debt loads has impeded WBD in recent years, leading to fears of continued similar challenges. Two employees indicated they found reassurance in being part of a large corporation like Netflix, which has a market value exceeding $400 billion, while Paramount Skydance’s market valuation stands at merely $15 billion.
AI is frequently referred to as a black box, but it’s not only the internal mechanisms that are enigmatic. Top AI firms have kept energy consumption data under wraps, complicating efforts to assess its environmental impact. In a comprehensive inquiry, senior AI journalist James O’Donnell and senior climate journalist Casey Crownhart devoted six months to analyzing numerous report pages, speaking with experts, and calculating figures.
The team investigated the energy expense of a single query and subsequently expanded their analysis to create an overarching view that demonstrated the potential consequences of AI’s present and future energy requirements. Their findings unveiled the substantial energy footprint of AI, the sources of that energy, and who will bear the costs. In the period following the project’s release, leading AI companies such as Open AI, Mistral, and Google disclosed information regarding their models’ energy and water consumption.
The 2026 awards ceremony will take place in New York City on May 19.
Despite what the headline suggests, this isn’t primarily about superconductivity — at least not the kind people are interested in, the varieties that operate without extreme cooling. Rather, it’s about using superconductivity to probe some odd implications of quantum mechanics, involving virtual light particles that behave as though they were real.
Scientists have discovered a method to make these virtual photons affect a superconductor’s properties, degrading its performance. That effect could eventually reveal new insights into superconductivity, but likely not immediately.
The tale begins with quantum field theory, a highly complex framework, but simply put it says even vacuum contains fields that determine how quantum objects interact in or near it. Different particles can be viewed as energy excitations of those fields—so a photon is just an excited state of the electromagnetic field.
Some particles exist as observable quanta we can follow, such as a photon fired from a laser and later absorbed by a detector. The quantum field also permits virtual photons, which mediate electromagnetic forces between particles. They cannot be directly observed, yet their influence is measurable.
A peculiarity of this picture is that regions with strong electromagnetic fields can be populated by virtual photons even in the absence of real photons.
That leads to a key material in the new experiments: boron nitride. Similar to widely known graphene, boron nitride consists of connected hexagonal rings that form large, planar sheets. The bulk form stacks these sheets atop one another. That structure alters how light moves through the substance. From one direction light will hit and be absorbed or scattered. But when light is aligned along the planes of the sheets, it can propagate in the gaps between boron and nitrogen atoms.
Welcome to Deep Dish, your weekly digest of culinary and entertainment updates. Previously, we explored the claims that Reese’s has altered its recipe.
Finstas (for those unfamiliar, fake Instagram accounts) are becoming an increasingly prevalent and tactical marketing asset for celebrities, seemingly making them more relatable and adding depth to their polished images. Martha Stewart has one, Kendrick Lamar has one, and now Sam Smith has come on board. Their finsta leans more towards food finsta territory, as the artist showcases their preferred dining experiences and indulgences. Despite the somewhat contrived “pop stars, they’re just like us” aspect of some celebrity finstas, Smith’s feels refreshingly genuine and somewhat delightful—and they have good taste, as far as I can tell!
This week also sees Resy and Tock merging forces, “boy kibble” attempting to penetrate our lexicon in a manner similar to girl dinner, and Dunkin’ offering buckets of iced coffee for sale.
Sam Smith has embarked on their food-influencer journey. This week, what was presumably their exclusive Instagram food account has gone quite public. The account, SamServed, features posts dating back to last November, where Smith raves about a Copenhagen eatery called Kebabistan. Currently, the account is rapidly increasing in followers—though at the time of this writing, the follower count is around 11,000, quite small compared to the over 14 million on Smith’s official account.
This week, while performing in San Francisco, Smith is visiting some local establishments, starting their videos with a playful “Hi piggies.” In one video, at Mission Chinese they exclaim “this food is amazing,” while seated at a table full of dishes. In another clip, they visit Molinari Delicatessen, posing for a shot in front of the cheese display. Which Bay Area spots will they explore while in the city? Will they make it to the East Bay? How long until they begin selling “Hi Piggies” merchandise? Numerous questions arise. —Sam Stone, staff writer
Earlier this week, the reservation service Resy issued a statement regarding “the merging of Resy and Tock venues,” anticipated to occur this summer. In simple terms: Tock is no longer, Resy reigns supreme, and if you’re aiming for those coveted reservations, you’d better acquire an American Express card immediately.
For years, reservation culture has spiraled out of control, even leading to reservation trading, purchasing, and bidding wars. As one reservation service consumes another, the race for tables is likely to intensify. Possibly the best method to secure a spot is also the oldest: become a regular. — S.S.
Boy kibble disgusts me—both in concept and terminology. In the interest of not giving it undue attention, I’ll summarize quickly. Where girl dinner represents a delightful (if slightly silly) assortment of snackable items like cheese and pretzels and salami, boy kibble (🤢) is comprised of bland ground beef and white rice, consumed purely for the protein content. It sounds unappetizing, it looks unappetizing, and I can’t shake the image of this meal being eaten from a dog bowl. Away with boy kibble (🤢). —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
In the aftermath of a record-breaking blizzard, Dunkin’ (formerly Donuts) is offering 48-ounce buckets of iced coffee at select Massachusetts locations. That’s the spirit of New England, baby! If your 12 oz morning cup just wasn’t cutting it, the bucket can be yours for under $10, surprisingly. All facts considered, if I lived near a participating Dunkin’, I’d be rushing for the bucket, if for nothing else than the novelty and the keepsake. —L.G.
