NPR News: 02-27-2026 8AM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Former President Bill Clinton is set to testify before a congressional committee in New York today as part of the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His appearance follows closed-door testimony on Thursday from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw is on the committee. He says today's deposition will have more to offer.
President Clinton is in the same category as a lot of folks who had a relationship at some point with Jeffrey Epstein. The key questions for all of those folks are, were you involved in any of the crimes that were committed? Or did you have knowledge of any of the crimes that were being committed?
Neither of the Clintons has been charged with wrongdoing. However, the former president's name appears multiple times in Justice Department files tied to the case. The AI company Anthropic says it won't agree to demands from the Defense Department to loosen its safety standards to help the U.S. military. NPR's John Rewich reports the Pentagon wants to use the company's AI models without limits.
The DoD wants to be able to use Anthropic's AI for, quote, any lawful use, but the company has drawn a line saying it does not want its AI models used for domestic mass surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons. This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to blacklist Anthropic over those limits. Now, Anthropic CEO Dario Amode says in a statement his company cannot in good conscience accede to the DoD demands. He says in some cases, AI can undermine rather than defend democratic values. and threats from the DOD do not change Anthropic's position. DOD spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media the Pentagon has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans or to use AI to develop fully autonomous weapons.
John Rewich, NPR News.
The Trump administration is ordering the departure of all non-emergency U.S. staff and their family from Israel, citing safety risks. It comes as President Trump continues to move fighter jets and warships to the Middle East to pressure Iran in nuclear talks. NPR's Aya Batraoui has more.
In addition to ordering non-emergency US staff and their families to leave Israel, the US embassy advised that other Americans may also wish to consider leaving while commercial flights are available. A similar order was issued for non-emergency US staff to depart Lebanon earlier this week. Despite these precautionary orders and a continued U.S. military buildup in the region, Iran and the Trump administration continue to hold indirect talks. The latest talks were in Geneva on Thursday and included the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency that monitors nuclear enrichment. Iran's foreign minister says another round of talks with the U.S. may be held in a week's time. Aya Batrawi, NPR News, Dubai.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The financial company Block says it's cutting about 40 percent of its workforce. Roughly 4,000 employees will be laid off as the company shifts more of its business toward artificial intelligence. The announcement comes as the company reports higher quarterly earnings than a year ago. The body of the late civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is lying in repose at Rainbow Push Coalition headquarters in Chicago. Summer VanVenton with Member Station WBEZ reports Jackson died this month at the age of 84.
Jackson founded the Rainbow Push Coalition here in Chicago in 1996. Thousands have come through to pay their respects to the late civil rights leader. Jackson's senior advisor, Reverend Jeanette Wilson, says she thinks Jackson's passing will awaken people, recalling a conversation she had with a young man.
And he started recounting the work that Reverend Jackson has done. He said, I'm ready to step up. And so I think that his death will inspire a generation that felt like They were so hopeless and in despair. They didn't see anything up.
Next week, Jackson will lie in repose in his home state of South Carolina before heading to Washington, D.C.
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