NPR News: 02-28-2026 12AM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
What national security risk did Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declare regarding Anthropic?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has declared the AI firm Anthropic as a risk to national security. As NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports, it's an unusual decision that could hurt the company's business.
Hegseth made the announcement in a post on X. He said, quote, Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic. The declaration is highly unusual. The designation of supply chain risk is normally given to foreign companies, like the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. If the ban goes forward, it could be a huge blow to Anthropic's business with other large firms. The announcement resulted from a dispute over how Anthropic's tools can be used by the Pentagon. Anthropic wanted restrictions on AI's use for mass surveillance and automated weapons. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
How might the AI firm's designation impact its business relationships?
In a statement Friday, Anthropic says it plans to sue the Trump administration and that, quote, no amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, meanwhile, says his company now has an agreement with the Defense Department to use its models on the Pentagon's classified network. He made that announcement in a social media post. President Trump was in Texas on Friday where he talked about energy. He said he was standing in front of a ship that contained crude oil from Venezuela and said Texas is at the center of an American energy boom.
For the benefit of both our nations, we're going to refine their oil right here in America and right here in Texas and then export it to all over the world.
While in Texas, Trump also refused to endorse any of the three Republican candidates running in a primary election in that state on Tuesday. The Justice Department has indicted 30 more people who allegedly took part in a demonstration last month protesting ICE inside a Minnesota church. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the indictments on Friday. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports, 39 people have now been charged in relation to the protests.
In a post on social media, Attorney General Bondi said federal authorities have already arrested 25 of the 30 people newly charged in the protest. All are facing charges related to a conspiracy to deprive others of religious rights and with interfering with the right to religious freedom. On January 18th, protesters disrupted a church service in St. Paul, where one of the pastors is also a local ICE official. Bondi wrote in her post, quote, you cannot attack a house of worship. Videos of the protest, however, show people marching and chanting and do not appear violent. Several people had already been charged for the incident, including journalist Don Lemon, a local journalist, and a prominent local civil rights attorney.
Meg Anderson, NPR News.
And you're listening to NPR News. The World Health Organization is recommending an update to next year's flu vaccine to include strains that drove a surge of cases this year. NPR's Jonathan Lambert has our reports.
The WHO coordinates a global network of labs that monitor how flu is evolving. Twice a year, scientists come together to make sense of all that data and recommend updated vaccines. The U.S. historically plays a major role in those meetings. But in the run-up to this one, it wasn't clear whether they'd even show. Because of that, some experts worried the U.S. could lose influence in shaping the composition of the vaccine. The CDC did send representatives, albeit virtually, to the meeting, which concluded on Friday. The updated shot will include several strains that heavily affected the U.S. during this flu season. If approved by FDA, the vaccine will be available in the fall. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.
Target says it will stop selling cereals that use synthetic colors by the end of May. 85% of its cereal sales already come from products that don't contain the dyes. The company says it's been working with national companies to update their formulas, and many have complied.
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