(Axios) The Pentagon asked two major defense contractors on Wednesday to provide an assessment of their reliance on Anthropic’s AI model, Claude — a first step toward a potential designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” Axios has learned. Why it matters: That penalty is usually reserved for companies from adversarial countries, such as Chinese tech giant Huawei. – Trump admin moves toward blacklisting Anthropic in AI safeguards fight
(Axios) The Trump administration is halting $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota until the state takes steps to root out fraud in the program, Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz announced Wednesday. Why it matters: CMS served notice that it plans similar freezes to other states’ funding as part of the administration’s crackdown on fraud. – Trump admin halts Minnesota Medicaid funds: Vance cites fraud
(Axios) Rep. Al Green’s (D-Texas) latest protest during President Trump’s State of the Union has triggered a fresh Republican push to censure him. But not every Republican thinks it’s worth the fight. Why it matters: GOP leaders and some rank-and-file members aren’t sold on censuring Green, arguing the once-rare punishment has become too routine. – House GOP debates censuring Al Green after Trump speech protest
(Axios) President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he wants to push for an end of the war with Russia as soon as possible, according to a Ukrainian official and two other sources with knowledge of the call. Why it matters: Trump wants a peace deal by the summer, but there are still significant gaps between Ukraine and Russia, particularly on the issue of territorial control in eastern Ukraine. – Trump told Zelensky he wants to end war ASAP in call
(Axios) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday went to bat for his members who protested and heckled President Trump from inside the House chamber during the State of the Union. Why it matters: It’s a marked departure from last year, when Jeffries privately chewed out the House Democrats who disrupted Trump’s speech to Congress, held up signs and walked out in protest. – Jeffries defends Democratic outbursts at State of the Union
(Axios) Tech giants are expected to join President Trump at the White House next week to sign a pledge that they will build or buy their own electricity supplies for data centers. Why it matters: It’s the Trump administration’s latest response to election-year voter angst over data centers’ AI-driven electricity demands and their potential effects on rates. – Trump’s ratepayer protection pledge: What to know, when it will be signed
(CNN) Cuba said its forces fatally shot four heavily armed people attempting to “infiltrate” its territory on a Florida-registered speedboat on Wednesday, amid simmering tensions between the communist island and the US. Cuban border guard troops approached the boat after it entered their territorial waters in Falcones Cay, Villa Clara province, just over 100 miles from Florida, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement. A passenger on the speedboat shot at the Cuban vessel, wounding its commander, and prompting Cuban forces to return fire, according to the statement. Six other people aboard the speedboat were wounded and are in custody and receiving medical attention. The passengers were Cuban residents of the US and were armed with assault rifles, handguns and Molotov cocktails, and had “intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” according to a later statement from the ministry. – Cuba says its forces kill four attempting to ‘infiltrate’ island on Florida speedboat | CNN
(CNN) The chaos unleashed by the killing of Mexican drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera has sparked fears that the country could face a new wave of violence just as it enters its final preparations to host the world’s biggest sports event. Mexico is expecting to welcome more than 5 million visitors for the FIFA World Cup, which it is co-hosting with the US and Canada, and will be the center of global attention when the opening match kicks off at the Banorte Stadium in Mexico City on June 11. But the killing of Oseguera, who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, has put Mexico – and Jalisco state in particular – into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. His death on Sunday at the hands of the Mexican military sparked days of violence, much of it centered in Jalisco, as gang members of one of the country’s most powerful criminal groups clashed with security forces, burning buses and businesses. So dire was the situation that the US State Department issued shelter-in-place warnings to travelers. – With World Cup looming, can Mexico contain the chaos unleashed by the killing of drug lord ‘El Mencho’? | CNN
(CNN) A “mass escape” took place last month from Syria’s al-Hol camp that holds families linked to the Islamic State following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, according to Syrian TV, amid reports thousands of people may have fled. Nureddin Baba, a Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson, was cited as saying that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the camp without coordination with the Syrian government or the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. The SDF rejected the Interior Ministry’s “misleading” statements as a means to evade responsibility and accused Damascus-affiliated factions of entering the camp and removing the families of ISIS members. “In the face of this deliberate escalation, and amid suspicious international silence, our forces were forced to withdraw in order to avoid turning the camp into an open battlefield,” the SDF said. – Syria reports ‘mass escape’ from detention camp holding ISIS-linked families amid reports thousands fled | CNN
(CNN) As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine has been drafting military options for potentially striking Iran, a steady stream of top officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force have been quietly summoned directly to his office. Typically, sensitive military operations are debated in the highly fortified conference room in the Pentagon known as the Tank. But in an administration that is focused on avoiding leaks, Caine — who is also known for his intensive secrecy — worried that assembling the top brass in the Defense Department’s nerve center on very short notice would draw suspicion, according to several sources familiar with the matter. In those meetings and others at the Pentagon, Caine has been vocal about the potential downsides of launching a major military operation targeting Iran, raising concerns about the scale, complexity and potential for US casualties of such a mission, according to sources familiar with his advice. Those concerns have not matched the rhetoric coming out of the White House, where President Donald Trump has been bullish on how easily the US military could achieve victory, though the exact dimensions of that success haven’t been defined. But Caine is determined to avoid what he believes were the mistakes of one of his predecessors, Gen. Mark Milley, and maintain his influence with Trump, according to sources familiar with his thinking. – Top General Dan Caine tries to avoid conflict with Trump while preparing for possible war with Iran | CNN Politics
(CNN) Donald Trump might never have been president but for an Iraq War backlash that shattered trust in establishment leaders. So it’s ironic he may be emulating some of the rhetorical positions and strategic miscalculations that led President George W. Bush into disaster in the Middle East after 2003. Trump has reportedly made no decision on whether to strike Iran. But his huge naval and air power buildup in the region is the biggest since the Iraq invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein. – Analysis: Trump risks walking into an Iraq-style trap in Iran | CNN Politics
(CNN) As the US moves more firepower into the Persian Gulf than those waters have seen since the war in Iraq, diplomats, generals and intelligence officers around the world trade guesses on what President Donald Trump is thinking. In his State of the Union on Tuesday, Trump offered his highest-profile explanation of why he is amassing US military assets around Iran, saying his goal is to ensure the country not obtain a nuclear weapon. But he stopped short of providing a full accounting of his strategic objective in threatening Tehran with war. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said during a relatively short section of his speech on Iran. He said again his preference was to pursue diplomacy. Iran, in fact, has stated clearly it is not pursuing a nuclear bomb. – Analysis: Decoding Trump’s Iran strategy | CNN
(Al Arabiya) US Vice President JD Vance told Iran on Wednesday to take Washington’s threats of military action “seriously,” a day after President Donald Trump appeared to build the case for war in his State of the Union address. As US forces mass in the Middle East, Trump claimed in his speech to Congress on Tuesday that Iran was seeking to develop missiles that can strike the United States. – Vance warns Iran to take US threats ‘seriously’
(Al Arabiya) Iran has been loading oil onto tankers at a rapid pace in recent days, a potential sign of the state’s preparations in case of an attack by the US. Exports from Kharg Island from Feb. 15 to 20 were at nearly 20.1 million barrels, data from Kpler show. That’s almost three times the amount loaded over the same dates in January and the equivalent of more than 3 million barrels a day, far beyond Tehran’s usual daily rate. – Iran ramps up oil tanker loadings as US amasses military force
(Al Arabiya) Sudanese paramilitary forces killed, abused and targeted people with disabilities during and after their takeover of al-Fashir, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, calling it the first time it had documented abuse of “this type and scale.”. The Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting Sudan’s army since April 2023, captured the military’s last stronghold in western Darfur in October after an 18-month siege. – Sudan’s RSF targeted civilians with disabilities in al-Fashir: Human Rights Watch
(Al Arabiya) A Hezbollah official told AFP on Wednesday that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” US strikes on its backer Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”. The US has repeatedly threatened Iran over its contentious nuclear program, and Lebanese authorities fear Hezbollah could become involved if a potential US attack triggered a regional war. – Hezbollah official says will not intervene in event of ‘limited’ US strikes on Iran
(Al Arabiya) Iran sees the chance of a good outcome from a third round of talks with the United States, its President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday, as a delegation left for Geneva for negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. A senior US official said on Monday that US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are slated to meet with the Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva on Thursday. – Iran sees ‘good outlook’ for talks with US as negotiating team heads to Geneva
(Al Arabiya) Several countries have begun withdrawing dependents of diplomatic personnel and non-essential staff from some locations in the Middle East, or advising citizens to defer travel to Iran, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran. – Countries issue Middle East travel advisories as Iran tensions rise
(Al Arabiya) A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths. It was the second consecutive annual record for press deaths and the deadliest year since the CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago. – Israel committed two-thirds of record press killings in 2025: CPJ
(Al Arabiya) Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government said Wednesday it would respond militarily to recent Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory, accusing Islamabad of targeting civilians and even providing “safe havens” to ISIS militants. Pakistan carried out overnight airstrikes into Sunday in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar and southeastern Paktika provinces, which Islamabad said targeted militant groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. The United Nations has reported civilian casualties from the strikes. – Afghanistan vows military response to Pakistan, accuses Islamabad of backing ISIS
