NEW YORK (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic an ultimatum this week: Open its artificial intelligence technology for unrestricted military use by Friday, or risk losing its government contract.
Defense officials in the Trump administration also warned they could designate Anthropic, which makes the AI chatbot Claude, as a supply chain risk — or invoke a Cold War-era law called the Defense Production Act to give the military more sweeping authority to use its products, even if the company doesn’t approve.
Some experts say that using the law this way would be unprecedented, and could bring future legal challenges. The government’s efforts to essentially force Anthropic’s hand also underscore a wider, contentious debate over AI’s role in national security.
Here’s what we know.
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What is the Defense Production Act?
The Defense Production Act gives the federal government broad authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of national defense.
The act was signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1950 amid supply concerns during the Korean War. But over its now decades-long history, the law’s powers have been invoked not only in times of war but also for domestic emergency preparedness, as well as recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
One of the act’s provisions allows the president to require companies to prioritize government contracts and orders deemed necessary for national defense, with the goal of ensuring the private sector is producing enough goods needed during war or other emergencies. Other provisions give the president the ability to use loans and additional incentives to increase production of critical goods, and authorize the government to establish voluntary agreements with private industry.
The DPA is “one of the government’s most powerful and adaptable industrial policy tools,” said Joel Dodge, an attorney and the director of industrial policy and economic security at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.
The Pentagon has maintained that it has no interest in using AI for mass surveillance or to develop autonomous weapons to operate without human involvement.
If the Defense Department does invoke the DPA to give the military more authority to use Anthropic’s products without its approval, that could mean forcing the company to adapt its model to the Pentagon’s needs without built-in safety limits, or remove certain ethical restrictions from the company’s contract language.
Experts like Dodge say both would be “without precedent under the history of the DPA.”
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“It’s a powerful law,” he said. ”(But) it has never been used to compel a company to produce a product that it’s deemed unsafe, or to dictate its terms of service.”
How has this law been used in the past?
Trump in his first term and former President Joe Biden invoked the DPA to boost supplies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. And during 2022’s nationwide baby formula shortage, Biden used the law to speed production of formula and authorize flights to import supply from overseas.
Biden also invoked the DPA in a 2023 executive order on AI, notably in efforts to require that companies share safety test results and other information with the government. Trump repealed the order at the start of his second term.
Decades ago, the administrations of both President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used the DPA to ensure that electricity and natural gas shippers continued supplying California utilities amid an energy crisis. And the law was used after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017 to prioritize contracts for food, bottled water, manufactured housing units and the restoration of electrical systems.
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The DPA requires periodic reauthorization to remain in effect, which can expand or refine the scope of the law. According to congressional documents, its next expiration date is slated for Sept. 30 of this year. Depending on how the Defense Department’s reported demands unfold, Anthropic could be at the top of lawmakers’ minds.
Possible next steps for Anthropic
If the Defense Department uses the DPA provision aimed at prioritizing government contracts and ordering production of certain goods — which the Anthropic case suggests it would — a company can push back if the requested product isn’t something it already produces, Dodge and others say, or if it deems the terms to be unreasonable. But the government may try and overrule that, notes Charlie Bullock, senior research fellow at the Institute for Law & AI.
“If neither side backs down, it seems realistic that there would be litigation between Anthropic and the government,” Bullock said.
Some have also noted tension between the Pentagon’s warning that it could designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk while also indicating its products are so important to national defense that it needs to invoke the DPA — two assertions that seem at odds with each other.
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Defense officials appeared to be backing away from the DPA option on Thursday, when Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on social media that if Anthropic didn’t agree to cooperate by 5:01 p.m. ET on Friday, “we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk.”
“We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” Parnell added.
Dodge thinks the administration is counting on “a lot of forces” as it aims to get Anthropic to bend on Friday.
If Anthropic agrees to new terms in the face of such threats, that could open up “a Pandora’s box of what the government could do to assert power and control over private companies,” Dodge said.
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Associated Press Writers Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island and Konstantin Toropin and David Klepper in Washington contributed to this report.
Jobs have been lost after HMRC issued a winding-up order for Nottinghamshire company Midland Skip Hire Limited, which was set up back in 2002
A skip hire firm which served the community for a quarter of a century has entered liquidation.
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Midland Skip Hire Limited, which had traded from Bottesford near Bingham, Nottinghamshire, for 24 years, has been issued with a winding-up order, initiated by HMRC. The High Court approved the closure of the waste management and skip rental business, which was founded back in 2002.
Commissioners for HMRC had filed the petition to shut the company and sell its assets back in November. The firm is currently under the control of a receiver and the Government’s Insolvency Service is assisting former employees to claim redundancy payments.
Midland Skip Hire’s financial accounts filed last summer for the year up to June 30, 2024, explained the company had £3,079,867 in fixed assets, but had needed to pay significant amounts to creditors in coming years.
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Documents submitted to Companies House stated that the firm had an average of 40 employees in 2024, up from 36 in 2023. It is not currently known how many staff have been made redundant as a result of the firm’s liquidation, the Nottinghamshire Live reports.
Midland Skip Hire had labelled itself as “one of the East Midlands’ premier skip hire companies” and had a history of operating in the towns of Bingham, Newark and Grantham and their surrounding areas.
“We provide a high quality service to both residential and commercial customers at competitive prices, offering a great range of waste management services,” reads the company’s website, which is still online.
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“As a family run business we pride ourselves on offering low prices for a great service.
“We pride ourselves on offering low prices for a great service and we are located not far off the A52, making us available to our customers in Bingham, Newark, Grantham and the surrounding areas.”
Asif Vali, 56, who denied all the charges, was found guilty by a jury on December 18 of last year following a three-day long trial at Bolton Crown Court.
He was sentenced on Thursday (February 26) at the same court for a string of sex offences he was accused of committing against a woman in Bolton in 2013.
Vali, of Hill Cot Road, Astley Bridge, was found guilty of two counts of exposure, two counts of sexual assault and a single count of assault by penetration.
Huw Edwards, prosecuting, said that Vali’s “sexual interest” in his victim began with texts before he “progressed his sexual behaviour”.
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Mr Edwards said that Vali would perform sex acts in her presence and make vulgar suggestions.
He said she “felt afraid of the defendant and also unable to report his behaviour”.
Mr Edwards read a second statement she had written after Vali was found guilty, in which she said: “Asif Vali ruined my life and my potential for a long time.”
She called him a “volatile and unpredictable man”.
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The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)
She said that she had felt shame since the incident, and said: “I’ve continued to punish myself for something I know is not my fault.
“I’m slowly beginning to learn that what happened to me was Asif Vali’s behaviour and not mine.
“He can take my self-worth but he will never, never, take away my strength and resilience.”
Tom Worsfold, defending, said that Vali had been on bail for six years until his conviction “without any issues”.
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He said that Vali had been previously convicted for unrelated offences when he was much younger, and “he was able to turn his life around following that spate of offending”.
Mr Worsfold said that Vali had been involved with youth work following this, which is when he met Amir Khan before becoming his manager.
He said that Vali’s son had passed away at the age of 15 from cancer in 2015 and “since then he had his own mental health difficulties”.
Mr Worsfold said that following this, Vali had set up a charity to fund children’s funerals.
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He called the assault “a significant fall from grace for a man with a strong moral compass and it saddens him to know that work is now tarnished by these offences”.
Judge Clarke addressed Vali and said: “By the time you were 46 years of age you had all the trappings of a successful life.
“You had been involved with Amir Khan in events all around the world and through this you had developed some standing in the local community.”
He said that Vali’s advances were “both unwelcome and offensive to her”.
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Judge Clarke said: “This was the most disgusting behaviour – unfortunately she was afraid of you and felt unable to report it.
“She knows what you know – that she offered you no encouragement at all.
“Hopefully these proceedings will bring some closure knowing that she has been listened to, heard and believed.”
Vali was jailed for 11 years, with two-thirds to be served in custody, and was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements.
Over nearly two years, from February 2002 to November 2003, Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane to Europe, Africa, Asia, Russia and – closer to home – Miami and New York, according to the flight logs. At the time, Clinton’s team was trying to raise money for his foundation – as much as $100m (£74.3m), according to a memo published by WikiLeaks.
NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery has determined that Paramount’s latest takeover offer is superior to the streaming and studio agreement it struck with Netflix, marking a stark shift in momentum in the fight for the storied Hollywood giant.
The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like “Harry Potter” had backed Netflix’s proposal for months. But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warner’s board on Thursday said that the offer “constitutes a ‘company superior proposal.’”
That could mean the start of a fresh bidding war over Warner. Netflix now has four business days to try and match Paramount’s proposal to further revise its offer — which currently stands at $27.75 per share for Warner’s studio and streaming business.
Warner on Thursday maintained that Netflix’s bid remains on the table. And despite Thursday’s decision, the board noted that it “has not withdrawn or modified” its previous recommendation in favor of that transaction.
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Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Paramount CEO David Ellison applauded the news — noting in a statement that the company was “pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer.”
The fight for Warner is complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Unlike the streaming giant, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery.
The companies have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over who has a stronger deal. And Thursday’s announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.
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Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion. And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company had said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.
The man is alleged to have committed a number of offences in Derry
A man will appear in court on Friday charged with a number of offences including kidnap.
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It follows an investigation by detectives at Strand Road after a report of a kidnapping in the Northland Terrace area of Derry on October 1, 2025.
The man, aged 31, has been charged with kidnap, false imprisonment, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, burglary and theft.
He is expected to appear before Londonderry Magistrates Court, tomorrow, Friday, February 27.
PSNI added that as is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
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Husna Anjum Senior Live News Reporter and Sophie Doughty
22:08, 26 Feb 2026Updated 22:14, 26 Feb 2026
A source reveals that inmates at high security HMP Frankland have been vying to be the one to ‘do in Ian Huntley’ for a long time after the child killer suffered serious injuries in an attack on Thursday.
Soham murderer Ian Huntley was left in a pool of blood after an attack by a fellow inmate at the prison. The now 52-year-old is in a serious condition in hospital police have said.
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One insider said that many prisoners inside the so-called ‘Monster Mansion’ would love to earn themselves the reputation as the one who hurt Huntley.
A man, who spoke to the Chronicle under the agreement he wouldn’t be named said he came across Huntley at HMP Frankland and ‘despised’ the way staff treated him. He said: “He’s up there with one of the most hated prisoners. It could have been anyone.
“The majority would attack him for the reputation, not because of what he has done. They will want to be the one that done in Ian Huntley.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s always going to happen. If he survives it’s always going to happen every few years. If he has annoyed someone really bad or someone wants to be able to say they have killed him.
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“He’s probably one of the most famous prisoners in the country.”
Huntley was jailed for life for murdering Holly and Jessica, both 10, in a crime that sent shockwaves across the country. The then caretaker enticed the friends into his Cambridgeshire home and and killed them. Their bodies were found dumped in a ditch 12 miles away.
It is understood Huntley was held on an ‘enhanced’ wing at HMP Frankland. Inmates on this wing do not mix with other prisoners, the source explained.
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He said: “He is sort of protected in prison but so are the likes of Levi Belfield and Wayne Couzens. They all get moved around together. You could never put him in normal prison population.”
Huntley and other prisoners on his wing attend a recycling workshop, the source said, adding that Huntley had recently started going to the gym inside.
“He would have been easier to get to him in the workshop he goes to. Only his wing’s prisoners go to that workshop, it could be someone on his wing,” he said.
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“The only workshop they do is recycling. They think they are big and clever, but they are going through other people’s rubbish.
“But he has been going to the gym so it could have happened there. I came across him a lot.
“He’s a self-righteous p***k. He thinks he’s above everybody else. He used to get on really well with the staff in his wing. They used to do crosswords with him, which I despised. But they were just feeding his ego. He was always polite, but I couldn’t stand him.”
Today’s attack was not the first time the child killer was attacked by fellow inmates. In September 2005 Huntley was scalded with boiling water while being held at HMP Wakefield, in Yorkshire.
In 2010 he was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham after being slashed across the throat with a makeshift weapon. Damien Fowkes, 36, admitted attempting to murder Huntley and killing another inmate, paedophile and child murderer Colin Hatch – at Full Sutton Prison, near York.
Fowkes inflicted a seven-inch wound on Huntley’s neck with a razor melted on to a piece of plastic cutlery. It’s reported that Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”
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Someone has finally grown suspicious of Jodie Ramsey (Picture: ITV)
Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances-Brown) may have fooled Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) with her perfect sister routine, but there is one Coronation Street resident who isn’t buying it for a second.
Newcomer Jodie has spent most of her time on the cobbles stirring things up among the locals, causing all manner of mischief from spreading baseless gossip to refusing to pick up after David the Dog.
In tonight’s episode, Shona was still devastated about her lost wedding ring, and Jodie was determined to play the hero.
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Easy enough, given that she stole the ring!
Shona realised it was missing after taking it off in the salon to have her nails done during their pamper session, but when she and Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) turned the place upside down and had no luck finding it, Shona was gutted.
Jodie enlisted David Platt’s help to retrieve Shona’s ring (Picture: ITV)
Tonight, by some miracle, Jodie managed to ‘find’ the ring down the back of a chair in the Platt’s living room, and enlisted David Platt’s (Jack P Shepherd) help in retrieving it.
When they arrived in the Rovers, where Shona was having a drink with Bethany and Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon), David gave Jodie the glory of finding the ring, and Shona was clearly over the moon.
However, Bethany clearly wasn’t convinced.
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Jodie had already given her bad vibes the day before when she told her she hadn’t cooked enough for three and asked her to leave, and the return of the ring left a sour taste in Bethany’s mouth.
When Maria made a passing comment about Jodie’s skill at making friends and influencing people, she could tell that Bethany had reservations about her.
Bethany Platt is suspicious of Jodie (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Bethany confided in Maria that she hadn’t made up her mind about Jodie, but that Shona had been sure she’d lost her ring in the salon.
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Maria was quick to point out that Shona has had a lot on her plate recently, before joking that Bethany was just being paranoid.
We know that Jodie is on the list of possible victims for the flashforward murder, so could Bethany be set to uncover her secret past and set the stage for her death, or even be the one to kill her herself?
British gardeners and farmers may remember 2024 with a shudder – it was widely referred to as “the year of the slug”. Vast numbers of slimy slitherers chomped their way through raspberries, laid waste to lettuce and toppled tomato plants.
Directly sown crops were demolished, early carrots did not germinate and main crop potatoes were damaged.
Slugs are well suited to the UK’s damp, mild climate and have a wide diet, but only a few species feed on live plants. Slugs and snails are actually an important part of the decomposition cycle, meaning they help the composting process. Apart from those that eat your plants, they can be considered a gardener’s friend, as long as their populations remain stable.
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Outbreaks of insect pests, for example, occur when checks on population growth such as predators, competitors or environmental constraints are removed.
So, what conditions favour growth of slug populations and how well did 2024 match these?
Slugs need moist conditions as they have little or no shell and their protective mucus is water based. Slugs can reproduce throughout the year, but do so mostly in spring and in autumn. They can overwinter in the egg, juvenile or adult stage. To avoid frost and predators they seek dark, damp, insulated areas, such as underground, beneath pots or within compost heaps. Slugs are resilient and most survive the winter especially under mild conditions, but hard frosts will kill them.
If it’s mild, slug populations actually increase as early plant growth in late winter provides adults with additional energy to lay eggs. These eggs can hatch in ten days, but take up to 100 days if it’s cold. Over a typical one year life span a slug can lay up to 500 eggs.
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And a warm wet spring or summer with frequent rain allows populations to disperse and grow.
The year 2024 had conditions ideal for slug breeding; a mild winter, high moisture levels in spring and summer, and no long dry spells.
According to the Met Office, 2024 climate statistics showed the UK is heading outside the “envelope of historical weather observations”. The year 2024 was the fourth warmest year since 1884. Overall it was a little wetter than average, but central and southern England had 25-30% more rain than normal, making the area both warm and damp.
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In addition, 2023 had been the UK’s second warmest year, and wetter than average. This combination promoted slug population growth, setting the base for the 2024 increase.
In contrast, 2025 weather was less favourable for slugs as it varied from cold to extreme heat with little rainfall. Slug populations are disrupted by dry and unstable conditions. However, it is difficult to predict population trends when there is instability. For example, climate change is making it difficult to predict butterfly numbers.
The grey slug is Britain’s most widespread slug. Christopher Terrell Nield, Author provided (no reuse)
Following a cold snap before Christmas 2025, UK winter was mild and very wet, with persistent cloud cover trapped by high pressure over Scandinavia. Some areas had 50% of annual rainfall in the first six weeks of 2026, with widespread flooding. When this pattern shifted, cold arctic air entered the UK. Spring could be chilly as March frequently exceeds December for snowfall and there can be cold snaps in April.
Thus, the picture for 2026 is complicated. Although flooding can kill overwintering eggs and adults, a mild wet winter will have reduced slug mortality. It may also affect slug predators. Beetles used for slug control in conservation agriculture can survive short term inundation but their larvae in saturated soil probably won’t. Flooding also creates lots of ready food for slugs from plants that have died in the water, a potential slug fest as it dries in spring.
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With a global temperature above 1.4°C, compared to pre-industrial levels, the Met Office predicts a warm 2026. In addition, the UK government’s Environment Agency predicted a drought in 2026, before the winter’s heavy rainfall.
Overall the conditions point towards increased slug populations but probably not as bad as 2024.
You can water in parasitic nematodes. These only attack slugs and snails, where they transmit a lethal bacterial infection. It’s a wildlife-friendly option, if a bit expensive.
Put down bark, cat litter, sand or grit. Copper tape may be effective, but physical barriers don’t always work. Smear the edge of pots with petroleum jelly. Creating habitats for slug predators will boost your defences too.
Slugs are nocturnal so water plants in the morning so the soil can dry before they become active. Remove slugs under torchlight, or set pitfall traps. Grow slug-resistant plants such as such as sedum, rosemary and geraniums.
It seems counter intuitive to attract slugs, but compost heaps can redirect them from vulnerable plants. Ferric phosphate slug pellets are effective, but must be targeted around your most vulnerable plants as they can harm wildlife that eats slugs.
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Whatever methods you use, remember that most slugs are our friends and an important part of the ecosystem.
Do the seasons feel increasingly weird to you? You’re not alone. Climate change is distorting nature’s calendar, causing plants to flower early and animals to emerge at the wrong time.
This article is part of a series, Wild Seasons, on how the seasons are changing – and what they may eventually look like.
The earthquake happened at a depth of 10km in the channel between the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria
Husna Anjum and Sam Elliott-Gibbs
21:07, 26 Feb 2026Updated 21:08, 26 Feb 2026
Rooms were vibrating and furniture shook when an earthquake hit two major holiday hotspots. The terrifying incident happened today (February 26) at 12.26pm in the area of the Enmedio Volcano, in the channel that separates the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Scientists have also issued a volcanic eruption update as reported by The Mirror, as locals have been urged not to panic. Experts add the 4.1 magnitude quake is not connected to the seismic swarms being registered for the last two weeks under Tenerife’s Mount Teide.
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They stress an eruption is not imminent. IGN volcanologist Rubén López dissociated this earthquake from the recent rebound in seismicity in the Cañadas del Teide area.
He said: “In 1989, in this same area, an earthquake of 5.3 was recorded that was felt throughout the island of Tenerife.”
The movement was been widely felt by the population in various parts of the geography of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. One resident of Agaete in Gran Canaria said: “It lasted about ten seconds and was more noticeable than ever, moving the whole house.
“It went from less to more. At first it seemed like the closing of a door, but then the whole house moved.”
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The National Geographic Institute has listed the towns where the earthquake was felt with varying intensities. The tremor not only shook Tenerife but also reached several points on Gran Canaria, and was felt in more than 100 population centres across the two main islands.
Included in these towns are a number of tourist hotspots including Los Cristianos in Tenerife and Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. No material or personal damage of any consideration has been reported.
Scientists are meeting again tomorrow to discuss further the thousands of vibrations with have been monitored under Mount Teide on Tenerife.
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They say an eruption is not imminent in the short or medium term as the signs would be very different. However, they want all municipalities in Tenerife to update their emergency plans, saying residents in places such as Iceland all know exactly what to do if there was an eruption.
Tenerife’s government says the island has the best and most extensive monitoring system and insists there is no cause for anyone to be concerned.
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