Trump orders U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic technology in clash over AI safety
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties, culminating an unusually public clash between the government and the company over AI safety. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials took to social...
Trump’s ‘pretty much’ decided whom to endorse in Texas’ Senate primary but isn’t yet saying a name
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump — who has long seemed like he just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary — says he’s “pretty much” decided whom to endorse in the critical March 3 contest. But as the showman president is wont to do, he...
Deaths on a boat off Cuba spotlight Florida anti-government groups
MIAMI — A stolen boat, with 10 people aboard, loaded with weapons, departs the Florida Keys but gunfire erupts before reaching Cuba. The explanation, according to the Cuban government, is the men aboard were terrorists who wanted to infiltrate the country. The fatal shooting broke out Wednesday amid heightened tensions...
Los Angeles school superintendent placed on paid leave amid federal probe
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho was put on paid leave Friday while he is part of a federal investigation, two days after the FBI served search warrants at his home and the district’s headquarters. Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving...
Sweden says it intercepted Russian drone during visit by French aircraft carrier
STOCKHOLM — A Russian drone carried out an unauthorized flight off southern Sweden earlier this week while a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmö, the Swedish military said Friday, in what the defense minister said was a violation of his country’s airspace. The armed forces said...
ICE facilities are planned for Pa. Will the Shapiro admin sue to stop them?
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. READING — Maryland’s attorney general is suing the federal government to prevent ICE from converting a warehouse into an...
Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with Iran talks but will wait to see what happens in further rounds
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he’s “not happy” with Iran talks so far but that he’ll wait to see what happens in additional rounds of negotiations with the Middle Eastern country over its nuclear program. “I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing...
4 things you didn’t know about the plummeting U.S. birth rate
The U.S. birth rate has fallen to its lowest rate in history. This has caused consternation in the political class: A falling rate can eventually lead to too few workers to support an aging population. (Immigration, the other element of population change, has fallen under the Trump administration.) Some on...
Pakistan is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in a dramatic escalation of tensions that led Pakistan’s defense minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of “open war.” Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for...
At least 55 Ghanaians killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine war, minister says
ACCRA, Ghana — At least 55 Ghanaians have died fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Ghana’s foreign minister said Friday, one of the highest death tolls from among several African countries whose citizens are fighting in the war. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said 272 Ghanaians have been lured into...
Bill Clinton says he ‘did nothing wrong’ with Epstein as he faced grilling over their relationship
WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two...
Scouting America will alter its policies to maintain support from the U.S. military, Pentagon says
WASHINGTON — Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the...
Papa Johns pizza chain will close 300 stores across U.S.
Papa Johns announced it plans to close about 300 stores across the United States by the end of 2027. The announcement was made by the Kentucky-based pizza chain during an earnings call on Thursday, USA Today reported. The company also said during the call that it has cut its corporate...
Ancient coupling may have happened more between human females and Neanderthal males
NEW YORK — Humans and Neanderthals cozied up from time to time when they lived in the same areas tens of thousands of years ago. But we don’t know much about who got with whom, or why. A new genetic analysis offers some ancient gossip: The pairings were more often...
Lawmakers say U.S. military used laser to take down Border Protection drone
FORT HANCOCK, Texas — The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. It’s not clear why the laser was deployed but it’s the second...
An angry Gov. Josh Shapiro pledges to block ICE detention centers in Pa.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro met with leaders in Berks and Schuylkill counties Thursday as those communities confront the planned federal conversion of two warehouses into ICE detention centers, pledging to do everything possible to block the Trump administration’s plans in the state. Shapiro, a Democrat who first opposed the potential...
Anthropic CEO says AI company ‘cannot in good conscience accede’ to Pentagon’s demands
WASHINGTON — Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday the artificial intelligence company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to allow wider use of its technology. The maker of the AI chatbot Claude said in a statement that it’s not walking away from negotiations, but that new contract...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential information to ICE 42,695 times, judge says
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Thursday that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information “approximately 42,695 times” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland...
Nearly blind refugee found dead after Border Patrol agents drop him at Buffalo doughnut shop
A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who disappeared after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Buffalo doughnut shop was found dead on the street five days later, prompting a police investigation and complaints from city officials that he’d been abandoned without care for his safety. Nurul Amin...
Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump
NEW YORK — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses. Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after...
Alcoa plans to sell off 10 former facilities for use as data centers
Alcoa, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum giant, intends to sell 10 of its closed or curtailed sites for use as data centers. Alcoa CEO Bill Oplinger announced the sell-off Tuesday at the BMO Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals Conference in Florida. Of the 10 facilities going on the market, “we think...
Judge rejects request to block Trump White House from building its $400 million ballroom project
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a preservationist group’s request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that The National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely...
Afghanistan’s new penal code sets 15 days in prison for wife-beating, 5 months for animal fights
ATHENS, Greece — A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January,...
Columbia student detained by federal agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ school says
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to her student housing by posing as investigators searching for a “missing person,” according to her attorneys and a statement from the school’s president. The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from...
