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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Fri, Feb 27, 2026, 1:21 PM EST

World

AI Summary

  • The global AI landscape is rapidly evolving, with OpenAI securing a substantial $110 billion funding round and advancements in AI technology prompting job cuts at companies like Block, while also influencing Pentagon decisions on military applications.
  • Geopolitical tensions remain high, notably with Pakistan declaring 'open war' on Afghanistan following intensified border clashes, and escalating concerns over potential U.S. military action against Iran, leading to U.S. embassy staff evacuations from Israel.
  • Economic indicators show mixed signals, with U.S. Producer Prices unexpectedly surging due to rising services costs, yet Chicago PMI data smashing expectations and the chocolate market seeing easing costs from raw material deflation.
  • Political landscapes in the UK and US are experiencing significant shifts, including the Green Party's electoral gains in a UK byelection, ongoing investigations into figures like Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein, and continued legal battles and political maneuvers involving Donald Trump.
  • Key industrial developments include a significant memory crunch expected to impact global smartphone shipments, a critical minerals deal between the UK and Kazakhstan to reduce reliance on China, and the ongoing challenges and strategic realignments in the semiconductor and tech sectors.

ZeroHedge

  • Biden Admin 'Invited' Fani Willis To Get Lucrative Grant While She Prosecuted Trump an hour ago by Tyler Durden

    Biden Admin 'Invited' Fani Willis To Get Lucrative Grant While She Prosecuted Trump Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA, The DOJ under the Biden administration “invited” disgraced Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to apply for a generous taxpayer-funded grant as she prosecuted President Donald Trump.  The arrangement came to light after Willis referenced the grant in December 2022 correspondence with DOJ Senior Advisor Scott Pestridge of the Office of Justice Programs.   The document was first revealed on Thursday by Just the News through open records requests filed by the outlet and nonprofit America First Legal.  According to Just the News, Willis referenced the Office of Justice Programs’ Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative grant, which ultimately awarded her office $2

  • Altman Pitches Pentagon On Anthropic Alternative As WSJ Does Deep-State Concern-Trolling Over Grok 2 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Altman Pitches Pentagon On Anthropic Alternative As WSJ Does Deep-State Concern-Trolling Over Grok As today's 5PM ET deadline looms for Anthropic to militarize Claude AI for the Pentagon, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman waded into the fray - telling staff on Thursday night that his company is working with the Department of War to see if their models can be used in classified settings in a way that maintains the same safety guardrails that are about to get Anthropic booted from the Pentagon.  "We are going to see if there is a deal with the DoW that allows our models to be deployed in classified environments

  • Kristi Noem Says DHS Staffers Put Spyware On Her Phone And Laptop To Record Meetings 2 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Kristi Noem Says DHS Staffers Put Spyware On Her Phone And Laptop To Record Meetings Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Thursday that certain DHS staffers had allegedly installed spyware on her phone and computer, as well as on devices belonging to other political appointees. “You wouldn’t even believe what I’ve found since I’ve been in this department,” Noem told conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David . Noem said she discovered the spyware last year with the assistance of former DOGE chief Elon Musk and his team. “They helped me identify that some of my own

  • Brutal: Democrats Walked Straight Into This 3 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Brutal: Democrats Walked Straight Into This Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, A new advertisement from conservative group American Sovereignty hammers Democrats for staying seated during President Trump’s State of the Union call to prioritize American citizens over illegal aliens, using footage that lays bare their priorities. The ad, which dropped Thursday, features Trump stating, “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”  Republicans rose in applause while Democrats remained glued to their seats, with overlays labeling the divide and accusing Dems of siding with “illegal immigrant criminals.”  The

  • Pakistan Declares 'All-Out War' Against Afghanistan, Hundreds Dead In Overnight Clashes With Taliban 3 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Pakistan Declares 'All-Out War' Against Afghanistan, Hundreds Dead In Overnight Clashes With Taliban Overnight, Pakistan launched airstrikes across Afghanistan, including targets in the capital of Kabul, soon after which Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif by Friday morning declared an "all-out war" between the two countries. Hours prior to the commencement of airstrikes and heavier clashes, Afghan Taliban forces reportedly attacked Pakistani border troops Thursday night in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week. A Pakistani military spokesman has said that 274 Taliban fighters have been killed and more than 400 injured by Pakistani strikes, adding that 74 Taliban posts were destroyed and


The Guardian

  • Ghana says at least 55 of its people killed after Russia ‘lured’ them to fight Ukraine 3 hours ago by Guardian staff and agencies in Accra
    Ukraine, Ghana, Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Africa, Europe, World news

    Foreign minister says 272 Ghanaians are thought to have been drawn into battle since 2022, after he visited Kyiv At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister has said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people. Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s frontlines have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved. Continue reading...

  • Rising anger over ‘lop-sided’ and ‘immoral’ US health funding pacts with African countries 12 hours ago by Kat Lay Global health correspondent
    Global development, Aid, Africa, Health, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Trump administration, US politics, Data protection, Medical research, World news, Aids and HIV

    Zimbabwe refuses to sign agreement and Kenya faces a court case over data sharing as new aid deals come under scrutiny A series of bilateral health agreements being negotiated between African countries and the administration of President Donald Trump have been labelled “clearly lop-sided” and “immoral” amid growing outrage at US demands, including countries being forced to share biological resources and data. It emerged this week that Zimbabwe had halted negotiations with the US for $350m (£258m) of health funding, saying the proposals risked undermining its sovereignty and independence. Continue reading...

  • Two women arrested in Uganda for allegedly kissing in public could face life sentence a day ago by Samuel Okiror
    Global development, Uganda, LGBTQ+ rights, Africa, World news

    Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise were taken into custody under laws that have outraged LGBTQ+ community and rights activists Two women have been arrested and detained in Uganda after allegedly kissing in public, an act of “same-sex activity” which can lead to a life sentence in the east African country.. Wendy Faith, a 22-year-old musician known as Torrero Bae, and Alesi Diana Denise, 21, were taken into custody after police raided their rented room in Uganda’s north-west Arua City last week. Continue reading...

  • ‘A devastating force’: how recent storms turned to tragedies across the western Mediterranean 2 days ago by Ajit Niranjan
    Extreme weather, Flooding, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Africa, Environment, Europe, World news, Climate crisis

    Atmospheric machine-gun has fired storm after deadly storm at the region this year, leaving a trail of widespread destruction For Andrés Sánchez Barea, in Spain, it was the fear that arose when water started to spurt from plug sockets. For Nelson Duarte, in Portugal, it was the helplessness that hit as violent winds smacked down trees and tore tiles from roofs. For Amal Essuide, in Morocco, it was the reality that dawned when a corpse was pulled onboard a boat in the flooded medina. Each moment of horror is a fragment of the destruction wrought by an atmospheric machine-gun that in recent

  • US accused of ‘shameless exploitation’ over proposed Zambian health aid deal 2 days ago by Andrew Green
    Global health, Global development, Zambia, Aid, US foreign policy, Trump administration, US politics, World news, Africa, US news

    Leaked draft of $1bn memorandum of understanding reveals mandatory targets, sharing of data, and reported access to mining concessions The US has been accused of “shameless exploitation” over a health financing agreement with Zambia worth more than $1bn (£740m), amid warnings that the country is getting a raw deal from the Trump administration. A leaked draft of a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries, seen by the Guardian, reveals that Zambia may accept terms worse than health financing agreements the US has reached with 16 other African countries. Continue reading...


South China Morning Post

  • Bill Clinton grilled over Epstein ties by US lawmakers 2 hours ago by Reuters

    Bill Clinton told lawmakers on Friday that he “saw nothing that gave me pause” when he spent time with Jeffrey Epstein, as the former president gave closed-door testimony about his relationship with the late sex offender. In a prepared statement, Clinton told the House of Representatives Oversight Committee that he would not have flown on ‌the late financier’s plane if he had known about his alleged sex trafficking of underage girls and would have reported him if he did. “We are only here...

  • Nasa overhauls Artemis mission amid setbacks in moon race with China 2 hours ago by Bloomberg

    Nasa is shaking up its Artemis mission to the moon, cancelling a multibillion-dollar Boeing upgrade to the centrepiece SLS rocket and slotting in a test flight closer to Earth as the programme remains beset by delays and cost overruns. The changes announced on Friday mean that Nasa is essentially swapping the actual moon landing for an additional test mission staged closer to Earth – while insisting the 2028 deadline for a lunar touchdown remains unchanged. Artemis III, which was supposed to be...

  • US tells some embassy staff to leave Israel as Iran war clouds gather 6 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    The United States authorised the departure of non-emergency embassy staff from Israel on Friday, as it threatened strikes on Iran and pressed its biggest military build-up in the Middle East in decades. The move came a day after a round of Oman-mediated talks between Iran and the US seen as a last-ditch bid to avert war, though initial optimism was tempered by Tehran warning Washington must drop “excessive demands” to reach a deal. The talks follow repeated threats from President Donald Trump to...

  • UK probes if Epstein used airbases for trafficking girls amid Andrew scrutiny 7 hours ago by dpa

    British Defence Secretary John Healey has ordered a review of military files for any evidence that Jeffrey Epstein used airbases to traffic girls into the UK. Healey has tasked officials with trawling through more than two decades of Ministry of Defence (MoD) records and handing over to police any flight logs linked to the late paedophile financier. It comes after former prime minister Gordon Brown wrote to six police forces demanding investigations into whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used...

  • Trump’s State of the Union report underlines shift to ‘world minus one’ 7 hours ago by Andrew Sheng

    On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was a long and rambling preparation for the congressional midterm elections in November. If, as Trump claims, America “is back, bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before”, what does it mean for the rest of the world? Is the global economy as a whole bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever? Or are we in what Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney argued in his stunning speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last...


New York Times

  • Pentagon-Anthropic Standoff Is a Decisive Moment for How A.I. Will Be Used in War 2 hours ago by Adam Satariano, Julian E. Barnes and Sheera Frenkel
    Artificial Intelligence, United States Defense and Military Forces, Arms Trade, Defense Contracts, United States Politics and Government, Classified Information and State Secrets, Regulation and Deregulation of Industry, Computers and the Internet, Anthropic AI LLC, Defense Department, Amodei, Dario, Hegseth, Pete, Toner, Helen

    The Pentagon’s contract dispute with Anthropic is part of a wider clash about the use of artificial intelligence for national security and who decides on any safeguards.

  • Pentagon Attacks Anthropic Chief as Deadline Looms in Standoff 3 hours ago by Julian E. Barnes and Sheera Frenkel
    United States Defense and Military Forces, Artificial Intelligence, United States Politics and Government, Defense Contracts, Anthropic AI LLC, Defense Department, Amodei, Dario, Hegseth, Pete, Trump, Donald J

    The A.I. firm had rejected military officials’ latest offer. Anthropic has until 5:01 p.m. on Friday to give them unrestricted access to its model.

  • U.S. Birthrate Declines to an All-Time Low, but There’s a Story of Success 2 hours ago by Sabrina Tavernise and Jeff Adelson
    Birth Rates, Age, Chronological, Women and Girls, United States, Teenage Pregnancy

    The political class is worried about the historic drop. But the biggest change is among the youngest women, who are the least ready to have children.

  • 4 Takeaways About the U.S. Birthrate Decline 2 hours ago by Sabrina Tavernise
    Birth Rates, Generation Z, Population, Teenage Pregnancy

    There is good news buried behind the worries about population decline, some experts say.

  • The Many Shades of Complicity in the Epstein Files Fallout 4 hours ago by Ginia Bellafante
    Colleges and Universities, Child Abuse and Neglect, Human Trafficking, Sex Crimes, Gifts to Public Officials, Women and Girls, Bard College, Columbia University, Guerrilla Girls, Botstein, Leon, Epstein, Jeffrey E (1953- ), Maxwell, Ghislaine, Shuliak, Karyna

    Philosophers have long wrestled with what to do about the onlookers and profiteers surrounding those who have done terrible things.


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