Trump Directs the Government to Stop Using Anthropic’s AI

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Alex Ossola (0:33)

The US is intensifying its military preparations in the Middle East for a possible attack on Iran. Plus, Bill Clinton tells Congress that he had no idea about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. And Trump says he's ending the government's use of Anthropic's AI. The administration's fight with Anthropic could have big national security implications.

Amrith Ramkumar (0:53)

This is 100% about who controls how AI is used in the military. So those stakes are enormous because that's going to be a topic that comes up again and again in the coming years and decades.

Alex Ossola (1:03)

It's Friday, February 27th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. The US is gearing up for a possible war with Iran. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is approaching the Middle East today, adding a second carrier to the armada of American naval and air power already in the region. Talks between American and Iranian negotiators concluded yesterday with no deal on Tehran's nuclear and missile programs. The US is pulling non-essential staff from two of its embassies in the Middle East to prepare for possible counter-strikes from Iran. Speaking to reporters today, President Trump said the US and Iran weren't close to an agreement.

Amrith Ramkumar (1:50)

Well, we haven't made a final decision. We're not exactly happy with the way they're negotiating.

Suzanne Kappner (1:56)

They cannot have nuclear weapons.

Amrith Ramkumar (1:59)

We're not thrilled with the way they're negotiating.

Suzanne Kappner (2:01)

So we'll see how it all works.

Alex Ossola (2:03)

It's not clear when any attack would take place. Iranian and US officials are supposed to meet in Vienna on Monday for talks. And in Chappaqua, New York, Bill Clinton testified today before the House Oversight Committee, the first time a former US president appeared before a congressional committee under subpoena. Hillary Clinton testified yesterday. According to his prepared opening remarks for today's closed-door session, Bill Clinton said he had no idea about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. He also said that he was likely not to recall certain details, and that he wouldn't lie under oath about events from two decades earlier. Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California and the committee's ranking member, said Clinton was cooperative in his testimony.

Robert Garcia (2:44)

He's actually answering the questions fairly, to the best of his ability. He has not taken a pass on pleading the fifth for any questions. He's been very thorough.

Alex Ossola (2:54)

But Democrats also say Trump should testify too.

Robert Garcia (2:57)

We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the Oversight Committee. He appears in the Epstein files next to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, almost more than anybody else.

Alex Ossola (3:13)

Representative James Comer, the Republican chair of the committee, said Trump has already answered questions about Epstein multiple times. Trump today said that he didn't like seeing Clinton deposed, but that quote, they certainly went after me a lot more than that. The three major US indexes fell today. The Dow had the biggest loss, closing down 1.1 percent. The KBW-NASDAQ Bank index fell 4.9 percent, its largest one-day drop since market turmoil last April related to tariffs. The country's largest banks tend to be a proxy for investors' beliefs about the economy. Journal Markets reporter Jack Pitcher says the reasons stocks dropped today aren't new.

SPEAKER_1 (3:53)

We saw tech and financials weighing on the stock indexes, which extended some storylines we've seen come up throughout the month. When it comes to tech stocks, people are trying to figure out how some of the rapid AI developments we're seeing are going to impact different business models. Meanwhile, in financials, there's been a lot of concerns about private credit and whether there's maybe some more risk in the system than people realized.

Alex Ossola (4:16)

For the month, the NASDAQ fell 3.4% while the S&P finished down 0.9%, both the sharpest losses since March 2025 The Dow ended up 0.2% in February, its 10th straight winning month.

Bloomingdale's doesn't seem like a retailer that should be succeeding right now. Rivals like Sachs and Lord & Taylor have filed for bankruptcy or gone out of business. But Bloomingdale's is thriving. It's posted five straight quarters of sales gains, and analysts expect that trend to continue. Suzanne Kappner covers retail for the journal. Suzanne, why is Bloomingdale's doing so well when so many rivals have failed?