The briefing for Sunday, March 1.

The United States and Israel launched massive air strikes across Iran on Saturday, with President Donald Trump announcing that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks. Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei's death early Sunday, though it did not elaborate on a cause. Two Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity also confirmed to the AP that the 86-year-old leader, who ruled Iran since 1989, had been killed. Trump called the attack 'major combat operations' aimed at destroying Iran's military capabilities and nuclear program, while also urging Iranian citizens to 'take over your government.'

Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. military installations across the region, including bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. At least 201 people were killed and more than 700 injured in Iran, according to Iranian state media citing the Red Crescent. Among the casualties, at least 108 people died when strikes hit a girls' school in southern Iran near a Revolutionary Guard base, though the BBC has not independently verified this toll. The U.S. military reported no American casualties despite 'hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks,' with Israel reporting 89 people 'lightly injured' and minimal damage from intercepted missiles.

The strikes came just two days after the latest round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations in Geneva, where Trump had pressured Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear program. One of the first strikes hit near Khamenei's offices, with satellite images showing significant damage to his compound. Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other senior commanders were also killed in the attacks, according to Iranian state media. The operation marks the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked Iran during nuclear talks, following strikes last June that targeted the country's nuclear facilities.

World leaders reacted cautiously to the escalation. Britain, France, and Germany called for a resumption of negotiations while condemning Iranian retaliatory strikes, though they said their countries did not participate in the attacks. Russia condemned the strikes as 'unprovoked armed aggression,' while the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting where Secretary-General António Guterres warned the attacks violated international law. Trump warned Iran not to escalate further, writing that America would strike back 'with a force that has never been seen before.' The operation has disrupted flights across the Middle East, with Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Doha airports closed, stranding tens of thousands of travelers worldwide.

President Trump directed all federal agencies to immediately cease using technology from AI developer Anthropic and phase out its tools over six months, escalating a standoff over military access to the company's artificial intelligence systems. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he would designate Anthropic a 'supply chain risk,' making it the first U.S. company to ever publicly receive such treatment under a law designed to counter foreign threats. The designation prohibits any business working with the military from conducting commercial activity with Anthropic.

The confrontation erupted after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused Pentagon demands for 'any lawful use' of the company's AI tools, expressing concerns about potential applications in 'mass surveillance' and 'fully autonomous weapons.' Anthropic, which has provided AI services to classified government agencies since 2024, said it would challenge the supply chain risk designation in court, calling it 'legally unsound' and warning it sets 'a dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government.' The company emphasized that its refusal covers specific use cases, not all military applications.

OpenAI quickly moved to fill the void, with CEO Sam Altman confirming his company reached a deal to provide AI models on classified cloud networks while maintaining similar 'red lines' against unlawful uses, domestic surveillance, and autonomous offensive weapons. Altman sent a note to staff seen by the BBC stating he had the same restrictions when it comes to application of AI products. The rivalry between Altman and Amodei dates to 2021, when Amodei and other OpenAI employees left to found Anthropic after disagreements over AI safety concerns.

Trump threatened 'major civil and criminal consequences' if Anthropic doesn't cooperate during the phase-out period, stating the company should 'get their act together.' The dispute highlights growing tensions over military use of AI technology and the balance between national security needs and ethical concerns about autonomous weapons systems. For Anthropic's other customers, the company said the impact will primarily affect companies that also contract with the military for defense-related work.

India's Supreme Court ordered WhatsApp to provide users greater control over how their data is shared with parent company Meta by March 16, warning it would not allow the companies to 'play with' Indians' right to privacy or 'make a mockery' of the Constitution. WhatsApp told the court in an affidavit that users can continue using the app even if they opt out of sharing data with Meta for advertising purposes, marking a significant shift from its controversial 2021 privacy policy that required data sharing as a condition of service.

The legal battle centers on WhatsApp's January 2021 policy update, which gave users a 'take it or leave it' choice: share data with Meta companies or stop using the app. India's Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigated the policy change and in November 2024 fined Meta $25 million for 'abusing its dominant position,' arguing the policy exploited WhatsApp's dominance in India to deny advertising access to rivals. The CCI ordered a five-year ban on data sharing and directed WhatsApp to clearly specify purposes of data sharing in its privacy policy.

WhatsApp operates in a dominant position in India with approximately 853 million users, representing a 97% penetration rate among internet users according to World Population Review. The 2021 policy drew widespread criticism because it differed from the 2016 policy, which had allowed existing users to opt out of data sharing with Meta for advertising. Digital rights activists criticized the change as invasive and a violation of user autonomy, while WhatsApp maintains that personal messages remain protected by end-to-end encryption.

WhatsApp and Meta challenged the CCI's order before a company law tribunal, which upheld the penalty but stayed the five-year data-sharing ban. The companies then moved to the Supreme Court in January 2026 to contest the fine. The case reflects broader tensions between global tech platforms and India's federal government, which has tightened digital regulations in recent years and pushed for greater accountability from companies operating in one of the world's largest internet markets.

The Treasury Department terminated collective bargaining agreements with unions representing workers at the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, affecting approximately 150,000 federal employees represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. The move, announced Friday, represents an escalation of President Trump's push to exert more control over the federal workforce and follows a directive from the Office of Personnel Management earlier this month calling on agency heads to terminate union contracts.

IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin told employees in a letter that the termination 'deepens our commitment of operating as one IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers.' The Treasury Department cited a Trump executive order signed last March as authority for the terminations. However, union officials strongly disputed the legality of the action, with National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald stating the IRS 'cannot unilaterally end' its contract and that federal labor law requires the agency to maintain a collective bargaining agreement with the exclusive representative of its employees.

The contract terminations came after a D.C. court issued a preliminary injunction against the government over Trump's executive order, though that injunction was stayed pending appeal. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision in a separate case that cleared the way for implementation of Trump's order, providing the administration with legal cover for the Treasury action. The union had sued the federal government last year over the executive order.

The Office of Personnel Management memo, issued by director Scott Kupor this month, specifically called on agency heads to notify labor unions about terminating collective bargaining agreements 'whether represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) or another labor union.' The National Treasury Employees Union represents roughly 150,000 employees across 37 departments and agencies, making the Treasury Department's action one of the most sweeping labor moves of the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the federal workforce.

Hundreds of children have been detained for months at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in south Texas, with many families describing poor conditions including worms in food, inadequate medical care, and lights kept on 24 hours a day. An Ecuadorian mother and her 7-year-old daughter spent a month at the facility 1,300 miles from their Minnesota home before being released in mid-February. The mother, speaking anonymously to protect their immigration case, said her daughter wept nightly asking, 'Mom, what crime did I commit to be a prisoner?'

ICE booked more than 3,800 children into detention during the first nine months of the new Trump administration, according to an AP analysis of data from UC Berkeley's Deportation Data Project. On an average day more than 220 children were held, with most detained longer than 24 hours sent to Dilley. More than half of all detainees during that period were children. The government has been holding many children well beyond the 20-day limit set by longstanding court order, with some families detained for more than four months.

The facility, which the Obama administration opened in 2014 for families who had recently crossed the border, was closed by the Biden administration in 2024 before being reopened by Trump last spring. Since reopening, three decisive changes have shaped life at Dilley: a sharp rise in detained families since last fall, prolonged detentions beyond legal limits, and a shift to detaining people who had lived in the U.S. for several years with established roots in neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. Christian Hinojosa, detained with her 13-year-old son for more than four months, noted the disparity after 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were released after 10 days following congressional intervention.

Detained families reported multiple concerns about conditions, including finding worms in food and inadequate medical care. Nearly two-thirds of children detained by ICE were eventually deported and almost 1 in 10 left when parents accepted voluntary departure, according to AP analysis of the latest comprehensive data. About a quarter were released in the U.S., requiring sponsors to post bond. Georgetown University law professor Philip Schrag, who counseled Dilley detainees during the Obama administration, described the psychological impact: 'Just imagine that you're a child and you're taken out of your surroundings' into 'a completely strange environment with the doors locked and guards in uniform roaming around.'