Edition - Thursday, March 5, 2026

8.2

The Big Signal

Anthropic Reopens Pentagon Talks as Military AI Debate Intensifies Among Tech Firms

•Anthropic is negotiating with the Pentagon to potentially resume military AI collaboration after abandoning a previous contract over safety concerns.
•Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei accused OpenAI of telling 'straight up lies' regarding military deal circumstances, according to TechCrunch.
•Smack Technologies is actively training AI models designed to plan battlefield operations for military use.
•OpenAI's annualized revenue surpassed $25 billion as of late February, up roughly 17% from its previously reported $21.4 billion figure.
•The debate highlights frontier AI systems increasingly being treated as strategic national security infrastructure.

7.7

•China's 2026 GDP growth target has been set at 4.5% to 5%, the first reduction in three years, according to a report presented by Premier Li Qiang at the opening session of the National People's Congress.
•The lowered target represents a slight decrease from the previous year's goal amid what Business Standard described as a prolonged property slump and uncertainty abroad.
•CNA characterized the announcement as a closely watched signal of policy direction as the economy grapples with weak demand, property strains, and trade pressures.
•Global uncertainty and external trade pressures were cited alongside domestic challenges as factors influencing the government's more conservative growth expectations.

7.6

•The NRC granted TerraPower the first federal construction approval for a new commercial nuclear reactor in nearly a decade.
•The Wyoming plant will use sodium-cooled reactor technology, which operates differently from conventional water-cooled designs.
•The plant is not expected to be operational before 2030 and still requires a separate operating license.
•The approval comes amid growing interest in advanced nuclear technology as a low-carbon energy source.

7.4

•Study of 600,000 US military veterans links GLP-1 medications to reduced substance-use disorder complications.
•GLP-1 drugs are being researched for oral delivery using lettuce cells, per Penn Dental research.
•GLP-1 medications are showing promise in treating various addiction disorders, beyond obesity.
•Some patients maintain weight loss with fewer GLP-1 injections, according to recent findings.

7.3

•The study identified flawed baseline assumptions about existing coastal water levels used in a majority of hazard assessments.
•The findings compress projected timelines for when dangerous coastal flooding thresholds will be reached.