作者： root

Pentagon asks US defense contractors about reliance on Anthropic’s services, source says

By Reuters
February 25, 2026 10:58 PM UTC Updated 58 mins ago

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Item 1 of 2 Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

[1/2]Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

Feb 25 (Reuters) – The Pentagon is reaching out to defense contractors to assess their reliance on artificial intelligence lab Anthropic’s services, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, ahead of a Friday deadline for the AI firm to respond to the government.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Anthropic has no intention of easing its usage restrictions for military purposes, and talks continue after a meeting between the AI firm’s CEO and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss its future with the Pentagon.

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Axios reported earlier on Wednesday the Pentagon has asked defense contractors Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab to provide an assessment of their reliance on Anthropic, a first step toward a potential designation of the AI firm as a “supply chain risk.”

“Lockheed Martin has been contacted by the Department of War regarding an analysis of its exposure and reliance on Anthropic ahead of a potential supply chain risk declaration,” a Lockheed spokesperson told Axios. Boeing declined to comment to Axios.

Boeing and Lockheed did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The Pentagon also did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington D.C and Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese

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Trump says Muslim lawmakers Omar, Tlaib should be removed from US after speech clash

February 25, 2026 10:46 PM UTC / Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said Wednesday that two Muslim Democratic U.S. Representatives, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, should be “institutionalized” and sent back to “where they came from,” a day after they had a heated exchange with him during his State of the Union address.

During Trump’s speech on Tuesday, Tlaib, a Palestinian American, and Omar, a Somali American, criticized Trump as he touted his administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown and its immigration enforcement actions.

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Both Omar and Tlaib shouted “you’re killing Americans” at Trump during his speech, with Omar also calling him a “liar.”

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said the two lawmakers “had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized.”

“We should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible,” Trump added. Both Omar and Tlaib are U.S. citizens.

House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries cast Trump’s rhetoric against Tlaib and Omar as “xenophobic” and “disgraceful.” Tlaib said on X that Trump’s comments showed “he is crashing out.”

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Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations also said Trump’s comments were racist.

“It’s racist and bigoted to say two Muslim U.S. lawmakers should be sent to the country they were born in or where their ancestors came from based on their criticism of the gunning down of Americans by ICE,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that members of the media have “smeared” the president as a racist.

Trump’s immigration enforcement actions were criticized following two separate January fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota. At least eight people have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers since the start of 2026, following at least 31 deaths last year.

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During his Tuesday speech, Trump reiterated his accusation that Somali communities in the U.S. have engaged in fraud and claimed that “Somali pirates” had ransacked Minnesota. His administration had used fraud allegations to deploy armed federal immigration agents in Minnesota.

Trump has cast his actions as aiming to tackle fraud and improve domestic security.

Rights groups say the crackdown has created a fearful environment and that Trump has used isolated fraud cases as an excuse to target immigrants. They also dismiss Trump’s ability to tackle fraud, citing pardons from him to those who have faced fraud convictions in the past.

Trump also recently faced criticism after his social media account posted a video that contained a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Edited by Kat Stafford and Aurora Ellis

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Exclusive: FBI obtained Kash Patel and Susie Wiles phone records during Biden administration

By Jana Winter
February 25, 2026 9:32 PM UTC Updated 1 min ago

Item 1 of 3 FBI Director Kash Patel announces the apprehension of Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list, during a press conference in Ontario, California, U.S., January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/ File Photo

[1/3]FBI Director Kash Patel announces the apprehension of Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list, during a press conference in Ontario, California, U.S., January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Phone records were collected around the time of the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case
• Records were labeled “Prohibited,” making them harder for Trump officials to find
• Patel said investigators obtained “toll records,” which detail the timing and recipients of calls

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The FBI subpoenaed records of phone calls made by Kash Patel and Susie Wiles, now the FBI director and White House Chief of Staff, when they were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023 during the federal probe of Donald Trump, Patel told Reuters on Wednesday.

Reuters is the first to report on the FBI’s actions that took place during the Biden administration, largely when Special Counsel Jack Smith was investigating whether Trump had interfered with the 2020 election and had hidden classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to Patel. Smith was appointed to take over that probe in November 2022.

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Patel portrayed the seizing of his phone records by the FBI and efforts to conceal them as an example of overreach by unelected government officials under Biden, a theme often repeated by President Trump.

“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records – along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles – using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” Patel said in a statement to Reuters.

Reuters could not independently verify many of the details about Patel’s claims, including the full extent and timing of the seizure of phone records and the motive for doing so. Patel said the records were filed in a way that made it difficult for him and other FBI leaders to find them after taking over the bureau in February 2025.

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At least 10 current FBI employees have been dismissed as a result of the revelations about the targeting of Patel, Wiles and others connected to the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, according to three FBI officials.

Democrats in Congress have consistently defended Smith from previous GOP criticisms, saying he had acted appropriately in seeking phone records and other evidence they said was necessary to thoroughly investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Trump and his associates.

Investigators routinely subpoena and collect records of phone calls during investigations, even of prominent people, while seeking to determine the key facts in a case and who might be involved in a particular incident.

Patel publicly said in 2022 that Trump had declassified the documents taken to Mar-a-Lago, a claim prosecutors disputed and Trump’s lawyers did not make in court. Patel was summoned before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case that year after he was given limited immunity from criminal charges.

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Reuters could not independently establish what records the FBI obtained or who approved the subpoenas. The news agency also couldn’t ascertain if Patel or Wiles themselves were under investigation and, if so, why. Both were close to Trump during this period, as he built toward and ultimately launched his campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024.

Both Patel and Wiles were known to have been interviewed by investigators as part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents following his first term.

In 2023, the FBI recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney, according to two FBI officials. Wiles’ attorney was aware that the call was being recorded, and consented to it, but Susie Wiles was not.

A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment on Patel’s allegations on Wednesday. Biden, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, and former FBI director Chris Wray, who oversaw the bureau during Smith’s investigations, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Garland appointed Smith as special counsel.

A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s report on the documents investigation. Smith has told Congress that he is barred by court orders from discussing any aspects of the probe that have not been previously disclosed in court filings.

Smith previously told Congress that his investigators had serious concerns about obstruction of justice in their investigations. He told lawmakers last month that his office “followed Justice Department policies, observed legal requirements and took actions based on the facts and the law.”

The White House and Wiles did not immediately comment.

Patel said investigators used subpoenas to obtain what are known as “toll records,” which detailed the timing and recipients of calls he and Wiles made, but not what was said on the calls. The government may lawfully obtain phone records via subpoena without a judge’s approval.

Patel said investigators obtained the records around the time Smith led the probe into allegations that Trump illegally took classified documents to his South Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, after he left the presidency in 2021 and allegedly obstructed federal efforts to return those documents.

Smith charged Trump with felonies related to this investigation in 2023 but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge, and Smith dropped an appeal of that ruling after Trump won election to a second term. Trump has denied wrongdoing related to Smith’s investigations.

Patel said he did not know the FBI’s purpose in seizing the phone records of him and Wiles, who became a top Trump adviser after he left office in 2021 and eventually co-campaign manager for his 2024 run against Biden. Patel also was a Trump political ally during this time.

Patel said the collection of phone records extended into Wiles’ time as Trump’s co-campaign manager, though he did not say when exactly the record collection began or ended.

The FBI discovered the phone records in files categorized as “Prohibited,” which makes them difficult to discover on the bureau’s computer systems. Patel said he recently ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “Prohibited.”

Smith’s investigative techniques have previously drawn denunciation from GOP leaders, including the seizure of phone records of U.S. senators and other Republican officials during Smith’s probe into alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Smith testified, opens new tab last year that records of members’ calls helped investigators verify the timeline of events around the January 6 Capitol riot and that prosecutors “followed all legal requirements in getting those records.” He told a House panel that the records obtained from lawmakers did not include content of conversations.

Reporting by Jana Winter in Washington, DC. With contributions from Brad Heath and Andrew Goudsward in Washington, DC. Editing by Craig Timberg and Michael Learmonth

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Legal experts react to Trump’s SCOTUS clash and tariff pivot in fiery SOTU

By Breanne Deppisch | Fox News
Published February 25, 2026 6:36pm EST

Legal experts and commentators toed a careful line Wednesday in responding to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, with many using the moment to weigh in on the broader legal and political climate itself, rather than Trump’s actual remarks.

Some of the biggest moments of Trump’s address included his response to the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling that invalidated his use of a 1977 emergency law to impose tariffs on most U.S. trading partners, as well as his administration’s crackdown on violent crime in major U.S. cities, among other things.

“This is the golden age of America,” Trump proclaimed Tuesday night. “And you’ve seen nothing yet. We’re going to do better, and better, and better.”

Trump struck a notably measured tone in responding to the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling during the State of the Union, briefly describing the 6–3 majority decision as “unfortunate” before pivoting to highlight the 10% import fees his administration had announced shortly after the high court’s ruling under Section 122 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

“Countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said of the tariffs, which he previously described as “life or death” for the nation’s economy.

Four of the nine Supreme Court justices present for the State of the Union, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who had ruled against Trump’s use of IEEPA to enact his tariffs.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“The good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made” with the U.S., Trump said Tuesday night, “knowing that the legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them.”

“Therefore, they will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement,” he added.

Four of the nine Supreme Court justices present for the State of the Union, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who had ruled against Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to unilaterally enact his tariffs.

Trump’s comments marked a shift from his more abrasive tone in the immediate aftermath of the tariff decision, when he said the high court was “incompetent” and that the majority should be “absolutely ashamed” of themselves “for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.”

[TRUMP TAKES DIRECT SOTU SWIPE AT DEMOCRATS OVER TAXES: ‘TO HURT THE PEOPLE’]

Legal experts and commentators toed a careful line Wednesday in responding to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.(Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s remarks during the State of the Union were a nod to his new tariffs he invoked under Section 122, or a statute that allows a sitting president to impose sweeping tariffs for up to 150 days in response to either large or serious U.S. “balance-of-payments deficits,” or in response to situations that pose “fundamental international payments problems” for the U.S. Congress can extend them once the 150-day period ends.

But some experts have questioned the legality of using Section 122 to invoke the broad global tariffs — signaling what could be more legal challenges to come.

Gita Gopinath, Harvard economics professor and former senior International Monetary Fund official, noted on social media: “As long as there is plenty of demand for US debt and equities, which is the case, the US does not have a ‘payments’ problem. It can finance its trade deficits easily.”

“The first thing to note is that the statute does not apply to the current US international payments position,” the Peterson Institute’s Kimberly Clausing and Maurice Obstfeld said Monday. “Indeed, the [president’s own lawyers argued] in the IEEPA case that Section 122 was no substitute for IEEPA, since balance of payment deficits are conceptually distinct from the current account and trade deficits that Trump has characterized as an emergency.”

Separately, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed that his caucus would not approve Trump’s bid to extend tariffs beyond the 150-day period.

“We will not extend those tariffs,” Schumer declared, urging Republicans to join Democrats in blocking them.

Schumer linked the tariffs to higher costs of groceries, cars, and homes.

“Americans are suffering, because (Trump) is raising tariffs,” Schumer said.

Trump also used his remarks to tout the significant drop-off in violent crime during his first year back in the White House, reiterating his administration’s claim that the U.S. murder rate dropped to its lowest point in 125 years in 2025.

[FROM GRIEF TO GOLD MEDALS, TRUMP’S SOTU GUEST LIST TELLS A BIGGER STORY]

President Donald J. Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress.(Kenny Holston /Pool via Reuters)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously pointed Fox News Digital and other outlets to recent data from the Council on Criminal Justice that she said shows that Trump is “delivering overwhelmingly on his promise” to restore law and order in the U.S.

“A study from the Council on Criminal Justice shows that the murder rate across America’s largest cities plummeted in 2025 to its lowest level since at least 1900,” Leavitt told reporters. “Let me repeat to put this in perspective, this marks the largest single-year drop in murders in recorded history.”

Nationwide homicide data released later in 2026 could show killings in 2025 falling to roughly 4.0 per 100,000 residents – the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data dating back to 1900 and the largest single-year percentage drop on record.

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Reactions to the speech — and Trump’s policies — vary, but the president did win some praise from across the aisle.

“As a voter, I may not like him. I may find his long form exhausting. But when he speaks, he never wavers from American exceptionalism,” Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist with a background in speechwriting, told Fox News Digital.

“I see someone protecting our cities against those he deems a threat to democracy, revving up the economy, managing global partners, and defeating terrorism.

Fox News Digital’s Charlie Creitz, Emma Colton and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389846977112

President Donald Trump spoke for nearly 2 hours on Tuesday night

By Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 3:13pm EST

Texas Democrat Congressman Al Green was forcefully removed from the House chamber for a second year running, this time as President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address.

President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the nation for nearly two hours on Tuesday night, touting his administration’s victories and highlighting Americans from all walks of life.

But the speech was also littered with Democrat-led protests that were even hard to ignore for the president himself.

Several left-wing lawmakers attempted to interrupt Trump’s speech, whether by interjecting or holding up signs in opposition to his words.

[image_1]

Rep. Al Green protests as President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026.(Kenny Holston/Getty Images)

Rep. Al Green’s protest sign

Longtime progressive Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was the first notable protester of the night even before Trump began speaking.

As Trump walked through the House chamber to take his place, Green held up a sign that read in all capital letters, “Black people are not apes!” It appeared to be a reference to a video shared by Trump on Truth Social that depicted the Obamas as apes, a racist trope.

He continued to stand holding the sign even after Trump began speaking, prompting Capitol security to escort him out of the House chamber as Republicans chanted “USA” in response.

[video_1]

Democrats yell over insider trading

One of the rare points of bipartisanship during Trump’s speech came when he called on Congress to ban insider trading for its lawmakers.

The applause on both sides of the aisle even prompted Trump to say, “They stood up for that, I can’t believe it.”

Then his jab at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referencing her and her husband’s own successful stock trading, prompted a significant number of those Democrats clapping to stop.

Fox News Digital spotted at least one Democrat, Rep. Mark Takano of California, shouting back at Trump, accusing him of insider trading and profiting off the presidency.

[image_2]

Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib shout at President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address on Feb. 24, 2026.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ilhan Omar’s outburst over Minnesota fraud

Progressive “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., interrupted Trump multiple times during his speech, prompting the president to target her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, calling them “mentally deranged and sick.”

One of her first interruptions came when Trump rehashed accusations of widespread fraud within Minnesota’s social programs, primarily targeting the Somali community in Minneapolis in his remarks.

“You’re a liar,” Omar shouted.

She continued to loudly accuse him of lying multiple times as Trump accused “Somali pirates” of having “ransacked Minnesota.”

[video_2]

Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib clash with Trump on DHS

Omar’s second big outburst came when she and Tlaib repeatedly accused Trump of having “killed Americans” when he discussed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the current fiscal standoff between Democrats and Republicans.

“You’re a murderer,” Omar shouted at one point.

Tlaib yelled, “Alex wasn’t a criminal” in apparent reference to Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during a demonstration in Minneapolis.

[video_3]

Trump addressed lawmakers: “One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight, I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration and reaffirming a fundamental principle. 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.”

A majority of Democrats, including the progressive pair, did not stand, prompting Trump to say, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

[video_4]

Rashida Tlaib and the Epstein files

Tlaib also shouted, “Release the Epstein files,” multiple times in relation to the federal government’s documents on late financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

“These people are crazy,” Trump said at one point as Tlaib shouted.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

The State of Florida launched a full investigation into an announcement from the Cuban government that it killed several people aboard a U.S.-flagged speedboat operating close to the Communist island’s north shore on Tuesday.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., first said the Cuban Interior Ministry reported confronting a speedboat with a Florida license number and claimed the occupants opened fire first.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Fox News Digital that his office is now looking into the situation, adding that Havana is not an honest neighbor.

“I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state, and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation,” Uthmeier said in a statement.

“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”

The Cuban government claimed that on Tuesday morning, a “violating speedboat” had been detected within one nautical-mile of Falcon Key’s El Pino channel, near Villa Clara.

The area also lies a relatively short distance due south of the Florida Keys resort town of Marathon.

The Cubans claimed that when five Border Guardsmen approached to make the Americans identify themselves, the speedboat’s crew fired shots.

“As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured. The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance,” the Cuban government claimed.

“[N]ational defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.”

When reached for comment, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official directed Fox News Digital to the State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already in the Caribbean region on Tuesday, visiting with officials in Basseterre, St. Kitts.

Gimenez, the only Cuban-born member of Congress and a vocal critic of that country’s current dictatorship, told Fox News Digital that the Diaz-Canel regime “must be relegated to the dustbin of history for its countless crimes against humanity.”

Gimenez said he has asked his fellow Miamian, Rubio, for more details and called for the firefight to receive the full federal attention it deserves.

The press pool traveling with Rubio has inquired about the situation.

Rep. Byron Donalds, the Naples Republican seeking to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, told Fox News Digital there “should be a full investigation into this troubling matter – The bottom line is that the Communist Cuban regime must go.”

Donalds separately said the Castro and Diaz-Canel regime has, “destroyed the liberty of the Cuban people for two generations; going on a third. They needed to go long ago.”

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., who represents heavily Cuban American parts of Miami like Calle Ocho, said in a statement she is also “following very closely the reports that Cuban regime forces opened fire on a speedboat registered in Florida.”

“This is a developing situation and I am awaiting official information from the U.S. authorities,” Salazar said, adding that four people are reportedly dead and six wounded.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., demanded a “full investigation into this deeply concerning situation and to determine what happened.”

“The Communist Cuban regime must be held accountable.”

The news came as the Treasury Department signaled Wednesday that it would allow oil companies to apply for licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba amid the ongoing crisis on the island, according to Reuters.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DeSantis administration and the White House for further comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369844346112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389306362112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388670650112

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson visits US State Department

February 25, 2026 10:42 PM UTC / Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – British anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson visited the U.S. State Department on Wednesday and met with at least one U.S. official, social media posts from Robinson and a department official showed.

“In America making alliances & friendships, today I had the privilege of an invite to the @StateDept,” Robinson, 42, said in an X post.

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Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has become a flag-bearer for some British nationalists and one of Britain’s most high-profile anti-migration campaigners, organizing a large rally last September in London attended by about 150,000 people.

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The visit of the far-right activist appears to be the latest example of the Trump administration’s promotion of “free speech” in Europe, the UK and other places where it says politicians have stifled conservative voices online.

State Department official Joe Rittenhouse, who is a senior adviser for the department’s Consular Affairs bureau, met with Robinson, calling him a “free speech warrior.”

“Honored to have free speech warrior @TRobinsonNewEra at Department of State today. The World and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy. Good to see you my friend!” Rittenhouse said in an X post.

The State Department did not provide answers to Reuters questions on who else Robinson met with, what was discussed and what was the objective of his visit.

A representative for the British embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the photographs that Rittenhouse posted on X, Robinson can be seen examining the objects in the Department’s John Quincy Adams State Drawing Room, one of the department’s diplomatic reception rooms, which features collections and masterpieces from the federal era.

US CRITICISM OF UK RESTRICTIONS ON SPEECH

---

The Trump administration has been critical of the United Kingdom over free speech issues.

In the State Department’s 2024 human rights report, which was a narrower and re-purposed version of the annual publication following amendments by Trump officials, Washington criticized the UK saying the human rights situation in the country worsened.

It said there were credible reports of “serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression; and crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism.”

U.S. officials have also engaged with far-right parties in Europe they see as targeted by online rules, arguing legitimate anti-immigration views are censored in the name of preventing hate speech.

They have also denounced European Union policies that they say are suppressing right-wing politicians, including in Romania, Germany and France, and have claimed rules like the EU’s Digital Services Act and Britain’s Online Safety Act limit free speech.

Robinson is the founder of the English Defence League, or EDL, which in the past has staged violent demonstrations against Islam.

He was jailed by British authorities in 2013 for using a passport in someone else’s name to travel to the United States from Britain.

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Don Durfee and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ken Paxton believes he’ll crush ‘Fake John Cornyn’ even without a Trump endorsement

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces off against longtime Sen. John Cornyn in crowded Texas primary, with early voting underway

By Alex Miller, Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 3:57pm EST

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News Digital he’s “perfectly fine” without President Trump’s endorsement and said it’s time to replace Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he can win the Republican Senate primary even without President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

“He makes his own decisions,” Paxton told Fox News Digital. “I’m perfectly fine right now. We’re going to win this election either way. And I’m happy with where we’re at, and you’re going to see next Tuesday that we’re going to come out in front.”

Paxton, who was invited by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, to attend Trump’s State of the Union address, is one of seven challengers vying to unseat longtime Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is running for a fifth term in the upper chamber.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton believed he could win out against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the crowded Texas GOP Senate primary race, even without President Donald Trump’s endorsement.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Early voting has already begun in the Lone Star State, and primary election day is March 3.

Even without a coveted nod from the president, Paxton acknowledged that cutting through the densely packed field would be difficult without the race going to a runoff, but not impossible.

“It’s hard to win outright, but you know anything’s possible,” Paxton said. “If anybody’s going to do it, it is going to be me.”

Much of the attention has been paid to the three-way fight between Paxton, Cornyn and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas — a brawl that Trump has chosen to keep at arm’s length. He told reporters last week that he supports all three.

TEXAS EARLY VOTING BEGINS AHEAD OF CONTENTIOUS MARCH 3 PRIMARY ELECTIONS

President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Cornyn is Paxton’s primary target in the crowded field. The two have engaged in a mudslinging back-and-forth on the road and in ads, dumping millions into toppling one another.

When asked about Cornyn’s attacks against him, Paxton said, “He’s not a polite man.”

Paxton accused the lawmaker of being ineffective during his 24-year run in the Senate and dubbed him “Fake John Cornyn,” accusing him of selling voters one thing on the trail and doing another in office.

SHARIA LAW VICTIM WHO FLED SOMALIA ISSUES ENDORSEMENT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE

Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024.(Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“He’s been in office since I was in college, and I’m 63,” Paxton said. “And he’s been up here for 24 years. And I don’t care what he says. He’s a deceptive guy, a misleading guy. You know why? Because he doesn’t have a single thing to run on.”

Cornyn wondered if Paxton had “been sleeping under a rock somewhere” when asked about his opponent’s challenges to his record.

“My Senate office is generally recognized as the most effective office in the Senate, and that’s because we produced important legislation to the state, for the state and for the nation,” Cornyn told Fox News Digital. “And the fact he’s unaware of it just does not speak well to his intelligence or his knowledge.”

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Despite Paxton’s confidence that the race would be decided next week, Cornyn believed there would be a runoff between the two.

“We’ll be rid of him after May 26,” Cornyn said.

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Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

NASA hauls moon rocket off launch pad to fix another launch-delaying malfunction

February 25, 2026 / 3:56 PM EST / CBS News

NASA hauled its Artemis II moon rocket off its seaside pad Wednesday for a slow trip back to a processing facility to track down and fix a helium pressurization problem that delayed launch of four astronauts on a flight around the moon from this month to at least April 1.

A 6.6-million-pound Apollo-era crawler-transporter rolled up the ramp to pad 38B on Tuesday and was positioned directly under the 3.5-million-pound Space Launch System rocket and its 11.3-million-pound mobile launch platform.

The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and its mobile launch platform were hauled off pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday for a slow trip back to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building for work to repair a helium pressurization problem with the rocket’s upper stage. The rollback has delayed the launch of four astronauts on a flight around the moon to at least April 1. NASA

After a check of the weather to make sure winds would be within safety limits, engineers used the crawler’s hydraulic system to lift the SLS rocket and its launch platform off its support pedestals and then began inching back toward the Kennedy Space Center’s cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at 9:38 a.m. EST.

The 4-mile trip of the crawler and its towering load, tipping the scales at a combined 23.6 million pounds, was expected to take 10 to 12 hours to complete, with several stops and starts expected along the way.

Once inside the VAB, engineers plan to deploy service platforms to gain access to the rocket’s upper stage, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS.

Following a successful fueling test last week, engineers were unable to repressurize the upper stage’s helium system.

Pressurized helium is used in push propellants to the ICPS engine, to dry out and drain tanks and propellant lines and to “purge” other cavities with the inert gas to minimize the risk of fire. During two fueling tests of the Artemis II SLS rocket, the system worked normally. The problem was found after the second “wet dress” rehearsal countdown was over.

A similar problem cropped up with the Artemis I mission in 2022 when a helium valve failed to operate properly. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the valve could be the culprit this time around, “though corrective actions were taken to minimize reoccurrence on Artemis II.”

Other possible causes include trouble with a filter in an umbilical connected to the ICPS or problems with a quick-disconnect fitting.

The rollback to the VAB was ordered because engineers did not have access to the ICPS and its gantry connections at the launch pad. In the assembly building, multiple platforms can be deployed around the SLS to provide access to virtually the entire 322-foot-tall vehicle.

Along with repairing the helium pressurization system, engineers also plan to replace limited-life batteries in the SLS’s self-destruct system and to replace other batteries in the ICPS.

NASA rolled the Artemis II rocket to the launch pad in mid January, originally targeting a launch of Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen around Feb. 6.

But during the initial wet dress countdown needed to clear the way for launch, hydrogen leaks were detected, requiring replacement of suspect seals in an umbilical where fuel lines are attached to the base of the rocket. The replacement seals worked normally during a second fueling test last week, and no problems were found.

NASA then tentatively targeted launch for March 6, only to discover the helium pressurization problem, which has pushed the launch out of the March window to no earlier than April 1.

Only a handful of launch opportunities are available each month due to trajectory constraints based on the ever changing positions of the Earth and moon, lighting conditions and other mission-specific variables.

FBI subpoenaed Kash Patel, Susie Wiles phone records in Trump probe | Fox News

Special counsel Jack Smith obtained the records during federal probe into 2020 election and classified documents

By Emma Bussey, David Spunt
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 5:24pm EST | Updated February 25, 2026 6:46pm EST

The FBI subpoenaed Kash Patel and Susie Wiles’ phone records in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens, as part of a federal probe into then former President Donald Trump, Fox News has confirmed.

Patel is the current FBI director, and Wiles is White House chief of staff.

At least 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday, Fox News has been told. Names were not given due to privacy reasons.

Reuters first disclosed the subpoenas, which were issued during the Biden administration, while special counsel Jack Smith was investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

FBI Director Kash Patel and Susie Wiles(Getty Images)

Smith ended up charging Trump in 2023 with multiple felony offenses related to alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election and Trump’s handling of the documents after he left office.

A federal judge later dismissed the election interference case after Smith moved to drop it following Trump’s re-election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith also dropped the Justice Department’s appeal of a separate ruling that dismissed the classified documents case. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in both matters.

The subpoenas were issued during the Biden administration, while special counsel Jack Smith was investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.(Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

In a statement to Fox News Wednesday, Patel called the move to seize the phone records “outrageous and deeply alarming.”

“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” he said.

The FBI had found the phone records in files labeled as “Prohibited,” Reuters reported.

Patel also said he recently ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “Prohibited.”

Patel called the move to seize the phone records “outrageous and deeply alarming.”(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Fox News also learned from two FBI officials that in 2023, FBI agents recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney.

According to those officials, Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented, but Wiles was not informed.

Smith testified last year that records of members’ calls helped investigators verify the timeline of events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

He said prosecutors “followed all legal requirements in getting those records” and told a House panel the records obtained from lawmakers did not include the content of conversations, Reuters reported.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

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