Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon tomorrow morning for what sources say is likely to be a tense meeting over terms for military use of Anthropic's Claude, Axios' Dave Lawler and Maria Curi scoop.

• "Anthropic knows this is not a get-to-know-you meeting," a senior Defense official told Axios. "This is not a friendly meeting. This is a sh*t-or-get-off-the-pot meeting."

Why it matters: Claude is the only AI model available in the military's classified systems, and the most capable model for sensitive defense and intelligence work.

• The Pentagon doesn't want to lose access to Claude, but is furious with Anthropic for refusing to lift its safeguards entirely.

The two sides are heading into the meeting on two totally different pages.

• An Anthropic spokesperson said: "We are having productive conversations in good faith."
• Defense officials say negotiations have shown no progress and are on the verge of breaking down.

🔎 Zoom in: Anthropic is willing to loosen its existing usage restrictions, but wants to wall off two areas: the mass surveillance of Americans, and the development of weapons that fire without human involvement.

• The company "is committed to using frontier AI in support of US national security," the spokesperson said.
• The Pentagon says it's unduly restrictive to have to clear individual uses with the company, and has demanded that all AI labs make their models available for "all lawful uses."

Friction point: The Pentagon has threatened to declare Anthropic a "supply chain risk" — not only voiding its contracts, but forcing other companies that work with the Pentagon to certify they aren't using Claude in those workflows.

• The Pentagon is discussing other potential tools to force Anthropic's hand. A Defense official said Hegseth would effectively be presenting Amodei with an ultimatum.
• It would be a massive task to offboard Anthropic and replace it with another AI lab that currently has inferior capabilities.

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A manic new phase of the AI boom is sweeping through Silicon Valley, powered by autonomous "agents" capable of liquefying weeks of manual labor into minutes, Axios' Zachary Basu and Madison Mills write.

• Why it matters: For now, the frenzy is largely confined to software engineering. But inside that bubble, the shift feels seismic — deepening the gulf between AI builders and bystanders.

"I've followed tech for 25 years, and I've never felt a larger gap between the ~1 million people using Codex/Claude and the rest of humanity," tweeted James Wang, director of product marketing at Cerebras — a chipmaking startup and Nvidia rival.

🖼️ The big picture: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently described the current state of software engineering as the "centaur phase" — a reference to the half-human, half-horse creature of Greek mythology.

• Just as a chess player aided by a computer could once beat any standalone machine, an engineer paired with an AI agent may now be the most powerful unit in tech.
• Amodei argues that this hybrid phase may be "very brief" — perhaps only a few years, before AI systems can independently outpace even the best human-led teams.

Zoom in: Major AI labs have spent the past year pitching "agentic workflows" as the industry's next frontier.

• That vision snapped into focus last month with the explosive rise of OpenClaw.
• Unlike chatbots that live in a browser or an app, OpenClaw gives agents "hands" on a user's local machine — letting them autonomously manage files, run terminal commands and message teammates.
• OpenClaw's founder, Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, was poached by OpenAI to lead its "personal agents" division.

🥊 Reality check: Meta and other tech firms have restricted or banned OpenClaw over fears that giving AI agents access to corporate systems could expose companies to malware, data leaks and manipulation.

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Democrats plan to invest in districts that went for President Trump in 2024 by as many as 18 points as they try to retake the House by a decisive margin in November, Axios' Andrew Solender writes.

• This morning, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee rolled out the first dozen candidates in its "Red to Blue" program, which aims to flip Republican-held districts.

Many on the list are perennial targets of the DCCC. But others are relatively new names, such as Reps. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.).

• Trump won three of these districts by double digits in 2024. The median district voted for the president by 8.5 points.

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These two photos — instant classics — capture Team USA's win over Canada yesterday that gave the U.S. its first men's hockey gold medal since 1980.

• The victory came 46 years to the day after America's "Miracle on Ice" upset over the Soviet Union.

Above: A bloodied Jack Hughes, whose teeth were knocked out by a Canadian player's stick, celebrates after scoring the gold medal-winning goal in overtime.

Above: U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck — who saved 41 shots in an all-time great performance — blocks Canada's Devon Toews with the paddle of his stick during a tie game in the third period.

• 📺 Watch: Game-winning goal ... Hellebuyck highlights ... Game recap.

🥇 The U.S. finished the Milan Olympics — which wrapped up yesterday — with 12 gold medals, breaking the team's record for the Winter Games.

• Norway dominated with 18 gold medals. That includes six from cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who set the record for most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics.

Final medal count ... Closing ceremony pics.

🦅 Above: The White House's reaction to Team USA's gold medal — posted on X in response to a year-old taunt from Justin Trudeau after Canada beat the U.S. in an NHL-sponsored tournament.

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," yesterday, decapitating what had become Mexico's most powerful drug cartel and thrusting swaths of the nation into chaos. (AP)

• The drug lord was the Mexican government's biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration in its efforts to crack down on the cartels.

The killing set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles, tactics commonly used by the cartels to block military operations.

• Videos circulating on social media showed smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic.
• The State Department warned U.S. citizens in the area to remain in safe places due to the ongoing security operations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. "provided intelligence support to the Mexican government" for the operation.

• Go deeper.

The Secret Service and local law enforcement shot and killed an armed man who drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago yesterday, Axios' Avery Lotz writes.

• President Trump was in D.C.

The man, identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can, the Secret Service said.

• Palm Beach County's sheriff said a deputy and two Secret Service agents confronted the man, who put down the gas can but raised the shotgun before law enforcement shot him.

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As the National Governors Association wrapped up its annual meeting in Washington on Saturday, President Trump and Melania Trump hosted a black-tie dinner in the East Room, attended mostly by Republicans.

• The GOP governors dined on Nantucket Bay scallops and pan-seared Texas beef fillet. They were serenaded by the United States Marine Band, as well as violinist Rusanda Panfili. YouTube of her performance.

Casual Democrats partied half a mile away at Astro Beer Hall. Above, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the NGA vice chair, shakes hands.

• Despite turbulence with the White House over the NGA gathering, Moore stayed jocular with the NGA chair, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who stopped by Astro — in tuxedo — on his way to the White House.

NGA's closing presser.

The victorious Team USA poses with the two children and the No. 13 jersey of the late Johnny Gaudreau, who likely would have made the team.

• The team brought Gaudreau's 3-year-old daughter, Noa, and 2-year-old son, Johnny Jr., onto the ice for the post-game celebration.

Gaudreau, known as "Johnny Hockey," was fatally struck by an SUV while bicycling with his brother on the eve of their sister's wedding in 2024.

• Watch the tribute.