Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, February 19th. Here's what we're covering.

Tracy Mumford: The Times has learned that the Trump administration's rapid buildup of US forces in the Middle East has reached the point that President Trump has the option to strike Iran as soon as this weekend. He's given no indication that he will, but he's repeatedly threatened action if Iran doesn't end its nuclear program. That could be a repeat of June when the US joined with Israel to strike Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

Tracy Mumford: Can you share a little bit about the president's thinking on whether or not to strike Iran, who he's talking to, and why a strike might be necessary on a nuclear program he says was obliterated by the last US strike. Well, there's many reasons and arguments that one could make uh for a strike against Iran.

Tracy Mumford: while the Trump administration has repeatedly said the June strikes destroyed Iran's nuclear program, experts say the damage was not complete and the country's been rebuilding. There were talks this week between the US and Iranian officials. And yesterday, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Trump's preference is still a diplomatic resolution. Though with respect to Iran or any country around the world, diplomacy is always his first option and Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration.

Tracy Mumford: As the negotiations continue, the region is going on high alert. Israeli forces have been making preparations for another potential joint strike with the US and America's firepower in the Middle East keeps growing. There are now 13 Navy destroyers there, dozens of attack aircraft, and a second aircraft carrier is on the way. The Pentagon has also dispatched more air defense systems to help protect the roughly 30 to 40,000 US troops in the region. While Trump campaigned for his second term in office, promising to keep the US out of wars, any strike on Iran, if it were to happen, would be at least the seventh American military attack on another country in the past year.

Tracy Mumford: Inside the Pentagon, there's been an unusual fight taking place between the Defense Department and Anthropic, one of the country's biggest AI companies. At the heart of it is the question of how AI should or should not be used by the military. The DoD works with a lot of tech giants, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's XAI. Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegsth put out a memo calling on those companies to remove restrictions on their AI technology.

Tracy Mumford: Anthropic said, "Hold on." According to two people involved in the discussions, the company told defense officials it does not want its AI used for mass surveillance of Americans or to be deployed in autonomous weapons that could fire with no humans involved. It wanted to renegotiate its contract. That angered Hegsth and others in the Pentagon, according to current and former officials. This week, the fight broke into the open when Axios reported the Pentagon was close to declaring anthropic, quote, a supply chain risk, a rare designation that would sever ties between the company and the US military.

Tracy Mumford: If it happens, it will be a significant break. Anthropic tech is widely integrated across the DoD, including in classified systems. The Wall Street Journal reported the company's tech was used in the US operation in Venezuela to capture Nicholas Maduro. In a statement, a Pentagon spokesman said the department's relationship with Anthropic was being reviewed and quote, "Our nation requires that our partners be willing to help our war fighters win in any fight." Anthropic, for its part, said it was having goodfaith conversations with the government on how to quote get these complex issues right.

Tracy Mumford: According to the BBC, police in Britain have arrested Andrew Mountbatton Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, over suspicions that he shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein. A police statement did not name the suspect they'd arrested, as is normal under British law, but the details match what's publicly known about the allegations against him. Andrew's connections to Epstein have been well documented for years. Virginia, one of Epste's victims, has said she was trafficked to Andrew when she was a teenager and that he had sex with her multiple times, an allegation he's denied. Recently, Andrew has faced a growing number of consequences for his conduct, including being stripped of his royal titles. This investigation though opens a new chapter. In the most recent trunch of documents released by the Justice Department related to its Epstein investigation, there were a number of emails that suggested Andrew may have shared confidential documents when he was working as a British trade envoy. In a statement from earlier this month, Buckingham Palace has said that King Charles, Andrew's brother, has been clear about his quote, profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light.

Tracy Mumford: In South Korea just over a year ago, the country's president Yunukul stunned the nation and the world by going on TV to declare martial law, claiming his political opponents were anti-state forces. That night, Yun banned all political activities and placed the news media under military control. Military helicopters landed at the National Assembly with troops moving to take over the legislature. Almost immediately, South Koreans rushed to the building to confront the troops, buying lawmakers time to vote down the president's martial law decree. Yun was eventually impeached and charged with leading an insurrection. This morning, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors had been pushing for the death penalty. In his verdict, the judge overseeing the case said what Yun did amounted to a riot that caused profound damage to South Korean society and supercharged political polarization. Over the last year, thousands of Yun supporters have held frequent rallies and formed the core of a new far-right political movement in the country. They promote a conspiracy theory claiming that South Korean elections have been manipulated by foreigners and they've used the American flag as a symbol for their cause along with the slogan make Korea great again. Yun, who has one week to appeal the ruling, is the fifth South Korean president to face criminal charges since the country transitioned from authoritarian rule to a democracy in the 1980s.

Tracy Mumford: Extreme weather conditions I would I would say is an understatement. Uh lots of snow, gale force winds making it impossible to see. So it was officials in California yesterday provided new details about what's become the deadliest avalanche disaster in the US in almost 50 years.

Tracy Mumford: Day that they were coming out of the the back country, coming back to the trail head when the avalanche occurred. The sheriff of Nevada County described how the group of skiers accompanied by tour guides was just finishing up their 3-day trip when they were hit by a wall of snow. Eight skiers were killed and one member of the group remains missing, presumed dead. Because of the hazardous conditions, the bodies have not been brought down from the site yet. Law enforcement also described how a feature available on many iPhones helped the surviving skiers communicate with first responders after the disaster so they could be rescued. The emergency SOS feature on the phones allows users to text emergency services even if they don't have cell service or Wi-Fi. It uses a satellite connection instead. Apple says that to get the best connection in an emergency, the user should be outside with a clear view of the sky and horizon.

Tracy Mumford: And finally, Russia's longstanding sports exile is coming to an end. The organizers of the 2026 Parolympic Games, which start in Italy next month after the Olympics wrap up, have confirmed that Russia will be represented by a small team of athletes. It will be the first time that the Russian flag and anthem will appear at the game since 2014. Russia's global sports banishment started as a response to revelations about the country's sprawling state sanctioned doping scheme. It then deepened after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Tracy Mumford: This week's reversal was immediately met with anger and criticism from Ukraine and its European allies. The European Commission's representative for sports said he would boycott the Parolympics opening ceremony in protest and Ukraine said its officials wouldn't attend any of the events. Still, attitudes toward Russia's participation have been softening among some global sports leaders. The president of FIFA has said he would like to see Russia return to soccer's international competitions. And the head of the International Olympic Committee said this month that sports must be a quote neutral ground separate from politics, potentially paving the way for Russia to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.