Anthropic says it will commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund that could address AI's impact on workers as the company prepares for a potential IPO.

Starbucks has reached a settlement with the state of Florida that requires the company to pay $1 million and stop using race- and sex-based goals, quotas and preferences in employment practices across the company. The agreement ends a civil rights lawsuit filed by Florida’s attorney general in December 2025 that accused Starbucks’ DEI policies of discrimination. The payment will reimburse the Florida Department of Legal Affairs for costs associated with the case.

Nike is set to be removed from the S&P 100 after its market value fell by more than $220 billion, with shares about 79% below their Nov. 5, 2021 intraday record. Revenue in Greater China declined over five years to $5.85 billion from $8.29 billion. The market sees the company’s politically charged marketing, including its support for Colin Kaepernick, as having alienated some consumers, while weakness in China has compounded the hit to the brand.

Vice President JD Vance said U.S. military escort operations helped prevent a global energy crisis during the war with Iran. The six-month conflict pushed the national average diesel price to a record $5.85 per gallon, disrupting global fuel supplies and driving up crude oil prices. The United States also approved potential arms sales to Saudi Arabia, including $5 billion in Joint Direct Attack Munitions and related equipment and a separate $750 million package for tank engines and associated support.

A Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot enabled crashed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing a 76-year-old woman and injuring the driver. Police said the driver showed no signs of intoxication and is cooperating with the investigation. Tesla’s website says Autopilot requires a fully attentive driver and that the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous. The incident was described as a single safety crash and did not prompt new regulations or a recall, but it has intensified concerns over the safety and accountability boundaries of driver-assistance systems.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said a large-scale buildout of AI infrastructure is underway and has already created about half a million related jobs, with more expected. He said Nvidia is deeply involved in U.S.-based AI hardware infrastructure, including a laser-and-optics production line in Sherman, Texas, with Coherent, where output is expected to quadruple over the next 12 to 18 months. The report also said Amazon AI experts helped identify a vulnerability in banned models, without detailing any material impact on Amazon’s business.

U.S. political and business figures are pressing to accelerate data center construction as competition with China in AI intensifies. The article cites a Trump executive order aimed at speeding federal permitting and a request from Sen. Tom Cotton for an investigation into potential foreign influence targeting U.S. data center policy. Kevin O’Leary and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang point to a widening gap in construction speed between the two countries, describing data centers as core infrastructure for training AI systems. It adds that the narrative reinforces expectations for demand in AI computing hardware, while noting no new orders, capacity changes, or earnings figures were disclosed.

The article argues the Trump administration is escalating an oil blockade on Cuba, contributing to nationwide blackouts and a paralyzed economy. It also points to new steps including a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group entering the Caribbean Sea and the Justice Department’s indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro. The piece describes the “U.S. oil blockade” as a central pressure tactic tied to the stability of Cuba’s crude supply chain. It says the development amounts to a geopolitically driven regional supply disruption, with traditional assets facing at most short-term oil price swings.

The U.S. Department of Defense has listed Alibaba, Baidu and BYD as “Chinese military companies” under Section 1260H of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The designation is not a sanction and does not ban private-sector business dealings, but it restricts the Pentagon’s direct purchases and future indirect procurement through supply chains. All three companies denied the allegation and said they would pursue legal action. The article says executives donated about $2.6 million to Democratic figures including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom, as well as the DNC, without citing corporate donations.