Hantavirus ship passenger: 'They didn't take it seriously enough'

An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as "unlawful."

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.

The two were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended their detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.

The lawyers then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention, but it was rejected.

"Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision," lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih said.

The two activists, who are on a hunger strike, had appeared in the district court with their feet shackled, an AFP journalist saw.

Abu Keshek looked exhausted and sat with his hands clasped in his lap, while Avila appeared calm.

Abu Salih said her clients had been subjected to "an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority".

She went on to accuse the courts of "giving a free hand for the Israeli forces... to do it again and again".

- 'Unlawful and unreasonable' -

Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, called Wednesday's court decision "unlawful and unreasonable". 

"This is especially egregious given that the activists were abducted from an Italian-flagged vessel, placing them under Italian jurisdiction," it said.

Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention, including keeping Avila in a cold cell.

Abu Salih said Abu Keshek reported giving up water as well as food, and that the two men said authorities "keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day" about the flotilla, she added.

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.

Adalah said authorities have accused the pair of "assisting the enemy during wartime" and "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation".

Israel says both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of "clandestinely acting on behalf of" Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.

"It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

acc-jd/smw

(The Center Square) – During a speech to the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters Convention in Hershey last week, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District, guaranteed its members that a pro-union piece of legislation will pass.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act is a bipartisan proposal that would speed up first contracts for new unions. Supporters of this bill argue the legislation is important because it will ensure that when workers vote to form a union, employers won’t be allowed to drag out negotiations on a first collective bargaining agreement.

Fitzpatrick referred to this proposal as the “most imminent piece of legislation that’s going to have the biggest impact on you all,” to the gathering of Teamsters. 

“I've made my pledge to President (Sean) O'Brien, to President (Bill) Hamilton, to Danny (Grace), that we will force that to the floor, and that is a guarantee,” Fitzpatrick said. “It will pass. That is a guarantee.”

“And then our job is to find a way to navigate the Senate on that,” he continued. “But if that emerges out of the House, there's going to be a lot of pressure for them to put that up for a vote, and it's a two party bill, so I actually feel quite good. And in a town where it's hard to get things done, I actually feel quite good about the prospects, and that's going to be a huge win for the Teamsters.”

Teamsters in Pennsylvania and across the country have been vocal supporters of the bill, which would require employers to collectively bargain with newly organized workers within 10 days of voting to form their union.

“When passed, the Faster Labor Contracts Act will put working families in this country back at the center of the American economy, and it has the potential to transform entire industries for the better,” International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in September. “This legislation is one of the most consequential bills for organized labor in generations. The Teamsters Union is calling on Congress to take this bipartisan bill seriously and pass it.”

Fitzpatrick isn’t the only member of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation backing The Faster Labor Contracts Act. U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-2nd District, Rob Bresnahan, R-8th District, Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, Dwight Evans, D-3rd District, and Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5th District are also listed as co-sponsors of the proposal. 

There are 98 co-sponsors in the U.S. House for this proposal. Eighty-one of them are Democrats, while 17 are Republicans. 

In the U.S. Senate, 13 Democrats and 2 Republicans are sponsoring the legislation. Neither of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa. and Dave McCormick, R-Pa. are listed as co-sponsors.

On April 20, U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-NJ, announced that he was filing a discharge petition to force a vote on the proposal, since they say U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., won’t bring the bill to the floor. 

U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on April 20 that the discharge petition would “soon” get the 218 signatures necessary to force a vote on the House floor.

“We're just developing the strategy, but it's a question of when, not if,” Fitzpatrick told the Teamsters on April 27. “It will be brought to the floor and it will pass. That is a guarantee.”

There is some pressure from outside organizations to oppose this bill. 

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative lobbying group that opposes unionization, submitted a letter to members of Congress on April 29 opposing the efforts to force the bill onto the House floor using a discharge petition. 

“Forced first-contract arbitration has long been a core element of the broader PRO Act agenda. The Faster Labor Contracts Act advances this controversial PRO Act element, government-imposed labor contracts, while falsely branding it as a pro-worker reform,” Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity said in the letter. “Instead of being a pro-worker solution, the Faster Labor Contracts Act advances a union driven agenda that substitutes government mandates for genuine worker choice.”

During his speech, Fitzpatrick also touted his support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act.

He described that bill, which he is a co-sponsor, as the “Super Bowl of organized labor” and a “very, very heavy all-in organized labor bill.” 

However, Fitzpatrick noted the challenges that they have had advancing that proposal and said that The Faster Labor Contracts Act is “much like that, but it’s pared down a little bit.”

The PRO Act has a total of 215 co-sponsors: 213 of them are Democrats, while Fitzpatrick is just one of the two Republicans supporting it. 

Eight members of the state’s congressional delegation support the PRO Act. Fitzpatrick, Boyle, Deluzio, Evans, and Scanlon, who back the Faster Labor Contracts Act, are also listed as co-sponsors for the PRO Act. 

U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean, D-4th District; Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th District; and Summer Lee, D-12th District, are named as co-sponsors of the PRO Act, but not the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

Forty-five U.S. Senators, all Democrats, co-sponsor the PRO Act, including Sen. John Fetterman. 

“When it comes to supporting these types of legislation and these bills, it's easy,” Fitzpatrick said. “It really is.”

Fitzpatrick, like other elected officials who addressed the conference, mentioned his family’s connection to organized labor and recalled his grandfather working for the Ironworkers Union after immigrating to America.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million workers, ranging from newspaper reporters, truck drivers, warehouse workers, and many jobs in between. The Pennsylvania Conference, which is an affiliate, represents approximately 95,000 working Teamsters.

During his speech, Fitzpatrick also promoted his role in the U.S. House as a co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

“At the core of our group is an unequivocal and unapologetic support for organized labor, including the Teamsters and all of your brothers and sisters throughout the building trades and throughout the unions,” Fitzpatrick said. 

“That is a core tenant of our group, because our goal for labor is to take it out of politics altogether and make it a universally accepted truth that we are always going to support the men and women of organized labor, take it out of politics all together,” he said to applause. “Because that is the only way to build a sustainable mission.”

This year’s Teamsters Convention featured speakers from both sides of the aisle and both parties. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis was the lone statewide elected official who spoke. 

However, several incumbent members of Congress and candidates addressed the convention in addition to Fitzpatrick. Fellow Republican Rob Bresnahan, who represents a district in northeast Pennsylvania, spoke at the conference, as well as Democratic congressional hopefuls Bob Brooks, Paige Cognetti, and Janelle Stelson. 

In 2024, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters decided not to endorse a candidate for president, although the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket. Survey data, however, suggested that 60% of Pennsylvania members favored Trump.

Most of the candidates the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters backed in 2024 were Democrats. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity was the lone Republican statewide elected official to receive the union's backing, while Fitzpatrick was the only Republican candidate for Congress to earn its support.

PA Teamster President Bill Hamilton offered words of praise for Fitzpatrick during the convention.

“He's, to me, a Teamster hero,” Hamilton said. “Brian Fitzpatrick stands up in a bipartisan way and represents the Teamsters in our country and in his area better than anybody I've ever seen on either side of the aisle.”

During the meeting last week, the group announced they were supporting Gov. Josh Shapiro’s bid for re-election, plus the campaigns of Brooks, Cognetti, and Stelson. 

They didn’t formally do an endorsement vote for the 1st Congressional race, but Hamilton assured Fitzpatrick they were supporting him. 

“We need to get this guy re-elected. I don't care what party you belong to, this guy needs our vote, and we will campaign hard to get Brian back where he belongs, helping us because he does every single day he’s down there, and he does every single day he’s anywhere,” Hamilton said. “He speaks well of labor and of us and of working people across this state and across this country, and he's well respected, and we should always have his back, and we will.”

US aviation giant Boeing was "negligent" in the 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 aircraft, the lawyer for the family of one of the victims told a Chicago federal civil court on Wednesday.

The accident, which claimed a total of 157 lives, led to 155 civil lawsuits filed by relatives of the victims. 

"Boeing was negligent, Boeing's aircraft was unsafe, Boeing caused this crash and these deaths," said Shanin Specter, lawyer for the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American woman killed in the accident. 

"This crash was preventable, this crash was senseless."

Nearly all of the civil lawsuits around the crash have been settled out of court. In Stumo's case, however, her family was unable to reach an agreement with Boeing ahead of the trial, which began on Monday with two days of jury selection.

The victim's parents Nadia Milleron and Michael Stumo sat in the front row of the gallery, along with Samya's two brothers Adnaan and Tor.

"It feels like since she's been gone we don't have permission to be happy," Michael Stumo testified. "Sometimes you catch yourself being happy and you correct yourself, like you shouldn't be."

In a composed tone, as his wife sobbed in the audience, he spoke for hours about "Sammy," his "sophisticated and charismatic" daughter. 

"It felt like my organs were crushing inside my body," Stumo said, recalling his reaction when he learned of the accident in the middle of the night. 

"We had lost Nels before," he said, referring to a son who died of cancer as an infant. "How could we lose two?"

- 'Extraordinarily gifted' -

Since Samya's death, Stumo said his wife no longer listens to music, the family no longer holds karaoke nights and his son Tor -- once the happiest of the three -- had withdrawn into himself.

Stumo is scheduled to continue his testimony on Thursday. His wife and two sons are expected to follow. 

Earlier in the day, Specter had spoken at length about the life of an "extraordinarily gifted and extraordinarily accomplished" young woman who taught herself to read at age three, graduated from high school at 16, and studied at the University of Massachusetts before earning a full scholarship to the University of Copenhagen. 

It was while on her first assignment for what was described as her dream job with a public health NGO that she boarded flight ET302 on March 10, 2019, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all on board.

The Ethiopian crash followed a Lion Air crash about four and a half months earlier in Indonesia.

The two crashes claimed 346 lives in total.

Boeing acknowledged that anti-stall software was implicated in both accidents.

The aviation giant's attorney Dan Webb expressed the company's sorrow at the crash and said he agreed that the family should receive "significant financial compensation for the harm they've experienced."

"The only disagreement we have is, we do disagree on the exact amount of compensation," he said.

Webb's opening remarks were similar to those he made in November 2025 during the first civil trial against Boeing related to the two accidents.

The jury had awarded $28.45 million in damages to the widower of one of the victims. 

A second trial, in January, was halted after an out-of-court settlement was reached after the second day. 

The Stumo trial is expected to last until May 15, barring an out-of-court settlement. 

Stumo's parents have emerged as vocal critics of Boeing and have advocated for tougher government aviation safety oversight.

Her mother is the niece of consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, and is running for Congress as an independent. 

Michael Stumo works on economic policy for the Office of Management and Budget after previously leading the Coalition for a Prosperous America, an advocacy group representing US manufacturers and producers.

str-elm/llb/aha/sla

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Education has opened a Title IX investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District over sexual misconduct allegations.

The department contends the district is reassigning teachers accused of such misconduct to other schools, instead of removing from their position. But the district told The Center Square Wednesday that "reassignment" means sending the teachers home during the investigations.

The Department of Education declined to answer The Center Square's questions about its investigations, but it did say in a press release that LAUSD “appears to be protecting sexual predators at the expense of its students.”

The department went on to say its Office for Civil Rights is looking into LAUSD for policies that “appear to automatically reassign teachers accused of sexual misconduct with students” to another school.

The teachers were reassigned instead of being fired or suspended during an investigation, the department said. 

According to the department, the sexual misconduct included engaging in exploitative “romantic relationships" with students.

The department said OCR will determine whether LAUSD’s handling of alleged sexual harassment, including sexual assault, by district teachers, administrators or staff violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The Department of Education also said LAUSD’s policy was “cemented in an agreement with the teachers’ union that appears to guarantee teachers will be reassigned and not terminated or immediately removed” from roles while officials investigate allegations of things such as “sexual harassment of a student, behavior with a student that is motivated by sexual interest, maintaining a sexual or romantic relationship with a student or other minor, creating, selling, or using child pornography, unnecessary physical contact with a student, and failure to report suspected child abuse.”

The Center Square reached out to LAUSD for comment and was told by a spokesperson who declined to give a name for publication that the district sends teachers being investigated home and does not assign them to another school site. The spokesperson noted the district takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness. 

“Commentary is circulating insinuating that the District assigns those being investigated for sexual misconduct to other school sites,” said the LAUSD spokesperson. “This is not true.”

According to the LAUSD spokesperson, confusion seems to be over the term "reassignment."

“Reassignment typically means an employee is directed to remain at home and away from students and schools during an investigation,” said the LAUSD spokesperson. “Decisions about reassignment are guided first and foremost by the safety of students, staff, and the workplace.”

After an investigation concludes, the LAUSD spokesperson, “appropriate measures or discipline may be taken, including termination of employment if warranted.”

Lance Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, has questions about that clarification.

“Why would the federal government initiate this type of action against LAUSD if it were over a simple misinterpretation?” Izumi told The Center Square. “That seems to me that, you know, that could have been resolved, you know, in a few minutes as opposed to, you know, going to this point about an investigation.”

Karen Frost is chair of the Los Angeles County Moms for Liberty chapter.

Frost, who attended LAUSD schools, said this news saddens her, but added the district has been “a project in decay and decline and disenfranchisement” for decades.

“They have made it their mission, really, to just alienate themselves from parents and student success,” Frost told The Center Square. “I think 22% of eighth graders within the LAUSD are reading at grade level, so they’re not student-focused or family-focused.”

In March, the Los Angeles School Board borrowed $250 million to settle claims of sexual abuse. That was in addition to the $500 million that the LAUSD Board of Education approved for borrowing in 2025.

Pointing to that news, Frost, whose children don't attend the district's schools, said LAUSD clearly has a problem.

“The superintendent is under investigation,” said Frost, referring to Superintendent Alberto Carvalho being placed on paid leave during an FBI investigation.

“The whole thing is just a mess, and I, for one, am very glad that the feds are looking into the school district, and the students in the LAUSD deserve better," Frost  told The Center Square.

Frost recommended parents talk to their kids about what is going on at their school.

Izumi agreed, adding that this is not just a LAUSD or a California problem, but a nationwide problem.

“One in 10 kids is targeted for grooming at some point in their K-12 education,” said Izumi. “That comes from the U.S. Department of Education, so people should be concerned about this across the country.”

Izumi said there are highly publicized cases of teachers in other locations, for example, having sexual relations with students. Those make headlines, but Izumi wonders how many cases are not investigated or reported.

“And how many of those things just go on year after year, with kids being victimized by adults in the system?” said Izumi.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez was handed a six-game suspension and given an undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball on Wednesday for intentionally throwing a pitch at Boston Red Sox star Trevor Story.

Valdez triggered a bench-clearing skirmish and was ejected on Tuesday after plunking Story with a 94mph fastball in the fourth inning of the Tigers' 10-3 drubbing by Boston.

MLB senior vice-president of on-field operations Michael Hill announced Valdez's punishment in a brief statement.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was given a one-game suspension and also fined for Valdez's actions.

Speaking after the game on Tuesday, Dominican left-hander Valdez, who had just given up back-to-back home runs before the incident, denied hitting Story on purpose.

"It was not on purpose," Valdez told US media through an interpreter. 

"It might've looked like that but it wasn't. I was trying to throw a strike after two consecutive home runs, and the pitch just came out of my hand."

However Valdez received scant backing from his own manager Hinch, who admitted the incident had left a sour taste.

"We play a really good brand of baseball here," Hinch said. "That doesn't feel like it. That's not judging intent. I have no idea.

"But when you go out on the field and end up in those confrontations, you usually feel like you're in your right.

"It didn't feel good being out there."

The Tigers, who have reached the playoffs for the past two seasons under Hinch, are leading the American League Central division despite making a lackluster 18-19 start to the season.

rcw/bb

(The Center Square) - Advocates warned the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act could create affordability concerns, and reduce competition in the marketplace.

In March, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bill designed to increase American housing supply and lower home prices.

The bill would set limits on large institutional investors from owning more than 349 homes. It would also include a government pilot program to finance home repairs and lift the 15% cap on banks’ private investments in affordable housing to 20%.

Joel Griffith, a senior fellow at the Advancing American Freedom Foundation, said the legislation will restrict private investment in new housing and lead to a larger affordability issue in the market. He argued that home prices are rising because of government subsidies for owners.

“The primary driver of all that are all of the government subsidies toward this sector of the economy,” Griffith said. “You’ve seen more money in people’s pockets directed to housing because the government has decided this is a sector we want people to park money in.”

The bill would require large institutional investors – including investment funds and corporations – to sell newly constructed single family homes within seven years of acquisition. Griffith said these policies could prevent families who move around often from owning a home.

“If you can’t afford to buy a home or if you are a family that moves every few years, well, D.C., has decided you need to live in an apartment,” Griffith said. “The free market is actually giving families an alternative. You don’t have to live in an apartment if you can’t afford to buy a home.”

Griffith also warned that the legislation would standardize housing restrictions across the country. He said more relaxed zoning laws in Texas could be replaced by strict environmental requirements in California.

The ROAD to Housing Act would also allow families in public housing to use their rental payments as a down payment on a home.

“This is an improper use of government power; you’re not entitled to a downpayment from your fellow taxpayers,” Griffith said. “If you’re going to now provide potentially millions of people with money to put down on a starter home, that is going to increase demand pressures in that part of the market.”

Supporters of the bill said the federal government needs to have a standardized program to address rising housing costs and increase availability of affordable housing. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon applauded the effort.

“Governors welcome alignment at the federal level with the approach they have long championed and stand ready to be partners in implementation,” Evers and Gordon wrote. “America cannot achieve economic competitiveness, workforce mobility or intergenerational opportunity without adequate, affordable housing. Governors have built the case, and we welcome Congress answering the call.”

Griffith called for an end to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on housing construction materials and called on Congress to enact protections that privatize the United States’ housing market. He said tariffs have added $10,000 to construction costs per home.

“Diminish the role of government-sponsored enterprises in the residential housing space and prohibit the Federal Reserve from purchasing additional mortgage-backed securities,” Griffith said.

Holders Paris Saint-Germain set up a Champions League final against Arsenal after a 1-1 second-leg draw at Bayern Munich secured a 6-5 aggregate victory on Wednesday.

PSG exploded on the counter less than three minutes in and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele put Luis Enrique's visitors ahead on the night and two goals up in the tie.

PSG largely succeeded in subduing Bayern's attacking threat, despite Harry Kane's stoppage-time goal.

"It was an exceptional match, another magical night in Munich against a great team," PSG forward Desire Doue told Canal Plus.

"These are the kinds of matches we've dreamt of playing since we were little. Now, we're going to enjoy this as a team."

On their return to Munich's Allianz Arena, the scene of their greatest triumph against Inter Milan in last year's final, PSG once again emphasised their excellence in a competition they coveted without success for so long.

The French giants will be favourites to lift the trophy for a second successive season when they face Premier League leaders Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest.

They are hoping to become only the second back-to-back winners since 1990, after Real Madrid.

Bayern were angered by some first-half refereeing decisions but lacked the potency they showed in their 5-4 first-leg loss in Paris.

The six-time European champions have still not reached the final since beating PSG in the 2020 showpiece in Lisbon.

"I don't have the ability to be disappointed for long," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. "Of course, in the end we lost two very, very tight games against a very good opponent."

Both sides were playing their 52nd match of the season in all competitions -- not even counting last summer's Club World Cup -- but only the hosts looked weary.

So dangerous in the first leg, Bayern were surprisingly stodgy, with Michael Olise in particular having an off night.

In the midst of a record-breaking season, Bayern's fourth defeat in all competitions will sting for a club set to wonder what might have been.

- Dembele strikes early -

With Bayern already Bundesliga champions and PSG also on track for the Ligue 1 title, both sides heavily rotated their line-ups in the weekend's league fixtures.

But both teams only made one change to their starting XIs compared to last week's spectacle in Paris. Only PSG's was forced, with Fabian Ruiz in for the injured Achraf Hakimi.

The high-octane first leg was widely lauded as among the best matches in the competition's history and Wednesday's game offered more of the same early.

Ruiz, starting his first European match since January, set Khvicha Kvaratskhelia down the left flank with an excellent through ball.

The Georgian latched onto the pass, blazed past his marker before cutting back for the perfectly placed Dembele to slam home. 

Bayern conceded after just 36 seconds against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and fought back to win but seemed stunned by the early goal this time around.

Olise, Kane and Joshua Kimmich all mislaid passes in the opening half-hour, ending promising attacks.

Bayern surrounded referee Joao Pinheiro claiming a penalty on the half-hour mark when Vitinha's clearance hit Joao Neves's outstretched arm in the box, but their appeals were waved away.

The home players had already been left incensed when PSG full-back Nuno Mendes was not shown a second yellow card for handball.

PSG went inches from scoring a second but Manuel Neuer tipped a close-range Neves header just wide of the post.

The home team rediscovered their rhythm just before the break, with Jamal Musiala forcing an excellent low save from PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov and blasting over the bar.

PSG showed a more measured side to their game in the second half, sitting back to absorb Bayern pressure while never losing their own threat on the counter.

Neuer made fine saves from Kvaratskhelia and Doue to keep Bayern in the tie.

The Bavarians dominated possession and territory but could not break through until Kane scored for a seventh straight Champions League match in stoppage time.

There was time for the restart, but it was too little, too late for the hosts.

dwi/jc

AI startup Anthropic announced Wednesday it has agreed to a major computing partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX, securing access to a vast data center as the Claude maker scrambles to keep pace with surging demand for its AI services.

Under the deal, Anthropic will use all of the compute capacity at SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee -- a facility originally built to power Musk's rival AI venture, xAI.

The agreement gives Anthropic access to more than 300 megawatts of capacity, backed by over 220,000 Nvidia AI chips, within one month.

The company said the additional capacity would directly benefit subscribers to its Claude Pro and Claude Max plans.

Anthropic also announced it was immediately letting users do more with its technology. 

The company said it was doubling the amount of Claude Code -- an AI-powered coding assistant that can write, edit, and debug software -- that paying subscribers can use in a five-hour window and eliminating restrictions that had previously cut access during busy periods.

The SpaceX deal marks a surprising partnership between two companies whose leaders have been publicly at odds.

Musk wrote in February that Anthropic "hates Western Civilization" and questioned whether there was a "more hypocritical company than Anthropic." 

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has rankled Musk and other Silicon Valley insiders with his public warnings about the dangers of AI.

Amodei has also clashed with the Trump administration after the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk earlier this year, a move Anthropic said amounted to unconstitutional retaliation for the company's advocacy on AI safety.

But on Wednesday Musk changed his tone, writing on X that he had spent time with senior Anthropic staff over the past week and was "impressed."

"Everyone I met was highly competent and cared a great deal about doing the right thing," he wrote.

In a separate post, Musk said he was "dissolving" xAI as a standalone company. "It will just be SpaceXAI, the AI products from SpaceX," he added, without elaborating.

SpaceX merged with xAI earlier this year in a deal valuing the two companies at $1.25 trillion. The company is widely expected to pursue an IPO this year that could be among the largest in corporate history.

The Colossus facility in Memphis has been a source of controversy.

xAI installed dozens of natural gas-burning turbines to power the site, claiming no federal permit was required because they were only for temporary use -- a move that drew persistent protests from civil rights groups who said it worsened air pollution in the Memphis area.

The SpaceX pact is the latest in a string of major compute agreements Anthropic has announced in recent months as the company looks to secure the computing power needed to meet its growing needs. 

These include megadeals with Amazon, Google and Broadcom, Microsoft and Nvidia, and an infrastructure investment with Fluidstack.

- AI battle -

The announcement comes as Anthropic and OpenAI -- crosstown rivals in San Francisco -- are locked in a direct battle to equip businesses with AI agents: semi-autonomous assistants capable of writing code, analyzing large volumes of documents, or processing medical records, whose adoption is accelerating rapidly.

On Tuesday, Anthropic unveiled 10 AI agents tailored specifically for banks, insurers, and asset managers -- tools capable of drafting sales presentations, conducting regulatory checks, and analyzing financial statements.

OpenAI, meanwhile, announced a partnership Tuesday with global auditing giant PwC to support its financial operations.

But the race to deploy AI agents is running headlong into a scramble for the chips and energy needed to power them.

Data center construction in the United States, despite moving at an accelerated pace, has struggled to keep up. 

And the energy-hungry projects, blamed for driving up household electricity bills, are drawing growing opposition from American citizens -- an issue that could weigh on November's midterm elections.

bl/arp/md

Missouri junior Veikka Viskari was invited to compete as an individual at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship regional round. He will compete in the Marana Regional on Wednesday, May 13 in Arizona.

Viskari will be Missouri’s first NCAA regional competitor since the Tigers advanced as a team in 2024. He also became the program’s first individual regional selection since Ross Steelman qualified in 2021.

Viskari led Missouri with a 71.82 stroke average during the 2025-26 season. He recorded five top-20 finishes, the second-most in a season during his college career; he finished with seven during his freshman year.

The junior also earned his first collegiate win this season by taking home the 2026 Tiger Intercollegiate. He posted the lowest round of his college career earlier this year with a 62. Viskari enters regionals ranked among the top 250 golfers nationally.

Fourteen teams will compete at the regional along with four other individual golfers who qualified on their own besides Viskari. The top individual not on an advancing team advances to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California.

The Tiger will compete in the Marana Regional from May 18-20 at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona.

Mizzou Athletics announced the launch of Skyward Productions on Wednesday Skyward Productions is an expanded in-house creative unit aimed at elevating storytelling, increasing fan engagement and strengthening revenue opportunities in college athletics according to a Mizzou Athletics news release.

The initiative complements the department's existing content operations and is part of what is described as a long-term investment in branded storytelling, marketing, ticket sales initiatives and NIL opportunities. These projects will be produced across photo, video and graphic design.

Skyward Productions is being directed by Senior Associate Athletics Director Michael Schroeder and Associate Athletics Director, Dave Matter. Skyward is led by Creative Director Sydney Echelmeier, a Columbia native, who previously worked with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams.

“This creative expansion is intentional and forward-looking,” Echelmeier said in the release. “We’re aligning creative strategy with the realities of today’s college athletics model — from NIL opportunities to revenue generation — while still delivering authentic, compelling stories.”

The Launch coincides with the debut of “Skyward: A Golden Path Forward", a multipart digital documentary series that follows Athletics Director Laird Veach and his team as they navigates the NIL changes within college sports. Episode 1 premiered Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Youtube, releasing a trailer on social media prior to the distrubution of the episode.

Veatch says the project reflects a broader vision for how the department communicates with fans and supports student-athletes.

“We’ve been intentional in investing in people, strategy and resources to ensure Mizzou is positioned to lead in how we connect with fans, support our student-athletes and grow our brand,” Veatch said.

The unit will also collaborate with sport-specific creative directors embedded within programs including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball, volleyball and wrestling. In addition, a new director being hired to oversee gymnastics, soccer and tennis content.

Mizzou Athletics says Skyward Productions will work alongside its football branding staff, Mizzou Sports Properties and Every True Tiger Brands to unify content strategy across platforms.

Mizzou Athletics has made several posts on X promoting the launch. They framed the initiative as part of the “future of college athletics,” with one message stating, “Everyone is talking about the future of college athletics. We’re building ours.”