U.S. Supreme Court denies Massachusetts school transition case

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide whether a public school violated parents’ rights by encouraging a student to transition to a new gender. 

Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, focuses on parents in Massachusetts who said the school district their children attend attempted to socially transition their middle-school-aged daughter after explicitly being told not to do so. Lawyers for the parents said the school allowed their daughter to use bathrooms where boys undressed and a new name. 

“School officials actively concealed their activities by using B.F.’s real name and pronouns when communicating with [their parents] but using her male name and nonbinary pronouns at school,” lawyers for the parents wrote in a brief to the Supreme Court. 

The Parental Rights Foundation, in a brief to the court, urged the justices to consider the case under strict scrutiny and give parents the ability to make decisions about how their children should be raised. 

“The right of parents to direct and control the upbringing of their children is a fundamental, unalienable right,” the Parental Rights Foundation wrote. “[The] government must demonstrate that its policy advances interests of the highest order and is narrowly tailored to achieve those interests.”

Lawyers for the school argued administrators and teachers in the Massachusetts system followed the wishes of the child to adopt a new name and pronouns. 

“The Parents are challenging how Baird Middle School chooses to maintain what it considers a desirable and fruitful pedagogical environment,” lawyers wrote in reference to a lower court’s opinion. 

The case follows Mirabelli v. Bonta, a 6-3 decision, where the justices said California’s policy allowing schools to socially transition students violated the First and 14th Amendments.

Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissenting opinion on Mirabelli, called for the court to hear Foote v. Ludlow School Committee instead of granting California parents’ relief Mirabelli v. Bonta. 

“By granting certiorari on one (or more) of those cases, the Court could ensure that the issues raised by such policies receive the careful, disciplined consideration they merit, rather than the inevitably truncated review the Court affords emergency applications,” Kagan wrote.

Instead, the majority of justices on the court appeared to overrule Kagan and denied hearing the Massachusetts case without explanation. 

(The Center Square) – Mothers and the coroner’s office of a Louisiana parish have identified the eight children ages 3-11 killed early Sunday.

The office of Dr. Todd Thoma, the Caddo Parish coroner, said the shooting was just before 6 a.m. in the 300 block of West 79th Street. Lawmen are still investigating and autopsies have been requested for each of the victims.

Identified by the mothers, the children killed were Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.

Shreveport and Caddo Parish have 15 homicides to date in the calendar year.

According to police, Shamar Elkins is the suspect who hijacked a car, led a chase into Bossier City, and was eventually shot and killed.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith on Sunday said a motive was yet to be determined. He asked for patience from the community.

“I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur,” he said.

“What began as a domestic dispute has ended in irreversible harm,” said Caddo Parish District Attorney John Andrew Prime. “This reality underscores a truth we must continue to confront: Domestic violence is not a private matter. It is a community issue with far-reaching consequences, often affecting the most vulnerable among us – our children.”

Shreveport City Council is expected to share information later Monday on a planned community prayer vigil.

“Today, we grieve,” Prime said. “In the days ahead, we must stand together in resolve to honor these lives by continuing the work of prevention, protection and support.”

Pope Leo XIV condemned exploitation and corruption by the rich and powerful on Monday during a visit to Angola's diamond-rich northeast, returning to a theme of his 11-day tour of Africa.

The American pope, on the eighth day of his trip to four African nations, visited Saurimo, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital, Luanda.

Under tropical heat and heavy security, Leo drove through the city of around 200,000 people along a route lined by hundreds of singing and cheering locals dressed in colourful outfits and waving white scarves.

Saurimo is the capital of the historically marginalised Lunda Sul province and close to Angola's largest diamond mine, Catoca, which extracts around 75 percent of the country's diamonds.

The Portuguese-speaking country is one of Africa's top producers of crude oil and diamonds, yet around a third of its people live below the World Bank poverty line.

"We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful and defrauded by the rich," the pope said in Portuguese at a giant open-air Mass.

"Consequently, when injustice corrupts hearts, the bread of all becomes the possession of a few."

Authorities estimated that about 40,000 people attended the mass with another 20,000 taking part from surrounding areas.

The pope also criticised tyranny and exploitation in the first two legs of his marathon Africa journey, in Algeria and Cameroon, showing a tougher tone from a previously more reserved style.

- Meeting the elderly -

Soon after landing in Saurimo earlier Monday, the pope was welcomed at a home for around 60 elderly people who are either abandoned by their families or victims of violence.

"Your presence in this home is a blessing from God," 72-year-old Antonio Joaquin told him.

Despite its mineral wealth, Lunda Sul province bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo suffers extreme poverty, with mining also blamed for environmental damage and displacing communities.

On the first day of his Angola stopover on Saturday, the pope spoke out against the harm caused by the rampant exploitation of the continent's natural resources.

"How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are caused by this logic of exploitation," he said in an address to government officials including President Joao Lourenco.

Back in Luanda on Monday, the pope will meet clergy to discuss challenges facing the church in Angola, including a lack of resources and the growing influence of evangelicism.

After John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009, Leo is the third pope to visit this country, which was badly battered in a 27-year civil war that erupted after independence from Portugal in 1975.

At a Mass Sunday attended by 100,000 people, the 70-year-old pontiff called for Angola to overcome divisions of the past and create a future where "the scourge of corruption will be healed by a new culture of justice and sharing".

Some 44 percent of the population, about 15 million Angolans, identify as Catholic, according to a 2024 census in this southern African country. 

On Tuesday, the pope is due to travel to Equatorial Guinea to wrap up an 18,000‑km journey across Africa over 11 days.

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Italian bank UniCredit wooed shareholders in Germany's Commerzbank with promises of higher returns on Monday as it hopes to win a 35-billion-euro ($41 billion) takeover battle fiercely opposed by many Germans.

UniCredit's chief Andrea Orcel said his "Unlocked" strategy for Commerzbank would refocus its operations on its core German market to spur faster growth.

"Commerzbank can create much more value than currently, and its current direction is putting its survival at risk in the medium term," Orcel told financial analysts ahead of the formal opening of the takeover bid.

UniCredit, already the largest shareholder in Commerzbank, announced a full takeover in March that drew a frosty response from the German government, which itself owns 12 percent of the bank's shares. 

But Orcel said applying the "UniCredit method", and investing around 800 million euros between now and 2030 would help push Commerzbank's net profit to 5.1 billion euros in 2028.

That would be well above the 4.2 billion euros predicted for that year by Commerzbank in its own strategy plan presented in early 2025.

If successful, Orcel said he would combine Commerzbank's operations with those of HypoVereinsbank, UniCredit's German subsidiary, to create "a solid and competitive German leader, part of a major pan-European group" better able to resist the challenge of "new American players and fintech firms".

UniCredit also rejected as a "myth" claims that its takeover bid, worth around 30.80 euros for each Commerzbank share, was not high enough.

With a direct stake of 26 percent, UniCredit expects it will raise its stake to more than 30 percent, triggering a mandatory takeover for the entire bank.

If the bid fails, Orcel said he would still "come out ahead financially".

"In this case, we will step back and probably people will thank us in two years because maybe we will be able to do a better deal," he said. 

Commerzbank shares were up around 1.1 percent at 36.47 euros in midday trading in Frankfurt -- well above UniCredit's offer -- while UniCredit shares fell around two percent in Milan to 68.68 euros. 

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Bulgarian ex-president Rumen Radev, an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia, took an absolute majority in parliamentary elections that could spell an end to the country's half-decade of political uncertainty, according to near complete vote results on Monday. 

The European Union's poorest member has experienced eight votes since 2021, when anti-graft rallies brought down the conservative administration of long-time pro-European leader Boyko Borissov.

The Kremlin was quick to applaud Radev.

"Evidently we look favourably upon Radev's words (regarding closer ties with Moscow) ... as well as those of certain other European leaders regarding their commitment to resolving issues through dialogue," said  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said "Bulgaria is a proud member of the European family and plays an important role in tackling our common challenges", adding: "I look forward to working together".

Radev, 62, who resigned earlier this year after nine years as president, ran in Sunday's vote on a pledge to fight corruption, bringing together a wide spectrum of voters, with the turnout the highest since 2021.

Radev's Progressive Bulgaria grouping secured 44.7 percent in Sunday's vote, according to official results with 98.3 percent of the votes counted, putting him on course to gain some 130 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

The landslide victory marks the first outright parliamentary majority for a single formation in Bulgaria since 1997 when a centre-right, pro-European grouping won.

Borissov's GERB party slumped to 13.4 percent of the vote, running neck and neck with the liberal PP-DB coalition, which stood at 12.7 percent, according to the electoral commission's results.

The far-right Vazrazhdane party and the Turkish and Roma minority party MRF also were set to win seats.

- ' Victory of hope' -

"PB has won unequivocally -- a victory of hope over distrust, a victory of freedom over fear," Radev told reporters as projections trickled in.

He said Bulgaria would "make every effort to continue on its European path".

"But believe me, a strong Bulgaria and a strong Europe need critical thinking and pragmatism. Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world with new rules," the former air force general added.

Radev has said he wants to rid the Balkan nation of 6.5 million people of its "oligarchic governance model".

He supported anti-corruption protests last year that brought down the latest conservative-backed government.

While Radev can govern on its own, "the real question" is whether he will take "real steps" against high-level corruption, including through reforms of the judiciary, political analyst Teodor Slavev said.

For key judicial or constitutional changes requiring a two-thirds majority, he will need support in parliament from other parties.

- 'Eurosceptic' path -

Radev is expected to face "pressure" to lead Bulgaria down a "eurosceptic" path, both from within his own party and the far-right opposition, according to Daniel Smilov, a political scientist at the Center for Liberal Strategies.

"His initial signals are that he will pursue a pro-European policy and will not block the EU... The whole question is whether those signals will actually be followed through," he told AFP.

Ahead of the vote, Radev urged "practical relations with Russia, based on mutual respect and equal treatment".

He has also criticised a 10-year defence agreement signed last month between Bulgaria and Ukraine, which has been battling Russia's full-scale invasion since 2022.

He has opposed Bulgaria sending arms to Ukraine, but said he would not use his country's veto to block EU decisions.

Borissov, who headed the country virtually uninterrupted for close to a decade, congratulated Radev  Sunday but warned "winning elections is one thing, governing is another".

Political parties had urged Bulgarians to vote in order to curb the effectiveness of vote buying.

In recent weeks, police have seized more than one million euros in raids against vote buying and detained hundreds of people, including local councillors and mayors.

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The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Qatar flights -

Qatar's aviation authority said it would begin allowing flights from foreign airlines to land at its main airport for the first time since the start of the Middle East war.

"Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has issued a Notice to Airmen announcing the gradual resumption of operations for foreign airlines in the State of Qatar via Hamad International Airport," the body said in a statement.

- Dutch aid to offset fuel hike -

The Dutch government said it would allocate more than 950 million euros ($1.1 billion) to help compensate businesses and individuals for the surge in petrol prices since the war's outbreak.

"Energy prices are expected to remain high for the time being, even if the conflict in the Middle East should end soon," the government said.

"Households and businesses are already feeling the impact," it said, adding that they would be the priority for a first package of measures worth 627 million euros.

- 'Israel talks separate' -

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said planned talks with Israel aim to end "hostilities" and stressed they were "separate" from Iran-US negotiations.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

- Iran slams US 'violations' -

Iran's foreign ministry said it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States, which it accused of "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad. 

"While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press briefing.

- China 'concern' -

China expressed "concern" over the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel that tried to evade a naval blockade, and urged all parties to resume peace talks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Monday that "normal traffic" through the vital Strait of Hormuz "should be maintained".

- Israel Lebanon warning -

Israel's military warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities in the area were violating a ceasefire agreement struck last week.

Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to parts of southern Lebanon since the truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday.

- Iran executions -

Iran hanged two men convicted of having links to Israel's spy agency, the latest in a string of executions of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States.

The People's Mujahedin (MEK), an opposition group banned in Iran, confirmed the executions of MEK members Mohammad Masoom Shahi, 38, and Hamed Validi, 48. 

- Israel soldier hits Jesus statue -

The Israeli army said that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender".

- Oil price bounce -

Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

European stock markets were lower in late morning trading, also pressured by Tehran's announcement that it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.   

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The father of music superstar Amy Winehouse on Monday lost a UK lawsuit he brought against two of her friends, who auctioned some of her clothes years after her death.

The late singer's former stylist Naomi Parry and her friend Catriona Gourlay sold dozens of items, including a black Armani bag and dresses Winehouse wore on her last tour in June 2011.

The court was told in a trial that they "took advantage" of her father's forgetfulness and pocketed some £730,000 ($979,000) in sales.

Both denied acting dishonestly and said the items had been given or lent to them by the singer, even if there was no proof.

But Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse, sued the pair, alleging they did not have the right to sell the items, which were auctioned between November 2021 and May 2023 by Los Angeles-based auctioneers.

Judge Sarah Clarke said in her written judgement that she found that "neither Ms Parry nor Ms Gourlay deliberately concealed any of their disputed items from the claimant".

"Even if I am wrong about that, Mr Winehouse could have discovered what disputed items the defendants had with reasonable diligence," she added.

Dismissing the case, the judge ruled that the 155 items, including ballet slippers, dresses, handbags, earrings and make-up were owned by the two women or gifted to them.

A few were described as "abandoned by Amy" therefore her father "has no ownership nor immediate right to possession".

Singer-songwriter Winehouse, who enjoyed meteoric global success, died in July 2011 from alcohol poisoning, aged just 27.

She was a distinctive figure with her beehive hairdo, heavy black eye makeup, multiple tattoos and smoky voice.

She shot to international fame with her Grammy Award-winning 2006 album "Back to Black", which included the track "Rehab", charting her battle with addiction.

According to court documents, her father believed any sums collected from the sales organised by Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions would be due to him and the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

The foundation is a charity set up in the singer's name working with young people to foster hope and self-reliance.

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Slovenian outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a razor-thin majority in parliamentary elections last month, on Monday said he had failed to form a coalition.

His announcement opens the door for runner-up Janez Jansa, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, to seek to form a coalition in the EU member of two million.

"We are looking forward to our work in the opposition," liberal Golob, 59, told reporters after meeting President Natasa Pirc Musar.

He added that he had not found a partner among centre-right parties to join his party and its allies to secure a parliamentary majority.

Golob's liberals won 29 seats last month, while the conservatives of three-time premier Jansa got 28 seats in the 90-seat parliament.

Jansa -- who had frequent run-ins with Brussels during his last stint as prime minister -- has pledged to restore "Slovenian values," such as the "traditional family," and "close the (state money) pipe" to NGOs deemed political parties.

- 'Most ideal for country' -

Jansa, 67, has publicly rejected any coalition talks.

On Monday, Jansa reiterated he was not in a rush to form a government while seeking to do what is "the most ideal for the country".

"The (Slovenian Democratic Party) SDS is not forming any government at the moment," Jansa told reporters after he also met Pirc Musar.

"This week we will concentrate on the constitution of the parliament, since that is on the agenda," he said, adding that, if needed, his party was "ready for new elections tomorrow".

Golob insisted on Monday that Jansa would form a coalition, saying he was "convinced that this coalition of fraudsters will not last long".

Although the SDS has denied any ongoing coalition talks, Christian-democrat Nova Slovenija and Jansa's former ally Anze Logar's Democrats -- who rejected on Friday any agreement with Golob -- have many common points with the SDS' programme.

Earlier this month, the parliament's inaugural session elected a lawmaker from anti-establishment Resnica party as speaker with the backing of Jansa's conservatives, Nova Slovenija and Logar's Democrats.

While Resnica party has rejected entering any coalition, Jansa may get its support after the SDS enabled the appointment of Resnica's leader as parliamentary speaker.

President Pirc Musar has to propose a prime minister designate to parliament within 30 days of its April 10 inaugural session.

If the candidate does not get a majority, the law sets a 10-day deadline for parties to propose a new candidate.

Golob, a former power company manager, was a political newcomer in 2022, when he topped the vote that year, propelled by anger over the Jansa government's crackdown on civil liberties.

Jansa has accused the Golob government during its last mandate of squandering money, behaving as if "money grew on trees" and sowing "chaos".

The last days of campaigning ahead of the March 22 vote were overshadowed by claims of foreign interference, with authorities probing whether Israeli company Black Cube was behind secretly recorded videos alleging graft in Golob's government.

A civil society group, together with an investigative journalist and two researchers, accused Black Cube over the videos, linking it to Jansa's party.

Jansa has admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but has denied being behind the videos.

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A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan Monday, shaking large buildings in Tokyo hundreds of kilometres away and prompting a warning for tsunami waves of up to three metres (10 feet).

The quake hit at 4:53 pm (0753 GMT) in Pacific waters off northern Iwate prefecture, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Around 40 minutes later, an 80-centimetre (31-inch) tsunami wave hit a port in Kuji in Iwate, according to the JMA, which initially estimated the quake's strength at 7.4 but later revised it upwards.

"Evacuate immediately from coastal regions and riverside areas to a safer place such as high ground or an evacuation building," it said, warning that damage due to tsunami waves was expected.

"Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe ground until the warning is lifted," it said.

Footage from national broadcaster NHK did not show any immediate visible damage around several ports in Iwate.

A JMA official warned in a televised press briefing that more quakes could strike the area within the next week, particularly within the next two to three days, potentially "causing even stronger shaking".

The prime minister's office said it had set up a crisis management team.

"For those of you who live in areas for which the warnings have been issued, please evacuate to higher, safer places such as higher ground," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters, adding that the government was trying to confirm whether there were any casualties or property damage.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.

Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory of a possible "megaquake" along the Nankai Trough.

This 800-kilometre undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is "subducting" -- or slowly slipping -- underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.

The government has said a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage.

The JMA lifted the 2024 advisory after a week but it led to panic-buying of staples like rice and prompted holidaymakers to cancel hotel reservations.

It issued a week-long second "megaquake" advisory in December 2025 after a magnitude-7.5 tremor struck off the northern coast.

The December 8 quake triggered tsunami waves of up to 70 centimetres (28 inches) and injured more than 40 people, but no major damage was reported.

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American AI developer Anthropic plans to "lay the risks out on the table" even as it restricts deployment of a new model dubbed Mythos, whose powerful cybersecurity capabilities raise stark questions for companies and governments.

"We have a model that's beginning to outstrip human capabilities in the cyber world," Anthropic's Paris-based chief of relations with startups and tech firms Guillaume Princen told AFP in an interview.

Mythos is "capable of spotting security holes that have existed for decades, in systems tested by both human experts and automated tools, that have never been discovered before," he added.

Anthropic has delayed a general release of Mythos, sharing it first with a few dozen key American tech and financial services players -- such as Nvidia, Amazon, Apple and JP Morgan Chase -- to allow them to test and improve their security infrastructure.

But the company has also been accused of overhyping the powers of a technology which is its stock in trade -- and the subject of fierce competition with rival OpenAI.

The Mythos news broke as rumours grow that Anthropic will list on the stock market this year.

- Safety first? -

"We prefer to be transparent and lay these risks out on the table," Princen said, adding that AI safety concerns are "central to Anthropic's DNA".

"We don't have all the answers, this has to be a conversation between tech actors like us who have the data, the academic world, the political world and the world of economists," he added.

Mythos' reported capabilities have unsettled the American financial sector and the European Union, which requested more information from Anthropic.

In an open letter to businesses, the British government said that Mythos "highlights the speed at which  AI capabilities are increasing and the threats they potentially pose".

No European company is part of Anthropic's "Project Glasswing" consortium for shoring up cyber defences using Mythos' findings.

That has raised questions about how prepared the rest of the world will be for the offensive capabilities of US-owned AI.

Mythos is "certainly not a model that will soon be opened to the public at large, for obvious reasons," Princen said.

Anthropic is nevertheless "thinking about the next waves of opening up," he added.

- European growth -

Europe is the region where Anthropic sees the fastest growth.

Its Claude Code software development tool generates around $2.5 billion in annualised revenue -- a figure based on extrapolating from a few recent weeks of sales.

Much of that expansion comes from "European firms riding the wave" of AI, Princen said.

The company has opened offices in Dublin, London, Paris and Munich, and wants to keep investing across the continent.

"We go where the demand is," Princen said, pointing to partnerships with European firms like Swedish coding startup Lovable or Danish pharma company Novo Nordisk.

Relatively unknown to the wider public until recently, Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff and makes around 80 percent of its revenue from business-to-business sales.

The company and its Claude chatbot surged in prominence in late February, when bosses refused to allow its AI tools to be used by the Pentagon for mass surveillance of American citizens or fully autonomous weapons.

The Trump administration responded by designating Anthropic a so-called "supply chain risk" to national security -- a decision being contested in multiple legal cases.

In legal documents seen by AFP, Anthropic finance chief Krishna Rao warned that Washington's move could cost the firm multiple billions in revenue this year.

On the other hand, "there are a lot of people who started using Claude precisely because of the position we took on that question," Princen said.

Anthropic said in early April that it had tripled its annualised revenues quarter-on-quarter to over $30 billion -- outpacing OpenAI for the first time.

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