As Hollywood writers continue contract negotiations with major studios, one topic remains front and center: the role of artificial intelligence.
On Friday, the Writers Guild of America released a list of contract demands, which 97% of the union membership supports. Though some details have yet to be revealed, many of the union’s asks involve expanding protections over the use and abuse of AI, in addition to improved health coverage and higher residuals.
AI and streaming residuals were central issues in strikes by actors and writers in 2023.
WGA’s current contract, which expires May 1, established that AI isn’t a writer and nothing it produces is considered literary material. It prohibits companies from giving writers AI-generated scripts for a rewrite fee or requiring writers to use AI software, and a company must disclose whether any written materials were developed using AI.
The union says its current demand is to simply “expand” these protections. Other priorities include increasing contributions to the WGA benefit plans, raising minimums for “page one” rewrites and boosting streaming residuals.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has identified similar issues as it negotiates a new contract for actors. Last week, SAG-AFTRA and the bargaining group for the major studios disclosed that they are extending their negotiations for seven days. The discussions began Feb. 9.
The union, whose contract expires June 30, is expected to propose what has been called the Tilly tax, a fee that studios would have to pay to the union in exchange for using an AI actor. This demand is in response to the first AI actor, Tilly Norwood, being introduced to Hollywood. Though the bot has yet to star in a major project, the fear of AI-generated characters taking jobs is real for many actors. The bot’s creator, Xicoia, also recently announced the expansion of its AI actor universe, called the “Tillyverse.”
WGA’s negotiations are set to start Monday and will be led by Ellen Stutzman. The studios will be represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ new president, Gregory Hessinger.
The negotiations are happening as WGA West’s own staff members have been on strike, forcing the guild to call off its L.A.-based award show. The staff union, with more than 100 employees, are similarly demanding higher pay and protections against AI.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, saying “the world will be safer” if Tehran doesn’t have access to nuclear weapons. He says President Trump made the decision to strike because Iran was ‘playing’ the US in negotiations.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Though no deal was reached to end Iran’s nuclear arms ambitions, U.S. and Iranian officials both expressed cautious optimism after the third round of negotiations between the two nations concluded today. Even as the talks were underway in Geneva, more American military assets pushed toward the Middle East. On Thursday, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford left Souda Bay on the Greek-owned island of Crete and will reportedly arrive off the Israeli coast as early as Friday. In addition, more F-35A Lighting II stealth fighters and F-15E Strike Eagle multirole fighters are on their way across the Atlantic for likely deployment to the region.
You can get a good sense of the state of play in this situation in our deep dive here.
The third round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva ended inconclusively Thursday.
“We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who is moderating the talks, stated on X. “We will resume soon after consultation in the respective capitals. Discussions on a technical level will take place next week in Vienna. I am grateful to all concerned for their efforts: the negotiators, the IAEA, and our hosts the Swiss government.”
We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran. We will resume soon after consultation in the respective capitals. Discussions on a technical level will take place next week in Vienna. I am grateful to all concerned for…
At issue is the future of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but the negotiations do not involve Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Trump administration is now saying could threaten the U.S. homeland in the near future. More about that later in this story. The U.S. is reportedly demanding that Iran destroy its Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites, deliver all enriched uranium to the U.S., agree to zero enrichment of its uranium, but can keep the Tehran reactor. In addition, the Trump administration is demanding that any deal be permanent and is offering Iran minimal sanctions relief, with more if the country is compliant with these demands.
Here the demands US brought to Iran in Geneva:
1) Destroy all 3 nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan
2) Deliver all enriched uranium to US
3) No sunset clauses
4) Zero enrichment, but can keep Tehran reactor
5) Minimal sanctions relief up front; more if Iran compliant
For its part, Iran “is unwilling to transfer any enriched uranium outside the country,” the official Iranian Press TV news outlet reported on Thursday. While the U.S. delegation demands all existing stockpiles be handed over, Iran insists that the enriched uranium should remain safeguarded within its borders.
“Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Iran remained ‘crystal clear’ that it would ‘under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon,’ while also recognising the right of Iran’s people to the benefits of ‘peaceful nuclear technology,’” Al Jazeera reported.
The negotiations are taking place in the wake of statements by Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio laying out the administration’s case against Iran. Both warned that Iran is developing weapons that can strike the U.S. and has the means and intent to strike its assets, and those of allies, in the Middle East.
PRESIDENT TRUMP on IRAN: My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain: I will NEVER allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon.
SECRETARY RUBIO on IRAN: For a country facing sanctions, whose economy is in tatters, whose people are suffering, somehow they still find the money to invest in missiles of greater capacity every year. This is an unsustainable threat. pic.twitter.com/LGZJxPG33w
Meanwhile, the Trump administration reportedly would like to see Israel attack first to give the U.S. political cover.
“There’s thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action,” Politico stated.
“The argument in Israel is that this would be a terrible strategic mistake, as it creates a lose-lose situation: if the strike fails, Israel would be blamed for dragging the United States into the conflict,” a high-ranking IDF official told us. “Israel would be accused of being a warmonger, a source of destruction and regional war, rather than a country seeking to reach an agreement. Israel could find itself completely isolated. This reflects the general discourse on the issue.”
This issue should be taken with a degree of skepticism since much of the behind-the-scenes reporting has been highly inaccurate.
Report: White House insiders say a first strike by Israel on Iran might create the optics needed to justify US military action.https://t.co/EszY1krx5r
“Many actions are being carried out on the home front, among civilians, in order to protect them from missile strikes,” the IDF official added. “At the same time, there is very significant military readiness along the borders.”
While the Trump administration is pushing Iran to accept the deal or risk an attack, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives pledged Thursday “to force a vote next week on legislation to restrict President Donald Trump from attacking Iran without congressional approval,” Politico pointed out, adding that “the White House is already mobilizing to try and defeat it.”
The move by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team “will compel a tough and close vote for lawmakers as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Tehran,” the outlet added.
JUST IN: House Dem leaders say the plan to force a vote on bipartisan Iran war powers legislation from Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie “as soon as Congress reconvenes next week.” pic.twitter.com/IxO7DSwQAT
The sabre rattling and internal political machinations come as the U.S. has built up a massive force that includes two aircraft carrier strike groups and several other warships.
There are reports that the Ford, on a twice-extended deployment that has seen it enter the Mediterranean for the second time since departing Norfolk on June 24, 2025, will dock in Haifa, Israel. However, that seems dubious given that placing an aircraft carrier at a fixed location like that would make it a very attractive and high-volume target for an Iranian attack. The carrier would not benefit from its own defenses, and to a lesser degree, that of its escorts, when in port, as well.
There have been suggestions that the Ford’sArleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer escorts will help provide protection for Israel against anticipated Iranian barrages. The Ford’s F/A-18E-F Super Hornets and E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare jets could also be used to attack Iran, but would have to fly across Israel or Lebanon, Syria or Jordan, and Iraq, to reach Iranian territory.
Haifa “suffered significant damage” during the 12-Day War in June, “with dozens injured from missile fire and structural damage to homes and municipality buildings,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “Haifa is home to the Israel Navy headquarters and the largest oil refinery in Israel, which was hit during the war, forcing a partial, temporary shutdown of some secondary facilities.”
The Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit is ready to participate if Trump decides to launch strikes on Iran, Bloomberg News reported, citing U.S. officials and analysts. The drone unit is known as Task Force Scorpion. It’s now ready for operations, U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told the news outlet in an emailed statement.
“We established the squadron last year to rapidly equip our warfighters with new combat drone capabilities that continue to evolve,” he said.
The U.S. military set up Task Force Scorpion late last year as the first operational unit armed with Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) kamikaze drones, a design reverse-engineered from the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, in the Middle East. The establishment was seen as a major development, and offers a way “to flip the script on Iran,” according to a U.S. official. Last year, TWZ laid out a detailed case for why America’s armed forces should be investing heavily in rapidly-produced Shahed-136 clones as an adaptable capability that could be critical in future operations globally, as you can read here.
Just in: The Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit is ready to participate if President Donald Trump decides to launch strikes on Iran, according to US officials and analysts. https://t.co/DOPGwxi339
In addition to the ships, scores of tactical jets, refuelers, airborne control planes, and other aircraft have already surged to the Middle East and Europe, with more on the way. At least another 12 F-35As from Hill Air Force Base in Utah, and six F-15Es each from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina are heading to Europe. That’s ahead of a likely deployment to the Middle East.
Aviation photographer Acr Explorer was kind enough to share images of F-35As and F-22s seen at Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K. on Thursday.
F-22 Raptor stealth fighters seen Thursday at Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K. (Acr Explorer) F-22 Raptor stealth fighters seen Thursday at Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K. (Acr Explorer) F-22 Raptor stealth fighters seen Thursday at Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K. (Acr Explorer)
The large influx of U.S. airpower has left U.S. bases in the region crowded and is one reason that F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have been deployed to Israel. Another is the likelihood that Israel will be fully integrated into any U.S. attack on Iran.
Beyond the Middle East and Europe, the U.S. is also building up forces at Diego Garcia, its Indian Ocean island outpost, which has been used as a bomber base in previous conflicts. As we noted yesterday, F-16CM fighters from the 35th Fighter Wing recently arrived on the island from Misawa Air Base in Japan. These would be key assets in defending the island from a possible Iranian attack. There is also indications that a bomber deployment to the base could be imminent. However, there are political questions to be solved before the base can be used for a strike on Iran. As we reported last week, the United Kingdom has apparently said it would not allow the use of the island for strikes on Iran, although Prime Minister Keir Starmer could still change his mind. You can read more about the force-protection mission at Diego Garcia — increasingly threatened by Iranian long-range attack drones and missiles — in our previous reporting.
While the talks between Washington and Tehran are scheduled to resume next week, remember that three days before the Operation Midnight Hammer strike on Iranian nuclear facilities last June, the White House said Trump would decide “within two weeks” about whether to strike or keep negotiating.
Though more negotiations are scheduled, Trump has acted militarily ahead of planned talks in the past. Regardless, with the Ford arriving very soon and other assets trickling into place, and fitting our own stated timeline, the window for strikes appears to be cracking open now, and will only get wider with each passing day.
The territorial dispute flared up over the discovery of massive offshore oil deposits. (Archive)
Mérida, February 18, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement and urged Guyana to engage in “good faith negotiations” to settle the longstanding dispute over the Essequibo Strip.
In a statement published on Tuesday, Caracas celebrated six decades of the agreement and reiterated that the treaty is “the only valid legal instrument for reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute” over the 160,000 square-kilometer territory.
The 1966 accord, signed by Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and British Guiana, a British colony at the time, saw the different parties pledge to find an agreeable solution to the border issue.
The Venezuelan government’s communique noted that the treaty was submitted to the United Nations, arguing that it overruled the controversial 1899 arbitration ruling which awarded the territory to the United Kingdom.
The text also reaffirmed Venezuela’s sovereignty claim over the resource-rich territory and referenced the popular mandate from the December 3, 2023, referendum that saw over 90 percent of respondents back the country’s rights over the Essequibo Strip.
“The only possible solution to the territorial controversy is to engage in good faith negotiations, to achieve a satisfactory arrangement for the two parties that signed the Geneva Agreement,” the declaration concluded.
The Guyanese government responded on Wednesday with its own statement, arguing that the Geneva Agreement did not annul the 1899 Arbitral Award but rather established a framework for resolving the dispute that arose when Venezuela questioned the border’s validity in 1962.
Georgetown likewise noted that, in January 2018, the Secretary-General of the United Nations determined that the “good offices” mechanism had been unsuccessful in resolving the dispute.
“In accordance with Article IV (2) of the Geneva Agreement, the Secretary-General decided to submit the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the final means of resolution. Both Guyana and Venezuela were bound by that decision.”
Hours later, the Venezuelan government issued a second statement accusing Guyana of attempting to distort the spirit of the Geneva Agreement and reiterating Caracas’ position rejecting the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the border controversy.
“Venezuela will not recognize any decision emanating from the International Court of Justice on the territorial dispute surrounding Guayana Esequiba,” the document read.
Despite rejecting the Hague-based court’s authority on the matter, the Venezuelan government participated in a documentation-gathering process before the ICJ during 2023 and 2024. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, then vice president, led the country’s legal efforts.
In August 2025, Caracas submitted further evidence backing its Essequibo sovereignty claim and challenging Georgetown’s historical and legal arguments. The case will advance to the oral hearings phase in May 2026.
In January, the Guyanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, claimed that the ICJ’s ruling would be binding for both nations and that the case was now in the hands of “the highest and most respected judicial authority in the world.”
The longstanding territorial controversy flared up in 2015 after ExxonMobil discovered and began exploiting massive offshore oil reserves. Venezuelan authorities have raised their sovereignty claims and criticized Guyanese counterparts for giving drilling permits to multinational corporations in undelimited waters.
Caracas has also criticized the US’ interference in the issue, with successive administrations offering their full backing to Georgetown. Venezuelan authorities have accused Washington of stoking regional tensions amid plans to establish military bases in Guyana.
Feb. 18 (UPI) — U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff early Wednesday reported “meaningful progress” in tri-lateral U.S.-Russian-Ukraine talks in Switzerland on ending the war.
Crediting U.S. President Donald Trump‘s “success in bringing both sides of this war together” to enable the progress to be made in the U.S.-moderated talks in Geneva, Witkoff provided no details of what had been achieved.
“Both parties agreed to update their respective leaders and continue working towards a deal,” he wrote X.
The accounts of Russia and Ukraine of Tuesday’s talks, which lasted six hours, were less positive with Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reporting they were “very tense” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said they were “difficult” and accused Moscow of playing for time.
“Yesterday’s meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to drag out the negotiations, which could already have moved to the final stage. We are grateful to the American side for their attention to detail and patience in talks with the current Russian representatives,” said Zelensky in a post on X.
A source in the Russian delegation told TASS that all sides had, however, agreed to continue the talks on Wednesday.
The negotiations are being held against the backdrop of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with no sign of any let up in hostilities.
At least two people were killed and 25 injured in strikes across five eastern, southern and central Ukrainian provinces overnight after Russian forces launched 126 drones and one ballistic missile, according to a Ukrainian Air Force update on social media.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said one person was injured in the city of Cheboksary, 440 miles east of Moscow, after Ukraine launched a large-scale airborne assault into Russian territory overnight using attack drones. The defense ministry said air defenses downed 43 of the drones.
Two previous rounds of talks, in Abu Dhabi in January and earlier this month, were unable to gain traction in overcoming the main stumbling blocks of Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede territory and Ukraine’s insistence on cast-iron Western security guarantees.
The negotiations are based on a heavily revised version of a 28-point plan, first drawn up by Witkoff’s team and Russian officials in November, under which Ukraine would give up Luhansk and Donetsk, including areas its forces still control, in exchange for security guarantees.
Kyiv has ruled out giving up territory it still occupies but the Americans are pushing a compromise solution that would see those areas become a demilitarized “special economic” buffer zone.
However, the security guarantees remain the potentially most intractable issue with Moscow adamant they cannot involve Western boots on the ground — something Ukraine believes must be permissable for any guarantee to be credible.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
Democrats have called for a ban on immigration agents wearing masks and are pushing for increased oversight of their operations.
Published On 16 Feb 202616 Feb 2026
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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ran out of funding over the weekend, leading to the third partial government shutdown of President Donald Trump’s second term, as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats remain stalled while Congress is in recess until February 23.
Democrats are calling for changes to the DHS’s immigration operations after two fatal shootings of US citizens in the city of Minneapolis last month. Alex Pretti and Renee Good were shot dead by federal officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol during such operations.
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On Monday, state officials in Minnesota said that the FBI has refused to share evidence with state law enforcement following Pretti’s killing on January 24.
“This lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented,” Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent, Drew Evans, said in a statement.
DHS entered a shutdown on Saturday, but will continue operations deemed essential. Cuts affect agencies under the DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – which runs Border Patrol – ICE, and the US coastguard.
At US airports, 2,933 of the TSA’s 64,130 employees have been furloughed for the duration of the shutdown. The remaining 95 percent of staff will remain on duty but will work without pay until the DHS is funded.
Earlier this month, Democrats sent Republicans a list of 10 demands to rein in immigration enforcement. In a letter, authored by House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the politicians called for increased oversight of the DHS.
The letter called for DHS officers not to enter private property without a judicial warrant and to require verification that someone is not a US citizen before placing them in immigration detention. It also called for DHS to mandate that its officers do not wear masks, have visible identification, and wear clear uniforms.
Democrats are also seeking to prohibit immigration enforcement actions near courts, medical facilities, houses of worship, schools, and polling places.
They further called for increased coordination with local and state agencies after the federal government blocked state and local law enforcement from participating in investigations related to the deaths in Minneapolis.
“Federal immigration agents cannot continue to cause chaos in our cities while using taxpayer money that should be used to make life more affordable for working families,” Jeffries said in the letter.
“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost. It is critical that we come together to impose common sense reforms and accountability measures that the American people are demanding.”
Tom Homan, Trump’s border chief, dismissed the calls from Democrats on CBS’s Face the Nation, referring to the requests as “unreasonable”.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, meanwhile, echoed Homan’s stance. On CNN’s current affairs programme, State of the Union, he claimed that Democrats are engaging in “political theatre”.
