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POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) -- COhatch opens its coworking and event campus in downtown Powell on Monday, marking the latest milestone in the city's ongoing redevelopment. The Dublin-based company's Powell campus spans 50 and 60 E. Olentangy St., and it includes the Middlebury Member House and Lani Rooftop Lounge. While the coworking space is now open [...]

The Ohio Department of Transportation has released a Draft Conceptual Alternatives Study outlining five possible routes for a new freeway connection between U.S. 23 and Interstate 71, with public input being sought in March and a final feasibility study to be delivered in October.

MANSFIELD, Ohio (WCMH) — A mayor of a village in north-central Ohio has resigned amid allegations of voyeurism and charges pending in a vehicular assault incident near Mansfield. Wesley Dingus of Butler, in Richland County, is the subject of an investigation that alleges he violated the privacy of a teenager by rifling through her belongings [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – While Ohio currently only recognizes cremation or burial options for human remains, a state lawmaker is trying to add a third possibility: human composting.  Senate Bill 323, introduced by Sen. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) in November, would authorize natural organic reduction, a process that uses a specialized container to accelerate [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — While gas prices dropped recently in central Ohio, experts predict that the United States attack on Iran will likely have the opposite effect throughout the country moving forward. According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in and around Columbus, Ohio, gas prices fell 8.8 cents per gallon from last week, to [...]

NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) -- Documents released by the Department of Justice show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's notorious island had multiple ties to central Ohio, even considering the trellises at Easton Town Center as design inspiration. Records show Gary Kerney, the former CEO of the New Albany Company Limited Partnership, had a longstanding relationship [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Central Ohioans are reacting after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, with some making their opposition to the attacks clear through protests, while others are celebrating.   “Millions of Iranians are celebrating today because it's a really happy day for us,” an Iranian man who now lives in Columbus said. The man grew [...]

Anthropic's clash with the Pentagon pits tech ethics against government demands, raising explosive questions about AI's role in surveillance and weaponry. If you care about who controls the future of artificial intelligence, this episode is a must-listen.

• Sam Altman says OpenAI shares Anthropic's red lines in Pentagon fight
• The whole thing was a scam
• OpenAI allows NSA to use GPT for surveilling Americans
• Anthropic's Claude hits No. 1 on Apple's top free apps list after Pentagon rejection
• Layoffs at Block
• Crypto exchange Gemini plans to lay off up to 200 staff, exit Europe, and Australia
• Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for Paramount Takeover
• An update on our model deprecation commitments for Claude Opus 3 \ Anthropic
• Keep Android Open
• Colorado moves age checks from websites to operating systems | Biometric Update
• Open source calculator firmware DB48X forbids CA/CO use due to age verification
• New Apple product launch starts Monday, Tim Cook confirms
• Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked: The Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy Buds 4 and more
• Here's how the new Samsung Galaxy S26 compares with last year's S25
• Hacked Prayer App Sends 'Surrender' Messages to Iranians Amid Israeli and US Strikes
• The Big One: The cyberattack scenarios that keep officials up at night
• CISA replaces acting director after a bumbling year on the job
• New AirSnitch attack bypasses Wi-Fi encryption in homes, offices, and enterprises
• Victory! Tenth Circuit Finds Fourth Amendment Doesn't Support Broad Search of Protesters' Devices and Digital Data
• Enthusiasts used their home computers to search for ET—scientists are homing in on 100 signals they found
• Americans now listen to podcasts more often than talk radio, study shows | TechCrunch
• Burger King Will Use AI To Check If Employees Say 'Please' and 'Thank You'
• Uber Previews Its Dubai Air Taxi Service - Slashdot
• Rob Grant, creator of Red Dwarf, has died
• Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The month of madness has arrived and the Ohio State women's basketball team has been drawn into its first bracket of the season. After a dominant 87-68 win over No. 15 Michigan State that included a program-record 18 three-pointers made, the 13th-ranked Buckeyes secured the No. 5 seed for the Big [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – This week on the Sunday Briefing: Learn what restrictions Columbus City Council wants to place on ICE operations in the city. “Look, there is no evidence that I am aware of that he has done anything wrong,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said last week. Which Ohio politicians are giving away his [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Columbus woman has been indicted in connection with an alleged bid-rigging scheme in which she made nearly $10,000. According to the Ohio attorney general’s office, the woman was accused of artificially inflating prices in online auctions and is facing charges of price fixing, bid rigging and telecommunications fraud, and two [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Police are continuing to look for answers into a fatal drive-by shooting on Columbus’ East Side more than four years ago. Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information in the case of Martin Hall, 43, who was killed on Aug. 1, 2021, at a home on the 400 [...]

WEST JEFFERSON, Ohio (WCMH) — A West Jefferson man facing murder charges in California received a lengthy prison sentence this week for rape. According to the West Jefferson police, 43-year-old Steven Cleveland was located and arrested by U.S. Marshal deputies after numerous accusations of rape were alleged between January and December 2024. He was accused [...]

Columbus Independents is offering discounts on three-course dinners at participating restaurants from March 2-14, encouraging people to support local, independent eateries.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- State data shows that more than two-thirds of Franklin County students are not considered ready for kindergarten. Nationwide Children’s Hospital is stepping up to help get students prepared, because they say that work begins earlier than parents may think. Dr. Sara Bode, the medical director of school health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, says early reading skills should [...]

In this episode, Ray tackles Anthropic’s standoff with the U.S. Department of War after CEO Daria Amodei refused to grant unrestricted model access, citing concerns over mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The government responded by banning Anthropic models through administrative orders. Also covered: the top 20 websites of 2026, China’s $173,000 warm-blooded companion robot, Fukushima’s rapidly evolving radioactive hybrid boars, a Chinese spacecraft emergency involving viewport cracks from space debris, Japan’s wooden satellite built with traditional joinery, and human brain cells on a chip that learned to play Doom in just one week.

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Full Summary

Cochrane opens the show with Anthropic’s confrontation with the U.S. Department of War. CEO Daria Amodei released a public statement refusing unrestricted government access to Anthropic’s AI models. Two red lines stood firm: mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. Ray explains that these models are predictive by nature, raising serious misidentification risks.

However, the government hit back hard. Administrative orders now ban Anthropic models from government use. Despite the backlash, Cochrane expresses support for the company’s stance. He points listeners to a CBS interview with the CEO posted roughly nine hours before recording.

Additionally, Anthropic released new models including Opus 4.5 and Sonnet 4.6. The company climbed to the number two spot on the App Store, trailing only ChatGPT and surpassing Google Gemini.

Personal Updates

Ray shares that February has been a demanding month. He’s juggling a capstone project, two jobs, and finishing his degree. Meanwhile, he continues working on developments at Blubrry hosting. He apologizes for inconsistent episode production and thanks listeners for their patience.

Top 20 Websites of 2026

A Visual Capitalist chart ranks the most visited websites of 2026. Google holds the top spot, followed by YouTube. Facebook, Instagram, ChatGPT, Reddit, Wikipedia, X, and WhatsApp round out the upper rankings. Notably, DuckDuckGo appears at rank seventeen as a privacy-focused search alternative.

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Anthropic Retires Claude Opus 3

Cochrane discusses Anthropic’s decision to retire Claude Opus 3. In a unique move, the company gave the model a Substack-style blog to reflect on its own existence. Reactions online were mixed, with both supporters and critics engaging in the conversation.

China’s $173,000 Warm-Blooded Companion Robot

From ZME Science, Ray covers China’s new humanoid robot designed as a warm-blooded companion. Priced at $173,000, it features conventional robotics hardware, sensors, cameras, and autonomous navigation. A built-in heating element maintains body warmth. Cochrane comments humorously on the growing market for companion robots.

Windows XP Green Hill Found and Photographed

From Tom’s Hardware, someone tracked down and photographed the actual location of the iconic Windows XP “Green Hill” wallpaper. The Reddit post sparked a wave of nostalgia in the community.

Fukushima’s Radioactive Hybrid Boars

From AZ Animals, domestic pigs that escaped after the Fukushima disaster hybridized with wild boars. Their DNA reveals rapid evolutionary changes driven by the altered radioactive landscape. These aggressive hybrids now complicate wildlife management and rewilding efforts in the region.

Shenzhou 20 Spacecraft Emergency

Chinese astronauts aboard Shenzhou 20 discovered cracks in their spacecraft’s viewport during what became the nation’s first spaceflight emergency. Space debris likely caused the damage. The crew switched to an alternative return capsule. Multiple protective layers kept the situation manageable.

Japan’s Wooden Satellite

Japanese teams plan to launch the first wooden satellite. Built with magnolia wood panels assembled using traditional Japanese joinery methods, the biodegradable design aims to reduce aluminum particle pollution from satellites burning up during atmospheric reentry.

Human Brain Cells Play Doom

Building on previous work where living neurons played Pong, an independent developer used Python to train human brain cell clusters on microelectrode arrays to play Doom. The cells learned in roughly one week. Cochrane highlights how open knowledge sharing accelerated the project dramatically. He also raises ethical questions about training sentient brain cells, connecting the topic to evolving views on sentience in crustaceans and other organisms.

The post Anthropic Stands Their Ground, Ethics over Money #1859 appeared first on Geek News Central.