🗞️U.S. Tech Force launched

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December 15th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

• The Trump administration launched the U.S. Tech Force, which is a two-year program led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to recruit around 1,000 early-career technologists in AI, software engineering, cybersecurity, data analytics, and project management for high-impact projects across federal agencies

• The FBI arrested four individuals, Audrey Ilene Carroll, Dante Garfield, Zachary Aaron Page, and Tina Lai, in the Los Angeles area for allegedly plotting to detonate pipe bombs at five locations across Southern California on New Year's Eve…the suspects were self-identified members of the pro-Palestinian, anti-government Turtle Island Liberation Front

• President Trump signed an Executive Order that formally designates fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as a Weapon of Mass Destruction…read more here

• Director and Actor, Rob Reiner, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home in an apparent homicide, with authorities stating both died from stab wounds…their 32‑year‑old son, Nick Reiner, has been taken into custody in connection with the killings and the LAPD is investigating the case as a murder

• A JetBlue Flight from Curaçao to New York narrowly avoided a midair collision with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker over the Caribbean near Venezuela, when the military plane was flying without its transponder activated, crossed directly into the commercial jet's path at the same altitude

• Forbes reported today that Elon Musk has become the first person in history to surpass a $600 billion net worth…read more here

• Merriam-Webster named "slop" its 2025 Word of the Year, defining it as low-quality digital content typically mass-produced by artificial intelligence, such as bizarre videos, fake news, and poorly crafted AI-generated media

• PayPal submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC to become a U.S. bank

• DOW down .09% / S&P down .16%

• Ukraine has reportedly offered to drop its formal NATO membership demands in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. and European allies during peace talks with Russia and Russian officials are open to Ukraine potentially joining the EU

• Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry has fined Airbnb about $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals that lacked required license numbers or contained misleading host information, violating consumer protection rules

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Plus: A look at American job cuts by industry

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