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U.S. Government "Tech Force" Aims To Hire AI Talent; Bystander Held As Hero For Charging At Bondi Beach Shooter; Opposition Crackdown Sparks Outrage Ahead Of Vote In Uganda. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 16, 2025 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[05:34:27]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.

Here is where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all starting the day down in the red.

Let's check some of today's business headlines now.

The new U.S. jobs report is due out in a few hours. It is expected to show that just 40,000 jobs were added in November and that the unemployment rate is holding steady at 4.4 percent. This month's report covers November and half of October. The figures were delayed by the government shutdown.

[05:35:00]

The maker of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner declaring bankruptcy. iRobot also said it would be acquired by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer. But the company said users shouldn't worry. Bankruptcy should not affect its app or product support.

Ford says it's killing several electric vehicle models as the Trump administration's anti-EV policies take a toll on the industry. Ford says it will take a $19.5 billion write-down and is pivoting back into gas and hybrid cars. EV sales have been falling in the U.S. in recent months after President Trump pulled a consumer tax credit.

Well, applications are now open for a new program aimed at luring more technology and AI talent into the U.S. government as part of its efforts to stay ahead in the global tech race. The Trump administration is launching an early career hiring and talent development program known as the "U.S. Tech Force."

Our Clare Duffy has details.

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CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: This early career hiring and talent development program is aimed at bringing more tech and AI employees into the federal government at a time when the government is dealing with both a technical talent gap that just doesn't have enough people with these skills working in the government and also this broader AI talent war where we're seeing tech companies shelling out massive salaries and other perks to attract the top researchers and engineers. So the goal here is to attract some of those folks to the federal government for at least temporary public sector roles.

The Office of Personnel Management plans to hire around 1,000 people for the initial U.S. Tech Force cohort to work across various government agencies for a two-year term. And during that time they'll also receive mentorship and career planning advice from Silicon Valley executives. There are about 25 companies that have signed on as initial partners of this program. They include companies like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, xAI.

And then at the end of this two-year term members of this U.S. Tech Force will have access to a job fair with both public and private sector opportunities.

And just to give a few examples of the types of things that these folks might be working on, it could be modernizing drones and weapon systems with artificial intelligence at the Department of Defense or building out the platform for the new Trump Accounts program at the IRS.

Now, Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor did acknowledge that this is a competitive space and that many of the top folks in this area could command higher salaries in the private sector. But he said he hopes folks feel excited about the opportunity to work on some really thorny problems at the massive organization that is the U.S. federal government and then, if they wish, take those skills out into the private sector after this two-year program.

Back to you.

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ABEL: Clare Duffy, thank you.

Next on EARLY START, crowds of people turning out to remember the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia. We will have an update in the investigation.

And a former musician is hoping to unseat a seven-time president in Uganda, but the opposition politician is accusing the police of a crackdown. Still ahead, we'll show you the scene inside the country ahead of a key election.

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[05:42:40]

ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today. Authorities say they are making steady progress in following new leads in their search for the Brown University shooter. On Monday, the FBI released these photos of a person of interest along with new surveillance footage of the same man. They've announced a $50,000 reward for information that may lead to an arrest.

Los Angeles police have arrested Nick Reiner alleging he's responsible for the deaths of his parents Rob and Michele Reiner. The son of the famed Hollywood director is currently being held without bond. His case will be brought before the L.A. County District Attorney's Office later today. And police have not yet released further details about what led to the arrest of Nick Reiner.

A jury has convicted Ana Walshe's husband of her murder despite her body never being found. Brian Walshe admitted to disposing of his wife's body but maintained he did not kill her. Ana Walshe was reported missing in January of 2023. Her husband is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Australian media report the alleged gunman from the Bondi Beach attack is now out of a coma. Naveed Akram sustained critical injuries during the mass massacre and is expected to face significant criminal charges.

Meanwhile, police in Australia are releasing new details about the shooting that left 15 people dead. They say a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects contained improvised explosive devices and homemade ISIS flags.

We are also learning the father and son had traveled last month to a Philippine island that's home to several Islamist insurgent groups.

More now from CNN's Will Ripley.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): As Sydney reels from a deadly terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration, video shows a Muslim bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, charging into the chaos, wrestling a rifle from one of the gunmen, and Australian leaders say stopping further bloodshed at enormous personal risk. Shot multiple times, the father of two is recovering at St George Hospital.

For the first time, Ayman Labadi is sharing this video. He was on Bondi Beach when the attack began.

[05:45:00]

AYMAN LABADI, WITNESS TO BONDI BEACH MASSACRE: And you could actually hear a lot of the gunshots at the back. I could tell that the gunshots were coming from the car parked over there.

RIPLEY (voiceover): With bullets flying, panic.

RIPLEY: So they were running up the stairs.

LABADI: Yes, correct. So all I know -- all I witnessed was hundreds of people with their children -- women and children, surfers, everything.

RIPLEY (voiceover): For many there was nowhere to run. Labadi says bodies and blood filled the sidewalks of Australia's most iconic beach. He's Palestinian and grew up on the West Bank and moved here to escape violence like this, he says.

Most of the victims, Jews, including Rabbi Mendel Kastel's brother-in- law.

RABBIE MENDEL KASTEL, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF RABBI ELI SCHLANGER: A horrific scene with so many, you know, mass casualties and ambulances, police.

RIPLEY (voiceover): The two men at the center of this horror, a father and son. Australian media identifying them as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who died in a shootout with police, and his 24-year-old son Naveed, who was wounded by police and is now in the hospital.

The son's teacher posted this photo of them together, saying he studied the Quran and Arabic for one year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I condemn this act of violence without any hesitation.

RIPLEY (voiceover): Police raided this house overnight and removed the other occupants. Neighbors say the father and son and their family moved in last year. And the neighborhood is mostly immigrants. The father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa. His son was later born here.

RIPLEY: Neighbors say the police were here for several hours before they took three people out of this house -- two women and one man -- and then several hours later they brought them back. And now they're inside with the blinds drawn.

What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no one's answering.

RIPLEY: Right now we're heading to an Airbnb in western Sydney and we're hearing this might be where the father and son were staying in the days just before this terrorist attack.

BILL DIAKOS, NEIGHBOR: They started to call out at this specific house for the residents -- whoever is in the house -- to make their way out of the house with their hands up.

RIPLEY: We looked at the listing of this place online and it looks like there is multiple rooms -- maybe six different rooms. So if the father and son were staying at one, presumably there were other people staying in the other rooms. But now the place seems empty, and neighbors tell us that everybody was cleared out this morning and told that they had to stay somewhere else.

RIPLEY (voiceover): Police seized evidence after the attacks, including six guns. They say the father had a firearms license. RIPLEY: And now, new questions about how they were able to legally

have all of those guns when the father did not have Australian citizenship. There are calls here to change the gun laws in Australia. Also, authorities say they're examining whether the younger suspect, the son, was further radicalized after being investigated by the government back in 2019.

Meanwhile, the man who helped stop the attack, Ahmed al Ahmed, remains hospitalized. He's facing several more surgeries. A GoFundMe set up to support his recovery has now raised more than $1 million.

Will Ripley, CNN, Bondi Beach, Australia.

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ABEL: There is just a month to go before Uganda's general election. A crackdown on the opposition is sparking outrage in the country.

CNN's Larry Madowo recently visited Uganda to see the election buildup. He joins me now live. Larry, give us a sense of what's happening there.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brian, the U.N. local and international human rights groups -- they're all criticizing the Ugandan government and President Yoweri Museveni for the extreme violence the opposition is facing just a month before the election.

I want to show you some dramatic video from Monday evening in Kampala, the capital. The 43-year-old Ugandan opposition candidate Bobi Wine is driving past a neighborhood. Police are using a water cannon and tear gas against some who appear to be innocent bystanders -- market people, traders, even motorcycle taxi riders -- boda-bodas as they're known in Uganda and the region. And many of them were just waving at Bobi Wine or just watching this convoy drive past.

And that's the violence that has seen this popstar as he's campaigning across the country. He says the government of President Yoweri Museveni does not want people to see that he's got support, that Yoweri Museveni has lost support after 40 years in power, and that he is the man to lead Uganda forward.

We are wearing some flak jackets and helmets in this story because of the violence you're about to see.

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MADOWO: This is the man seeking to remove President Museveni from power after 40 years. He has incredible support among the young people. As Bobi Wine arrives, so does the crowd. There is nothing like it.

MADOWO (voiceover): Bobi Wine wants Ugandans to sing a new tune. The musician-turned-politician is running for president for a second time. Nearly twice his age, President Yoweri Museveni is also running for a seventh term. When the former general came to power after a civil war in 1986, Bobi Wine was just four years old. [05:50:00]

ROBERT "BOBI WINE" KYAGULANYI, UGANDAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that Gen. Museveni largely views Uganda as his personal property, as his family property, and he views us as slaves.

It is our time to change our future.

MADOWO (voiceover): Bobi Wine accuses security forces of using violence to stop him from campaigning. At this stop in Northern Uganda, supporters formed a protective shield around the candidate as military officers whipped them. One of his closest aides was wounded.

WINE: Look at what the police and the military are doing to us for no crime whatsoever.

MADOWO (voiceover): The electoral commission condemned the incident that is now under investigation. He says more than 450 members of his party and supporters have been imprisoned during the campaign; others tortured or disappeared.

WINE: Some people have been dead at my rally, and I know the regime has me as the main target.

MADOWO: Why wouldn't you be allowed to campaign freely?

WINE: Well, I believe it is fear. It is fear that Gen. Museveni knows that he has no support. Every time I go out to campaign, I know that somebody is going to be bitten, somebody is going to be killed, run over by the police, shot with live bullets, and all of that.

MADOWO (voiceover): The U.N. human rights chief has condemned widespread arbitrary arrests, detentions, and the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force against the opposition.

CNN filmed hundreds of police, military, and special forces at Bobi Wine's rallies in the capital Kampala. They blocked him from using some roads, beat up some supporters, and tear gassed bystanders.

MADOWO: Everywhere Bobi Wine goes there's dozens of police officers, soldiers. You always end up in a scuffle. And right now they're blocking his way from coming into a rally venue -- and that's tear gas. Before he's even inside we're hearing -- that sounded like live shots. Tear gas in every direction. Tear gas in every direction. It's really become a chaotic scene, and this happens at every Bobi Wine (coughing) --

MADOWO (voiceover): Police told CNN that they were forced to use tear gas here to disburse people and clear a busy intersection. They have repeatedly denied that they are specifically targeting Bobi Wine or his campaign.

RUSOKE KITUURNA, UGANDA POLICE SPOKESPERSON: We all benefit from coming out of this election with the most minimal damage on individuals and property. MADOWO (voiceover): There are six other candidates running for Uganda's top job, but January's election is largely a rematch between the president and the popstar.

MADOWO: In a free and fair election, can you beat President Museveni?

WINE: If 2021 was a free and fair election I would be president already.

MADOWO: Will this be a free and fair election?

WINE: This is not an election to begin with. This is war.

MADOWO (voiceover): Uganda's electoral commission has asked law enforcement agencies to exercise restraint and stick to the law while dealing with candidates.

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MADOWO: Bobi Wine called this election war because he says so many of his party members have been arrested. You see the violence they face every time they're campaigning. And he calls President Museveni, who has been a civilian leader for 40 years, Gen. Museveni because he says he rules by the gun. He has -- he has captured the country, the military, and the police, and they do his bidding.

So he does not think that this is a legitimate election in the way that elections are taking place in other parts of the world.

And the criticism of Bobi Wine and his supporters is that they're violent. That they disrupt businesses. That they block roads. And that's why the police use these heavy-handed tactics. They pushed back on that, and they say we're just trying to campaign. We want to access the roads and go to the same venues like the opposition -- like President Yoweri Musevenie, Brian -- and they don't always have that chance.

ABEL: Larry, excellent reporting. Thank you for bringing those images to us. Larry Madowo live for us in Nairobi. Larry, thank you.

We'll be right back.

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[05:58:40]

ABEL: Fans of "GENERAL HOSPITAL" mourning one of the soap operas' most popular stars, Anthony Geary. He played Luke Spencer and became a pop culture phenomenon as half of the power couple Luke and Laura. Their 1981 TV wedding drew a record 30 million viewers -- incredible. Geary won eight Daytime Emmy Awards over his 40-year career.

He died on Sunday after complications from surgery in Amsterdam where he lived with his husband. Anthony Geary was 78 years old.

Well, the estimate Powerball jackpot has climbed to $1.25 billion after there was, once again, no big winners in Monday's drawing. The winning numbers: 23, 35, 56, 63, 68, and that Powerball of 2. While no one got the grand prize -- the reason why we say those numbers still -- five ticketholders won $1 million each. The next drawing is set for Wednesday. And if you didn't pick the right digits don't feel bad. The odds of winning Powerball's jackpot are one in more than 290 million.

[06:00:00]

Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a step closer to punching their ticket to the NFL Playoffs. They hosted the Miami Dolphins in a Monday night matchup. Aaron Rodgers throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns, including a shot that put the Steelers up 14-3. Pittsburgh has a one-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North and the loss for the Dolphins drops them to 6-8 on the season and eliminates them from playoff contention.

All right. That does it for us. Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.