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Tech News
Organizers of the 'No Kings' movement have scheduled roughly 2,500 rallies, marches and community gatherings nationwide for Saturday, October 17. The events include voter registration drives and local election defense workshops aimed at encouraging early voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Workers cleared more than 500 trees from a federally owned Washington, D.C. golf course over a weekend, as part of a remodeling effort connected to President Trump. The removal reportedly occurred abruptly and without the required permissions.
The Trump administration has proposed giving political appointees greater authority over how federal scientific grants are awarded, according to the report. The move would shift some decision-making power away from independent peer-review scientists toward political oversight within federal agencies.
Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that Microsoft and Adobe have been suspended from the H-1B visa program. Vance accused the companies, among others, of abusing the system to hire cheaper foreign labor. The move follows other Trump administration actions targeting alleged misuse of H-1B visas.
Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that Microsoft and Adobe have been suspended from participating in the H-1B visa program. The move comes amid accusations that these and other companies have misused the visa system to hire foreign workers at lower wages, and follows broader Trump administration efforts to restrict H-1B visa practices.
Anthropic has appointed at least two former Trump officials this year, including one to its board and another to lead its frontier compute strategy, while OpenAI has hired at least three ex-administration officials for strategy and special projects. The hiring comes as AI companies seek closer ties to the Trump White House amid regulatory pressure and security concerns, following a court ruling that upheld a Pentagon designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
The Financial Times reported that Starbucks has worked with advisers for months on a potential takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, though it remains unclear whether a formal offer was ever submitted. On the news, Starbucks shares initially dropped as much as 6.7% before settling 0.4% lower, while Chipotle shares jumped 6.2%.
Vice President JD Vance said the administration has suspended Microsoft and several other technology companies from a federal program that allows them to sponsor skilled foreign employees, including H-1B visa holders, for permanent residency. The announcement did not specify the reasons for the suspension or how long it would last.
The Trump administration has barred Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and Tata from the PERM program, which lets H-1B visa holders pursue permanent residency by certifying no qualified American workers are available. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the agency is investigating whether the companies committed fraud by undercutting American workers through foreign hiring. Vice President JD Vance specifically accused Microsoft of abusing the visa system, a claim Microsoft disputes, saying it hires according to visa standards while also building American talent.
The Trump administration accused Microsoft of abusing the H-1B visa program and said it is cutting off the company's access to it. Microsoft responded that 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year were to extend or change status for existing employees rather than hire new workers, and that new-employee filings equaled just 1% of its U.S. workforce. The company said all H-1B employees are paid comparably to other staff in similar roles.
The US Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed rule that would make universities pay up to $100,000 to let international graduates participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT), a program letting foreign students work in the US for up to three years after graduation. DHS estimates the change could cut OPT enrollment by as much as 44% and cost universities $8.4–$16.5 billion annually; roughly 420,000 students used OPT in 2025–26.
Wired reports that starting in 2027, more than 100 data center projects in rural areas could become eligible for expanded Opportunity Zone tax benefits. These projects are at various stages of development, with the potential to benefit from new federal incentives aimed at boosting rural economic activity. The research was conducted by Searchlight Institute, which identified these facilities within a conservative database of fewer than 700 projects.