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Baidu secures license for full driverless road tests in California
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted Baidu permission to test its autonomous vehicles without a driver behind the wheel. It’s had authority to test its vehicles in California since 2016, but up until now, it could only do so with a backup driver. This development means it can now conduct full driverless road tests using Lincoln MKZ and Chrysler Pacifica vehicles loaded with its self-driving technology within Sunnyvale in Santa Clara County.
Gig economy drivers in California sue to overturn Prop 22
Drivers and labor unions have asked the California Supreme Court
Massachusetts plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035
As part of the state’s 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, Governor Charlie Baker said Massachusetts will mandate that all new cars sold in the Commonwealth be electric by 2035.
California clears Nuro's driverless cars to start making commercial deliveries
California’s DMV has granted the state’s first Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Permit to Nuro.
Apple closes stores in California and the UK as COVID-19 cases soar
Apple has closed all 53 stores in California and up to 16 across the UK, Tennessee, Brazil and Mexico due to soaring COVID-19 cases in those regions.
California fines Uber $59 million for not sharing sexual assault case data
Uber has been fined $59 million by California regulators over its refusal to hand over more detailed data from a 2019 report on sexual assault.
California's COVID-19 exposure notification app starts rolling out
You’ll be able to enroll in CA Notify starting on Thursday, December 10th.
California allows companies to charge for autonomous car rides
One of the most common potential scenarios involving autonomous cars is using them as driverless taxis; both Uber and Lyft have made self-driving cars a big part of their future strategies. The possibility of hopping into a ride without a driver just got a little closer, at least in California — as spotted by The Verge, California approved two new autonomous driving programs last week that let companies charge fares for autonomous rides. The two new programs are the “Drivered Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Program” and the “Driverless Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Program,” both of which allow approved participants to offer “passenger service, shared rides, and accept monetary compensation for rides in autonomous vehicles.”
Tesla won't face a fight over California's latest COVID-19 restrictions
California has determined that Tesla's factory won't be affected by a new COVID-19 curfew.
Hitting the Books: What really goes into your artisanal cheese
In American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World, author Joe Berkowitz takes readers on an incredible journey through the heart of the modern cheese-making/cheese-enjoying industry. In the excerpt below, Berkowitz visits an artisanal cheese facility in Northern California, bonds with “the girls” who make the milk, and learns how green making orange can be. Just as I’m about ready to give up, I find a sloping gravel path riven through a grassy hill that leads to Point Reyes Farmstead Creamery.
California votes to strip employee protections from Uber and Lyft drivers
Uber and other ride-hailing and delivery companies in California have prevailed in a $220 million dollar gambit to keep workers as independent contractors. Proposition 22, a side ballot to overturn a California law that made drivers full employees, passed by a wide 58 to 42 percent margin in the state.
Appeals court backs ruling that Uber, Lyft should treat drivers as employees
Uber and Lyft lost in court in Thursday, as the First Appellate District court in San Francisco affirmed a preliminary injunction placed against the companies last month. As NBC News notes, the ruling will be put on hold for at least 60 days, and the companies can potentially appeal to the California Supreme Court. This decision makes it abundantly clear that Uber and Lyft have been breaking the law for years.
California Uber drivers sue company over Prop 22 app notifications
A group of California Uber drivers say the company has gone too far in its lobbying for Prop 22.
GM will test fully driverless cars in SF later this year
San Francisco residents will start seeing unmanned Cruise driverless vehicles on the streets of their city by the end of the year.
After Math: Tesla goes budget and California has gas car ban plans
This week we saw Amazon roll out a bunch of next-generation Big Brother gear, including dash cams and an indoor camera-copter, in an ongoing effort to normalize its all-encompassing, inescapable surveillance schemes. The UK announced this week that it has put the disgraced former CEO of Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, in businessman time out until 2027. Elon “Im going to put a chip in your head” Musk has never been one to shy away from making grandiose forward looking statements but if he can keep his word from this year’s battery day — the one about being able to build batteries at half the current cost per kWh and usher in the era of $25,000 electric cars within tree years.
California to ban sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035
Newsom’s office notes that transportation accounts for roughly half of the state’s carbon emissions and estimates that these new rules will reduce those emissions by 35 percent.
How to tell if the air around us is safe to breathe
In fact, air quality in the US in general has suffered in recent years.
Recommended Reading: Microsoft's Panos Panay on the Surface Duo
Recommended Reading highlights the week's noteworthy writing on technology and more.
California's new emissions rules target diesel trucks and cargo ships
California air quality officials have passed two new measures aimed at reducing pollution from diesel trucks and ships. One rule introduces new emissions standards for heavy-duty diesel trucks, while the other requires more ships docked at ports to either plug into electric power or use other technology to reduce harmful emissions. The “Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Regulation” requires truck manufacturers to comply with tougher emissions standards, revamp engine testing procedures, and further extend engine warranties to ensure emissions are reduced, according to a statement from the California Air Resources Board.
Uber and Lyft get a temporary reprieve from California shut-down order
The latest court ruling will prevent the ride hailing companies from shutting down in California.