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Lyft will not stop running in California at midnight (updated)
An injunction requiring it to reclassify drivers as employees is set to take effect on Friday.
Uber CEO says his company can't hire all of its drivers in California
"We can't go out and hire 50,000 people overnight," the executive said during an interview.
Amazon can be held liable for defective third-party products, court rules
A California state appeals court has ruled that Amazon can be held liable for damages and injuries caused by faulty products sold on its third-party marketplace.
Lyft will temporarily shut down in California if forced to reclassify drivers
Lyft says it may temporarily suspend service in California if it is required to classify drivers as employees.
Uber warns of temporary California shut down if it has to reclassify drivers
Uber CEO says the company may suspend service in California if the court doesn't rule in its favor.
California wins injunction against Uber, Lyft classifying drivers as contractors
California won a battle in court against Uber and Lyft over its new AB5 law, but they will appeal.
Google is granting another $4 million towards affordable Bay Area housing
Last year, Google committed $1 billion towards addressing the lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area, acknowledging that as one of the largest employers in the region it has a responsibility to help. In its announcement today, Google also shared more on what it calls its “housing first” approach to the homelessness crisis. Google said its housing first approach prioritizes giving people safe and stable shelter before they can get other support like “mental health care, drug rehab, food assistance, or job training programs.”
Apple will spend $400 million on affordable housing this year
Apple will spend more than $400 million on affordable housing projects and first-time homebuyer assistance programs in California this year.
T-Mobile asks California to soften 5G, job conditions for Sprint merger (updated)
T-Mobile has asked California to soften the conditions for its Sprint merger, including 5G and jobs.
DoorDash faces lawsuit from San Francisco DA over worker classification
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has filed a lawsuit against DoorDash for, in his own words, “illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors.”
Two states are reportedly looking into how Amazon treats sellers
California and Washington state investigators have reportedly been looking into how the company treats third-party sellers, particularly whether it’s using the data it collects to compete directly against them.
California sues Uber and Lyft for allegedly misclassifying drivers
California is putting AB5 to work as it sues Uber and Lyft for classifying drivers as contractors rather than employees.
FCC rejects cities' extension request for comments on net neutrality rollback
The FCC has refused to grant an extension for comments on its plans for net neutrality rollback.
Nuro's driverless delivery cars are cleared for testing in California
Nuro has received approval to publicly test its self-driving courier vehicles on California roads.
Google donates Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to California students
To help students keep up with their studies during the coronavirus pandemic, Google will donate 4,000 Chromebooks and 100,000 WiFi hotspots to households in California. Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the initiative in a tweet on Wednesday. California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state's Department of Education will distribute the Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots, prioritizing rural communities. Students will have the tools until the end of the school year, giving them at least three months of unlimited high-speed internet access.
EPA weakens annual fuel economy standard increase to 1.5 percent
While coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate headlines, the Trump administration has quietly weakened the country's fuel economy standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule.
Alphabet’s Verily shows how its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites work
Verily -- Alphabet's healthcare brand -- isn't just creating a website to help northern Californians determine whether they need a test for COVID-19. It's also piloting drive-thru testing. It has opened two sites, one in Riverside County and another in Sacramento County, and today, it shared a video that shows how the COVID-19 testing works.
Waymo goes dark except for fully driverless rides
Waymo is joining Uber and Lyft in curtailing its ride services to limit the spread of COVID-19, with a notable exception. The Alphabet-owned company has paused both Waymo One service with human overseers in Phoenix as well as its California self-driving tests in order to protect the "health and safety" of passengers and the community. However, it planned to continue its fully driverless service in Phoenix as well as its UPS delivery services and truck testing, at least "for now." The company believed it could respect local and CDC health guidelines on social isolation with no human drivers involved.
California ends opposition to T-Mobile and Sprint merger
New York isn't the only big state dropping its fight against T-Mobile's merger with Sprint. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has dropped the state's challenge against the merger after reaching a settlement that theoretically addresses objections to the carrier buyout. The expanded T-Mobile will have to guarantee affordable plans in California for a minimum of five years, including a plan with 2GB of data for $25 per month. The network will also have to hold to plans from February 2019 for five years (two year longer than the FCC asked for) and give 10 million low-income households access to 100GB of free broadband per year, including a free mobile hotspot.
Tesla reportedly omitted 'hundreds' of injuries from government reports
Over the past several years, Tesla has reportedly omitted "hundreds" of employee injury reports from the annual summaries it sent to California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) agency, according to Bloomberg. In a blog post published last month, Tesla said Cal/OSHA found the company's record-keeping was 99 percent accurate.