Uber’s Vision of Self-Driving Cars Begins to Blur
SAN FRANCISCO — After Dara Khosrowshahi took over as Uber’s chief executive last August, he considered shutting the company’s money-losing autonomous vehicle division. In town for a leadership summit, Mr. Khosrowshahi and other Uber executives were briefed on the state of the company’s self-driving vehicle research, which is based in Pittsburgh. They left the meeting energized, convinced that Uber needed to forge ahead with self-driving cars, the people said. The accident threw Uber’s autonomous vehicle efforts into flux, immediately forcing the suspension of its self-driving car tests in cities including Tempe, Pittsburgh and Toronto. Months later, Uber’s executives are divided over what to do with the autonomous business, according to the people familiar with the company.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 21:29 UTC
What Is The Effect Of Federal Regulation On Jobs?
Along with the inclination of some to attribute job growth to tax relief, federal regulation of business also influences job creation and availability, for good or ill. In the policy arena, the sensible idea that over-regulation dampens entrepreneurship must contend with the ever-present counter (and counter-intuitive) claim that regulation creates jobs or is neutral. Mainstream and left-wing media are especially emphatic (and selective) about this; see these Google search results for "regulation's effect on jobs." In another reality check with respect to labor regulation, Seattle, Washington recently faced some blowback over minimum wage passions as jobs declined. At the least, when regulations do “create jobs” or “cause” hiring, policymakers should account for this as a cost of regulation.
Source:Forbes
August 19, 2018 21:11 UTC
Trump Lawyers’ Sudden Realization: They Don’t Know What Don McGahn Told Mueller’s Team
President Trump’s lawyers do not know just how much the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, told the special counsel’s investigators during months of interviews, a lapse that has contributed to a growing recognition that an early strategy of full cooperation with the inquiry was a potentially damaging mistake. The president’s lawyers said on Sunday that they were confident that Mr. McGahn had said nothing injurious to the president during the 30 hours of interviews. But Mr. McGahn’s lawyer has offered only a limited accounting of what Mr. McGahn told the investigators, according to two people close to the president. Mr. Trump’s lawyers realized on Saturday that they had not been provided a full accounting after The New York Times published an article describing Mr. McGahn’s extensive cooperation with Mr. Mueller’s office. After Mr. McGahn was initially interviewed by the special counsel’s office in November, Mr. Trump’s lawyers never asked for a complete description of what Mr. McGahn had said, according to a person close to the president.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 21:00 UTC
Boy’s Lemonade Stand, Shut Down for Lack of Permit, Reopens With Fanfare
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — When a 7-year-old boy’s lemonade stand was shut down by a health inspector here last month, it became the talk of the town. But, at the end of the day, Brendan Mulvaney just wanted to sell lemonade. So, on Saturday, Brendan and his family reopened the lemonade stand for one more day. Last month, Brendan set up his lemonade stand on the side porch of his house, just as he had done for the past two years during the Saratoga County Fair. (Ms. Montag said at least four vendors inquired about the Mulvaney family’s stand.)
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 20:59 UTC
Pittsburgh Catholics react to report detailing sexual abuse by 'predator priests'
Pittsburgh (CNN) St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh was about half-full at 8 a.m. mass on Sunday morning when Rev. Today marked the first Sunday of Catholic church services around the United States since the scathing report was released. Ellen AhmadMuch of the report deals with alleged actions that took place prior to the 2002 Catholic sexual abuse scandal. And multiple stories about the scandal were plastered across the front page of a community newspaper, "Pittsburgh Catholic," that was available for parishioners to pick up. "If I were to miss mass, they wouldn't care," she told CNN.
Source:CNN
August 19, 2018 20:58 UTC
Dan Gainor: Summertime and the media are embarrassing -- from hating America to loving Antifa
In the space of one week, the press downplayed a Democrat governor saying America “was never that great” and watched as the governor’s brother/CNN anchor defended Antifa. Another CNN commentator bashed America and mocked a conservative while she told of the discrimination her disabled son faced. Andrew the-liberal-New-York governor Cuomo, shocked no one when he admitted something conservatives knew all along — that the left hates America. Cuomo’s bizarre defense came when The Washington Post and lefty Vox both criticized Antifa for attacking the press. One-time press icon Helen Thomas compared President Obama to President Richard Nixon for how he dealt with the press.
Source:Fox News
August 19, 2018 20:56 UTC
Trump speechwriter fired amid scrutiny of appearance with white nationalists
A White House speechwriter for President Trump was terminated last week after revelations that he had spoken at a conference attended by well-known white nationalists, according to three people familiar with the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly. Once White House officials were informed about CNN’s pending report, Beattie reportedly was confronted and urged to step down immediately. It was not clear Sunday whether President Trump or Chief of Staff John F. Kelly were personally involved in Beattie’s departure. Beattie no longer works at the White House,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement to The Washington Post. I love President Trump, who is a fearless American hero, and continue to support him one hundred percent.
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 20:54 UTC
IndyCar’s Robert Wickens ‘awake and alert’ after scary crash
Robert Wickens was trying to pass on the first lap of Sunday’s race when the crash occurred. (Matt Slocum/Associated Press)IndyCar driver Robert Wickens was “awake and alert” after a frightening, multi-car crash in the ABC Supply 500 race Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Wickens was reportedly awake and alert after the crash, according to the IndyCar VP of Communications. Wickens crash in slow motion... 😥😥😥 Robert Wickens is awake and alert. He’s awake and alert and at least he’s alive,” driver Sebastien Bourdais said (via the AP).
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 20:52 UTC
Amid gun violence crisis, all 5 Chicago pro sports teams funding therapy, mentoring program for at-risk youth
Last December, the Windy City’s five professional sports teams formed the Chicago Sports Alliance to fund a multipronged approach to curb violence. Its mission is investing in public safety: to get kids therapy and mentoring before they commit violence. The alliance partnered with the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which evaluates crime reduction strategies. “(Sox shortstop) Tim and (his wife) Bria Anderson (are) mentoring youth in the Becoming A Man program,” Reifert noted. This weekend, at least 46 people were shot in Chicago — two of whom were killed — since Friday night, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Source:Fox News
August 19, 2018 20:48 UTC
Gov. Murphy Vowed to Fix N.J. Transit. Now It’s His Problem.
Allowing residents of neighboring states to fill some of the hundreds of openings at the transit agency would help, the officials said. But building back a full complement of engineers will take many months, if not years. Martin Robins, a former deputy executive director of New Jersey Transit, said Mr. Murphy may have erred in insisting on a full-scale audit of the agency so quickly. Awaiting the results of the audit may have delayed some of the drastic actions that were obviously needed, he said in an interview. “The passengers really suffered grievously in the summer of 2018,” said Mr. Robins, director emeritus of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 20:48 UTC
Kofi Annan Harbored Plans for Reform, But Encountered Backlash
UNITED NATIONS—Kofi Annan in 10 years as the United Nations secretary-general, led the world body’s efforts to face an era of global terrorism and conflict, but struggled over differences with leading powers as he sought to remake and modernize the organization, leaving a legacy intertwined with the institution he represented during most of his career. Colleagues and friends described Mr. Annan, who died Saturday at the age of 80, as a diplomatic “do-gooder” and an “elder chieftain.” Some said his death marked a loss for the...
Source:Wall Street Journal
August 19, 2018 20:48 UTC
Netflix forever changed traditional television. Now, it’s becoming traditional television.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is a Netflix romantic comedy based on a popular young adult book. (Awesomeness Films/Netflix)Netflix forever changed the way we watch television, but recent announcements suggest the company might slowly be normalizing. One of the service’s primary appeals is that users can watch TV shows uninterrupted by meddlesome commercials. On the Web version of the service, users could leave written reviews of various shows and movies — and for years, they did just that. To Netflix,” “Netflix rides to rescue of rom-coms” and The Washington Post’s own “Netflix knows we need an escape.
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 20:31 UTC
Review: Marcelo Gomes Returns to Honor Frederick Ashton
Saturday was a red-letter day twice over for New York dance-goers: the 30th anniversary of the choreographer Frederick Ashton’s death and the return to the American stage of the dancer Marcelo Gomes. The Sarasota Ballet, which returned to the Joyce Theater for the week of Aug. 14-19, combined the two occasions. On other days of its New York week, it performed Ashton’s “Monotones I and II” (1965-66) as part of a triple bill shared with Christopher Wheeldon’s “There Where She Loved” (2000) and Ricardo Graziano’s “Symphony of Sorrows” (2012). On Saturday, however, it replaced the Graziano work with four further items of Ashton choreography: Mr. Gomes performed the last of these, the final pas de deux from “The Two Pigeons” (1961), in which the hero returns in repentance but with a pigeon or dove as a symbol of his rediscovered love. Neither the Ballet Theater nor Mr. Gomes has spoken publicly about it.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 20:31 UTC
Father, son speed through 'hell' to escape Montana wildfire
Dramatic video shows a 70-year-old man and his son trying to drive through a wildfire in Glacier National Park in Montana. Justin Bilton posted the video online earlier this week after their miraculous escape, ABCFoxMontana reports. Near the end of the video, Bilton was heard asking his father what would happen if a tree fell on them. Bilton wrote on YouTube that they were stuck at a trailhead at a dead end. Bilton and his father tried to escape the next day after jumping in their rental car.
Source:Fox News
August 19, 2018 20:15 UTC
Nationals register just two hits in demoralizing 12-1 home loss to last-place Marlins
As backbreaking as the close losses have been, as disheartening as the late-game collapses were, they gave the Washington Nationals hope. Nothing about Sunday’s 12-1 loss to the Miami Marlins suggested this team is close. Nothing about a game like that, against a last-place team, allows for the illusion that they are on the verge. [Box score: Marlins 12, Nationals 1]The Marlins scored first in a typically maddening Gonzalez inning in the third. Instead the ball banged off the wall for a double that scored two runs and left the Nationals trailing 3-0.
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 20:15 UTC