Crowd torches Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco
The incident was not the first time people harassed self-driving cars, but its severity signals growing public hostility toward the vehicles.
Column: What's behind the feud between Stellantis and Italy
The furor seems to have calmed for now. But it is a reminder that automakers poke at government policy at their own peril – and vice versa.
Lobbyist wrote bill to protect Visit Orlando but sought to hide his role
A state bill that would have restricted the ability of Orange County commissioners to cut Visit Orlando’s funding was written not by the senator who carried it, but by a lobbyist for the county, the Sentinel has learned.
Lobbyist Chris Carmody sought to hide his role in the legislation, which is now raising eyebrows and stirring anger among county commissioners who believe he was undermining the county’s interests when he is paid to defend them.
“Try not to mention my name on this one. :)” he texted the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, early in the process.
Stewart, shrugging off the criticism directed at her and Carmody, said her bill is now dead because it failed to get a sponsor in the Florida House of Representatives. But she added that it served a purpose as “a messaging bill” to highlight the value of Visit Orlando. Shortly after her bill surfaced, county commissioners agreed to a funding deal far more favorable to Visit Orlando than what they had been considering.
Tesla rakes in $9 billion from carmakers failing to sell enough EVs
Tesla Inc. continues to cash in on other carmakers needing help to meet emissions standards, keeping up a lucrative business the company thought would fade away.
U.S. military hopes one day to move supplies, maybe troops, on SpaceX’s Starship
While NASA is rooting for SpaceX to achieve Starship success so it can land humans on the moon, the U.S. military has plans of their own for the massive rocket that could include launches from Florida’s Space Coast.
Elon Musk’s next-generation rocket currently in development at SpaceX’s southeast Texas facilities is gearing up for its third suborbital test flight as soon as this month after its first two ended in explosions last year. It’s part of the company’s long-term plans for a completely reusable spacecraft with more payload capacity into space than any other rocket ever.
Starship’s potential also includes flying quickly from one spot on Earth to another, which is what has the Department of Defense interested. That was discussed during the Space Mobility Conference held by the Space Force at the Orange County Convention Center earlier this month.
“Rocket cargo point-to-point is not the reason we’re building Starship,” said SpaceX senior adviser Gary Henry. “We’re building Starship to get to Mars.” [But] “what we’re finding is it’s a system we’re putting together that has profound impacts for national security, and one of them just happens to be rocket point-to-point.”