Apple and Google threaten automaker AI voice assistant push
While automakers toil to build visual interfaces that can compete with big tech, voice assistants represent the next battleground for a key consumer touch point.
Travel Troubleshooter: I have proof I didn’t damage my rental, so why do I have to pay?
DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I need your help resolving a car rental damage claim. I recently rented a car from Enterprise in Phoenix. The rental car had a small dent in one of the doors. I took a photo of it to document the damage.
When I returned the car, an agent did a walk-around with me and said the vehicle was good to go. Eight weeks later, I received a damage claim from Enterprise. The date of loss was three days after I returned the car.
I sent Enterprise the photos of the existing damage, but the company is insisting that I am still responsible. Can you help me get Enterprise to drop this $1,391 claim, please?
— Stacey Wall, Crestview, Florida
ANSWER: Technically, Enterprise is right. You are responsible for a car while it’s in your possession, including any dings or dents. But if you have evidence that your car was damaged before you rented it, this should be enough for Enterprise to drop its damage claim. Clearly, this didn’t happen on your watch.
You did the right thing by taking “before” photos of your rental, but it looks like you missed a few things. You want to take both “before” and “after” images of the car to show there’s no damage.If there is damage, you need to request a different car. If no other car is available, you should note the damage to the vehicle in writing and get a supervisor to sign the form. It appears you only had the “before” images, which showed the preexisting damage. They were timestamped, but this apparently didn’t matter to Enterprise. Its records must have shown that the car was undented before your rental.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch today to send NASA probe to explore Jupiter’s ocean moon Europa
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s ocean moon is not looking for life, but will see if life could be possible there. It’s a step that could help the bigger hunt beyond our solar system.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy carrying the largest satellite ever built for NASA’s planetary science missions is set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A at 12:05 p.m. Monday.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 95% chance for good conditions, the same in the event of a 24-hour delay.
This will be the sixth and final flights of the two side boosters, as no recovery will be possible.
“NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will fill important gaps in our understanding of ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond,” said NASA’s acting director of its Planetary Science Division, Gina DiBraccio, during a press conference Sunday. “Exploring Europa is a high priority for NASA. One of our key science activities is to study how life in the solar system has originated and evolved. So with Clipper, we will explore the habitability of Europa in order to determine if it can host life.”
U.S. troubles put Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in Paris spotlight
Carlos Tavares initially brushed off the U.S. problems as a “small operational error,” but news of his exit when his contract expires in 2026 and a major management reshuffle failed to soothe investors.
Fiat aims big with social media campaign for its tiny EV
In a video called “You Say Tomato, We Say Pomodoro,” Fiat contrasts the 6,800-pound Cybertruck with the 2,900-pound 500e.