Category: News
San Francisco launches driverless bus service following robotaxi expansion
SAN FRANCISCO — First came the robotaxis. Then the driverless buses arrived. San Francisco has launched an autonomous shuttle service — less than a week after California regulators approved the expansion of robotaxis despite traffic and safety concerns. The free shuttle will run daily in a fixed route called the Loop around Treasure Island, the site of a former U.S. Navy base in the middle…
Appeals court strikes down Utah oil railroad approval, siding with environmentalists
SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S. Appeals Court on Friday struck down a critical approval for a railroad project that would have allowed oil businesses in eastern Utah to significantly expand fossil fuel production and exports. The ruling is the latest development in the fight over the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, an 88-mile (142-kilometer) railroad line that would connect oil and gas producers in rural…
Nissan recalling more than 236,000 cars to fix a problem that can cause loss of steering control
Front suspension tie rods can break, possibly causing loss of steering control. ByThe Associated Press August 19, 2023, 11:00 AM FILE – A Nissan logo is seen on a car at its showroom in Tokyo, Feb. 21, 2023. Nissan is recalling more than 236,000 small cars in the U.S. because the tie rods in front suspension can bend and break, possibly causing drivers to lose…
US judge sides with Nevada regulators in fight over Utah bus firm’s intrastate v. interstate routes
RENO, Nev. — A U.S. judge has denied a Utah bus company’s bid to block Nevada regulation of routes that run primarily between Reno and Las Vegas but briefly cross into California, siding with regulators who say their ability to ensure the safety of buses in Nevada is in the public’s best interest. Salt Lake Express filed a lawsuit in May against the Nevada Transportation…
Are forced-reset triggers illegal machine guns? ATF and gun rights advocates at odds in court fights
The internet videos are alarming to some, thrilling to others: Gun enthusiasts spraying bullets from AR-15-style rifles equipped with an after-market trigger allowing them to shoot seemingly as fast as fully automatic weapons. The forced-reset triggers so concerned the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that it ordered the company making them to halt sales only months after they began in 2020, declaring…
Tanker believed to hold sanctioned Iran oil begins to be offloaded near Texas despite Tehran threats
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil offloaded its cargo near Texas on Sunday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it. Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan began the hourslong ship-to-ship transfer of its oil to another tanker, the…
Japan’s Kishida visits Fukushima plant to highlight safety before start of treated water release
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant Sunday and said an impending release of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean cannot be postponed. He said the move is safe but his government will do its utmost to support fishing communities from the potential impact of damaging rumors during the decades-long project. Kishida made his trip hours after returning…
As world warms, Sweden sees opportunity to grow its young wine industry
NYHAMNSLÄGE, Sweden — It’s mid-afternoon in late summer and a fresh North Sea breeze blows through the vines at Kullabergs Vingård, a vineyard and winery at the vanguard of producers seeking to redefine what Swedish wine can be. Scandinavia isn’t exactly what connoisseurs would define as prime wine country and commercial vineyards are still tiny compared to France, Italy or Spain. But with climate change…
Russia, China look to advance agendas at BRICS summit in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG — JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Russia and China will look to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world at a summit in South Africa this week, when an expected joint dose of anti-West grumbling from them may take on a sharper edge with a formal move to bring Saudi Arabia closer. Leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China…
More hearings begin soon for Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline. Where does the project stand?
BISMARCK, N.D. — Public utility regulators in Iowa will begin a hearing Tuesday on a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline for transporting emissions of the climate-warming greenhouse gas for storage underground that has been met by resistant landowners who fear the taking of their land and dangers of a pipeline rupture. Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $5.5 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline network would carry CO2 from 34 ethanol…