Category: California

California Says Autonomous Cars Don’t Need Human Drivers

California relaxed several rules on self-driving cars as the state tries to maintain its status as a leading test bed for the future of transportation. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles released proposed regulations Friday for autonomous vehicles, dropping an earlier requirement that a human driver had to be present while testing on public roads.

Losses Mount for Obamacare Startup Oscar as Repeal Looms

Oscar Insurance Corp., the startup trying to reinvent medical insurance with its Obamacare-focused plans, lost more than $200 million on the products in 2016 as it heads into a year that may see the undoing of the health law. The company offered plans in four states in 2016 and lost about $204.9 million on premium revenue of $425.9 million, according to filings.

Whole Foods, movies will anchor downtown Sunnyvale complex

Whole Foods will anchor an emerging retail and residential complex that is also bringing a multi-screen cinema to downtown Sunnyvale, developers said Thursday. The healthy foods grocery chain has leased 52,000 square feet in a long-stalled development that for years has been known as Sunnyvale Town Center.

The big mistake some anti-Trump protesters could be making

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events A fire, which was set by demonstrators opposing a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos, burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California at Berkeley campus on Feb. 1. The event was canceled because of violence caused by protesters. Less than a month after President Trump’s inauguration, protests against his administration and other figures who gained increasing prominence during the Trump era already have featured a diversity of protest tactics.

Backpage.com lawyers want executives’ pimping charges tossed

This undated file photo provided by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office shows Carl Ferrer. Ferrer and two other operators of an international website, Backpage.com, that advertises escort services, appeared in Sacramento County Superior … FILE – This undated file photo provided by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office shows James Larkin.

Appeals court to decide future of California carbon auctions

Businesses looking to invalidate California’s fee for carbon pollution take their arguments to a state appeals court Tuesday in a case that could determine the future of one of California’s signature efforts to combat climate change. With a central piece of Gov. Jerry Brown’s legacy on the line, lawyers for the state and for environmental advocacy groups will defend a program that has been closely watched around the world as a potential model for controlling carbon emissions.

Gov. Brown plays small ball with budget

California Governor Jerry Brown is proposing an austere state budget for 2017-18, trying to rein in spending in the face of economic – or political – headwinds. That’s the deficit projected for the coming fiscal year, the first red ink in California since 2012-13.

Alphabet Says its Autonomous Cars Needed Less Human Help in 2016

Vehicles tested in California by Waymo, the autonomous car company owned Google parent Alphabet Inc., had a much lower rate of “disengagements” last year, compared with 2015. Disengagements happen when a human tester needs to take control of a self-driving car, either to avoid an accident or respond to technical problems.

Uber Ships Self-Driving Cars to Arizona After California Ban

A few days of regulatory tussles were enough for Uber Technologies Inc. to pull its fleet of self-driving cars from the streets of San Francisco and send them instead to friendlier territory in Arizona. The California Department of Motor Vehicles banned Uber’s self-driving cars from San Francisco on Wednesday, just days after they first deployed.

California tries again to thwart prison cellphone smuggling

California is installing nearly 1,000 sophisticated metal detectors, scanners and secret security cameras at its prisons in its latest attempt to thwart the smuggling of cellphones, thousands of which continue to flood the prisons despite previous efforts. Officials say the phones can be used to coordinate everything from attacks in prison to crimes on the street, yet they have thus far been unable to prevent even high-security inmates like cult killer Charles Manson from repeatedly getting the devices that are illegal behind bars.

California tries again to thwart prison cellphone smuggling

California is installing nearly 1,000 sophisticated metal detectors, scanners and secret security cameras at its prisons in its latest attempt to thwart the smuggling of cellphones, thousands of which continue to flood the prisons despite previous efforts. Officials say the phones can be used to coordinate everything from attacks in prison to crimes on the street, yet they have thus far been unable to prevent even high-security inmates like cult killer Charles Manson from repeatedly getting the devices that are illegal behind bars.

California tries again to thwart prison cell phone smuggling

California is installing nearly 1,000 sophisticated metal detectors, scanners and secret security cameras at its prisons in its latest attempt to thwart the smuggling of cell phones, thousands of which continue to flood the prisons despite previous efforts. Officials say the phones can be used to coordinate everything from attacks in prison to crimes on the street, yet they have thus far been unable to prevent even high-security inmates like cult killer Charles Manson from repeatedly getting the devices that are illegal behind bars.

California tries again to thwart prison cellphone smuggling

California is installing nearly 1,000 sophisticated metal detectors, scanners and secret security cameras at its prisons in its latest attempt to thwart the smuggling of cellphones, thousands of which continue to flood the prisons despite previous efforts. Officials say the phones can be used to coordinate everything from attacks in prison to crimes on the street, yet they have thus far been unable to prevent even high-security inmates like cult killer Charles Manson from repeatedly getting the devices that are illegal behind bars.

Covered California scrambles to restore fumbled tax credits

Nearly 10,000 Covered California policy holders have lost their federal tax credits – at least temporarily – due to a bookkeeping error by the state health insurance exchange. But Covered California is still trying to contact these individuals and families to fix the problem, and the agency promises to reinstate their tax credits retroactively if they give it permission to verify their income, said Covered California spokeswoman Lizelda Lopez.