Uber teams up with Waymo to start selling driverless rides in Austin, Texas
Uber will shift into a new gear in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday when its ride-hailing service will begin dispatching self-driving cars to pick up passengers. The autonomous option is being provided through a partnership that brings together Uber and robotaxi pioneer Waymo, which already sells self-driving vehicle rides through its own app in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. […]
James Harrison, Australian blood donor whose ‘golden arm’ helped save 2.4 million babies, dies at 88
An Australian man credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over six decades, has died, his family said Tuesday. He was 88. James Harrison, a retired state railway department clerk, died in a nursing home on the central coast of New South Wales state on Feb. 17, according to his grandson, Jarrod Mellowship. Harrison’s […]
SpaceX targeting Monday for next test of Starship megarocket
Elon Musk has been making headlines for mass layoffs and funding cuts at US federal agencies under his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. But on Monday, his towering Starship rocket will return to the spotlight with its next test flight. The world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle is set for its eighth orbital mission, […]
LA Times adds AI-generated counterpoints to opinion pieces
The Los Angeles Times said Monday it was adding AI-generated counter-arguments to opinion pieces to help readers grasp differing points of view. The move comes as the Times struggles with plunging readership and heavy financial losses that have led to heavy job cuts. It also comes as some media owners seek greater control over their […]
Clock ticking down to Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China
Time is running short for Canada, Mexico and China to avert sweeping tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, with the planned levies to take effect past midnight over what he deems an “unacceptable” flow of drugs. Trump unveiled — then paused — blanket tariffs on imports from his country’s major trading partners Canada and […]
TSMC announces $100 bn investment in new US chip plants
President Donald Trump said Monday that the chip-making giant TSMC will invest “at least” $100 billion in the United States to build “cutting edge” chip manufacturing facilities, in the latest blockbuster financial pledge by a private company since his return to office in January. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s new investment will come on top of […]
Writing on the wall as Chinese businesses fret over US trade war
At a bustling Shanghai trade fair, exporters of goods ranging from plush toys to chainmail bikinis expressed growing unease at the escalating US-China trade war as new US tariffs took hold on Tuesday. President Donald Trump on Monday doubled previously imposed tariffs to 20 percent, which themselves pile atop existing levies on various Chinese goods. […]
Bitcoin value dives as uncertainty grips market
Bitcoin’s price plunged nearly 10 percent on Monday as an escalating trade war and uncertainty over creation of a US crypto reserve fund sent investors running from risk. After jumping on US President Donald Trump’s talk of creating a national cryptocurrency reserve, bitcoin and similar digital assets dove in the face of concerns it might […]
Asia stocks tumble after Trump tariffs
Asian markets tumbled on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump heaped tariffs on Chinese imports and warned levies on Mexico and Canada could not be averted. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng saw the biggest drop, tumbling more than two percent and 1.5 percent respectively. It comes after the White House said Trump had […]
