Despite major staffing shakeups in its autonomous driving project last year, Apple is reportedly gearing up to unleash cars equipped with its driverless technology on California’s public streets. [More]
california
California DMV Releases Proposed Rules For Driverless Vehicles
By 3.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
After a high-profile spat with Uber of self-driving cars that were operating in San Francisco without proper permission, the state of California has proposed new rules that would make it easier for companies to test truly autonomous cars — no one behind the wheel at all — on the state’s roads. [More]
Uber Wants To Make Up With California, Give Self-Driving Cars Another Shot
By 3.3.17
Last December, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of 16 self-driving Uber cars that were operating in San Francisco, because Uber had not sought the proper permissions from the state to operate these autonomous vehicles. The ridesharing company quickly picked up and headed south to Arizona, but it may be ready to give the Golden State another try. [More]
Judge Blocks California Law Prohibiting IMDb From Publishing Actors’ Ages
By 2.23.17
After nearly two months of refusing to comply with a recently enacted California law that requires it remove information about actors’ ages and birthdays, Internet Movie Database (IMDb) received a bit of reprieve this week when a federal judge granted the company’s motion for an injunction, blocking the state from enforcing the new law. [More]
Hospital Tells Family To Not Worry About $31,000 Medical Bill; Sends Bill Anyway
By 2.7.17
With so many people being slammed with surprise medical bills following a medical emergency, it must be nice when your hospital and insurance company both tell you that your huge bill will be taken care of. Then all that goodwill goes out the window when you still end up with thousands of dollars in medical expenses. [More]
IMDb Not Complying With New Law Blocking It From Publishing Actors’ Ages
By 1.9.17
On Jan. 1, a new law went into effect in California that would require the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) remove information about actors’ ages and birthdays. We’re now more than a week into the new year, and the site hasn’t taken this information down — and it has no intention of doing so in the immediate future. [More]
Are Nestlé’s Raisinet Boxes “Recklessly” Under-Filled?
By 1.6.17
By now most Consumerist readers are familiar with the Grocery Shrink Ray, where the amount of a product in a package shrinks over time to keep the price of the product consistent without decreasing profits. Sure, that’s annoying and perhaps a bit misleading, but the Shrink Ray’s sneakier twin — slack-fill — is even worse, and now it’s the reason for a class-action seeking lawsuit against Nestlé, accusing the candy company of “recklessly” underfilling its Raisinets boxes. [More]
Uber Driver Reportedly Saves Woman From Human Trafficking
By 12.29.16
When you see a headline containing the phrase “Uber Driver” it’s rarely good news. In the past, the ridesharing company’s drivers have faced accusations of assaulting, overcharging, and stranding passengers, but today we have a welcome change of pace. Police in California say one Uber driver actually helped to save a teen from a human trafficking ring. [More]
Taco Bell Testing Fries Again, But Only At One Location
By 12.28.16
While you can walk into just about any fast food restaurant and get french fries, there’s currently only one Taco Bell where you can get your fry fix. [More]
Uber Packs Up Its Self-Driving Cars And Takes Them To Play In Arizona
By 12.22.16
Not even 24 hours after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registrations of 16 self-driving Uber cars that had been operating in San Francisco, the ridesharing company has announced it’s found a new sandbox where it can play with its toys. [More]
Uber Admits Its Self-Driving Cars Have A Problem Handling Bike Lanes
By 12.20.16
The rules of the road don’t just cover cars — there are conveyances of the two-wheeled variety out there as well. Considering many human drivers don’t understand how to share the streets with bicycles, it’s somewhat unsurprising that Uber is admitting that its autonomous vehicles are having a hard time dealing with them as well. [More]
Uber Claims It Doesn’t Need California’s Permission For Self-Driving Cars
By 12.16.16 — Updated: 12.20.16
The public slapfight between Uber and the California Department of Motor Vehicles continued on Friday afternoon, with the ridesharing service declaring that it’s new self-driving cars don’t need a special permit to operate in San Francisco. [More]
California Says Self-Driving Uber Cars In San Francisco “Illegal”
By 12.15.16
Yesterday, Uber announced that it is now offering rides in self-driving vehicles for users in San Francisco — an announcement that apparently came as a surprise to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which has advised the ridesharing service that it is breaking the law by operating this autonomous cars without DMV approval. [More]
Court Clears Backpage.com CEO Of Pimping Charges
By 12.13.16
There’s no doubt you can procure an escort’s services on Backpage.com. There is also evidence that underage sex workers have been using the site to find customers. However, a California court has ruled that — contrary to allegations made by the state’s attorney general — Backpage’s hosting of these ads is not the same as actual pimping. [More]
Pressure Mounts For Tesla To Stop Using The Term “Autopilot”
By 11.29.16
What does the term “autopilot” mean to you? For many people, it applies to a machine that can steer itself with minimal human intervention, but for electric carmaker Tesla it’s a marketing term to describe a feature that is decidedly not hands-off — and which consumer safety advocates believe can cause potentially dangerous confusion.
[More]
Why IMDb May Soon Have To Delete Actors’ Ages From Website
By 11.14.16
The Internet Movie Database has long been the public’s go-to site for generally accurate information about movies, TV shows, and the people who make them. Many celebrity profiles have their ages and dates of birth listed on IMDb, but that may soon come to an end if a new California law is allowed to stand. [More]
3 Things To Know About Running A Multi-State Legal Marijuana Business
By 11.10.16
This week brought legalized recreational marijuana to a number of new states, including California and Nevada. With non-medical adult use of pot already legal in Washington and Oregon, this creates a geographically contiguous bloc of four states where marijuana and THC-infused products could be sold. Any enterprising pot entrepreneur would drool over the idea of being able to produce, ship, and sell to all of these people but creating a legal, multi-state weed empire is not easy. [More]
Four Cities Approve Sugary-Drink Taxes
By 11.9.16
For residents in four U.S. cities, it’s about to get more expensive to buy soda or other sugary drinks after voters okayed new taxes on these beverages. [More]
