Connect with us

California

No pedals, no problem: Zoox begins first robotaxi rides on public roads in California

Published

on

No pedals, no problem: Zoox begins first robotaxi rides on public roads in California


Autonomous robotaxi developer Zoox has introduced two main milestones this month because it inches nearer to a full launch to most people. All and not using a driver … or pedals … or perhaps a steering wheel. The Amazon subsidiary has shared footage of its Zoox branded robotaxis navigating public roads for the primary time in California following an accepted testing allow from the Division of Motor Automobiles (DMV).

Zoox is an autonomous automobile developer celebrating 9 years since its inception. Following years of growth in bringing distinctive robotaxi expertise to public roads, the California-based startup nabbed former Intel chief strategist Aicha Evans as the brand new Zoox CEO in early 2019.

A yr and a half later, the corporate introduced a definitive merger with Amazon wherein the net market juggernaut wholly acquired Zoox for a powerful $1.2 billion. With Amazon now in its nook, Zoox may proceed its work in creating a very bespoke EV for the robotaxi market, moderately than attempt to retrofit current vehivles for autonomy like practically all of its opponents.

Advertisement

In late 2020, we obtained our first take a look at the all-electric, autonomous shuttle and its huge 133 kWh battery pack. Beginning in its lab earlier than shifting on to loops of simulations and structured testing, Zoox quickly started utilizing a fleet of degree 3 autonomous automobiles to gather actual street knowledge.

The corporate states these automobiles have tallied over a million autonomous miles by San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle. Final July, Zoox grew to become the primary firm to self-certify a purpose-built, fully-autonomous, passenger EV with the Federal Motor Automobile Security Requirements (FMVSS).

Immediately, Zoox has introduced that the identical distinctive robotaxi has now begun delivering rides with staff on public roads in California for the primary time ever.

Zoox California
Credit score: Zoox

Zoox joins choose group with testing allow in California

Final week, Zoox shared that it had been granted an operational testing permit from the California DMV to start providing robotaxi rides with passengers on public roads. This can be a large step for the corporate as an entire, particularly as a robotaxi developer that has chosen to function utilizing electrical automobiles with none pedals or a steering wheel. Zoox cofounder and CTO Jesse Levinson spoke:

Attending to be the world’s first passenger in a robotaxi with no handbook controls on open public roads, together with Aicha this previous Saturday, was one of many highlights of my life. However what made me happiest was seeing the beaming smiles on our group members once they accomplished their rides. I can’t wait for everybody to expertise that magic.

As you possibly can inform above, executives from Zoox had been a number of the first passengers throughout the robotaxi’s preliminary public rides in California, however many extra are deliberate to observe. Below the testing allow from the DMV, the robotaxi’s are clear to function each empty and with Zoox staff as passengers – no civilian rides but.

Zoox states that starting this spring, full-time staff could have entry to rides within the robotaxi between its Foster Metropolis, California, places of work throughout enterprise hours. This can supply these staff a real-world demonstration of their onerous work whereas persevering with to gather street knowledge.

Advertisement

Zoox’s subsequent step will likely be opening the distinctive robotaxis as much as most people, however the firm has not acknowledged a timeline for when these rides might start. You’ll be able to see Zoox’s robotaxi working on public roads in Northern California within the video under.

FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

California

Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

Published

on

Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu


  • Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
  • Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
  • Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

Advertisement

She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think


raw milk

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Advertisement



Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

Advertisement

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.

Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.


raw milk smoothie

Dr. Paul’s Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It’s $19.

Advertisement

Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images



Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

Advertisement

The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.





Source link

Continue Reading

California

10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace

Published

on

10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace


Southern California’s bosses added 80,700 workers in the past year to a record 8.06 million jobs – but that hiring pace is roughly half of the pre-pandemic job market’s gains.

My trusty spreadsheet – filled with state job figures for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties – compared employment changes for the region and 15 industries in the year ended in October with the average yearly hiring pace before coronavirus upended the economy.

Yes, there have never been more Southern Californians employed. However, the recent hirings that created the all-time high staffing are far below the average job creation of 159,600 a year in 2015-19.

This is one of many signals of cooler business trends. It’s a chill significantly tied to the Federal Reserve’s attempts to slow what was once an overheated economy.

Advertisement

But Southern California bosses have another challenge – a shortage of workers. The region’s workforce, a measure of labor supply, is basically flat comparing 2024 to 2015-19. Fewer choices of workers have added difficulty for local businesses trying to meet their staffing needs.

Think of that when you learn that among the 15 Southern California business sectors tracked – hiring in 10 industries is below pre-pandemic years compared with five industries with improvements.

The downs

First, contemplate the 10 industries where the hiring pace has weakened, ranked by the size of the decline …

Professional-business services: 1.14 million workers in October – down 4,600 in a year vs. 24,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This net downturn of 28,700 jobs is unnerving because this white-collar work typically pays above-average salaries.

Construction: 378,700 workers – down 3,100 in a year vs. 16,200 annual gains in 2015-19. A building slowdown due to lofty mortgage rates created this 19,300 reversal.

Advertisement

Logistics-utilities: 820,800 workers – up 6,800 in a year vs. 25,800 annual gains in 2015-19. What’s at least a temporary oversupply of warehouses in the region may be behind this 19,000 slowdown.

Manufacturing: 558,400 workers – down 15,300 in a year vs. 4,100 annual cuts in 2015-19. This 11,200 drop is continued losses of local factory work tied to high cost of doing business in the region.

Fast-food restaurants: 359,400 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 12,400 annual gains in 2015-19. Weaker consumer spending and a hike in the industry’s minimum wage contribute to this 9,000 drop.

Hotels/entertainment/recreation: 268,300 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 9,600 annual gains in 2015-19. This 6,200 cooling reflects worker shortages.

Full-service eateries/food service: 339,100 workers – up 1,600 in a year vs. 6,600 annual gains in 2015-19. Inflation making shoppers  pickier is part of this 5,000 cooling.

Advertisement

Information: 214,200 workers – down 100 in a year vs. 3,700 annual gains in 2015-19. Weakness in tech businesses and Hollywood productions created the 3,800 net downturn.

Personal services: 266,600 workers – up 500 in a year vs. 3,200 annual gains in 2015-19. Again, it is hard to find people to do this work. Thus, a 2,700 cooling.

Government: 1.03 million workers – up 11,600 in a year vs. 12,500 annual gains in 2015-19. This 900 dip is status quo.

The ups

Ponder the five industries where the hiring pace rose in the past year, ranked by the size of the gains …

Social assistance: 512,300 workers – up 28,200 in a year vs. 18,300 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,900 addition comes as more folks need help at home for healthcare and child care.

Advertisement

Healthcare: 836,700 workers – up 30,100 in a year vs. 20,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,200 growth parallels the region’s aging population and its need for medical services.

Retailing: 748,300 workers – up 8,300 in a year vs. 300 annual cuts in 2015-19. This somewhat surprising 8,600 improvement may be consumers tiring of online commerce and wanting to get out to shop.

Financial: 364,100 workers – up 4,400 in a year vs. 3,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The minor 500 improvement is a return to normalcy. Super-heated hiring came in the pandemic days thanks to a brief drop in mortgage rates to historic lows.

Private education: 215,700 workers – up 5,500 in a year vs. 5,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This 400 uptick reflects the growing interest in alternatives to public schooling.

Bottom line

While it’s rare for all industries to be growing at the same time – minus, say, just after an economic downturn – this 2024 edition of the winners vs. losers list raises an important issue.

Advertisement

It appears much of the past year’s job creation is coming from industries that historically pay meager wages. That’s an especially worrisome trend in high-cost Southern California.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

California

California Lottery Powerball, Daily 3 Midday winning numbers for Nov. 27, 2024

Published

on


The California Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 27, 2024, results for each game:

Powerball

01-06-07-13-40, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 5

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 3

Midday: 7-1-0

Advertisement

Evening: 4-9-6

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily Derby

1st:11 Money Bags-2nd:3 Hot Shot-3rd:8 Gorgeous George, Race Time: 1:47.44

Check Daily Derby payouts and previous drawings here.

Fantasy 5

03-10-12-29-33

Advertisement

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 4

6-1-3-2

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

SuperLotto Plus

03-05-15-16-42, Mega Ball: 24

Check SuperLotto Plus payouts and previous drawings here.

Advertisement

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Desert Sun producer. You can send feedback using this form.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending