Business News

Questions about the safety of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system are growing

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says its vehicles that are equipped with the latest versions of its vaunted “Full Self-Driving” system can travel from point to point with little human intervention. Yet a series of alarming recent incidents have drawn the attention of federal regulators, who were already investigating Tesla’s automated driving systems because of dozens of crashes that raised safety concerns. The problems have led people who monitor autonomous vehicles to become more skeptical that Tesla’s system will ever be able to operate safely on a widespread scale. Some analysts say they doubt that Tesla is even close to deploying a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by next year as CEO Elon Musk has predicted it will.

Having a family is expensive. Here’s what Harris and Trump have said about easing costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Families are looking for relief from the high cost of caring for children. On this topic, the Democratic and Republican tickets for president have one main commonality: Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have supported a higher child tax credit. As one of her first campaign policy announcements, Harris said she would work to expand that tax credit to as much as $3,600 per child, and $6,000 in a baby’s first year. Trump has declined to say how he would make caregiving more affordable this time around. But Congress expanded the child tax credit when he was president, and his running mate supports doing it again.

All eyes are on Nvidia as it prepares to report its earnings. Here’s what to expect

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nvidia has led the artificial intelligence boom to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants continue to spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Nvidia continues to lead the pack on Wall Street as it prepares to release its latest financial results Wednesday. Nvidia’s specialized chips are key components that help power different forms of AI, including the latest generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Supreme Court rebuffs Biden administration plea to restore multibillion-dollar student debt plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is keeping on hold the latest multibillion-dollar student debt relief plan from the Biden administration, while multiple lawsuits make their way through lower courts .The justices on Wednesday rejected an administration request to put most of it back into effect. It was blocked by 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In an unsigned order, the court said it expects the appeals court to issue a fuller decision on the plan “with appropriate dispatch.” The Education Department is seeking to provide a faster path to loan cancellation, and reduce monthly income-based repayments. Cost estimates of the new SAVE plan vary from $276 billion to $475 billion.

French prosecutors say Telegram messaging app CEO has been freed from custody, will appear in court

PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors have freed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov from police custody after four days of questioning over allegations that the messaging app is being used for illegal activities. Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations. Paris prosecutors said Wednesday that an investigating judge has ended Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s various citizenships add to the mystery of his detention

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Over more than a decade, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram has amassed various different citizenships. That’s only added to the mystery surrounding his detention in France. Those passports provided Pavel Durov protection after he created and ran Telegram as a self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist. Durov has passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. He was freed from French custody Wednesday after being arrested Saturday at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. Allegations include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, fraud and abetting organized crime transactions.

Court revives Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived Sarah Palin’s libel case against The New York Times. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The appeals court wrote that Judge Jed S. Rakoff’s dismissal of the lawsuit while a jury was deliberating improperly intruded on the jury’s work in February 2022. It also found that the erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and an erroneous response to a question from the jury tainted the jury’s ruling against Palin. A lawyer for Palin says he is reviewing the ruling. A Times spokesperson says that the decision is disappointing but that the newspaper is confident it will prevail in a retrial.

Body of Delta Air Lines worker who died in tire explosion was unrecognizable, son says

ATLANTA (AP) — The son of a worker who died in a tire explosion at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport says his father’s body was unrecognizable. Andre Coleman told Atlanta’s 11Alive news station Tuesday that he wanted to see 58-year-old Mirko Marweg because he didn’t believe he was dead. But the family had to rely on tattoos and a Mississippi State lanyard around Marweg’s neck to confirm his identity after a medical examiner told them the body was unrecognizable. Marweg was among two workers who died Tuesday while wheel components were being disassembled for maintenance at a wheel and brake shop. A third worker was seriously injured.

Pancakes, meet pandan. Asian American restaurants add their own spin to the weekend brunch

LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — While “Asian brunch” may initially evoke images of traditional meals like Chinese dim sum, it’s become shorthand now for restaurants that offer Asian takes on American brunch. For instance, Breaking Dawn was one of two places that opened in the Bay Area last spring emphasizing brunch. Although the region is rich in Asian American-owned places serving comfort food, both eateries have lines out the door. Asian American restaurants in other cities have also found that sweet and savory spot between breakfast and lunch. Mixing Asian and American flavors is often a complex balancing act. For instance, one of Breaking Dawn’s dishes is a green pandan waffle with fried chicken and Vietnamese iced coffee syrup.

Swiss court convicts 2 top PetroSaudi executives in fallout from 1MDB Malaysian fund scandal

GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss criminal court has convicted two top managers of a Saudi oil company facing charges including fraud and money laundering in a scam that swiped at least $1.8 billion from a Malaysian state-owned investment fund. PetroSaudi executive Tarek Obaid, a Saudi-Swiss dual national, received a seven-year sentence and British-Swiss associate Patrick Mahony was handed a six-year sentence from the Federal Criminal Court in southern Bellinzona. Starting in 2009, they helped hatch a plot to set up a joint venture with the 1MDB fund based on false claims of access to vast oil fields, prosecutors said.