AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With Google’s self-driving cars slowed in a gridlock of California regulation, Texas is offering a fast lane. Officials in Austin have embraced the technology, a welcome so warm that the mayor used talking points written by a Google lobbyist when the tech titan began testing prototypes on their streets over the … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — “The Lion King” on Broadway is offering fans a view of the musical that even the very best seat in the theater can’t rival. The Disney stage blockbuster on Wednesday released 360-degree footage of its opening song “Circle of Life” that lets users look left, right, up, backstage and at the … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After making their fortunes from new software or social networks, some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have vowed to apply their skills to “hacking” philanthropy and “disrupting” old models for funding charity. Not so Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who isn’t afraid to take a more conventional approach to giving. Local officials … Continue reading
QALANDIYA CHECKPOINT, West Bank (AP) — A pair of new mobile apps hopes to help Palestinians navigate their way around snarled traffic at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, offering a high-tech response to an intractable problem: constant, burdensome and often seemingly random restrictions on movement. “Azmeh,” which means traffic jam in Arabic, and “Qalandiya,” … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — The publisher of GQ magazine, Conde Nast Publications Ltd., was found guilty of contempt of court in Britain on Wednesday because of its coverage of the News of The World phone hacking trial. The Lord Chief Justice John Thomas, the head of the judiciary, ruled that an article in the British edition … Continue reading
VIENNA (AP) — Iran has started cutting back on some nuclear technology, which could be reengineered to make nuclear weapons, in line with a deal with six world powers, a U.N. nuclear agency report said Wednesday. However, diplomats familiar with the report said that the country is keeping thousands of machines that could be used … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has finalized a contract for the delivery of advanced air-defense missile systems to Iran, the head of a Russian state-controlled industrial conglomerate said Monday. Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russian Technologies, the holding company that includes the Rosoboronexport arms trader, said Monday on a trip to Dubai that “the contract with … Continue reading
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say automaker Volkswagen will likely need to make more than just software changes to nearly a quarter of its 2.4 million diesel cars being recalled in the country. The Transport Ministry told The Associated Press in an email Monday that of the vehicles being recalled for fixes in Germany, the … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — Motivated by the mystery disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last year, nations have set aside radio frequencies so that airplanes can be tracked by satellite — not just from the ground. The agreement to set aside the frequency 1087.7-1092.3 MHz band in essence paves the way for planes that already send … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 70 years ago scientists working in secret created the atomic bomb that ended World War II and ushered the world into the nuclear age. On Tuesday, at a ceremony in a federal building where clandestine plans for the bomb were developed just blocks from the White House, Interior Secretary Sally … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. could consider criminal charges or sanctions against China if the U.S. determines hackers there are violating an agreement not to conduct economic cyber espionage on American industry, a senior Justice Department official said Tuesday. The remarks by John Carlin, the Obama administration’s top national security attorney, came amid continuing skepticism … Continue reading
DUBLIN (AP) — Tech giant Apple will resist the British government’s efforts to get access to encrypted data through a new spying law, CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday. Last week, Britain published a draft law that seeks to ensure that telecommunication companies “provide wider assistance to law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies in … Continue reading
MUNCY, Pa. (AP) — State police used shotguns Thursday to deflate a wayward surveillance blimp that broke loose in Maryland before coming down into trees in the Pennsylvania countryside. It could take days, or even weeks, to remove the blimp, which came down Wednesday, said U.S. Army Captain Matthew Villa. He said it is in … Continue reading
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A video showing a high school resource officer flipping a student out of her chair prompted the officer’s firing and the county sheriff to call for citizens to record more videos to keep police accountable. Those statements came just days after FBI Director James Comey said fears about being caught on … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Akon, a hip-hop star who’s collaborated with everyone from Eminem to Andy Samberg, is about to release his first albums in seven years — but you won’t find them in stores or on streaming services like Spotify. Instead, he plans to release four albums through a new app, making him the … Continue reading
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