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Uber Invests In Driverless-Cars With Deal for 24,000 Volvo XC90s

Reginald Edward
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Uber Invests In Driverless-Cars With Deal for 24,000 Volvo XC90s

Uber has partnered with carmaker Volvo to purchase 24,000 of their XC90 SUVs between 2019 and 2012 to form a fleet of self-driving cars, according to Bloomberg News. The XC90 is Uber’s latest-generation of autonomous vehicles, which features sensors and self-driving technology installed by the ride-sharing company after purchase of the XC90.

The deal is said to be worth around $1.4 billion, according to the Financial Times, with the XC90 starting at $46,900 in the U.S. based on their base model consumer pricing. Uber is currently testing the XC90 vehicle in Arizona, San Francisco and Pittsburgh in trails with safety drivers in the vehicle to help improve their software. Uber has also paired with Volvo to develop autonomous driving and a vehicle ready for autonomous driving technology, with investments from both companies in 2016.

Stock Photo:
CHIANG MAI,THAILAND – OCT 26,2015 : A man hand holding Uber app showing on Samsung in the car,Uber is smartphone app-based transportation network. (mrmohock / Shutterstock.com)

Uber’s new set of XC90s will allow the company to continue to expand their test vehicles, in hopes of delivering an automobile that can brake, steer and autonomously drive without human interaction. The 24,000 fleet is also subject to change, depending upon Uber’s needs. Uber also has the right to order vehicles from other OEMs to help add to their growing fleet, according to the deal.

Meanwhile, Google’s Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car company, announced plans to launch their own self-driving car service open to consumers soon, which may be behind the decision for Uber to accelerate their own plans. That said, no timeline has been released as to when the self-driving cars will become available to users in a non-testing capacity.

Uber
(Teerawit Chankowet / Shutterstock, Inc.)

 

Uber Adds Several New Features Right Before The Holidays

Jonathan Antonio
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Uber Adds Several New Features Right Before The Holidays

Uber has added several new features just before the holidays that should make it easier for you and your friends to grab a ride on the ride-sharing app. The service has added live location sharing, which will allow your driver to see your location once you hit the gray icon on the bottom right of the screen. The new feature makes it easier for you when you’re walking to pick up your location, so your driver isn’t lost and looking for you.

Uber Investigation
Editorial credit: Pe3k / Shutterstock.com

Currently available in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, Beacons are helping you identify your ride among dozens of Ubers. The company has also updated their guest hailing feature, allowing you to hail rides for friends or family members and let them talk with the driver with text, so you’re no longer the middle-man. Simply click “Where to,” and you will be able to add a different rider to the top of the screen.

Uber has also added in-app gifting, which you can send Uber credits to your friends without leaving the app. It is a convenient way to send someone a gift card without actually going to Wal-Mart. The new features are available as early as today.

Jeffrey Tambor Exits ‘Transparent’ After Allegations of Sexual Harassment

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Jeffrey Tambor Exits ‘Transparent’ After Allegations of Sexual Harassment

Weeks after Amazon launched an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against the star of its award-winning show Transparent, Jeffrey Tambor has told Deadline that he is not returning next season.

In a statement to the entertainment news outlet, Tambor said that while he was privileged to take part in the show, recent events have made it evident that it “is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”

On November 8th, Deadline reported that Amazon had begun an investigation after a former assistant came forward with allegations, then several days later, another actress claimed the actor made unwanted sexual comments and advances towards her. The departure from the show comes just weeks after Amazon studio executive Roy Price resigned after allegations of sexual harassment.

Transparent is not currently in production, and following the allegations against Tambor, there were reports that the show’s writers were looking for ways to continue with the show with the character. Tambor’s exit from the show mirror Kevin Spacey’s recent firing from the hit TV series House of Cards, which has prompted writers to find a way to continue the show without him.

Germany Bans Kids From Using Smartwatches

Jonathan Antonio
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Germany Bans Kids From Using Smartwatches

The Bundesnetzagentur, Germany’s telecommunication agency has banned smartwatches for kids and is now asking parents to destroy them.

According to Bleeping Computer, the regulators have concluded smartwatches targeted at kids “prohibitive listening devices” and are asking parents to destroy any smartwatches their kids have and advising schools to pay closer attention to kids who use them.

Germany is focusing their attention on the listening capabilities of smartwatches but strangely did not say anything about the European Consumer Organization’s (BEUC) announcement that smartwatches currently pose a security risk to kids’ privacy. The BEUC warned that GPS-tracking smartwatches run the risk of getting hacked and evil-doers could track or spoof the GPS location of kids’ smartwatches.

If Europe’s shutdown on smartwatches continues, it could affect business earnings and ultimately force manufacturers to step up their security protocols for smartwatches.

‘A Wrinkle in Time’: Watch Disney’s New Trailer (VIDEO)

Jonathan Antonio
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‘A Wrinkle in Time’: Watch Disney’s New Trailer (VIDEO)

Last year, Disney held a nationwide open casting call looking for young actors to play lead roles in the movie. Several months later, Disney is proud to announce a new trailer for the upcoming Wrinkle in Time movie.

Disney debuted the new trailer for its adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time during the 2017 American Music Awards. The trailer showcased a girl’s fantastic quest across the universe to save her father.

The movie is based on L’Engle’s 1963 novel. In the trailer, we are introduced to a young girl named Meg Murry who is played by Storm Reid, who travels with her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), her friend Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller), and three witches (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling) to search for her missing father, Alexander Murry (Chris Pine).

Along the way they visit amazing planets and discover the universe is being attacked by The Black Thing.

The trailer explains the concept behind the title. Meg’s father was looking for a way to travel through space and invented a way to transport vast distances instantaneously, only to be captured by The Black Thing. The witches explain they are trying to find warriors to help them fight and the only person who can save her father from the darkness is Meg.

A Wrinkle in Time hits theaters on March 9th, 2018.

Trump’s Aides Reportedly Show Him Only Positive Polls

Reginald Edward
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0
Trump’s Aides Reportedly Show Him Only Positive Polls

Politico reports President Donald Trump’s aides and advisers have made a habit of showing arguably the most powerful person in the world only positive polls to cheer him up.

Advisers to the president claim in the report they show him polls “designed to make him feel good,” usually polls focusing only his base.

Concerns grow in the White House when the support slides among voters who picked Trump in 2016, several senior aides and advisers said. Aides in Trump’s political affairs shop shrug off public polls that survey the general public. Most of the public pollsters are seen as “not understanding him,” one senior White House official said, a position carried over from the campaign, when many polls underestimated support for Trump and showed him losing in key counties that he won.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump adviser, said the president is still “in campaign mode” and closely tracks his polling numbers.

“I think he’s never really kind of gotten out of campaign mode and I thought he might,” Christie was cited as saying. Several senior aides and advisers said the Trump administration only becomes concerned when support slips in his base, while another official said public pollsters are often seen as “not understanding him.”

Two other White House officials were cited in the report said the strategy of focusing on polling numbers in Trump’s base was “just not accurate”. In fact, the aides also claimed to show President Trump these positive number is producing “delusional” ideas about the president’s support.

Politico also reports some advisers such as Tom Barrack have pushed President Trump to try and expand his base of supporters, not simply maintain it. Also, he often asks questions about polls to Kellyanne Conway, “who warns him to keep the base but also shows him other polls outside the RNC data”, according to several White House aides.

Peter Thiel is No Longer Associated with Y Combinator

Reginald Edward
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0
Peter Thiel is No Longer Associated with Y Combinator

Since 2015, Peter Thiel served as a part-time adviser to the startup accelerator Y Combinator. However, according to The Verge, the startup accelerator has parted ways with the entrepreneur. The company did not explain why they have cut ties. But, the company did issue a short statement at the top of a Y Combinator blog post introducing and welcoming Thiel two years ago that says ““Peter Thiel is no longer affiliated with Y Combinator.”

The news comes shortly after a Y Combinator was criticized for keeping Thiel as an adviser following the entrepreneur’s public support of Donald Trump during Trump’s presidential election. At the time, Y Combinator president Sam Altman defended keeping Thiel on the board tweeting that he was “not going to fire someone for supporting a major party nominee,” and while they disagree politically, “Diversity is painful but critical to the health of a democratic society.

Buzzed also reports that the part-time adviser program that Thiel had been part of had been shut down last year. Back then, Thiel joined Y Combinator along with Groupon’s Andrew Mason, Stripe’s Patrick Collison, and Homejoy’s Adora Cheung.

What is Y Combinator?

Launched in 2005, Y Combinator is a startup accelerator – a program that includes mentorship, and educational components to build a product that can be pitched during an event.

Y Combinator selects two batches of companies per year. The groups then receive funding, advice, and connections in exchange for 7% equity int he company. The program also includes office hours, where startup founders meet with investors. The motto of the start-up accelerator is to “Make Something People Want.”

Who is Peter Thiel?

Peter Thiel is a venture capitalist and has a reported net worth of $2.2 billion and is ranked number 315 on the Forbes 400. Thiel became Facebook’s first outside investor when he acquired a 10.2% stake in the company for $500,000 in 2004. He sold a majority of his shares in Facebook for over $1 billion in 2012 but remains on the board of directors.

Ryan Seacrest Accused of Behaving “Inappropriately”

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Ryan Seacrest Accused of Behaving “Inappropriately”

In our post-Harvey Weinstein world, more celebrities, politicians and public figures are finding themselves in the middle of accusations, allegations, and claims. Even Ryan Secrets, the co-host of Live with Kelly and Ryan and the upcoming American Idol reboot, has found himself in the middle of a controversy. According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter late Friday, a former wardrobe stylist alleges he “behaved inappropriately” toward her during his time at E! News nearly a decade ago. Secrets have already denied the allegations, the details of what occurred have yet to be made public.

“Recently, someone that worked as a wardrobe stylist for me nearly a decade ago at E! News, came forward with a complaint suggesting I behaved inappropriately toward her. If I made her feel anything but respected, I am truly sorry. I dispute these reckless allegations and I plan to cooperate with any corporate inquiries that may result,” the television host said in a statement to People. “I’m distraught that anyone or any situation would call that into question. I’m proud of my workplace reputation, and believe my track record will speak for itself. I’m an advocate for women. I will continue to support their voices.”

E! is currently conducting its own investigation into the matter, with Seacrest “fully” cooperating.

The Hollywood Reporter’s sources claim [t]he alleged victim is said to have, through her representation, made a substantial financial ask in exchange for her silence.” Meanwhile, “Seacrest [has] declined via his lawyers.”

Argentine Submarine Goes Missing

Reginald Edward
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0
Argentine Submarine Goes Missing

A submarine has been missing for three days. According to CNN, an Argentine navy submarine with a crew of 44 has been missing for several days after the Navy lost contact, off the country’s Atlantic coast.

The ARA San Juan was last seen on Wednesday in the San Jorge Gulf, a few hundred miles off the coast of southern Argentina.

Search crews are looking for the vessel by air and sea, according to a Navy spokesman. The submarine has been traveling from a base in far southern Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego archipelago to its home base in Mar del Plata, a few hundred kilometers northeast. The vessel was supposed to arrive at its destination on Sunday. That said, officials hope the crew will bring the submarine to the surface.

“The submarine knows that if it does not have communication with land for this long, it has to surface,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters.

News of the missing submarine hit close to home for the Vatican. Pope Francis, who is from Argentina and former archbishop of Buenos Aires, offered his “fervent prayers for the 44 officers aboard the ARA San Juan” in a statement released on Saturday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.

According to CNN, the navy said it ordered “all terrestrial communication stations along the Argentine coast to carry out a preliminary and extended search of communications and to listen into all the possible frequencies of the submarine.”

The United States Navy is also said to be helping. They plan on deploying a maritime aircraft to Argentina on Saturday.

A ‘Transparent’ Writer is Calling For Jeff Tambor To Leave The Show

Jonathan Antonio
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0
A ‘Transparent’ Writer is Calling For Jeff Tambor To Leave The Show

Several allegations against actor Jeffrey Tambor have brought his role on the hit series Transparent into question, with a new report claiming writers are trying to find a way to take his character out of the show. Now a writer for the show and GLAAD are speaking out to say Tambor should walk away from the show and the should continue without him.

According to Deadline, a writer for Transparent and a transgender performer responded to the allegations about Tambor and said that the actor should not be the reason that “Trans content” like Transparent should get canceled.

My heart is broken. I’m struggling to put together words right now, as I’m flooded with emotions. Any abuse of power is inexcusable, but hearing the stories of Van and Trace have particularly shattered me. I honor the strength and courage that it must have taken for them to tell their truth.
…
Thank you for your leadership, Trace. Thank you for speaking up. And thank you for your proposed solution at the end of your statement. You are right — we cannot let trans content be taken down by a single cis man. I’m sure I’ll have more to say, but this is as much as I can get out in this very emotional moment.
….
My heart goes out to all victims of abuse, told and untold. I hope this is the beginning of our time to heal.

(The above statement is from @tracelysette. The statement below is my response.) . My heart is broken. I’m struggling to put together words right now, as I’m flooded with emotions. Any abuse of power is inexcusable, but hearing the stories of Van and Trace have particularly shattered me. I honor the strength and courage that it must have taken for them to tell their truth. … Thank you for your leadership, Trace. Thank you for speaking up. And thank you for your proposed solution at the end of your statement. You are right — we cannot let trans content be taken down by a single cis man. I’m sure I’ll have more to say, but this is as much as I can get out in this very emotional moment. …. My heart goes out to all victims of abuse, told and untold. I hope this is the beginning of our time to heal.

A post shared by Our Lady J (@ourladyj) on


It is a sentiment echoed by GLAAD in their statement on the situation according to Vulture, saying the show is more significant than just Tambor.

“The show Transparent is bigger than one person and is home to some of the most talented trans people in Hollywood — both in front of the camera and behind. GLAAD stands with Trace in her hope that the inappropriate situations she and others endured on set will be remedied, and that future seasons will focus on more of the many brilliant characters that audiences love and care about.”

Tambor has denied the allegations. However, the second accusation from trans actress Trace Lysette has led to the statements and calls for his firing.

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