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Tesla has applied to test and operate autonomous vehicles in Arizona in a bid to bring its fledgling robotaxi service to the Metro Phoenix area, the state’s Department of Transportation confirmed to TechCrunch.  Tesla contacted the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) under the Arizona Department of Transportation on June 26 to begin the certification process, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company, which launched a limited robotaxi service in South Austin last month, expressed interest in operating within the Phoenix Metro area, according to the department.  Tesla has applied for both autonomous vehicle testing and operating with a driver…

Hong Kong CNN  —  A case in which more than 200 kindergarten students in northwestern China were found to have abnormal blood lead levels is revealing a deep distrust in local government, as members of the public question the findings of an official investigation. Authorities in the city of Tianshui in China’s Gansu province earlier this week said eight people, including the principal of the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten, had been detained after an investigation found 233 students had been exposed to lead after school kitchen staff used inedible paint containing the toxic substance as food coloring. The case initially generated…

A screen displays the the company logo for Goldman Sachs on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 7, 2025. Brendan McDermid | ReutersThe newest hire at Goldman Sachs isn’t human.The bank is testing an autonomous software engineer from artificial intelligence startup Cognition that is expected to soon join the ranks of the firm’s 12,000 human developers, Goldman tech chief Marco Argenti told CNBC.The program, named Devin, became known in technology circles last year with Cognition’s claim that it had created the world’s first AI software engineer. Demo videos showed the program…

During xAI’s launch of Grok 4 on Wednesday night, Elon Musk said — while livestreaming the event on his social media platform, X — that his AI company’s ultimate goal was to develop a “maximally truth-seeking AI.” But where exactly does Grok 4 seek out the truth when trying to answer controversial questions? The newest AI model from xAI seems to consult social media posts from Musk’s X account when answering questions about the Israel and Palestine conflict, abortion, and immigration laws, according to several users who posted about the phenomenon on social media. Grok also seemed to reference Musk’s…

CNN  —  More than half a million Afghans have been expelled from Iran in the 16 days since the conflict with Israel ended, according to the United Nations, in what may be one of the largest forced movements of population this decade. For months, Tehran has declared its intention to remove the millions of undocumented Afghans who carry out lower-paid labor across Iran, often in tough conditions. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said 508,426 Afghans have left Iran via the Iranian-Afghanistan border between June 24 and July 9. A startling 33,956 crossed Wednesday and 30,635 on Tuesday, after a…

DJANET, Algeria (AP) — In one hand, the dancers hold swords symbolizing battle. In the other, a piece of cloth symbolizing peace. They dance a shuffling “step-step” to the beat of drums and chanting from the women encircling them, all adorned in their finest traditional garments and jewelry.They’re performing the rituals of the 3,000-year-old annual Sebeiba festival of Djanet, a southeastern Algerian oasis town deep in the Sahara, just over 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) from the Libyan border.Sebeiba is a core tradition of the Tuareg people, native to the Sahara and parts of West Africa. The Tuareg are Muslim,…

Though he officially left the U.S. government in May, Steve Davis — Elon Musk’s low-flying former top lieutenant at the Department of Government Efficiency — continues to wield influence at DOGE, according to the WSJ. The outlet says Davis, a longtime Musk ally, regularly gives directions to current DOGE officials and has privately dismissed his departure as “fake news.” TechCrunch reached out earlier Wednesday to The Boring Company, Musk’s tunneling company where Davis has held the president role, for comment. This behind-the-scenes involvement suggests that Davis — who is reportedly so frugal that he has sometimes signed off on costs…

Aviation news Air travel safety Federal agencies Wellness See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center – Oklahoma City, OK  —  On a sprawling campus in the middle of the nation, thousands of students learn how to take command of the nation’s skies. The Federal Aviation Administration Academy, near the Oklahoma City airport, has been a fixture since late 1946, six years before the first commercial passenger jet flight. In it, rooms filled with monitors show simulated airplanes taxiing on runways and taking off – all under the watchful eyes of students learning to keep the flying…

California State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world’s largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur. If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose meaningful transparency requirements onto leading AI developers, likely including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI. Senator Wiener’s previous AI bill, SB 1047, included similar requirements for AI model developers to publish safety reports. However, Silicon Valley fought ferociously against that bill, and it was ultimately vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. California’s governor…

CNN  —  One of Russia’s most powerful men, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is set to visit North Korea this weekend, in a sign of deepening relations between Moscow and Pyongyang as North Korea gets pulled deeper into Russia’s war in Ukraine. Lavrov “will make a visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on July 11-13 for the talks that will be held as part of the second round of strategic dialogue between the top diplomats,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, according to Russian state media agency TASS. North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, also reported Wednesday that Lavrov…