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Engadget
a minute ago
- Engadget
Tesla found partially liable for a deadly 2019 crash
A jury in Florida has found Tesla partially liable for a 2019 crash involving the company's Autopilot self-driving feature, The Washington Post reports. As a result, the company will have to pay $200 million in damages. Autopilot comes pre-installed on Tesla's cars and handles things like collision detection and emergency braking. Tesla has mostly avoided taking responsibility for crashes involving cars with the Autopilot enabled, but the Florida case played out differently. The jury ultimately decided that the self-driving tech enabled driver George McGee to take his eyes off the road and hit a couple, Naibel Benavides Leon and Dillon Angulo, ultimately killing one and severely injuring the other. During the case, Tesla's lawyers argued that McGee's decision to take his eyes off the road to reach for his phone was the cause of the crash, and that Autopilot shouldn't be considered. The plaintiffs, Angulo and Benevides Leon's family, argued that the way Tesla and Elon Musk talked about the feature ultimately created the illusion that Autopilot was safer than it really was. "My concept was that it would assist me should I have a failure … or should I make a mistake," McGee said on the stand. "And in that case I feel like it failed me." The jury ultimately assigned two-thirds of the responsibility to McGee and a third to Tesla, according to NBC News . In a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation of Autopilot from 2024, crashes were blamed on driver misuse of Tesla's system and not the system itself. The NHTSA also found that Autopilot was overly permissive and "did not adequately ensure that drivers maintained their attention on the driving task," which lines up with the 2019 Florida crash. While Autopilot is only one component of Tesla's larger collection of self-driving driving features, selling the idea that the company's cars could safely driving on their own is a key part of its future. Elon Musk has claimed that Full Self-Driving (FSD), the paid upgrade to Autopilot, is "safer than human driving." Tesla's Robotaxi service relies on FSD being able to function with no or minimal supervision, something that produced mixed results in the first few days the service was available.
San Francisco Chronicle
a minute ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lawyer says he's not been allowed to see 5 immigrants deported by the US to a prison in Eswatini
MANZINI, Eswatini (AP) — Five immigrants deported by the United States to Eswatini in a secret deal last month had served their criminal sentences before they were sent to be held in a prison in the African country, a lawyer working on their cases said Friday. The Eswatini lawyer also said the men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Vietnam sent to southern Africa under President Donald Trump's third-country deportation program have been denied access to legal representation while being held in Eswatini's main maximum-security prison. The lawyer, Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, said he hasn't been allowed to see the men and that he filed court papers Thursday against the head of Eswatini's correctional services department and the country's attorney general, demanding access to them. He said he is representing them on behalf of lawyers in the U.S. and was prevented from seeing them by Eswatini prison officials on July 25. It's unlawful for the men, who have been in Eswatini for around two weeks, to be denied access to a lawyer, he added. The Eswatini government has said the men will be held in solitary confinement until they can be deported to their home countries, which could take up to a year. 'They have served their sentences,' Nhlabatsi told The Associated Press. 'If a person has committed a crime and they have served a sentence, why are you then keeping them in a prison?' Nhlabatsi said the men have not been able to communicate with their families or receive visitors since arriving in Eswatini, although prison officials said they were in the process of setting up devices to allow them to speak with their families. He alleged their ongoing detention could have legal implications for Eswatini, a small country bordering South Africa and one of the world's last absolute monarchies, ruled by a king accused of cracking down on dissent. The Trump administration has come under scrutiny for its choice of African countries to strike deportation deals with. It deported eight immigrants described as violent criminals to South Sudan in early July in an operation that was halted by a legal challenge in the U.S. The eight were held for weeks in a converted shipping container at an American military base in nearby Djibouti while the case was decided. A Supreme Court ruling eventually cleared the way for them to be sent to South Sudan. Both South Sudan, which is in danger of tipping into civil war, and Eswatini have poor rights records and governments accused of being repressive. Critics say the deportees, who the administration says were in the U.S. illegally, will likely be denied due process in those countries. The five sent to Eswatini were also described by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as serious criminals. Their convictions included murder and child rape, the department said in social media posts, calling them 'uniquely barbaric." The department, which did not say if they had completed their sentences, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. An Eswatini government spokesman also declined to comment on Nhlabatsi's allegations, saying it was now a matter for the courts. Nhlabatsi said the deportees are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex near the administrative capital, Mbabane, the same prison said to hold pro-democracy activists on trumped up charges. The government has declined to say where the five men are being held, citing security concerns. Eswatini's statement about the five men ultimately being deported to their home countries appears to contradict claims by the U.S. that their home countries refused to take the men back. ___
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
Mortgage Rate Outlook: Should You Lock Now Or Wait For Possible Fed Cuts?
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Americans shopping for a mortgage may want to hold tight for now. At its July 30 meeting, the Federal Reserve did not deliver a rate cut. The majority of members voted to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.50%, signaling a continued wait‑and‑see stance. As a result, mortgage rates will likely remain elevated for the near future. Lenders adjust interest rates based on the Fed's federal funds rate and other economic conditions, meaning prospective homebuyers could face higher monthly payments if they lock in a mortgage right now. However, the Fed may ease rates during its September meeting, potentially creating better opportunities for homebuyers to secure lower mortgage rates in late 2025. 30-year fixed mortgage rates remain elevated, currently averaging 6.72% according to Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates respond to several factors, including investor expectations about what the Fed might do next. If the Fed cuts rates later this year, mortgage rates could follow—but there's no guarantee. If you shop for a mortgage today, you're locking in a rate based on current conditions. Acting now might make sense if you're on a tight timeline. Some of the best mortgage lenders offer competitive terms, including rates lower than the national average and the ability to qualify for a mortgage with a minimum credit score of 580. However, if you want the lowest rate possible, you should work on improving your credit score to indicate less risk to a potential lender. If you have the flexibility to wait, holding off until after the Fed's September meeting might lead to better mortgage deals if the central bank cuts rates. However, no policy shift is certain at this time. Read more: Mortgage Rates Forecast For 2025: Experts Predict How Much Rates Will Drop Assess your timeline. If your home purchase is flexible, waiting may save you thousands in interest. If you're on a deadline, don't wait indefinitely—today's rates are still reasonable by historical standards. Monitor key economic data. The Fed's September decision will factor in two more months of inflation data and labor market reports. Mortgage experts are keeping an eye on CPI data, wage growth, unemployment and hiring trends to anticipate whether a cut to the federal funds rate is imminent. Ask about rate locks with a float-down option. Some lenders let you lock in today's rate but still snag a lower one if rates drop before you close. It's a valuable backup if you want to play it safe now, but anticipate the Fed might cut rates soon. Factor in broader market conditions. Even if the Fed cuts rates, mortgage rates depend on Treasury yields, inflation expectations and global capital flows, not just Fed policy. For borrowers on the fence, waiting to pull the trigger on a mortgage—and possibly holding off through the summer—could be a smart move. The Fed's July meeting offered no rate cuts, but growing internal dissent among the Fed's board and a cooling labor market raise the odds of a cut in September. If you can afford to wait a few weeks, you might benefit from lower mortgage rates and save significantly across the life of your loan. Conversely, if you're under time constraints or risk missing out on desirable inventory, securing a rate now can still make sense, especially if your lender offers the option to adjust later.
