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While experts debated whether self-driving cars would be commercially available in 5 or 10 years,  Uber  raced ahead and put vehicles on the road. Last August, it launched a program in Pittsburgh that allowed people to summon a self-driving car from their phones. At the same time, Uber acquired autonomous-trucking startup Otto. Together, these moves put the company, valued at $68 billion, at the forefront of transportation’s next wave. “The biggest asset and advantage [of our self-driving efforts] is being part of the larger Uber network,” says Raffi Krikorian, engineering director at the company’s Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh. 1. A SMART PILOT Uber deliberately chose Pittsburgh for its first fleet because of the city’s erratic weather and winding roads. “If we can drive in Pittsburgh, we [know we] have the features we need to go and drive in other cities,” Krikorian says. The project has since expanded to Phoenix. 2. AUTOMOTIVE ALLIES Last s...

It seems like comedienne Kathy Griffin just confirmed that she had been interviewed by the Secret Service after posting the controversial decapitated head photo of U.S. President Donald Trump. On her Twitter account, Griffin uploaded a post saying, “Yes, it’s true.”   The apparent confirmation comes after journalist Yashar Ali reported this week that the Secret Service had interviewed Griffin for over an hour in person, and that the investigation into the photograph remained open more than a month after it was first published by entertainment gossip outlet TMZ. Dmitry Gorin, the criminal defense attorney representing Griffin, told the New York Times in June that the comedian was cooperating with the Secret Service investigation. Gorin also defended Griffin’s stunt, saying publishing the photo of a decapitated President Trump was protected under the U.S. Constitution. “She basically exercised her First Amendment rights to tell a joke,” Gorin told the Times. “Whe...

Pop icon Cher took to Twitter Thursday to blast the House’s passage of the American Health Care Act, lamenting that the bill’s signature into law would threaten to cut funding to treat her asthma. In her signature tweeting style of using emojis for words, the 70-year-old singer called the passage of the AHCA on Thursday “insanity,” and called President Donald Trump a “mad King George III president.” In an earlier tweet, the singer called GOP representatives in the House “inhumane” and predicted millions of people would die as a result of the legislation, which has not yet cleared the Senate or been signed by the president. Cher also urged New Yorkers to “show this idiot what he’s in for.” The president visited his hometown Thursday evening for the first time since he took office in January following the vote on the health care bill. The pop star was just one of numerous celebrities to use their social media accounts Thursday to voice their dis...

Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday dared anew President Rodrigo Duterte to order his security personnel to stop the killings amid the war against illegal drugs or quit his post. “Amidst the killing spree of minors, I challenge the President once again to give a direct, categorical and public order to the entire police force, and others acting upon its direction, to STOP THE KILLINGS NOW!” De Lima said in a statement. ! To all those who are directly involved in, and those who sanction, these barbaric and satanic acts, may you all burn in hell,” she added. De Lima pointed out that in a civilized society, “states are supposed to protect the rights and welfare of the youth and keep them safe from harm, but under the Duterte regime, they are slaughtered like wild animals in a hunting game.” The recent killings of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos, 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman were gravely condemned by officials and citizens in the c...

It was the Marcos family who asked President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a special non-working day in Ilocos Norte on the late dictator’s 100th birth anniversary. A highly-placed source confirmed this to GMA News’ Cedric Castillo on Friday. Malacañang on Thursday released Proclamation No. 310, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on September 6. “The Ilocano community has been annually celebrating the birthdate of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos, and commemorating his life and contributions to national development as a World War II veteran, distinguished legislator, and former president,” the proclamation read. Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. He died on September 28, 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii, three years after being ousted in the EDSA People Power revolution. Marcos’ daughter Imee Marcos is currently the governor of the province. The heirs of Marcos will commemorate the occasion at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the Armed Forces of the ...