EU's Ribera Won't Trade Big Tech Rules to Placate Trump
The European Union 's crackdown on Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet Inc. 's Google isn't a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump, according to Teresa Ribera, the EU's competition chief.
In an interview, Ribera rejected suggestions that enforcement of the landmark Digital Markets Act — slammed by Trump as an unfair tax on Silicon Valley — could be sacrificed as part of a deal to dodge punitive EU tariffs pitched by the White House.
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Time Magazine
12 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Waymo's Self-Driving Future Is Here
Buy a copy of the TIME100 Companies issue here Mawakana believes that Waymo is threading the needle on all fronts, and that the company's gradual, safety-first, city-by-city approach (Phoenix in 2020, San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2024, Austin and Atlanta this year, and Washington D.C. in 2026) is exactly why it will emerge victorious in the automated rideshare race. Cruise shut down in 2024 after its headline-making accident; Tesla faces multiple lawsuits related to its autopilot technology. 'Trust is hard to build and easy to lose,' Mawakana says. 'Not just Tesla, but there have been other companies that have come and gone that have had very, very audacious claims. We've learned the amount of humility needed: Ultimately, it's the riders who are going to decide.' __________________________________________ While Waymo is the first company to deploy a self-driving fleet, they're far from the only company to try. In the early 2010s, Uber spent hundreds of millions of dollars on autonomous vehicles, which executives believed were essential to profitability. Raffi Krikorian, former director of Uber's Advanced Technologies Center, who led those efforts from 2015 to 2017, said that the mechanical aspect of teaching cars to drive was one challenge, but unspoken social norms were another entirely. 'When you follow all the rules of the road to the letter, you're actually a dangerous driver,' Krikorian says. 'You actually need to know when to speed, when to roll through a yellow. When we first deployed, we would slam on the brakes at red lights.' Around the same time, Google was ramping up its own self-driving project, operating buggy-like Firefly prototypes with plastic windshields around the company's Bay Area-campuses. Being within Google's massive corporate umbrella gave engineers the time and resources to experiment without rushing to market. In 2016, Google spun this project, called Waymo, into its own company within Alphabet. Dmitri Dolgov, an engineer who worked on the Firefly and is now Waymo's co-CEO, says those days were characterized both by technological breakthroughs and painstaking cautiousness. 'We would build something with goals for what the Waymo driver would be capable of, and then run it through our rigorous safety framework—and see that it fell short of where we set the bar,' he says. 'And we would not deploy.' Mawakana joined the company in 2017, initially as vice president of public policy and government affairs, ultimately moving into running business operations. Waymo's road safety mission was personal to her: Her uncle, a longhaul trucker, had died in his vehicle from a heart attack. She relates to customers' stories of family members killed by drunk driving or other accidents. 'People don't think they need a safer alternative. But the status quo is not acceptable,' Mawakana says. After several years of testing and iterating, Waymo first began offering fully autonomous rides to the public in October 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. (The city has attracted several driverless companies due to its wide lanes, separated pedestrian walkways, and mostly snow-less weather.) At first, many community members reacted with skepticism or outright anger. Reports of strange but harmless incidents piled up, including Waymos stopping unexpectedly in the middle of the road. But gradually, Waymo's technology improved, and the community grew accustomed to their presence on the streets. Converts included Mayor Kate Gallego, who tells TIME that the city has seen lower tailpipe emissions and more drivers following the speed limits since Waymo arrived. Wamyo's staff has now grown to 2,500 employees, and its fleet to over 1,500 cars. In San Francisco, Waymo cars have become tourist attractions, with visitors taking the cars up the iconic winding Lombard Street. The prices of individual rides are variable, but often competitive with that of Uber or Lyft. While social media users have laughed at cringeworthy moments—like a flock honking at each other in a parking lot—those incidents were ultimately just that: laughable, but not dangerous. __________________________________________ Driverless cars sound terrifying at first blush. But there are several reasons why they make theoretically safer drivers than humans. While humans have blind spots and fallible attention, Waymos ingest visual and spatial information through a slew of cameras and sensors. Radar allows the vehicle to see clearly through fog or snow. LIDAR, 360-degree laser-based spatial sensors, detect other cars in the dead of night and outside of the reach of a car's headlights. Whenever Waymo enters a city, it begins a detailed custom mapping process, ingesting data like lane markers and curb heights. Each car on the road then provides real-time updates about new construction zones or road closures. All of this information is held on a powerful computer in the car's trunk—the contents of which are uploaded and used to improve the Waymo driver. In January, I took Waymos around Austin, closely watching a screen on each console that showed real-time digital representations of buildings, trees, pedestrians and even dogs passing by. One afternoon, I tested a car's reflexes jumping out in front of it on an empty street (do not try this at home, kids); It immediately ground to a halt. While in the car, I tested the 'assistance' button, which refers passengers to a support team—and someone picked up immediately. Once the novelty wore off, riding around in Waymos felt shockingly uninteresting. The cars drove cautiously but competently; though their tendency to drive just above the speed limit sometimes created long lines behind them. Still, the cars occasionally showed welcome spurts of defensive driving. One Waymo, while navigating a one-lane cramped downtown street, sped up in order to seize a gap in parked cars before an oncoming car could beat it to the spot. Another, when needing to take a left-hand turn, cranked the wheel hard and flew through the intersection before a rush of cars arrived; I would have waited for the next light. Even some professional drivers grudgingly admit that Waymo cars drive pretty well. 'I love the way they drive: I think they drive better than me,' says Sergio Avedian, a Los Angeles-based Uber driver and a senior contributor for the blog The Rideshare Guy. 'People have seen it evolve and now overwhelmingly love it,' says Ryan Johnson, a Tempe-based real estate developer. 'Other drivers even think that Waymo makes other drivers drive safer.' While Waymo earns money every ride, perhaps even more valuable is the data it ingests—about handling merging, entering crowded parking lots, or avoiding road closures—all of which train the system to make it more robust. (A spokesperson said that the data is not shared with Google Maps.) 'We're driving two million miles a week, which is more than most humans will drive in their lifetime,' says Matthew Schwall, Waymo's director of safety and incident management. Whenever unusual or dangerous situations occur, his team studies them closely, running simulations and tweaking variables so all Waymo cars can better navigate future crises. Waymos also avoid many of humanity's worst traits when it comes to driving. We tire; we check our phones; we fly into road rage; we drive drunk. These flaws contribute to 40,000 U.S. roadway deaths every year—a number that most of society has come to ignore or sweep aside. 'There have been many situations where I have been intentionally harassed or carelessly mistreated by human drivers with emotions and entitlements,' says Andre Rouhani, a PhD student in Tempe, who often rides to class on his bicycle. He says he feels much safer with more Waymos on the road.
Newsweek
17 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Freedom Caucus Members: President Trump Is Right About the 'Green New Scam'
When the American people elected a new House majority, they sent a clear message: end reckless spending, restore energy dominance, secure the border, and put working families—not climate lobbyists—first. That's exactly why the House passed the "Big Beautiful Bill," a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at cutting waste, securing the southern border, and putting America back on a path of prosperity. But while the bill does many things right, there's still a major problem lurking in the Senate's watered-down version: what President Donald Trump has called the "Green New Scam"—formally known as the so-called Inflation Reduction Act's green energy subsidies. As President Trump posted last weekend, "I HATE 'GREEN TAX CREDITS' IN THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. They are largely a giant SCAM." Let's be clear: this isn't about protecting our environment. It's about protecting the swamp in D.C. by repeating the mistakes of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA was never a serious plan to reduce inflation. It was a $1 trillion special interest giveaway designed to bankroll the radical climate agenda of the far Left. And now, that same agenda is being protected by entrenched lobbyists and special interests who've gotten rich off of taxpayer-funded subsidies for unproven, unreliable, and unaffordable energy schemes. The "Green New Scam" is a Trojan horse. It promised clean energy but delivered dependence—on fragile grids, on China, and on a bureaucratic elite that's more interested in virtue signaling than producing power. Buried inside the IRA are hundreds of billions in subsidies for electric vehicles, wind and solar projects, and "green manufacturing" boondoggles. And who benefits? Not the farmer watching his energy bills spike. Not the single mom trying to fill her gas tank. No, the winners are the ESG investors and the Communist Party of China—which dominates the critical mineral supply chains these technologies rely on. While Americans suffer from high utility costs and rolling blackouts, the green energy complex is thriving on our dime. And now, the Senate wants to keep this game going. Their version of the Big Beautiful Bill preserves too much of the "Green New Scam"—and that's unacceptable. These subsidies aren't just wasteful—they're dangerous. They distort electricity markets, with subsidized solar and wind projects taking away vital operating revenue from reliable baseload power like natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy. They incentivize utilities to chase federal subsidies rather than build stable grids. They leave our nation vulnerable to supply chain shocks and foreign manipulation. And they funnel billions into pet projects that are more about politics than power generation. Worse yet, they represent the very worst of Washington insider influence. Dozens of D.C. lobbying firms have flooded congressional offices with promises of "investment" and "jobs"—investments and jobs that need to be subsidized because they are not creating real value—if we just keep the taxpayer dollars flowing. WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) (2nd-R), accompanied by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) (L), Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) (2nd-L), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) (3rd-L), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO)... WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) (2nd-R), accompanied by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) (L), Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) (2nd-L), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) (3rd-L), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) (4th-L), and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) (R), speaks about the ongoing negotiations between House leadership, the White House and the House Freedom Caucus on the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. MoreIt doesn't have to be this way. We can protect our environment without bankrupting the middle class. We can pursue innovation without handing power to unelected bureaucrats. We can invest in the future without abandoning common sense. But first, we need to restore sanity to our energy policy. The House version of the Big Beautiful Bill was not perfect and did not fulfill President Trump's firm promise to entirely end the "Green New Scam." However, thanks to the members of the House Freedom Caucus, we secured massive improvements and made real progress. We clawed back billions in wasteful subsidies. Most importantly, we created a real termination program during the Trump administration for grid-destroying solar and wind subsidies. Since 1992, Congress has voted to "phase out" the Production Tax Credit for wind projects, yet it's never happened because any "phase out" always gets reversed by another session of Congress before it takes effect. The House version put an end to this production tax credit scheme for wind and solar, yet the Senate stripped that repeal language out. If the wind and solar subsidized projects don't end during President Trump's term of office, they won't end at all. Let us be clear. The Senate cannot weaken the House's cuts to the IRA subsidies. Instead, it should push to strengthen them—especially if the Senate is going to reduce savings in other areas. Ending the Inflation Reduction Act's green energy carve outs isn't a partisan issue—it's a patriotic one. It's about putting America first, rejecting the D.C. swamp's grip on our future, and ensuring our nation remains strong, independent, and free. The American people didn't vote for more green handouts. They voted to stop the madness. It's time to finish the job. Congressmen Andy Harris, M.D., (MD-01) Chip Roy (TX-21), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Josh Brecheen (OK-02), Keith Self (TX-03), Tom Tiffany (WI-07), and Congresswoman Mary Miller (IL-05) are members of the House Freedom Caucus. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Time Magazine
17 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Iran Threatens to Attack More U.S. Military Bases
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that Iran would respond to any further U.S. attacks by targeting American military bases in the Middle East, while declaring what he described as a "total victory" over Israel. 'The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region,' Khamenei said during his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached to end the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel. On Monday, Tehran launched 19 ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base, a U.S. airbase in Qatar, in response to an American attack on three nuclear program sites inside Iran. All but one of the missiles were intercepted by air defenses, and no American or Qatari personnel were reported injured in the attack. 'Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,' the Ayatollah warned, adding that Iran has 'access to key U.S. centers in the region.' The Iranian strike followed a major U.S. military operation on June 21, in which American forces targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump later claimed the attacks 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capability. However, leaked U.S. intelligence suggests that the damage to Iran's nuclear program may not be as severe as Trump has alluded. CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday that the sites had been 'severely damaged' by the strikes, short of the damage described by the President. Khamenei also criticized President Trump's call for the Islamic Republic's 'unconditional surrender', posted on TruthSocial on June 17, calling it "unacceptable and illogical." Earlier in the conflict, Trump had suggested the possibility of regime change in Iran. 'If the current Iranian Regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn't there be a regime change???' he said. But on Tuesday, en route to the NATO Summit, Trump appeared to backtrack. 'I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,' he told reporters onboard Air Force One. The conflict began after Israel attacked military and nuclear facilities across Iran on June 13, killing key military and scientific personnel. After the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Operation Rising Lion as an attack to 'roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival' and that 'the goal of Israel's operation is to prevent the nuclear and ballistic missile threat of the Islamic regime.' Khamenei told viewers on Thursday that the U.S. had only intervened because 'if it didn't, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed,' claiming that Israel 'was practically knocked out and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic.' During the almost two week-long conflict, 974 Iranians were killed in Israeli missile strikes, including 387 civilians and 268 military personnel, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. In Israel, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed a total of 28 people killed as a result of Iranian missile strikes.
