Lawrence: Musk vs. Trump. Trump's silence on Musk's budget bills attacks proves who's afraid of whom
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30 minutes ago
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Elon Musk's private jet lands in Bella Bella on B.C.'s central coast over the weekend
The world's richest man flew into Bella Bella on Saturday before hopping in a helicopter believed to be bound for a private resort complex owned by media heir James Murdoch near Bella Coola. Elon Musk's private jet arrived in Vancouver on Friday, according to the account on social media platform Bluesky, after departing San Jose, California earlier in the day. On Saturday, Musk and one of his sons landed by plane at a small airport just north of Bella Bella, a small First Nations fishing community on B.C.'s central coast. They then boarded a helicopter likely en route to Nascall Bay where Murdoch — who is also a board member of Tesla — owns a large property that includes the Nascall Hot Springs. Nascall Bay is 50km northwest of Bella Coola. A photo of Musk disembarking a helicopter on Monday with his son in Bella Bella was provided to the CBC, which reported the event. While Musk's net worth of US$413 billion makes him the richest man in the world, Murdoch and his family check in on the list at No. 90 with a net worth of US$24 billion. According to Musk's private jet left Vancouver on Monday afternoon. While Musk is well-known to be South African, he also holds Canadian citizenship through his mother, Regina-born Maye Musk, and spent time in both Saskatchewan and Vancouver as a youth. Vancouver-born musician Grimes has three children with Musk. jjadams@ dcarrigg@ Related Vancouver singer Grimes urges Musk on X to stop ignoring her about child's 'medical crisis': Report It really seems like Vancouver's Grimes is pregnant with Elon Musk's baby
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Autonomous Vehicles Are Tangled Up In Red Tape, But There's No One Left To Cut It
As robotaxis come for a city near you, tech and car companies are looking for guidance on how to navigate a thicket of federal and state regulations on automated vehicle driving. There's only one problem: there's almost nobody left to offer that guidance. And that's because one very particular tech and car CEO fired them all, apparently thinking this would cut all the red tape in his way. Instead, he's gotten tangled in it, along with everyone else. As Politico details in a report, the Office of Automation Safety was set up by the Biden administration in order to regulate how autonomous vehicles would integrate onto public roads. Partly, that means setting and enforcing safety standards. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has run afoul of government oversight before, doesn't seem to have liked that idea, which is likely why his DOGE initiative slashed staff at the OAS by nearly half. No one to stop Tesla now, right? Well, turns out, that office was also meant to flash green lights, not just red ones. Because without someone setting federal standards for what AVs can and can't do, it becomes difficult for a company to actually put them on the road. In other words, DOGE cut the people who cut the red tape. Oops. Read more: These Are The Most Forgettable Cars Rules Of The Road, Circa Last Century The current regulatory framework was created in the 20th century, when cars were introduced to the world. For the U.S., the general idea was that the federal government, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration, would determine the criteria for what a car needed to have to drive on public roads. This is codified as the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. By contrast, state governments would individually determine who should actually get behind the wheel, issuing driver's licenses and setting driving laws. So what happens when the car is the driver? That's never actually been spelled out before. To really get the industry moving forward, it needs the government to help it out with the legal snarls. That was part of the Office of Automation Safety's job. It could also offer exemptions for the federal safety standards, literally making things easier for thos companies. Instead, after DOGE's cuts, it appears that most of the rest of the office has left, leaving the place empty. That has slowed the pace of exemptions to a crawl, and left the AV industry in the lurch for any assistance with the legal quandaries. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did loosen safety requirements for AVs back in April, but that doesn't seem to have been enough. So now, a Senate Appropriations Committee report "highly encourages the Department [of Transportation] to prioritize hiring" in the OAS. Firing everyone, just to quietly admit you need to rehire them later? Surely not. Such things never happen. In any case, let's hope the government can fill up that office again, both for our safety and so that robotaxis can navigate the legal mazes a little better than they navigate the urban ones. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Former Iowa administrator Adam Steen announces GOP campaign for governor
Adam Steen, former Iowa director of Administrative Services, was joined by his sons, Maverick and Ryker and his wife Kasey Steen, as announced he was running for governor Aug. 19, 2025 at Berean Church in Pleasant Hill. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Republican Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, announced his campaign for governor Tuesday, labeling himself as a 'faith guy' in the race to succeed Gov. Kim Reynolds. Steen held a campaign kickoff event Tuesday at Berean Church in Pleasant Hill, starting with a musical performance from Nathan Thomas and the A17 worship band and an introduction from Pastor Gary Pilcher. As he introduced himself, Steen said there had been some speculation online about what type of candidate he would be. 'Let me tell you, from my own lips, who I am: I am the faith guy,' Steen said. 'I'm a Jesus guy. I'm a Make America Great Again guy. I'm a common-sense policy, America first, people first guy.' In addition to being a credentialed minister, Steen said some of his highest profile commitments to faith were as DAS director. The department had canceled a Satanic Temple of Iowa holiday celebration event at the Iowa Capitol in December 2024, with Steen saying the event was denied because it included 'elements that are harmful to minors.' Steen said at the campaign event he was 'the guy that stood in front of the Satanists when they blatantly targeted our children, and I'm the guy getting sued by the Satanists for protecting our children.' He also said there was another event request at the Capitol he denied, for an all-ages, family-friendly drag show. He said this planned event was not as well known, but that he believed it was the right thing to do despite being at risk of getting sued. Steen, appointed in 2021 to serve as DAS director in Reynolds' administration, said he led some of the major policies changing state government, like the government agency restructuring signed into law in 2023. Speaking with reporters, Steen said he had discussed running for the seat with Reynolds and came to a 'mutual agreement' that he would resign from his position if he ran for the office. 'Today, at 10 a.m., I walked into the governor's office and I submitted my resignation,' Steen told the crowd. 'Today I walked away from a job that I loved. I walked away from a job that I loved, so I could join the fight and defend the state that I love.' Before leading DAS, Steen was the director of business development at Syverson Strege, a financial services firm, and had previously owned a management consulting firm called 25 Connections. He also was a minor league baseball relief pitcher in 2002, playing for the Philadelphia Phillies and Batavia Muckdogs. Steen highlighted his commitment to protecting private property rights, but did not go into detail on his views about the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline projects — the subject of a contentious bill that was vetoed by Reynolds this session. 'I was working with her at this time, and I support everything that Governor Reynolds is doing,' Steen said. When asked about his views on the use of eminent domain in these projects, he said 'I'm a pro-property rights, pro-private ownership person.' Steen is the latest Republican to join the field of GOP candidates seeking to take the mantle from Reynolds after she announced she would not run for reelection in 2026. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and state Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, currently have 'exploratory' committees for governor, while Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, and former state legislator Brad Sherman have announced campaigns. Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is considered the current frontrunner to become the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Former political operative Julie Stauch and Democrat Paul Dahl are also running to become the party nominee.
