Tesla recall: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has disclosed that Tesla is recalling about two million of its vehicles in the wake of a reported 956 accidents believed to have been caused by the Autosteer system. Autosteer is supposed to do what its name implies, automatically steer the car. The federal regulators said that drivers cannot always tell when the system is engaged or has disengaged on its own. The federal regulators say that Tesla’s claims that it’s safer to allow the car to drive itself rather than be driven by a human do not reflect reality.
Climate conference: The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai closed today with an agreement that the U.N. says signals the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. The nearly 200 countries agreed that there needs to be a swift, just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. However, the agreement did not specify when the shift away from fossil fuels needs to be accomplished nor did it specify how to do it. U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said, “Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.”
Flooding tunnels: The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel has started pumping seawater into Hamas tunnels in Gaza. Flooding the tunnels is designed to not only force out anyone hiding inside of them but to also render them useless in the future. When asked about it yesterday, President Biden said that there are assertions being made that there are no hostages in the tunnels, but there isn’t enough information to be sure all hostages are out of them.
Andre Braugher dies: Actor Andre Braugher has died in Los Angeles at age 61. He won an Emmy in 1998 for his role in the TV series “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He also is known for appearing on the comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” The cause of death was not reported.
DeSantis’ records: The Washington Post is suing the state of Florida in an effort to obtain travel records for Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Post alleges that an exception to state law governing release of public records that was put into effect by DeSantis is unconstitutional. DeSantis acted to make his travel records secret. Two state employees who advocated for release of the records were pushed out of their jobs.
Missile attacks: Russian missiles hit a children’s hospital and an apartment building in Kyiv today. At least 50 people were reported injured. Russia has been intensifying its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. President Biden, while meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House yesterday, warned that if Republicans continue blocking more U.S. aid to Ukraine they’ll be handing over the country to Vladimir Putin.
National Film Registry titles announced: The Library of Congress unveiled its annual list of 25 movies to be added to the National Film Registry of films that are determined to be culturally, historically or aesthetically important. This year’s list spans from the 1921 Kodak educational film “A Movie Trip Through Filmland” through the 2013 Academy Award-winning “12 Years a Slave.” Other films added to the Registry are the classics “Dinner at Eight” (1933), “Lady and the Tramp” (1955), “Fame” (1980), “Home Alone” (1990), “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) and “Apollo 13” (1995).
Cover photo courtesy of Walt Disney Co.
