California Senate passes bill for self-driving cars

A bill that would allow self-driving cars on California's roads has passed the California Senate.

The bill, SB1298, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), establishes guidelines for "autonomous vehicles" to be tested and operated in California. The bill now goes to the Assembly for consideration next month.

Tech giant Google Inc., Caltech and other organizations have been working to develop such vehicles, which use radar, video cameras and lasers to navigate roads and stay safe in traffic without human assistance. Google Inc. has said that computer-controlled cars should eventually drive more safely than humans.

Padilla said his bill passed Monday without objection.

A number of lawmakers test drove Google's prototype autonomous Prius and "came away convinced that fostering this technology is the right direction for California," he said.

"Human error is the cause of almost every accident on the road today. If autonomous technology can reduce the number of accidents, then we also reduce the number of injuries and fatalities on California's roads," Padilla said. "For me this is a matter of safety."

Padilla added that he believes self-driving cars also will improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles, reduce emissions and enable cars to talk to one another to improve traffic flow.

Self-driving cars must legally have a person at the wheel, ready to assume control if anything goes wrong.

The bill does the following:

?Sets up safety and performance standards for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on California's public roads;

?Allows for the operation of autonomous vehicles on California's public roads by a licensed driver;

?Requires that an autonomous vehicle meets all applicable safety standards and performance requirements in state and federal law;

?Allows the Highway Patrol, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to recommend to the Legislature additional requirements for the safe operation of such vehicles on California's roads.

Last year, similar legislation was signed into law in Nevada. In addition, Arizona, Hawaii, Florida and Oklahoma are considering autonomous-vehicle legislation.

jerry.hirsch@latimes.com

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy kaye stevens michael jordan engaged kid cudi notre dame football breedlove florida state football

Winter football looking up in Australia - bring it on!

Winter football looking up in Australia - bring it on!

I didn't watch the State of Origin I rarely do.

?I've never watched the Brumbies despite being a passionate Canberran.? Rugby just doesn't do it for me.

?Football is my sport - my thing. So it is great relief that Aussie football returns after what seems like a huge break - well two weeks since the last ACL games.

?And better still this one is crucial.

Adelaide United at home to Josh Kennedy's Nagoya Grampus at Hindmarsh - Winner takes all and flies through to the next round.

The loser - well that's it.

?This is the type of football game I particularly love. Everything on the line. I'll be cheering long and loud for the Aussies and hope for once Josh Kennedy - if he plays - is on the losing side.

And then it's Denmark, and the real stuff begins. Other sports are seemingly well followed in Australia so they don't need me.

Asian Champions League followed by World Cup Qualifiers. Bring it on!

yeardley love nba all star reserves rock center christine christine will ferrell double fine adventure

Stunning Information on Connecticut Personal Trainer | IT Clock Work

A customer could desire to lose his excess weight that?s why a new fitness goal is ensured achievable when you join a Connecticut weight loss program. Because of this, a trainer is developing a directory of real health help that?s useful to customers. This experienced health coach offers healthy and balanced strategies to people who want to slim down effectively. He can easily deal with people of different bodily forms, despite their life?s standing. A concerned advisor assists you to keep away from undesirable inadequate diets and other foodstuff that promise fast weight loss without doing anything. He makes you driven and develops changes in your lifestyle that lasts for a long period of time. For example, while he gets you started by having an inflexible program, he will also help you go on with that program also after your work out duration is done. When working on your very own, the ideas from a Connecticut personal trainer are proven to be as efficient as the work out you already have.

The charge for a Connecticut personal trainer is all your cash?s worth. You?re guaranteed to feel happy for each session when you have your exclusive health and fitness coach. Specialized fitness instructors have actually achieved learning and they are instructed to partner with every kind of person. If you have no self-discipline and you?re lazy, tired and unenthusiastic, the trainer is there to push you merely to achieve your physical fitness objectives. Connecticut fat burning plan ensures the customer is in the hands of a professional trainer who has the right talents and experience. If you don?t choose a group of folks in a work out, then a personal trainer comes to your rescue. Determining that to get must be based upon the trainer?s checked record in men?s and women?s health and fitness. Lastly, the secret for the best fat burning result is partnering with an expert trainer. His proficiency and skills are counted on by many? good enough to aid you achieve that right body.

The rate for a Connecticut personal trainer is all your cash?s worth. You?re guaranteed to feel happy for each session when you have your exclusive physical fitness coach. Specialized fitness instructors have obtained learning and they are trained to companion by having every kind of individual. If you have no self-discipline and you?re lazy, lethargic and uninterested, the trainer is there to push you just to achieve your fitness objectives. Connecticut weight loss plan makes certain the client is in the hands of a reliable trainer that possesses the ideal skills and experience. If you don?t choose a group of folks in a work out, then a personal trainer comes to your rescue. Choosing that to get ought to be based on the trainer?s tested record in men?s and lady?s health and fitness. Finally, the secret for the best fat burning result is partnering by having an expert trainer. His proficiency and abilities are relied on by many? good enough to aid you achieve that excellent body.

If you live on Connecticut, then you should be aware that you are in a really privilege and marvelous city. Connecticut is a state in the region of New England that?s located at the northeastern United States. The city is at an interesting strategic location which can provide you with a quick access into other well established cities of the United States. Massachusetts is to the north, Rhode Island to the east, and New York into the southwest. The city of Connecticut is well-known simply because of various things including their schools, colleges, universities, museums and galleries, ports, landmarks, sightseeing attractions, and many others. As a way for you to take pleasure in your stay in Connecticut, you should have an excellent medical condition. One method to achieve this is to employ a Connecticut personal trainer. Survey shows that people who have a personal trainer obtain a higher success rate as opposed to those people who just rely on themselves. It?s an important subject that anyone that is pondering to accomplish Connecticut weight loss should really contemplate upon. A personal trainer, combined with the personal conviction and proper mindset, will the ultimate way into wellness and health. Just go to this http://www.fitnessbydesignct.com/ site for some brilliant facts!

Share and Enjoy

solar storm solar flares spanx aurora borealis gcb mary j blige rush limbaugh

First video taken with Google Glasses shared

10 hrs.

InnovationNewsDaily Staff

Google has publicly unveiled new photos and the first video from the real view of their augmented reality glasses prototype. The images show what the wearer sees while reading a newspaper, catching a football in the backyard and helping a smiling child play on the jungle gym.

Such views don't necessarily represent anything people haven't seen before with head-mounted portable cameras. But they do hint at how Google Glasses could enable many people beyond geeky life-casters to capture a diverse array of moments in their lives ? the video shows the bouncy viewpoint of the Google Glasses wearer doing flips on a trampoline.

Google tech lead Max Braun showed off the photos and video at the Google + Photographer's Conference on May 23.

The Internet search giant has yet to show off real images or photos of how the glasses could seamlessly integrate virtual information with what a person sees in the real world. Its earlier unveiling of "Project Glass" included a concept video that imagined a wearer getting social calendar reminders and map directions in his field of view.

Still, many members of the public still seem enthusiastic about just having a pair of glasses with a small camera attached. One of the top comments on the YouTube video of the trampoline jumping simply stated "Shut up and take my money!"

The most popular comment of all had a perhaps tongue-in-cheek suggestion for using the Google Glasses ? "Good for POV [point-of-view] porn."

Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

Copyright 2012 InnovationNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

james arthur ray elisabeth shue avastin avastin robert wagner robert wagner live with regis and kelly

Calif. activist guilty in Vietnamese singer attack

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

weather st louis faceoff kings island red hot chili peppers tour orange juice photos doomsday clock

Commerce and Insurance | Online Library of Law and Liberty

May 24, 2012

Michael S. Greve / Allgeyer v. Louisiana, Paul v. Virginia, South-Eastern Underwriters / 0 Comments

The Ramsey-Rappaport exchange on the ?interstate commerce? nature of insurance raises issues that have played a huge role in American constitutional and economic history. In the hope that the background may be helpful or at least mildly intriguing:

In Paul v. Virginia (1869), the Supreme Court (per Justice Field, a friend of interstate commerce but, like all the legal formalists of the time, a vehement foe of corporations) held that the sale or purchase of insurance could not ever constitute interstate commerce. The sale or purchase agreement, he noted, had to be tied to the place of execution, meaning state law must govern. This meant in practice that states could wall off domestic insurers against out-of-state competition by means of protectionist and discriminatory legislation. One might think that the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV would forbid that, but no dice: corporations, the Court had previously held, aren?t ?persons? for the purposes of Article IV (although they are persons for purposes of diversity jurisdiction).

In an intriguing irony, Paul gave rise to two bodies of doctrine that many originalists find deeply suspect. The first is the dormant Commerce Clause. If the P&I Clause doesn?t protect the dominant actors in interstate commerce, the thinking went, there has to be some other way to protect commerce against parochial state interference, and the dormant Commerce Clause (that is, the notion that the Commerce Clause, of its own force, prohibits certain state interferences even in the absence of a federal statute) was that doctrine: it doesn?t speak of ?persons? and so has to be available to all. Obviously, the dCC maneuver wasn?t available to insurers under the direct holding of Paul. But it became available to a slew of other industries: railroads and telegraphs at first, then manufacturers.

As for insurers, they continued to run up against Paul to no avail. In 1897, they eventually found a partial remedy: discriminatory state legislation, the Supreme Court held, interfered with the consumer?s right to purchase out-of-state products (Allgeyer v. Louisiana). So was born the substantive due process doctrine.

In 1944, after that doctrine had died, the Supreme Court ruled that insurance was interstate commerce after all: South-Eastern Underwriters. However, that inveterate protector of interstate commerce, the United States Congress, promptly overruled the decision by means of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which broadly immunizes state insurance regulation from dormant Commerce Clause review. Without that protection, the thinking went, interstate competition might break out in insurance, and we can?t have that. This arrangement has lasted to this day, with an exemption for ERISA-covered plans ?relating to? health insurance.

Note the underlying, little recognized irony: if (like many originalists) you think there is no dormant Commerce Clause, you pay the price of a hopelessly balkanized economy. (A Constitution without that construct is a McCarran-Ferguson Act writ large.) The same result follows if (like most conservative-libertarians) you believe in a very limited affirmative Commerce Clause: because the dormant Commerce Clause can?t be broader than the affirmative Commerce Clause, you constrict the Court?s ability to police state conduct.

The Upside-Down Constitution contains a more extended account of these issues.

sag award winners girl scout cookies screen actors guild royal rumble results sag awards 2012 kyra sedgwick honor killings

Just How Big Was the Biggest Earthquake?

Image: Unknown, Courtesy of NOAA

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

Read More??

This week marks the anniversary of the largest earthquake ever recorded ? a magnitude-9.5 earthquake that ripped along the coast of southern Chile on May 22, 1960.

The colossal quake and the powerful tsunami that followed killed more than 1,400 people and left 2 million homeless in Chile. And its devastation reached far beyond South America.

The tsunami swept across the Pacific Ocean, wreaking havoc in Hawaii, the Philippines and Japan; a day after the earthquake, walls of water up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) high rushed ashore at Honshu, Japan's main island, destroying 1,600 homes and killing 138 people.

The colossal quake was what is known as a megathrust earthquake. These giant quakes, the most powerful quakes the planet is capable of unleashing, occur along subduction zones, where one tectonic plate dives beneath another. [The 10 Biggest Earthquakes in History]

In this case, the quake was caused when a 620-mile-long (1,000 kilometers) stretch of the Nazca plate, an oceanic plate that forms a large swath of the Pacific Ocean floor, lurched deeper beneath the South American plate, producing the only 9.5-magnitude quake on record.

So just how big is a 9.5? An earthquake magnitude video, created with an animation from Nathan Becker, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, offers a simple way to understand the vast differences between one magnitude and the next.

Essentially, each successive magnitude is 33 times larger than the last. That means a magnitude-8.0 earthquake is 33 times stronger than a 7.0, and a magnitude-9.0 earthquake is 1,089 (33 x 33) times more powerful than a 7.0 ? the energy ramps up fast.

Magnitude measures
Although figuring out an earthquake's power requires lots of complicated math and lots of data, magnitude boils down to three basic factors: area, distance and friction.

"It's about the physical properties of the fault," said Paul Earle, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

To get the magnitude, Earle told OurAmazingPlanet, you multiply the area of the fault that slipped ? how much real estate moved ? by the distance it moved and by the amount of friction on the fault.

school closings top chef texas rail gun harrisburg great pacific garbage patch ben affleck and jennifer garner google privacy changes