Stuck in regulatory limbo, the self-driving-vehicle developer is encouraging residents of Washington, DC, to message public officials to help get its robotaxis onto roads. Waymo needs some help, according to an email message the self-driving developer sent to residents of Washington, DC, on Thursday. For more than a year, Waymo has been pushing city officials to pass new regulations allowing its robotaxis to operate in the district. So far, self-driving cars can test in the city with humans behind the wheel, but cannot operate in driver-free mode. The Alphabet subsidiary--and its lobbyists--have asked local lawmakers, including Mayor Muriel Bower and members of the city council, to create new rules allowing the tech to go truly driverless on its public roads.

The company's robotaxi service is supposed to launch in the US capital this year. But while service rollouts have been relatively smooth in other cities, DC's rules have made things tricky. Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that develops self-driving vehicle tech, has picked up speed. The company now operates robotaxis in six cities and has announced plans to launch in a dozen others this year. It j ust raised $16 billion in a new round of funding and says it has served over 20 million rides since the company launched its service in 2020, 14 million of them in 2025 alone.

Silicon Valley's battle against AI regulation is already shaping the next US election cycle. Silicon Valley is already pouring tens of millions of dollars into the midterm elections taking place across the US in 2026, as the tech industry's war over AI regulation moves decisively into American politics. Technology executives, investors, and companies tied to the AI boom are funding a new network of AI-focused super PACS, which is poised to make AI a major issue in this year's state and federal elections races. The election spending marks a sharp escalation of the AI regulation debate that has divided Silicon Valley for years. In the absence of federal action, state lawmakers in New York, California, and Colorado have passed laws in the past year requiring large AI developers to disclose safety practices and assess risks such as algorithmic discrimination.

The final language of the annual bill that funds the US military is in. It removes provisions that would have helped ensure service members' ability to fix their own equipment. US lawmakers have removed provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026 that would have ensured military members' right to repair their own equipment. The final language of the NDAA was shared by the House Armed Services Committee on Sunday, after weeks of delays pushed the annual funding bill to the end of the year. Among a host of other language changes made as part of reconciling different versions of the legislation drafted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, two provisions focused on the right to repair--Section 836 of the Senate bill and Section 863 of the House bill--have both been removed.

Is the fall of Pokrovsk inevitable? Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Russian drones struck two central districts - Slobidskyi and Osnovyansk - in Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, injuring five people in an apartment building and triggering a fire, authorities said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 22 residents had been evacuated from one section of the damaged apartment building while another drone struck an area outside a medical facility, injuring a doctor and damaging the building and nearby cars. The Kharkiv region's governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said 11 drones were deployed in the attack and seven people were injured in total.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. A teenager demonstrates Character.AI, an artificial intelligence chatbot platform that allows users to chat with popular characters. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Gov. Gavin Newsom has until mid-October to decide whether to sign AI chatbot safety bills into law but faces opposition from tech companies.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Loud TV commercials drive viewers crazy. State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) wrote Senate Bill 576 to lower the volume on streaming-service ads. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

What do we know about alleged Trump signature on Epstein letter? A birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein from 2003, allegedly signed by Donald Trump, has been released by US lawmakers. The White House has said, the president did not write this letter, he did not sign this letter, but Democrats believe it is authentic. There has been a particular focus on the signature - BBC Verify's Jake Horton has been examining it, with the help of handwriting experts. The BBC's Tom Bateman spoke with Patrick Scallen who lives near the Annunciation Church and ran towards the sound of gunfire.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, shown in Sacramento last year, painted a portrait of a state under siege by the federal government in his written State of the State address Tuesday. Voice comes from the use of AI. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Gov. Gavin Newsom portrayed California as'menaced' by the Trump administration while emphasizing the state's resilience in responding to devastating wildfires.