Toyota, Audi to show off self-driving cars at CES

Toyota's prototype Lexus LS 600h.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET)

Get ready to see more cars on the road without a driver behind the wheel.

Toyota and Audi will demonstrate autonomous-driving features next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Japanese automaker posted a five-second preview video that shows one of its luxury brand Lexus vehicles loaded with various sensor and carrying the caption, "Lexus advanced active safety research vehicle is leading the industry into a new automated era."

An Audi representative also told the Journal that it would be demonstrating similar capabilities at the show, including the ability to locate a parking spot and self-park without a human behind the wheel.

Like the autonomous research
cars Google has been testing since 2009, Toyota's prototype Lexus LS 600h sports what appears to be a roof-mounted laser used to guide the vehicle. It also features radar and camera equipment used to navigate streets without a driver behind the wheel.

These driverless cars are capable of driving to specific locations based on visual indicators, artificial intelligence software, GPS, and a range of sensors. Google, which hired a team of robotics experts to develop the system, has logged more than 300,000 miles on private test tracks.

Nevada, which enacted legislation in 2011 that permits autonomous vehicles on the public roads, issued Google the first license for driverless cars last year -- the first state to issue such a permit.

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Pictures We Love: Best of 2012

Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/AP

Powder-splattered, and powder-splattering, runners cross the finish line of The Color Run 5K in Irvine, California, on April 22. Each kilometer (0.6 mile) of the event features a color-pelting station dedicated to a single hue, culminating in the Pollock-esque riot at kilometer 5.

The "magical color dust" is completely safe, organizers say, though they admit it's "surprisingly high in calories and leaves a chalky aftertaste."

See more from April 2012 >>

Why We Love It

"Vibrant color floating through the air automatically brings to mind festive Holi celebrations in India. We expect to see revelers in Mumbai but instead find a surprise in the lower third of the frame—runners in California!"—Sarah Polger, senior photo editor

"There are a lot of eye-catching photographs of the festival of Holi in India that show colored powder in midair, but this particular situation has the people all lined up in a row—making it easy to see each of their very cinematic facial expressions."—Chris Combs, news photo editor

Published January 3, 2013

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James Holmes Defense: Was He Insane?

Jan 3, 2013 5:30pm

James Holmes appears in court, Centennial, Colo., July 23, 2012. RJ Sangosti/AP Images.

ABC’s Clayton Sandell and Carol McKinley report:

A judge ruled Thursday that public defenders for accused Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes can call two unidentified witnesses at next week’s preliminary hearing to testify about the defendant’s “mental state.”

Arapahoe County, Colo. prosecutors had sought to keep the witnesses out of court, but Judge William Sylvester ruled that the now-25-year-old accused killer has a right to call the witnesses at a preliminary hearing.

The Jan. 7 preliminary hearing will essentially be a mini-trial in which prosecutors will present witness testimony and evidence to convince the judge that there is enough of a case against Holmes to proceed to a trial.

Witnesses to be called for the prosecution include the Aurora police lead detective, first responders, the Arapahoe County coroner and likely a computer forensic specialist, according to prosecution sources who declined to be identified, citing a gag order in the case.

A top priority, the prosecution sources say, will be showing that Holmes acted with premeditation when he allegedly murdered 12 people and wounded 58 on the night of July 20 during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Defense attorneys may pursue a legal strategy to show that Holmes was not in his right mind at the time of the shooting.

Holmes, who has not yet entered a plea, has been repeatedly described in court by his legal team as mentally ill. While a graduate student at the University of Colorado, he was in the care of a psychiatrist.

Prosecutors say they will also present photos, video and 911 calls during the hearing, which is expected to last all week.

It’s not clear what the two witnesses’ relationship is to the shooting, or to Holmes.

Prosecutors, Judge Sylvester’s order says, contend that “neither witness has personal knowledge of the events at the Century Aurora 16 Theater.”

Sylvester said the witnesses are non-expert “lay witnesses” who have so far chosen not to be interviewed by defense investigators but have been cooperating with law enforcement.

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Humble coin toss thrust to heart of multiverse debate

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Football: Redknapp eyes salvation after shock win at Chelsea

LONDON: Harry Redknapp believes Queens Park Rangers' shock 1-0 win at Chelsea could be the turning point in his side's season.

Redknapp, who also revealed he missed out on the chance to sign Liverpool's Joe Cole, saw his side defy the odds to produce one of the most unexpected results of the season thanks to Shaun Wright-Phillips's goal on Wednesday.

The win was only their second league victory of the season and moved Rangers level on points with second-bottom Reading, five points adrift of safety.

But the manager believes the impact of the result will be hugely significant in the context of the relegation battle and strengthen his chances of bringing in new recruits in the January transfer window.

"I had a good meeting with (the players) after the Liverpool game (QPR lost 3-0) and I think I convinced them I thought we could stay up," he said.

"You probably thought I was mad, but I didn't go home thinking we are doomed. I thought we could turn it around if we can get this lot working and get someone in the window. And tonight (Wednesday) has proved that.

"Most important, we worked hard. We grafted and if we do that until the end of the season, we will win some games. The other teams down there will be thinking: 'That's not very good.' I've been there.

"That will send shocks through everybody and we've got to make the most of that tonight."

Redknapp had attempted to sign Cole but missed out when the player opted to join his former club West Ham United instead.

"I lost a player today who I tried to sign and who would have been my first signing," said Redknapp.

"He probably looked and thought: 'Harry, I love you, but I don't think you are going to stay up.' And he's gone to the Hammers.

"I was going to take Joe. I thought he would have been good for me but it's not easy when you are down there.

"I understand why -- he's a West Ham lad and they love him. I signed him there when he was 11, so he's going back home and I wish him all the luck in the world."

Chelsea's interim manager, Rafael Benitez, blamed his side's defeat on fatigue and admitted they cannot afford further slips if they are to close the 14-point gap on leaders Manchester United.

Benitez admitted striker Fernando Torres is one of the players who needs a rest and says he hopes to have completed the signing of Newcastle United forward Demba Ba before the FA Cup tie at Southampton on Saturday.

The manager made changes to his line-up and said: "We can't carry on with the same players. We were playing the bottom of the league at home and you have to trust your players.

"The main thing is we were a bit tired and couldn't produce the pass, the intensity and the movement.

"We have to have everything almost perfect now. When you lose a game it is more difficult, but I can't be thinking about the number of points -- only the next game.

"We have the FA Cup now, then we have to think how we can get three points from every game."

And he added: "Fernando is one of the players (who is tired). You can see two or three, who have been playing too many games in the last month.

"Definitely the club is working on it (signing a new striker). If we can do the business, I hope so (before weekend)."

Benitez revealed goalkeeper Petr Cech will be out for up to three weeks with an adductor problem, but there is still no return date for skipper John Terry, who has a knee injury.

-AFP/ac

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Six states outlaw employer snooping on Facebook

Six states have officially made it illegal for employers to ask their workers for passwords to their social media accounts. As of 2013, California and Illinois have joined the ranks of Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware in passing state laws against the practice, according to Wired.

With Congress not being able to come to agreement on the Password Protection Act of 2012, individual states have taken the law into their own hands. Both California and Illinois agreed on password protection laws in 2012, but the laws didn't go into effect until yesterday.

The laws are designed to prohibit employers from requiring an employee or job applicant to provide their username and password for social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Assemblymember Nora Campos, who authored the California bill, called the law a "preemptive measure" that will offer guidelines to the accessibility of private information behind what she calls the "social media wall."

It's unclear how many employers have actually demanded access to workers' online accounts, but some cases have surfaced publicly and inspired lively debate over the past year. In one instance last April, a teacher's aide in Michigan was suspended after refusing to provide access to her Facebook account following complaints over a picture she posted.

According to Campos' office, more than 100 cases before the National Labor Relations Board in September involved employer workplace policies around social media. Facebook has also said it has experienced an increase in reports of employers seeking to gain "inappropriate access" to people's Facebook profiles or private information this past year.

While these six states now ban employer snooping on private information, all public information posted on social media accounts is still fair game.

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Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast Guard

Waves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.

The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel and the 150,000 gallons (568,000 liters) of diesel fuel and lubricants on board. The Kulluk came to rest just east of Sitkalidak Island (map), an uninhabited but ecologically and culturally rich site north of Ocean Bay, after a four-day odyssey, during which it broke free of its tow ships and its 18-member crew had to be rescued by helicopter.

The U.S. Coast Guard, state, local, and industry officials have joined in an effort involving nearly 600 people to gain control of the rig, one of two that Shell used for its landmark Arctic oil-drilling effort last summer. "This must be considered once of the largest marine-response efforts conducted in Alaska in many years," said Steve Russell, of Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation.

The 266-foot (81-meter) rig now is beached off one of the larger islands in the Kodiak archipelago, a land of forest, glaciers, and streams about 300 miles (482 kilometers) south of Anchorage. The American Land Conservancy says that Sitkalidak Island's highly irregular coastline traps abundant food sources upwelling from the central Gulf of Alaska, attracting large numbers of seabirds and marine mammals. The largest flock of common murres ever recorded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in Sitkalidak Strait, which separates the island from Kodiak. Sitkalidak also has 16 wild salmon rivers and archaeological sites tied to the Alutiiq native peoples dating back more than 7,000 years.

Shell incident commander Susan Childs said Monday night that the company's wildlife management team had started to assess the potential impact of a spill, and would be dispatched to the site when the weather permitted. She said the Kulluk's fuel tanks were in the center of the vessel, encased in heavy steel. "The Kulluk is a pretty sturdy vessel," she said. " It just remains to be seen how long it's on the shoreline and how long the weather is severe."

—Marianne Lavelle

*Shell is sponsor of National Geographic's Great Energy Challenge initiative. National Geographic maintains editorial autonomy.

Published January 2, 2013

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Tax Deal Done - but How Can Obama Sign It?

Jan 2, 2013 6:29pm

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Congress officially delivered the bill to avert the fiscal cliff to the White House this afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner’s office told ABC News.

Now the question is when will the President sign it?

The bill, passed late on New Year’s Day, expires tomorrow at 11:59 a.m. when the current session of Congress concludes. If President Obama doesn’t sign it by then, constitutionally the bill is dead.

But this evening, eighteen hours before the deadline, the President is on a golf course in Hawaii.  And the bill is in Washington at the White House.

Administration officials won’t say what they will do despite repeated inquiries from ABC News.

There seem to be two options:  1) An Air Force jet can deliver the bill to Hawaii (better leave quickly!) in time for the President to sign it before 11:59 Eastern Standard Time; or, 2) The White House can use a presidential “auto-pen.”

The simple mechanical device uses a template of the presidential signature to scrawl it on paper if activated by the White House at Obama’s direction.

But would an auto-pen – usually used to sign insignificant correspondence and photographs – pass constitutional muster?  We don’t know.  The question has never been tested by the courts.

A 2005 legal study commissioned by former President George W. Bush determined that use of the autopen is constitutional but acknowledged the possibility that its use could be challenged.  Bush never used the autopen, officials from his administration told ABC.

President Obama is only believed to have used the autopen once to sign a piece of major legislation — the 2011 extension of the Patriot Act — which reached his desk while he was on a diplomatic trip to Europe. Officials invoked national security concerns to justify the move.

Use of the autopen has been controversial.  Conservative groups alleged last summer that Obama used an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of Navy SEALs killed in a Chinook crash in Afghanistan — a charge the White House disputed flatly as false.

In 2004, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was criticized for using an autopen to sign condolence letters to the families of fallen troops.

And in 1992 then-Vice President Dan Quayle even got into some hot water over his use of the autopen on official correspondence during an appearance on “This Week with David Brinkley.” More HERE.

ABC News’ Ann Compton and Devin Dwyer contributed reporting.

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In-depth 2012: The best long reads of the year

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"

Dig deeper, look closer and think harder – these are the goals of New Scientist's in-depth articles. Each one is perfect for saving in your favourite read-it-later app and curling up in front of a glowing tablet for a good long read.

These are our editors' picks of our best features of the year, and all are prime examples of the amazing breadth of big ideas that were ripe for the tackling in 2012. When you have finished digesting these readable meals, visit our in-depth articles archive if you're hungry for more.

Richard Webb: "You might not have heard of the algorithm that runs the world." I certainly hadn't, or that its mathematical foundations are starting to look a little wobbly. An eye-opening examination of how seemingly abstruse mathematics is in fact deeply embedded in modern life: "The algorithm that runs the world"

Sally Adee: Gastric bypass surgery is the best surgery you're not getting, said Dr Oz on his popular medical advice show in the US. Because of enthusiasm from people like him, this operation has become massively popular – but by whimsically hacking at our stomach, might we might be messing with a system far more complicated than anyone really understands? Samantha Murphy had the surgery and began to realise that losing 45 kilograms could come with some profound neurological trade-offs: "Change your stomach, change your brain"

Michael Le Page: Nowadays most people either haven't heard of the 1970 book The Limits to Growth, or believe – wrongly – that the research it was based on has been discredited. But the main message of Limits is perhaps more relevant than ever – that a delayed response to mounting environmental problems leads to catastrophe further down the line: "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse"

Richard Fisher: This is a simple story about a scientific mystery. Strange rumbles, whistles and blasts have been reported all over the world for centuries. In New York state, they are called "Seneca guns"; in the Italian Apennines they are described as brontidi, which means thunder-like; in Japan they are yan; and along the coast of Belgium they are called mistpouffers – or fog belches. Yet the cause is often unexplained – what on Earth could be behind them? "Mystery booms: The source of a worldwide sonic enigma"

Valerie Jamieson: It's been a sensational year for particle physics, but the Higgs boson isn't the only fascinating particle in town. Meet 11 more particles that change our understanding of the subatomic world: "11 particles for 11 physics puzzles"

David Robson: What is the secret of the legendary "flow state" that seems to mark out genius in everyone from piano virtuosos to tennis champions? With the latest brain stimulation techniques, it may soon be within everyone's reach, and Sally Adee writes with panache as she describes her own use of the technology during a terrifying marksmanship training session. This has everything I want to read in a story – drama, a revolutionary idea and some practical advice for anyone to try at home: "Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus"

Graham Lawton: The writer of this article, Christopher Kemp, is a self-confessed lover of marginalia – nooks and crannies of science that are often overlooked. But as this beautifully written story reveals, those nooks and crannies often contain rich and fascinating material. Material, in fact, like ambergris: "Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale's gut"

Ben Crystall: Many people may remember the wonder material Starlite from an episode of BBC TV's Tomorrow's World – it seemed to have a miraculous ability to withstand fire and heat. So what happened to it? In this feature Richard Fisher uncovers the strange tale of Starlite and its eccentric inventor Maurice Ward, and on the way reveals fascinating details about Ward and his creation. And though Ward is dead, the story may not be over – it now looks like Starlite could get a second chance… "The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?"

Clare Wilson: I enjoyed working on this feature the most this year because to me it truly represents the future of medicine. New Scientist often predicts that some new medicine or technology will be available in five years' time. When it comes to using gene therapies or stem cell therapies on babies in the womb – the subject of this feature – the timeline is probably more uncertain, yet I don't see how anyone can doubt that some day it will happen: "Fetal healing: Curing congenital diseases in the womb"

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

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Colorado town in the thick of fracking dispute

Longmont, COLORADO: The US oil and gas industry is condemning a move by one Colorado town to impose its own ban on the practice of hydraulic fracturing.

Voters in Longmont have chosen to outlaw the controversial practice within city limits, but drillers and the state government said the city has overstepped its bounds.

Space for large houses with mountain views -- one of the reasons the population of the Colorado city of Longmont has grown steadily over the past twenty years. But some residents are not happy with a new neighbour that has moved in recent years.

Natural gas wells and pipelines have sprung up around Longmont - often very close to subdivisions.

Michael Bellmont, one of the activists involved in a recent campaign to ban hydraulic fracturing in Longmont, said modern fracking practices use chemicals that can contaminate surrounding air and water, and is dangerous to health.

He said: "if you live within half a mile of these wells, one is 250 per cent more likely to have negative and chronic health impacts, and 60 per cent more likely to get cancer."

The majority of Longmont voters agree with Bellmont -- in November, they approved the ban on hydraulic fracturing in the city by a 60 to 40 per cent margin.

That ban has triggered a row with the oil and gas industry, which already leases land and drills in Longmont, and maintains fracking is safe.

Colorado governor John Hickenlooper -- a supporter of the oil and gas industry -- expects drilling companies to sue to overturn the ban.

Tisha Conoly Schuller, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said: "The oil and gas industry -- we're evaluating our options, and then the state government has also been looking at their options. So I imagine we will see a lawsuit in Longmont, and there's lots of different ways it could come about."

Environmentalists are locked in a heated debate with county and state regulators over the issue -- including proposed rules on how far wells should be from people's homes.

Dr William Fleckenstein of the Colorado School of Mines said: "It adds a lot of jobs, there's a lot of rigs that are there. But at the same time, the rigs that are drilling -- the pipelines are going to impact people's lives and the industry has to take into account those impacts."

In Longmont, the city is gearing up for a protracted and expensive legal battle -- one which could set a precedent for other towns and cities that want to take matters regarding fracking into their own hands.

-CNA/ac

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