A proposed bill that would allow autonomous vehicles to operate in Washington, D.C. has become a test case for Uber's broader robotaxi strategy. Instead of simply partnering with, and investing in, robotaxi developers, Uber is also trying to shape the rules that govern them, an effort that puts it in direct opposition with its business partner, Waymo. Uber, which opposes the bill, argues the proposed rule would displace for-hire human drivers and hand Waymo a de facto monopoly. It has lobbied instead for a system that would require robotaxis to operate on a ride-hailing network that also uses human drivers, according to public records viewed by TechCrunch and interviews with industry and company sources. 'We have already seen in other jurisdictions how a flawed, first-party only regulatory approach can disrupt a city,' Javi Correoso, who leads U.S. policy and federal affairs for Uber, said in May during a D.C. Council roundtable on a separate, existing statute regulating for-hire drivers. Correoso argued at the time that robotaxis create congestion by idling or cruising empty, cannot provide the kind of physical assistance to older or disabled adults that human drivers can, and cited data that states one AV displaces roughly four drivers....

Take a stroll around San Francisco and it won't take long to spot an empty autonomous vehicle cruising the city's streets, waiting to be hailed by a rider or heading off to a distant depot to be charged and cleaned. These deadhead miles ' an industry term for miles driven without a paying passenger ' are one of the biggest barriers between robotaxi companies and profitability. Redwood City, California-based startup Aseon Labs thinks it has a fix: parking space-sized automated pods that can be scattered throughout cities to inspect, clean, and charge robotaxis. The company, co-founded by the team behind battery-swapping startup Pushme, calls them robotic pit stops for the robotaxi industry. And the idea has caught the attention of investors. Aseon Labs has raised $10 million in a seed round led by Crane Venture Partners, TechCrunch has learned. Y Combinator, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp's venture firm Expa, Robin Hood Ventures, and Founders Capital also participated, along with angel investors such as serial entrepreneur and former Google executive Adrian Aoun, Mercury founder and CEO Immad Akhund, Zimride co-founder Rajat Suri, and operators and founding team members from Anthropic, Nuro, Turo, and Revolut....

The photographer Vadim Makhorov, while recently cruising on the Chukchi Sea, noticed a group of polar bears that were taking shelter inside an abandoned research station on Russia's remote Kolyuchin Island....

Kat Abughazaleh knows how to create viral moments online. She's an old pro, in fact, capable of posting clips of herself that can rack up millions of views. But engineering attention in the physical world is a decidedly different challenge'one that Abughazaleh was struggling to solve on an overcast afternoon in July. The 26-year-old, who is running for Congress in Illinois, was sitting outside her campaign headquarters in Chicago, trying to connect with prospective voters during the area's annual taco crawl. Some people were stopping to chat, but others hurried along in search of their next carnitas fix. On the internet, Abughazaleh can precision-edit a video to maximize eyeballs. On Clark Street, a busy thoroughfare that cuts across the city's northeastern neighborhoods, she had to convince people cruising for excellent Mexican food that she was worth delaying their next bite. That day, at least, the solution was simple: hot sauce. Abughazaleh got a taste for the stuff growing up in Texas and never let go. She hauled out the collection of bottles she keeps in her office'many of them sent by a supporter'and lined up over a dozen on a table for pedestrians to douse their tacos. Within minutes, locals sloshing to-go margaritas in plastic cups stopped to pepper her with questions, like her stance on organized labor (pro), what her 'main issue' is ('antiauthoritarianism'), and her thoughts on contemporary sci-fi and fantasy (Red Rising is superior to A Song of Ice and Fire). It seemed every other person had a friend who was a big fan. Supporters in cars honked periodically. With help from a volunteer who translated, Abughazaleh explained to a Spanish-speaking family that her office doubles as a mutual aid hub, stocked with free pantry items and open to 'everyone except ICE.' They took campaign stickers....