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NTSB: Self-driving systems don’t improve road safety

The systems that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel are convenient but don’t improve safety because people are often too reliant on them and end up paying more attention to their cellphones and infotainment screens than to the road, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. At Tuesday’s hearing on two fatal crashes involving Ford’s Blue Cruise system, the NTSB recommended that Ford find ways to improve the way its system monitors drivers, and urged the federal government to establish minimum safety standards. Even though this investigation ...

Judge blocks end to NPR, PBS funds

Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities. The operational impact of U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss’ decision was not immediately clear — both because it will likely be appealed and because too much damage to the public-broadcasting system has already been done, both by the president and ...

Ticker: The Dow surges more than 1,100 points

U.S. stocks surged to their best day since last spring as doubt swung back to hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran. The S&P 500 leaped 2.9% Tuesday for its largest gain since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,125 points, or 2.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 3.8%. US consumer confidence inches up despite prices U.S. consumer confidence inched higher in March despite soaring energy prices brought on by the war in Iran. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose modestly to 91.8 in March from 91 in ...

Worries about economic pain deepen amid Iran war

WASHINGTON — U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have driven up prices, darkened the outlook for the world economy, sent global stock markets reeling and forced developing countries to ration fuel and subsidize energy costs to protect their poorest. Ongoing strikes and counterstrikes on ...

Briefcase: Peoples seeking base rate increase

Peoples Natural Gas has filed a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a base rate increase to support its Long-Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan, among other operations and safety initiatives. The company’s LTIIP involves the retirement and replacement of aging pipelines while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Peoples’ base rate request also provides for the recovery of the company’s ongoing business costs. The request requires investigation and approval by the PUC, which may approve all, some or none of Peoples’ request. The rate review process can ...