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Tesla Cybertruck is getting a redesign before manufacturing starts at Austin gigafactory
04 November 2020
(CC)
The original design for the Tesla Cybertruck was first revealed in November 2019.
Tesla's first electric truck might get a makeover before it even hits the market.
The Tesla Cybertruck was first revealed last November in an awkward demonstration highlighted by an "unbreakable" window breaking. The truck also received mixed reviews for its design, which was "basically a tank from the future that's road-legal," as CEO Elon Musk described Sunday.
Musk hinted the truck is undergoing a redesign, and the latest Tesla Cybertruck should be revealed "maybe in a month or so," he said on Twitter.
Part of the reason for the redesign may be less about public sentiment and more about getting the design approved by regulators, at least in Europe, based on another tweet Monday by Musk.
@enn_nafnlaus @flcnhvy Didn’t realize that was possible. No problem if there’s a way get current design Cybertruck approved in Europe!— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk)1604348659.0
The truck will be built in a new "Gigafactory" under construction now in Southeast Austin. The factory should be completed by May, and the truck is set to debut in late 2021.
"Tesla Texas team is making great progress! Giga Texas factory will be an asskicker," Musk tweeted.
The electric auto manufacturer is also coming off news Monday that it paid a $14 million fine to Germany officials for failure to comply with battery recycling issues.
This isn't the first time Musk has been under fire for Tesla manufacturing practices. In May, Musk clashed with California officials over violations of COVID-19 orders, and even threatened to move his Tesla headquarters to Texas.
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(The Bachelor/Twitter)
UT graduate and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho has "accepted the rose" and will host "The Bachelor" franchise's latest special.
<p>Although there's been no word on whether or not he will replace longtime host Chris Harrison for upcoming Bachelor seasons, Acho will be the interim host for "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" episode.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Emmanuel Acho (@emmanuelacho)</a><br/></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p>In the special, Acho will interview Bachelor Matt James and his final three, Rachael Kirkconnell, Michelle Young and Bri Springs. The episode is meant to be a tell-all about the season's drama and will air after the audience knows who gets the ring and who goes home.</p><p>Before the Bachelor, Acho made a name for himself at UT, making first-team All-Big 12 linebacker and leading the team in tackles his senior year. Acho went on to play for both the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles before joining the sports analyst world in 2016, where he currently works for Fox Sports. </p><p>Perhaps most importantly, Acho became a social justice activist who started a social media series that later turned into a book addressing racism titled <a href="https://austonia.com/media/uncomfortable-conversations" target="_blank">"Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man"</a> in 2020. The book sold 18,000 copies in one day and is meant to confront racial ignorance in America today. </p><p>If kept on, Acho hosting could be a meaningful step toward change in a Bachelor franchise riddled with controversy. Most recently, host Chris Harrison made news after appearing to defend contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's participation in an antebellum South-themed fraternity party. In an interview on "Extra" with former Bachelorette Rachael Lindsay, Harrison commented on the "woke police" and how different racial issues were in 2018 versus today.</p><p>Kirkconnell eventually apologized after it was discovered that she also liked Confederate flag-related posts, but the controversy still remains. The incident seems to be the final straw for many fans who have long noticed racial insensitivity in the Bachelor franchise. </p><p>This December, Harrison further spurred on <a href="https://austonia.com/chris-harrison-austin" target="_blank">Bachelor exit rumors</a> after he said he would be moving to Austin, but no confirmation has been made.</p><p>Whether an activist for racial injustice such as Acho remains the host or has just stepped in for the moment is yet to be seen. The tell-all will air March 15 after the season's finale.</p>
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More vaccines could be headed to Austin as FDA greenlights single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine
26 February
This story was updated Monday to include that the vaccine received official approval by the FDA this weekend.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine that is to be shipped out this month, increasing the number of vaccines available.
In a virtual meeting on Friday, the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously approved of the U.S.'s third available COVID-19 vaccine, which was officially approved on Saturday. Federal officials say 4 million doses will go out nationally this week, with an expected 20 million doses to be available by the end of March. The Texas Department of State Health Services has said it expects to receive about 200,000 doses, but has not released a timeline of when doses will be shipped and available.
<p><strong>How was the vaccine passed?</strong></p><p>Johnson & Johnson proposed their single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization to the FDA earlier this month. On Thursday, the department said they found the vaccine to be safe and effective after conducting a clinical trial. </p><p>When tested on 44,000 people around the world, the vaccine was found to be around 66% effective against moderate to severe symptoms 28 days after vaccination. The vaccine's efficacy was highest, at 72%, in the U.S., while it was found to be lower in countries such as South Africa where more infectious strains are prevalent.</p><p>Most notably, none of the clinical trial participants died from COVID-19 at least 28 days after the shot. The vaccine also appears to drastically cut down hospitalizations to the disease and showed 86% efficacy against severe reactions.</p><p><strong>What makes this vaccine different than the others?</strong></p><p>While the two existing vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, are more effective—around 95%—the Johnson & Johnson candidate has three significant advantages.</p><p>First, the vaccine is infinitely easier to store and ship. When the winter storm hit Texas, power outages wiped out about 1,000 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the state, which are required to be refrigerated. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, however, requires no refrigeration. It also takes up significantly less space because it only requires one dosage instead of two, meaning the same amount of doses can be allocated to twice as many people.</p><p>Second, because it is a single-shot vaccine, it will also speed up the painfully slow vaccination process that currently exists. </p><p>On Friday, Austin-Travis County Alternate Health Authority Dr. Jason Pickett said that the vaccine's adaptability and ease of use will make it vital to fighting the virus.</p><p>"With Johnson & Johnson vaccine, one of the advantages is it does not require the same specific handling that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do," Pickett said. "Its availability, the fact that you can get one shot only, the fact that it can tolerate a better temperature range and get out to providers that wouldn't be able to handle the other vaccines as easily, makes this a very effective tool in fighting the pandemic." </p><p>Finally, the vaccine has proven to be mostly effective against new strains of the disease. When tested against the South African strain, the vaccine still had 64% efficacy at preventing moderate to severe effects from the disease. Moderna and Pfizer were conducted before these more infection strains were widely spread. </p><p><strong>What does this mean for Austin and the rest of Texas?</strong> </p><p>As Joe Biden meets with Gov. Greg Abbott in Houston to talk winter storm damages and the vaccine rollout, a shipment of 1.5 million vaccine doses are being brought to the state for next week. Abbott said that Texas will see vaccine shipments "increase dramatically" in the coming days.</p><p>According to Abbott, the state has allocated 8,000 doses to a new "Save Our Seniors" program, which is dedicated to bringing homebound seniors vaccine doses. However, with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending approval on Friday, Abbott said they could have up to four times their original number brought to senior residents.</p><p>Abbott said that most of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be targeted toward senior residents. The state of Texas has given around 40% of seniors 65 and older at least one dose of the vaccine, and they hope to jump to 50% by the end of the week. </p><p>In late January, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said that the vaccine will be available at any neighborhood pharmacy or medical office.</p><p>"In terms of vaccines it is a winner, and there are lots of benefits to this vaccine in terms of the public health response," Escott said. "The fact that it's a single dose makes it feasible for every clinic, every pharmacy, every doctor's office to have supplies so that folks can go to the places they normally get their vaccines to obtain this."</p>
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UPDATE: The Lower Colorado River Authority has found potentially fatal bacteria in the Hudson Bend of Lake Travis, the same area where a dog was found dead after swimming in its waters.
<p>The LCRA found cyanotoxins in solid form along the shoreline after <a href="https://austonia.com/dogs-found-sick-hudson-bay" target="_blank">testing water</a> in the bend. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cyanohabs/health-effects-cyanotoxins#:~:text=Several%20dogs%20and%20livestock%20deaths%20have%20been%20reported,Learn%20more%20about%20How%20to%20Protect%20Your%20Dog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cyanotoxins </a>are forms of harmful blue-green algae that can flourish in blooms in standing bodies of water.</p><p>One golden retriever has been reported dead, according to Regency Ranch Golden Retrievers' <a href="https://www.facebook.com/txgoldens" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. The LRCA has also reported four dogs who got sick after swimming in the area.</p><p>In a post, the committee urged pet owners not to let their dogs play in the lake or along the shorelines where algae has accumulated. While no toxins have been found in other areas of the lake, officials said that owners should use their best judgement on whether or not to let their dogs swim in the waters.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a2405ca37ec716fe727df4b9a88a37a"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/lowercoloradoriverauthority/photos/a.397219619676/10158234175129677/"></div></div><p>Blooms of the harmful algae can cause the deaths of livestock and dogs, and people may also suffer health issues after being exposed. Symptoms in dogs may include fatigue, excessive salivating, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.<br/></p><p>Officials were surprised to find the algae because it had never been found in Lake Travis, but the Austin area has had issues with cyanotoxins before. Lady Bird Lake saw two dog deaths <a href="https://austonia.com/city/algae-austin" target="_blank">last year</a> after the city found blue-green algae in its waters. Officials urged owners to keep their dogs out of the water as long as the cyanotoxins were detected.</p>
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