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Alphabet -owned Waymo is removing the waitlist for its self-driving service in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet. Starting Tuesday, anyone in LA will be able to use the Waymo One app to hail a self-driving robotaxi throughout nearly 80 square miles of Los Angeles County, the company said. That includes the 300,000 Angelenos who have been on Waymo’s waitlist. With more than 3.8 million people, LA marks the third and largest city where the company’s robotaxi service is now fully available. It follows San Francisco, where Waymo One opened citywide in June. The company opened the service in Phoenix in 2020. “Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a news release Tuesday. “Our service has...

Some of the biggest stars in Latin music will gather Thursday for the 25th anniversary of the Grammys in Miami — a hub of Latin American culture and the headquarters of the Latin Recording Academy. Nominated artists include producer and songwriter Édgar Barrera — who for the second year in a row is leading in nominations — as well as Karol G and Bad Bunny, both returning after winning at the 2023 Latin Grammys in Seville, Spain. Other nominees include Kali Uchis, Juan Luis Guerra, Feid, Kany García, Carin Leon and more. In the recording of the year category, Camilo and Carín León share a nomination (“Una Vida Pasada”), as do Uchis and Peso Pluma (“Igual Que Un Ángel”), according to Variety . There are some new additions to this year’s Latin Grammys, too: best Latin elect...

The public health workforce tasked with fighting what has been a long-losing battle against sexually transmitted infections now finds itself confronted with a new, unfamiliar outlook: hope. After having surged to record levels practically every year this century, overall diagnoses of the three top bacterial STIs have crested since the Covid pandemic. From 2022 to 2023, total diagnoses decreased by 2%, to 2.46 million new cases, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STI surveillance report published Tuesday . And importantly, diagnoses of primary and secondary syphilis — the most infectious stages of the infection — dropped 10% last year, to 53,000 cases. The decline was driven by a 13% drop in such syphilis diagnoses among gay and bisexual men, who a...

How much thought do you put into your shower water? Barely any? I was with you — until I spoke to experts. Shower water often has impurities like chlorine, heavy metals and sediments, which can irritate sensitive skin , further damage dry hair and even clog plumbing fixtures over time, says Doug Anderson, senior director of global engineering, research and development for Culligan , which sells water treatment systems. A solution? Filtered showerheads. They have built-in filtration systems that purify water before it hits your body, says Aldo Ceja, a home care expert for Thumbtack , a platform that helps people connect with home care professionals. Below, I share my experience testing filtered showerheads from four popular brands — Jolie , C...

Weather conditions triggered red flag warnings in the northeast part of the United States as firefighters in California continued to battle a large wildfire that has burned over 20,000 acres. Much of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are under a red flag warning Tuesday due to dry and windy conditions. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are under the same warning, the National Weather Service in Boston said in a post on X . The agency urged people to avoid outdoor burning and activities that may produce a spark and to use caution when disposing of igniters, such as cigarettes. The warnings come as a historic drought continues to grip much of the Northeast. In New Jersey, three counties are suffering “extreme” drought and the rest of the state has severe or moderate dr...

A coalition of parents attempting to block a state law that would require t hat t he Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms by next year have won a legal battle in federal court. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued an order Tuesday granting the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction, which means the state can't begin its plan to promote and create rules surrounding the law as soon as Friday while the litigation plays out. The judge wrote that the law is "facially unconstitutional" and "in all applications," barring Louisiana from enforcing it and adopting rules around it that require all public K-12 schools and colleges to exhibit posters of the Ten Commandments. DeGravelles, who heard arguments over the legislation on O...

A police search is underway after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina on Wednesday night. Police in Yemassee, in Beaufort County, said the Rhesus macaque primates escaped from Alpha Genesis, a business that provides "nonhuman primate products and bio-research services," according to its website. The monkeys are a group of "very young females" that have never been used for testing. An Alpha Genesis spokesperson confirmed to police that the animals "are too young to carry disease," police said in a statement. "Alpha Genesis currently have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food," police said Thursday afternoon. Traps have also been set up and officers are using thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to recapture the animals, police s...

After much speculation, Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been fired. The team announced the decision Tuesday morning, saying Waldron has been “relieved of his duties,” just hours after head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters “adjustments and changes” would be made. “After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense,” Eberflus said in a statement. “This decision was well-thought-out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.” Offensive passing game coordinator Thomas Brown will step into the role. More Sports from NBC News The Jets fired their...

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to nominate South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem to serve as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to four sources familiar with the decision. As Homeland Security secretary, Noem would oversee a number of key federal agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Secret Service, TSA and the Coast Guard. Noem, 52, has voiced support for the president-elect's hardline immigration policies and has defended her fellow Republican governors in their efforts to crack down on migrants in their states. In January, for example, she said in remarks that there was an "invasion" at the U.S.-Mexico border and said ...