CNN health | ‘Don’t blame Black people for your failure’: Doctor fires back at Texas Lt. Gov.

CNN’s Laura Coates and Dr. Cedric Dark discuss Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who in a recent interview on Fox News claimed that African Americans were to blame for the ever-increasing wave of coronavirus cases.  —read more—

CNN BUSINESS | Elon Musk just added a robot to his list of things always coming ‘next year.’ For now he’s got a guy in a suit

Washington, DC (CNN Business) – Elon Musk said Thursday night at Tesla’s AI Day that the company is building a humanoid robot, and will probably have a prototype next year.

“It’s basically going to start dealing with work that is boring, repetitive and dangerous,” Musk said of the Tesla (TSLA) robot. “What is the work that people would least like to do?”

Musk did not say if it would be sold or for how much. The robot will have a screen positioned where a human face would be to display “useful information,” Musk said.

Musk said the robot would have a “profound” impact on the economy. He said physical work would be a choice in the future, and a universal basic income would be needed. Musk is among the Silicon Valley leaders who have cautioned that technology may eliminate the jobs of many people, so some humans will need another income source.

“But not right now because this robot doesn’t work,” Musk added.  —read more—

CNN BUSINESS | Tesla is under investigation because its cars keep hitting emergency vehicles

New York (CNN Business) – Federal safety regulators are investigating at least 11 accidents involving Tesla cars using Autopilot or other self-driving features that crashed into emergency vehicles when coming upon the scene of an earlier crash.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said seven of these accidents resulted 17 injuries and one death.

All of the Teslas in question had the self-driving Autopilot feature or the traffic-aware cruise control engaged as they approached the crashes, the NHTSA said.  —read more-– 

CNN politics | Ron DeSantis has no idea what he’s talking about

(CNN) – Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a name for himself within the national Republican Party by spouting science-free statements about Covid-19 and its impact on his state of Florida.

“Politicians want to force you to cover your face as a way for them to cover their own asses. That’s just the truth. They want to be able to say they are taking this on and they’re doing this even though it’s not proven to be effective they want to continue to do it.”

It’s a good applause line! People in his base don’t like politicians or wearing masks, so combine the two and — voila! — cheering.

Except that, well, DeSantis is totally wrong about masking — specifically when he says “even though it’s not proven to be effective.”  —read more— 

HGTV | 40 Gorgeous Fall Container Garden & Planter Ideas

Cooler temps are here to stay. Start planning your autumn container garden now with our favorite cool-weather flower combos, pretty planter designs and more.  —read more—

F1 TECHNICAL | Power struggle: How Honda caught up with Mercedes – and how the Silver Arrows fought back

The race for championship honours isn’t just being fought out on track between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but also back at the factories and HQs of Mercedes, Red Bull, and Honda. In this week’s Tech Tuesday, Mark Hughes looks at the battle to be top dog in the power unit stakes…

The development battle between Mercedes and Red Bull which may determine the outcome of the world championship has been quite visible – with a very extensive series of aerodynamic upgrades on the RB16B and significant new bodywork pieces on the W12 at Imola and Silverstone. But what this fight is also about is the competition between Mercedes HPP and Honda in which can deliver the best power unit.

Here the competition is less visually apparent as the crucial components lie secreted beneath the bodywork. Although in-season changes to the power units are limited by the homologation restrictions and the three engines per season rule, major developments to each of these standard-setting units came during the off-season. Both Red Bull and Mercedes are racing this year with significantly more power than in 2020.  —read more—

F1 | Formula 1 confirms 2021 Japanese Grand Prix has been cancelled

Formula 1 has announced that the 2021 Japanese Grand Prix has been cancelled, with race organisers citing “ongoing complexities” related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The race, which was also cancelled last year because of the coronavirus situation, was due to be held in mid-October, the third event in a planned triple header after the Russian Grand Prix and the rescheduled Turkish GP.

But on Wednesday morning it was announced the race at the Suzuka circuit would not be going ahead.

A statement from Formula 1 read: “Following ongoing discussions with the promoter and authorities in Japan the decision has been taken by the Japanese government to cancel the race this season due to ongoing complexities of the pandemic in the country.

“Formula 1 is now working on the details of the revise  –-read more—

CNN style Arts | Dozens of Nazi-looted artworks are exhibiting in New York

Dozens of artworks once stolen from Jewish collectors by the Nazis in the 1930s and ’40s will be exhibited in New York starting on Friday.

Taken before and during World War II, the paintings being displayed at Manhattan’s Jewish Museum include works by European greats Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne.

The Nazis are known to have looted and stolen hundreds of thousands of artworks in total — often from Jewish collectors, gallerists and families fleeing persecution. Though some of the pieces were later recovered and returned to their owners or their descendants, many remain missing or are the subject of ongoing legal battles.–read more—

CNN BUSINESS | Fewer people are going to Home Depot. That could be a bad sign for the housing market

New York (CNN Business) – Home Depot has thrived in the red-hot housing market, but there are growing signs that demand is finally starting to cool.

Although Home Depot’s second-quarter earnings and revenue topped forecasts on Tuesday morning, a few stats were concerning: For example, same-store sales growth, which measures how well locations up at least a year are doing, rose just 3.4% in the US.

That’s a big dropoff from the first quarter and below analysts’ estimates.

What’s more, fewer people were shopping in Home Depot stores this quarter. The company reported 481.7 million customer transactions, down nearly 6% from the same period a year ago.  —read more—

CNN BUSINESS | Hyatt is betting on luxury travel with $2.7 billion resorts deal

London (CNN Business) – Hyatt is expanding its reach in luxury resorts, betting that pent-up demand following the pandemic will boost demand for upmarket leisure travel.

The US hotel group said in a statement Sunday that it has agreed to buy luxury resorts operator Apple Leisure Group from private equity firms KKR and KSL Capital Partners for $2.7 billion.

The acquisition will double Hyatt’s global resorts footprint and make it the largest operator of luxury hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean. It will also extend its presence into 11 new markets in Europe, “a critical region for global growth in leisure travel,” Hyatt (H) said.  —read more—