*By Justin Chermol*
Uber is laying off more than 100 test drivers in its autonomous car division in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, replacing them with 55 highly-trained drivers known as "mission specialists".
It's an attempt by the ride-hailing company to prove it's serious about safety in its self-driving division after a fatal crash in Tempe, Ariz., last March.
But whether real progress has been made is another story.
"There's the public messaging and there is what is actually happening," said Mark Rechtin, Executive Editor at Motor Trend. "Uber is saying all the right things publicly, but the accident in Arizona has really set them back."
Uber initially suspended all testing of its autonomous driving program after a pedestrian was struck and killed on March 18, but restarted some tests earlier this month.
Former self-driving car operators are eligible to apply for the new roles, which must operate cars on both public roads and private tracks and are expected to give technical feedback to developers.
Rechtin is optimistic about the effort, but still raised concerns.
"We need to make sure whatever Uber does is something that is functional."
Darden, the parent company of chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, beat Wall Street estimates in its latest earnings report.
A former Facebook executive pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company while she was employed there.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
