NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is allowing the robotaxi company Waymo to test a few of its autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, officials said Friday as the technology picks up in popularity in other metro areas.

Related Articles

Trump says Intel agreed to give US a stake in its company

Pop Mart rolling out mini Labubus and a long-fur version of the popular plush toy

Trump says he’ll keep extending TikTok shutdown deadline

Consumer watchdog ends investigation into buy now, pay later company linked to Donald Trump Jr.

Nvidia’s CEO says it’s in talks with Trump administration on a new chip for China

The company will start with a pilot program to test up to eight autonomous vehicles in the city until late September, officials said. The vehicles won’t be picking up passengers, since that’s not currently allowed by local rules, and are required to have a test vehicle operator behind the wheel while they zip around the city’s busy streets.

Waymo’s robotaxis are already in place in U.S. cities such as Austin, Texas; Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Annabel Chang, a policy head for the company, said the company is “pleased to have reached this next step in New York City.”

New York officials last year launched a set of safety requirements around the testing of autonomous vehicles, saying that the city “presents some of the most challenging urban street environments” for the autonomous vehicles.

In a statement Friday, Mayor Eric Adams said “as we continue to implement responsible innovation, we will always prioritize street safety.”

By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has moved to strip thousands of federal health agency employees of their collective bargaining rights, according to a union that called the effort illegal.

Related Articles

Justice Dept. declines to defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional

2026 World Cup draw will be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, Trump says

‘Stay out of our city’: Chicago officials slam Trump’s threat to target city in next crime crackdown

Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

Trump says Intel agreed to give US a stake in its company

HHS officials confirmed Friday that the department is ending its recognition of unions for a number of employees, and are reclaiming office space and equipment that had been used for union activities.

It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to put an end to collective bargaining with unions that represent federal employees. Previously affected agencies include the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In May, an appeals court said the administration could move forward with President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.

“This action ensures that HHS resources and personnel are fully focused on safeguarding the health and security of the American people,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Officials with the American Federation of Government Employees said strong union contracts do not hinder strong responses to public health emergencies. Rather, they help make agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a stable, experienced and supported workforce, the union said.

Some CDC employees said the union has been a source of information and advocacy for the agency’s employees during layoffs this year and in the wake of the Aug. 8 attack at the CDC’s main campus in Atlanta.

Since then, the union has been trying to advocate for a better emergency alert system and better security.

Other affected agencies include the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and at the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has moved to strip thousands of federal health agency employees of their collective bargaining rights, according to a union that called the effort illegal.

Related Articles

Justice Dept. declines to defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional

2026 World Cup draw will be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, Trump says

‘Stay out of our city’: Chicago officials slam Trump’s threat to target city in next crime crackdown

Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

Trump says Intel agreed to give US a stake in its company

HHS officials confirmed Friday that the department is ending its recognition of unions for a number of employees, and are reclaiming office space and equipment that had been used for union activities.

It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to put an end to collective bargaining with unions that represent federal employees. Previously affected agencies include the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In May, an appeals court said the administration could move forward with President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.

“This action ensures that HHS resources and personnel are fully focused on safeguarding the health and security of the American people,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Officials with the American Federation of Government Employees said strong union contracts do not hinder strong responses to public health emergencies. Rather, they help make agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a stable, experienced and supported workforce, the union said.

Some CDC employees said the union has been a source of information and advocacy for the agency’s employees during layoffs this year and in the wake of the Aug. 8 attack at the CDC’s main campus in Atlanta.

Since then, the union has been trying to advocate for a better emergency alert system and better security.

Other affected agencies include the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and at the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By COLLIN BINKLEY and JOCELYN GECKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it will not defend a decades-old grant program for colleges with large numbers of Hispanic students that is being challenged in court, declaring the government believes the funding is unconstitutional.

Related Articles

HHS moves to strip thousands of federal health workers of union rights

2026 World Cup draw will be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, Trump says

‘Stay out of our city’: Chicago officials slam Trump’s threat to target city in next crime crackdown

Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

Trump says Intel agreed to give US a stake in its company

In a memo sent to Congress, the Justice Department said it agrees with a lawsuit attempting to strike down grants that are reserved for colleges and universities where at least a quarter of undergraduates are Hispanic. Congress created the program in 1998 after finding Latino students were going to college and graduating at far lower rates than white students.

Justice Department officials argued the program provides an unconstitutional advantage based on race or ethnicity.

The state of Tennessee and an anti-affirmative action organization sued the U.S. Education Department in June, asking a judge to halt the Hispanic-Serving Institution program. Tennessee argued all of its public universities serve Hispanic students but none meet the “arbitrary ethnic threshold” to be eligible for the grants. Those schools miss out on tens of millions of dollars because of discriminatory requirements, the suit said.

On Friday, the Justice Department released a letter dated July 25 in which Solicitor General John Sauer notified Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that the department “has decided not to defend” the program, saying that certain aspects of it are unconstitutional. The letter cited a 2023 Supreme Court decision that racial balancing is “patently unconstitutional.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.