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An Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona, police said on Monday, marking the first fatality involving an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation. The ride services company said it was suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles, which are currently going on in Arizona, Pittsburgh and Toronto. So-called robot cars, when fully developed by companies including Uber, Alphabet Inc and General Motors Co, are expected to drastically cut down on motor vehicle fatalities and create billion-dollar businesses. But Monday’s accident underscored the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars confront real-world situations involving real people. U.S. lawmakers have been debating legislation that would speed introduction of self-driving cars. “This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous veh...

The police chief of Tempe, Arizona, where a woman was struck and killed by one of Uber’s self-driving cars Sunday, says the ride-sharing company is likely not at fault for the accident, following a preliminary investigation. Chief of Police Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco  Chronicle  on Monday that video footage taken from cameras equipped to the autonomous Volvo SUV potentially shift the blame to the victim herself, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, rather than the vehicle. “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode [autonomous or human-driven] based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” Moir told the paper, adding that the incident occurred roughly 100 yards from a crosswalk. “It is dangerous to cross roadways in the evening hour when well-illuminated managed crosswalks are available,” she said. Though the vehicle was operating in autonomous mode, a driver was present in the front seat...

Sea of Thieves   codes went live today (March 19) for the press, allowing us to experience our first playthrough of the full game. With this being one of my most highly anticipated games of the year, I was looking forward to finally taking to the seas without the restrictions of its various betas, and seeing what Rare had stored in its treasure chest. After sinking a few hours into this ship, I'm pleased to report that I have mostly been impressed by what I've played, though I still have a few concerns about its replayability. In the 4-5 hours that I've spent with  Sea of Thieves , it has tasked me with completing more-or-less the same set of objectives albeit in different circumstances. There are three guilds to accept quests from, with the Gold Hoarders tasking players with finding treasure chests, the Order of Souls sending you off to an island to kill some skeletons, and the Merchants Alliance asking you to ferry livestock. In the early stages at least, each of th...

Sea of Thieves   is one of Microsoft's most exciting exclusives in years, even if   it's   also one of its   strangest. Rare's new pirate MMO releases on PC and Xbox One tomorrow, but the odd collaborative gameplay isn't the only interesting thing about the way this game is hitting the market.   Sea of Thieves   is also the first of Microsoft's new releases to debut on Game Pass along at release, and that means that you can play the thing for just $10  if you want. We'll back up a second for those not already familiar. As a full-fledged AAA release,   Sea of Thieves   costs $60 to buy outright, just like every other full-fledged AAA release on the market. However, Microsoft also has a subscription program called Game Pass that gives players access to an instant library of games for $10 a month, something like a (more) premium version of Games With Gold. The company also recently announced that Game Pass will include all new first-par...

Nothing about this year’s first day of spring will bring visions of flowers and Easter egg hunts. A mix of rain, sleet and snow is expected to arrive in the D.C. area overnight and affect Tuesday morning’s commute. Forecasters are also looking out for another storm to move into the area Tuesday night and potentially bring snow Wednesday, said Storm Team4’s chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer. The  National Weather Service  has a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and a Winter Storm Watch in effect from late Tuesday night through Wednesday night. Weather After a sun-filled Monday, two waves of winter weather are expected to cast a shadow during the first week of spring in the D.C. region, with possible snow in the forecast. “There are two parts to this system,” Storm Team4’s Lauryn Ricketts said. Showers and falling temperatures overnight could change over to a snow mix by daybreak Tuesday. A mix of sleet and snow is especially expe...