Oct 11, 2018 - Energy & Environment

Lime to sue San Francisco over scooter permit snub

Lime scooters on a sidewalk in Paris. Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

Lime, the Uber-backed startup that wasn't awarded one of the coveted permits to deploy scooters in San Francisco, is planning to formally apply for a temporary restraining order on Friday against the city, arguing that its selection process was unfair.

The big picture: It's hard not to see this as a last-ditch effort by Lime to stop its rivals from operating in San Francisco as they're set to begin on Monday. The company reportedly appealed the transportation agency's decision last month after it snubbed all three companies that rolled out their scooters before the city had created a pilot program in favor of two startups that had waited. Go deeper: How Skip wants to win the scooter wars by following the rules

Update: On Friday, a San Francisco judge denied Lime's attempt to stall the program's start on Monday, but did order five transportation agency officials to testify as the company's lawsuit continues. Lime called the decision "a victory for the people of San Francisco and Lime."

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Rashaan Ayesh
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi, Schumer demand postmaster general reverse USPS cuts ahead of election

Schumer and Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday calling for the recent Trump appointee to reverse operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that "threaten the timely delivery of mail" ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: U.S. mail and election infrastructure are facing a test like no other this November, with a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots expected as Americans attempt to vote in the midst of a pandemic.

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Alison Snyder
2 hours ago - Science

CRISPR co-discoverer on the gene editor's pandemic push

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Brian Ach/Getty Images for Wired and BSIP/UIG via Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the development of CRISPR-based tests for detecting disease — and highlighting how gene-editing tools might one day fight pandemics, one of its discoverers, Jennifer Doudna, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Testing shortages and backlogs underscore a need for improved mass testing for COVID-19. Diagnostic tests based on CRISPR — which Doudna and colleagues identified in 2012, ushering in the "CRISPR revolution" in genome editing — are being developed for dengue, Zika and other diseases, but a global pandemic is a proving ground for these tools that hold promise for speed and lower costs.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 18,912,947 — Total deaths: 710,318— Total recoveries — 11,403,473 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 4,867,916 — Total deaths: 159,841 — Total recoveries: 1,577,851 — Total tests: 58,920,975 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi rips GOP over stimulus negotiations: "Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn" — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive.
  4. Public health: Majority of Americans say states reopened too quickly — Fauci says task force will examine aerosolized spread.
  5. Business: The health care sector imploded in Q2 — More farmers are declaring bankruptcy — July's jobs report could be an inflection point for the recovery.
  6. Sports: Where college football's biggest conferences stand on playing.
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