Congress scraps Trump’s 2024 coup plan by passing Electoral Rely Act reform

One of the greatest achievements of the current Congress came most recently after the House of Representatives passed the omnibus that included reforms to the Electoral Count Act that will halt Trump’s 2024 coup.

When the reformed Electoral Count Act passed the House of Representatives, Trump’s hopes of another coup attempt in 2024 were dashed.

According to a statement provided to PoliticusUSA by the Campaign Legal Center, the updated Election Reform Act will:

  • It prohibits state legislatures from changing the law after Election Day to override their constituents and popular election results.
  • It provides procedures for resolving disputes about voters and voter credentials before those disputes reach Congress.
  • It severely limits the ability of congressmen to guess state election results.
  • And it clarifies the vice president’s ministerial role in counting the votes and affirms that the vice president does not decide the results of the election.

The passage of the Electoral Count Act updates is an important moment in the struggle for democracy. Candidates can now go to court when a state refuses to certify its election results. There will be no more pressure on state legislatures to change the law to overturn election results. There will be no more debate about the vice president’s role in counting the votes, and no single member of Congress can contest the election results.

Congress could not be adjourned for the year without protecting democracy. The next big step for Democrats will be to regain full control of Congress and pass a voting rights bill.

In a few days, President Biden will be able to sign into law the law that will stop Trump’s planned coup in 2024.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

Jim Cramer’s Friday Investing Membership Assembly: Fed Technique, Membership Mantra

White Home Covid coordinator urges individuals to get vaccinated forward of the vacations

Ashish Jha, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator at the White House in Washington, Oct. 25, 2022.

Jonathan Ernest | Reuters

As Covid and flu hospitalizations have increased in the weeks since Thanksgiving, White House Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha that families will be safer at upcoming holiday gatherings when they receive their updated vaccines.

Hospitals are facing the simultaneous threat of Covid, flu and RSV for the first time this year. The spread of influenza and RSV has been very low during the pandemic due to widespread masking and social distancing implemented in response to Covid, but as most people return to normal life, all three viruses are widespread.

On Dec. 14, the 7-day moving average of weekly new Covid cases reached 65,067, down 2.9% from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The good news here is that if people go out and get this updated bivalent vaccine, we can prevent these infections from becoming a serious disease,” Jha told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

Public health officials have said many people are likely more susceptible to the flu and RSV this year because they haven’t contracted it in the past two years, meaning their immunity is lower. About 23,503 patients were hospitalized with influenza this week, the CDC reported, while RSV hospitalizations appear to have peaked in some states.

Hospitalizations for people with Covid averaged more than 5,000 a day, according to the CDC.

Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said it’s going to be a “difficult few weeks” and he told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday that this year’s respiratory pathogen season was the “worst in recent memory.”

Gottlieb said it was a historic year, especially for the flu.

“80% of hospital beds are currently full. Hospitals haven’t been this crowded since the peak of the Omicron wave last winter,” he said. “The difference is that last winter 25% of those hospital beds were occupied by Covid admissions. At the moment only 6% are occupied with Covid admissions.”

Even though it’s safe to gather in groups this year, Jha said staying up to date on vaccines will be important to keep people away from the hospital.

“I got my flu shot last year. I don’t expect that to protect me this winter,” he said. “I go out and get the flu shot every winter, just like people have to go out and get their Covid shot.”

Kason Thomass discovered protected and alive in Indiana, police verify

Five months old from Ohio, Kason ThomasShe was found alive, according to a Facebook video posted by the child’s paternal grandmother La Fonda Thomas.

LaFonda, known on Facebook as Fonda Thomas, started live streaming less than an hour ago. Thomas let out loud cheers along with a group of people in the background as they celebrated the baby’s discovery.

Thomas explained that Kason was found abandoned in an Indianapolis parking lot. She also thanked people online for their help, especially the people of Ohio and Indiana.

“My baby has ten fingers, he has ten toes. He healthy, he healthy. We’ll get him, thank you all. Thank you, Jesus,” LaFonda said. “They found my baby in Indianapolis. That crazy creep left my baby in a parking lot, but we’ve got him and they’ve got her and that’s all that needs to be said. I love it.”

The Columbus, Ohio police also confirmed that Kason was found “safe and alive” in a tweet and on Facebook.

“Kason Thomass was found alive and safe in Indianapolis near a Papa John’s pizza joint. The 5-month-old boy is in good health and is being taken to a hospital for a check-up. Kason was found in the stolen Honda Accord wearing the same clothes.”

CHILD FOUND SAFE AND ALIVE

Kason Thomass was found alive and safe in Indianapolis near a Papa John’s pizza place. The 5-month-old boy is in good health and is being taken to a hospital for a check-up. Kason was found in the stolen Honda Accord wearing the same clothes. pic.twitter.com/hUND9Gnk3T

— Columbus Ohio Police Department (@ColumbusPolice) December 23, 2022

His alleged kidnapper Nalah Jackson is in police custody and is being interrogated. Police charged Nalah with two counts of kidnapping on Wednesday. It’s unclear if officers will return Nalah to Ohio, if she helped find Kason, and if she faces additional charges for crossing state lines with the child.

Prior to Kason’s safe discovery, the FBI was offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to his safe return.

Here’s what happened in the kidnapping of Kason and Kyair Thomass

As previously reported, her mother Wilhelmina Barnett, worked as a door dash driver on Monday evening (December 19). When she entered Donato’s on East 1st Avenue and North High Street in Columbus to pick up an order, Jackson exited inside the facility and stole her running vehicle. Inside the 2010 Honda Accord were Barnett’s twin sons, Kason and Kyair.

Kason will soon be reunited with his twin brother, whom Jackson left outside Dayton International Airport around 4 a.m. local time on Tuesday. The airport is approximately 70 miles from where Jackson first kidnapped the children.

It’s unclear why Jackson chose to separate the twins, or if Columbus investigators were en route to Indianapolis this afternoon. Below is a press conference that took place hours before Kason’s certain discovery.

This is an evolving story. Check for updates again.

January 6: Committee points ultimate report

US Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) carries the committee’s final report as he arrives after the final public session of the US House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, USA , leaving on December 19th. 2022.

Jonathan Ernest | Reuters

The Jan. 6 House Select Committee released its long-awaited final report on Thursday, concluding an 18-month investigation into the 2021 burglary of the US Capitol by a violent mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The damning 845-page report came three days after the bipartisan committee voted unanimously to refer Trump to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation and possible prosecution over his efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat by President Joe Biden.

Among the recommendations are that congressional committees with such authority should consider creating a “formal mechanism to consider whether to bar Trump from holding any future federal office because of evidence that he has violated his constitutional oath.” to support the US Constitution while taking part in an insurrection.

The report comes weeks after Trump announced he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

“Our country has come too far to allow a defeated President to transform himself into a successful tyrant, upending our democratic institutions, fomenting violence and, as I see it, opening the door to those in our country whose hatred and bigotry threaten equality and justice for all Americans,” wrote the committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in a foreword to the report.

Committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, wrote in her own foreword, “Every President in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority but one.”

“January 6, 2021 marked the first time that an American president refused his constitutional duty to peacefully transfer power to the next,” Cheney wrote.

The first of the report’s eight chapters is titled “The Big Lie,” a reference to Trump’s repeated false claims that he won the election.

This chapter notes that even before Election Day, Trump made efforts to “delegitimize the electoral process” by suggesting that it would be marred by voter fraud, particularly related to postal voting, the use of which is due to the Covid-19 -pandemic has been expanded.

The second chapter, titled “I Just Want to Find 11,780 Votes,” details Trump’s attempt to undermine the Electoral College, the body that actually picks the winner of the presidential election based on candidate vote gains in individual states and parts of the two states .

The title refers to what Trump said to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call, in which the President pressured Raffensperger to take steps that would invalidate Biden’s popular victory in that state.

This chapter also details the widespread campaign by Trump and his allies to get Republican-controlled legislatures in states won by Biden not to confirm election results or to replace electoral college electoral lists.

“The Special Committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the January 6 riot, President Trump or his closest circles were involved in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private publicity, pressure or condemnation, either on state legislatures or targeted the state or local election officials to overturn the results of state elections,” the report said.

“This included at least: 68 meetings, attempted or connected phone calls, or text messages, each directed to one or more state or local officials; 18 cases of prominent public statements using language aimed at one or more of these officials; and 125 social media posts by President Trump or senior advisers that are explicitly or implicitly directed at one or more of those officials, and mostly from his own account,” the report said.

Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.

Jon Cherry | Getty Images

The next few chapters outline how Trump and his allies attempted to provide Congress with alternative lists of voters for him, rather than the actual lists Biden won, and their efforts to get the Justice Department to cast doubt on the integrity of the election and to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence refuses to certify the voting boards of several states’ Electoral Colleges.

The plan to pressure Pence was to throw the decision of who would win the election up to the House of Representatives. Although Democrats held the majority of seats in that chamber at the time, Republicans could have given Trump the win because they provided the majority of state delegations, each of which receives a single vote under the system.

The last three chapters focus on the preparations for the Capitol riots, Trump’s “dereliction of duty” by refusing to fight off the mob, and an analysis of the attack on the Capitol.

Cheney noted in her foreword to the report, “What most of the public didn’t know prior to our investigation is this: Donald Trump’s own campaign officials told him early on that his allegations of fraud were false.”

“Donald Trump’s senior Justice Department officials — each appointed by Donald Trump himself — investigated the allegations and repeatedly told him his allegations of fraud were false,” Cheney wrote.

“Donald Trump’s White House attorneys also told him his fraud allegations were false. From the start, Donald Trump’s cheating allegations were fabricated nonsense designed to exploit the patriotism of millions of men and women who love our country.”

In its January 6 recommendations, the committee called on the Senate to pass the Electoral Count Act, which the House of Representatives has already passed. The law would reiterate that a vice president has no authority or discretion to reject an official list of presidential elections presented by their state governors.

The panel also said that courts and disciplinary bodies that regulate lawyers’ behavior “should continue to evaluate the behavior of lawyers described in this report.”

“Lawyers should not have the discretion to use their statutory licenses to undermine the constitutional and legal process for the peaceful transfer of power in our government,” the report said.

In a recommendation entitled “Violent Extremism,” the report states: “Federal agencies with intelligence and security responsibilities, including homeland security, should… move forward on state-wide strategies.
ties to counter the threat of violent activity posed by all extremist groups, including white nationalist groups and violent anti-government groups, while respecting the civil rights and First Amendment civil liberties of all citizens.

Members of the Oath Keepers militia group among supporters of US President Donald Trump on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, January 6, 2021.

Jim Castle | Reuters

The Jan. 6 panel has already begun sharing its evidence with the DOJ, which last month appointed a special counsel to investigate whether Trump or others unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power to Biden.

Without Trump’s encouragement, the January 6 uprisingwould never have happened,” said panel chairman Thompson in an interview with MSNBC earlier Thursday. “It would have been the normal rotation of power that we do every four years in presidential elections.”

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but under no circumstances do you tear down City Hall or the courthouse and, God forbid, the United States Capitol,” Thompson said. “It was just something that I think was unimaginable to most Americans … And there are still a lot of people who can’t understand why our people would do that.”

Both the DOJ and House investigations focus on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, among other things, when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, forcing lawmakers and Pence to flee the chambers of Congress.

Vice President Mike Pence (R) is accompanied by Sgt. at arms Michael Stenger (L), from the House of Representatives to the Senate in the U.S. Capitol after a challenge was raised during the joint session to certify President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021.

Mike Theiler | Reuters

The invasion disrupted a joint session of Congress held to confirm Biden’s electoral college victory.

Pence, who chaired that session, resisted pressure from Trump and others to refuse to accept the electoral college slates of several swing states that had given Biden his lead to victory.

The House Committee conducted more than 1,000 witness interviews, including interviews with Trump’s assistants and White House attorneys, several of his adult children and his close allies. The panel also assembled hundreds of thousands of documents as part of its investigation.

Trump spread false claims of voter fraud before and after the 2020 election and pursued numerous attempts to reverse his loss to Biden in the weeks following Election Day. His public campaign for this culminated on January 6, 2021, with a rally outside the White House where he urged the crowd to march with him to the Capitol to urge Congress to reverse the election results.

US President Donald Trump arrives in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 to speak with supporters of The Ellipse near the White House.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

Trump never marched to the Capitol, instead spending hours inside the White House while his supporters attacked police inside and outside the Capitol and swarmed through the Congress Halls. Trump did not publicly ask the mob to leave the Capitol by late afternoon that day, although he was urged to do so by senior White House officials.

“You are the Commander in Chief. You have an attack underway on the US Capitol and nothing happens?” General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the House Committee.

“No call? Nothing? Zero?” Milley added.

In its vote Monday, the committee referred Trump to the DOJ for possible prosecution for four crimes, including conspiring to defraud the US and inciting a riot.

Separately, a Georgia state grand jury is gathering evidence for a criminal investigation into Trump by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for his attempt to subdue Georgia election officials to reverse Biden’s election victory in that state.

Trump is also under investigation by the DOJ for removing government documents, some of which are top secret, from the White House when he left office.

China reopens after zero Covid. However there’s a lengthy approach to go

Shanghai’s main thoroughfare is deserted during Thursday’s evening rush hour. December 22, 2022, amid a wave of Covid infections.

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

BEIJING — It’s been about two weeks since mainland China abruptly ended most Covid controls, but the country still has a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

In the major cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen, Friday morning rush hour traffic was extremely light, according to Baidu data.

According to Wind Information, the number of subway riders in major cities remained well below the normal range on Thursday.

“Significantly larger-than-expected COVID waves are leading to voluntary social distancing, as illustrated by the empty streets in Beijing in mid-December,” analysts at S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Wednesday.

“While this wave may subside in the coming weeks, a resurgence during the Lunar New Year Festival in late January 2023 is likely,” the analysts said. “It will be the first time in nearly three years that mass migration will resume in China as families gather.”

On December 7, Chinese authorities lifted virus testing and health code check requirements for domestic travel, among other relaxations of the increasingly strict zero-Covid policy. Meanwhile, local infections increased, particularly in Beijing.

In a week, more than 60% of employees at a Beijing-based company have tested positive for Covid, said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

“Two weeks later we can get people back into the office,” he said on Friday. “Basically, we went under very quickly. Looks like we’ll be back on our feet very quickly.”

Traffic in Beijing on Friday morning had recovered slightly compared to a week ago, pushing the capital back to the top spot as the nation’s most congested country, Baidu data showed. But the figures showed that congestion levels in Beijing were still about 25% lower than last year.

The lifting of strict COVID restrictions is positive for China’s economic activities. However, a resurgence of infections could dent profits.

In a survey of nearly 200 AmCham China members Dec. 16-19, more than 60% of respondents said they expected the effects of the recent Covid outbreak to be over in one to three months, Hart said.

Respondents have not reported any major supply chain issues, Hart said, noting that many companies are likely to have more stocks after disruptions caused by the lockdown in Shanghai earlier this year.

But he said most respondents at the time said they were unable to predict the long-term impact of the outbreak on their business.

Regarding foreign direct investment in China, Hart said he expected it would take about a year for such investment to recover once travel fully reopened.

China has yet to change its quarantine policy for international travelers to the mainland. Arrivals are currently required to quarantine for five days at a central facility, followed by three days at home.

Travel on the rise

Other data pointed to an increase in domestic travel.

Bookings for flights departing from Beijing from Monday to Wednesday rose 38% from the previous week, while economy fares jumped 20%, according to Qunar data quoted by Chinese media Sina Finance. CNBC could not independently confirm the report.

Chinese travel site Trip.com said flight bookings to the tropical island province of Hainan rose 68% month-on-month from Dec. 7-18. According to Trip.com, hotel bookings in Hainan rose 20% last week from the previous week.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

While the city of Beijing appears to be emerging from a Covid wave, outbreaks have hit other parts of the country.

In the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, there are far fewer people on the streets, said Klaus Zenkel, vice president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and chair of the South China chapter. He estimated that road traffic had decreased by 40%, implying an infection rate of around 60%.

Most companies are following guidelines that only ask employees to stay home if they have a fever or severe Covid symptoms, Zenkel said Thursday. “That means [the] Staff will be reduced, just hope that not everyone gets sick at the same time.”

lack of data

There are few official figures on the rise in infections or deaths from China’s recent Covid outbreak.

World Health Organization emergencies director Mike Ryan said at a briefing on Wednesday that China is unlikely to be able to keep up with the surge in infections.

“In the current case in China, relatively few hospitalized cases or relatively few cases in intensive care units are reported, while there are anecdotal reports that these intensive care units are filling up,” Ryan said, according to an official transcript.

“In a fast-moving wave, maybe three days ago you would have reported that your hospital is fine,” he said. “It may not be okay this morning because the wave has come and suddenly you have a very high infection power.”

Most people tested themselves for the virus after most mandatory tests were removed. Last week, the National Health Commission also stopped reporting asymptomatic cases.

“The government was [holding] Daily press conferences telling you how many people were infected,” AmCham’s Hart said. “Then they went to no information.”

He said the lack of official announcements made it easier for rumors to spread. Hart also said interactions with government groups suggested their offices were becoming infected and implementing work-from-home at a similar pace as companies had seen.

The FDA is urging mother and father to not stockpile flu medicines for kids

The rise in flu cases and Covid-19 infections this month, combined with increased childhood respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, has led to increased demand for over-the-counter cold and flu medicines for children. The Food and Drug Administration commissioner said his agency is working with manufacturers to improve supply, but current demand is unprecedented.

“We urge people not to buy more than they need because there is enough to get around for the amount of illness. It’s just that it’s bought the moment it ships. And when people are buying more than they need, and everyone is doing it, people who need the products can’t get them,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to CNBC.

Demand has prompted some of the country’s largest pharmacy chains to limit purchases to ensure there are enough supplies for parents who need them. This week CVS Health began limiting purchases to two over-the-counter pain and fever medicines for children in stores and online. Walgreens and rite aid have limited purchases of some items online but not in stores. A Walmart spokesman told CNBC that there are no purchase restrictions on pediatric pain and fever products.

Johnson&Johnsonone of the nation’s largest makers of children’s pain relievers, said it has ramped up production around the clock to meet unprecedented demand and is working with retailers to bring more supply to areas where demand is higher.

“While products may be less readily available in some stores, we are not seeing widespread shortages of children’s Tylenol or children’s Motrin,” a J&J spokesman said in a statement. “We recognize that this can be challenging for parents and carers and are doing everything we can to ensure people have access to the products they need.”

On Wednesday, the Biden administration said it would release doses of Tamiflu, the prescription antiviral flu drug, from national stockpiles to maintain adequate supplies during the current flu season. However, the government does not have a stockpile of over-the-counter medicines.

The FDA commissioner said his agency is working with manufacturers to ensure shipments of children’s medicines reach the areas where they are most needed. He added that sourcing more medicines is currently a challenge as other northern hemisphere countries are seeing similar demand.

“The overall supply is greater than ever, but the demand is even greater,” Califf said. “We haven’t seen the need, the demand is almost as high as at any time in our recorded history.”

Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert disregard Zelenskyy throughout their speech to Congress

MPs Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert arrived at a joint session of Congress to address Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and played on their cell phones.

ABC News’ Will Steakin tweeted:

Matt Gaetz appears to be on his phone during Zelenskyy’s speech.

He just showed Lauren Boebert something.

— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) December 22, 2022

Garetz and Boebert also blew through Capitol Police security and refused to be screened.

The Independent (UK) reported: “Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert were seen on the first floor of the Capitol building walking down a hallway outside the home as they headed straight for the chamber. Before they could reach the door, two U.S. Capitol Police officers in suits stopped the couple, addressed Mr. Gaetz by name and told them they had to go through security before entering, and pointed to a nearby metal detector.”

Gaetz and Boebert responded by ignoring security and entering the chamber.

Gaetz and Boebert blew through the security check that was in place because a foreign leader was speaking before Congress, and then went into the speech, not bothering to heed the speaker.

The behavior of the two Republicans is disrespectful towards Zelenskyy and embarrassing for the USA. Guests of our nation should be treated with respect. Rep. Gaetz and Boebert shouldn’t play on the phone and ignore the pleas of a man whose nation is struggling to survive.

America deserves better, but for at least the next two years a circus of awkward clowns will be running the house.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

Lucien Laviscount teases his future with Emily in Season four of Paris

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Emily in Paris season three.

Don’t count Alfie out yet.

Season 3 of Netflix’s Emily in Paris didn’t end well for the English heartthrob, played by Lucien Laviscount– when he left his girlfriend Emily Cooper (LiliCollins) for her true feelings for Gabriel (Luke Bravo) were revealed.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve seen the last of Alfie, at least according to Lucien himself.

“It would be great to come back,” the actor exclusively told E! News at the show’s premiere on December 15 in New York City. “But honestly, I think I’ve had a really, really incredible two seasons on this show. It was really something special.”

So you say there is a chance!

Though Lucien said he didn’t envision Alfie crawling to Emily’s feet and begging her to pick him, insisting, “She might have to pull something out of her pocket to get the captain back.”

Lucien hopes a return for season four would further deepen Alfie’s journey. “Alfie in season two had this little cloud over his head,” he said. “He hated life. In season three, he gets his vulnerable side.”

Testen Sie die Freisprechsysteme von GM, Ford und Tesla

Der Lincoln Corsair 2023 wird das freihändige fortschrittliche Fahrerassistenzsystem ActiveGlide (ADAS) der nächsten Generation des Unternehmens für Autobahnfahrten anbieten, einschließlich Spurwechsel, Positionierung auf der Fahrspur und vorausschauender Geschwindigkeitsassistent.

Lincoln

DETROIT – Loslassen ist schwer. Auch wenn große Autohersteller es einfacher machen wollen.

Autohersteller erweitern schnell Technologien, die das Beschleunigen, Bremsen und Lenken eines Fahrzeugs steuern können. In einigen Fällen können Fahrer das Lenkrad oder die Pedale kilometerweit loslassen.

verwandte Anlagenachrichten

CNBC Investing Club

Die Systeme – früher bekannt als Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – haben das Potenzial, neue Einnahmequellen für Unternehmen zu erschließen, während sie die Ermüdung der Fahrer verringern und die Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr verbessern. Aber die Autohersteller haben ihre Systeme weitgehend unabhängig voneinander gebaut, ohne branchenübliche Richtlinien von Bundesbehörden. Das bedeutet Jahre in der Entwicklung, “freihändig” oder “halbautonom” kann in den Händen konkurrierender Autohersteller etwas ganz anderes bedeuten.

Um es klar zu sagen, kein Fahrzeug, das heute zum Verkauf steht, ist selbstfahrend oder autonom. Autofahrer müssen immer aufpassen. Aktuelle ADAS verwenden meist eine Reihe von Kameras, Sensoren und Kartendaten, um den Fahrer zu unterstützen und auch die Aufmerksamkeit des Fahrers zu überwachen.

Der Autohersteller, der neben ADAS am häufigsten diskutiert wird, ist Tesla, das über eine Reihe von Technologien verfügt, die es unter anderem willkürlich „Autopilot“ und „vollständige Selbstfahrfähigkeit“ nennt. (Die Fahrzeuge fahren nicht komplett selbst.) Aber General Motors, Ford-Motor und andere veröffentlichen oder verbessern schnell ihre eigenen Systeme und erweitern sie auf neue Fahrzeuge.

Ich habe kürzlich ADAS von Tesla, GM und Ford getestet. Ihre Systeme gehören zu den am leichtesten verfügbaren und dynamischsten auf dem Markt. Allerdings war keiner von ihnen während meiner Zeit hinter dem Lenkrad annähernd fehlerfrei.

Und selbst kleine Unterschiede zwischen den Systemen können große Auswirkungen auf die Sicherheit und das Vertrauen des Fahrers haben.

GMs Super Cruise

Ich habe das System von GM erstmals vor einem Jahrzehnt auf einer abgesperrten Strecke getestet, und die jahrelange Entwicklung des Super Cruise durch den Autohersteller hat sich in der Gesamtleistung, Sicherheit und klaren Kommunikation mit dem Fahrer eindeutig ausgezahlt. Es ist das leistungsstärkste und konsistenteste System.

GM veröffentlichte Super Cruise zunächst 2017 auf einer Cadillac-Limousine – zwei Jahre nach Teslas Autopilot – bevor es in den letzten Jahren auf 12 Fahrzeuge ausgeweitet wurde. Ziel ist es, Super Cruise bis Ende 2023 weltweit für 22 Autos, Lastwagen und SUVs verfügbar zu machen.

Das System ermöglicht es den Fahrern, beim Fahren auf mehr als 400.000 Meilen vorab kartierter, geteilter Highways in den USA und Kanada „freihändig“ zu fahren. (Ford hat 150.000 Meilen kartiert, und Teslas System funktioniert hypothetisch auf jeder Autobahn.)

Wenn die Lenkrad-Lichtleiste beim Super Cruise von GM grün aufleuchtet, können Fahrer ihre Hände vom Lenkrad nehmen.

Michael Wayland / CNBC

Super Cruise ist der Spitzenreiter, wenn es um Autobahnfahrten geht, und kann die meisten Herausforderungen bewältigen, einschließlich Kurven und vielen Baustellen. Die neuesten Updates fügten auch automatische Spurwechsel hinzu, die recht gut funktionieren, um eine eingestellte Geschwindigkeit beizubehalten, indem sie langsameren Fahrzeugen ausweichen.

Über Hunderte von Kilometern mit dem System konnte ich Super Cruise regelmäßig für mehr als 30 Minuten aktivieren und sogar einen Stint auf mehr als eine Stunde ausdehnen, ohne jemals die Kontrolle über das Fahrzeug übernehmen zu müssen. Wenn Super Cruise sich löste, war es normalerweise Minuten, wenn nicht Sekunden später wieder verfügbar.

Die meisten Probleme, die ich hatte, waren laut GM wahrscheinlich auf veraltete Kartendaten zurückzuführen, die das System für den Betrieb benötigt. Wenn eine neu fertiggestellte Konstruktion oder schwerere vorübergehende Arbeiten durchgeführt werden, gibt das System von GM standardmäßig die Kontrolle an den Fahrer zurück, bis die Straße ordnungsgemäß vorkartiert ist.

Lesen Sie mehr über Elektrofahrzeuge von CNBC Pro

GM sagt, dass es mehr als 40.000 Fahrzeuge produziert hat, die mit Super Cruise ausgestattet sind, obwohl nicht alle davon aktive Benutzer repräsentieren, und mehr als 45 Millionen Freisprechmeilen gesammelt hat.

Die Preise für das System variieren je nach Fahrzeug und Marke – beispielsweise 2.500 US-Dollar für einen Cadillac – und tragen eine Abonnementgebühr von 25 US-Dollar pro Monat oder 250 US-Dollar pro Jahr nach einer kostenlosen Testphase.

Fords BlueCruise

Fords System ist das neueste der drei Autohersteller und ähnelt dem von GM. Neben Pre-Mapping und angegebenen Funktionen verfügen beide Systeme über fahrzeuginterne Infrarotkameras, um sicherzustellen, dass die Fahrer aufmerksam sind. Aber wenn das System von GM ein fähiger und selbstbewusster “Fahrer” ist, ist das von Ford immer noch ein Teenager, der lernt, wenn auch sehr schnell.

Fords System – vermarktet als Ford BlueCruise und ActiveGlide für Lincoln – wurde erstmals im Juli 2021 verfügbar, obwohl das Unternehmen die Systeme bis Ende November bereits auf mehr als 109.000 registrierte Fahrzeuge mit mehr als 35 Millionen freihändigen Fahrmeilen ausgeweitet hat.

Die Preise für das System von Ford variieren je nach Marke und Fahrzeug. Es kann Teil von optionalen Paketen sein, die ungefähr 2.000 US-Dollar kosten und andere Funktionen für den Ford F-150 und den Mustang Mach-E von 2023 enthalten. Wie GM erfordert es nach Testperioden ein Abonnement.

Auch wie bei GM funktioniert das System von Ford gut auf Autobahnen … bis es nicht mehr funktioniert. Es ist weniger vorhersehbar und kämpft insbesondere mit größeren oder schärferen Kurven, Baustellen und unter anderen Umständen, die ein menschlicher Fahrer problemlos bewältigen könnte.

Fords BlueCruise-System, wie es auf einem Mustang Mach-E-Elektro-Crossover gezeigt wird.

Ford

Die längste Zeit, die ich während meiner Testfahrten, die größtenteils auf der I-75 und einer mit Bauarbeiten beladenen I-94 in ländlichen und städtischen Gebieten von Michigan stattfanden, mit Fords System freihändig fahren konnte, betrug 20 Minuten und etwa 25 Meilen.

Das ist ein Problem, wenn Sie versuchen, die Ermüdung des Fahrers zu lindern und das Vertrauen der Fahrer in solche Systeme zu stärken.

“Es ist nicht gut genug, wenn es sich zufällig löst, wenn Sie sich Kurven auf der Straße nähern”, sagte Sam Abuelsamid, ein leitender Analyst bei Guidehouse Insights, der sich auf fortschrittliche und aufkommende Automobiltechnologien spezialisiert hat.

Chris Billman, Chefingenieur für die Integration von ADAS-Fahrzeugsystemen bei Ford, betonte, dass das Unternehmen in diesem Stadium mit seinem System übermäßig vorsichtig sei. Trotz der Warnungen, die Kontrolle wieder zu übernehmen, ist das System so ausgelegt, dass es in Betrieb bleibt, bis der Fahrer übernimmt.

Laut Billman schaltet sich das System in den meisten großen Autobahnkurven aus, weil es derzeit nicht darauf ausgelegt ist, das Fahrzeug vor einer Kurve zu verlangsamen – etwas, mit dem Super Cruise 2017 auf den Markt kam. Das soll mit dem nächsten großen Update des Systems verbessert werden, das Anfang nächsten Jahres beginnt.

Das BlueCruise-System von Ford wird auf dem Fahrerinformations-Cluster eines F-150-Pickup-Trucks angezeigt.

Ford

Ford könnte auch die Interaktionen seines Systems mit dem Fahrer verbessern. GM verwendet einen Lichtbalken am Lenkrad und Kommunikation im Fahrercluster – die besten Kommunikationsfunktionen unter den drei aktuellen Systemen.

Das soll nicht heißen, dass Super Cruise nicht noch dazulernt.

Sowohl Ford- als auch GM-Systeme wären wahrscheinlich auf eine vorübergehende Betonkonstruktionsbarriere gestoßen, wenn ich nicht übernommen und mich auf einer großen S-Kurven-Fahrbahn in der Nähe von Detroit gelöst hätte.

Super Cruise und BlueCruise lösten sich beide mehrmals scheinbar ohne Grund, nur um sich danach schnell wieder zu verbinden. Super Cruise versuchte auch, in einer neu fertiggestellten Bauzone in eine Standspur oder einen Mittelstreifen einzufädeln, während Ford auf halbem Weg durch eine Kurve ein ähnliches Manöver durchführte.

Und natürlich funktioniert keines der Systeme auf Stadtstraßen wie das von Tesla.

Dann gibt es Tesla

Teslas Technologie ist bei weitem die ehrgeizigste der drei und funktioniert gut auf der Autobahn. Aber es kann auf den Straßen der Stadt nervenaufreibend, wenn nicht sogar gefährlich sein, insbesondere wenn es in den Verkehr einbiegt.

Tesla-Fahrzeuge sind standardmäßig mit einem als Autopilot bekannten ADAS ausgestattet. Besitzer können das System jedoch gegen eine Gebühr mit zusätzlichen Funktionen aufrüsten. Das Full Self-Driving (FSD)-Upgrade kostet derzeit 15.000 US-Dollar beim Kauf eines Fahrzeugs, oder ein späteres monatliches Abonnement kostet je nach Fahrzeug zwischen 99 und 199 US-Dollar, so die Tesla-Website.

Ich konnte drei Tesla-Stufen des Systems mit unterschiedlicher Funktionalität in einem Tesla Model 3 Baujahr 2019 verwenden. Das Fahren mit der FSD Beta (Version 10.69.3.1) gehörte zu den stressigsten Fahrmomenten in meinem Leben (und ich hatte viel!).

Während eines begrenzten Tests auf der Autobahn funktionierten die Systeme von Tesla sehr gut. Die Fahrt beinhaltete automatische Spurwechsel und navigationsbasiertes Aussteigen, obwohl aufgrund des Verkehrs eine Ausfahrtsrampe überschritten wurde. GM und Ford verknüpfen die Navigation derzeit nicht mit ADAS.

Teslas ADAS ist auch in der Lage, Ampeln auf Stadtstraßen zu erkennen und entsprechend zu handeln, was sehr beeindruckend war.

Eines meiner größten Probleme mit Teslas System auf der Autobahn war, wie häufig es mich aufforderte, „einzuchecken“ – eine Aktion, die ein Ziehen am Lenkrad erfordert, um zu beweisen, dass der Fahrer physisch auf dem Fahrersitz sitzt und aufpasst. Die “Check-Ins” sind etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, damit sich das System nicht löst.

Tesla FSD Beta — ein Experiment auf öffentlichen Straßen

Ich kämpfte auch mit der Kommunikation des Autos darüber, wann das System aktiviert wurde.

Im Gegensatz zu Ford und GM, die deutlich anzeigen, wenn das System aktiviert ist, ist der einzige Hinweis darauf, dass Teslas ADAS aktiviert ist, ein winziges Lenkradsymbol – kleiner als ein Cent – ​​oben links auf dem mittleren Bildschirm des Fahrzeugs. (Das Tesla Model 3 hat keine Bildschirme vor dem Fahrer.)

Das heißt, um zu bestätigen, ob das System aktiviert ist, muss der Fahrer den Blick tatsächlich von der Straße abwenden. Und wenn sich das System löst, kommuniziert es nicht sehr gut, sodass der Fahrer nicht weiß, wann das System in Betrieb ist, und ängstlich ist.

Solche Probleme waren noch auffälliger, als FSD Beta auf Oberflächenstraßen operierte. Neben den Autobahnproblemen hat das System – wie in unzähligen YouTube-Videos dokumentiert – mit manchen Kurven Schwierigkeiten.

Fügen Sie hinzu, was lokal als “Michigan Left” bekannt ist – ein mittlerer U-Turn-Crossover – und das System verwandelt sich in das Äquivalent eines jungen, wenn nicht gefährlichen Fahrschülers. Bei einem solchen Manöver stoppte der Tesla an einem Punkt nicht nur auf einer, sondern auf drei Fahrspuren, als er versuchte, abzubiegen, bevor ich das System überholte.

Auf geraden, überfüllten Straßen in einem Vorort von Detroit funktionierte Teslas System weitgehend gut. Aber es fehlte die Erfahrung, um Nuancen menschlicher Fahrer zu erkennen, wie z. B. das Anhalten, um anderen den Zugang zu einer Fahrspur zu ermöglichen. Es hatte auch einige Schwierigkeiten mit Spurwechseln und schien verloren zu gehen, wenn Spurmarkierungen nicht verfügbar waren.

All diese Bedenken sind der Grund, warum kein anderes Unternehmen ein System wie Teslas FSD Beta veröffentlicht hat, das dafür kritisiert wurde, seine Kunden als Test-Maultiere zu verwenden. Tesla antwortete nicht auf eine Bitte um Stellungnahme zu diesem Artikel.

CEO Elon Musk hat mehrere Jahre lang versprochen, dass die Fahrzeuge in der Lage sein würden, vollständig selbst zu fahren. In einem kürzlichen Argument als Reaktion auf eine in Kalifornien eingereichte Klage sagte Tesla, dass sein „Versäumnis“, ein solches „langfristiges, ambitioniertes Ziel“ zu verwirklichen, keinen Betrug darstelle und dass es nur „durch konstantes“ vollautonomes Fahren erreichen würde und rigorose Verbesserungen.”