March 5 top stories
It is March 5. Here are today’s top stories.
SpaceX-backed flying car startup boasts huge pre-orders
Alef Aeronautics, a SpaceX-backed flying car firm, says it has reached almost 3,000 preorders for its futuristic electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle–two-seater flying car, the Alef Model A.
How does Alef’s car work? It resembles an actual car with a mesh shell protecting rotors on the inside that allow air to flow through the vehicle. It is mainly designed to be driven on the road but will be able to take to the skies, too. The Alef Model A has a driving range of 200 mph and a flying range of 110 mph.
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Alef Aeronautics, which is based in San Mateo, California, said customers can access preorders for the Model A online, and to pre-order, you have to put down a $150 deposit for the vehicle. Customers can pull the deposit at any time if they want to, so they are not locked in.
Alef is planning to charge customers $300,000 for the Model A when it becomes commercially available. Alef’s CEO, Jim Dukhovny, called their vehicle the “first flying car in history” and insists the higher price tag is needed as Alef is still a startup and is not making any serious money yet.
Dukhovny said we plan to start production of the first one by the end of 2025 if everything goes smoothly with enough funding and regulatory approvals.
Supreme Court to briefly block Texas from arresting migrants
The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked a new Texas immigration law in response to a Biden administration request. The law in question, known as SB4, allows police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing into the U.S. without authorization and impose criminal penalties.
Texas Gov. Abbott, a Republican who signed SB4 in December, has argued the law is needed to reduce migrant crossings, accusing the Biden administration of not doing enough to deter illegal immigration.
Last week, Judge Ezra in a lower court granted a request from the Justice Department and temporarily blocked Texas state officials from enforcing SB4, which was set to take effect on Tuesday. He ruled that immigration arrests and deportations are federal responsibilities and rejected Texas’ argument that the state is facing an “invasion” by migrants.
But at Texas’ request, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals over the weekend suspended Ezra’s order. On Monday, after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to intervene, Justice Alito paused the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ order through Wednesday, March 13, and gave Texas until the end of the business day next Monday to plead its case.
The ruling by Justice Alito has temporarily prevented the law from going into effect. It is now blocked until March 13, giving all nine justices more time to determine what next steps to take. If the Supreme Court sides with Texas, SB4 could take effect on March 13 at 5 pm ET.
Haiti declares state of emergency after mass jailbreak
According to multiple media reports, Haiti’s government imposed a 72-hour state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in an attempt to restore order after armed gangs stormed two of the country’s largest prisons, allowing thousands of people to escape.
On Sunday, the government called on police to use “all legal means” to recapture the prisoners and enforce the curfew.
Gangs control around 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince and gang violence has plagued Haiti for years.
A government statement said two prisons, one in the capital of Port-au-Prince and another in nearby Croix-des-Bouquets, were overrun by gang members during the weekend. Nearly all the 4,000 inmates at Haiti’s prison in Port-au-Prince were thought to have escaped.
Gang leaders are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Under a political deal, Prime Minister Henry agreed to step down by February 7 and announced elections but nothing has happened since he took power in 2021. Haiti currently has no elected officials. Now Henry decides to stay despite the fact that there are huge protests throughout the country asking him to step down.
A coalition of gangs wants to capture his ministers and the country’s police chief with the aim of making his return impossible. Henry’s whereabouts are unknown since he went to sign a bilateral deal with Kenya.
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France to make abortion a constitutional right, a global first
French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.
The historic move was proposed by President Macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years.
The measure was approved in a 780-72 vote. Abortion enjoys wide support in France across most of the political spectrum, and has been legal since 1975.
France limits the possibility for an elective abortion to 14 weeks – a shorter timeframe than the proposed 15-week nationwide ban that has caused an uproar in the United States.
Abortion care in France is reimbursed by the national health care system.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said “we are sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you. President Macron described the move as “French pride” that had sent a “universal message.”
See Alex for a news story about several former Twitter executives suing Elon Musk over firings. Here it is.
Former Twitter executives sue Elon Musk over firings, seek more than $128 million in severance
Thanks, Callie.
On Monday, several former top employees at Twitter sued Elon Musk and X Corp seeking more than $128 million in unpaid severance payments.
The former employees said they were fired without a reason when Musk took over Twitter in 2022. They accused Musk of making up fake reasons to get rid of them and avoid paying them severance, which was supposed to be one year’s salary plus stock awards.
There was a previous lawsuit by mid-level Twitter employees who said they didn’t get severance after Musk terminated thousands of employees.
So there are now two lawsuits with similar allegations. The former top employees said Musk is someone who believes the rules don’t apply to him and someone who uses his wealth and power to “run roughshod” over anyone who disagrees with him.
AP News said Musk and X didn’t respond to messages for comment.
Thanks for that story. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
SpaceX-backed flying car startup boasts huge pre-orders:
https://alef.aero/preorder.html
Supreme Court to briefly block Texas from arresting migrants:
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/04/texas-sb4-illegal-immigration-law-5th-circuit-court-ruling/
Haiti declares state of emergency after mass jailbreak:
France to make abortion a constitutional right, a global first:
Former Twitter executives sue Elon Musk over firings, seek more than $128 million in severance: