Tag Archives: orders

Robot collision at Ocado warehouse near London sparks fire, delaying customer orders

Online-only British supermarket Ocado has had to cancel some customers’ delivery orders after a Friday robot collision at one of its warehouses caused a fire, the company said.

The fire at the company’s Erith warehouse east of London “appears to have been caused by the collision of three bots on the grid,” the company said in a statement on Sunday. No one was injured, and the damage was limited to less than 1 percent of its grid, according to Ocado.

The grocer’s warehouses are populated with washing machine-sized robots that move products around on a grid system. The Verge’s James Vincent wrote about Ocado’s plans in a 2018 feature story. He described the process:

Deliveries are unpacked into crates; crates are placed onto conveyors; and conveyors carry the crates to shelves, where human “pickers” take what they need to fill customers’ orders. The new paradigm, though, is all about using space as efficiently as possible. Items are still placed in crates, but those crates are now stored in huge stacks, up to 17 boxes high. Their position in this stack seems to be at random — a box of razors next to cod fillets, for example — but it’s algorithmically decided; with frequently accessed items placed on the top and rarer purchases near the bottom. On top of this hoard, the robots do their work.


Robots at Ocado’s warehouses operate on grids. Three of the robots collided at its Erith warehouse on July 16th, causing a fire that has disrupted operations.

The company said Sunday that the Erith plant, which processes some 150,000 orders a week according to the Financial Times, should restart operations in the next few days. “While we expect some disruption to operations, we are working to restore normal service as soon as possible,” the company said. “We expect the facility to begin operating within the coming week and thank customers whose orders are affected for their patience.”

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Alabama military base orders troops to show vaccination proof amid increased COVID-19 cases

Troops at an Alabama military base have been ordered to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated to be able to go without face masks on the premise.

The base in Fort Rucker, Alabama, the headquarters for the Army’s aviation program, announced on Tuesday that it would be implementing the new rule in an effort to combat a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.  

State Health Officer Scott Harris told The Associated Press in an interview that he was concerned about the rising number of COVID-19 cases and said that the delta variant was playing “a large role.”

“And it’s definitely because people are unvaccinated. It’s not the vaccinated people that are getting infected for the most part and if they do for the most part they aren’t the ones getting sick in the hospital,” Harris told the AP.

According to the state’s coronavirus data, Alabama has seen over 556,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 11,400, as of Wednesday evening, since the start of the pandemic. 

Data from Johns Hopkins University notes that the percentage of those who are fully vaccinated in the state is 33.6 percent, making it among the states with the lowest percentage of fully vaccinated people in the U.S. 

Johns Hopkins data shows that Mississippi has the name percentage as Alabama of people are fully vaccinated. Wyoming, Arkansas and Louisiana track similarly low percentages of people who are fully vaccinated, at around 35 percent. 

On July 7, Alabama had 1,613 cases compared to 532 cases the week before. On July 12, the state had 610 cases, according to Johns Hopkins data.

 

Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, and have not been fully approved, the military cannot legally mandate that all service members get the vaccine. President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats reach deal on .5T price tag for infrastructure bill Texas family arrested for role in Capitol riot Key Senate Democrats undecided on Biden’s ATF nominee  MORE could grant an exception to this rule, however.

In an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Sunday, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the president should require all military members to get the vaccine. 

“I frankly think the president ought to issue an order requiring everybody in the military to get a COVID-19 shot, period. That’s an issue involving our national security,” Panetta, who served in the Obama administration, said. “The last damn thing you need is to have those in the military that are our warriors unable to respond to a mission because they’ve gotten COVID-19. There’s no excuse for that.”

More than half of all service members have been at least partially vaccinated as of late June, but thousands of military members have still not gotten the vaccine. 



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Tesla has Powerwall backlog of 80,000 orders worth over $500 million

Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla currently has a Powerwall backlog of 80,000 orders, which is worth over $500 million, but it can’t ramp up production to meet that due to the global chip shortage.

Tesla has been production constrained with the Powerwall for a long time.

The demand has been strong in several markets, like the US and Australia, but production hasn’t been to catch up despite significant ramp-ups.

As we recently reported, it took Tesla about five years to deploy the first 100,000 Powerwalls, and then, it deployed 100,000 more home battery packs over the last year alone.

It shows a massive ramp-up in production and installations, but now, CEO Elon Musk says that Tesla still has a backlog of 80,000 Powerwall orders.

The CEO made the comment during his trial in Delaware yesterday as he is being sued by some Tesla shareholders over the acquisition of SolarCity, which they see as Musk using Tesla to bail out another company that he controls.

Musk finds himself having to explain the logic behind combining the two businesses and the integration of Tesla’s Powerwall into SolarCity’s residential solar offering is one of the best examples of synergy between the two companies.

During his testimony, the CEO reportedly revealed that Tesla currently has about 80,000 Powerwalls on order, but he believes that Tesla can produce only between 30,000 to 35,000 this quarter due to supply chain issues (via CNBC):

“Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed in court on Monday that demand for Tesla Powerwalls stands around 80,000 units, but the company won’t be able to make even half of that many this quarter. In the “best case,” Musk said, Tesla will produce 30,000 to 35,000 of its home backup batteries in the current quarter. He blamed the expected shortfall on chip shortages.”

To be fair, the deployment of 30,000 Powerwalls this quarter would still be quite significant since we would be talking about over 400 MWh of energy capacity.

Last quarter, Tesla disclosed 445 MWh of energy storage capacity deployed, but that number also includes Powerpacks and Megapacks, which are believed to account for most of the capacity.

Recently, Musk also announced that Tesla is stopping the deployment of Powerall battery packs on their own.

Instead, Powerwalls will have to be deployed with solar power systems.

Tesla also recently announced the Powerwall 2+, which comes with a higher power output. The company has talked about ramping up production with the new version of the Powerwall.

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Judge orders Minneapolis to hire more police officers

A judge on Thursday ordered Minneapolis to hire more police officers after ruling in favor of a group that had sued the city council over a rise in crime in the city. 

“Minneapolis is in a crisis,” the eight plaintiffs connected to the conservative Upper Midwest Law Center wrote in their complaint, citing the rise in shootings and homicides and the violent George Floyd protests, FOX 9 in Minneapolis reported. 

While the city is expected to have about 649 officers by next June, Hennepin County District Judge Jamie L. Anderson said the city needs to have at least 730 by June 30, 2022, or .2% of the population after the 2020 Census is published, the station reported. 

Officers in Minneapolis and many other police departments have also been leaving in droves amid the perceived anti-police climate. 

“We have made the emotional appeal,” Don Samuels, one of the plaintiffs and a former City Councilmember, said, according to FOX 9. “We have demonstrated the statistical uptick and now this is the legal action we are exercising because it seems as if the City Council cannot hear us and doesn’t feel what we feel.” 

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The city is reviewing the order, the station reported. 

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Judge orders SpaceX to comply with DOJ subpoena on its hiring practices

U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled Wednesday that SpaceX must comply with a Department of Justice subpoena for its hiring records in an investigation into whether the company discriminates against applicants based on their citizenship status. 

The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division originally filed the subpoena last October for records related to the application of Fabian Hutter, who alleges that SpaceX denied his application because he isn’t American. 

A SpaceX rocket with the company’s Dragon capsule is illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad, early Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

AFTER DELAYED SPACEX LAUNCH, MUSK SAYS REFORM NEEDED FOR HUMANITY TO ‘BECOME A SPACEFARING CIVILIZATION’

“Specifically, the charge alleges that on or about March 10, 2020, during the Charging Party’s interview for the position of Technology Strategy Associate, SpaceX made inquiries about his citizenship status and ultimately failed to hire him for the position because he is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident,” DOJ attorney Lisa Sandoval wrote in a court filing in January, according to Reuters. 

The DOJ is “also investigating whether [SpaceX] has engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination” and has requested documents related to 3,000 other employees, according to a December court order. 

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SpaceX has been fighting the subpoena for months, but Gee ruled Wednesday that the company has to comply within three weeks. 

“The government’s application for enforcement of its administrative subpoena is GRANTED,” Gee wrote in Wednesday’s order. “Respondent SpaceX is ORDERED to comply in full with the subpoena within 21 days.”

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. 

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Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine Production Pace to Increase at Contract Manufacturer Catalent

Contract drug manufacturer Catalent Inc. is expanding its U.S. production of the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc., a development that could ensure the U.S. has ample supply as it ramps up vaccinations.

Catalent has reached an agreement with Moderna that will increase the speed of vaccine output at the contract manufacturer’s Bloomington, Ind., plant this month to about 400 vials a minute, according to people familiar with the matter.

Catalent will shift manufacturing of the shot to one faster production line from two slower ones. New doses will be ready for shipping starting next month, the people said, and the upgraded plant will be able fill an additional 80 million vials a year.

The expansion will help Moderna reach its goal of supplying an additional 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of May and another 100 million doses by the end of July.

Production in the U.S. of several authorized vaccines has picked up speed in recent weeks, as manufacturers have scaled up production lines and taken other steps to increase output.

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Big outdoor events OK under simplified Ohio pandemic orders, governor says

Ohio’s newly simplified pandemic restrictions will continue requirements for wearing masks and social distancing in public but will ease rules for large outdoor gatherings such as graduations and festivals, state officials said Monday.Though the state will no longer limit the size of such events, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said participants would be asked to stay separated in groups of 10 or fewer – rather than merging into one huge crowd – to help reduce possible spread of the coronavirus. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ORDERAsked how that would be enforced at a typically crowded festival, DeWine said: “People just need to use common sense.” Indoor facilities are still limited to 25% of fixed seating capacity.The Ohio restrictions issued throughout the pandemic are being updated and consolidated this week to make them simpler for residents and event organizers to understand, state officials said.They emphasize the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, staying in smaller groups and sanitizing, health director Stephanie McCloud said.DeWine also said the state doesn’t intend to require a coronavirus vaccination for K-12 or college students next school year. But he urged those age 16 and up who are eligible for the vaccine to get it.

Ohio’s newly simplified pandemic restrictions will continue requirements for wearing masks and social distancing in public but will ease rules for large outdoor gatherings such as graduations and festivals, state officials said Monday.

Though the state will no longer limit the size of such events, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said participants would be asked to stay separated in groups of 10 or fewer – rather than merging into one huge crowd – to help reduce possible spread of the coronavirus.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ORDER

Asked how that would be enforced at a typically crowded festival, DeWine said: “People just need to use common sense.”

Indoor facilities are still limited to 25% of fixed seating capacity.

The Ohio restrictions issued throughout the pandemic are being updated and consolidated this week to make them simpler for residents and event organizers to understand, state officials said.

They emphasize the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, staying in smaller groups and sanitizing, health director Stephanie McCloud said.

DeWine also said the state doesn’t intend to require a coronavirus vaccination for K-12 or college students next school year. But he urged those age 16 and up who are eligible for the vaccine to get it.

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NYPD gives cops new orders to let people smoke weed in public

The NYPD has told cops how to enforce the state’s new marijuana law — which includes letting adults light up in public, ignoring the exchange of weed unless money is involved and banning vehicle searches based on smell alone.

A four-page memo also says cops can’t “approach, stop or detain” a parolee for smoking or possessing pot, even if they know the ex-con isn’t supposed to be getting high.

Instead, they “should notify the relevant parole officers” to enforce the conditions under which the jailbird was sprung from prison.

The memo says the “sweeping changes” in enforcement are the result of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signing of a bill that legalized the recreational use, sale and growing of weed.

It was issued just hours after Cuomo signed the measure into law Wednesday morning.

Specific guidance in the memo tells cops that people 21 and older can legally smoke weed “almost anywhere that cigarette smoking is allowed including on sidewalks, on front stoops and other public places.”

It notes that blazing away “in any of these locations is not a basis for an approach, stop, summons, arrest or search.”

NYC MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY SLASHED 3, INCLUDING BABY, WAS PAROLED ON ATTEMPTED-MURDER CONVICTION: POLICE

The memo also says that people can’t be charged with selling pot “unless they receive compensation” and that a “hand-to-hand exchange of lawful amounts … without compensation to a person 21 or over, is not considered a sale.”

In addition, the odor of both “burnt and unburnt” weed “alone no longer establishes probable cause of a crime to search a vehicle,” the memo says.

If a driver appears wasted and reeks of weed or admits “having smoked recently,” cops can search the vehicle’s passenger compartment, but “the trunk may not be searched unless the officer develops separate probable cause to believe the trunk contains evidence of a crime (e.g. gun recovered from under driver seat).”

An NYPD source said the lenient new drug law could prove disastrous for public safety.”We always say, ‘Drugs equal guns.’ When you smelled weed, you could pull a car over. Now, you can’t pull them over,” the cop said.

FAMILY OF NYC ASIAN HATE CRIME VICTIM THANKS ANONYMOUS GOOD SAMARITAN WHO DIVERTED ATTACKER’S ATTENTION

“That’s bad, especially with all the gun violence going on.”

Some provisions of the new law went into effect immediately, including those that allow people 21 and older to smoke and possess up to three ounces of pot in public.

Cops on the force will not be allowed to toke up themselves, however, the NYPD said in a statement.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 25: NYPD officers wear masks in Times Square on March 25, 2021 in New York City.  (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

“Rules governing the use of marijuana for members of the NYPD have not changed,” they said.

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Others that will regulate sales at licensed dispensaries and let adults grow as many as 12 pot plants per household and keep a five-pound stash at home are set to be phased in later.

Five pounds of weed is enough to roll more than 3,330 joints, based on data from a 2010 study, “Quantification and Comparison of Marijuana Smoking Practices: Blunts, Joints, and Pipes,” that was published in the medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan.

This report originally appeared in the New York Post.

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Myanmar junta orders internet blackout as more pro-democracy protesters are detained

Pro-democracy demonstrators have repeatedly filled streets across the country for nearly two months in protest after the military overthrew the elected government over claims of election fraud, and installed a ruling junta.

The military has responded to the protests with a bloody crackdown. At least 550 people have been killed by junta forces, according to advocacy group the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday that the junta had also “forcibly disappeared hundreds of people” — including politicians, election officials, journalists, activists and protesters — since the February 1 coup.

At least 2,751 people, among them journalists, protesters, activists, government officials, trade unionists, writers, students, civilians and even children, have been detained, often in nighttime raids, according to AAPP.

On Friday, most Myanmar citizens woke up to no internet access after telecoms companies received instructions from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to stop wireless broadband internet services.

Customers of telecoms company Ooredoo received text messages the night before saying wireless services would be stopped until further notice. The directive was dated from April 1. A majority of customers in Myanmar connect to the internet through wireless data services and the move will leave only those with physical connections to access the web.

Mobile data has also been disabled for the 19th day, according to internet monitor Netblocks.

CNN has reached out to Myanmar’s military for comment on the wireless internet shutdown.

As the military clamps down on the flow of information, dozens of journalists have been detained by security forces, according to the UN, and so have citizens who have spoken to media outlets, according to reports.

A CNN team spoke with residents Friday while visiting a bazaar in Yangon’s Insein township. CNN is in Myanmar with the permission of the military and is being escorted by the military, including during the visit to the market.

Two women were arrested afterwards, ​according to a report from local outlet The Irrawaddy​. The report included an eyewitness account that one woman was seen speaking to the CNN team. It’s unclear ​from that account whether that woman was among those arrested soon after. An improvised anti-regime protest broke out while the team was present, its report added.

Multiple unverified reports posted on social media said at least two people had been taken away by security forces after speaking with the CNN team.

CNN has reached out to the Myanmar military for comment on the reported detentions.

In its latest briefing, the AAPP said it could confirm the location of “only a small fraction” of recent detainees it had identified.

The co-chairs of the United Nations Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists on Thursday issued a statement voicing “deep concern over the attacks on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the situation of journalists and media workers in Myanmar and strongly condemn their harassment, arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as of human rights defenders and other members of civil society.”

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France’s Macron Orders New Nationwide Lockdown

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron announced a national lockdown Wednesday, shuttering schools and nonessential businesses, amid mounting public frustration over his government’s handling of the pandemic.

Speaking from the Élysée Palace on national television, Mr. Macron said new measures were needed after his strategy of relying on targeted restrictions failed to tame the pandemic. France’s sluggish vaccine campaign has left the country vulnerable to more contagious coronavirus variants, which have sent cases soaring and filled the country’s intensive-care units with Covid-19 patients.

“It would be false to say that things will get better on their own,” Mr. Macron said. “Then we would place ourselves in a sensitive situation where the entire country could be overloaded.”

Mr. Macron said restrictions that currently apply only to Paris and other hard-hit areas would be extended across the country for four weeks, starting Saturday evening. Schools will shut for three weeks beginning Monday, Mr. Macron said, with spring break being shifted to coincide with the last two weeks of the shutdown. Unlike a year ago at the start of the pandemic, the public won’t be required to fill out a form to leave the house during the third nationwide lockdown.

In an attempt to cushion France’s economy, Mr. Macron left the country relatively open during the depths of winter and then hewed to softer restrictions in mid-March as infections surged and intensive-care units in Paris overflowed. French authorities were loath to shut schools, taking pride in avoiding that step even as Germany and other European countries closed them months ago.

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