MARINA – Joby Aviation recently delivered its third aircraft prototype from its pilot production line in Marina and expects 4 more aircraft to enter energetic flight testing later this yr.

The aerospace company has developed and produced an electrical air taxi able to carrying a pilot and 4 passengers at speeds of as much as 320 km/h, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise of helicopters and 0 operating emissions.

Joby has been operating in Marina for about seven years and is constructing a producing facility there. The company has begun producing its aircraft there at its pilot production plant, with the primary aircraft set to roll off the road in June 2023. The Marina facility is one among three in California, with others positioned in Santa Cruz – where the corporate is headquartered – and San Carlos. Joby Aviation also has a facility in Munich, and selected Dayton, Ohio, as the placement for its latest manufacturing facility in September last yr.

In March, the corporate announced the acquisition of an existing facility at Dayton International Airport, where it has begun hiring staff to support its initial operations. The facility Joby is acquiring will likely be equipped to support its initial production operations in Dayton, that are expected to start later this yr. The facility will likely be used to fabricate aircraft parts to support Joby's pilot production line in Marina.

The backdrop for the ceremonial laying of the muse stone was the second series prototype aircraft that rolled off the corporate's pilot production line.

Joby's pilot production line in Marina, currently positioned in its “mega tent” at Marina Airport, is specifically designed to assist Joby learn manufacturing and optimize its manufacturing processes to provide larger volumes.

The aerospace company has testing facilities including an integrated test laboratory and flight test facilities at Marina. With the groundbreaking of its latest facility on the airport, Joby will significantly increase the production capability of its pilot production line.

The news of the third production prototype rolling off the pilot production line in Marina got here as the corporate released its second quarter 2024 shareholder letter, highlighting its “strong financial foundation” because it reported a robust balance sheet with $825 million in money and short-term investments at the tip of the second quarter.

Other highlights of the second quarter of 2024 include ramping up production, in line with the corporate, as the corporate expects to have 4 aircraft in energetic flight test within the third quarter of this yr, with the second production prototype currently in flight test and the third just rolled off the production line. Joby's certification process is within the fourth of 5 phases of type certification and is now 37% complete on the corporate side, with quite a few test plans submitted and accepted through the quarter. Joby expects progress within the fourth phase to speed up throughout the rest of 2024.

As a part of its international expansion, Joby has applied for certification in Australia and signed a memorandum of understanding with Mukamalah, an entirely owned subsidiary of Saudo Aramco and operator of the world's largest fleet of business jets, to introduce the Joby aircraft to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through direct sales. Joby's future technologies included the 561-mile flight of a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-powered air taxi demonstrator and the acquisition of the autonomy division of Xwing, an industry leader in the event of autonomous technology for aviation.

Originally published: August 9, 2024 at 6:41 am

SANTA FE, NM — Sixteen jurors were named Tuesday for Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial in New Mexico, with opening arguments scheduled to start Wednesday.

Five men and 11 women were chosen by special prosecutors from Santa Fe County and the actor's defense team. Twelve shall be appointed as jurors and 4 as alternates by the court after the case is heard.

They must resolve whether Baldwin committed the crime when a gun went off while he was pointing it at camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza, during a rehearsal in October 2021. They were on the set of the western film “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch, about 18 miles from the positioning of the trial.

Media were barred from the courtroom as attorneys used their objections to dismiss jurors. Judge Mary Marlowe Summer swore within the jury and told them to avoid news of the case and report Wednesday morning.

Baldwin, 66, faces as much as 18 months in prison if the jury unanimously finds him guilty.

The selection process got off to a slow start on Tuesday, delayed by over two hours attributable to technical issues, however the panel was chosen in a single day as expected.

When Marlowe Sommer asked the 70 potential jurors in the event that they were acquainted with the case, all but two raised their hands, indicating that they were acquainted with the case.

Two others stated that they were unable to be fair and impartial and were excused.

Baldwin, the star of “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and a serious Hollywood figure for 35 years, sat within the courtroom with a team of 4 of his lawyers, wearing a gray suit, dark tie, white shirt, glasses and neatly combed hair.

His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and his brother, “The Usual Suspects” actor Stephen Baldwin, sat behind the courtroom.

Under questioning by prosecutor Kari Morrissey, one potential juror said she hated guns, but many others admitted to owning them and few expressed strong opinions about guns.

Baldwin's attorney Alex Spiro emphasized the seriousness of the situation in his questioning – “obviously someone lost their life” – and asked jurors to share any concerns that they had about their ability to evaluate fairly and impartially.

“Does anyone even remotely share this view?” Spiro asked the group.

He asked them to return forward in the event that they had expressed their opinion concerning the case online. No one did so.

Spiro asked if any of them had a transparent opinion on gun safety and whether one could rely not only on oneself but additionally on an authority to make sure gun safety.

Several said they all the time treat a gun as if it were loaded. One man said he was taught to respect and treat guns the identical way, but he also relied on an instructor during training for a permit to hold a concealed weapon.

Spiro also asked whether jurors wouldn’t mind questioning the decision of law enforcement officials, even once they testified under oath.

He asked if anyone knew any possible witnesses, and a number of other said they knew Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who’s on the prosecution's witness list.

Even in Los Angeles or Baldwin's hometown of New York, it will be unusual to sit down in on a trial of such an enormous star accused of such a serious crime. But for jurors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, it would be an almost unheard of experience, regardless that the state has turn out to be a growing center of Hollywood production in recent times.

Baldwin and his wife arrived early to court with their youngest child, Ilaria Catalina Irena Baldwin. The couple has seven children ranging in age from one to 10.

Baldwin said the gun by accident fired after he followed instructions to point it at Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Not knowing the gun contained live ammunition, Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer – not the trigger – and a shot fired.

Hutchins was considered a rising star in film photography when she was killed at age 42. She was the mother of a young son who grew up on a distant Soviet military base and worked on documentaries in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and launching a profession as a filmmaker.

PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he would dissolve the National Assembly and call early elections after his party suffered a heavy defeat in European Parliament elections.

In an address to the nation from the Elysée presidential palace, Macron said: “I have decided to give you back the decision on our parliamentary future through the vote. That is why I am dissolving the National Assembly.” The vote will happen in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said.

The move comes after the far-right Rassemblement National (Rassemblement National) is predicted to have a transparent lead over Macron's pro-European centrists in France's European Union parliamentary elections following initial forecast results on Sunday, French polling institutes show.

Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, nationalist party is estimated to receive around 31 to 32 percent of the vote, greater than twice as much as Macron's Renaissance party.

The early signs are a significant blow to Macron, who wants to steer a Europe-wide effort to defend Ukraine and strengthen the EU's defense assets and industry.

The leading candidate of the Rassemblement National, Jordan Bardella, wants to limit the free movement of migrants through national border controls and roll back EU climate regulations. The party not wants to go away the EU and the euro, but slightly weaken them from inside.

“Tonight our compatriots expressed their desire for change,” said Bardella.

“Emmanuel Macron is a weakened president tonight,” he added, calling for the organization of latest national parliamentary elections.

Initial forecasts also show a resurgence of the Socialist Party with around 14 percent of the vote. During the election campaign, the party campaigned for a more ambitious climate policy and protective measures for European corporations and staff and received around 14 percent of the vote.

France elects 81 members of the European Parliament, which has a complete of 720 seats.

South Korea General election from April 10, 2024, was widely viewed as a referendum about President Yoon Suk Yeol's first two years in office.

Against this backdrop, the nation as a complete expressed its strong disapproval.

With a relatively high voter turnout With a majority of 67%, voters handed Yoon's conservative People's Power Party a defeat for its share of the 300-seat National Assembly Decline from 114 to 108.

The opposition Democratic Party retained its large majority within the National Assembly. Winning 175 seats and maintaining control within the populous metropolitan areas of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi provinces. Voters also delivered disappointing results for many third-party candidates, except for Reconstruction of the Korea Partywhich fought as a more combative opposition against the DP, and the New Reform Partywhich broke away from the ruling PPP at the start of the yr.

As a Political scientist with a deal with East Asia and international affairsI consider the election results will impact Yoon's foreign and domestic agenda for the rest of his term.

Growing domestic pressure

Yoon had hoped The election would end the political gridlock that has hampered his first two years as president.

During this time the opposition held a legislative majority. Subsequently, Yoon's government has seen essential parts of it his agenda blocked for education, labor and pension reforms. Yoon also vetoed it Several bills were passed by the opposition-controlled legislature.

But within the election, the DP and other opposition parties won 192 seats, just wanting a veto-proof two-thirds majority. This means President Yoon will once more face a divided government for the rest of his term. In fact, he can be the one South Korean president whose party failed to manage the National Assembly at any point in the course of the president's five-year term.

A greater parliamentary result for Yoon's party would have increased the possibilities of the federal government's legislative agenda on pressing domestic issues, corresponding to solving the country's problems declining birth rate, high inflation And Expanding medical student enrollmentin addition to Relaxation of business regulations.

Instead, the Yoon government is prone to find itself on the defensive after the election. Opposition parties have promised to launch an investigation alleged stock manipulation Involvement of First Lady Kim Keon Hee and investigation of former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup over allegations he influenced a previous report within the US Drowning death of a Korean marine.

Although Yoon retains his veto power, there may be now growing uncertainty over whether the ruling members of the PPP assembly will proceed to defend the president's actions because the two investigations progress.

Meanwhile, President Yoon's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced his resignation after the local council election. The National Assembly may vote against the presidential candidate to switch him, which could force Yoon to achieve this select a candidate acceptable for the opposition parties.

A harder foreign policy climate

In South Korea's political system, the presidency has greater leeway in national security and foreign policy than in domestic policy.

Therefore, the Yoon government is prone to proceed its foreign policy trilateral expansion Partnerships with the USA and Japan, Building relationships with NATO and strive to be a ““global central” state within the Asia-Pacific region.

During his first two years in power, Yoon generally did this South Korea focused more closely to the West, despite the fact that he was too to be rigorously avoided direct confrontation with China and Russia – each are geographical neighbors and trading partners.

While the opposition-controlled National Assembly has up to now generally supported the Yoon government's attempts to strengthen ties with the U.S. – a policy that is still popular within the South Korean public – the identical can’t be said for attempts to strengthen relations with Japan.

The Democratic Party and the Party of Reconstruction of Korea particularly have criticized the prospect of a more in-depth partnership with Japan – whether through military exercises or Information exchange – especially as a result of Korea’s experiences under Japanese colonial rule.

And while the 2 opposition parties generally welcome relations with the West, they’re more cautious than the Yoon government with regards to engaging in geopolitical rivalries. In particular, Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung warned within the recent election campaign that South Korea mustn’t interfere within the war between Russia and Ukraine or the tensions between China and Taiwan.

The opposition may circuitously stop Yoon from pursuing his foreign policy, but it’ll likely put pressure on the president to deal with domestic issues.

In addition, opposition parties will push the Yoon government to exhibit what diplomatic “successes” the country has achieved through its partnership with Japan and the United States. Particularly if the aim of the strategic partnership with the United States and Japan is to make sure security in East Asia, some voters may rightly wonder why it has not deterred North Korea ongoing military provocations.

If the Yoon government fails to exhibit diplomatic successes, opposition parties are prone to describe his foreign policy as one-sided.”submissive diplomacy.”

Yoon has three years to indicate that his foreign policy has paid off; The next presidential election in South Korea will happen in spring 2027.

How successfully the president manages the domestic and international constraints heightened by the final election results could determine whether he exceeds the policy expectations of a president facing or encountering a divided government some predict itan early “lame-duck presidency.”