The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun work on federal performance standards to evaluate the safety of self-driving vehicles, citing the need for common benchmarks for real-world operation. It launched the ASCEND consortium with SAE International to speed development of data-driven measures. NHTSA says existing federal motor vehicle safety standards do not fully cover vehicles without traditional controls. The initiative also aims to curb diverging state requirements, while companies continue expanding robo-taxi and autonomous services.

U.S. prosecutors told a federal court in Brooklyn that Huawei was a “criminal enterprise,” accusing the Chinese telecoms equipment maker of stealing trade secrets, violating Iran sanctions and committing financial fraud. A Justice Department prosecutor said Huawei extracted technology from U.S. companies over about 20 years and abused the financial system. Huawei rejected the allegations, saying prosecutors are linking separate matters into an organised conspiracy.