January 19, 2021
Statewide Iowa A bill under consideration in the Iowa House creates a new charge for driving at an “excessive” speed and causing someone else’s death.
According to the State Patrol, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of tickets issued to drivers caught going more than 100 miles an hour. Last year, 69 people died in speed-related crashes in Iowa.
A lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association says under current law, it’s difficult to appropriately charge a speeding driver involved in a fatal crash if they weren’t intoxicated or intentionally targeting someone. If this bill becomes law, a driver could be sentenced to a decade in prison if their vehicle was going 25 miles-per-hour or more above the speed limit and it directly or indirectly caused the death of someone else.
A Google engineer who stole 14,000 files of trade secrets on self-driving cars before going to work for Uber has been pardoned by President Trump.
Anthony Levandowski, 40, was sentenced to 18 months in prison last August for what a judge called the biggest trade secret crime I have ever seen , although he was not yet in custody.
He was one of 73 people pardoned by Trump on his final day in office, with the White House describing him as a brilliant engineer with talents needed by the country. Mr Levandowski has paid a significant price for his actions and plans to devote his talents to advance the public good, the White House said.