About 40,000 people die in traffic crashes in the US each year.

Enter federal regulators: Amid a broader effort to tackle a worrisome uptick in traffic fatalities, they hope to reduce that figure by requiring automakers to install automatic emergency braking (AEB) across their passenger vehicle fleets by 2029. Already, about 90% of new vehicles are equipped with AEB after automakers voluntarily agreed to add the technology, according to the Associated Press. But the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law required the establishment of minimum performance standards for the systems.

The mandate, finalized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in April, is aimed at reducing rear-end crashes and collisions with pedestrians. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an automotive industry lobbyist, has petitioned NHTSA to “reconsider” the rule. Traffic safety advocates, meanwhile, say the government’s efforts need to move quicker and employ other technologies, as well.

Stefan Heck, founder and CEO of Nauto, which uses AI to help fleet operators improve safety, told Tech Brew he’s in favor of mandatory AEB—but that regulators should look to tackle the issue more holistically.

“I think there’s still a problem,” he said, “which is, the regulations are focused on only a small number of issues and not on the biggest root cause of all, which is distraction.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Ever find yourself in a hairy predicament…y’know…down there? Happens to the best of us. Personal grooming is a must, for sure, but let’s be real: Most trimmers just don’t cut it. They leave you with nicks and a whole lotta regret.

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MANSCAPED® is here to s(h)ave the day.

Records of the calls and texts from virtually all AT&T customers fell into the wrong hands, the telecom giant revealed last week, touching off a regulatory investigation and a barrage of questions.

Whether you’re an AT&T customer or not, here are three things to know about the breach:

Metadata matters: Unlike the massive AT&T data breach incident that became public in the spring and included millions of customers’ Social Security numbers, the main information compromised in this leak is call and text records. This includes what numbers communicated with each other and with what frequency, but it does not include specific timestamps for those interactions, AT&T spokesperson Alex Byers told Tech Brew in an email.

He also confirmed that the latest trove doesn’t include “the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information.”

While the incident could be easy to brush off, it’s worth noting that phone numbers are generally included in the list of personally identifiable information that companies have a responsibility to safeguard. The Federal Communications Commission said in a post on X that it has “an ongoing investigation into the AT&T breach” and is coordinating with law enforcement.

Davi Ottenheimer, VP of digital trust and ethics for data startup Inrupt, told Tech Brew that metadata can allow bad actors to piece together intimate details of a customer’s life.

“You don’t know who someone is calling when you see a number, but if you look up the number you find it’s in a doctor’s office. And if you look up the doctor’s office, you find out that it’s a cancer specialist,” he said. “A simple number can turn into a whole lot of information about someone. It’s not so simple as ‘two numbers called each other.’”

Keep reading here.—KG

Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks are teaming up to make sure you and your car can get your morning jolt at the same time.

The companies on Wednesday unveiled plans to expand Mercedes-Benz’s network of DC fast chargers to 100 Starbucks stores across the US, with initial locations planned along Interstate 5 on the Pacific Coast. The chargers would be “open to all vehicle brands,” according to a news release.

“Our collaboration with Starbucks solves a critical need for more reliable, high-quality, and experiential charging matched to where customers already go,” Andrew Cornelia, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging, said in a statement to Tech Brew. “When we integrate charging into our daily lives, we help bring the freedom of travel back to the EV road trip and remove a critical barrier for those customers wanting to make the shift to electric.”

Both companies already are invested in EV charging. Starbucks offers “nearby access” to charging at more than 1,000 stores, per the news release. And this partnership is part of a $1 billion investment by Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging to build fast chargers across the US. The network opened its first location in November and now has a dozen sites, with plans to be in nearly half of US states in the next 12 to 18 months.

Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Anna Russell Murray told Tech Brew via email that lack of “access to public charging continues to be the No. 1 barrier for EV adoption.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Web on wheels. When you’re headed out to your perfect vacation this summer, stay connected with AT&T In-car Wi-Fi. Why? Connected cars unlock tons of features for your travels, from next-level streaming to safety. We teamed up with AT&T to show you exactly why you need to hook up your whip.

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Housekeeping: Listen, it’s time to part with the Motorola Razr you used to text your friends from an English lit class in 2006. (Remember pressing the 7 key four times to get an S? Wild.)

The feds are trying to make it easier for you to clean out that whole drawer that serves as a graveyard for phones of yesteryear: More than 1,000 “consumer battery collection sites” will be funded by a $14 million program from the Department of Energy that “aims to make it easier for people to recycle phones, computers, and other battery-powered electronics,” Wired reported.

Pre-loved: We’ve extensively covered the issues with getting Americans to adopt EVs, and price continues to be a major sticking point for drivers. The Atlantic notes that the answer may be hiding in used-car lots.

Hertz, for example, is selling year-old Teslas for less than $22,000, and “the average used Tesla lost 30% of its value” in 2023, The Atlantic reported, and there’s a federal tax credit worth up to $4,000 for buyers opting for used EVs.