No steering wheel needed in Calif.California regulators have changed course and opened a pathway for the public to get self-driving cars of the future that lack a steering wheel or pedals.It’s not going to happen immediately — automakers and tech companies are still testing prototypes.But, in a shift, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles said in a revision of draft regulations released late Friday that the most advanced self-driving cars would no longer be required to have a licensed driver if federal officials deem them safe enough.The redrafted regulations will be the subject of a public hearing Oct. 19 in Sacramento.The DMV has been wrestling for several years with how to oversee the emerging technology.In December, the agency released an initial draft of self-driving car regulations that required a licensed driver in any self-driving vehicle. The industry reacted with great disappointment, as the ultimate vision of many companies is a car that has no wheel or pedals. That approach is based on the argument that humans are not very good at driving, and anyway cannot be relied on as a backup to a car that typically drives itself but might fail in a way that required a person in the driver’s seat.

Calif. governor OKs 2 sex crime lawsSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed two sexual assault laws in response to national outrage over the six-month jail sentence given to a former Stanford University swimmer for assaulting a woman passed out near a trash bin.The Democratic governor announced his approval Friday of laws requiring longer sentences to be served in state prison for defendants convicted of assaulting unconscious victims, ending the possibility of brief jail sentences like the one Brock Turner received in June.Turner faced a minimum sentence of two years in state prison, and prosecutors argued for six years. But Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky cited the “extraordinary circumstances” of Turner’s youth and clean criminal record in imposing a shorter term in county jail.The new law removes a judge’s discretion to sentence an offender to jail, meaning future defendants will face state prison sentences as long as 14 years.The 21-year-old was released from the Santa Clara County jail in September after serving three months. He will be on probation for three years in his native Ohio.

Volkswagen reaches $1.2B settlement,/b>SAN FRANCISCO — Volkswagen has agreed to pay its U.S. dealers up to $1.2 billion to compensate them for losses they said they suffered as a result of the company’s emissions cheating scandal.Attorneys for the carmaker and dealers included the figure in a settlement agreement filed in federal court in San Francisco on Friday. Under the terms of the deal, dealers can also choose to opt out and pursue their own lawsuits against Volkswagen.A judge still has to approve the settlement before it can go into effect.Volkswagen previously reached an agreement with attorneys for car owners. That deal calls for it to spend up to $10 billion buying back or repairing about 475,000 vehicles involved in its scandal.Attorneys for vehicle owners said in a court filing on Friday that more than 311,000 people have registered for the deal.