Border Issues

President refuses Gov. Rick Perry's border invite after Austin trip

The White House has responded to last week's Twitter invitation from Texas Gov. Rick Perry asking President Barack Obama to accompany him to the border after his upcoming Austin visit. Two weeks into his tenure as White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest announced Monday that the president will not be taking the governor up on his invitation.

The news came the same day that the White House announced it will not be providing amnesty to most of the unaccompanied minors seeking refuge illegally in the U.S. In a year that has seen more than 52,000 children apprehended at the border, the United States is facing an unprecedented political and cultural crisis. While conservatives decry the administration for the border security policies at home, the Obama Administration is facing a cultural battle in many Central American countries where it is a commonly held belief that children who cross the U.S. border will be allowed to stay.

After it was announced that the president would be visiting Austin for a two-day fundraising tour, Gov. Perry issued a twit-invite to Obama.

.@BarackObama: While in TX next week, I invite you to tour the border with me to see firsthand what is happening there. cc: @WhiteHouse

— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) July 2, 2014

Appearing on ABC's The Week, Perry accused the administration of having an "ulterior motive." While some have brushed off Perry's goading as a political maneuver, it was a question raised to Earnest by the White House press corps. Writes The Washington Post,

Earnest said the administration is "not worried about those optics" of the president fundraising while what the administration has called an "urgent humanitarian situation" is happening hundreds of miles away.

Earnest said a number of administration and White House officials have traveled to the border, and Obama is "very aware of the situation that exists on the southwest border," Earnest said.

As CultureMap previously reported, the president will be in Austin on July 9-10. He will be giving a speech on the economy, and will be attending two political fundraisers.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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