College cash

Only in Texas: The $50,000 Steer

The Reserve Grand Champion steer, Carl, outside the Bob Bullock Texas StateHistory Museum.
Photo by Kevin Benz
The Rodeo Austin auctioneers.
Photo by Kevin Benz
17-year-old Shaylan Edwards (l) is congratulated by Mike McCarty. McCarty boughtEdwards Grand Champion steer for $50,000.
Photo by Kevin Benz
The buyers table.
Photo by Kevin Benz
Mike McCarty contemplates making another bid on the Grand Champion steer. Hedid, and he won it, for $50,000.
Photo by Kevin Benz
The auctioneer introduces Shaylan Edwards to the crowd of bidders. Edwards soldher Grand Champion steer at auction for $50,000. She'll take home $25,000, therest goes back into the auction pool for other kids selling their animals.
Photo by Kevin Benz
The 2012 Grand Champion steer, Chuy, was an attraction outside the Bob BullockTexas State History Museum.
Photo by Kevin Benz
11-yearold Kaleigh Meador of Bushland, Texas says goodbye to her Reserve GrandChampion Barrow, Pappa Smurf, outside Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Photo by Kevin Benz
The Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo Youth Auction held inside the Bob Bullock TexasState History Museum.
Photo by Kevin Benz

Everyone should spend a couple of hours at a cattle auction. The energy of the auctioneer, the simplicity and dedication of the ranchers, and the grandeur of the animals give you an appreciation for the hard work that goes into putting a steak on the plate or a burger in the bag.

The Star of Texas Grand Champion Steer Auction is nothing like that. The bidders wear suits, the animals have been bathed, the cocktails flow and the money flows right along with them.

This auction is the highlight of the Rodeo Austin fundraising efforts. Each year hundreds of thousands of dollars come out of the pockets of bidders and go into the college funds of young students. The animals, clean as they are, have little to do with it all — this is for the kids.

"God has blessed me with the ability to do this for these kids, the idea is to put them through school."

This year the Grand Champion Steer brought $50,000 at the auction. That means his 17-year-old owner, Shaylan Edwards, a junior at Burnet High School and Burnet High's "Barney the Bulldog," mascot will take home a check for $25,000. That's the cap on proceeds for the Grand Champion Steer's owner; the rest goes into the auction fund for the sellers of other lower priced animals.

Mike McCarty, the founder of McCarty Corp., a defense construction contractor, bought Chuy (that's the steer's name). The steer is now McCarty's seventh Grand Champion. He's spent over $400,000 on Grand Champion steers. "It's a treat and a hoot for me. It's supporting kids who work all year with these animals. God has blessed me with the ability to do this for these kids, the idea is to put them through school."

Edwards says she'll be putting her check into her college fund, like so many other kids today.

Obviously not every animal is a Grand Champion, but every kid has that potential. Today hundreds of animals — rabbits, chickens, turkeys, lambs, goats, hogs and steers — and a selection of award winning western art produced by students hit the auction block with an average winning bid of over $1,000. Last year Rodeo Austin raised over $800,000 at this auction. All of it goes directly to kids from across the state of Texas, and the Rodeo hopes to do about the same this year.

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Defensive Driving

Austin-based Tesla faces new probe focused on remote driving feature

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2.6 million Teslas.

Federal regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said Tuesday, January 7 that Austin-based Tesla did not report any of the accidents. Tesla is under order to report crashes on “publicly accessible roads” involving vehicles being operated through its autonomous driving technology.

The new investigation follows another probe launched in October looking into the company's “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. That investigation covers 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

One driver filed a complaint after a crash while using Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” technology and NHTSA is looking into another three similar incidents based on media reports, the NHTSA said. The agency is looking into 12 total incidents reported by users of the technology.

Each of the vehicles failed to detect posts and other parked vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Regulators say the vehicles struck objects because the users had "too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

Shares of Tesla Inc. slid more than 4 percent in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

Musk has complained that U.S. regulations are too onerous and are holding back the development of self-driving cars. Ethics experts are worried that once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Musk will push him to ease oversight of Tesla, which just suffered its first decline in annual sales in more than a decade.

Musk donated an estimated $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign and is a frequent guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, vetting cabinet nominees and meeting with foreign heads of state. Trump has put Musk in charge of an advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, that will recommend where to cut government expenses and staff at federal agencies and reduce regulation.

The NHTSA said it will look into the top speed that Teslas can reach when users deploy its “summons” technology, as well as restrictions on public roads and line of sights requirements. It also said it expects to check for any “connectivity delays" with the app that could result in increased stopping distance.

Tesla’s Model 3 owner’s manual says that its “summons” feature is designed for use only in parking lots and driveways on private property and is disabled on public roads.

The new probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2025 Model 3, 2020-2025 Model Y equipped with Tesla's Full Self-Driving driver assistance system.

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