by Juul has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits, including 8,500 personal injury lawsuits. If you think this is a huge amount for a relatively young company, it has significant financial backing: Altria, owner of Marlboro, invested $12.8 billion in Juul in 2018.
Juul was the leader in the US e-cigarette market in 2018, but fell to second place after Vuse after a series of controversies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered e-cigarette brands to stop selling flavored pods if they can’t prove they can keep them out of the hands of minors, and has sought to ban the sale of Juul products.
Still, California sued Juul in 2019, accusing the company of targeting minors in the state, failing to verify the age of its customers, and failing to warn users of their exposure to chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.
– Matt Smith
The next morning only one newsletter – also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings Monday through Friday by: subscribe now.
The greatest stories you may have missed
The Orion crew vehicle has landed in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA’s Artemis 1 mission returned to Earth after a successful trip around the Moon. At approximately 12:40 PM ET on Saturday, the uncrewed Orion landed on the coast of Baja, California. His nearly 26-day journey included setting a new spaceflight record and some stunning photos of Earth’s natural satellite.
Keep reading.
Another tractor can run on fertilizer gases.
CNH
CNH Industrial has unveiled what it says is the “first” electric lightweight tractor prototype with self-driving features. The machine promises zero emissions, quieter operation than diesel models and lower operating costs than CNH. Sensors and cameras on the roof help the vehicle complete tasks, avoid obstacles and work in harmony with other equipment. You can even activate it from your phone.
Keep reading.
Plus: In drones and action cameras this year.
Many of us this week have seen our social media feeds be taken over by colorful, surreal pictures of people we follow, except that they don’t look much like themselves. Lensa AI has created the latest images, which now seems like an annual trend, for using a new app to create models of your face in various scenarios. This week’s Engadget Podcast discusses their adoration, and Engadget Editor-in-Chief James Trew joins the team to check on the status of action cameras.
Keep reading.
E-Ray can pair a V8 with an electric motor to offer all-wheel drive.
Chevrolet
fans are on CorvetteBlogger and Corvette Forum He discovered that GM had briefly made the 2024 Corvette E-Ray hybrid available through Chevy’s online visualizer tool. The design combines the wide body of the C8 Z06 with the tailpipes of the regular model. There are some new colors (Cactus green, anyone?) and model-specific wheels. As you can imagine, the biggest changes are in the engine. Images of the engine compartment show that E-Ray will use the LT2 V8 engine of the regular C8 Corvette. The lack of a charging port suggests this is a traditional hybrid rather than a plug-in.
Keep reading.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, regardless of our parent company. Some of our stories contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publication.
