Gsbt

FILE PHOTO: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, U.S. FILE PHOTO: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, U.S., September 30, 2014.      The Republican-controlled Texas Senate gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a bill that restricts bathroom access for transgender people, endorsing a piece of legislation denounced by civil liberties advocates as discriminatory. Final Senate adoption of the bill was possible later on Tuesday or Wednesday. The measure would then be sent to the state House of Representatives, where passage during a 30-day special legislative session that ends in mid-August is less certain despite a Republican majority in that body as well. The preliminary vote in the Senate was 21-10, with one Democrat crossing the aisle to vote with the Republican majority in favor of the measure, Senate Bill 3. Enactment in Texas, the most-...

New tech will make them lighter and boost their capacity, says BMW by  Mark Tisshaw BMW  expects a breakthrough in battery technology in 2026, by which time it plans to have solid-state batteries ready for production in its models. The batteries will use lithium ion technology but swap liquid electrolytes for solid ones, with initial targets being for a 15-20% increase in capacity. Other benefits include less weight and a reduction in the amount of safety protection needed due to the reduced fire risk. This also allows for the packaging and housing of the batteries to be revisited. The batteries are in development but 10 years away from production, with long-term durability testing cited as a key reason for the delay. The next development in the refinement of BMW’s existing battery technology will arrive in 2018 in time for the launch of the  Mini Cooper E  and the all-electric version of the next-generation  BMW X3 . BMW will continue to develop its i...