WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation is proposing new rules designed to encourage seat belt use by car and truck passengers, including those sitting in the back seat.

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Tropical Storm Hilary swept people into swollen rivers, toppled trees onto homes and flooded roadways as the massive system marched northward Aug. 21.

LOS ANGELES — Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has agreed to cut its fleet of San Francisco robotaxis in half as authorities investigate two recent crashes in the city.

Amazon has restarted a shipping service it paused in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and that competes with carriers such as FedEx and UPS.

Starting later this month, an electric, self-driving shuttle operated by Beep Inc. will whisk passengers around a 1-mile loop in downtown Orlando for no charge, officials said Aug. 16.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An auto parts supplier plans a $114 million investment to expand its facility in Alabama to support the production of electric vehicle parts, Gov. Kay Ivey’s office announced Aug. 15.

ATLANTA — Home Depot topped profit and sales expectations in its most recent quarter, but sales continued to decline.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has reduced its volume of shipments by aircraft by 90% over two years, putting the service on course to save $1 billion in annual transportation costs.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia said Aug. 3 it will extend its production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of September in its effort to boost energy prices.