OPEN THREAD: You know what to do.

SHOT: “We fixed the part where men die in wars, and we didn’t fix the part where women have to go through childbirth.”

CHASER: Russia and Ukraine’s combined war casualties could reach 2 million soon, report estimates.

Meanwhile, that statement comes from a woman who never gave birth; the first words the Insta-Wife spoke after delivering our daughter were “That was great! Let’s do it again!” Of course, she had had an epidural, which means maybe we did “fix” that childbirth stuff.

WELL, THE CITY WAS COMPLICIT:

STAY TUNED: Iran’s Doomsday Clock Is So Close To Midnight, the Ball Is Dropping.

On the movement of assets front, the Lincoln is pretty much ready to go, and has gone dark.

And another carrier group is now on the way. Say hello to the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush.

That’s an awful lot of firepower. Included in those carrier groups are destroyers, submarines, as well as the jets on board the Lincoln and Bush. One destroyer, the Delbert D. Black, should be on station about now to help Israel with missile defense/intercepts.

As for land assets, Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday that there were around 40,000 American troops stationed across eight or nine bases across the greater Middle East. That’s a lot of well-trained bodies to throw at a problem if necessary.

With regard to air capabilities, besides the planes on the carriers, we had all sorts of other not normal flights taking place over the last couple days.

Including, but far from limited to: US ‘nuke sniffer’ arrives in UK after Trump threatens Iran. “A US air force plane dubbed the ‘nuke sniffer’ has landed in Britain amid growing tensions with the Iranian regime. The USAF WC-135R Constant Phoenix jet, which is used to detect radioactive particles in the atmosphere, has touched down at RAF Mildenhall, an American airbase in Suffolk. It comes amid growing speculation that the US is considering striking Iran, following last June’s attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities.”

IT’S COME TO THIS:

CHANGE: Elon Musk says Tesla will stop producing its S and X models as it shifts to making robots.

The announcement signals an end of an era. The two vehicles — introduced in 2012 and 2015, respectively — helped to move electric cars from the consumer fringe into the mainstream. They also fueled Tesla’s rise from a startup into the world’s most valuable automaker.

Musk announced the phase-out on a call with investors and Wall Street analysts, saying it was part of his effort to overhaul Tesla’s operations to focus on robotaxis and humanoid robots.

“We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter and basically stop production,” he said, adding that the company would continue to support the vehicles for as long as people have them.

“That is slightly sad, but it’s time to bring the S and X programs to an end, and it’s part of our overall shift to an autonomous future,” he said.

When I first showed my wife video of Tesla’s Optimus robot following verbal instructions, she said, “We’ll sell one of the cars.”