March 20, 2026

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Uber taps Rivian to build robotaxis in deal worth up to $1.25B.

Uber is kicking off the partnership with an initial $300 million investment in Rivian and is “expected to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis” ahead of a planned rollout in San Francisco and Miami in 2028.

Uber will have the option to buy up to 40,000 more autonomous R2 SUVs from Rivian starting in 2030. The two companies said they plan to launch the robotaxis in “25 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031.” The fleet will be exclusively available on Uber’s network, according to the companies.

While the agreement is potentially lucrative for Rivian, it’s brimming with risk and challenges.

Rivian hasn’t started producing the R2 SUV yet; it has said manufacturing is expected to begin by June. Nor has it tested and deployed a self-driving system designed for robotaxis. To raise the hurdle even higher, the robotaxi is supposed to be built in Rivian’s Georgia factory, which is still under construction.

I guess there are still a few kinks to iron out.

Posted at 4:54 pm by Stephen Green

NOW OUT FROM RANDY BARNETT: Felony Review. I read it, I loved it, and I blurbed it. You can see my blurb at the link.

Posted at 4:03 pm by Glenn Reynolds

HMM: The bond market is flashing a signal not seen since before the 2008 crisis. “Thursday’s bond-market selloff caused the Treasury yield curve to exhibit what traders describe as a “bear-flattening” pattern. This actually began back in early February. Typically, the pattern emerges when bond traders are bracing for a difficult economic environment ahead.”

Posted at 3:52 pm by Stephen Green

INCENTIVES, HOW DO THEY WORK?

Posted at 3:36 pm by Stephen Green

IT’S FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: Wait, He Tried to Steal WHAT With WHAT? “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn the wrong vehicle for making a quick septic tank getaway, what police won’t accept in place of RealID, and how not to make a surprise booty call in South Dakota.”

Posted at 3:21 pm by Stephen Green

BATTLESWARM: Iran Strikes Day 20. “More Jihadis dirtnapped, Iran’s neighbors want the Islamic regime finished off, Mossad gives regime members person-to-person call warnings, Uncle Sam fast-tracks a lot of weapon sales to the Middle East, and the BRRRRRRRTTTTTTTT of Freedom rings out over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Posted at 2:50 pm by Stephen Green

SOCIAL MEDIA MANIPULATION IS DONE IN REALTIME:

More:

Who amplified it? Look at the coalition:

Russian state TV (RT).
Iranian state media through HispanTV.
Hamas-aligned Quds News Network.
Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Sputnik Brasil.

And simultaneously — Jackson Hinkle, Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Max Blumenthal.

Russia, Iran, Hamas, and MAGA dissidents.

All posting the same message. At the same time.

When does that happen naturally? It doesn’t.

The charts tell the story precisely. Within 2 to 4 hours of the Tucker broadcast, tracked amplification events spiked to 30 — dominated by MAGA dissident amplifiers and Pro-Palestinian/Islamist networks firing in parallel.

How many of these grifters’ “fans” are nothing but bots paid for by Moscow and Islamic radicals?

Posted at 2:34 pm by Stephen Green

MAYBE YOU WANT TO RETHINK YOUR PARTY AFFILIATION THEN?

Posted at 2:03 pm by Stephen Green

SHARKS GOTTA SWIM, BATS GOTTA FLY: Another Day Ending in Y: JAMA Publishes Still More Anti-Gun Agitprop Presented as ‘Research.’ “Now, if a peer-reviewed medical journal founded in 1883, which is published 48 times a year and read by physicians across the country and around the globe, takes Professor Hicks’ scribbles and calls them actual research without labeling his work as opinion or anti-gun agitprop, that’s not a problem either, is it?”

Yeah, our public health industry hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory in recent years.

Posted at 1:48 pm by Stephen Green

VDH ON IRAN: The Signals Are All Pointing In The Same Direction.

The military signal. A-10 Warthogs and Apache helicopter gunships are now flying strike missions in Iranian airspace at will. VDH’s point: you only deploy those aircraft when there is effectively no air defense left to threaten them. They are slow, low-flying, close-support platforms. Their presence confirms what the Pentagon has been claiming — Iran has no meaningful air defense remaining.

Iran’s strategy now is rope-a-dope. Run out the clock. Wait for American public opinion to shift. Hope the midterms create political pressure on Trump to stop. It is the only play they have left.

VDH’s conclusion: if Trump sees it through — and he believes he will — the regime falls. Not in years. Pretty soon.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 1:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

NOW DO YOU GET IT, AUSTRALIA?

Posted at 1:01 pm by Stephen Green