Machines
Musk puts a taxi on the street with no steering wheel
The bet is that New Yorkers will sit in a car that cannot be grabbed back.
The Rocket News · Science · New YorkSeptember 3, 2026 · 4 min read
Elon Musk’s company has begun running a taxi without a steering wheel, asking riders to trust a stack of cameras and a software update in traffic that does not care about a product launch. The pitch is inevitable automation. The fear is a left turn with no human override.
New York has seen this movie with Uber: first the app, then the argument, then the union, then the city trying to regulate a fait accompli. A cabin with no wheel is a fait accompli with passengers inside.
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The Science desk’s question is not whether the demo works on a closed course. It is who is liable when it does not, and whether a city of eight million is a reasonable beta test.
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Space
Four astronauts splashed down off California.
SpaceX brought Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev home on Thursday after eight months. They had gone up in February to replace a crew sent home when a NASA astronaut fell ill.
Video · Associated Press
Maryland
Maryland now flags a heart warning on a mammogram.
As of Oct. 1, mammography centers in the state must tell a patient if the scan shows breast arterial calcification, a finding linked to a higher risk of heart disease. The Washington Post said other states may follow.
The Court
The Supreme Court heard Boulder’s climate suit and did not decide it.
The city and county want Exxon and Suncor to help pay for climate damage. Justice Alito, who owns oil stock, sat out. With eight justices, a tie would leave Boulder’s case alive.