Highway thieves are using sophisticated digital tactics that investigators worry make it easy to rob trucks carrying millions in expensive data center equipment.

NBC News spoke to “several industry leaders, consultants, and investigators advising law enforcement” offices probing the biggest thefts yet and reported that since June, thieves have “made away with more than $100 million in data center freight.”

Here’s how they said thieves get away with it: First, thieves hack freight brokers’ accounts on shipment-listing websites and post fake shipments to lure real bids, then send a malicious link to any trucking companies that respond. Once victims click, thieves install software to take control of their accounts and start bidding on real shipments. Sometimes, a real delivery driver is hired to collect the cargo, unaware of the scam, and other times fake driver’s licenses are used to get accomplices hired. Either way, the goods are eventually transferred to a driver working with the thieves to resell the gear, and, in one of the largest thefts, tracking coordinates were spoofed to prevent digital monitoring.

Equipment commonly targeted includes “servers, fiber-optic cables, computer memory chips, copper wires, and bitcoin mining machines,” NBC News reported.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/highway-thieves-are-spoofing-gps-to-steal-millions-in-data-center-bound-cargo/

California High-Speed Rail is expected to approve a contract for the purchase of trains.

The Authority’s Board of Directors is scheduled to consider awarding a contract to Siemens Mobility for high-speed trainsets on Wednesday. If you’d like to read the staff report, it’s Agenda Item #4 on October 28 agenda.

Siemens Mobility has been selected to build three Pioneer 220 high-speed trainsets for California’s Merced-to-Bakersfield route, under a $772.1 million base contract with the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The agreement also includes options to purchase more than 19 additional trainsets and long-term maintenance services.

Under the proposed contract, the first California High-Speed Rail trains are expected to arrive in late 2029, with testing scheduled to begin in spring 2030. The schedule is intended to support passenger service on the Merced-to-Bakersfield initial operating section in 2033–34.

Siemens would design and manufacture the trains, test and commission them, and provide long-term maintenance and related services. The contract scope includes 30 years of train maintenance, as well as a driving simulator and support for train certification.

https://cal.streetsblog.org/2026/10/26/california-high-speed-rail-moves-closer-to-buying-trains-clearing-l-a-to-anaheim-environmental-review

Colton police officers recovered 350 boxes of Hot Wheels cars, worth an estimated $54,000, that were stolen in a recent train heist, fromn one of the latest train burglaries across the Inland Empire.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/colton-police-recover-54000-in-hot-wheels-cars-after-train-burglary/3959517

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/colton-police-recover-54000-worth-of-stolen-hot-wheels-cars/

the Hot Wheels Stunt Show is touring stadiums and arenas

After thrilling sold-out crowds across Europe, the Hot Wheels Stunt Show is crossing the Atlantic for its first-ever United States tour in 2027

 The show features 15 vehicles to experience, headlined by life-size, high-performance Hot Wheels favorites including the GT Scorcher, Rodger Dodger, and the legendary Bone Shaker. These fan favorites are supported by a cast of drifting, ramping, two- and four-wheeling cars, motorbikes, quads, custom stunt vehicles, and an RZR — all driven by an elite team of professional stunt performers.

skip the first minute and 17 seconds, because the person recording and posting this was clueless on hot to edit

https://hotwheelsstuntshow.com/hot-wheels-find-a-show/

This past weekend at the annual Raptor Rally, Ford debuted a video to attendees that depicted footage of the first-generation F-150 Raptor, presented by actor Jon Bernthal,

https://x.com/FordRacing/status/2112574837939929523

https://fordauthority.com/2026/10/jon-bernthals-ford-raptor-teaser-officially-debuts-to-talk-about-monster

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a lawsuit challenging a Chicago ordinance allowing the city to seize a car owner's vehicles over unpaid parking tickets

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, wrote that the city's vehicle impoundment policy might violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, but said the issue needs more discussion in lower courts before the nation's highest court steps in.

In Chicago, the city can boot, impound, and eventually sell off any vehicle belonging to someone who has as little as two parking tickets that have gone unpaid for more than a year, even if that car is not the one involved in the parking infraction.

"Chicago's vehicle-forfeiture scheme is vast and lucrative, helping the city generate, according to one estimate, $264 million in traffic-ticket revenue," Sotomayor wrote in Monday's ruling.

Two Chicago drivers had filed a class-action lawsuit against the city, asking to have the city's vehicle seizure policy declared unconstitutional, but so far, lower courts and appeals courts have ruled against them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/supreme-court-chicago-parking-ticket-lawsuit-vehicle-seizures/

The small town of Bow Mar, Colorado (population ~950), located between Denver and Littleton, recently voted to construct an entrance gate to stop cut-through traffic from surrounding areas who use local streets as shortcuts.

The town's population is about 950, but a traffic study found that about 1,200 vehicles travel through the community every day.

Denver and Littleton leaders opposed the idea. Both cities asked Bow Mar to pause the proposal and work with them on a different solution. They argued that "Bow Mar undoubtedly expects its residents to have reasonable access to Denver and Littleton roads and rights-of-way. Denver and Littleton expect the same in turn."

Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn warned that installing a gate could prompt Denver to consider a similar measure on the city's side of the road, effectively blocking Bow Mar's access to its own gate.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/bow-mar-colorado-approves-entrance-gate-traffic-dispute-denver-littleton

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/car-colorado-lake-renews-debate-proposed-traffic-gate-bow-mar

Peter Arnold, who died in 2025, loved to wheel out his Spitfire fuselage so people could admire it, but after 2 decades of being a part of that garage, it has sold at auction for 24k

The fuselage was Arnold’s seventh aviation restoration project, per the BBC. It was mostly made of replacement panels from other original Spitfires, a cockpit window assemblage and Perspex canopy, according to the lot listing.

Arnold, who was known as “Mr Spitfire,” became fascinated with Spitfires while at school and began locating and cycling to former crash sites within 50 miles of his home, which led to him locating his first Spitfire aircraft, per the release.

After finishing school, Arnold went on to work in automotive engineering for Aston Martin, which increased how far he was able to search for planes.

According to the BBC, Arnold was prepared to cycle 100 miles to photograph Spitfires being used as gate guardians — historic or replica aircraft used as displays at the entrances of military bases. He would also travel around the world to see each of the more than 260 examples of the planes.

https://people.com/man-kept-world-war-ii-fighter-plane-fuselage-in-garage-for-over-20-years-12186001

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/21/spitfire-fuselage-kept-in-garage-for-20-years-sold-auction

Some supermarket shelves and gas station pumps were empty in the southern city of Naples on Tuesday due to a weeklong protest by truck drivers against the high cost of diesel driven up by the Iran war.

Protesters blocked the loading and unloading of fresh food and other goods at supermarket distribution warehouses near Naples on Monday, Sky TG24 reported. The truckers are adding their voices to demonstrations that have spread across Europe as the war disrupts economies

https://apnews.com/article/italy-trucker-protest-empty-shelves-pumps-f488c47abce9295b30e040c1584e31ae.

MapQuest added a new feature to its mobile app last week that allows users to turn on a “surveillance layer” to find Flock license plate readers in their route.

“Turn on the Surveillance Layer in Map Options to see known license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada, and other outdoor surveillance cameras,” the post read.

Earlier this month, progressive lawmakers introduced legislation to ban federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). The Ban Flock Act would stop federal agencies from using ALPR and pause federal grant funding to state and local governments with ALPR contracts.

The legislation would also allow Americans to sue the federal government for the use of ALPRs.

https://thehill.com/business/6156038-mapquest-adds-surveillance-layer/amp/

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rcbtnmlk2la67bm4po65oe23/post/3mxx5hbo2rc23

Nascar is building 80 cars for the the sequel to Days Of Thunder, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell mentioned in a podcast-style interview

I will tell you, we’re producing probably over 80 race cars that are going to be part of this. Some we don’t expect to be back, that they’ll be wrecked.”

O’Donnell said the wrecked cars may be taken and left in places across the country and globe to help grow interest in NASCAR.

“You look at this long term of, OK, you’ve got race cars, some of them have been wrecked in the movie. Where can we leave these?” the CEO said in the Oct. 13 interview. “It’s an opportunity for us across the board.”

The new “Days of Thunder” is reportedly scheduled to start filming in March 2027. It is set to release in theaters on June 2, 2028.

https://www.wbtv.com/2026/10/15/nascar-building-80-cars-new-movie-starring-famous-actor/

A hospital has taken delivery of a state-of-the-art surgical robot, the da Vinci Five robot, thanks to a donation from Gordon Murray, who created the McLaren F1 supercar in 1992

"This machinery fascinated the engineer in me," he said. "It's not anywhere near as intrusive as the operation used to be, and the recovery times are much quicker."

Having been operated on by the da Vinci Xi, he said the five model he was donating had "150 improvements".

"There's no better way of saying thank you to the team than donating one of these," he added.

"Initially I thought I'd leave a donation in my will and then I thought 'it can start saving people now'."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvlyd49j8766o

As cities push back against Flock's license plate readers, the $8.4 billion surveillance company is betting big on police drones, raising fresh questions about privacy and oversight.

The company’s line of drones has become a key part of its current revenue and sales pitch. Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley told the All-In Podcast in September that drone tech is the company’s “fastest-growing business unit right now.”

Founded in 2017, Flock is valued at $8.4 billion. Langley said drone tech is set to account for nearly half of its future revenue.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91621503/flock-is-facing-a-surveillance-backlash-meanwhile-its-drone-business-is-booming

the Small Business Administration's rejected BMW of Springfield’s application for loan forgiveness (a New Jersey dealership) for part of a $2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan

nearly all the $800 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans issued by the federal government have been forgiven. 

Now, some borrowers whose requests for forgiveness were denied are taking their cases to court.

A New Jersey dealership can’t compel the Small Business Administration to forgive part of a $2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The SBA justifiably rejected BMW of Springfield’s application for loan forgiveness, saying BMW of Springfield was ineligible for the money in the first place, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held.

The dispute arose from a federal low-interest loan program enacted in 2020’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act, to help small businesses meet their payroll and survive during the pandemic era.

In implementing the Paycheck Protection Program, the SBA capped the collective amount that entities with shared majority ownership could borrow at $20 million for first-draw, or first-round, loans and $4 million for second-draw loans.

https://www.autonews.com/retail/an-bmw-dealer-loses-loan-forgiveness-1013
https://x.com/Automotive_News/status/2110023894811766927
https://www.munsch.com/Newsroom/Blogs/158702/When-PPP-Loans-Arent-Forgiven-Some-Borrowers-Are-Heading-to-Court

In the New Jersey case, the operator of a BMW dealer in Springfield sued the SBA Tuesday seeking forgiveness of $936,963. The SBA said the company, known as Celebrity of Springfield, is part of a larger corporate group that received a loan of $5.06 million, which is far more than the $4 million corporate maximum. Therefore, Celebrity’s $2 million loan is ineligible for forgiveness, the SBA said in its final loan review decision.

https://www.munsch.com/Newsroom/Blogs/158702/When-PPP-Loans-Arent-Forgiven-Some-Borrowers-Are-Heading-to-Court

The Citroën 2CV is back as a low-priced, electric hatchback.

Much like Volkswagen's Beetle in Germany and Fiat's 500 in Italy, the model scored points for affordability. This is exactly what Citroen is counting on right now. The concept car previews a future production model which is expected to hit the market sometime in 20028, with a starting price of 15,000 euros, to prove that electric mobility can be accessible.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/stellantis-bets-small-affordable-evs-european-comeback-2026-10-11

Automated surveillance cameras now blanket most of Pittsburgh, generating a record number of tickets and tens of millions of dollars for the city.

Artificial intelligence-directed license plate readers are mounted on enforcement cars, surveillance cameras peer down from overhead and there are red-light cameras at intersections.

Pittsburgh Parking Authority Executive Director Dave Onorato has made the authority a nationwide leader in the deployment of AI to enforce parking laws, having spent millions of dollars on state-of-the-art surveillance technologies.

And it's paid off, at least monetarily. The authority is now issuing about 30,000 tickets a month, and in the last three years, revenues have risen from $48 million to $53 million.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/automated-surveillance-cameras-pittsburgh

An Army AH-64 Apache helicopter arrived late to an Ozark, Alabama, car show Saturday, hovering over the show’s display cars, pummeling vehicles and spectators with trash and dirt kicked up by rotor wash as it landed.

Officials at Fort Rucker, where the AH-64 is based, issued a statement confirming that they were aware of damage caused by the helicopter and encouraging car owners to contact base authorities for a claim regarding their vehicles.

Tyler Williams, founder of Wiregrass Carshows, which organized the car show as part of the town’s Claybank Jamboree festival, told Task & Purpose that the Apache was scheduled to arrive before the events opened, but weather delayed the helicopter and most of the car owners had taken up spots in the show’s parking area when it pulled overhead.

“This time, the helicopter landed around the time our registration was wrapping up, and landed in a location closer to our parking area than it was supposed to be at,” said Williams, who added that the Army had provided helicopters as static displays at other shows. “In every other event, the helicopters have landed either before the car show or not at all.”

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-apache-car-rotor-wash/

https://www.thedrive.com/news/alabama-car-show-accidentally-sandblasted-by-apache-helicopter-rotor-w

how can people be so damn stupid? Do they practice?

North Stockton put a circle of parking barriers in the middle of an intersection,  like the thinking was: A circle breaking up the big open area of pavement would stop people from smoking tires and spinning around there.

Unfortunately they inadvertently built a mini drift course (or, at least, a perfect skidpad).

The CBS station set up a camera at the intersection to test its effectiveness, and a lone drift-missle E36 BMW was spotted hanging a pretty nice sustained slide around the barrier just days after it went up.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/one-clapped-bmw-e36-had-the-funniest-response-to-citys-new-sideshow-deterrent-barrier

KJ Apa portrays James Stewart on the big screen in 'Jimmy', and he’s earned the approval of the late actor and military aviator’s daughter.

Written by Justin Strawhand, Jimmy tells the story of when Stewart, fresh off his Oscar win for The Philadelphia Story, enlisted as a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force at the beginning of World War II. The film traces his experience through the war before returning home and playing George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.

https://deadline.com/2026/10/james-stewart-daughter-praises-kj-apa-jimmy-biopic-1237154325/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_%282026_film%29

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31179962/characters/nm17784845/

the Jalisco and Sinaloan Mexican cartels are increasingly renting thousands of U.S. trucks and cars each year, driving them across the border to keep top capos in the latest model BMWs and Cadillacs. (sure would be easy to stop each vehicle heading south, get an scan for rental car's trackers before allowing them out of the country, if Border Patrol gave a damn) thank you Don!

Each year, about 2,000 vehicles stolen from California end up in Mexico, according to the California Highway Patrol. LAPD Sgt. Juvey Mejia, a member of the Task Force for Regional Auto Theft Prevention, said the cartels love heavy-duty pickup trucks and Jeeps.

“Anything that can drive through tough terrain to get away from Border Patrol so they can move dope,” Mejia said.

Along with Chevy Suburbans, Ford Raptors and Toyota pickups, the vehicles of choice include Cadillac Escalades and BMW SUVs, according to people whose job is to recover them. To battle rival cartels or authorities, criminal groups sometimes convert the trucks into mutant tanks, adding heavy ballistic-proof steel plating, firing ports and gun mounts.

The thefts don’t require much stealth: vehicles are rented in the U.S. by cartel operatives and then driven across the border.

Unlike other states, California requires that rental agencies wait to turn on GPS tracking until the vehicle return deadline has passed and the renter has been contacted by the company. By then, most stolen vehicles are deep in Mexican territory.

“California allows criminals to take advantage of the fact that we are not allowed to see where the vehicle is until it’s too late,” Laguana said. The American Car Rental Assn., a trade group, said in a statement that California laws make it harder to recover vehicles.

this year, thieves stole six 2026 model Jeep Wranglers from Oakland and Las Vegas. Four have been recovered so far. Private investigators believe the vehicles were destined for the Sinaloa Cartel.

The same investigators received requests last week to recover a dozen Ram trucks tracked to Sinaloa and seven more in Durango state.

“For the cartel, it is the cheapest way for them to do business,” said Kevin Carter, owner of Collateral Consultants, a rental car recovery company in Texas. “There’s no sense in them buying a car when they could rent one for a few hundred bucks, and it’s theirs forever.”

Along with California, Texas and Arizona are the other top targets for Mexican criminal groups.

Many vehicles are never registered in the U.S. stolen car database. Carter, from Collateral Consultants, said that of the approximately 1 million cases he has seen in his 15 years recovering rental vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere, fewer than half made it into the U.S. database.

In 2024, the Colorado attorney general’s office indicted 17 people associated with the Sinaloa Cartel, accusing them of stealing 190 new Ford F150s and luxury suburbans near the Denver airport. The cartel operatives drove the stolen vehicles, valued at nearly $10 million, to Mexico, according to court documents, and exchanged them for cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine.

In the Texas border city of Laredo, Deputy Police Chief Timothy Tubbs said he has seen a 50% increase in the theft of rental vehicles — about 10 a month.

https://archive.is/20261011134146/https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-10-11/mexican-cartels-are-building-luxury-fleets-by-stealing-u-s-rental-cars#selection-3455.0-3459.153