Southwest Airlines Limits Passengers To One Portable Charger On Flights
Southwest Airlines is limiting passengers to one lithium portable charger each – “to strengthen our ability to contain and mitigate lithium battery incidents, including reducing the risk of battery fires,” the airline said in a Tuesday statement.
Passengers will also be prohibited from recharging their devices using in-seat power outlets, and the chargers must remain in an under-seat carry-on bag or on their person.
The new policy goes into effect April 20 and will apply across the airline’s network of flights, as company officials noted that the entire fleet would have in-seat power by mid-2027, reducing the need for travelers to bring their own portable chargers.
This is the latest in a series of rules around portable power sources. As the Epoch Times notes, Southwest had already moved earlier to address the same risks. In May 2025, the airline required passengers to keep portable chargers visible while using them, a measure that took effect on May 28 that year. That earlier policy formed part of a broader push to keep potential fire sources in plain sight for quick crew response.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a safety alert in September 2025, warning carriers about lithium batteries stored in passenger compartments. The agency recorded 97 incidents involving smoke, fire, or extreme heat on flights the previous year—up from 89 the year before.
The agency said incidents triggered by lithium-ion batteries are now, on average, a weekly occurrence at roughly 1.3 incidents per week. Since 2015, the number of such events has increased by more than 330 percent.
Between March 3, 2006, and March 7, 2026, a total of 709 lithium battery incidents have been recorded, with the majority of cases coming from passenger carriers.
Battery packs and batteries accounted for the bulk of these incidents, with 229 events, followed by e-cigarettes/vape devices, with 122, cell phones, with 81, laptops, with 70, and the rest involving other electronic and medical devices.
On Nov. 5, 2025, a smoke detector alarm from the lavatory of a United Airlines flight departing from San Francisco went off.
“Flight attendants found a passenger in the lavatory who stated their laptop began to overheat. A flight attendant placed the laptop in a thermal containment bag, and the aircraft continued to its destination without further incident,” the FAA said.
Earlier, on Oct. 5, 2025, a passenger’s carry-on bag caught fire during the boarding process in Buffalo, New York, with lithium batteries being the culprit. Passengers were removed from the aircraft, while the fire was extinguished and the batteries were taken out of the plane.
Lithium cells power everything from phones to laptops to the chargers now limited by Southwest. When damaged, overcharged, or exposed to heat, they can ignite in ways difficult to extinguish mid-flight.
The cessation of US-Israeli strikes has brought relief to people in Iran. For those among them who began the conflict supportive of the assault, it also came with a kind of realization. “I thought this was it,” says Leila, 25. “I thought the Islamic Republic was finally coming to an end.”
Leila, who like all Iranians Middle East Eye spoke to is identified using a pseudonym to protect her own safety, says she believed the strikes on her country would be short and decisive – that they would lead to political change. “I even thought the US and Israel had already agreed with Reza Pahlavi about Iran’s future,” she said. “I was wrong.”
Leila is not alone. In the early days of the conflict, some Iranian opponents of the ruling establishment saw Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as potential forces for change, even as unlikely allies. But as the war dragged on, and the scale of destruction became clearer, those expectations faded dramatically.
“Why did they hit bridges?” Leila asks. “Why destroy railway lines? Why target oil depots?” She shakes her head. “How does that help change a government?”
In January, at the height of massive anti-establishment protests in Iran and the authorities’ crackdown, Trump took to social media to tell demonstrators that help was on its way. But last Tuesday, he told Iran: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, before backing down and agreeing a ceasefire.
For anti-establishment Iranians like Leila, the contrast was shocking. “In the span of just two months, we went from ‘help is on the way’ to threats about the destruction of Iranian civilization,” she says. For Leila, the consequences were not only political, but personal. “I lost friends over this,” she says.
She recalls arguments with people who warned her not to trust foreign powers. “They told me Trump and Netanyahu were no better,” she said. “But I didn’t listen. I accused them of supporting the government.”
Some of those friendships have not recovered. “Now I feel like everything I believed in just collapsed,” she says.
‘We thought it would be quick’
Ali, 29, had similar expectations. He says that after the January protests he came to believe that change could only come through force. The demonstrations began in response to rising inflation and spread into nationwide, anti-establishment protests.
The government says that 3,117 people were killed – including protesters, security forces and bystanders. The US-based human rights organisation Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates at least 7,015 deaths.
“We thought war would finish everything,” Ali says. Instead, it destroyed his family home. “Our house was flattened,” he says. “We were lucky to survive. But now we have nowhere to go.”
Ali says he believed claims that the strikes would be precise. “They said they would target specific people and military sites. We thought their technology was advanced enough to avoid civilians,” he says. “Maybe when they realised they couldn’t change the system, they started hitting everything,” he adds. “Or maybe I was just naive.”
Those who never believed
Not all anti-establishment Iranians shared that early optimism. Maryam, 47, says she never believed the war would bring anything positive.
“Only blind people could think that a war started by Trump and Netanyahu would bring us freedom,” she says. “Didn’t we see Gaza? Lebanon? Syria? How could anyone think this would be different?”
Israeli and US strikes destroyed energy infrastructure, bridges, steel and petrochemical plants, a synagogue, hospitals, universities and schools, not to mention hundreds of businesses. “Maybe we should be relieved that the explosions have stopped,” Maryam says. “But how do you rebuild a country after this?”
Maryam is very critical of Iranians who supported the war. “Now some of them say they had nothing to do with it,” she says. “They are trying to distance themselves.”
But she does not accept that. “Didn’t they hear Trump saying Iranians welcomed the bombings?” she says. “I cannot forgive that.”
Abbas, 54, takes an even harsher view. He believes the war has effectively ended Reza Pahlavi’s political relevance. “Reza Pahlavi did everything he could to reach to power,” he said. “But he never condemned any of the US or Israeli attacks on Iran’s infrastructure.”
After cheering on a war that is now killing Iranians and tearing apart the country, Masih Alinejad has warned Donald Trump against targeting civilian infrastructure, in a reversal that critics say lays bare the recklessness of those who backed the US-Israeli assault.
He points to the praise that the son of Iran’s last monarch heaped on Trump. “He tried every form of flattery you can imagine, hoping Trump would take him seriously,” Abbas says. “But in the end, when a deal was reached between Washington and Tehran, he was left more discredited than ever.”
He pauses, then adds: “I hope his supporters understand now: you can’t rely on someone who is willing to see his own people killed and his country destroyed just to get to power.”
A ceasefire filled with doubt
Niloufar, a 34-year-old resident of Tehran, can barely believe the strikes have stopped. For weeks, she has stayed inside her home, listening to the sound of jets and explosions.
“When the ceasefire was announced, it felt unreal. Like something had lifted off my chest,” she says. “For the first time in 40 days, I was able to sleep peacefully.”
Yet uncertainty remains. There are still reports of sporadic explosions. Many are unsure whether the pause will hold. Israel killed scores of people in Lebanon on Wednesday, attacks that Iran said violated the ceasefire agreement.
Leila says she struggles to believe the attacks on her country have stopped. “They said there is a ceasefire,” she says. “So what are these explosions?” he lowers her voice. “What if it starts again?”
Others worry the ceasefire itself may be temporary – or even strategic. Mehdi, 31, says he does not trust either side. “I don’t trust the US or Israel,” he says. “Honestly, I don’t even trust them more than our own government.”
Negotiations were under way before the US and Israel launched their war. It’s unclear to Mehdi why these latest talks should be taken more seriously. “We were negotiating, then suddenly they attacked,” he says. “What if they negotiate again and then strike even harder?”
The disillusionment runs deep. Ali puts it simply: “Before the war, we used to say things couldn’t get worse. Now we know they can. We thought war would solve everything. Now we know it’s not that simple.”
Ali pauses, and his voice becomes quieter, but more pointed. “And we learnt something else, too: Reza Pahlavi is a stupid and ineffective politician who shows little real concern for the lives of those of us still living inside Iran.”
Pricing Doritos At $7 A Bag Cost Pepsi “Billions” In Revenue
Turns out there’s a price point for everything where consumers just stop paying. Guess that whole “price as a rationing mechanism” talk means something after all…
Just ask Pepsi. The iconic brand had recognized for some time that its Frito-Lay snack prices were becoming too expensive, with major retailers like Walmart repeatedly raising concerns, according to Bloomberg.
Even so, prices remained high as sales declined, with some chip bags climbing past $7. Popular products such as Doritos saw sharp increases, jumping nearly 50% since 2021. In response, retailers began allocating more shelf space to lower-cost store brands and competing products.
Bloomberg writes in a new report that in early 2026, PepsiCo finally moved to reduce prices, cutting some snack items by as much as 15%. This decision followed two consecutive years of Frito-Lay missing internal revenue targets. However, new challenges quickly emerged. Rising oil prices tied to global conflicts increased costs for production and packaging, which could weaken the effectiveness of these price cuts and limit their ability to bring customers back.
Prior to these external pressures, analysts believed that moderate price reductions might have been enough to improve sales. Company executives said they planned to assess the results by mid-2026, after earlier test runs showed encouraging increases in product demand. In return for lowering prices, PepsiCo also secured additional shelf space at large retailers, with full implementation expected nationwide.
The report notes that for several years, leadership had struggled with how to address pricing. Executives were reluctant to lower prices because of concerns about short-term financial losses. Instead, they experimented with strategies like reducing package sizes and offering temporary promotions, but these efforts failed to reverse declining sales. A turning point came in 2025 when Rachel Ferdinando reviewed the business and concluded that price cuts were unavoidable.
At the same time, the company was facing broader pressures. Frito-Lay’s long streak of consistent revenue growth came to an end, and it began losing ground to more affordable competitors. Other major food companies had already started lowering their prices, increasing the urgency. Meanwhile, PepsiCo was also investing in higher-priced, health-focused products, which added complexity to its pricing decisions.
The situation can be traced back to the pandemic period, when PepsiCo raised prices to offset supply chain disruptions and rising labor costs. Consumers initially accepted these increases, but over time the higher prices became harder to justify. Although revenue briefly surged, shoppers eventually began cutting back. Even as demand weakened, the company hesitated to reverse its pricing strategy.
By 2025, it became clear that affordability was a key concern for consumers. Price reductions were first tested in select markets and then expanded more broadly in 2026. While discounts have attracted some buyers, overall demand remains uncertain. PepsiCo now faces the ongoing challenge of maintaining lower prices while dealing with rising costs and cautious consumer spending habits.
Gov. Mike Braun announced the suspension on April 8.
“I am declaring a gas tax holiday to give Hoosiers relief from the pain at the pump from high gas prices,” Braun said in a statement. “Affordability is my top priority.”
Indiana’s state gas sales tax, also known as its gasoline use tax, is 7 percent. A separate excise tax of $0.36 cents a gallon is not affected by the suspension.
The 30-day reprieve could be extended, Braun’s office said.
Indiana officials are going to be “patrolling the pumps” to make sure that savings from the gas tax suspension go to Indiana residents, rather than retailers.
Braun also said the Indiana attorney general should enforce regulations prohibiting retailer price gouging.
“With the suspension of Indiana’s gas tax for the next 30 days, my office will closely monitor fuel prices to guard against any potential price gouging,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement.
The United States attacked Iran in February, sending the price of oil soaring.
On April 7, Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week cease-fire.
Oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel in the wake of the cease-fire agreement.
The average price per gallon in Indiana on Wednesday was $4.13, slightly lower than the $4.16 nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association.
The average in Indiana a week ago was $3.96, and the average a month ago was $3.46.
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” President Donald Trump said in a speech on April 1. “This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.”
Georgia’s governor was the first in the nation to suspend his state’s gas tax. Gov. Brian Kemp on March 20 signed a bill suspending the state’s gas tax for 60 days.
Georgia’s tax is typically 33.3 cents per gallon.
Kemp also signed a bill that authorized $1.2 billion in income tax refunds.
“Hardworking Georgians know best how to spend their money, not the government,” he said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud to sign these bills and, along with the General Assembly, deliver meaningful tax relief on top of the other measures we’ve taken in recent years. Because we budget conservatively, we can take steps like these that actually deliver on affordability issues for families in our state.”
If there is a mantra among progressive American political and media elites, it would be “our democracy,” usually preceded by what they believe to be a threat from the Right. For example, progressives deemed the recent reversal of Roe “a threat to our democracy” because it removed laws regulating abortion from Supreme Court jurisdiction and returned the issue to democratically elected legislatures.
It would seem inconsistent to invoke the democratic electoral process to deal with a contentious issue like abortion, but progressives are nothing if not inconsistent. But even in challenging logic on political issues, progressives at least try to stick to the language of democracy, and especially the language of “our democracy.”
However, occasionally progressive elites demonstrate their contempt for democracy because they realize that the democratic process is not going to have the desired progressive results because voters and their representatives do not want to knowingly harm themselves.
Recently, the New York Times, in a progressive moment of truth, reacted to the US Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA, in which the court ruled that because carbon dioxide is not among the pollutants regulated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the Environmental Protection Agency could not enforce CO2 emissions rules for electric power plants.
In its 6–3 ruling, the SCOTUS indicated that Congress was free to pass legislation to regulate carbon dioxide but that the EPA was not free to simply add it to its list of regulated power plant emissions on its own. In other words, the high court declared that democratically elected members of the US House and Senate are free to write (and pass) any anti–climate change legislation they choose. This is what the ancients once called democracy.
Not surprisingly, the NYT went ballistic, and in so doing exposed the progressive mentality, with its affinity for rule by “experts.” Declared the newspaper’s editorial board:
Thursday’s ruling also has consequences far beyond environmental regulation. It threatens the ability of federal agencies to issue rules of any kind, including the regulations that ensure the safety of food, medicines and other consumer products, that protect workers from injuries and that prevent financial panics.
The ruling did no such thing. Instead, the court said that federal regulatory agencies are not free to create and enforce rules outside of their statutory authority. The EPA had simply declared itself the official power plant CO2 emissions regulator under the Obama administration despite the fact that Democrats had a supermajority in the US Senate and a huge majority in the House and theoretically could have passed a law giving new regulatory powers to the EPA. That Congress did not do so is instructive.
In other words, this was an extralegal power grab but one approved by elites because, well, elites know more than everyone else. The NYT editorial continued:
In 1984, an earlier generation of conservative Supreme Court justices formalized a doctrine of deference to the judgment of regulatory agencies, modestly concluding that judges were neither experts nor elected officials, and therefore ought to leave such decisions in other hands. In Thursday’s decision, the court asserted that the policy of deference applies only to supposedly unimportant regulations. When it comes to “major questions” of regulatory policy, the court said, it would not hesitate to second-guess regulators—and to strike rules that it decided did not have a clear congressional warrant.
The decision amounts to a warning shot across the bow of the administrative state. The court’s current conservative majority, engaged in a counterrevolution against the norms of American society, is seeking to curtail the efforts of federal regulators to protect the public’s health and safety. The court already invoked a similar logic during the Covid pandemic to strike down workplace Covid testing requirements and a federal moratorium on evictions. And by refraining from defining a threshold for what constitutes a “major question,” the court is leaving a sword hanging over every new rule. (emphasis mine)
The “administrative state,” of course, is anything but democratic; it is autocratic to the core. For all of their professed love for democracy, progressives have long demanded rule by experts, or at least rule by “experts” that meet progressive approval. As I pointed out last year, when actual scientists studied the effects of so-called acid rain and concluded that it was not causing lake and river acidification, progressives in the media, as well as EPA administrators, immediately tried to destroy the careers of scientists failing to echo the party line. Not surprisingly, one of the loudest antiscience voices in the acid rain affair was the New York Times.
Furthermore, for all the “experts know best” rhetoric in the NYT editorial, there is no proof that the administrative state governs as effectively as democracy, which elites pretend to love. The “experts” at the Federal Reserve believed they could substitute trillions of printed dollars for actual production of goods without creating monetary chaos. In western forests, the “experts” at the US Forest Service have had fire suppression policies in place for more than a century, and the result has been that what were once mere forest fires have become destructive conflagrations that burn so hot that they often destroy the scorched soil’s ability to generate postfire growth.
The ”experts” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed policies that precipitated massive job losses, caused unnecessary premature death from ailments other than covid-19, and still failed to promote adequate information about the virus and its origins. Education “experts” have created one educational crisis after another, and so on. Rule by experts—the administrative state—has caused destruction whenever it is invoked, yet the editors at the “newspaper of record” have failed to notice.
Instead, they proclaim eternal fealty to what only can be called a failed experiment in governance, not to mention that it is antidemocratic. Yet, the NYT editors cannot keep from claiming loyalty to both forms of governance, even when they contradict one another:
Congress has decided, and with good reason, that regulatory agencies staffed by experts are the best available mechanism for a representative democracy to make decisions in areas of technical complexity. The E.P.A. is the entity that Congress relies upon to figure out how clean the air should be, and how to get there. Asserting that it lacks the power to perform its basic responsibilities is simply sabotage.
There is much to dissect in those words, but suffice it to say that to assume that EPA decision makers have the kind of knowledge and expertise implied in that editorial is to foolishly demonstrate faith in something that inevitably fails. Far from being near-omniscient sages of science, the bureaucrats making life-altering decisions at the EPA are people who bear no costs if they impose unnecessary burdens on the lives of ordinary people but who also find that the more draconian their edicts, the greater the praise from environmental interest groups and, of course, the New York Times. What possibly could go wrong?
War On The Shore: Maryland Dem Officials Freak Out At Journalists Ahead Of Exposé On Governor
The Democratic kings and queens in the one-party–ruled state of Maryland are absolutely panicking, something that should not be happening in a deep-blue state, as their crown jewel, left-wing Gov. Wes Moore, a prospective Democratic presidential candidate, has seen polling data implode. High taxes, surging power bills, a state budget crisis, poor leadership, and even questions about honesty have sparked voter backlash on both sides of the political aisle.
In the battle for narrative control, Moore’s office and the Democratic Party’s propaganda machine have launched a preemptive campaign against The Baltimore Sun’s forthcoming investigative series, which is expected to release an exposé on Moore.
“The Baltimore Sun used to be our paper of record,” Moore recently told MS NOW host Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary who made a career at covering up Biden’s mental decline. “It’s now become the paper of the right wing.”
Democrats have been upset that, in deep-blue Baltimore and across the state, right-leaning Sinclair executive chairman David Smith now owns the paper. As a result, The Sun has shifted from promoting left-wing conspiracies and all things DEI to more balanced, center-right content.
The loss of narrative power at The Sun is what truly irritates Democratic leadership in the state, as their inability to control the narrative has caused Moore’s polling numbers to drop significantly.
“Democrats sure are putting in a lot of work to discredit a series before it’s even started running. That alone should raise a question: why?” Candy Woodall, former national political reporter at USA Today, now managing editor of Spotlight on Maryland, a local investigative reporting collaboration of WBFF45 (owned by Sinclair), wrote on X.
Woodall Continued:
In January, I was warned directly that if Spotlight continued its investigation into Gov. Wes Moore’s military records—and one of his superiors—that his office would send files to every media reporter to try and discredit us.
We saw the same playbook in 2022 when a FOX45 reporter asked why Moore allowed claims that he had received a Bronze Star that he didn’t have at the time. His team accused the reporter and media outlet of bias and a smear campaign. Two years later, after the New York Times wrote about the Bronze Star Moore hadn’t received, the narrative changed, and the governor said it was “an honest mistake.” In an August 2024 statement on his military record, Moore acknowledged he knew before leaving Afghanistan that he had not received the award.
Spotlight’s reporting digs deeper into Moore’s military records and more, and our investigative series will begin to publish soon. This is standard journalism to scrutinize the words and records of elected officials and candidates who hold positions of power and public trust. Our loyalty is to the Maryland public we serve — not any public official or political party.
Our work has been fair. We’ve sent hundreds of questions. Most have gone unanswered. We’ve offered multiple sit-down interviews with the governor and his staff. They have declined repeated requests.
Moore’s office hasn’t seen a word of this series yet, but the governor and his communications staff are actively campaigning and peddling a narrative to smear it. In fact, his director of media strategy said this week of us, “They don’t deserve to be treated like a news outlet and nothing that comes out of Sinclair should be taken seriously.” They continued this effort last night in an interview on MSNOW with Jen Psaki, Biden’s former press secretary.
The real questions you should be asking right now: Why don’t they want you to read the series? What is it they don’t want you to know? And if we’re so wrong about everything, why not just release the records and prove it?
If you want to know more, keep reading The Baltimore Sun, a 200-year-old newspaper that has survived many governors.
Democrats sure are putting in a lot of work to discredit a series before it’s even started running. That alone should raise a question: why?
In January, I was warned directly that if Spotlight continued its investigation into Gov. Wes Moore’s military records—and one of his… https://t.co/5e0TF84YIa
After The New York Times reported in 2024 that Moore had falsely claimed to have received a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan, a controversy over his military record intensified. Spotlight on Maryland later picked up the investigative baton at the local level.
Moore’s team responded aggressively on X, in what appeared to be a bid to discredit the reporters – even dismissing one Fox Baltimore reporter as “not a journalist.”
You’re not a journalist.
You’re a former Republican party official working at the direction of your Trump supporting boss. https://t.co/CLzLzHHsb3
Democrats have reason to worry about any major forthcoming exposé on Moore. His Polymarket odds of becoming the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominee currently sit at just 1%.
The real issue for Democrats is that Smith of Sinclair is single-handedly chipping away at their core abilities to run counter-narratives, which has eroded Moore’s odds of leapfrogging from the financially troubled state to the White House.
In recent weeks, Moore was greeted by a stadium full of boos during Orioles Opening Day in Baltimore City, a major stronghold for progressives. This should never be happening to a left-wing governor in the state.
But it is his sheer incompetence in serving as proper stewards of the state and prioritizing DEI, woke, illegal aliens, over Marylanders that has sparked voter backlash. Stuff like this:
Maryland Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R) EMBARESSES Democrats who want to force “appropriately sized tampons” into men’s bathrooms.
Panther is a third-generation full-size wheeled dual-arm humanoid robot, and UniX AI has commenced global deliveries.
The robot stands about 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs around 176 pounds (80 kilograms), and operates for 8 to 16 hours on a single charge.
According to the Suzhou-based firm, its design focuses on usability and reliable performance in complex indoor environments, marking a significant step toward bringing general-purpose humanoid robots into everyday settings.
Stable service robot
Panther is a wheeled dual-arm humanoid robot designed for real-world deployment across home, commercial, and industrial settings – and is equipped with an omnidirectional, four-wheel-steering, four-wheel-drive (4WS+4WD) chassis, enabling agile movement and stable operation in complex indoor environments. According to the UniX AI, the wheeled architecture marks a departure from the more common legged humanoid approach, which is combined with general-purpose AI models, offering improved efficiency and practicality for deployment.
According to UniX AI, the robot features 34 high-degree-of-freedom joints, including the world’s first mass-produced 8-DoF bionicarms and adaptive intelligent grippers, allowing precise and flexible manipulation.
Furthermore, it is equipped with cameras, sensors, and audio input systems that support object recognition, indoor navigation, and interaction with people. The system is designed to perform multi-step tasks rather than isolated actions, allowing it to execute complete sequences of activities.
“With our integrated trinity of algorithms, hardware, and applications, we have already scaled from lab validation to mass delivery, and from local deployment to global expansion,” said Fred Yang, Founder and CEO of UniX AI, in a statement.
Multi-task humanoid
In demonstrations and early deployments, the robot has shown the ability to handle a variety of domestic tasks. These include waking users, preparing breakfast, cleaning rooms, organizing household items, and operating certain appliances. It can also sort and move objects as part of routine household workflows.
The robot is built to manage continuous task sequences efficiently. For example, it can wake a user in the morning, prepare a meal, clean the kitchen afterward, and organize the living space, demonstrating coordinated, multi-step task execution in real-world home environments.
Panther, evolved from the Wanda 2.0 platform, introduces an 80 cm vertical lift of the upper body, enabling both elevated reach and ground-level operation. It operates on an upgraded 48V power platform, delivering higher output along with improved stability for high-speed control and dynamic movements.
Panther is powered by UniX AI’s integrated technology stack. UniFlex enables efficient cross-scenario task generalization and imitation learning. UniTouch combines visuo-tactile multimodal models to improve precision handling and interactive capabilities with enhanced stability. UniCortex supports long-term task planning, enabling the robot to execute complex, multi-step operations seamlessly.
According to the firm, the system is designed for a wide range of real-world applications. These include commercial services such as hotels, reception, retail, and guided tours; home and personal uses like household tasks, elderly care, and companionship; and public or industrial roles including security patrols, research, and education.
Experts say household robots still face hurdles, including cluttered environments, varied lighting, and handling soft objects. Challenges in navigation, appliance interaction, battery life, cost, safety, and reliability remain. However, robots performing multiple domestic tasks indicate that fully functional home assistants managing daily chores are gradually moving closer to reality.
“That Is Not The Agreement We Have!” President Trump Slams Aya-TOLL-Ah Charging Fees For Hormuz Transit
Summary:
Bibi says pursuing Lebanon ceasefire after reports of Trump pressure. Over 250 killed and 1,000+ wounded in Lebanon from Wednesday surprise attack by Israel’s military. UAE, Pakistan, and even EU (Kallas) condemn.
Trump ‘optimistic’ a deal within reach (NBC). WH confirms Vice President Vance will lead Kushner-Witkoff delegation in Pakistan, seen as positive in Tehran and Islamabad.
Trump warns of more military action if Iran doesn’t uphold ‘real’ ceasefire deal, after disagreement over Lebanon truce status as part of deal.
Despite some last-minute shots in Lebanon by Israel, bombs go largely silent across Gulf and Middle East.
Hormuz Strait still effectively controlled by Iran: only a few vessels had passed on Wednesday. TASS reporting only 15 ‘vetted’ tankers per day to be let through. Thursday sees first non-Iranian tanker pass since ceasefire.
“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.
That is not the agreement we have!”
Having earlier described Iran’s leaders as “much more reasonable” than their public comments would suggest, the new Supreme Leader also repeated demands for war reparations – a definite non-starter for US negotiators.
Stocks dipped and oil rallied modestly on this tête-à-tête.
It sounds like the adults really need to get in a room and figure this out (VP JD Vance is expected to lead the US delegation in discussions scheduled for Islamabad on Saturday) or the rally in stocks (and decline in oil costs) will be gone before anyone books any profits.
* * *
Trump ‘Optimistic’ Iran Deal Within Reach, After 1st Non-Iranian Tanker Transits Hormuz Since Ceasefire
AFP has cited MarineTraffic monitor to report that the first non-Iranian tanker has transited the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire began.
Also per NBC, Trump says he is optimistic that an Iran peace deal is within reach, as Vance is set to head up the American side for Pakistan talks, scheduled for Saturday morning.
The Ayatollah appeals for Gulf countries to distance themselves from Washington:
We’re still waiting for an appropriate response from you, our southern neighbors, so that we may demonstrate our brotherhood and goodwill to you. This will not be realized unless you renounce the Arrogant Powers, who miss no opportunity to humiliate and exploit you.
— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) April 9, 2026
This marks the most direct signal yet from the US President himself that negotiations could have real momentum. He also told NBC that Tehran is “more agreeable than it shows in public.” However, despite these ‘positives’ – the case of Israel-Lebanon fighting could derail a lasting peace:
Hezbollah MP says group rejects any direct talks between Lebanon, Israel
Bibi: We are Opening Direct Negotiations With Lebanon
Huge development per Axios:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: In light of Lebanon’s repeated calls to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the Cabinet yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the Lebanese Prime Minister’s call today to evacuate Beirut
This after NBC News just reported that President Trump has requested that Israel reduce its bombing of Lebanon. There are some caveats: a senior Israeli official has said the negotiations will begin in the “coming days” and is not yet happening. Also, per Newsquawk (and via “Now 14”), the negotiations will take place “under fire” – meaning there could be continued strikes unleashed on Lebanon.
Oil dumps and stocks spike on the news…
15 ‘Vetted’ Vessels Per Day To Be Allowed Through Hormuz: TASS
The Associated Press has emphasized Thursday, “Iran’s approval system for ships granted safe passage – after vetting by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – remains unchanged despite US President Donald Trump’s demand for the strait to be reopened.”
“Last week was the busiest week since the start of the war with 72 passages, still 90% below normal volumes, Lloyd’s said,” the AP report continues. “Most of the vessels allowed through are connected to Iran, although some Indian vessels have gotten through with diplomatic intervention by the Indian government.” There are currently few indicators revealing Iran’s intent for what comes next, and it could be that much gets determined on whether Israel will cease its attacks on Lebanon. Tehran has threatened to renew its ballistic missile attacks of Israel’s anti-Hezbollah actions and massive airstrikes on Beirut persist.
Russia, which is an ally of Iran, has in its media published Iranian sources saying that Iran will allow no more than 15 vessels per day through Hormuz. As for Iran’s protocol for allowing passage, which reportedly could include up to a $2 million fee per vessel payable in cryptocurrency, Lloyd’s list outlines the following on where things stand:
Vessels transiting the chokepoint must coordinate with the IRGC Navy
Iran’s latest guidance explicitly warns of anti-ship mines in the main traffic zone of the strait
IRGC Navy continues to vet all traffic passing through the strait on the basis of geopolitical affiliation
Optimism: Bombs Largely Go Quiet
Asia One journalist Anas Mallick writes that “To my understanding, By tomorrow, first break of light, is when both delegations of US and Iran will be in Islamabad to hold talks.”
There’s some optimism regarding the US-Iran ceasefire holding, as it’s been relatively quiet in the Middle East overnight into Thursday, despite Israel getting some final shots on Lebanon in. On this, Iran’s president has made clear Tehran’s position that Israel’s renewed incursion into Lebanon and against Hezbollah violates the ceasefire, warning that these actions could make talks moot before they even begin.
Reuters observes, “Even as the U.S. and Iran seek to cement a ceasefire, Israel is seizing more territory from its neighbors in preparation for a long, drawn-out conflict across the Middle East. Israel’s creation of ‘buffer zones’ in Gaza, Syria and now Lebanon reflects a strategic shift after the attacks of October 7, 2023, one that puts the country in a semi-permanent state of war.”
Still, Gulf countries like the UAE have stated that no air threats have been detected or are inbound in the past hours, which is a rare positive development. There has been a decline in Iranian attacks across Arab states in the Persian Gulf region. Also, Israeli society has begun to return to normalcy, with emergency and shelter in place measures lifted across most parts of the country, and Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv having resumed operations as of midnight.
The reality of who actually controls the Hormuz Strait, told in one awkward WH press exchange:
Q: As of today, who controls the Strait of Hormuz?
LEAVITT: We expect that the strait will be opened immediately
But the reality remains that on Wednesday – the first day of the fragile ceasefire – a mere few tankers were allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz before Iran shut down traffic again, citing the heavy Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which were the largest and deadliest of the war to date.
Sky News reports that at least 254 people were killed by the Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday, citing government health authorities. In Beirut alone, at least 91 people were killed, amid ongoing rescue efforts and treatment of the wounded in area hospitals. Over 1,000 Lebanese were wounded and injured. The Lebanese government has declared a day of mourning.
Trump To Renew Attacks if Tehran Fails in ‘Real’ Ceasefire Deal, Oil Rises
Meanwhile President Trump in a Truth Social message issued overnight says that “all US ships, aircraft, and military personnel” will remain in place around Iran until the “real agreement” on a ceasefire “is fully complied with” – warning of more US military action to come if not.
The renewed threats have pushed WTI back above $100…
Here’s president Trump’s full Truth Social statement wherein he warns that the shooting can start again “bigger, better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before”:
Iran’s leadership has meanwhile been insistent on Lebanon being part of the Iran ceasefire, and has on this basis accused Washington of already violating at least three clauses of the ten point plan. It too has serious cards to play – especially while still de facto controlling Hormuz, and with the ability to renew attacks on energy sites in Gulf states.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 9, 2026
Iran on Lebanon Violations: ‘Choose War or Ceasefire, You Can’t Have Both’
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has told CBS News Israel’s attacks on Lebanon Wednesday were “a grave violation” of the ceasefire agreement, and emphasized the US must choose “between war and ceasefire – you cannot have it both at the same time.”
“You cannot ask for a ceasefire and then accept terms and conditions, accept areas the ceasefire is applied to, and name Lebanon, exactly Lebanon in that, and then your ally just start a massacre,” Khatibzadeh said.
Netanyahu’s message has remained that Israel can strike Hezbollah whenever and “wherever” it chooses. “In Beirut, we eliminated Ali Youssef Kharshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah terror organization Secretary-General Naim Qassem and one of the people closest to him. At the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers, and Hezbollah headquarters,” Netanyahu said.
“Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israeli civilians will be struck. We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever required, until we restore full security to the residents of the north.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Saar: “In the last 40 days, Hezbollah has fired approximately 6,500 missiles, rockets, and drones at Israel.”
Pakistan Welcomes Vance Heading up US Delegation
WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance will head up talks for the US side in Pakistan, leading Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Tehran had previously expressed its disdain for the latter two, accusing them of lying and being deceptive the first go-round before Iran suffered surprise US-Israeli attack. The pair are also accused of lacking technical know-how when it comes to talking about the nuclear issue.
Al Jazeera also freshly reports that the choice of Vance heading the US delegation is “being viewed very positively in Pakistan.” Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi says, “Politicians know the art of the possible, and therefore I think it’s a good decision by the Trump administration to have Vance lead the talks.”
Vance has stressed that Trump is “impatient to make progress” with Iran and warned that if Iranian officials don’t engage in good faith “they’re going to find out that President Trump is not one to mess around with.” The US has clamed Iran ‘begged’ for ceasefire while Tehran insists it was the other way around.
More Geopolitical Headlines
via Newsquawk…
US President Donald Trump posted: “All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel….will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with”.
US President Donald Trump posted: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”.
The Trump administration is considering a plan to penalize NATO members viewed as unhelpful during the Iran war by relocating US troops to more supportive countries, with potential base closures in Europe, including in Spain or Germany, according to WSJ.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told President Trump that most European nations provided support.
US officials stated they do not rule out resuming fighting in Iran and confirmed Trump will not offer major concessions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning Iran’s demands could trigger renewed conflict.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister stated that the speaker of parliament will lead Iran’s delegation in upcoming talks, with communication continuing through Pakistan, according to Al Jazeera.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan stated the delegation will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night for “serious talks” based on Iran’s 10-point proposal.
The IRGC Navy announced alternative shipping routes to bypass potential sea mines, according to ISNA.
The IRGC stated that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply and then stopped following what it described as an Israeli ceasefire violation in Lebanon, according to CNN.
Iranian lawmaker Ibrahim Azizi stated: “Once again, you have proven that you do not know the meaning of a ceasefire” and “Only fire will discipline you…so wait for it”.
Saudi Arabia and Iran discussed de-escalation during a call, according to SPA.
A Pakistani Foreign Ministry source indicated the US has backed away from including Lebanon in the ceasefire with Iran, according to Al Arabiya.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Israel will continue striking Hezbollah, with the IDF targeting infrastructure in southern Lebanon overnight.
Israel’s Ministry of Energy ordered the resumption of operations at the Karish gas platform after a shutdown during the war, according to Channel 12.
Hezbollah stated its attacks on Israel will continue until aggression stops and launched rockets citing ceasefire violations, according to Fars News Agency.
A missile was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, according to Fars News Agency.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon continued despite the ceasefire with Iran, according to Anadolu Agency.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump, stating their decision to accept the ceasefire was the best course of action.
Russia launched 119 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian media.
Seven years after Faye Bernstein first blew the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse concerns, “nothing is changing” at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, she told lawmakers during an April 7 hearing at the state Capitol in St. Paul.
As a 20-year employee who still works for the department while facing alleged demotion and retaliation over her complaints, “I still see a reckless disregard for compliance,” she told the state’s Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.
Bernstein, a former compliance officer at the agency that faces heightened national scrutiny over massive fraud scandals, gave an example supporting her opinion. She said she learned that, about a year ago, “someone had falsified the audit tracker,” an important internal record that helps workers ensure they remedy problems identified in audits.
“When I heard that, I thought, ‘My gosh, somebody’s getting fired for that!’” Bernstein said; instead, managers excused the falsification, indicating “that person had simply made a mistake, that maybe she didn’t understand instructions,” she said.
“The lackadaisical attitude we have about even keeping track of our findings will partially explain” why some of those same findings recurred in an audit released in January, she said. The audit noted some of the same issues that Bernstein reported in 2019.
After Bernstein’s testimony, the agency’s commissioner, Shireen Gandhi, testified. She pledged to “build a culture of compliance,” and to ensure that all staff members understand their roles and “have the knowledge, skills, and authority to fulfill those responsibilities.”
State Rep. Isaac Schultz, a Republican who serves on the anti-fraud committee, told Gandhi: “I hope that more people [like Bernstein] continue to shine light on what’s going on inside of your department, because I have a really hard time trusting what leadership is saying to us.”
Another committee member, Democratic state Rep. Steve Elkins, gave Gandhi credit for owning up to problems that the audit revealed.
Having been elected in 2018, Elkins has read quite a few audits. Each one includes a response from the agency that was audited. Typically, “that letter is deflecting, denying, minimizing,” he said.
“This is the first time … where the head of the agency stepped up and said almost everything in the report was accurate, and this is what we’re going to do about it, and this is when we’re going to have it done, and this is the person who’s responsible for getting it done,” Elkins said. “And I think that that’s a remarkable turnaround.”
Minnesota’s government-program fraud dating to 2018 could reach $9 billion or more, prosecutors have said. Fraud concerns have expanded nationwide; the national leader may turn out to be California, where scammers may have bilked taxpayers out of “hundreds of billions” of dollars, a federal prosecutor said.
Many of Minnesota’s still-emerging fraud scandals involve programs that are now under Gandhi’s purview. She has worked for the agency since 2017 and has headed it since last year; Gov. Tim Walz made her temporary appointment permanent earlier this year.
State Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican who chairs the fraud-prevention committee, told Gandhi: “The most important thing is to make sure we’re being good stewards of taxpayer money.”
“As Ms. Bernstein said, we’ve been talking about this for years … so we have to draw a line in the sand and say: ‘We are not going to allow this to continue anymore,’” Robbins said.
Robbins and other committee members repeatedly asked Gandhi about holding people accountable when procedures aren’t followed or when records are falsified; the latest audit revealed that employees created new records—and backdated them—in the midst of the auditors’ probe.
“I was shocked to hear this information,” Gandhi told the committee, calling any such fabrications “absolutely unacceptable.” However, Gandhi said state law prohibits her from revealing details of the internal investigation into the falsified records.
When Robbins inquired further, Gandhi said information was presented to state authorities for possible criminal charges. The agency is also putting together internal processes “for preventing and catching this sort of issue going forward,” Gandhi said.
In mid-2025, lawmakers approved a two-year budget of $17 billion for Gandhi’s agency, accounting for 40 percent of the state’s total budget, state legislative records show.
One branch of the department, the Behavioral Health Administration, distributed more than $2 billion in grants from July 2022 to December 2024. The money goes to businesses and organizations that provide mental-health or substance-abuse services.
However, during that 29-month span, the state agency “did not comply with most requirements we tested,” Valentina Stone, an audit director for the Office of Legislative Auditor, testified to the fraud committee.
Auditors found 13 problems that need to be fixed to safeguard taxpayers’ money, including four recurrent issues, Stone said.
During the study period, the agency handled 830 unique grant agreements. Auditors combed several batches of those grants, looking for compliance with different “internal controls”—rules and procedures to ensure proper use and tracking of money.
Among 24 grants examined for compliance with competitive-bidding rules, auditors found the agency had inappropriately awarded more than half of them. The agency doled out five grants totaling $4.7 million without seeking competitive bids first or giving a reason for skipping that process.
Other tests revealed more internal-controls violations. The agency paid grantees even before grant agreements were signed, failed to visit providers to ensure they were complying with agreements to render services, and awarded new grants to past providers without reviewing how those providers performed.
“It concerns me greatly … that money is still going out the door in real time to some of these same grantees when these processes haven’t been tightened up,” Robbins said.
In March, a separate audit of Human Services’ fraud-ridden autism-treatment reimbursement program found that the agency mistakenly believed that it lacked authority to probe allegations of kickbacks without evidence of another alleged offense. The problem appears to have stemmed from a decades-old definition of “fraud” that failed to explicitly list kickbacks, which are illegal payments to people who cooperate with scammers.
Israel Lifts Restrictions At Jerusalem Holy Sites, Ben Gurion Airport Fully Reopened, Normalcy Returns
Israeli cities have suffered heavy bombardment under Iranian and Hezbollah missiles over the past many weeks going back to the start of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury on February 28, but the start of the fragile Iran ceasefire has seen the bombs halted, at least for now.
A sense of normalcy is finally returning across Israeli society, after millions of citizens have on a daily basis had to scramble to get to bomb shelters. Emergency restrictions have been lifted across most parts of the country, and even holy sites in Jerusalem are being opened back up, after Israeli authorities starting last month severely restricted access.
Jerusalem police on Thursday announced the removal of all restrictions and deployed hundreds of officers and volunteers across the city.
Access to Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holy sites was either fully prohibited or limited to small groups, amid the prior daily barrage of Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been reopened too. It had remained closed for much of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which was somewhat unprecedented in recent history. This created immense tensions between Palestinian Muslims and Israeli security forces.
Roman Catholics and Western Christians were severely limited during last weekend’s Easter observances at the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.
However, the Iran ceasefire and reopening coincides with upcoming Orthodox Christian Easter (Pascha) celebrations on Sunday.
Typically tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims from Russia, Greece, Eastern Europe and elsewhere descend on Jerusalem ahead of Orthodox Holy week, however, travel difficulties and the threat of renewed war have had a chilling effect, and much fewer are expected to attend.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III led a group of clergy members to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers on Palm Sunday, following restrictions on gatherings in large groups in Jerusalem’s Old City pic.twitter.com/vTDupzFQEb
Israeli police may still move to limit gatherings, and typically they set up barricades in various parts of the Old City in and around the Christian quarter in the name of imposing greater security.
Still, there’s a sense of optimism, but Israeli raids in Lebanon have kept things unpredictable. Iran has been warning against ongoing Israeli strikes on Beirut and elsewhere, and so the war could be renewed at any moment.
