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• Retired Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan advocates for a change in Ukraine's war strategy.
• Ryan suggests Ukraine needs to push its narrative in Western media to counter Russia's influence.
• He highlighted the importance of Ukraine's drone development and Black Sea leverage.

A retired general and warfare strategist is pushing for a change in Ukraine's strategy after returning from a grim visit to the war-torn country.

"The most important insight from my visit was confirmation that Russia now has the strategic momentum in the war," explained Mick Ryan, a former Australian major general, in a Friday post for The Interpreter, a publication partnered with the Australia-based Lowy Institute.

Russia has gotten over the "shock of its early failures," he said, drawing his observations from recent conversations with government and military officials, think tanks, and journalists. The Russian military has changed its warfighting capabilities, and the defense industry has been kicked into gear.

"Now," Ryan said, "it appears capable of generating the human, materiel and informational resources to subjugate Ukraine in a way it was not capable of when it began its large-scale invasion in February 2022."

"Russia is now a more dangerous adversary than it was two years ago," he wrote. "This calls for change in how the war is fought."

For starters, Ukraine's partners need to shift their thinking, and for Ukraine, that means coming up with a vision for victory that it can implement.

Another issue is strategic communications. Ryan has noticed a major shift in attention from Ukraine to other conflicts. Ukraine, he argued, must push its narrative to get through to Western media and dispute Russia's declarations of expected victory.

The Kremlin has made a continuous effort to influence Ukrainian partner nations with its narratives and in doing so, it has caused some in countries like the United States to believe the war is a distraction from "real" problems the country should be dealing with instead of helping Ukraine, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War reported last month.

"Ukraine needs to discover a new voice that explains the importance of its defence, why Western support is vital, and that Russian narratives about inevitable victory are wrong," Ryan said, adding that "while confronting Russian misinformation activities is the responsibility of all democracies, Ukraine's strategic messaging must evolve."

He also detailed how during his trip, a Kyiv official told him how there was no clear plan as to how Ukraine would win the war.

A win for Ukraine is dependent on the aid it receives as well as its defense strategy. Ryan said NATO and other partner nations should consider switching their perception of providing support from "defend Ukraine" to "defeat Russia in Ukraine."

US officials have made it clear that Russia has the edge. It has rebuilt its wounded military and is cultivating clear battlefield advantages.

Earlier this month, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that Russia has "almost completely reconstituted militarily" and US European Command's Gen. Chris Cavoli supported that assessment on Wednesday, adding that Russia's "overall capacity is very significant still, and they intend to make it go higher."

Cavoli also said that Russia's current artillery advantage compared to Ukraine is 5:1, but this could increase to 10:1 in a matter of weeks while Ukraine waits for US aid.

Although Ukraine and its international partners have more work to do, Ryan said Kyiv has made immense progress over the course of the war especially in targeting Russian ships in the Black Sea and oil refineries at home.

Ukraine's ability to adapt to new threats and emerging challenges has allowed it focus on new research and manufacturing capabilities. Ryan noted in his article the importance of Ukraine's drone development and use.

"Ukraine now produces hundreds of thousands of small drones as well as thousands of large drones with increasing range and larger warheads," he said.

Commenting on the strategic strikes, Ryan said that "this capacity, which is improving in its reach and effectiveness, will be a key part of future Ukrainian operations."

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In the span of a few years, lionfish spread from the coast of the US to the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean. The invasive species is devastating ecosystems, eating everything in its path.

Now, divers in places like Colombia are spearing as many lionfish as they can — and chefs are finding ways to add these venomous creatures to their menu. But will it be enough to curb the population?

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• Russian and Chinese hackers have been getting past Microsoft security.
• In the latest attacks, Russians compromised the emails of multiple federal agencies, watchdog group says.
• Another watchdog group published a report last week detailing Microsoft's "inadequate" security culture.

China and Russia keep finding ways to get past Microsoft's security systems.

In an emergency directive made public on Thursday, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed that Russian-backed hackers stole emails that had been sent between federal agencies and Microsoft — emails that may have contained users' login credentials.

CISA's directive requires the affected agencies to take immediate action to determine the extent of the breach. Specifically, they must analyze the stolen emails for signs that sensitive data or login information was leaked. The agencies whose logins were exposed have until April 30 to reset their passwords and authentication tokens. CISA did not specify which agencies were included in the breach.

The hackers, a group known as Midnight Blizzard that's sponsored by the Russian state, first gained access to the Microsoft accounts in November 2023 through a password-spraying attack, Microsoft announced in a January press release. The group increased their attacks 10-fold in February, and by the following month, had accessed some of Microsoft's core software systems, the company said in a March press release.

"Midnight Blizzard's successful compromise of Microsoft corporate email accounts and the exfiltration of correspondence between agencies and Microsoft presents a grave and unacceptable risk to agencies," CISA wrote in its emergency directive.

"For several years, the U.S. government has documented malicious cyber activity as a standard part of the Russian playbook; this latest compromise of Microsoft adds to their long list," CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a press release on Thursday. "We will continue efforts in collaboration with our federal government and private sector partners to protect and defend our systems from such threat activity."

Microsoft wrote in its January press release that the Midnight Blizzard attacks were "not the result of a vulnerability in Microsoft products or services."

The company has been under fire recently for its security practices, which one government watchdog group says are "inadequate" and in need of an "overhaul."

Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security released a report from the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) detailing a "cascade" of "avoidable errors" in the company's security systems. And those errors, which the CSRB attributed to Microsoft not adequately protecting its customers' sign-in keys, allowed a Chinese hacking group to access the emails of senior US officials last summer, the report said.

In reference to the Chinese hacking incident, a spokesperson for Microsoft previously told Business Insider that "recent events have demonstrated a need to adopt a new culture of engineering security in our own networks."

A Microsoft spokesperson told BI of the latest Russian attack: "As we discover secrets in our exfiltrated email, we are working with our customers to help them investigate and mitigate. This includes working with CISA on an emergency directive to provide guidance to government agencies."

When asked if the Russian hacking incident was caused by the same security vulnerabilities that enabled the Chinese incident, the spokesperson only said that the two "are not related."

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• Fans and investors are hoping that AI might help save what's shaping up to be a bad year for Apple.
• On Thursday, Apple shares rose more than 4% on news it plans to revamp Macs with an AI-focused chip.
• Apple watchers have been seeking some good news amid its antitrust and China sales issues.

It looks like Apple investors will jump at any sign of good news on the AI front after the company's rough start to the year.

On Thursday, Apple rose more than 4% after Bloomberg reported that it will overhaul its Mac lineup with new M4 processors focused on AI.

It was the best day for Apple's stock since May and a welcome boost after a number of setbacks this year have weighed on the shares. It's also a sign that investors are watching very eagerly for even the smallest signal that Apple is taking steps toward an AI-led future.

The company has reportedly suffered a drop in iPhone sales in one of its biggest markets, China, and has been unseated as the country's best-selling smartphone maker. In February, it abandoned its decadelong project to build an electric vehicle.

Apple has also faced heightened scrutiny from regulators in 2024.

Last month, the US Justice Department sued Apple, alleging the company is using anticompetitive tactics to illegally maintain a monopoly in the smartphone market by "making it harder or more expensive for its users and developers to leave than by making it more attractive for them to stay."

Apple said in a statement to BI at the time that the lawsuit "is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it."

Weeks before that, the European Commission had slapped the company with a fine of 1.8 billion euros, or roughly $1.9 billion, related to App Store restrictions around music streaming apps. The Commission, part of the European Union, alleged Apple "bans music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services." Apple has said it plans to appeal this decision.

Investors' reaction to the M4 processor news shows just how crucial the company's future AI plans are. Some investors and analysts already believe Apple is lagging behind competitors in AI. But despite reportedly dropping the electric car project to refocus on AI, it hasn't really revealed any concrete details.

And a lot of people are waiting for them. After Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the company was exploring home robots as its next big thing, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said spending money on such efforts "would be a horror show."

"They need to focus on AI," Ives said on CNBC at the time. "For Cook, his legacy is going to be AI. If they went after robots, that would be a black eye moment for Apple." 

Apple's annual WWDC event is set to be held June 10 to 14 this year, and all eyes will be on the company to announce some solid AI developments then.

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• Ukraine lawmakers are pushing a bill to allow prisoners to serve in the military.
• The bill aims to boost combat manpower while excluding people imprisoned for certain severe crimes.
• The move comes amid Ukraine's struggle with soldier shortfalls in the face of Russia's larger military.

Ukrainian lawmakers are advancing a bill that would allow prisoners to serve in Ukraine's military and take on Russia in front-line combat.

The first draft of the bill, which was submitted to Ukrainian Parliament on Wednesday, calls for prisoners to be released on parole for military service under contract during period of martial law and mobilization, reports Army Inform.

This bill was approved on first reading with the support of 281 officials in the hopes of bolstering recruitment and giving people in prison the opportunity to "correct and fulfill the duty to repel armed aggression against Ukraine."

However, not every prisoner is qualified to mobilize.

Those who are in prison must undergo a mental health assessment and medical exam. They cannot participate if they are convicted of crimes such as terrorism, murdering two or more individuals, sexual violence, drunk driving with vehicular homicide, or national security crimes.

"These changes make the state more stable and the army stronger in confronting the enemy," said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in February. The bill has gone through numerous revisions since it was first submitted in December, and more are expected.

Lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak told Reuters that to avoid corruption, there will likely be additional changes before the final reading.

Ukraine's military has been experiencing a dangerous shortage of available soldiers on the battlefield. It has had difficulty maintaining a strong position against Russia's much larger military as more soldiers are wounded and killed while fewer potential replacements enter the recruitment pipeline. The Ukrainian parliament took several steps this week to address that.

Lawmakers passed measures simplifying conscription ahead of a possible mobilization, and demobilization plans that would have allowed soldiers to return home after extended deployments were slashed by Ukraine's parliament this week.

"This is demotivating and demoralizing for the military," one artillery soldier told CNN.

In addition to key manpower advantages, Russia also has an edge in industrial capacity and war materiel. US diplomatic and military officials have said that Russia has almost "completely reconstituted" its armed forces and nearly "grown back" it's capability to what it started the invasion with, even after suffering severe losses.

Ukraine is now not only waiting for critical aid to arrive from the US, but it is also waiting for more recruits as the bill granting people who are incarcerated the ability to join the military works its way through parliament.

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• Five recession indicators that were flashing a warning sign about the economy have since retreated.
• Ned Davis Research said its Recession Probability Model has plunged to 2%, suggesting "minimal odds" of an economic downturn.
• "The reversal of these historically important indicators shows why it is risky to rely on a few indicators that support a particular view," NDR said.

Various economic indicators that suggested a recession was imminent not too long ago have since retreated, according to Ned Davis Research.

That means investors probably don't have to worry about an economic recession occurring any time soon. That's an about-face from just a few months ago when various economists and market strategists were still bracing for a recession.

From the Leading Economic Indicator Index to the inverted yield curve, NDR highlighted five recessionary signals that should no longer be the cause of concern for investors.

"The reversal of these historically important indicators shows why it is risky to rely on a few indicators that support a particular view," NDR strategist Joseph Kalish said in a Friday note.

These are the five recession indicators that are no longer flashing red as the resilient US economy continues to power forward.

1. NDR's Recession Probability Model

NDR's internal Recession Probability Model is derived from state employment and income data, and when it hits the 50% level, it flashes an imminent recession warning.

The model surged to 43.5% in December, just shy of the 50% trigger level, but it has since plunged to just 2.1% in February thanks to several data revisions and seasonal factor updates, according to NDR.

That indicates "minimal odds" of a recession at this time.

2. Household employment levels

"The household employment survey had been much weaker than the establishment survey entering this year. Adjusting household employment to the payrolls concept saw a large gain of 352,000 in March, following three consecutive months of decline. The only times that had happened was during and immediately after the GFC and during the pandemic," Kalish said. 

3. Gross domestic income

Measuring the US economy by income levels is less popular than the consumption-based GDP measure, but it does offer insight into how healthy US income levels are. 

"In theory, the two measures should be equal, since one person's spending is another person's income," Kalish explained. But those two economic measures have not been equal more recently, sending warning signs about unsustainable growth in the economy. 

GDP was notably stronger than GDI for four consecutive quarters, with annualized GDP above 2% while GDI had failed to hit 2% during that stretch. But that finally reversed in the fourth quarter, when GDI surged to an annual rate of 4.8%, far outpacing the GDP reading of 3.4%. 

4. Leading Economic Index

"The Conference Board's LEI had declined for 23 consecutive months, driving its six month change and diffusion indexes into contractionary territory for the economy. In February, the LEI ticked up 0.1% and the Conference Board no longer expects a recession," Kalish said. 

You can read more about the recent reversal in the LEI index here.

5. Inverted yield curve

An inverted yield curve, which occurs when short-term interest rates rise above long-term interest rates, has long been a closely watched recession indicator, but since going negative in July 2022, the yield curve recession signal has failed to materialize. NDR believes that will continue to be the case.

"Finally, 525 bp of Fed rate hikes and an inverted yield curve were supposed to generate a recession by now. Our two indicator composite gave a contraction signal in October 2022. Since that signal, the Coincident Economic Index has gained 2.3%," Kalish said. 

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• Wedbush analysts said Tesla pushing off a cheaper EV in favor of robotaxis would be "a debacle."
• Reuters reported Tesla halted the development of its affordable EV to focus on a robotaxi. 
• Wedbush believes full autonomy won't be reached until 2030, making an affordable Tesla "crucial."

The robotaxi that Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased would be revealed by the end of the year is not what the company needs to focus on in the short-term, according to one prominent analyst firm.

Instead, it is "crucial" that Tesla delivers a sub-$30,000 car in the next 18 months, Wedbush analysts wrote in a note published Thursday.

The analysts said while an upcoming Tesla robotaxi reveal is an exciting announcement, full autonomy isn't expected until 2030.

"If robotaxis is viewed as the 'magic model' to replace Model 2 we would view this as a debacle negative for the Tesla story," the analyst note said. "It would be a risky gamble if Tesla moved away from the Model 2 and went straight to robotaxis."

The Wedbush letter comes after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla was holding off on developing the $25,000 electric vehicle to put more resources toward self-driving cars. The report cited internal company messages and sources familiar with the situation.

Musk responded to the report, saying "Reuters is lying (again)" in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Later on April 5, Musk posted on X that Tesla will unveil its robotaxi on August 8.

The possible reveal date comes after years of Musk discussing how Tesla's self-driving software, which currently requires an attentive driver at all times, could eventually make its cars more valuable if owners could generate money by providing fully autonomous rides for others when not personally using their vehicles.

Musk has long focused on self-driving cars

Musk said in a 2022 interview that Tesla's "overwhelming focus" is solving fully autonomous driving.

"It's really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero," Musk said in the interview.

The Tesla CEO has said new cars quickly lose value and car companies make money on selling existing fleets.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving software beta, or FSD, is currently classified as "level two" in an industry standard that goes up to six. The software still requires full human supervision. Numerous crashes involving Teslas have led to scrutiny from safety regulators and lawsuits.

Other automakers are also exploring fully autonomous driving.

Apple was famously rumored to be designing such a vehicle, before it reportedly decided to fully scrap the project amid continued delays and technological constraints.

Driverless cars aren't being sold on the market yet. But Waymo is testing self-driving models in Los Angeles and parts of the Bay Area, although it issued software recalls in February after two of its vehicles, which didn't have passengers at the time, crashed into the same towed pickup truck.

GM's Cruise, which had halted its autonomous vehicles, is also getting back to testing its vehicles in Phoenix — but with human drivers for now. The company lost its license in California in October after one of its vehicles ran over and dragged a pedestrian who the company says was first struck by another vehicle.

Meanwhile, a number of Chinese tech companies like Baidu and Didi have quietly stopped testing self-driving cars on the road after mounting pressure from lawmakers and public criticism about safety issues.

Musk has also talked up the value of a more affordable Tesla

Musk has also touted the importance of a cheaper Tesla model for years.

"This has always been our dream, from the beginning of the company," Musk said during Tesla's "Battery Day" presentation in 2020.

As the lack of low-cost options turns some customers off from making the switch to EV vehicles, Tesla has experienced decreased demand. The company has tried to cut prices multiple times to better compete with companies like BYD.

It recently announced its quarterly deliveries had fallen significantly short of Wall Street's lowest expectations, clocking the company's first year-over-year quarterly decline since 2020.

"For Musk, this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise dark days could be ahead," Wedbush analysts wrote in the letter.

With the ongoing issues surrounding Tesla's margins and demand, the analysts said Musk needs to "regain confidence in the eyes of the Street."

Former Tesla CEO and cofounder Martin Eberhard also weighed in on the Reuters report of Tesla's scrapped Model 2 earlier this week, saying it would be a "shame" if the company dropped it.

Eberhard also said it could benefit China, which has gained market share against Tesla thanks to its affordable electric cars.

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• The RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 — almost 112 years ago — after it hit an iceberg.
• The RMS Carpathia, which was three hours away, came to the rescue of the stranded survivors.
• Of the 2,200 or so people aboard the Titanic, only around 700 people made it into lifeboats.

The sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, has captured the world's fascination for 112 years. 

The stories of those plucked from the icy waters — or those who narrowly missed being aboard the ship — dominated headlines for months following the sinking. In the decades since, the discovery of the wreckage, ill-fated attempts to visit it, and 1997's "Titanic" — history's first billion-dollar film — all proved the tragedy's enduring legacy.

Around 2,200 people were aboard the RMS Titanic when it set sail across the Atlantic Ocean toward New York City. Of those people, only around 700 survivors made it into lifeboats after the ship collided with an iceberg off the coast of Greenland.

The RMS Carpathia, which was three hours away at the time of the sinking, came to the rescue of the stranded survivors.

These photos show how the Titanic passengers were rescued from the icy waters.

The "unsinkable" Titanic set sail on its ill-fated voyage on April 10, 1912, with around 2,200 people aboard.

A British passenger liner, the Titanic was operated by White Star Line and was traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City. 

At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, an iceberg was spotted 400 nautical miles south of Newfoundland, Canada, but it was too late for the ship to change course.

The two lookouts, Fredrick Fleet and Reginald Lee, failed to spot the iceberg in time.

Fleet and Lee were contending with an unusually calm ocean, which made icebergs less visible since there would be no breaking water at the base. Their binoculars were also locked in a cabinet, which meant the lookouts were tasked with spotting icebergs using their eyes alone.

However, lookouts were trained to spot objects with the naked eye first, and 1912-era binoculars were not much more advanced than the trained eyesight of the lookouts, according to Encyclopedia Titanic. Given the short amount of time between when the lookouts saw the iceberg and the time of impact, binoculars still likely wouldn't have prevented a collision.

The Titanic attempted to avoid the iceberg, but it failed to turn in time. As the ship scraped the iceberg, it tore a hole in the side of the ship, rupturing at least five of the watertight compartments.

By 2:20 a.m., the stern of the Titanic slipped under water, and the surviving passengers never saw it again.

After just an hour, the ship was quickly filling with water, and passengers began to panic, Britannica reported. Due to the water, the ship's bow continued to sink, causing the stern to rise into the sky.

By 2 a.m., the crew was released by the captain. Shortly after, the Titanic's lights went out, the ship broke into two pieces, and the bow sank beneath the waves. Twenty minutes later, the stern followed suit, sending hundreds of crewmembers and passengers into the sea.

Of the 2,200 or so people aboard the Titanic, only around 700 people made it into lifeboats.

As the ship began to take on water, the lifeboats were launched with women and children only. There were only 20 lifeboats aboard the Titanic, according to Britannica, which could carry up to 1,178 people, only half of the ship's passengers and crew.

These boats were launched below capacity, for fear that the device lowering the boats would break if the boats were full. For instance, the first lifeboat to leave Titanic had the capacity for 65 people but was carrying only 27 when it launched, Britannica reported.

After the ship sank, people in lifeboats returned to search for survivors, but they found most people who entered the water had not drowned. Instead, they had frozen to death.

There were not enough lifeboats to hold the number of passengers that needed to evacuate.

No lifeboat or fire drills were carried out before the ship's sinking. In fact, a lifeboat drill had actually been planned for the morning before Titanic's sinking but it was canceled.

Loading passengers into the lifeboats turned to chaos. While some boats launched half full, others got stuck as they were being lowered into the water and were swarmed by people desparate to get on, Prologue magazine reported, per the National Archives.

The SS Californian was near the Titanic when it sank, but its radio was shut off for the night.

When flares from the Titanic woke the captain, he assumed they were "company rockets," or signals passed between ships owned by the same company, not distress signals, the BBC reported.

Instead, the RMS Carpathia responded to the Titanic's distress call and changed course to help.

The Titanic's distress call reached the Carpathia, a transatlantic passenger liner manned by Captain Arthur Rostron, at 12:20 a.m., but it was more than three hours away. 

Another ship, the Olympic, was too far away to help.

Arriving at 3:30 a.m., the Carpathia came to the rescue of the survivors in the lifeboats.

Lifeboat No. 2 was the first to reach and board the Carpathia, Britannica reported. It would take several hours for the ship to pick up all of the survivors. 

By 8:30 a.m., the final person from Titanic's lifeboats had boarded the Carpathia.

The ship was then ordered by the captain to search the wreckage and frigid waters for any other survivors, but none were found. The ship did discover four bodies, which crew members buried at sea, according to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. 

 

 

The passengers and crew of the Carpathia tried to accommodate the survivors once they were aboard, but for many, the life-changing experience had rendered them inconsolable.

The Carpathia's crew and fellow passengers gave their beds to survivors and offered them warm clothing and blankets, the Maritime Executive reported. Many of the survivors were upset and could do nothing but cry, or were shell-shocked by what they had experienced. 

 

Rather than continuing along their original course, Carpathia's captain chose to return to New York City.

The closest destination was Halifax, Nova Scotia, but it required traveling through more ice, and there wasn't enough food on board to meet the needs of the Titanic passengers in addition to Carpathia's if the ship sailed on to its original destination. 

The ship's captain decided to head back to New York, which had been the Titanic's original destination. 

Halifax later became the main port for ships retrieving bodies from the wreckage. According to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, three ships dispatched from Halifax were able to retrieve 328 bodies from the wreckage, or only one in five victims. 

Roughly half of the Titanic victims' bodies are buried in Halifax, 119 bodies were buried at sea, and only 59 bodies were claimed by victims' relatives and returned home. A majority of the bodies buried at sea were damaged beyond recognition or belonged to crew members or third-class passengers.

The main vessel charged with retrieving bodies, the Mackay-Bennett, also ran out of embalming supplies — the ship didn't expect to find so many bodies in the water — forcing crew members to bury more people at sea than intended. 

Rumors of the Titanic's sinking created a public frenzy at the White Star Line's office.

The White Star Line office in New York was flooded with people wanting confirmation on the fate of the Titanic, but White Star initially refused to confirm if the ship had sunk, according to the New York Daily News.

Even as publications began to report on the sinking, White Star Line wouldn't confirm the news to the public until almost two days after the ship went down. 

 

As the Carpathia made its journey into New York, reporters hired tug boats to sail alongside the ship to talk to survivors.

Captain Rostron ordered his crew to ignore all calls from the press regarding the Titanic. So to get the scoop, journalists shouted questions at the passengers and crew through megaphones from the tugboats.

The Carpathia eventually docked at Pier 54 on April 18 at 9:30 a.m.

The ship had left from the same dock, only seven days earlier, according to the Maritime Executive. 

 

Around 30,000 people were waiting to welcome the survivors.

Families of passengers arrived hoping to be reunited with loved ones, according to the New York Daily News. Ambulances and hearses lined the streets waiting to tend to the survivors or cart away any of the dead. 

As the survivors of the Titanic left the Carpathia, they were greeted by the thousands of people.

Families reunited with each other, while others learned their loved ones had perished. 

Among the casualties, the crew and third-class passengers suffered the greatest losses with 700 and 536 fatalities, respectively, according to Britannica. 

The Carpathia's crew returned 13 of Titanic's lifeboats to White Star Line.

According to Titanic Universe, the Carpathia did not have the space for all 20 and left seven lifeboats in the North Atlantic.

The 13 lifeboats they brought back were placed in the possession of the White Star Line.

For his rescue efforts, Rostron received a Congressional Gold Medal.

Rostron was reluctant to speak publicly about his role in the Titanic rescue, and he avoided any spotlight for the rest of his life.

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• The GOP-led House of Representatives keeps stalling to bring a Ukraine aid bill to a vote.
• It may be because Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to oust the speaker if he did so.
• The House is considering six bills next week surrounding household appliance regulations.

As Ukraine aid continues to stall, the House of Representatives announced plans to address legislation barring government regulations on home appliances.

Though the Senate passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel in February, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has yet to bring a similar or matching one to a vote. His reluctance could stem from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene threatening to oust him from leadership last month.

Johnson and his team have reportedly been negotiating with the White House regarding a Ukraine-based aid bill, but there's no set timeline for his prep work.

In the meantime, the House Rules Committee has announced it's set to take a look at a series of six bills, each relating to government regulations and standards on household appliances.

The bills to be reviewed are the following:

• Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act

• Liberty in Laundry Act

• Clothes Dryers Reliability Act

• Refrigerator Freedom Act

• Affordable Air Conditioning Act

• Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act

The six are strikingly similar to a culture war-esque bill that passed in the House in mid-2023 to prevent a gas stove ban, despite the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission noting that such a ban wasn't on the table and the White House clarifying Biden wouldn't even support one.

The House is set to vote on Friday to renew the nation's warrantless surveillance program for an additional two years. The chamber was initially going to instate the program for five more years, but 19 Republican members spoiled a procedural vote for it on Wednesday, forcing the change.

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