TYB
Happy Good Friday.
Though I would consider it more of a Great Friday this year.
Happy nonetheless.
Walmart’s New Drones Deliver Groceries in Minutes
Fri, April 18, 2025 at 5:45 AM PDT
Groceries by drone? Yep, it’s happening.
Walmart just launched a drone-powered grocery delivery service in Mesquite, Texas, thanks to a partnership with San Francisco-based Zipline.
And this isn’t a gimmick—it’s fast, it’s real, and it’s expanding.
The tech behind it is a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles called P2 Zips. These little flyers can cruise at 70 miles per hour and cover a 10-mile radius.
So in the time it takes you to scroll TikTok for dinner ideas, your milk and eggs could be zipping through the sky.
For now, it’s only available in select areas around Dallas-Fort Worth, but Zipline, which previously teamed up with Panera and Sweetgreen, has plans to scale up quickly. Seattle-Tacoma is likely next.
Here’s how it works: You place an order through Walmart like you usually would, then eligible items (under 8 pounds) go in a special container.
A drone then flies to your location with the order items. It will hover around 300 feet above your house, then it lowers your order on a tether like a snack-delivering UFO.
You don’t have to catch it or wave it in like an aircraft carrier. Just select a drop zone such as the yard, driveway, or patio, and it handles the rest – even in the rain.
The idea here is that drone deliveries can cover those last-minute purchases. Forgot cold meds? Out of milk mid-bake?
Need soup and tissues before the flu really kicks in? That said, these drones are built for speed, not bulk, so no full-cart hauls yet.
Walmart has been testing drone deliveries since 2021, starting in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Now, the move into Texas marks the company’s first major leap toward wide-scale air delivery.
Oh, and Walmart+ members get drone delivery free (for now). For everyone else, it’s $19.99 per drop.
So yeah, keep your eye on the sky. Your groceries might beat you home.
https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/walmart-drones-deliver-groceries-minutes-124502881.html
No-fly zone over King's home at Sandringham after drone sightings
Friday 18 April 2025 12:31, UK
A no-fly zone has been put in place over the King's home at Sandringham after drone sightings were reported during the Ukrainian president's visit to the estate.
The restrictions were requested by security services on 4 March - days after Charles hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy - and came into force on 10 March.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander signed off on the order that restricts aircraft from flying below 2,000 feet at Sandringham "for reasons of public safety and security".
The order states: "These regulations impose restrictions on flying in the vicinity of Sandringham House, Norfolk.
"In view of the need for security for members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries staying at or visiting Sandringham House and at the request of the security services, it has been agreed by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport that flying should be restricted in the vicinity of that location for reasons of public safety and security."
The order does not apply to royal flights, visitors' aircraft and police and emergency services.
The King hosted the Ukrainian leader while he was in the UK for a defence summit in London.
Drones on the estate sparked a major security operation, with one traced to a man sitting in a car nearby and the source of others believed to be unknown, The Sun reported.
Buckingham Palace did not comment.
https://news.sky.com/story/no-fly-zone-over-kings-home-at-sandringham-after-drone-sightings-13351029
Gurdaspur prisoner pulls Pak drone strings
05:26 AM Apr 18, 2025 IST
In a development that has surprised even senior security officers, the police have identified an inmate lodged in the Gurdaspur Central Jail who was allegedly found controlling the activities of drones bringing drugs and weapons from Pakistan.
Confirming the development, Gurdaspur SSP Aditya said, “A jail inmate has been found to be involved in a recent drone-related activity in the area falling under the jurisdiction of the Dorangla police station, near the international border.
We have informed the jail authorities and will be taking him on police remand tomorrow. I can’t divulge much details as investigations are underway.”
He said the matter was being kept confidential due to its sensitive nature and revealing the inmate’s name could hamper the investigation.
The SSP disclosed that three individuals — Balwinder Singh, Kuldeep Singh and a minor — had already been arrested.
The minor’s identity had not been revealed, but he was believed to be the kingpin, who had used various social media platforms to facilitate heroin smuggling.
A month ago, the Gurdaspur police recovered 2 kg of heroin, two pistols, four magazines and 66 rounds of ammunition from a location in Dorangla.
“We began investigations and yesterday apprehended Balwinder Singh, Kuldeep Singh and the minor in connection with that case.
During the operation, 255 gm of heroin was also seized. After sustained questioning, they revealed the inmate’s involvement.
All three regularly met him in jail, where plans were coordinated. Recent drone sorties from Pakistan were controlled by all four of them,” the SSP explained.
Dorangla has become a hotspot for drone activity, whether involving heroin or arms and ammunition.
Sources indicate that just across the border, barely a few kms away, Pakistani state and non-state actors have established a base from which drones are flown over the fencing into Dorangla.
The accused usually have prior knowledge of consignment details, including drop times and locations.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/gurdaspur-prisoner-pulls-pak-drone-strings/
Russian drone strike hits Easter cakes workshop in Sumy, killing entrepreneur
Fri, April 18, 2025 - 09:36
A few days before Easter, in Sumy, a Russian missile hit a private workshop producing Easter cakes.
Due to the strike, the entrepreneur was killed, Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Mykhailo Melnyk, reports.
"Around 5:00 a.m., the enemy struck a confectionery workshop in the city of Sumy with a Shahed UAV. The production of Easter cakes was damaged," Melnyk said.
According to the Head of the Regional Military Administration, an entrepreneur who had arrived to pick up products was killed.
"A female employee of the confectionery workshop sought medical help," Melnyk added.
Rescuers also showed photos from the site of the hit.
Workshop in Sumy attacked by three UAVs
As reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, Russian troops attacked the enterprise, which is a leading producer of bakery and confectionery products in the Sumy region, with three UAVs.
"As a result of the enemy attack, a 61-year-old driver who was loading products was killed, and a 55-year-old employee of the enterprise was injured," the prosecutors stated.
The premises of the bakery and vehicles were damaged.
Shelling of Sumy
Early in the morning on April 18, Sumy came under a Russian drone attack. There is one dead and one injured victim in the city, and the strikes targeted industrial facilities.
Russian troops have shelled Sumy more than once. Earlier, on April 13, on Palm Sunday, the Russian army attacked Sumy with missiles.
Reports immediately indicated that there were killed victims. About 35 people died in that tragedy, and more than 120 were wounded.
Also, on March 24, Russian troops launched a missile strike on the center of Sumy.
Due to the attack, apartment buildings and a school were damaged, and there were many injured. At that time, 108 people were wounded.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/matiukha-donated-a-thompson-retractor-system-1744957034.html
French frigate shoots down drone fired from Yemen targeting shipping routes in Red Sea
April 18, 2025
A French frigate shot down a drone fired from Yemen that was targeting shipping routes in the Red Sea, the French military said Friday.
The French ship is part of the EU's Aspides mission securing shipping corridors in the high-traffic region.
https://www.swiowanewssource.com/video_12ed7a60-c8c8-533a-8319-71cecedb05c9.html
Former U.S. Navy pilot who saw UFO speaks to local high school students
Apr 18, 2025
RIO RANCHO — It's not every day that a retired U.S. Naval officer and strike fighter pilot would receive a spoof package of Tic Tacs, but that's what happened to Alex Dietrich following her highly publicized close encounter with an unidentified flying object, known as the "Tic Tac UFO."
The package supposedly containing the popular breath mints has still not been opened by Dietrich because she is mindful of the playful warning label, she told Cleveland High School students on Thursday.
"My husband says, 'Just open it!'" said Dietrich, a scholar in residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder, during a speech in the high school's theater.
Dietrich, dressed in her flight suit, delved into some of the ways her routine training mission in November 2004 captured the national spotlight — from interviews in glossy magazines to gifts — but her appearance at Cleveland and Rio Rancho High School was at its core motivational, telling students to engage in critical thinking and be leaders.
Her speech, coincidently, came as the renowned James Webb Space Telescope spotted the first potential signs of life outside of the solar system, a development Dietrich told students Thursday.
Dietrich's visit to the two schools also presented the opportunity for her to see the National UFO Historical Records Center, a large collection of artifacts related to unidentified flying objects that opened in October at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.
Dietrich said in an interview Thursday that the center intrigued her, and she has been in talks with the center's executive director about collaborations for over a year.
The center, however, was not the centerpiece, so to speak, of Dietrich's speech; her UFO encounter was.
Dietrich, newly graduated from flight school, was flying a routine training mission for the USS Nimitz off the Southern California coast with other pilots on Nov. 14, 2004.
While it was initially agreed for the pilots to meet at a certain point over the ocean, they received direction from radar control: "'This is real-world contact; you need to go check it out,'" Dietrich recalled controllers saying.
"The hair on the back of my neck stood up," she told students.
Dietrich did not see anything at first but soon noticed a disturbance in the water.
"If it had not been for the water disturbance, I would not have picked up a visual response," Dietrich said. "We call it the Tic Tac."
She then held up a 3-D model a friend made her of the a 40-foot-long, white, oblong shape she saw.
"This is what it looks like," Dietrich said, before asking students how many of them liked Tic Tacs.
Dietrich later spoke with investigators about her UFO encounter, which became part of a June 2021 report from the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence.
The report examined 140 incidents of unidentified aerial phenomena and determined all but one of them could be traced to a source, the report said.
The other incidents, however, could have been anything from a balloon to technology from a foreign country, according to the report.
It also determined the phenomena "clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security."
Dietrich's speech detoured into getting students to engage in critical thinking by examining different philosophers and reading the U.S. Constitution.
She called her pocket version of the document, "my pocket critical thinking guide."
Dietrich ended with a stark message to students about their future.
"You've probably heard this a lot — 'We're looking to you; the burden is on you, the next generation; you've got to step up and lead,'" Dietrich said.
It's true, she said softly into the microphone before the crowd of students.
"We need you to step up and tackle big problems, whether it's the opioid crisis or … the UFO phenomenon," Dietrich said.
https://www.rrobserver.com/news/education/former-u-s-navy-pilot-who-saw-ufo-speaks-to-local-high-school-students/article_82acb5ac-8a65-478e-a519-8d80c7c08c1c.html
https://www.ufonews.co/post/don-t-accept-food-from-e-t-ufos-in-sweden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUVsGLhQzK8
Don’t Accept Food From E.T. - UFOs in Sweden
April 18, 2025
In the quiet forests and rural landscapes of Sweden lies unexplained phenomena that bridges ancient folklore and modern UFO sightings.
Fred Andersson, a dedicated researcher and ufologist from Sweden, has spent year investigating these mysterious encounters.
What makes the Swedish paranormal landscape unique is how seamlessly traditional folklore about gnomes, trolls, and forest spirits intertwines with contemporary accounts of unidentified flying objects and enigmatic beings.
Andersson’s work reveals a fascinating cultural continuity where witnesses often interpret their experiences through the lens of both ancient myths and modern conceptions of extraterrestrial visitors.
Andersson’s journey into paranormal research began in childhood when his mother gave him a book by Russian-Swedish author Eugene Semichov.
However, his first profound personal experience occurred during a television production at a reportedly haunted cabin. He observed a solid black shadow figure peeking out from behind a very slim tree just a couple of meters away.
The clarity of this sighting was unlike anything he had experienced before. This pivotal moment allowed him to directly relate to the experiences of the witnesses he interviews, adding personal insight to his professional research.
Gnomes or Aliens?
One compelling case Andersson highlights involves a farmhand named Helge who, centuries ago, encountered small bearded men speaking in an unknown language.
These diminutive figures passed very close to him, about thirty centimeters away, before moving out to a field and entering a bright light hovering there.
The light then flew upward into the sky. While Helge interpreted these as traditional Swedish gnomes, today such an account would likely be classified as an alien encounter.
Mushroom Shaped UFO
Another remarkable case was mentioned to Fred in a letter which involves a man searching for his lost cow who encountered what appeared to him as a giant mushroom standing on three legs.
Tiny white creatures emerged from the mushroom and approached him. These beings telepathically helped the man find his cow.
Andersson notes how fascinating it is that this encounter occurred long before the concept of flying saucers or mechanical crafts existed.
Instead, the witness interpreted the object through familiar natural imagery — a mushroom — demonstrating how people throughout history have interpreted strange encounters using the vocabulary and concepts available to them at the time.
Man in a Bubble
Some of the most peculiar Swedish cases involve unusual modes of extraterrestrial travel. Andersson describes a young boy’s encounter with a transparent bubble containing a tiny man with a quite grumpy, almost mean face.
This small entity held what looked like a staff, using it to push forward or steer the bubble. Intriguingly, Andersson later found a very similar case from the UK in the late 1970s, suggesting patterns that transcend national boundaries.
The recurring theme of grumpy, bearded small men in Swedish paranormal accounts likely has roots in traditional folklore.
The cases Andersson discusses from the 1930s and 1940s emerged from a culture steeped in mythology revolving around gnomes, particularly the tomte — the small grumpy man who traditionally takes care of the farm.
Andersson believes that when people encountered small men during this period, they saw what they expected to see based on cultural conditioning.
Yet remarkably, such sightings continue to the present day, especially outside major urban areas. People throughout Sweden still have personal stories or family accounts of encounters with these beings.
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Don’t Accept Food From E.T.
The similarities between folklore accounts and alien encounters extend to warnings about accepting food from these entities.
In a case from 1979, a young girl encountered what she described as a shabby UFO with two tall, slim beings with pointy ears who emerged from it.
One of these beings extended its hand, offering what appeared to be a piece of chocolate. The woman, following folklore tradition, did not accept the offering.
Andersson connects this to fairy mythology, where accepting food from otherworldly beings risked being kidnapped or abducted into the fairy realm or otherworld.
The Swedish Men in Black
Sweden also has its own version of the “Men in Black” phenomenon, though with distinct cultural differences. Andersson believes these cases are less common in Sweden due to cultural factors.
Swedish society doesn’t have the same level of paranoia or secrecy found in the United States or the UK. The country has a more open approach to information, resulting in fewer reported Men in Black encounters.
One particularly striking case involves Åke Johansson, a contactee who claimed interactions with alien beings for many years.
When Johansson died in an elderly care home, two men in black suits claimed to be his family and took all his UFO and alien-related materials before disappearing.
Andersson himself experienced an unsettling encounter while researching Men in Black cases.
For an entire month, a strange man would stand outside his apartment asking for “Luam” — a word that Andersson later connected to Aleister Crowley’s channeled entity “Lam.”
Every day, this man stood outside Andersson’s door, sometimes in the stairwell looking down at the door.
Andersson and his partner became so accustomed to this presence that they would simply greet the man when returning home from work. This strange experience culminated in a series of synchronicities involving trolls.
Months after the man disappeared, Andersson found a small wooden troll carving at the exact spot in the park where he had first encountered the mysterious stranger, following a day of peculiar troll-related coincidences.
Many cases are reported thirty or forty years after the actual experience. Many witnesses feared ridicule or being labeled mentally ill.
Andersson estimates that among Sweden’s 10 million citizens, at least one million have experienced something unexplainable or out of the ordinary.
In his role as both researcher and confidant, he provides a sympathetic ear for those finally ready to share their encounters.
From mysterious shadow figures to grumpy gnomes in floating bubbles, Sweden’s paranormal landscape offers a unique window into how cultural context shapes our interpretation of the unexplained.
Fred Andersson’s dedicated research bridges ancient folklore traditions with modern UFO phenomena, revealing patterns that span centuries.
Whether these encounters represent genuine contact with non-human intelligences, psychological phenomena, or something in between remains uncertain.
What’s clear, however, is that Sweden’s forests and fields continue to harbor mysteries that defy easy explanation, connecting the modern world to ancient traditions through experiences that transcend time.
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Open up them archives
I Snuck into Gobekli Tepe…What I Saw Was Shocking
Apr 14, 2025
I went to Turkey, and documented disturbing new details involving the ancient sites of Gobekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, and Sayburc.
This is Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ysUxLIc_Bs