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The chance of your luggage going missing is among the most anxiety-inducing facets of any flight, especially one taken amid the holiday rush.

Unfortunately for Valerie Szybala, that’s precisely the scenario that she began 2023 contending with after a domestic US journey from Chicago back to her home in Washington.

In a viral Twitter thread beginning with a post that’s amassed more than 20 million views since New Year’s Day, she documented the “wild ride” her bag took on its eventual return to her – all thanks to an Apple AirTag.

While the small, disc-shaped devices have come under fire over fears that people can use them for criminal or malicious purposes, they are designed to be attached to keys, wallets, and other belongings to help find lost items.

Informed by airline United that her bag had not made it on to the flight to Washington, and safe in the knowledge an AirTag was attached, Ms Szybala took up the offer of having it delivered by courier.

Its apparent journey from that point on was one she could scarcely believe.

The apartment complex

Concerned about the whereabouts of her luggage, Ms Szybala investigated an apartment complex the AirTag suggested was housing her belongings.

On 1 January, three days after the bag was said to have departed the airport, she tweeted it had been “sitting in a residential complex for over a day”.

“Out back by the dumpsters, I have found other emptied United Airlines bags,” she added.

Ms Szybala shared screenshots of a conversation she had with a support representative from the airline, who had assured her the bag was still on course for delivery.

“I am sorry, I don’t know why it is showing there,” they said of the AirTag’s assertion that it was elsewhere, even suggesting that Ms Szybala “calm down”.

HOW DO AIRTAGS WORK?

AirTags are loaded with what Apple calls its U1 chip, which is essentially able to “ping” any other Apple device out in the wild to triangulate the precise location of the AirTag itself.

Because there are so many iPhones out there, this chip means the AirTag doesn’t rely on more familiar location tech like GPS.

Apple Airtag

To see where an AirTag is, users open the Find My app on an iPhone – and newer handsets can get precise on-screen, SatNav-style directions.

Misplaced AirTags can be put into a “lost mode”, which allows users to enter a custom message that displays on someone’s phone when they hold it near the lost AirTag – like contact details, for example.

It all sounds pretty convenient, and when used as intended as in the case of missing luggage, it can prove excellent value.

But some have expressed concern about the gadget’s potential to track people rather than items, with criminals or stalkers theoretically capable of slipping one into someone’s bag or even on their car.

Apple insists it has made AirTags “stalkerproof”, because the Find My app will alert people if one of the gadgets that does not belong to them, and is assigned to someone else, is detected for an extended period of time.

But the company is the focus of a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco, brought by two women alleging the devices made it easier for ex-partners to track them down.

A trip to McDonald’s

Later that day came a “major update” regarding Ms Szybala’s luggage.

Sharing a picture of her bag’s position on a map, she said: “For the first time since Friday my AirTag (and hopefully luggage) appears to be on the move… it’s at a McDonalds?

“The plot thickens.”

The McDonald’s in question appeared to be on Rhode Island Avenue, near a shopping centre bearing its name.

It eventually left the fast food restaurant, returning to the apartment complex.

On the road again

The second day of the new year brought hope that the luggage would find its way to Ms Szybala’s home.

“My AirTag is on the move! It’s about 16 miles outside of the city in the suburbs,” she tweeted.

“Hopefully this means it is on a delivery run?”

Unfortunately, her hopeful fingers crossed emoji was misplaced, as the bag ended up going back to the flats.

The reunion

Following the bag’s latest return to the flats, Ms Szybala enlisted a “little posse” – including local news crews – to go with her to the building.

A text message purporting to be the courier followed, telling her that the bag would be delivered on the day and encouraging her to “call me or text me if any questions”.

“It’s sketchy, and it doesn’t really match with what my AirTag tracking said, but I immediately called the number,” revealed Ms Szybala.

“The dude who picked up was around the corner, so he drove back to meet me near the building.

“He looked a little surprised to have two news crews filming. He asked if he was in trouble or something, but at that moment I was too happy to have my bag back to ask more questions.”

Ms Szybala encouraged her followers, who were left on tenterhooks by her day-to-day sleuthing, to use tracking devices on their luggage in case a similar situation befalls them.

A United spokesperson told Sky News: “We’ve been in touch with this customer to discuss this situation and confirm she has received her luggage.

“The service our baggage delivery vendor provided does not meet our standards, and we are investigating what happened to lead to this service failure.”

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Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre leaves hospital after saying she had ‘four days to live’ following car crash

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Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre leaves hospital after saying she had 'four days to live' following car crash

Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre has reportedly left hospital after recently saying she had “four days to live”.

Her representative said she was discharged on Monday, according to US celebrity website People.

Photos in Australian media on Wednesday are said to show Ms Giuffre being driven in a vehicle north of Perth.

The 41-year-old appeared with a bruised face last week when she posted an Instagram video saying her car had been hit by a speeding school bus as she slowed for a turn.

She said: “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.

“I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time…”

Police said they had received a report of a “minor crash” between a school bus and a car in Neergabby, about 12 miles from Perth, on 24 March.

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“The collision was reported by the bus driver the following day,” said a spokeswoman. “There were no reported injuries as a result of the crash.”

A few days after the Instagram video, it emerged Ms Giuffre had been charged with allegedly breaching a family violence restraining order.

Ms Giuffre is reported to have separated from her husband.

The case was due back in court today (9 April).

File pic: AP
Image:
Ms Giuffre reached a settlement with the duke in 2022. File pic: AP

Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

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What China could do next as Trump’s tariff war ramps up

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What China could do next as Trump's tariff war ramps up

The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.

Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.

In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.

It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.

China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.

While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?

It has said it will “fight to the end”, but what does that mean?

In reality, there are few good options.

There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.

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Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.

Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.

The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.

It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.

Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.

In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.

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This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.

Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.

Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.

There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.

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Donald Trump’s 104% tariffs on China – and other levies on ‘worst offenders’ – in effect this mornong

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Donald Trump's 104% tariffs on China - and other levies on 'worst offenders' - in effect this morning

Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on what he calls “the worst offenders” come into effect at 5am UK time, with China facing by far the biggest levy.

The US will hit Chinese imports with 104% tariffs, marking a significant trade escalation between the world’s two largest superpowers.

At a briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump “believes that China wants to make a deal with the US,” before saying: “It was a mistake for China to retaliate.

“When America is punched, he punches back harder.”

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White House announces 104% tariff on China

After Mr Trump announced sweeping levies last week – hitting some imported goods from China with 34% tariffs – Beijing officials responded with like-for-like measures.

The US president then piled on an extra 50% levy on China, taking the total to 104% unless it withdrew its retaliatory 34% tariff.

China’s commerce ministry said in turn that it would “fight to the end”, and its foreign ministry accused the US of “economic bullying” and “destabilising” the world’s economies.

More on China

‘Worst offender’ tariffs also in effect

Alongside China’s 104% tariff, roughly 60 countries – dubbed by the US president as the “worst offenders” – will also see levies come into effect today.

The EU will be hit with 20% tariffs, while countries like Vietnam and Cambodia see a 46% levy and 49% rate respectively.

The UK was not included on this list, and instead saw a “baseline”, worldwide 10% tariff on imported goods in effect from last Saturday.

At the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer promised the government was ready to “shelter British businesses from the storm”.

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What’s going on with the US and China?

Since the tariffs were announced last Wednesday, global stock markets have plummeted, with four days of steep losses for all three of the US’ major indexes.

As trading closed on Tuesday evening, the S&P 500 lost 1.49%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.15%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.84%.

According to LSEG data, S&P 500 companies have lost $5.8tn (£4.5tn) in stock market value since last Wednesday, the deepest four-day loss since the benchmark was created in the 1950s.

New York Stock Exchange on 8 April 2025. Pic: AP
Image:
Global stock markets have been reeling since Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Pic: AP

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What China could do next as Trump’s tariff war ramps up
Chancellor to hold tariff crisis talks with top City executives

Trump signs coal orders

Meanwhile, the US president signed four executive orders to boost American coal mining and production.

The directives order:
• keeping some coal plants that were set for retirement open;
• directing the interior secretary to “acknowledge the end” of an Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands;
• requiring federal agencies to rescind policies transitioning the US away from coal production, and;
• directing the Department of Energy and other federal agencies to assess how coal energy can meet rising demand from artificial intelligence.

Read more:
The good, the bad and the ugly in Trump’s coal plans

At a White House ceremony, Mr Trump said the orders end his predecessor Joe Biden’s “war on beautiful clean coal,” and miners “will be put back to work”.

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