Reuters is reporting that the TSA is backing off the "let's punish the passengers" rules they tried to put into effect after the recent "pants on fire" attempted attack on Northwest:

The TSA will now let pilots decide whether to allow passengers to keep items in their laps or require them to remain seated during portions of the flight, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

I suspect that a bunch of influential people who travel descended on the TSA with a huge pile of cluesticks, because, based on past behavior, I can't believe they found a clue on their own...