Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
Social media giants are found negligent in a landmark trialA jury in Los Angeles found that Meta and YouTube had harmed a young user by making their popular social platforms addictive. The case was brought by a woman, now 20, who said that features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations led to her anxiety and depression. The verdict is a big deal, our tech reporter Cecilia Kang told me. “It validates a novel legal theory: that social media can be addictive and as harmful as products like cigarettes and opioids,” she said. The social media giants were ordered to collectively pay roughly $6 million in damages — relatively modest, for the trillion-dollar companies. But Cecilia said that today’s decision could be a bellwether for future lawsuits, which could result in much larger financial damages or changes to the companies’ products.
Iran signals an openness to negotiationsPublicly, Iran’s leaders said today that they would not accept President Trump’s proposal for a cease-fire. Privately, Iranian officials have indicated a willingness to meet with U.S. negotiators in Pakistan. It was unclear how close any deal might be. The U.S. is sending 2,000 paratroopers to the region while also circulating a 15-point peace plan that is said to include demands for a complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program and sharp limits on the size of their missile arsenal. Here’s what to know about the negotiations. Tehran insisted that the conflict would end only on its terms. An official declared in state media that Iran’s conditions for a peace deal would include reparations for war damage and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered a 48-hour campaign of attacks aimed at crippling Iran’s arms industry. Israeli leaders are concerned that Trump might end the war before they could dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile program and block its ability to develop nuclear programs. For more:
Ukraine was gaining steam. Now, Russia is on the attack.Ukraine entered this month with rare momentum. With a counterattack in the Zaporizhzhia region, its troops gained more territory than they lost over the course of a month for the first time since 2023, thanks in part to Elon Musk’s decision to block Russian access to his satellite internet service. Now, Russian forces are taking advantage of more favorable weather, pushing forward to retake land that was recently lost. Their attacks are also intensifying: Yesterday, Moscow’s forces launched more than 550 drones at cities across Ukraine. In other news from Russia: An American living there has been linked to neo-Nazi terror cells across Europe.
A tick-borne meat allergy is spreadingOnce regarded as a rarity, alpha-gal syndrome — a red meat allergy that begins with a tick bite — has emerged as a significant health menace from Oklahoma to North Carolina and up the East Coast. The C.D.C. has estimated that some 450,000 Americans have had it in the past 15 years, and some experts think that’s an undercount. Most U.S. cases are believed to come from the lone star tick. The bite sometimes results in a severe reaction to red meat, and there has been one documented death with at least three more suspected. Here’s what to know about alpha-gal syndrome, and how to determine whether you have it. More top newsAviation
Other Big Stories
This question comes from a recent edition of the newsletter. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link is free.) New research found that which of the following animals was responsible for the creation of more than 91 million trees in Australia?
Revisiting ‘Stand By Me,’ 40 years laterWil Wheaton was a young teen when he got his big break in Rob Reiner’s beloved 1986 coming-of-age drama, “Stand By Me.” Now in middle age, Wheaton returned to that story by narrating a new audiobook of “The Body,” the Stephen King novella on which the film was based. We talked to Wheaton about revisiting his breakout character and a quintessential story of loss in the aftermath of Reiner’s death. “I was able to really take in the emotional memory of being Gordie in all of those scenes,” he said. Listen to a few crucial moments.
Butt muscles are the unsung hero of longevityIt’s not just about looking good in jeans. Research has found that gluteus muscles are crucial for maintaining stability and balance during daily activities. And building a strong butt can help prevent back pain and reduce the risk of falling as we age. With that in mind, we have tips for building strong glutes. Climbing stairs or walking backward uphill can help, but the best exercises are compound movements like squats and deadlifts.
Dinner table topics
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