Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFirst Thing: Meta’s treatment of children on social media in spotlight as landmark trial set to beginSeveral US states have accused Instagram and Facebook’s parent company of deliberately causing young people harm with its products. Plus: the Italian nuns fighting to keep control of their spot in the sun
Good morning. More than half of the states in the US have joined together in an unprecedented lawsuit against Meta that goes to trial on Tuesday, accusing the parent company of Instagram and Facebook of deliberately designing addictive products that lured in young people and caused them harm.
The sweeping legal proceedings could have profound consequences for the company. The attorneys general say that if Meta is found liable, damages could be as high as $200bn – equivalent to the company’s 2025 annual revenue. The lawmakers are also asking that Meta be compelled to change the design of its products to make them safer for children, which may have longer-term effects than a fine.
What is Meta accused of? The 233-page lawsuit, first filed in October 2023, alleges that Meta regularly collects data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission. The lawmakers claim in court documents that Meta “refuses to abandon its use of known harmful features” and that its motives are based solely on profit.
How has Meta responded? Meta denies all allegations and says: “Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. The state AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate.”
View image in fullscreenDonald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. Photograph: Samuel Corum/PI/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockDonald Trump claimed he had third-hand reports that the USS Abraham Lincoln is “beautifully maintained” despite extensive accounts of deteriorating living conditions during its lengthy deployment in the strait of Hormuz.
The Navy Times and Stars and Stripes – the latter notably under increased control of the Pentagon as a defense publication – have largely confirmed reports of the Lincoln’s conditions. The publications described shortages of supplies and water and plumbing problems. Several sailors have attempted to leap from the ship according to their reports, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon.
At the White House the president berated CNN reporter Kristen Holmes insisting that she “be quiet” and describing the reporting as fake news. The White House also attacked Holmes in social media posts, calling her “callous and vindictive”.
Why have conditions on board the ship become contentious? The Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier left port from San Diego on 21 November 2025 and has now set a modern record for the longest time at sea without a port call. It has been more than 250 days since it has touched land.
What else is causing concern with US navy ships? A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July. The USS Benfold was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines.
View image in fullscreenSouth Korea’s military carry out a drill. Photograph: Yonhap Handout/EPASouth Korea’s president has renewed his push to regain independent control of the military from the US in the event of war and urged faster progress in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines after Donald Trump’s order to cut joint drills.
Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday that Seoul should proceed without disruption with the planned transfer, during his term, of wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US – a goal he and the government have long held.
Why does the US have operational control of South Korea’s forces? The issue dates back to the Korean war, which ended without a formal peace treaty in 1953, meaning the two Koreas remain technically at war. The authority to direct South Korean forces if fighting resumes still rests with the US. Seoul regained peacetime control of its own military in 1994, but wartime authority has become a potent symbol of national sovereignty.
View image in fullscreenLuigi Mangione appears at the Manhattan supreme court. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/ReutersA New York state judge effectively postponed Luigi Mangione’s trial on murder and weapons charges over the 2024 killing of a health insurance company CEO, after Mangione pleaded guilty last week to separate federal charges.
The trial had previously been scheduled to begin on 8 September. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. Mangione’s lawyers on Friday asked New York state justice Gregory Carro to dismiss the charges. They argued that Mangione should not have to be punished for the same conduct twice.
View image in fullscreenA drone photo of an election billboard by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party in Tel Aviv. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party has compared the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah on a campaign billboard in Tel Aviv which says “They want Netanyahu to lose, don’t let them win”.
Donald Trump voted by mail in Florida’s Republican primary despite his nationwide moves to restrict mail-in voting.
Construction on a controversial US-Mexico border project in Big Bend national park has halted, the Trump administration said. News of construction in Texas’s largest and most-visited national park had sparked concern from environmental groups.
Democratic senator Jon Ossoff has attacked Donald Trump’s “uniquely despicable” handling of the US-Israel war on Iran, accusing the US president of “re-rigging” a corrupt system for himself.
View image in fullscreenPeople gather for a memorial even at Trafalgar Square for academic Jason Arday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesAn estimated 30,000 mourners gathered in London for a vigil honoring Jason Arday. Friends, campaigners, and lawmakers paid tribute to the 41-year-old former Cambridge professor, who was pronounced dead on Friday. He had recently resigned his sociology of education post following disputed allegations of plagiarism and career inaccuracies.
View image in fullscreenHayden Panettiere in 2007. Photograph: Matt Sayles/APJesse Hassenger writes that the untimely death of the Heroes and Scream star was a tragic ending to a life filled with darkness in an industry that still lets its younger stars down.
View image in fullscreenRick Baker Photograph: Courtesy Locarno Film FestivalRick Baker helped define Hollywood’s creature features with his wild makeup effects skills. Here he talks about Gremlins, his love of simians – and why AI will never replace expert design.
View image in fullscreenTupac Shakur. Photograph: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty ImagesNearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, the only man ever charged in connection with the rapper’s death is now on trial. Here is what we can expect.
View image in fullscreenSeniors playing in Maximo Gomez Park, Florida. Photograph: Jeff Greenberg/Jeffrey Greenberg/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesOlder adults will bear the brunt of increasingly frequent sustained spells of extreme heat globally. Research has found that people aged 60 and over face dangers to their health from exposure to heat at much lower temperatures than previously thought.
View image in fullscreenCrowded sandy beach in Spotorno, Italy. Photograph: aerial-photos.com/AlamyA group of Italian nuns is fighting local council plans to take their beach club away from them. The nuns have been managing the resort since 1946.
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