Safety features including usage limits and night-time blocks to be set by default. Plus changes to famous French cheeses

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Good morning. Meta has agreed to significant changes to its Instagram and Facebook apps in a settlement that ended a landmark lawsuit. The agreement curtails a major trial in California and will require the social media company to pay up to $18bn. Meta agreed to establish safeguards for teenage users, including daily usage limits and blocks on night-time use nationwide in the US.

California and 28 other US states sued the $1.36tn (£1tn) company over allegations that Meta deliberately designed addictive products that hooked young people, leading to mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and suicide. As part of the settlement, the company denies wrongdoing.

What will be changing in the apps? The biggest alteration is that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is now required to make many of its safety limitations the default setting for accounts created by teenagers, a pivot from its previous opt-in approach to child safety. Nick Robins-Early and Johana Bhuiyan explain more in this piece: six key takeaways from the end of the Meta trial.

Will other companies be affected? Meta is putting the agreement forward as a precedent for other social media companies to follow. The company’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, said: “Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers … to implement this new framework.” Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap face thousands more similar US lawsuits brought by families, individuals, school districts and other attorneys general.

Are campaigners satisfied with the result? Arturo Béjar, an ex-Facebook employee and whistleblower, said the outcome “is not an all-clear to say the product is safe. The limitations that are in the agreement are the equivalent of saying: ‘Well, you can smoke as many cigarettes as you can in two hours a day’. It doesn’t make the cigarettes any safer.”

How did it happen? As this visual guide explains, at 8.37am on Wednesday an enormous section ⁠of a glacier in the Himalayas sheared free and crashed on to the valley floor in Nepal’s Langtang national park, about 60km north of the capital, Kathmandu, near the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border.

All US immigrant visa applications halted as state department moves to tighten restrictions and limit access. Plus tributes pour in for Dolly Parton, who has died aged 80

Good morning. All US immigrant visa applications have been paused by the Trump administration as the state department moves to tighten restrictions and limit access to applicants whom they deem could need US assistance. The agency launched the initiative at all embassies and consulates in early August.

Applicants with scheduled interviews were sent emails that their appointments had been canceled. Agency officials claim this will ensure visa applicants will not end up relying on US public benefits. This week the Trump administration also announced plans to revoke visas from asylum seekers who had initially entered the US for tourism or business. Up to 200,000 people seeking asylum could be affected.

Is the move lawful? “The court made clear that immigration laws cannot be used to justify discrimination,” Joanna Cuevas Ingram, a senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, said. In February, a federal judge overturned the president’s attempt to suspend the US refugee system entirely.

Why are the states suing Meta? The lawsuit centers on the allegations that Meta deliberately designed addictive products that hooked young people, leading to mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and suicide. Meta has denied all allegations, saying the states are chasing an “outlandish payout”.

US president has been obsessed with restricting the ability to vote by mail, despite using it himself. Plus, why we are still fascinated with Meg from the White Stripes

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Good morning. The US supreme court has sided with Donald Trump in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting, though it is unclear whether or not his administration will be able to take action before the midterm elections in November. The court’s justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction that a judge in Massachusetts had placed in June on an executive order issued by the president. But a second injunction remains in place, and the ruling leaves room for legal challenges.

Trump has repeatedly likened voting by mail to cheating, despite his own use of it and overwhelming evidence that the system is secure. In March he ordered the government to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters, requiring that mail-in ballots only be delivered to people on that list. He also directed the justice department to prioritise investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote in federal elections.

What did the dissenting judges say? In a blistering dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the decision “needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections”.

How have rights organisations reacted? The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Derrick Johnson, said: “Let this ruling be a reminder that democracy is never, ever guaranteed. We have to fight for it, we have to fight to keep it and we have to protect the rights we do have within it … they are trying to do everything they possibly can to make it difficult for you to vote.”

How has Canada reacted? The country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, told reporters that Trump’s announcement was largely expected. “It’s not a surprise for us that the US would take some form of reprisal to our response to their unjustified tariff,” he said. Carney has vowed to match the American tariffs “dollar for dollar”, and said Canada could not accept any proposed trade deal that would weaken French language protections.

Key speech to be delivered this week at Jackson Hole said to focus on productivity and demographics in the US. Plus, how do you vaccinate 1,000 little penguins in the wild?

Good morning. The new US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week amid anxiety in government bond markets over inflation and Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans. As the world’s most powerful central bank prepares for its annual Jackson Hole conference, analysts said bond traders would be looking for signals from Warsh over its commitment to fighting inflation.

However, Warsh has signalled reluctance to use his speech on Friday for the “more traditional setup” of dropping hints over how the US central bank may respond to inflationary pressures when its officials next meet to set interest rates in September and December. Instead, he has said his Jackson Hole speech could be “focused on bigger questions”, including concerns over productivity and demographics.

Why is this a crucial moment for the Fed? The gathering of the world’s most powerful central bankers in the Grand Teton national park is a blue riband event in the financial calendar. However, the meeting comes as selling pressure intensifies in the $30tn US government debt market despite efforts by the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to assuage investor worries after he committed to at least double Washington’s purchases of US Treasury bonds.

What did Joshua Aviles say about his father’s arrest? “I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out ⁠at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country ​that has given me everything. I just got a call that my dad ‌was taken by ICE. We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting. This is heartbreaking for me. I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days ‌knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal.”

How did the DHS respond? The DHS said Luis Manuel Aviles Roa ​entered the US illegally and would remain in immigration and customs enforcement detention pending removal proceedings. “Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws,” the DHS said.

US president cancelled planned tariff imposition just hours before it was to come into force. Plus, why are people so obsessed with television vampires?

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Good morning. Donald Trump has paused his threatened punitive tariff on Canada just hours before it was due to come into effect. After Trump’s announcement, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said “substantial progress” had been made towards a trade deal, but more work was needed.

Tuesday’s 11th-hour backdown comes after a contentious year for the two countries, with the longstanding alliance strained by tit-for-tat tariffs and online broadsides in which Trump has mused about wanting to turn Canada into a US state.

How much trade do the two countries do? Historically, Canada and the US have been strong trading partners. In 2024, trade between the countries was estimated to be roughly $909bn, according to the office of the US trade representative.

What else happened in Florida’s elections? Byron Donalds, a congressman backed by Trump, won the Republican nomination for governor in the race to succeed Ron DeSantis. Donalds trounced three reasonably prominent Republican rivals, including Jay Collins, DeSantis’s handpicked lieutenant governor. If he wins the November election, as he is expected to do in the conservative stronghold, Donalds would become the first Black governor in any southern US state.

Several 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

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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.”

Why have conditions onboard 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.

President said he was ‘not happy’ with plans for large-scale joint exercises he described as ‘inappropriate and hostile’. Plus, how five obscure horses have ended up at the center of a transatlantic betting mystery

Good morning. Donald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime is learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war.

The president said he was “not happy” with US participation “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un”. He added that the drills were costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a country that, as long as Donald J Trump has been president, has been unthreatening and respectful”. Trump added that it was too late to cancel the drills so he had ordered the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to “substantially reduce” them.

Why are there continuing concerns about USS Abraham Lincoln? Democrats have intensified their demands for answers from the Trump administration over conditions onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln amid concern over crew morale, mental health and living conditions. Ruben Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, said he blamed the carrier’s prolonged deployment on the unresolved war that Donald Trump started in February with Iran as well as lackluster leadership in general from the Republican president’s administration.

Undercover agents infiltrated meetings, private chats and local events. Plus Wile E Coyote returns to the big screen

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Good morning. The extent to which federal law enforcement targeted political opponents and peaceful organizers has been laid bare in newly disclosed court documents.

Internal investigative files reveal that the Department of Homeland Security launched a sweeping surveillance operation against anti-ICE protesters, major labor unions and left-leaning advocacy groups – sending undercover agents to infiltrate community meetings and issuing administrative subpoenas to seize financial records. The documents show that DHS investigators obtained financial records of unions and non-profits, as part of an inquiry into “domestic terrorist financing”.

What did undercover government agents do? They infiltrated community meetings, joined private activist Signal chats and surreptitiously recorded audio at local events – including a “resistance skills training” at a public library and a sparring session at a church gym, where an agent accidentally dropped his recording device. Agents posed as activists and actively engaged participants by offering to help with “direct-action” protests.

How have activists responded? Emilia González Avalos, the executive director of Unidos MN, a Minneapolis social justice non-profit group, said: “I believe that this is a clear attempt to intimidate us, to punish and politically repress disagreement and difference. And that is not the America that we have built through hundreds of years. And it’s definitely not the America that we are organizing for.”

Where did the attack take place? The attack took place in Sevastopol, the biggest city in Russian-annexed Crimea. ​The regional governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said a woman had been arrested on suspicion of ⁠assassinating Shageyev on behalf of Ukrainian special services.

What has Poland said about Russian activity there? A Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, the Polish prime minister has said. Donald Tusk said it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” had sought to attack a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.

Youngest White House press secretary in history says she wants more time to ‘be the best mom’. Plus, are we losing the battle against AI slop in the music charts?

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Good morning. A familiar face in Donald Trump’s administration is departing, as the US president announced that Karoline Leavitt was stepping down to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt, who became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary on his return to office in January 2025, “will now be one of my top outside advisers”.

Trump’s most prominent spokesperson is departing while his approval rating is at a historic low, as voters express discontent over rising prices and a war in Iran that has no end in sight.

Why did Leavitt say she was stepping away? Leavitt wrote: “The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy and attention required of the White House press secretary – and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”

How will Leavitt’s time in the role be remembered? At 27 when she was appointed, Leavitt was the youngest White House press secretary in history. And when she announced she was pregnant in December last year, she became the first ever expectant press secretary. She has faced criticism for saying “Gen Z and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths”, and for attacking reporters trying to hold the White House to account.

What are conditions said to be like onboard? In April, there was a flurry of public criticism about dire conditions onboard the carrier. Photos emerged of poor-quality and rationed food, and there were reports of water shortages, moldy showers and broken laundry machines. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, dismissed the accounts as “more fake news”.

How long has the ship been at sea? The warship left San Diego on 21 November and was originally intended for the Pacific but was redirected to the Middle East once the US-Israel war with Iran began. Since then, the 5,000-plus crew has had only two days on land. The deployment was scheduled to end in May but has been extended amid Trump’s ongoing war.