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Today's top stories
Meta has agreed to pay states up to $17 billion in penalties as part of a settlement agreement for a landmark federal child safety lawsuit. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for children, claiming the company knew the risks but hid that information from the public. Meta denies these allegations. A portion of the proposed settlement is expected to be allocated to support youth mental health programs, after-school activities and crisis intervention services. Meta also agreed to make changes to its platforms, including a default daily time limit of two hours for users under 18, a default block on nighttime use and a ban on displaying the number of likes and reactions on posts.
- 🎧 It could take years to implement these changes, psychologist Mitch Prinstein tells NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee. Prinstein, who was set to testify at the trial on Monday, says that constant notifications about likes and dislikes don't suit the developing pre-teen and teen brain. At that age, children are increasingly focused on popularity and hypersensitive to social signals, he says.
- ➡️ The settlement is among the largest ever struck by a U.S. company. Here's what it could mean for the rest of the tech industry.
A federal judge in Boston yesterday canceled her nationwide ruling that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from following President Trump's executive order limiting mail-in voting, giving the administration another temporary win in its legal battle ahead of the midterm election. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's decision comes after the Supreme Court earlier this month ruled that a similar ruling by Talwani, which applied only to 23 mainly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., was made too early, before the USPS finalized plans based on Trump's directives. This latest development sets the stage for another potential Supreme Court review of the president's executive order. So far, the high court has addressed only procedural issues, without ruling on the legality of Trump's order.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing to eliminate a 50-year-old rule designed to minimize radiation exposure. The update aligns with the Trump administration's expansive changes to nuclear oversight and efforts to promote nuclear energy to power data centers for artificial intelligence. The proposed rule would eliminate the standard known as "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA), which requires the nuclear industry to reduce workers' radiation exposure to levels below the stated limits where possible. The new rule would also allow certain workers to receive higher radiation exposures under specific conditions. While some view the removal of ALARA as a long-overdue improvement, critics warn that it could lead to increased radiation exposure. The public comment period ends on Aug. 31, and the rule could take effect early next year.
Massive flash floods in Nepal and Tibet have killed at least 270 people. More than 1,500 people are confirmed missing, including at least 65 Americans, according to the Nepal Tourism Board. The floods began when a glacier collapsed into a valley, blocking a river and causing water levels to surge some 30 feet in just 30 minutes, burying people and communities in mud.
- 🎧 Search-and-rescue efforts are still in the early stages, NPR's Diaa Hadid says. Rescue workers are trying to dig people out of the mud, but washed-out roads are hindering the progress, according to Riaz Lodhi, head of the World Food Program. Nepali authorities are well-practiced in emergency response, especially after experiences like the 2015 earthquake that killed around 9,000 people, aid workers say. But they say authorities still haven't seen anything of this magnitude. Experts warn that catastrophes like this are likely to happen again because rising temperatures in the Himalayas, which are warming faster than the global average, destabilize the region's 60,000 glaciers and trigger more avalanches.
Deep dive
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas for directing teachers to take students' racial identities into account when issuing discipline. The school system says this approach is part of an effort to bring about "restorative justice" to address "the disproportionality of discipline on students of color." The Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued new guidance warning school leaders that they shouldn't consider a student's race in disciplinary matters, and failure to comply could lead to an investigation. This move revives a civil rights debate over discipline in K-12 schools and what counts as discrimination. Here's a dive into school discipline data over the years:
- 🏫 In 2014, the Obama administration issued guidance arguing that U.S. school discipline data often revealed large, potentially discriminatory impacts on students of color. According to the data at that time, African American students made up 15% of the student population, yet they were 35% who were suspended at least once.
- 🏫 Following the 2014 guidance, many school districts shifted away from suspensions and expulsions, adopting restorative justice policies that prioritize dialogue over punishment.
- 🏫 By 2018, student suspensions had decreased from 5.6% to 4.7%, NPR reported. Hispanic students experienced a 30% reduction, while Black students and students with disabilities also saw significant drops.
- 🏫 The Trump administration's latest guidance argues that previous policies led schools to cover up student misconduct to avoid federal scrutiny for any racial disparities.
Picture show
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Train enthusiasts have found their people in Crockett, Calif., through the Carquinez Model Railroad Society (CMRS), where they can design, build, and unleash their creativity. The club has nearly 180 members. They host popular open houses every few months, allowing the public to marvel at model trains that wind through in miniature versions of Oakland, Calif., and Sparks, Nev., on more than a mile of track. But the fun doesn't stop there. Members maintain the club's 129-year-old building, construct new stretches of track and fix each other's trains. Whether you're a die-hard train lover or someone who appreciates intricate miniatures, step into the world of CMRS with captivating photos of the members' creations.
3 things to know before you go
- Actor Tim Curry died on Tuesday at the age of 80. He was well known for his role as gender-bending scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- In this week's installment of Far-Flung Postcards, NPR's Jane Arraf visits Karbala, Iraq, where more than 20 million Shia Muslims gathered to commemorate Arbaeen. It marks the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, 14 centuries ago.
- Scientists rescued 34 endangered humped tree snails from Guam by collecting them in empty peanut butter jars ahead of a powerful typhoon. The snails are now at the St. Louis Zoo. (via STLPR)
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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