GREENSBORO, N.C. — Teen dating violence often begins with behaviors that may seem small at first — jealousy, pressure or attempts to control a partner. However, experts say those warning signs can quickly escalate into emotional, physical or sexual abuse.
What You Need To Know
Teen dating violence often begins with behaviors that may seem small at first — jealousy, pressure or attempts to control a partner — but experts say those warning signs can quickly escalate into emotional, physical or sexual abuse
For University of North Carolina at Greensboro senior Elizabeth Dorton, those red flags appeared when she was just 15
The FBI found 73% of abusive teen relationships involved a boyfriend and girlfriend
Simple assault was the most commonly reported offense among victims 15 and older, while rape was most frequently reported among victims 14 and younger
If you or someone you know is in an unhealthy or unsafe relationship, help is available through local crisis centers and the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
For University of North Carolina at Greensboro senior Elizabeth Dorton, those red flags appeared when she was just 15.
Sitting on a bench on campus, Dorton shared a story she has rarely spoken about publicly. What started as a friendship with a fellow robotics teammate during high school soon turned into something more.
“I was on a robotics team, it was somebody who was also on the team,” Dorton said. “Our friendship started there, and then it turned into more than just a regular friendship.”
She said jealousy and isolation quickly followed.
Dorton recalled repeated threats tied to something as simple as wanting a septum piercing.
“He consistently told me if I had ever gotten that specific piercing, he would take, like the nine volt battery and hold it up, which closes the circuit and then it’s like an electrical current runs through it,” Dorton said.
She said the threats eventually escalated into sexual violence, leaving her feeling trapped and alone.
“Even though because I was never hit, that doesn’t mean that I deserved any of that … and it wasn’t my fault that that happened,” Dorton said.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, nationwide data from 2020 through 2024 shows more than three-quarters of victims in violent teen relationships were female, accounting for 79.2% of reported cases.
The report also found 73% of abusive teen relationships involved a boyfriend and girlfriend. Simple assault was the most commonly reported offense among victims 15 and older, while rape was most frequently reported among victims 14 and younger.
Sydney Wray, a trauma therapist with House of Sparrow Counseling, said sexual coercion, emotional manipulation and digital monitoring are among the most common forms of abuse she sees in teens.
“Studies have shown that an abusive relationship, both in teens and adults, the victim’s brain mimics a drug addiction, so in a lot of ways they’re addicted to their abuser,” Wray said.
She said parents play a critical role in prevention by creating safe spaces for teens to speak openly about their struggles.
“Make sure that you just provide them non-judgmental support and show them what healthy love looks like,” Wray said.
Dorton said therapy helped her understand the relationship was unhealthy. She said she didn’t tell her parents about the abuse until two years after it ended.
“I was scared that they would be upset with me or that I would get in trouble for some reason,” Dorton said.
By sharing her experience, Dorton hopes other teens recognize the warning signs sooner and know they have options.
“Once you recognize, maybe this is not what I want or this is not like how we used to be, that’s the first step. The next step is knowing that you can leave, you can go,” Dorton said.
Mental health professionals say parents should watch for warning signs including teens constantly checking their phones, withdrawing from friends or family, or appearing fearful of upsetting a partner.
“One of the biggest warning signs that your teen is in an abusive relationship or an unhealthy relationship is the constantly checking their phone or worrying about their partner and saying, I don’t want to do this or I can’t do that. Not wanting to see friends, not wanting to see family, isolating themselves, staying in their room,” Wray said.
If you or someone you know is in an unhealthy or unsafe relationship, help is available through local crisis centers and the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.
Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids and cigarettes.
While there’s some debate among experts about the line between overuse and addiction, and whether social media can cause the latter, there is no doubt that many people feel like they can’t escape the pull of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms.
The companies that designed your favorite apps have an incentive to keep you glued to them so they can serve up ads that make them billions of dollars in revenue. Resisting the pull of the endless scroll, the dopamine hits from short-form videos and the ego boost and validation that come from likes and positive interactions, can seem like an unfair fight. For some people, “rage-bait,” gloomy news and arguing with internet strangers also have an irresistible draw.
Much of the concern around social media addiction has focused on children. But adults are also susceptible to using social media so much that it starts affecting their day-to-day lives.
Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and the medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, defines addiction as “the continued compulsive use of a substance or behavior despite harm to self or others.”
During her testimony at a landmark social media harms trial in Los Angeles, Lembke said that what makes social media platforms so addictive is the “24/7, really limitless, frictionless access” people have to them.
Some researchers question whether addiction is the appropriate term to describe heavy use of social media, arguing that a person must be experiencing identifiable symptoms. These include strong, sometimes uncontrollable urges and withdrawal to qualify as addiction.
Social media addiction is not recognized as an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the standard reference psychiatrists and other mental health practitioners use to assess and treat patients. That’s partly because there is no widespread consensus on what constitutes social media addiction and whether underlying mental health issues contribute to problematic use.
But just because there is no official agreement on the issue doesn’t mean excessive social media use can’t be harmful, some experts say.
“For me, the biggest signpost is how does the person feel about the ‘amount,’ and how viewing it makes them feel,” said Dr. Laurel Williams, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. “If what they discover is they view it so much that they are missing out on other things they may enjoy or things that they need to attend to, this is problematic use. Additionally, if you leave feeling overwhelmed, drained, sad, anxious, angry regularly, this use is not good for you.”
In other words, is your use of social media affecting other parts of your life? Are you putting off chores, work, hobbies or time with friends and family? Have you tried to cut back your time but realized you were unable to? Do you feel bad about your social media use?
Ofir Turel, a professor of information systems management at the University of Melbourne who has studied social media use for years, said there was “no agreement” over the term social media addiction, and he doesn’t “expect agreement soon.”
“It’s obvious that we have an issue,” Turel said. “You don’t have to call it an addiction, but there is an issue and we need, as a society, to start thinking about it.”
Before setting limits on scrolling, it’s helpful to understand how social media feeds and advertising work to draw in users, Williams said.
“Think of social media as a company trying to get you to stay with them and buy something — have the mindset that this is information that I don’t need to act on and may not be true,” she added. “Get alternate sources of information. Always understand the more you see something, anyone can start to believe it is true.”
Ian A. Anderson, a postdoctoral scholar at California Institute of Technology, suggests making small, meaningful changes to stop you from opening your social media app of choice. Moving the app’s place on your phone or turning off notifications are “light touch interventions,” but more involved options, like not bringing your phone into the bedroom or other places where you tend to use it, could also help, Anderson said.
Tech tools can also help to cut back on tech overuse. Both iPhones and Android devices have onboard controls to help regulate screen time.
Apple’s Screen Time controls are found in the iPhone’s settings menu. Users can set overall Downtime, which shuts off all phone activity during a set period of their choice.
The controls also let users put a blanket restriction on certain categories of apps, such as social, games or entertainment or zero in on a specific app, by limiting the time that can be spent on it.
The downside is that the limits aren’t hard to get around. It’s more of a nudge than a red line that you can’t cross. If you try to open an app with a limit, you’ll get a screen menu offering one more minute, a reminder after 15 minutes, or to completely ignore it.
If a light touch isn’t working, more drastic steps might be necessary. Some users swear by turning their phones to gray-scale to make it less appealing to dopamine-seeking brains. On iPhones, adjust the color filter in your settings. For Android, turn on Bedtime Mode or tweak the color correction setting. Downgrading to a simpler phone, such as an old-school flip phone, could also help curb social media compulsions.
Some startups, figuring that people might prefer a tangible barrier, offer hardware solutions that introduce physical friction between you and an app. Unpluq, for instance, is a yellow tag that you have to hold up to your phone in order to access blocked apps. Brick and Blok are two different products that work along the same lines — they’re squarish pieces of plastic that you have to tap or scan with your phone to unlock an app.
If that’s not enough of an obstacle, you could stash away your phone entirely. There are various phone lockboxes and cases available, some of them designed so parents can lock up their teenagers’ phones when they’re supposed to be sleeping, but there’s no rule that says only teenagers can use them.
Yondr, which makes portable phone locking pouches used at concerts or in schools, also sells a home phone box.
If all else fails, it may be a good idea to look for deeper reasons for feeling addicted to social media. Maybe it’s a symptom of underlying problems like anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression or low self-esteem. If you think that’s the case, it could be worth exploring therapy that is becoming more widely available.
“For people struggling to stay away — see if you can get a friend group to collaborate with you on it. Make it a group effort. Just don’t post about it! The more spaces become phone free, the more we may see a lessened desire to be ‘on,’” Williams said.
The Prince of Wales then looked back on his years as a volunteer pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance between 2015 and 2017, an experience that he explained impacted him more deeply than he was initially willing to admit, even to himself. “Over time, I noticed my mental health really deteriorating, and I hadn’t really clocked onto it because in that community you try and make light of some of the moments just to keep, frankly, sane and just to keep going,” he said.
In the role, the prince was part of medical health teams operating in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, dealing with complex and often tragic interventions as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. In that environment, he added, there is a tendency to downplay tough emotions to cope. Only later did he realize, “My god, I’m carrying everyone’s emotional baggage.” He relived fragments of each mission, the pain of family members, the most difficult images: “I was carrying that in myself, and it was really weighing me down.”
The prince also spoke of the difficulty of dealing with others’ pain without trying to fix everything right away: “I have to remind myself that you don’t need to fix everything, but you need to listen, and it’s important just to be okay with those feelings and those comments.” The topic of male suicide and mental health crises in the United Kingdom is unfortunately a very timely one: The Royal College of Psychiatrists has spoken of a “silent mental health pandemic” running through England. In 2024/25, 4.1 million people, including 1.2 million children and adolescents, were reported to be in contact with mental health services, an increase of 56 percent in eight years.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, suicide was the leading cause of death among young men aged 20 to 34 in England and Wales in 2024, which William unhesitatingly called “a real national catastrophe.” During the discussion, William emphasized that mental health organizations like James’ Place can be “ that little stepping stone” for those struggling.
Prince William piloted search and rescue helicopters.
WPA Pool/Getty Images
“We need men to talk more about these issues.”
While discussing suicide prevention, the prince reiterated that talking about it can make a difference and ward off destructive thoughts. “If we talk about that more, and educate people more, then hopefully the idea of suicide keeps being pushed further and further away,” he said. “Because you know that tomorrow, you might wake up and you might feel very different.”
For years, social media companies have disputed allegations that they harm children’s mental health through deliberate design choices that addict kids to their platforms and fail to protect them from sexual predators and dangerous content. Now, these tech giants are getting a chance to make their case in courtrooms around the country, including before a jury for the first time.
Some of the biggest players from Meta to TikTok are facing federal and state trials that seek to hold them responsible for harming children’s mental health. The lawsuits have come from school districts, local, state and the federal government as well as thousands of families.
Two trials are now underway in Los Angeles and in New Mexico, with more to come. The courtroom showdowns are the culmination of years of scrutiny of the platforms over child safety, and whether deliberate design choices make them addictive and serve up content that leads to depression, eating disorders or suicide.
Experts see the reckoning as reminiscent of cases against tobacco and opioid markets, and the plaintiffs hope that social media platforms will see similar outcomes as cigarette makers and drug companies, pharmacies and distributors.
The outcomes could challenge the companies’ First Amendment shield and Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their platforms. They could also be costly in the form of legal fees and settlements. And they could force the companies to change how they operate, potentially losing users and advertising dollars.
Here’s a look at the major social media harms cases in the United States.
Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.
At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits will play out. KGM and the cases of two other plaintiffs have been selected to be bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury.
“This is a monumental inflection point in social media,” said Matthew Bergman of the Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center, which represents more than 1,000 plaintiffs in lawsuits against social media companies. “When we started doing this four years ago no one said we’d ever get to trial. And here we are trying our case in front of a fair and impartial jury.”
On Wednesday Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified, mostly sticking to past talking points, including a lengthy back-and-forth about age verification where he said ““I don’t see why this is so complicated,” reiterating that the company’s policy restricts users under the age of 13 and that it works to detect users who have lied about their ages to bypass restrictions..
At one point, the plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Lanier, asked Zuckerberg if people tend to use something more if it’s addictive.
“I’m not sure what to say to that,” Zuckerberg said. “I don’t think that applies here.”
A team led by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who sued Meta in 2023, built their case by posing as children on social media, then documenting sexual solicitations they received as well as Meta’s response.
Torrez wants Meta to implement more effective age verification and do more to remove bad actors from its platform.
He also is seeking changes to algorithms that can serve up harmful material, and has criticized the end-to-end encryption that can prevent the monitoring of communications with children for safety. Meta has noted that encrypted messaging is encouraged in general as a privacy and security measure by some state and federal authorities.
The trial kicked off in early February. In his opening statement, prosecuting attorney Donald Migliori said Meta has misrepresented the safety of its platforms, choosing to engineer its algorithms to keep young people online while knowing that children are at risk of sexual exploitation.
“Meta clearly knew that youth safety was not its corporate priority … that youth safety was less important than growth and engagement,” Migliori told the jury.
Meta attorney Kevin Huff pushed back on those assertions in his opening statement, highlighting an array of efforts by the company to weed out harmful content from its platforms while warning users that some dangerous content still gets past its safety net.
A trial scheduled for this summer pits school districts against social media companies before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. Called a multidistrict litigation, it names six public school districts from around the country as the bellwethers.
Jayne Conroy, a lawyer on plaintiffs’ trial team, was also an attorney for plaintiffs seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic. She said the cornerstone of both cases is the same: addiction.
“With the social media case, we’re focused primarily on children and their developing brains and how addiction is such a threat to their wellbeing and … the harms that are caused to children — how much they’re watching and what kind of targeting is being done,” she said.
The medical science, she added, “is not really all that different, surprisingly, from an opioid or a heroin addiction. We are all talking about the dopamine reaction.”
Both the social media and the opioid cases claim negligence on the part of the defendants.
“What we were able to prove in the opioid cases is the manufacturers, the distributors, the pharmacies, they knew about the risks, they downplayed them, they oversupplied, and people died,” Conroy said. “Here, it is very much the same thing. These companies knew about the risks, they have disregarded the risks, they doubled down to get profits from advertisers over the safety of kids. And kids were harmed and kids died.”
Social media companies have disputed that their products are addictive. During questioning Wednesday by the plaintiff’s lawyer during the Los Angeles trial, Zuckerberg said he still agrees with a previous statement he made that the existing body of scientific work has not proven that social media causes mental health harms.
Some researchers do indeed question whether addiction is the appropriate term to describe heavy use of social media. Social media addiction is not recognized as an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the authority within the psychiatric community.
But the companies face increasing pushback on the issue of social media’s effects on children’s mental health, not only among academics but also parents, schools and lawmakers.
“While Meta has doubled down in this area to address mounting concerns by rolling out safety features, several recent reports suggest that the company continues to aggressively prioritize teens as a user base and doesn’t always adhere to its own rules,” said Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley.
With appeals and any settlement discussions, the cases against social media companies could take years to resolve. And unlike in Europe and Australia, tech regulation in the U.S. is moving at a glacial pace.
“Parents, education, and other stakeholders are increasingly hoping lawmakers will do more,” Smiley said. “While there is momentum at the state and federal level, Big Tech lobbying, enforcement challenges, and lawmaker disagreements over how to best regular social media have slowed meaningful progress.”
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AP Technology Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this story.
Public records show repeated deaths as advocates call for greater transparency and medical oversight
Authorities identified the woman as Katie Sarah Jackson of Fontana. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said deputies booked her into the Rancho Cucamonga facility earlier in the week.
Deputies later found Jackson unresponsive in her housing unit after a reported medical emergency. Life-saving efforts by staff and first responders were unsuccessful. Officials have not said whether Jackson requested medical care before she was found unresponsive, how long she remained that way, or what treatment she received while in custody.
The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office has opened an investigation and will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Toxicology results are pending.
Jackson’s death now joins a growing list of in-custody deaths in San Bernardino County, a record that has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates and prompted repeated calls for greater transparency and stronger medical oversight inside local jails.
A Pattern of Custody Deaths
Public in-custody death reports in San Bernardino County show repeated patterns across multiple years. In many cases, detainees experience medical distress within days of booking, when withdrawal symptoms and untreated conditions are often most severe.
Meanwhile, medical experts say many people enter jail with unmanaged chronic illness and limited access to regular health care. County jails often struggle to treat mental illness, substance withdrawal, and heart or respiratory disease. These challenges are especially pronounced during intake and overnight hours, when staffing is limited.
Compounding those risks, jail officials acknowledge that intake screenings can miss serious health conditions. Detainees may appear intoxicated, exhausted, or reluctant to report symptoms, making early detection difficult. Brief evaluations and limited staffing can further delay diagnosis and treatment.
Similar issues have drawn scrutiny in neighboring Los Angeles County, which operates the nation’s largest jail system. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice found that Los Angeles County jails failed to provide adequate mental health and medical care, citing delayed treatment and preventable deaths.
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More recently, in 2023, Rob Bonta and the California Department of Justice sued the county. The lawsuit alleged unconstitutional conditions and systemic failures in inmate health services. Court filings described detainees waiting hours for care and missed welfare checks.
Advocates say San Bernardino County records reflect many of the same warning signs. They argue that shared problems involving staffing, funding, and oversight extend across regional jail systems.
Against that backdrop, families throughout Southern California have filed wrongful-death lawsuits alleging delayed treatment and ignored medical complaints. Attorneys say obtaining medical records and surveillance footage often requires lengthy legal action.
In San Bernardino County, civil rights firms list custodial death cases among their main practice areas. Lawyers say many families lack the resources to challenge official findings. As a result, they often wait years for clear answers about how their loved ones died in custody.
Calls for Transparency
Lawmakers and advocates continue pushing for stronger oversight of county jails. They support independent audits, civilian review boards, and faster public reporting of in-custody deaths.
Assembly Bill 2761 took effect in 2023 and requires sheriff’s departments to post in-custody death reports within 10 days. Agencies must update those reports as investigations continue. Supporters said the law would strengthen transparency and improve public accountability.
Some cases lack updates long after initial postings appear online.
Similar delays appear in Los Angeles County records, where some in-custody death reports remain unresolved well into the following year. In several cases reviewed by state investigators and journalists, postings continued to list “pending” status while autopsy and toxicology results are still incomplete.
Officials have released limited information about Jackson’s death while the coroner’s investigation continues. Authorities have not disclosed her medical history, staff response times, or the care she received before she collapsed.
For Jackson’s family and others, that lack of detail raises doubts about whether jail safeguards, medical care, and oversight are enough to prevent future deaths.
As a psychologist in the occupied West Bank, I have spent my career sitting across from children carrying burdens no child should ever know — lives shaped not by playgrounds or classrooms, but by constant fear.
I recognize that fear because I lived it myself. I remember when I was less than 5 years old, Israeli soldiers stormed our home in the middle of the night and took my father from his bed. The pounding on the door, the shouting, the terror — those memories are still vivid.
Children who wake from nightmares convinced Israeli soldiers are coming for their families.
Children who flinch at the slam of a door.
Children who can recognize the sound of drones and fighter jets before they can multiply or divide.
I have helped them process arrests, home demolitions, settler violence, humiliation at checkpoints and the grinding, quiet stress of growing up without ever feeling safe.
I joined the Palestine Red Crescent Society in 2021 because I knew it was one of the few relief organizations willing to go where the need was greatest — into red zones, near the separation wall, close to illegal settlements and even in active conflict areas. Mental health services are scarce and often inaccessible for Palestinians. If children were hurting in the hardest-to-reach places, I wanted to be there with them.
I thought I understood trauma.
I thought I knew how to guide children through fear.
I thought I had the tools.
Then, on Jan. 29, 2024, the phone rang. It was a call from Gaza.
Five-year-old Hind Rajab was trapped in a small car, surrounded by the bodies of her six relatives, who had just been killed. Israeli tanks were closing in. Gunfire crackled in the background. She was whispering into the phone so no one nearby would hear her.
“I’m scared. They’re shooting at us. … Please come get me,” she repeated again and again.
For hours, we tried to reach her. Our ambulance was minutes away, but it needed clearance from Israeli authorities to enter the area. We waited for permission that came hours later, only to be ignored.
Inside our operations room in Ramallah, time slowed to something unbearable. With every passing minute, the frustration and helplessness grew heavier.
All I could do was talk to her.
How do I keep a child hopeful when she’s trapped alone among her dead family members?
How do I make her feel safe when tanks surround her?
How do I keep her conscious and focused on anything but the immediate trauma?
I kept reminding her to breathe. To keep talking. To stay awake.
Above all, one thought kept repeating in my mind: She is 5. Just 5 years old. Barely old enough to tie her shoes. Barely old enough to read on her own. And yet she was alone, asking strangers to come save her.
Near the end, her voice grew faint. She told me she was bleeding. “From where,” I asked. “My mouth, my tummy, my legs — everywhere,” she whispered. I tried to stay calm and told her to use her blouse to wipe off the blood. Then she said something I will never forget: “I don’t want to. My mother will get tired from washing my clothes.”
Even then — alone, terrified, wounded and hungry — she was thinking about her mother who would have extra laundry to wash. Those were the last words I heard.
We lost Hind that day. We also lost two of my brave colleagues, Yousef Zeino and Ahmad Almadhoun, when their ambulance was struck as they waited for clearance to reach her. They were just minutes away.
Hind’s story is not an exception. It is one of tens of thousands of children in Gaza.
For more than two years now, children in Gaza have opened their eyes each morning to displacement, loss, violence and little access to even the most basic needs. At least 20,000 children have been killed since October 2023, an average of at least 24 children killed each day, the equivalent of an entire classroom. And we recognize this is a gross undercount as so many children remain buried under rubble. Tens of thousands have been forced from their homes. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have been destroyed and doctors and medical personnel detained and targeted.
This is not only a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. It is also a mental health crisis.
Children in Gaza are not only surviving bombs and displacement; they are carrying an overwhelming psychological burden that grows heavier each day. Nearly every child is at risk of famine or getting sick from preventable diseases. More than 650,000 have no access to school, and more than 1.2 million children need immediate psychological support. Reports on the ground show that more than 39,300 children have lost one or both parents, including about 17,000 who have become orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are trapped with nowhere safe to go, living in a world defined by fear and instability.
Healing is impossible when the threat never stops and when schools and healthcare systems have collapsed. Trauma doesn’t fade under these unbearable conditions; it accumulates. The consequences could be irreversible.
We are witnessing the psychological injury of an entire generation.
Immediate action is imperative. A real, permanent ceasefire is the first step toward stability, but it must be followed by the rapid restoration of healthcare and education, with sustained investment in psychosocial and mental health support. Mental health cannot be an afterthought in a humanitarian response but must be central from the beginning. Without these interventions, the psychological toll will only deepen, shaping an entire generation with long-term consequences for their well-being and for the future of the Palestinian people.
And above all, children must be protected from continued violence, because no therapy can compete with ongoing trauma.
Hind’s last words will haunt me forever. The world failed her. It has failed the children of Palestine. But there’s still time to save the ones who remain. Through the film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” her voice will continue to travel across borders, carrying the truth of what children in Gaza and the West Bank endure day after day.
It is not just another story. It is a call we must answer.
Nisreen Qawas is a psychologist with the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Millions of Americans are turning to AI for emotional therapy. A report in JAMA found about 13% of young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice. Dr. Sue Varma, a board-certified psychiatrist, explains what to know about safety, privacy and ethical standard concerns.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers are preparing to grill Charlotte-area leaders about crime-fighting tactics and spending, particularly in the wake of two stabbings — one fatal — on the light rail system in the Democratic-led city.
A state House oversight committee asked Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and others to testify Monday at the Legislative Building.
The August fatal stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, followed in December by a non-fatal stabbing on the same Charlotte rail system, are among the chief reasons for GOP critiques of area law enforcement. The suspect in each stabbing — which drew comments from President Donald Trump — faces charges in state and federal court.
In invitation letters to testify, the committee’s cochairmen wrote high-profile crimes in recent years raise “serious concerns” about law enforcement staffing, “prosecutorial practices, and the City’s overall public safety strategy.”
The committee “has an explicit duty to ensure that local governments receiving and expending public funds are prioritizing the safety and security of North Carolina residents,” the letters read.
The committee’s public scrutiny has been useful for Republicans earning political points on hot-button issues. The panel can seek more documents and reports from local entities or threaten funding losses — although that couldn’t occur without separate action by the full General Assembly.
Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before the most recent charge, and concerns had been raised about his mental health. Republican lawmakers, as well as Trump and Vice President JD Vance, blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed Brown to stay out of custody.
Lyles wrote soon after Zarutska’s death that it was a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.” She and others have since highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail system.
Zarutska’s death already resulted in a new state law that barred cashless bail for certain violent crimes and many repeat offenders. It also seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein last week issued an executive order designed in part to address mental health treatment for people whom police confront and who are incarcerated.
The suspect in the second light-rail attack — identified in federal records as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia and in state court as Oscar Solarzano — is from Central America and had been transported out the country twice since 2018 — having been convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S., according to an FBI affidavit.
Brown has been jailed due to the charges. A federal court ordered last month that he undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether his legal case can proceed. A similar exam was ordered in state court months ago. Brown’s lawyers for federal court declined comment late last week. His state court lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email.
Solarzano is also jailed and an attorney representing him in state court didn’t immediately respond to an email. There is no lawyer listed in his federal case.
The December stabbing occurred weeks after a federal immigration crackdown in Charlotte and elsewhere in North Carolina, resulting in hundreds of arrests over several days.
Republicans for years blamed McFadden, who is facing a Democratic primary next month, for failing to cooperate with immigration agents. A recent state law has now made it mandatory for sheriffs to honor requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant so agents can take custody of them.
The committee meeting was previously delayed while committee leaders received guidance on what they could ask publicly about Zarutska’s death. A federal magistrate judge had granted a request from Brown’s attorneys preventing lawmakers from disclosing what’s inside their client’s case files from local police or the Mecklenburg County district attorney.
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LONDON — The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc’s digital rules with “addictive design” features including autoplay and infinite scroll, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app’s operating model.
EU regulators said their investigation found that TikTok hasn’t done enough to assess how its features could harm the physical and mental health of users, including children and “vulnerable adults.”
The European Commission said it believes TikTok should change the “basic design” of its service. The commission is the EU’s executive arm and enforcer of the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping rulebook that requires social media companies to clean up their platforms and protect users, under threat of hefty fines.
TikTok denied the accusations.
“The Commission’s preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us,” the company said in a statement.
TikTok now has a chance to reply to the commission’s findings, which could lead to a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.
“Social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens,” Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a press statement. “The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for the effects they can have on their users. In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online.”
The preliminary findings from Brussels are the latest example of pressure that TikTok and other social media platforms are facing over youth addiction.
Australia has banned social media for under-16s while governments in Spain, France, and Denmark want to introduce similar measures. In the U.S., TikTok last month settled a landmark social media addiction lawsuit while two other companies named in the suit — Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube — still face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
The commission said that TikTok fuels the urge to keep scrolling because it constantly rewards users with new content, leading to reduced self control.
It said TikTok ignores signs that someone is compulsively using the app, such as the amount of time that minors spend on it at night, and how often the app is opened.
The company has failed to put in place “reasonable, proportionate and effective” measures to offset the risks, it said.
The commission said TikTok’s existing time management controls are easy to dismiss and “introduce limited friction,” while parental tools need “additional time and skills” from parents.
Changes that the commission wants TikTok to make include disabling features like infinite scroll; putting in more effective breaks for screen time, including at night; and changing its “highly personalized” recommender system, which feeds users an endless stream of video shorts based on their preferences.
TikTok says it has numerous tools, such as custom screen time limits and sleep reminders, that let users make “intentional decisions” about how they spend their time on the app.
How do you rate the quality of people’s diets? Well, “what could be more nutrient-dense than a vegetarian diet?” Indeed, if you compare the quality of vegetarian diets with non-vegetarian diets, the more plant-based diets do tend to win out, and the higher diet quality in vegetarian diets may help explain greater improvements in health outcomes. However, vegetarians appear to have a higher intake of refined grains, eating more foods like white rice and white bread that have been stripped of much of their nutrition. So, just because you’re eating a vegetarian diet doesn’t mean you’re necessarily eating as healthfully as possible.
Those familiar with the science know the primary health importance of eating whole plant foods. So, how about a scoring system that simply adds up how many cups of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils, and how many ounces of nuts and seeds per 1,000 calories (with or without counting white potatoes)? Looking only at the total intake of whole plant foods doesn’t mean you aren’t also stuffing donuts into your mouth. So, you could imagine proportional intake measures, based on calories or weight, to determine the proportion of your diet that’s whole plant foods. In that case, you’d get docked points if you eat things like animal-derived foods—meat, dairy, or eggs—or added sugars and fats.
My favorite proportional intake measure is McCarty’s “phytochemical index,” which I’ve profiled previously. I love it because of its sheer simplicity, “defined as the percent of dietary calories derived from foods rich in phytochemicals.” It assigns a score from 0 to 100, based on the percentage of your calories that are derived from foods rich in phytochemicals, which are biologically active substances naturally found in plants that may be contributing to many of the health benefits obtained from eating whole plant foods. “Monitoring phytochemical intake in the clinical setting could have great utility” in helping people optimize their diet for optimal health and disease prevention. However, quantifying phytochemicals in foods or tissue samples is impractical, laborious, and expensive. But this concept of a phytochemical index score could be a simple alternative method to monitor phytochemical intake.
Theoretically, a whole food, plant-based or vegan diet that excluded refined grains, white potatoes, hard liquors, added oils, and added sugars could achieve a perfect score of 100. Lamentably, most Americans’ diets today might be lucky to score just 20. What’s going on? In 1998, our shopping baskets were filled with about 20% whole plant foods; more recently, that has actually shrunk, as you can see below and at 2:49 in my video Plant-Based Eating Score Put to the Test.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if researchers used this phytochemical index to try to correlate it with health outcomes? That’s exactly what they did. We know that studies have demonstrated that vegetarian diets have a protective association with weight and body mass index. For instance, a meta-analysis of five dozen studies has shown that vegetarians had significantly lower weight and BMI compared with non-vegetarians. And even more studies show that high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes may be protective regardless of meat consumption. So, researchers wanted to use an index that gave points for whole plant foods. They used the phytochemical index and, as you may recall from an earlier video, tracked people’s weight over a few years, using a scale of 0 to 100 to simply reflect what percentage of a person’s diet is whole plant foods. And even though the healthiest-eating tier only averaged a score of about 40, which meant the bulk of their diet was still made up of processed foods and animal products, just making whole plant foods a substantial portion of the diet may help prevent weight gain and decrease body fat. So, it’s not all or nothing. Any steps we can take to increase our whole plant food intake may be beneficial.
Many more studies have since been performed, with most pointing in the same direction for a variety of health outcomes—indicating, for instance, higher healthy plant intake is associated with about a third of the odds of abdominal obesity and significantly lower odds of high triglycerides. So, the index may be “a useful dietary target for weight loss,” where there is less focus on calorie intake and more on increasing consumption of these high-nutrient, lower-calorie foods over time. Other studies also suggest the same is true for childhood obesity.
Even at the same weight, with the same amount of belly fat, those eating plant-based diets tend to have higher insulin sensitivity, meaning the insulin they make works better in their body, perhaps thanks to the compounds in plants that alleviate inflammation and quench free radicals. Indeed, the odds of hyperinsulinemia—an indicator of insulin resistance—were progressively lower with greater plant consumption. No wonder researchers found 91% lower odds of prediabetes for people getting more than half their calories from healthy plant foods.
They also found significantly lower odds of metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure. There were only about half the odds of being diagnosed with hypertension over a three-year period among those eating more healthy plants. Even mental health may be impacted—about 80% less depression, 2/3 less anxiety, and 70% less psychological distress, as you can see below and at 5:15 in my video.
Is there a link between the dietary phytochemical index and benign breast diseases, such as fibrocystic diseases, fatty necrosis, ductal ectasia, and all sorts of benign tumors? Yes—70% lower odds were observed in those with the highest scores. But what about breast cancer? A higher intake of healthy plant foods was indeed associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, even after controlling for a long list of other factors. And not just by a little bit. Eating twice the proportion of plants compared to the standard American diet was linked to more than 90% lower odds of breast cancer.
Worried about your child’s screen habits? Clinical neurophysiologist and author Dr Javier Albares has taken a deep dive into scientific research to highlight the serious impact that excessive screen time has on the sleep, development and well-being of children and adolescents.
This pressing issue in our increasingly digital world is a worrying reality for specialists and families alike, and the expert warns that screens are “over-stimulating” young people.
“The impact is incredibly broad,” says Dr Albares. “It contributes to sedentary lifestyles, higher cardiovascular and metabolic risks and a greater risk of obesity.
By age 12, many children are averaging four to five hours a day looking at a screen
“More time on a device means fewer hours of rest,” he explains. “For children and adolescents whose brains are still developing, sleep is a non-negotiable pillar of health.”
In your book Zombie Generation, you suggest screens can actually “slow down” cognitive development. Is there a safe limit for children and teenagers?
“Medical organisations generally recommend zero screen time for children under six. Between the ages of six and 12, the limit should be one hour a day. From 12 to 16, we suggest no more than an hour and a half to two hours.
“Data shows that in families with a firm bedtime, the risk of depression in children drops by 25 per cent”
Clinical neurophysiologist Dr Javier Albares
“The reality, however, is miles away from this. We see babies being given screens well before they are two years old. By age 12, many children are averaging four to five hours a day. One psychologist recently weighed in on how the gap between recommendations and reality has become truly alarming.”
You are critical of tech companies for claiming today’s youth have evolved into “Homo Digitalis”. How can families fight back?
“Families need to understand that tech marketing – the idea that these tools make children smarter – is simply not true. Studies show that the more time children spend on screens, the lower their cognitive development and attention span.
“Digitalisation doesn’t automatically equal learning. We families to unite and demand the protection of our children’s health. It is also vital that we monitor what our kids are doing online and ensure tech companies are held to account.”
‘If science shows that screens are damaging physical growth, mental health and empathy, then we have a duty to pass protective laws,’ says the expert
Do you believe we need large-scale laws to protect children from the digital world?
“Absolutely. The law must protect children just as it does with alcohol. If science shows that screens are damaging physical growth, mental health and empathy, then we have a duty to pass protective laws. It’s also worth looking at what really happens to the body when other unhealthy habits, like poor diet and sedentary behaviour, are combined with constant screen use.”
Young people are sleeping less and worse than ever. Can we turn this around?
“Yes, we can. It requires a shift in our social schedules, but we can also take action at home. For example, screens should be completely off-limits after dinner. That alone would give back a significant amount of sleep.
“Parents have to set firm boundaries. Data shows that in families with a firm bedtime, the risk of depression in children drops by 25 per cent. Setting a bedtime isn’t just a rule; it’s a parental duty. You can start with simple changes and tips to help get children to sleep more naturally.”
Not every child or adolescent belongs to the ‘Zombie Generation’ yet, but the warning signs are there
What happens if young people simply join the digital world when they’re a bit older?
“There is no downside to waiting. In fact, it’s the opposite. It means they won’t have ‘lost’ their childhood. Childhood only happens once, and every hour spent in front of a screen is an hour stolen from something else – like exercise, traditional play, music, reading or simply hanging out with friends. They miss out on quality family time and, of course, sleep. Delaying access to screens allows for healthy brain development through real-world interaction.”
Can young digital natives ever stop being the ‘Zombie Generation’?
“Of course. Not every child belongs to the ‘Zombie Generation’ yet, but the warning signs are there… We can’t just look the other way… It’s about integrating healthier routines that benefit the whole family. Many families have already written to me saying that by distancing themselves from screens, their children are happier, resting better and growing up in a much healthier environment.”
About the expert
Dr Javier Albares is a clinical neurophysiologist and a member of both the Spanish Sleep Society (SES) and the European Sleep Research Society. In his Spanish-language book, Generación Zombi (Zombie Generation), he uses scientific research to highlight the serious impact that excessive screen time has on the sleep, development and well-being of children and adolescents.
Without a doubt, community is invaluable. But in this day and age, you have to build it. Luckily, you have a community just waiting to come together right in your neighbourhood. This actionable 10-step plan will help you build a meaningful community right in your own backyard.
When writing The Wild & Free Garden, I wanted it to be so much more than a book about using found materials to create a thrifty garden. Because in the process of foraging, hunting, and gathering for these materials, something much larger happens.
You become engaged with your community.
You’re shopping local rather than buying online. You’re engaging in your neighbourhood’s sharing economy. You’re reaching out for help trying to source some free plant cuttings or scrap wood to build your raised bed. All of this helps you to meet and connect with people.
So I consider The Wild & Free Garden a gardener’s guide to building community as much as it is a book about repurposing and closing the consumption loop.
Today, I want to share another, very direct approach for how to build community. Graham McBain is the creator of HeyNeighbor, an Instagram account on a mission to transform 10,000 neighbourhoods into communities. He’s created a 10-step framework (which I’ll share with you today) and hosts a free virtual class every Friday.
What I love most about Graham and HeyNeighbor is that it’s one simple message and framework. He’s not trying to sell anything, but just genuinely wants to help others build their own community as he has.
“After turning my neighbourhood into a community, I saw how powerful it was, and how much it changed my life and the lives of everyone in the neighbourhood,” says Graham.
“It became so apparent how much people needed this, because friends started trying to move into our neighbourhood to be part of it. I looked to see if anybody else was teaching this information, and I couldn’t find it. So, I figured, why not me, and started making videos.”
I love the work Graham’s doing to help end this loneliness epidemic that many face. And so, I’m happy to feature his framework and messaging in today’s post.
My front wildflower lawn is a way I contribute to my community.
The HeyNeighbor 10 Step Plan
Every Friday, Graham hosts a free community-building class where he documents a ten-step framework for you to turn your neighbourhood into a community.
“I think a lot of people want to live in neighborhoods where they know everybody, but there’s no framework for how to do it, and so that’s why I created my 10-step plan. I think that’s helped a lot of people,” says Graham. “I know it’s helped a lot of people go from desire to action.”
Below is a general outline of his 10-step framework for you to get inspired. However, I highly recommend that you check out his weekly class to truly get all the tips and tricks for how to foster a community.
Step 1: Define Your Neighbourhood
Start by choosing your neighbourhood size. Set the parameters for how large you want your “neighbourhood” to be. Graham recommends starting with 200 homes or fewer. “Too big feels overwhelming and impersonal. Too small can feel limiting and exclusive,” says Graham.
Your neighbourhood will often have natural boundaries, which make it easier. My current neighbourhood group chat spans just two street blocks, and it has over forty people in it.
Step 2: Be Friendly and Vulnerable
The next is arguably the most intimidating. You’re going to knock on some doors and invite people to a neighbourhood event. It’s single-handedly the best way to reach your neighbours. And no, an event poster on the telephone poll or mailbox won’t cut it!
Be vulnerable, explaining the reason why you’re interested in creating a community. Take it one step further by trying to engage in meaningful conversation, so the conversation feels natural. Drop off a flyer with all the event information.
“The biggest obstacle that most people have to overcome is the fear of being rejected, the fear of looking silly, and the fear of being brave and knocking on a door to ask people to be your friend. It’s a very uncomfortable thing,” says Graham.
You may be lucky in that there are already connections within the community that you can build on. In my first neighbourhood, I met my back alley neighbours during a garage sale. We bought their mismatched vintage dishes (which I still use today), and they bought our cheese grater. From there, I started to get to know the other neighbours and became closer to those who lived on our street.
Step 3: Host Your Event
Host your first event! Make sure to keep the stakes of the event low and on neutral ground. Avoid hosting in houses for your first event so that people feel comfortable. Make the event casual and approachable, like front yard coffee or happy hour.
Choose times that work for most people and avoid elaborate planning. It should be easy to stop by.
Step 4: Make One-on-One Connections
During the event, make an effort to talk to everyone. Chances are, you’ll find at least one person that you genuinely connect with.
“Look for people who linger after others leave, who ask thoughtful questions about future events, or who volunteer to help clean up. These are often the community-minded individuals who will become your co-conspirators in creating something special,” says Graham.
When you’ve identified your one person, ask them to help plan the next event or simply to grab coffee. You’re going to change your community venture into a shared vision rather than a solo mission.
Step 5: Create a Virtual Hub
During your event, try to gather everyone’s contact info to make it simpler to organize your next meeting and maintain these new connections. From this info, you can create a virtual hub that allows everyone to easily communicate. Depending on what your community is like, this can be a WhatsApp group, a Facebook Group, or some other messaging tool.
My community uses a WhatsApp group chat. In it, we organize events but also share musings on what’s happening in the neighbourhood, some items we’re giving away or looking for, share our child’s fundraiser, etc. It makes it super simple to connect.
Step 6: Host Recurring Events
Keep the momentum going! Make events an ongoing practice in your neighbourhood. Choose something that not only do you like planning, but that others in your community would also like to take part in. This can include monthly happy hours, seasonal potlucks, outdoor movie nights, and more.
To this day, I still stop by the annual events in my old neighbourhood. It’s been fifteen years since I lived in my first home, but I still participate in the yearly Christmas wreath-making afternoon. And from my second house, where I no longer live, I just went to the annual cookie exchange.
Bonus tip: Look for community grants. Many communities will have small neighbourhood grant programs to provide funding for small events like block parties, skill-sharing workshops, neighbourhood beautification projects, etc. In their eyes, a connected community will work to keep it beautiful, safe, and more comfortable for residents.
Last-minute events work too! “Last night we got a text that one neighbor set up a projector to watch the playoff games, and a few families were over there hanging out around a fire pit. It was less than 30 minutes from invitation to hang out, which I feel like is pretty impossible in our modern society,” says Graham.
Captured at one of the many wreath-making parties I’ve had over the years.
Step 7: Organize Annual Planning Parties
After a few events, people will really start to feel engaged. Having a planning party will help encourage others to get involved in planning activities and allow everyone to be on the same page.
“When people have input into the calendar and ownership of specific events, engagement increases dramatically,” says Graham. “The planning party itself becomes a cherished tradition that reinforces relationships and shared vision.”
At this point, your community is slowly turning into a well-oiled machine. Here’s how to keep the momentum going:
Step 8: Give Out Micro-Roles. People may not want to lead events, but they may want to help in other ways. Distribute as much work as you can to help others feel a sense of ownership.
Step 9: Welcome New Neighbours. One of those roles could be the welcome committee! I was lucky in that my current neighbourhood already had many connections, and someone came and knocked on my door to welcome me to the neighbourhood. It makes things much less intimidating as a newcomer.
Step 10: Live It Up & Spread the Word. Always remember why it is that you started this in the first place. Enjoy the community you’ve created and share with others how they can do the same in their own neighbourhood.
“The biggest benefit is just how content I am in my social life,” says Graham. “I used to have a lot of low-level anxiety around having friends and having a community for a kid to live in. But now my cup is very full all the time. Different things happen almost every day that remind me how lucky I am.”
Thanks again to Graham for generously sharing his HeyNeighbor framework with us! Be sure to register for his next free class to learn more about how you can do the same in your neighbourhood.
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
This online hub shines a spotlight on how dogs, cats, and other companion animals support and strengthen our mental and emotional well-being.
Anyone who shares their life with a dog or cat understands something about pets and mental health benefits. They know how animals positively affect our well-being in a multitude of ways. Dogs and cats give us unconditional love. They help us through the ups and downs of life with their steadfast loyalty and affection.
The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Mental Health America (MHA) recently launched the Pets and Mental Health Resource Center. This online hub features resources, information, and tools highlighting the powerful role companion animals play in supporting mental health.
“We know that for many people, pets are not just companions,” says Dr. America Paredes, chief social impact officer at Mental Health America. “They are vital supports for mental health and well-being. This resource center brings together lived experience, expert guidance, and the latest science. It empowers people to explore the health benefits of pets.”
A survey of 4,000 MHA constituents found that for most dog and cat parents, pets and mental health benefits are synonymous. The survey also revealed a keen interest and need for resources related to animals and mental health. This is particularly important for those with mental or physical disabilities.
HABRI and MHA created the Pets and Mental Health Resource Center in direct response to this need. Funding support came from the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and the World Pet Association (WPA).
“At WPA, we believe in the mental health benefits of the human-animal bond,” says Vic Mason, president of WPA. Mason adds that the center “will help raise awareness of the important role pets can play in people’s lives, no matter what they’re going through.”
The resource center is designed for both current and prospective animal parents. It provides expert information on the science behind the human-animal bond and its impact on health. It also offers an overview of different animal-assisted interventions, mental health resources for animal parents, and more.
“By offering trusted information on the mental health benefits of pet ownership, along with practical guidance on pet care, this resource will help strengthen the human-animal bond,” says Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. “It will also guide anyone exploring pet ownership as a boost for mental health.”
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
Three of the world’s biggest tech companies face a landmark trial in Los Angeles starting this week over claims that their platforms — Meta’s Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube — deliberately addict and harm children.
Jury selection starts this week in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. It’s the first time the companies will argue their case before a jury, and the outcome could have profound effects on their businesses and how they will handle children using their platforms. The selection process is expected to take at least a few days, with 75 potential jurors questioned each day through at least Thursday. A fourth company named in the lawsuit, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc., settled the case last week for an undisclosed sum.
At the core of the case is a 19-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury and what damages, if any, may be awarded, said Clay Calvert, a nonresident senior fellow of technology policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
KGM claims that her use of social media from an early age addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Importantly, the lawsuit claims that this was done through deliberate design choices made by companies that sought to make their platforms more addictive to children to boost profits. This argument, if successful, could sidestep the companies’ First Amendment shield and Section 230, which protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their platforms.
“Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, Defendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” the lawsuit says.
Executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify at the trial, which will last six to eight weeks. Experts have drawn similarities to the Big Tobacco trials that led to a 1998 settlement requiring cigarette companies to pay billions in healthcare costs and restrict marketing targeting minors.
“Plaintiffs are not merely the collateral damage of Defendants’ products,” the lawsuit says. “They are the direct victims of the intentional product design choices made by each Defendant. They are the intended targets of the harmful features that pushed them into self-destructive feedback loops.”
The tech companies dispute the claims that their products deliberately harm children, citing a bevy of safeguards they have added over the years and arguing that they are not liable for content posted on their sites by third parties.
“Recently, a number of lawsuits have attempted to place the blame for teen mental health struggles squarely on social media companies,” Meta said in a recent blog post. “But this oversimplifies a serious issue. Clinicians and researchers find that mental health is a deeply complex and multifaceted issue, and trends regarding teens’ well-being aren’t clear-cut or universal. Narrowing the challenges faced by teens to a single factor ignores the scientific research and the many stressors impacting young people today, like academic pressure, school safety, socio-economic challenges and substance abuse.”
Meta, YouTube and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The case will be the first in a slew of cases beginning this year that seek to hold social media companies responsible for harming children’s mental well-being. A federal bellwether trial beginning in June in Oakland, California, will be the first to represent school districts that have sued social media platforms over harms to children.
In addition, more than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, claiming it is harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. The majority of cases filed their lawsuits in federal court, but some sued in their respective states.
TikTok also faces similar lawsuits in more than a dozen states.
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, apologized for antisemitic remarks he made in the past and said a brain injury he suffered in a car accident 25 years ago led to his bipolar disorder diagnosis.
In a full-page ad in the print edition of Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Ye said the right frontal lobe of his brain was injured in the accident and he wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023.
He also said that in early 2025 he experienced a four-month-long manic episode that “destroyed my life.”
“As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn’t want to be here anymore,” he says in the ad.
He goes on to say that having bipolar disorder made him feel like he didn’t need help.
“I lost touch with reality,” Ye says in the ad. “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst.”
He says he gravitated toward “the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika.”
Last year, he sold T-shirts on his website that bore the Nazi Party symbol. In 2022, he posted the symbol to Twitter, which led to his suspension, and, in a separate incident, said he was going to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, attends the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
That same year, he also made headlines for having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and President Trump (who was out of office at the time) at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump said after the dinner that Fuentes had arrived with Ye and that Mr. Trump didn’t know who Fuentes was.
In Monday’s ad, Ye says he experienced “disconnected moments” that resulted in poor judgment and reckless behavior that he regretted.
“It does not excuse what I did, though,” the ad says. “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
He has apologized for his behavior before. In an Instagram post in 2023, he issued an apology to the Jewish community that was written in Hebrew.
In the ad, he also apologized to the Black community, which he says “held me down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times.”
“The black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am,” Ye says. “I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us.”
“Three years of work has been put into this plan, this project, and to see it finally happen is incredible,” said Dixon Phillips, president of the Pasco County Professional Firefighters Local 4420.
It’s the turning of a new page at Fire Rescue Station 3.
“D-shift is the culmination of an incredible commitment by both sides of the table, and this really does show what you’re capable of doing when labor and administration work together,” said Phillips.
The shift’s focus is on providing firefighters with an extra day of rest and time to recharge.
“Every third week we would work a Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday,” said Phillips. “So we’re gone from our families for 72 hours in that seven-day period of time. Back that up two or three years ago, when we were hitting an excessive amount of mandatory overtime, you go to work and you don’t know if you’re going to go home the next day.”
“So there were many times where we were working 96 hours, maybe even 120 hours in a seven-day period just based on the staffing.” he said.
Phillips said that traditionally, firefighters would work 24 hours and be off for 48. Now, with the D-shift, staff will work 24 hours and be off for 72.
“A lot of studies have gone into the fact that firefighters are getting cancer, firefighters are getting PTSD, firefighters are mentally and emotionally getting beat down and disrupting family and home lives as well,” said Chief Ryan Guynn of Pasco County Fire Rescue. “So, we took a look at it and figured, ‘What can we do?’”
The move puts PCFR among the first fire departments in Tampa Bay to adopt such a model.
“It’s a holistic approach to try to take care of our firefighters,” said Guynn. “To make them the best that they can be so that when they come to work every day, they’re giving their citizens 100%.”
It’s also putting the department on the map as a desirable place to work, with more than 100 new employees to help make the transition easier.
“We set the industry standard,” said Phillips. “Several years ago, we started our decontamination program. We’ve had departments from California, such as Sacramento, the state of Washington come here to Pasco County to see what we’re doing for cancer prevention for our members. Now you add the D-shift and everything else we have in place. We are absolutely the place to be — one of the premier departments in the State of Florida, no question.”
Helping raise the bar for fire rescue in the state.
On average, young people between the ages of 8 and 18 spend about 7.5 hours a day on their screens, not including school work. A growing nonprofit is trying to change that alarming trend. The Balance Project focuses on delaying the use of smartphones for kids and encouraging more time with friends and independent play outside. Meg Oliver shows how.
William D. DeFoor, 26, entered pleas to three counts in federal court in Cincinnati. Prosecutors have charged DeFoor with damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against any person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the first two charges and up to 20 years on the third.
Federal prosecutors allege the Secret Service saw someone run along the front fence of Vance’s residence in Cincinnati’s upscale East Walnut Hills neighborhood just after midnight on Jan. 5 and then breach the property line. The person later identified as DeFoor was armed with a hammer and tried to break out the window of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on the way up the driveway. The person then moved toward the front of the home and broke 14 historic window panes, according to a federal affidavit.
Damage done to security enhancements around the windows was valued at $28,000, according to the filing.
DeFoor’s attorney, Paul Laufman, has said in court that the situation represents “purely a mental health issue” and that his client was not motivated by politics.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For the first time, Americans with depression will soon be able to use a prescription brain-stimulation device at home.
The approval comes from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and marks a major shift in how mental health conditions may be treated. The newly approved device is called FL-100, and it comes from Flow Neuroscience.
It is designed for adults 18 and older with moderate to severe major depressive disorder. Clinicians can prescribe it as a stand-alone treatment or alongside antidepressants and therapy. This decision matters because depression affects more than 20 million adults in the U.S. Roughly one-third do not get enough relief from medication or stop taking it due to side effects.
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Flow Neuroscience has gotten approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its FL-100 prescription brain-stimulation device.(Flow Neuroscience)
How the Flow FL-100 works
The FL-100 uses transcranial direct current stimulation, often shortened to tDCS. This technology delivers a gentle electrical current to the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain tied to mood regulation and stress response. In many people with depression, activity in this area is reduced. By stimulating it, the device aims to restore healthier brain signaling over time. The system looks like a lightweight headset and pairs with a mobile app. Patients use it at home for about 30 minutes per day while clinicians monitor progress remotely.
The clinical results behind the approval
The FDA based its decision on a randomized controlled trial that evaluated home use under remote supervision. Participants who received active stimulation showed meaningful improvement on clinician-rated and self-reported depression scales. After 10 weeks of treatment, patients experienced an average symptom improvement of 58% compared to a control group. Many users reported noticeable changes within the first three weeks. The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine, adding credibility to the findings. Side effects were generally mild and short-term. Reported issues included skin irritation, redness, headaches, and brief stinging sensations at the electrode sites.
The FDA has approved the first prescription brain-stimulation device for at-home treatment of depression in the U.S., marking a major shift in mental healthcare.(hoto by ISSAM AHMED/AFP via Getty Images)
A growing shift toward tech-based mental health care
Flow’s device has already been used by more than 55,000 people across Europe, the U.K., Switzerland and Hong Kong. In the U.K., it is prescribed within parts of the public health system. Company leaders say the U.S. approval opens the door for broader access to non-drug treatment options. The momentum is not isolated. In 2025, researchers at UCLA Health developed another experimental brain-stimulation approach, signaling rapid growth in this field. Together, these advances suggest that at-home neuromodulation may soon become a standard part of depression care rather than a fringe option.
When will the device be available
Flow expects the FL-100 to be available to U.S. patients in the second quarter of 2026. A prescription will be required, and the companion app will be available on iOS and Android. The company also plans to explore additional uses for its platform, including sleep disorders, addiction, and traumatic brain injury.
Flow Neuroscience’s FL-100 headset delivers mild electrical stimulation to the brain and can be prescribed for home use under medical supervision.(Flow Neuroscience)
What to know before trying Flow
Flow is FDA approved for adults 18 and older with moderate to severe major depressive disorder, and it requires a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider. Doctors can recommend it on its own or alongside medication or therapy. The headset is non-invasive and designed for home use, but it is not meant for emergency situations or people considered treatment resistant. It also does not replace crisis care or immediate mental health support. Most users wear the headset for about 30 minutes per session. Mild tingling, warmth, skin irritation or headaches can happen, especially early on. These effects are usually short-lived and monitored by a clinician through the companion app.
Flow pairs with a mobile app that guides treatment and supports remote clinical oversight. Your provider sets the treatment plan, and the device follows prescribed settings to ensure safe use. Pricing and insurance coverage may vary once the device becomes available in the U.S. Some patients may access Flow through clinics, research programs, or as it becomes more widely adopted in routine depression care. The bottom line is simple. Flow adds another evidence-based option, not a cure and not a one-size-fits-all solution. For people who have struggled to find relief, having another clinically proven choice can matter a lot.
What this means to you
If you or someone you care about struggles with depression, this approval expands the range of real treatment options. It offers a non-drug path that can be used at home under medical guidance. For patients who have not responded well to medication or who experience unwanted side effects, this could provide another way forward. It also reflects a broader trend toward personalized, tech-enabled mental healthcare.
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The newly approved device targets adults with moderate to severe depression and can be used alongside medication or therapy.(Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
Kurt’s key takeaways
This FDA approval feels like a real turning point. For years, brain stimulation for depression stayed locked inside clinics. Now it can happen at home with a doctor still guiding the process. That matters for people who have tried medications, dealt with side effects or felt stuck with limited options. This device will not be the right answer for everyone, but it gives patients and doctors one more proven tool to work with. And for many people living with depression, having another option could make all the difference.
If a doctor could prescribe a brain-stimulation headset instead of another pill, would you be open to trying it? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
Adding a used hot tub to my backyard design was the best choice I made this year. There are so many hot tub benefits to consider, the biggest of which is pain management. My hot tub gave me my mobility, energy, and, really, my life back. Here’s how you can get some hydrotherapy at home using a hot tub.
Getting a hot tub wasn’t an easy choice for me. As a firm eco-conscious and regenerative gardener, a big energy-sucking, chemical-heavy hot tub wasn’t exactly fitting into my new home plans.
But as I found my pain getting worse and my flareups becoming more frequent, I was desperate for a way to manage my pain without needing to pop painkillers 24/7.
I researched a lot before settling on a used hot tub that was selling for practically pennies on Facebook Marketplace. With a little bit of work and renovations, I turned what would be junk into a more eco-friendly hot tub.
Buying this hot tub and making room for it in my garden design is one of the best decisions I have ever made for my body. It has become my daily saviour for dealing with my chronic pain. Let me explain!
My hot tub is secondhand but still works beautifully after putting in some work.
My Struggle With Chronic Pain
Since 2006, I’ve been dealing with chronic pain. For years, I’ve dealt with my disability and have found ways to manage it fairly effectively. But as I get older, holy cow, it can take me out, especially in the winter.
Many pain medications do a number on my stomach, and I’m sensitive to most prescribed pain options. Unfortunately, I can’t pop pills every time I feel pain. When I do, I usually have different negative reactions to deal with.
Chronic pain has a substantial impact on my life. While I’m used to it, I do need to break the pain cycle. It won’t go away with rest, like an injury might. It occurs all the time unless I find a way to manage it.
I’m also an active person with chronic pain. I want to get outside, walk with the dog, putter in the garden, ski in the winter, and go camping with kiddo. How can I exercise and do everything I want to do?
Even those who love to chill out, will find how exhausting chronic pain can be on the brain. It affects not only our physical health but our emotional and mental health.
The longer the pain goes on, the harder it is to keep energetic. I don’t have the ability to exercise how I used to, which only increases the chronic pain as I lose muscle tone and carry more weight.
All that being said, I’ve had to begin looking for ways to manage chronic pain that will consistently work for me as I get older. My hot tub benefits have not gone unnoticed, and I find myself wanting to gush about it so others who may struggle with chronic pain can feel some relief, too.
Heat from water can help to relax the body and reduce stiffness.
Using Hydrotherapy at Home
Hydrotherapy is a type of treatment for physical pain and stiffness using water. This can include aquatic exercise, sitz baths, saunas, hot water compresses, and even the bath you have at home after a long day.
Considered an alternative treatment, different cultures have used varying forms of hydrotherapy for thousands of years. What I love about it is how accessible it is and that it’s quite effective for various symptoms.
Years ago, I had an infrared sauna. While I liked it, I never really got into the routine of using it. It didn’t feel as supportive on my body, and I took long hot baths filled with Epsom salts instead.
Everybody will have a different preference and experience with heat for treatment, but I found that a hot bath helped me feel better the next day.
When I moved and was thinking about what to do with my outdoor space, a hot tub seemed like a great option as a daily bath taker. I’ve even had them multiple times a day when I’m experiencing a bad flare-up.
I saw a hot tub as a way to help me stay off painkillers, which have ruined my gut. It would also allow me to save water and get away from bathtubs. While my new house had a beautiful clawfoot tub, I found its shape very hard, and it put a lot of pressure on my body, not to mention that it was hard to get in and out.
All the Hot Tub Benefits!
Pain Management
The reason I sought out a hot tub was pain management, and it has not disappointed me in this regard. I can wake up in the morning with so much pain that I won’t be able to function. Before anything, I will pop in the hot tub and feel my body return to me. I also use it before bed to help break the pain cycle before sleep.
Workout Recovery
As someone who is pretty active, it can also help with my recovery after I go on my daily dog walk or do a little bit of exercise. After a whole day of straining my body and being exhausted, I can use the hot tub to help put me in a state of relaxation.
Mobility
After I have a soak, I notice an immediate release in my body. It greatly improves my mobility because the muscles are less stiff.
Those will also find that aquatic exercise has a very low impact, so doing a little bit of movement within the water can help you get your body moving without putting much stress on your joints.
Relaxation
Reduced pain, relaxed muscles, and less stiffness all mean I can move around much better. For this reason, I get a way better sleep and prevent even more flare-ups from occurring.
Mental Health
The mental health aspect of a hot tub must not go unnoticed as well. Reducing my pain has helped me achieve better mental clarity. I’ve reduced my stress load and found a new component of my self-care ritual.
I developed my hot tub, so it is part of my garden. I can sit in the hot tub looking at the sky, watch the crows fly overhead, and enjoy my garden space.
Reducing Pain Medications
Taking pain medications would allow me pain relief in one area but would cause gut issues and discomfort in other areas. A hot tub could provide me with pain relief without causing another kind of pain elsewhere. This would help my emotional resilience as I know I’m doing something good for myself.
Less Water Waste
I used to use baths as a form of recovery and relaxation, relying on them daily and sometimes twice a day to help me keep my body moving. As you can imagine, that would use up a lot of water.
Now, I can use my hot tub 2-3 times a day and not feel guilty about all that water going down the drain.
I keep my hot tub well-insulted, actually replacing the old insulation with hard foam. The original cover was also recycled and replaced with a new one to maximize insulation and the hot tub’s energy efficiency.
My shower and French drain are next to my hot tub, which filters water into the ground and my garden.
Getting Social
Another aspect that I didn’t initially think about was how fun having a hot tub would be. When I had friends over, we could all sit in the hot tub and visit there instead of going out or having drinks inside. And it’s so, so lovely!
My hot tub is part of my patio area, which is great for entertaining.
Hot and Cold Hot Tub Circuits
The hot and cold circuit is known more professionally as contrast bath therapy, a form of hydrotherapy where you alternate putting your body in hot then cold water. It’s often associated with Scandinavian culture and is a highlight at many spas.
Contrast bath therapy works by rapidly changing your circulatory system and changing your heart rate. First, your blood vessels open up when your body is immersed in hot water. Then, the opposite happens in cold water as your capillaries get smaller. The contrast creates a pumping motion in your blood vessels, which can help with physical symptoms.
Contrast bath therapy is a passive and non-invasive form of therapy, so it’s easy to do for those who are having difficulty doing much besides sitting.
Here’s my personal hot and cold circuit cycle that I use:
When I’m feeling bad, I start with a fifteen-minute soak in the hot tub with the jets on, giving me a “massage.”
After, I have a quick one-minute icy shower with my outdoor shower. Yes, it’s hard to leave the comfort of the warmth, but it stimulates my nerves.
Have a ten-minute rest. I sit outside on my patio, wrapped in a towel or blanket.
If I’m feeling better, I’ll get ready for the day. If I’m still not doing well, I’ll repeat it all again. Sometimes, I do up to three cycles.
Caring for Your Skin After Being in a Hot Tub
The one thing I will say about having a hot tub is that it can be tough on your skin. For the record, I have sensitive skin, and I still think the hot tub is well worth it.
To help, I stay hydrated. I always drink water when I’m in the hot tub. Afterward, I make sure to rinse off and use my natural soaps. The cold showers, as part of my hot/cold circuit, also help by closing up the blood vessels that cause skin dryness and rosacea.
It’s also a good idea to moisturize. I also spritz myself with witch hazel and rose water.
I use very few chemicals to keep my hot tub as natural as possible (read more about that here). I use the minimum amount of what’s needed to try and make the water as sensitive and skin-friendly as possible.
I change my hot tub water about every four months, sometimes sooner if there have been many people in it.
All these things help to prevent my skin from feeling dry and scratchy. While my skin bothers me occasionally, I find the pain management well worth this side effect.
FAQ for My At-Home Hot Tub
What costs can you expect for a hot tub?
Since I got a used hot tub, the initial cost wasn’t that bad. There are so many hot tubs out there that I highly recommend you find someone local who refurbishes them and will deliver it to you.
You’ll also need to prepare the space for the hot tub to sit, which should be considered in the initial cost. Moving hot tubs is also expensive and should be done by special movers.
There are chemicals you’ll need for maintenance. I don’t use any chemicals besides bromine and baking soda, as well as an RV water filter.
The ongoing cost of it isn’t too bad if you’re insulting it well. I also found that I’m likely saving money, considering how often I would fill my bathtub beforehand. Not to mention, my hot tub is electric, while my home’s hot water heater is natural gas so it’s a cleaner energy source.
How do you lift the hot tub with reduced mobility?
I installed a bar lifter in my hot tub. It allows me to fold the hot tub cover in half and then use the lifter to move the cover onto the bench I have behind the hot tub. Even when my mobility is restricted, I find lifting quite simple.
More Helpful Tips to Try
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
