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A Northern California school board’s insane 300% salary increase sparks outrage from the community after CA Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the move last year.

President Leon Rose, his front office and the scouting department around him have brought a team out of purgatory and turned it into a champion. Their next challenge is to repeat as champions. 

It's vital to build public support for Trump and Republicans generally, and that requires reminding Americans of the dramatic turnaround the nation has seen on so many fronts since Trump returned.

The controversial facility, built in less than 10 days on the site of an old airport deep in the Florida Everglades, opened last July after DeSantis offered to assist the Trump administration in providing bed space for migrants slated for deportation. 

For a stratospherically high-level media bash, the launch of “Regime Change” — the new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of the New York Times — was surprisingly butt-centric. Paying homage to institutional journalism as only an Aussie could, Swan said, “I once heard one of my favorite magazine writers compare an editor to...

For a stratospherically high-level media bash, the launch of “Regime Change” — the new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of the New York Times — was surprisingly butt-centric. Paying homage to institutional journalism as only an Aussie could, Swan said, “I once heard one of my favorite magazine writers compare an editor to...

A bizarre back and forth between jurors took place in the Palisades Fire trial Thursday as accused firebug Jonathan Rinderknecht awaited his fate. In a strange twist, the jury first told the court it had reached a unanimous decision just after 2 p.m., but then told the court they were at a standstill around 2:30...

Major League Baseball made its latest proposal in the sport’s ongoing labor battle on Thursday.

YouTube Settles With Florida Teen Alleging Social Media Addiction Harms Ahead Of California Trial

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

Google's YouTube has settled a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old Florida boy who says the platform's features played a role in his social media addiction and harmed his mental health.

A 12-year-old boy watches YouTube on his smartphone on March 27, 2026. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

The settlement was reached ahead of a second California state court trial set to start on July 27. That trial will review similar allegations against Meta Platforms' Instagram, Snap Inc.'s Snapchat, and ByteDance's TikTok.

California state court filings portray the plaintiff, identified only as R.K.C., as first using social media at about age 8. He says he became addicted, lost sleep, and developed depression and anxiety.

Terms of the agreement between YouTube and the teenager were not disclosed.

"YouTube's decision to resolve this case before having to face a jury speaks for itself," the plaintiff's attorneys, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, said. "We will continue fighting on behalf of all those affected by social media addiction to bring these companies to justice and compel them to prioritize the safety of their young users over their bottom lines."

Meanwhile, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda noted the company's continuing work on safety tools.

"Our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise," he said in a statement.

The settlement follows a March verdict in a separate California case, in which a jury determined that Meta and Google were negligent after a young woman alleged that attention-grabbing design features on YouTube and Instagram played a role in her addiction.

Meta was instructed to pay $4.2 million in damages, and Google $1.8 million. A judge dismissed the companies' request to set aside the verdict earlier this month.

More than 3,300 lawsuits regarding addiction claims against social media companies are pending in California state court. Another 2,600 cases brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities, and states are pending in federal court in California.

States Pursue Claims

In May, a Kentucky school district settled with Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube before trial. The companies paid the district $27 million in total.

A jury in New Mexico ordered Meta in March to pay $375 million after finding that the company misrepresented the safety of its platforms for young users.

Nearly every state has filed lawsuits in local courts alleging that the companies misrepresented platform safety for young users and created services to addict children.

The July trial in California is the second in state court to test claims that social media platforms are intentionally engineered to be addictive and that this design has played a role in a youth mental health crisis.

Plaintiffs argue that attention-grabbing design features and other elements ensure that young users are engaged to an excessive degree, contributing to mental health problems.

Defense arguments in previous proceedings have pointed to other potential causes for the difficulties experienced by young people, including family circumstances and individual factors.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 20:05

Many nations have developed systems for alerting people seconds before shaking begins.

Yes, chef or no way, chef?

The last time the U.S. men's national squad reached the World Cup semifinals was in 1930, the inaugural tournament.

Slotkin called for "significant new leadership" within the Democratic Party.

Inquiries on pending restricted free agent Braden Schneider continue to roll in as the Rangers prepare for the NHL Draft and the start of free agency July 1. 

Robert Galtman, 48, accused of double murder and leading a freeway chase, appeared in court in a suicide prevention gown.

A Northern California zoo said their beloved parrot Sarge has flown the coop sparking a community hunt for the missing bird in Fresno.

The board passed a rent freeze on both one-year and two-year leases for the Big Apple's roughly 1 million rent-stabilized units in a 7-1 vote.

China Eyes Iran's Postwar Reconstruction In Bid To Lock Up Future Oil Supplies

Beijing is positioning itself to lead the post-war reconstruction effort in Tehran - a move analysts suggest could secure China long-term access to critical Iranian oil reserves.

The diplomatic groundwork was laid during a recent meeting in New Delhi between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Nikkei Asia. The talks underscore China's broader strategy to expand its economic and diplomatic footprint in the Middle East amid the vacuum left in the wake of one failed US regime change and occupation war after another.

According to the report, Wang signaled Beijing's long-term commitment to the Islamic Republic in the wake of prior weeks of heavy US-Israeli bombing, stating that: "China will continue to provide assistance to Iran while supporting reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts in the region."

via Reuters

To date, China's official involvement has largely centered on humanitarian logistics - at least according to its public-facing narrative.

This includes an upcoming deployment of emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, following recent Israeli military strikes in the country. However, observers note that the transition from humanitarian relief to large-scale infrastructure development is a key mechanism for Beijing to solidify energy security.

Nikkei Asia has issued the following commentary on China's long-term plans in the Middle East:

Some observers argue that the U.S.-Iran war has strengthened Beijing's presence in the Middle East. Rumi Aoyama, a professor at Japan's Waseda University specializing in Chinese diplomacy, called China a "central hub where information on the situation in the Middle East was concentrated."

China has dialogue channels with both Washington and Tehran, and it enjoys friendly ties with mediator Pakistan as an arms supplier. The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers frequently visited China during negotiations on ending the war to report on the situation.

The Iran war may also have worked to Beijing's advantage in its dealings with Washington. With the U.S. prioritizing that conflict, it has been forced to ease up its pressure on China with regard to security and trade.

Yet Beijing has still welcomed the memorandum of understanding toward ending the war because stability in the Middle East is crucial for its energy security. Higher fuel and material prices caused by the war have dealt a blow to the Chinese economy.

Tehran, facing severe economic devastation and isolation from Western markets, has welcomed the Chinese overtures. High-level Iranian officials have made it clear they view Beijing not merely as an investor, but as a strategic anchor - akin to how defense ties with Russia have rapidly improved.

China has long been seen by outside observers as focusing on its soft power, such as through Xi's Belt and Road Initiative.

While Western policy has relied heavily on military intervention, Beijing is leveraging capital and reconstruction agreements to cement its influence over the Persian Gulf's energy infrastructure.

As we noted previously, China - the world’s largest oil importer - sharply reduced crude imports after the conflict erupted in late February as prices initially spiked, sending oil imports to a 9 year low, a key reason why oil prices did not spike even higher in the past few months.

Also as Bloomberg has noted, the nation’s sustained slowdown in flows has brought into focus a nationwide shift away from fossil fuels that’s been driven by greater electrification.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/25/2026 - 19:40

The teen accused of opening fire and killing two inside a Butte County Library continued his campaign of hate by flashing the “white power” sign in court. Bradley Scott Sayer, 18, was in court in Chico, California Thursday. Sayer’s arms were shackled during the hearing and he was dressed in yellow long-sleeved jail garb with...

Oprah Winfrey continues to face backlash over her claim that Whitney Houston’s had relapsed by the time of her final appearance on her legendary talk show. The 2009 appearance was supposed to herald the singer’s comeback after a stint in rehab. But Winfrey claimed this week that Houston was high and fell off the stage...