California
Mark Zuckerberg set to testify in watershed social media trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
Meta’s CEO is expected to answer tough questions on Wednesday from attorneys representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.
Zuckerberg has testified in other trials and answered questions from Congress about youth safety on Meta’s platforms, and he apologized to families at that hearing whose lives had been upended by tragedies they believed were because of social media. This trial, though, marks the first time Zuckerberg will answer similar questions in front of a jury. and, again, bereaved parents are expected to be in the limited courtroom seats available to the public.
The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out.
A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit and said they are “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
One of Meta’s attorneys, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company is not disputing that KGM experienced mental health struggles, but rather that Instagram played a substantial factor in those struggles. He pointed to medical records that showed a turbulent home life, and both he and an attorney representing YouTube argue she turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles.
Zuckerberg’s testimony comes a week after that of Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta’s Instagram, who said in the courtroom that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. Mosseri maintained that Instagram works hard to protect young people using the service, and said it’s “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being.”
Much of Mosseri’s questioning from the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, centered on cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance — a topic that Lanier is sure to revisit with Zuckerberg. He is also expected to face questions about Instagram’s algorithm, the infinite nature of Meta’ feeds and other features the plaintiffs argue are designed to get users hooked.
Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began last week.
New Jersey
Catholic diocese agrees to $180 million settlement of clergy sexual abuse allegations
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey Catholic diocese this week agreed to a $180 million settlement to resolve allegations of clergy sexual abuse, a figure far exceeding agreements in some large dioceses but still dwarfed by other massive settlements.
Bishop Joseph Williams of the Diocese of Camden, covering southern New Jersey and its Philadelphia suburbs, announced the settlement Tuesday in a letter.
“For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue and represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve,” Williams said.
Mark Crawford, state director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said in a phone interview Wednesday that the settlement was long overdue but he was glad the ordeal was coming to an end. He praised the bishop for listening to survivors and for pledging transparency, contrasting him with his predecessor, who fought a legal battle over a state investigation into alleged clergy abuse.
“This settlement and this bishop have acted very differently,” Crawford said. “I hope it sends a message that this is possible, that this is right.”
Greg Gianforcaro, one of the attorneys representing victims suing the diocese, credited survivors’ persistence in reaching the agreement. The diocese has said there about 300 survivors of abuse raising claims.
“It’s been an extremely long and arduous battle,” he said in a phone interview.
It’s the latest agreement in a scandal set off more than two decades ago when the scale of the abuse and the church’s effort to hide it came to light in Boston. The New Jersey settlement agreement is more than the roughly $80 million settlements in Boston and Philadelphia, though settlements in California ranged much higher. In 2024, the Los Angeles Archdiocese agreed to an $880 million payment.
The Camden settlement comes less than a year after the diocese withdrew its objection to the state of New Jersey’s grand jury investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse of children by religious. The state Supreme Court has since ruled the state’s investigation could move ahead.
The Camden diocese, like others nationwide, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits after the statute of limitations was relaxed.
In 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle allegations involving clergy sex abuse against some 300 accusers, one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the U.S. The latest settlement announcement includes these funds, according to victims’ attorneys.
The diocese of Camden covers six southern New Jersey counties outside Philadelphia. The agreement must still be approved by a bankruptcy court.
Texas
Unruly passenger prompts plane’s return to Houston airport
HOUSTON (AP) — A flight returned to a Houston airport just after takeoff early Wednesday because of an unruly passenger, authorities said.
There were reports that a male passenger on Flight 2557 from Houston’s Hobby Airport to Atlanta had tried to break into the cockpit, but that wasn’t the case, Delta Air Lines said in a statement. The passenger did exhibit “unruly and unlawful behavior toward other customers” and met by police after the flight returned to the airport, it said.
A Houston police spokesperson said that when officers were called, dispatch was told that a person was trying to breach a cockpit. Officers detained one male, said the spokesperson, who hadn’t heard of any reported injuries.
The flight departed again and arrived in Atlanta about 90 minutes behind schedule, said Delta, which didn’t go into specifics about the passenger’s behavior.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate.
Last year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched an air travel civility campaign, noting that the FAA had seen a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts since 2019 and 13,800 unruly passenger incidents since 2021.
Mark Zuckerberg set to testify in watershed social media trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
Meta’s CEO is expected to answer tough questions on Wednesday from attorneys representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.
Zuckerberg has testified in other trials and answered questions from Congress about youth safety on Meta’s platforms, and he apologized to families at that hearing whose lives had been upended by tragedies they believed were because of social media. This trial, though, marks the first time Zuckerberg will answer similar questions in front of a jury. and, again, bereaved parents are expected to be in the limited courtroom seats available to the public.
The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out.
A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit and said they are “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
One of Meta’s attorneys, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company is not disputing that KGM experienced mental health struggles, but rather that Instagram played a substantial factor in those struggles. He pointed to medical records that showed a turbulent home life, and both he and an attorney representing YouTube argue she turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles.
Zuckerberg’s testimony comes a week after that of Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta’s Instagram, who said in the courtroom that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. Mosseri maintained that Instagram works hard to protect young people using the service, and said it’s “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s well-being.”
Much of Mosseri’s questioning from the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, centered on cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance — a topic that Lanier is sure to revisit with Zuckerberg. He is also expected to face questions about Instagram’s algorithm, the infinite nature of Meta’ feeds and other features the plaintiffs argue are designed to get users hooked.
Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began last week.
New Jersey
Catholic diocese agrees to $180 million settlement of clergy sexual abuse allegations
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey Catholic diocese this week agreed to a $180 million settlement to resolve allegations of clergy sexual abuse, a figure far exceeding agreements in some large dioceses but still dwarfed by other massive settlements.
Bishop Joseph Williams of the Diocese of Camden, covering southern New Jersey and its Philadelphia suburbs, announced the settlement Tuesday in a letter.
“For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue and represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve,” Williams said.
Mark Crawford, state director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said in a phone interview Wednesday that the settlement was long overdue but he was glad the ordeal was coming to an end. He praised the bishop for listening to survivors and for pledging transparency, contrasting him with his predecessor, who fought a legal battle over a state investigation into alleged clergy abuse.
“This settlement and this bishop have acted very differently,” Crawford said. “I hope it sends a message that this is possible, that this is right.”
Greg Gianforcaro, one of the attorneys representing victims suing the diocese, credited survivors’ persistence in reaching the agreement. The diocese has said there about 300 survivors of abuse raising claims.
“It’s been an extremely long and arduous battle,” he said in a phone interview.
It’s the latest agreement in a scandal set off more than two decades ago when the scale of the abuse and the church’s effort to hide it came to light in Boston. The New Jersey settlement agreement is more than the roughly $80 million settlements in Boston and Philadelphia, though settlements in California ranged much higher. In 2024, the Los Angeles Archdiocese agreed to an $880 million payment.
The Camden settlement comes less than a year after the diocese withdrew its objection to the state of New Jersey’s grand jury investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse of children by religious. The state Supreme Court has since ruled the state’s investigation could move ahead.
The Camden diocese, like others nationwide, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits after the statute of limitations was relaxed.
In 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle allegations involving clergy sex abuse against some 300 accusers, one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the U.S. The latest settlement announcement includes these funds, according to victims’ attorneys.
The diocese of Camden covers six southern New Jersey counties outside Philadelphia. The agreement must still be approved by a bankruptcy court.
Texas
Unruly passenger prompts plane’s return to Houston airport
HOUSTON (AP) — A flight returned to a Houston airport just after takeoff early Wednesday because of an unruly passenger, authorities said.
There were reports that a male passenger on Flight 2557 from Houston’s Hobby Airport to Atlanta had tried to break into the cockpit, but that wasn’t the case, Delta Air Lines said in a statement. The passenger did exhibit “unruly and unlawful behavior toward other customers” and met by police after the flight returned to the airport, it said.
A Houston police spokesperson said that when officers were called, dispatch was told that a person was trying to breach a cockpit. Officers detained one male, said the spokesperson, who hadn’t heard of any reported injuries.
The flight departed again and arrived in Atlanta about 90 minutes behind schedule, said Delta, which didn’t go into specifics about the passenger’s behavior.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate.
Last year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched an air travel civility campaign, noting that the FAA had seen a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts since 2019 and 13,800 unruly passenger incidents since 2021.
