Meta Settlement, Nepal Floods, and Goat Island

Good morning, it's Thursday, Aug. 27. Meta's latest settlement will change how teenagers use its platforms. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: catastrophic flooding in Nepal (Need To Know), the death of actor Tim Curry (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), what dinosaurs sounded like (Sci. & Tech.), Goat Island (In-Depth), tonight's red moon (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

Social Media Settlement 

Meta yesterday agreed to pay up to $17.1B and adopt child-safety measures for Facebook and Instagram to resolve lawsuits brought by 52 attorneys general over child privacy laws and social media addiction (explore 101).

The settlement effectively ends a landmark trial that began in California last week, where states accused Meta of illegally collecting data from children under 13 and designing features to addict children (see previous write-up). Meta, which did not admit wrongdoing, will initially pay $12.1B and up to $17.1B if Snap, TikTok, and YouTube settle similar lawsuits. The funds will reportedly support youth online safety initiatives. Meta will also introduce a two-hour daily limit for users under 18 and disable notifications during school hours, among other changes.

While a fraction of Meta's $201B in revenue last year, the settlement is the largest state consumer protection settlement since the 1990s, when tobacco companies agreed to pay over $206B. A Big Tobacco whistleblower says social media giants used the same addiction playbook—read his interview here.

Nepal Flash Floods

Flash floods swept through northern Nepal and Tibet yesterday, killing at least 160 people as of this writing. Among the hundreds reported missing were over 340 tourists, including visitors from the US, the UK, and Australia. See footage of the catastrophic mudslides.

The Bhotekoshi River began flooding around 9 am local time after a landslide dumped ice and rock into its tributary, sending a surge of water downstream. Satellite imagery indicates a chunk of ice around 2,000 feet wide broke off a glacier and fell nearly 4,000 feet into a valley, setting off the avalanche. It is unclear what caused the ice to fall, though scientists indicated climate change may be to blame; the US Geological Survey initially registered seismic activity near the Nepal-China border as an earthquake but later attributed the tremors to the landslide.

Authorities warned a second flood could be imminent as a blockage is still lodged upstream on the Lhende Khola River. 

New Pancreatic Cancer Drug

The Food and Drug Administration approved a twice-daily pill yesterday to treat late-stage pancreatic cancer. Rasonque (generic name: daraxonrasib) is the first drug by California-based Revolutionary Medicines.

Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest cancers, with a five-year survival rate of 13% for the roughly 67,000 Americans diagnosed annually. One challenge is geometry: RAS mutations drive 90% of pancreatic cancer cases and more than one-quarter of all cancers (watch 101). The proteins they generate are flat, making it difficult for drugs to bind to them. In 2013, however, one of RevMed’s cofounders discovered a pocket for drugs to latch onto; the company began human trials in 2022. Recipients lived nearly twice as long on daraxonrasib: 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months on chemotherapy. Among them is former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who lauded the drug despite side effects; see interview (via YouTube).

RevMed is investigating a potential drug for lung cancer, of which roughly 20% or more cases are driven by RAS mutations.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Tim Curry, who brought Dr. Frank-N-Furter to life in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," dies at age 80 (More) | See 10 other memorable roles, including in "It," "Clue," and "Home Alone 2" (More)

> Rupert Grint to reprise his role as Ron Weasley in Broadway's "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," over 15 years after his final film appearance as Harry Potter's best friend (More) | Revisit the moment Harry and Ron met (More, w/video)

> Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game Sunday is the WNBA's most-watched regular-season game since the league's inaugural season in 1997, with 3.31 million viewers (More) 

Science & Technology

> Two antibody injections appear to restore some cognition in mice with Alzheimer's-like conditions, offering a potential new avenue for treating the disease in humans (More) | See how Alzheimer's physically changes the brain (More)

> Researchers harness a natural hibernation molecule found in snails to create a drug that could preserve transplant organs, induce hibernation in astronauts on long space missions, and more (More) 

> Scientists use 165 million-year-old preserved fossil wings to recreate a partial Middle Jurassic soundscape (More) | Listen to what the dinosaurs may have heard (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as new federal report shows persistent inflation (More) 

> Nvidia reports record $96.2B in revenue, beating second-quarter earnings forecast (More) | Apple sets iPhone launch event for Sept. 9, the first under new CEO John Ternus, with a foldable phone rumored to debut (More)

> Vanguard Group acquires fintech platform Altruist for $4B, signaling a push by the world’s second-largest investment firm into financial advice (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> US Department of Justice says it disrupted a yearslong Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation that infiltrated US government agencies and critical infrastructure; targets included the Senate, NASA, and Federal Reserve, among others (More) 

> Federal judge temporarily greenlights executive order restricting mail-in voting; 24 states and Washington, DC, sue to block new US Postal Service policy, which restricts who can receive mail-in ballots to eligible absentee voters (More) 

> US military judge sets June 2028 as possible start date for trial of four men accused of conspiring in the 9/11 attacks, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (More) | Why has the trial been delayed? (More)

In-Depth

> The Skill AI Can't Replace

Daniel Pink | Daniel Pink. AI is making creation nearly effortless—and good taste more valuable than ever. Here's why judgment may be the skill that matters most in the AI era, and how to sharpen yours. (Watch)

> The Mystery of Goat Island

Texas Monthly | Meher Yeda. On a tiny island off the Texas coast, goats have ruled for decades. How did they get there, and why are they still there? (Read)

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One more: Dolly Parton released her first recording at age 13. (And check out more great content on-site!)

Historybook: Krakatoa volcano eruption, among the largest in recorded history, kills around 40,000 (1883); President Lyndon B. Johnson born (1908); "Guinness Book of World Records" first published (1955); Sociologist and civil rights activist WEB Du Bois dies (1963); American vaudevillian Gracie Allen dies (1964).

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