TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie pleaded for the public’s help at “an hour of desperation” in the search for her missing mother as the family’s latest attempts to reach the abductors failed to yield any proof she is alive or communication with the culprits.

Guthrie and her family have posted several videos to Instagram in recent days in which they pleaded for the return of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie and offered to pay a ransom for her safe return. Her latest message Monday evening struck a different tone as she talked about entering “another week of this nightmare” and was more focused on helping investigators gather clues into the disappearance than earlier posts.

The FBI said Monday that it isn’t aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and any suspected kidnappers more than a week after Nancy Guthrie went missing. The FBI has also not identified any suspects or persons of interest in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said in a statement. The agency is operating a 24-hour command post equipped with investigative teams and crisis management experts while asking for help from the public.

The family continues to believe Nancy Guthrie is out there and hearing everyone’s prayers, Savannah Guthrie said in the video released Monday.

“She was taken and we don’t know where, and we need your help,” Guthrie said in the video posted on Instagram, urging people nationwide to be on the lookout “no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything.”

The mysterious disappearance and search has riveted the country — from President Donald Trump, who spoke with Savannah Guthrie last week, to the online sleuths who’ve flooded social media with tips, theories and rumors.

The FBI is asking for the public’s help on digital billboards up in several major cities in Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information.

Multiple news outlets received alleged ransom letters during the past week. At least one letter made monetary demands and set deadlines for receiving the money. The first passed last Thursday and a second one passed Monday evening.

Law enforcement officials declined to affirm that the letters were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Monday that law enforcement tip lines have received thousands of calls.

Authorities say they have growing concerns about Nancy Guthrie’s health because she needs daily medication. She is said to have a pacemaker and has dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.

In a video Saturday, Savannah Guthrie said the family was prepared to pay for her mother’s return. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church. DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and her doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said.

Outside the home Monday, neighbors strolled by on their morning jogs and walks, while a county sheriff’s deputy remained stationed out front.

Law enforcement’s work at Guthrie homes will continue Tuesday “as part of the ongoing investigative process, including the expansion of the search and follow-up on new leads,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Monday.

Detectives and agents carried out follow-up work in the neighborhood and other locations over the weekend as part of the investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday.

Investigators on Saturday were inside daughter Annie Guthrie’s home, about 4 miles (6 kilometers) from Nancy Guthrie’s house. On Sunday, an investigator was seen using a pole to search an underground tank behind Nancy Guthrie’s home.

He’s no Kevin McAllister, but he tried.

A drug dealer who booby-trapped his house after being inspired by the classic Christmas comedy Home Alone has been jailed for seven years.

Ian Claughton, 60, rigged his home with tripwires and homemade pipe bombs to protect his illicit drugs business from intruders.

As police searched nearby homes connected to Claughton and his ex-wife in May 2024, more than 100 homes were evacuated in Grimethorpe, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

They found a series of traps as well as a home-made flamethrower, large quantities of cannabis, amphetamines and cash.

Today, Claughton was jailed for seven years at Sheffield Crown Court by Judge Graham Reeds. His ex-wife, Lesley Claughton, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Opening the trial to jurors last October, prosecutor Helen Chapman said: ‘If you are sitting there thinking that this sounds a little like the film Home Alone, then you would be correct.

‘In fact, that is precisely what Ian Claughton said he was aiming for when he told the police about these devices.’

When police entered one of the ‘heavily protected’ houses, they found a fishing wire running across the length of one of the rooms at knee height, attached to an electrical connector and a battery pack.

Claughton told police the explosives were crow-scarers, used by farmers, which he had inserted into plastic piping and, in one instance, into a bag of paint.

Other devices found in the property consisted of banger fireworks inside piping, sealed with foam, and with wires and a coiled spring.

A stun gun was found behind a fridge-freezer, and a homemade flame-thrower was discovered in a workshop.

Other weapons found at the properties included two high-powered air guns and a crossbow, along with £27,000 sewn into a sofa.

Cannabis plants were found growing in two of the houses, including some in tents in hidden rooms.

Claughton was caught when detectives found a package of imitation firearms ordered from China, set to be delivered to his ex-wife.

The package was opened at Heathrow Airport, and five small silver-and-black folding five-shot revolvers were found.

The court heard this was ordered by Claughton using Lesley’s eBay account.

Claughton pleaded guilty to bringing a realistic imitation firearm into the country, being concerned in the production of cannabis and two counts of possession with intent to supply class B drugs.

He was convicted of three counts of possessing prohibited firearms, possession of criminal property and possession of explosive substances after a trial at Doncaster Crown Court.

Lesley Claughton, 59, was found guilty of bringing a realistic imitation firearm into the country, possessing class B drugs with intent to supply, possession of criminal property and being concerned in the production of cannabis.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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Nintendo’s long-running sports series gets its best new entry since the 90s but there’s still some aspects that fans may take issue with.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be a year old in less than four months and it is very strange that we still haven’t had even a hint about a new Super Mario game, either 2D or 3D. Very strange is, of course, Nintendo’s stock in trade but with a new animated movie coming out in April they seem content merely to push remasters of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, with not a hint of what their modern day successor might look like.

That’s not to say that there are no Mario-themed games out in the next few months but it’s all things like the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a standalone Yoshi title. The most significant of these spin-offs is this, the ninth entry in a sports series that stretches back to Mario’s Tennis on the Virtual Boy – which will become available on Nintendo Switch Online later this month.

Very few people ever played that though, so for most the series began, and peaked, with Mario Tennis on the N64. One of the most entertaining multiplayer games on the system, the main mode was a semi-realistic tennis sim with all the Mario Kart-inspired gimmicks cordoned off to the ancillary modes. However, that hasn’t been the case for any of the subsequent titles.

Apart from the Virtual Boy game, every single one of the Mario Tennis titles (and sister series Mario Golf) have been developed by third party studio Camelot Software Planning. The quality has remained consistent but the problem with each new game is that instead of the power-ups and wacky abilities being an optional novelty they quickly overtook the whole game, removing any real sense of skill from it.

You can see why – a Mario Kart style take on popular sports seems a fun idea in theory, and either way you’ve got to come up with a new selling point for each sequel – but all it’s done is frustrate fans of the original and bamboozle those who just wanted to play an arcade style tennis game. 2018’s Mario Tennis Aces did pare things back a bit, and was the best of the modern games, but it was still not a must-have title.

It’s arguable as to whether Mario Tennis Fever is, but it’s certainly the best entry since the N64 era and for a number of good reasons: it’s stacked full of content, with a ton of unlockables and multiple single-player modes, including a story campaign; it has a robust online mode; and, most importantly, it’s relatively easy to set-up a game that is just normal tennis, without any of the gimmicks.

In terms of the basic gameplay, the controls are identical to the original N64 game, allowing for a fair amount of shot choice, as well as lobs and charged smashes. Even stripped down, it’s not exactly a simulation, but although the amount of swerve you can put on a ball, and how far you can be from it and still hit it, are greatly exaggerated it’s a lot closer to real tennis than Mario Kart is to real motorsports.

The central gimmick for the game is fever rackets which have a special ability you can power up and unleash over the course of a match. Activating one lets you automatically return a ball, no matter where you are on the court, and initiates a power-up, ranging from pools of mud, sheets of ice, and lightning bolts to spinning fire bars, a volcano, and a shadowy doubles partner.

There are lots to unlock and some, like the ink one that obscures your view, are more disruptive than others but all are easier to cope with than it first seems. Although you do have to bear in mind that your character has a HP bar and can be injured, including by being hit by an ordinary ball.

It’s a simple matter to turn off the fever rackets but if you want a plain vanilla match you also have to consider that some of the characters, particularly the unlockable ones, have their own passive traits, such as Kamek’s physics-defying curve balls. To avoid that requires a gentleman’s agreement before you start a match, which you’re not going to get online unless you know who you’re playing against.

Tiptoeing around the options like this can be annoying but at least the game recognises that not everyone is going to want to use fever rackets, with even ranked matches offering an option to leave them out. In fact, the game is admirably customisable, including the ability to turn off the Talking Flower commentator (we liked him) and an optional motion control method with the Joy-Cons, if you’re missing Wii Sports.

The story campaign is surprisingly long and leans into the role-playing elements that the series emphasised in its early years, making it far superior to the one in Mario Tennis Aces. There’s also separate single-player tournaments and one or two-player Trial Towers, which work like Mortal Kombat tower challenges but with specific stipulations about what rackets and limitations you and your opponent have.

Mario Tennis Fever is certainly the most comprehensive entry in the series, in terms of the range of modes and options, and whether you like them or not the fever rackets are a good gimmick. However, that’s predicated on you knowing how they work and how you can combat them when they’re used against you, which means the game isn’t as pick up and play casual friendly as Mario Kart.

Once you get all the settings where you want them, though, it is a very enjoyable multiplayer game. Although it’s also a very expensive one, even if you get the cheaper digital download. Whether you feel it’s worth it depends on your circumstances and preferences, although if you’ve played any previous Mario Tennis titles you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. It’s definitely our second favourite of the series and over time may even take centre court.

Formats: Nintendo Switch 2
Price: £58.99 (£66.99 physical)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Release Date: 12th February 2026
Age Rating: 7

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Two males were seen leaving the incident

Police say they are treating an incident in Belfast as deliberate ignition and arson with intent to endanger life.

Officers in the south of the city say they received a report at around 4.55am on Tuesday that a gas box had been set alight by two males in the Eliza Street Close area. The males are believed to have made off in the direction of Friendly Street.

Detective Sergeant Long said: “Officers attended the scene, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, who extinguished the fire. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. However, the fire is being treated as deliberate ignition and as arson with intent to endanger life.

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“Our enquiries are ongoing, and we would appeal to anyone who saw what happened, or who might have any information, including CCTV, dash-cam or other footage, to contact police on the 101 number, quoting reference 136 of 10/02/26.”

Detective Long added: “Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Shoppers pulled back the pace of their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday season and the year on a lackluster tone.

Retail sales were flat in December from November, when business was up 0.6%, according to the Commerce Department.

Economists were expecting a 0.4% increase. The report on Wednesday was delayed more than a month because of the 43-day government shutdown.

The retail sales figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, showed that many types of businesses saw declines.

The report raised questions about shoppers’ ability to spend as they worry about a slowing job market and uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their impact on prices.

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Furniture and home furnishing stores posted a 0.9% drop, while electronics and appliance stores had a 0.4% dip. Clothing and accessories retailers registered a 0.7% decline.

The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spending and doesn’t include many services, including travel and hotel lodges. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered a dip of 0.1%

The mayor has called for ‘stability’

Andy Burnham says Sir Keir Starmer still has his support, after the leader of Scottish Labour urged the Prime Minister to resign. Pressure has mounted on Sir Keir over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States last May, despite knowing the veteran politician’s links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, became the most high profile figure from the party to call on Sir Keir to step down yesterday (February 9) – insisting the situation had become a ‘distraction’ ahead of crucial elections in May. But cabinet members gave the PM their public support in the hours that followed.

Sir Keir also vowed to continue as PM during a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party last night, in which he told MPs: “I’ve won every fight I’ve ever been in.” Greater Manchester’s mayor, who has long been considered as a candidate to replace Sir Keir as PM, saw a potential path to power blocked as he was prevented from running in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

But speaking at a Resolution Foundation event in London today (Tuesday), Mr Burnham declared his continued support for the PM. He told reporters: “Yes, he has my support. The Government has my support and they had my support when I put myself forward for the by-election.”

Mr Burnham also called for ‘stability’ as he suggested politicians should be working to ‘bring pace and focus to lowering the cost’ of living. He added: “To do that requires stability and I make my own call for that today across the Labour Party.

“Of course stability comes from greater unity and that would be helped by a more inclusive way of running the party but recent events makes that now feel possible.”

Mr Burnham was asked whether he thought it was wrong for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to call for Sir Keir to resign, and whether he could rule himself out of any future leadership challenge.

Responding, the Greater Manchester Mayor said: “What I am calling for very clearly today is for the unity to create the stability, to give the Government the platform, to focus on all of the things that I’m talking about today.

“I think we’ve got to get away from the kind of sense that everything is a challenge. I put myself forward but I was saying to, I spoke to the Prime Minister, spoke to the Government, we need to get that strong sense of a stronger team again than there has been in recent times and that, I think, is what needs to come from this.”

He continued: “We need to sort of dial down all of this constant briefing. It’s seemingly a bit endless some of the anonymous briefings going around. I think we just need to focus on what’s in front of us.

“There’s a by-election in front of us, I’ve been playing my role in that by-election… that’s the issue in politics right in front of us – the politics of collectivism versus the politics of division

“My view is you’ve got to focus on stopping that now…. and everything else is noise in the background.”

Angeliki Stogia, Labour’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, yesterday told the Manchester Evening News that Sir Keir’s future and the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson ‘hasn’t come up on the doorstep’.

But the situation has dominated Westminster, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband telling BBC Breakfast that Sir Keir had faced a ‘moment of peril’. “But, as a collective body, the Cabinet, the Labour Party looked at the alternatives of going down this road of a chaotic leadership election, trying to depose a prime minister, and they said ‘no, that’s not for us’,” he added.

This 50p coin could be sitting in your pocket and one collector has urged people to not spend this special gem. So do you have this Olympic coin in your pocket?

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Don’t spend this iconic rare coin as it’s highly desirable among collectors. It’s always crucial to check your change as just recently a 50p sold for way more than face value with 200,000 out there in circulation.

Now one coin – dubbed the ‘rarest Olympic 50p’ – could be in your possession, and it’s highly sought after by collectors across the UK. According to coin expert @CoinCollectingWizard, if you’re searching for Olympic coins, this is a “key one”. The coin was issued in 2011, ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, with 29 different designs released to commemorate the landmark sporting event.

In an Instagram post shared with his 37,200 followers, he stated: “Rarest Olympic 50p to look for.

“If you’re checking your change for Olympic coins, this is one of the key ones… The 2011 Football (Offside Rule) 50p is the rarest Olympic 50p released into circulation.”

Approximately 1,125,500 of these coins entered circulation, with typical values ranging from £8 to £15 in used condition. However, if you discover one in excellent condition, you could fetch considerably more.

The expert added: “It’s easy to spot – it’s the coin with the footballer and the offside diagram explaining the rule.

“A brilliant find in change and one every collector wants in their set. Keep checking those 50ps!”

The Royal Mint produced 29 different 50p coins in 2011 to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games held the following year. Each coin in the collection showcases a different sport, with designs chosen from submissions by members of the public.

Collectors have removed an estimated 75% of these coins from circulation, making them highly desirable.

The most elusive of the entire set is the Football 50p, created by British sports journalist Neil Wolfson.

His design, which depicts a diagram illustrating the offside rule, was chosen by The Royal Mint from more than 30,000 public entries for the collection.

The obverse side displays the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.

Discussing the coin, the @CoinCollectingWizard told us: “Out of all the 2011 Olympic 50ps, the Football Offside Rule is the one to watch as it’s the rarest of the set.

“If you ever find one in your change, don’t spend it… keep it safe, because pieces like that are the treasures collectors are always hunting.”

How to spot a rare coin:

Check for specific dates: Certain versions of a coin with particular dates may be more valuable.

Look for special designs: Scarce 50p coins such as the Kew Gardens 50p, Beatrix Potter designs or Olympic coins.

Errors: Watch for “double die” strikes, incorrect dates or missing letters.

Use apps: These can help identify a coin from a photograph and provide an estimated value.

Speak to a professional: If you believe you’ve discovered a rare coin, contact reputable websites for verification – the Coin Hunter is a good example.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that it will not allow Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych to wear a helmet honouring those killed in the war with Russia during the skeleton competition at the Winter Olympics, while announcing he may wear a black armband as a “compromise”.

Heraskevych said in a video on social media on Monday night that he was preparing an official request to compete in the helmet, after being informed of the ban, but that has now been denied. The 27-year-old has been training in Italy while wearing headgear depicting Ukrainian athletes who have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.

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IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a news conference in Milan-Cortina that Heraskevych’s helmet contravened Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which states that no form of demonstration or political, religious or racial issues can be raised on fields of play or podiums, and confirmed Heraskevych and his team were informed of this during an informal meeting on Monday night.

“The IOC fully understands the desire of athletes to remember friends and colleagues who have lost their lives in that conflict, and in many, many other difficult conflicts around the world,” Adams said on Tuesday.

“It’s fundamental that there are equal rights for all athletes and that the games need to be separated not just from political and religious, but from all types of interference so that all the athletes competing can concentrate on their performance.

“What we said is that this helmet contravenes the guidelines. But that being said, after the meeting, we also reiterated once again that we will in this case, as we do now more often, make an exception to the guidelines to allow him to wear a black armband during competition.”

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In his post on social media, Heraskevych said the decision to ban his helmet in competitions “breaks my heart” and said he hoped for a “fair” final decision from the IOC. He added: “The IOC is betraying those athletes who were part of the Olympic movement, not allowing them to be honoured on the sports arena where these athletes will never be able to step again.”

After the ban was confirmed, Heraskevych also told Reuters: “It’s unfair treatment. I don’t see any violation of rule 50. It is not discrimination propaganda, it is not political propaganda.”

The helmet depicts various athletes killed in the war – some of whom were Heraskevych’s friends. They include teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel.

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Heraskevych will return to training on Tuesday. His first day of competition is on Thursday, where he will be allowed to wear a black armband.

“I think what we’ve tried to do is to address his desires with compassion and understanding,” Adams said. “He has expressed himself on social media and in the training. We will not stop him expressing himself in press conference and in the mixed zone. We feel that this is a good compromise in the situation.”

Includes reporting from Reuters

New guidance for the PSNI on the removal of illegal flags in Northern Ireland was sparked by a number of anti-immigration hate incidents.

In January 2026, a new service instruction based on the National Decision-Making Model provides practical guidance to police officers and staff on how the PSNI should respond to, report, and investigate incidents involving displays in public places.

A spokesperson for the PSNI confirmed the development follows a number of hate incidents in 2023, when anti-immigration signage was placed in a number of towns and housing areas across Northern Ireland.

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The service instruction details that complaints to police arising from the public display of words, flags, and emblems considered by complainants to be offensive are a “near daily occurrence” in Northern Ireland, but “spike seasonally and in response to contentious events”.

The PSNI have faced criticism when it has failed to act or for not acting consistently, with the service instruction clearly setting out the organisation’s position to ensure consistency in its approach.

The document explains: “When the display of any material constitutes an offence the PSNI has an obligation to act, in particular where the continued display of the material is or will cause harm.”

Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney said: “As a police service, we are dedicated to safeguarding people and property while taking action against any offenders of hate crime incidents.

“There has always been guidance available to our officers on the steps that can legally be taken in regard to complaints on public displays. This has now been developed into a service instruction which outlines clearly when to act and how to respond.

“The primary responsibility for removing material remains with the material’s owner, or the owner of the street furniture or property where it’s displayed. However, where any offences have been committed, the circumstances will be investigated within statutory functions, and in accordance with law and Human Rights obligations.

“Our officers, who are well supported by this information, will engage and work with local community representatives and partner agencies in relation to any complaints about displays in public spaces.”

When a display is reported, police make a number of enquiries to see “whether there is reasonable suspicion an offence has occurred.” These include the content of the material, the location of the material and the owner of the property to which it is affixed, the context of the area in which it is visible, the existence of complaints about its presence, any ongoing issues in Northern Ireland (protests/unrest), or any legal advice obtained from PSNI Legal Services.

Expanding on this, the document adds: “There are a number of Public Authorities that have obligations in relation to the display of material and are conferred statutory powers that extend to the power to lawfully remove. For example the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), as the owner of much of the street furniture, plays a critical role in addressing issues related to the display of material on their furniture.

“Engagement with the DfI is important to ensure any early actions can be considered by them (with PSNI assistance as required) following appropriate assessment to ensure all public authorities are European Court of Human rights (ECHR) compliant and any action taken is lawful, proportionate and respectful of community relations.”

A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: “The problem of illegally erected flags is totally unacceptable. The Department welcomes this announcement from the PSNI and will continue to engage with them.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comparing social media platforms to casinos and addictive drugs, lawyer Mark Lanier delivered opening statements Monday in a landmark trial in Los Angeles that seeks to hold Instagram owner Meta and Google’s YouTube responsible for harms to children who use their products.

Instagram’s parent company Meta and Google’s YouTube face claims that their platforms addict children through deliberate design choices that keep kids glued to their screens. TikTok and Snap, which were originally named in the lawsuit, settled for undisclosed sums.

Jurors got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants.

Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some researchers believing it doesn’t exist, or that addiction is not the most appropriate way to describe heavy social media use.

Lawyers representing YouTube will begin their opening statement on Tuesday.

‘Addicting the brains of children’

Lanier, the plaintiff’s lawyer, delivered lively first remarks where he said the case will be as “easy as ABC” — which stands for “addicting the brains of children.” He said Meta and Google, “two of the richest corporations in history,” have “engineered addiction in children’s brains.”

He presented jurors with a slew of internal emails, documents and studies conducted by Meta and YouTube, as well as YouTube’s parent company, Google. He emphasized the findings of a study Meta conducted called “Project Myst” in which they surveyed 1,000 teens and their parents about their social media use. The two major findings, Lanier said, were that Meta knew children who experienced “adverse events” like trauma and stress were particularly vulnerable for addiction; and that parental supervision and controls made little impact.

He also highlighted internal Google documents that likened some company products to a casino, and internal communication between Meta employees in which one person said Instagram is “like a drug” and they are “basically pushers.”

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 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.

Plaintiff grew up using YouTube, Instagram

KGM made a brief appearance after a break during Lanier’s statement and she will return to testify later in the trial. Lanier spent time describing KGM’s childhood, focusing particularly on what her personality was like before she began using social media. She started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9, Lanier said. Before she graduated elementary school, she had posted 284 videos on YouTube.

The outcome of the trial could have profound effects on the companies’ businesses and how they will handle children using their platforms.

Lanier said the companies’ lawyers will “try to blame the little girl and her parents for the trap they built,” referencing the plaintiff. She was a minor when she said she became addicted to social media, which she claims had a detrimental impact on her mental health.

Lanier said that despite the public position of Meta and YouTube being that they work to protect children, their internal documents show an entirely different position, with explicit references to young children being listed as their target audiences.

The attorney also drew comparisons between the social media companies and tobacco firms, citing internal communication between Meta employees who were concerned about the company’s lack of proactive action about the potential harm their platforms can have on children and teens.

“For a teenager, social validation is survival,” Lanier said. The defendants “engineered a feature that caters to a minor’s craving for social validation,” he added, speaking about “like” buttons and similar features.

Meta pushes back

In his opening statement representing Meta, Schmidt said the core question in the case is whether the platforms were a substantial factor in KGM’s mental health struggles. He spent much of his time going through the plaintiff’s health records, emphasizing that she had experienced many difficult circumstances in her childhood, including emotional abuse, body image issues and bullying.

Schmidt presented a clip from a video deposition from one of KGM‘s mental health providers, Dr. Thomas Suberman, who said social media was “not the through-line of what I recall being her main issues,” adding that her struggles seemed to largely stem from interpersonal conflicts and relationships. He painted a picture — with KGM’s own text messages and testimony pointing to a volatile home life — of a particularly troubled relationship with her mother.

Schmidt acknowledged that many mental health professionals do believe social media addiction can exist, but said three of KGM’s providers — all of whom believe in the form of addiction — have never diagnosed her with it, or treated her for it.

Schmidt emphasized to the jurors that the case is not about whether social media is a good thing or whether teens spend too much time on their phones or whether the jurors like or dislike Meta, but whether social media was a substantial factor in KGM’s mental health struggles.

A reckoning for social media and youth harms

A slew of trials beginning this year seek to hold social media companies responsible for harming children’s mental well-being. Executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify at the Los Angeles 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 health care costs and restrict marketing targeting minors.

A separate trial in New Mexico, meanwhile, also kicked off with opening statements on Monday. In that trial, Meta is accused of failing to protect young users from sexual exploitation, following an undercover online investigation. Attorney General Raúl Torrez in late 2023 sued Meta and Zuckerberg, who was later dropped from the suit.

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.

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Ortutay reported from Oakland, California. Associated Press Writer Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this story.