Thursday morning news: August 27, 2026

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

Meta settlement » Meta will pay up to $18 billion dollars to settle claims that it built Instagram and Facebook to hook children.

The settlement ends a trial in Oakland, California and covers 47 states: Florida, New Mexico and Texas are not part of it. Meta does not admit wrongdoing in the deal and a judge still has to sign off.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called it a strong downpayment on protecting kids:

BONTA: Meta has agreed to make significant changes that will reduce the risk of harm that Instagram and Facebook pose to teen users.

Those changes include a two-hour daily limit for teen users, unless a parent lifts it.The apps go dark from midnight to 6 a.m. No push notifications during school hours. Like counts hidden. Parents can turn autoplay off. And an outside auditor checking whether Meta actually does it.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called it the beginning of the end:

MAYES: Of the bad old days when children had unfettered access to products designed to addict them and expose them to serious mental harm.

She also called on other social media platforms, like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube to mirror the changes Meta has committed to making.

There's money riding on that. Roughly $5 billion dollars of Meta's potential payout comes only if other major platforms agree to similar measures.

Other Dan Sulivan advances in Alaska » In Alaska, Dan Sullivan has advanced in a Senate primary in a bid to unseat incumbent the Senator, Dan Sullivan. If you’re confused, you’re not alone. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher explains.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Dan J. Sullivan is a retired teacher who happens to have the same name as the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

A top state elections official had ruled that Dan J. Sullivan had filed his candidacy with an intent to confuse voters. But a judge invalidated the decision, allowing him on the primary ballot.

Alaska doesn’t choose separate Republican and Democratic nominees. Instead, all candidates run in the same primary, with the top four advancing to a ranked-choice election in November. And as of Wednesday, Dan J. Sullivan officially advanced.

Some believe the resulting confusion on the ballot could be just enough to tilt a tight race in the direction of Democrat Mary Peltola [pel-TOLL-uh].

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Trump says CIA chief's Russia trip routine » Why was the United States CIA Director in Moscow?

That's a question many are asking after a visit by Director John Ratcliffe, who was reportedly spotted in the Russian capital Tuesday morning. Moscow officials later confirmed the visit.

PESKOV: Speaking in Russian

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Ratcliffe spoke with representatives of Russian intelligence services, but there were no meetings with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He declined to comment further.

President Trump told The Glenn Beck Program:

TRUMP: He's there on very, sort of semi-routine, I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war in Ukraine end...and he's not in there for any of the things that you said. Now something may come out of it. We're working very hard to get that war ended. And frankly, they both want to see it ended.

Trump also dismissed rumors that Russia was planning a strike against NATO, or that the CIA director was there to show the U.S. was serious about Iranian sanctions.

Pakistan hospital fire » Grieving parents in Pakistan are demanding answers after a hospital fire killed at least 14 newborns on Wednesday.

Rescue crews climbed ladders to a third-floor window in Islamabad, but were only able to pull one baby out alive.

KAMAL: (Speaking in Urdu)

Pakistani Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told reporters that multiple agencies are investigating the tragedy, and that all evidence will be revealed.

Early reports pointed to an exploding air conditioner. It appears all but one of the children who died were on oxygen support.

Parents gathered outside, weeping. One mother said she gave birth three days ago. She said she doesn't know whom to blame, only that her child is gone.

Nepal/China flooding » And on the Nepal-China border, at least 160 people are dead, with hundreds missing following flash floods. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: A wall of water came down a Himalayan valley and buried whole villages to the second floor.

Most of those missing in Nepal are foreigners. Nepal says 133 Indians were on pilgrimage to a sacred mountain in Tibet and 47 Americans are unaccounted for.

Scientists say a glacier gave way, an avalanche of ice and rock that dammed a river, then let it go all at once.

One river rose 27 feet in half an hour.

Nepal has asked India and China for help.

It's the second such flood on the Lhende Khola River in 14 months.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Actor Tim Curry dies at 80 » Actor Tim Curry has died at the age of 80. He was known for his portrayal of loony characters on stage and screen, including a smug concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” And as the butler in the 1985 comedy-mystery Clue:

CLIP (Clue):  I'll find out who killed him and where and with what There's no need to shout I'm not shouting. All right, I am. I'm shouting, I'm shouting, I'm shouting... 

Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus” — and an Emmy nod in 1994.

I'm Kent Covington.

Coming up, taking the war with Iran to the bank. And later ,VA clinic closures force aging veterans to start over.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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