Is social media addictive? That’s not a rhetorical question, but the center of a landmark lawsuit. And on Wednesday, a jury found Big Tech giants Meta and YouTube negligent—awarding millions in compensation to a woman who argued the companies were to blame for her social media addiction. Meta must pay $4.2 million in “combined compensatory and punitive damages,” and YouTube must pay $1.8 million.

If you were surprised, join the club. It’s rare that the big social media companies are found liable for any harms people may face using their platforms, and the verdict in the Los Angeles trial could lead to more court losses, more lawsuits and potentially online safety legislation.

The bellwether case, which was brought by a now 20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M., had accused social media companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos. Citing features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations, K.G.M. sued Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, and Google’s YouTube, claiming they led to anxiety and depression.

The verdict in K.G.M.’s case—one of thousands of lawsuits filed by teenagers, school districts and state attorneys general against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap, which owns Snapchat—validates a novel legal theory that social media sites or apps can cause personal injury. It is likely to factor into similar cases expected to go to trial this year, which could expose the internet giants to further financial damages and force changes to their products.

Tech critics are hailing it as the “Big Tobacco moment” … proving in a court of law that these companies intentionally cause children harm. It’s the second verdict against Meta this week, after a jury in New Mexico determined the company harms children’s mental health and safety, in violation of state law.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal to end the Iran war is near, after Tehran dismissed his 15-point ceasefire plan and issued its own sweeping demands to stop fighting as it launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has been engaged over the last three days in “productive conversations” with Iran. That’s in stark contrast to the tone of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said later that Iran has “no intention of negotiating for now”.

Undeterred, Trump insists that Iran is negotiating, saying “they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” adding: “They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us.”

Activists in Iran reported heavy strikes early Thursday morning around Isfahan, a city some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran. According to the Associated Press, Isfahan is home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the United States during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. Also, Iran’s missiles just pierced Israel’s defenses, raising serious concerns and doubts about interceptors going forward.

This mess just keeps getting worse. The Transportation Security Administration may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on, the agency’s acting head said Wednesday, even as record wait time for travelers did little to end the standoff over the funding fight in Congress.

And the consequences will soon be reaching far beyond long lines at airport security and flight cancellations, top Homeland Security officials told a House committee Wednesday. The protracted partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security means new TSA workers won’t be trained in time to accommodate the surge of fans traveling throughout the country for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, disaster relief funds are dwindling, and some cybersecurity intelligence isn’t being properly shared, the officials told the House Homeland Security Committee.

Meanwhile, TSA agents are still not getting paid. And ICE is supposed to be helping TSA at a handful of busy airports. But The Verge’s Gaby Del Valle went to check it out and didn’t see that at JFK. Still, there is no easy way out in sight. Neither Republican senators, who made the latest offer, nor Democrats, who countered by reiterating their demands for changes to President Donald Trump ‘s immigration enforcement operations, appeared closer to a compromise.

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