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Researchers have found more evidence that excessive smartphone use could impact a teen's mental health. Scientists refer to it as "problematic smartphone use" or PSU; in other words, behaviors around smartphone use akin to an addiction. ... Researchers at King's College London found that teens with PSU were twice as likely to have anxiety and almost three times more likely to suffer from depression compared to teens without problematic smartphone use. (Marshall, 8/5)

A minor from New York on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against Meta, alleging that the social media giant sought to keep teens hooked on Instagram while knowingly exposing them to harmful content. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that Meta implemented features its leaders knew would make Instagram addicting for teens, such as displaying counts of how many “likes” posts receive, even as internal evidence grew that the service could harm their mental health. The 13-year-old girl is seeking $5 billion in damages, to be shared among eligible Instagram users if the suit is certified as a class action. (Nix, 8/5)

A federal judge ruled that Google engaged in illegal practices to preserve its search engine monopoly, delivering a major antitrust victory to the Justice Department in its effort to rein in Silicon Valley technology giants. Google, which performs about 90% of the world’s internet searches, exploited its market dominance to stomp out competitors, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta in Washington, D.C. said in the long-awaited ruling. (Wolfe and Kruppa, 8/5)

Boar’s Head, the popular deli meat and cheese company, is now facing a potential class action lawsuit after more than 7 million pounds of Boar's Head products were recalled and linked to a deadly listeria outbreak. Filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on August 1, the lawsuit alleges that Boar’s Head Provisions, Co. Inc. “improperly, deceptively, and misleadingly labeled and marketed its products,” by failing the full extent of possible contamination by Listeria monocytogenes, a disease-causing bacteria. (Hauptman and Walrath-Holdridge, 8/5)

Last December, dozens of young hockey players were rushed to hospitals in the Buffalo, New York, area — some vomiting, lethargic and suffering from headaches. The skaters had been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide at an indoor ice rink, a problem that is far from uncommon. Most rinks use ice resurfacing machines — often known by the brand name of Zamboni — and edgers that often run on propane or other fuels. (Brown, 8/5)

Across the United States, about 12 percent of homes – or about 12.7 million households – had no access to air conditioning in 2020, according to the most recent government data. Many more had some air conditioning, like Gay, but not enough to beat the heat. Most often, homes with little or no air conditioning are occupied by low-income residents – often renters — and people of color, a 2022 Boston University analysis of 115 U.S. metro areas found. (Dickie, 8/5)