The Guardian · CaliforniaArturo Béjar, former Meta safety engineer, tells jury tech company was aware of products’ potential harm to children
Meta has taken a “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy when it comes to the safety of children on its social media platforms, according to a whistleblower who testified during a landmark trial against the company on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. He said he repeatedly raised the issue to various Facebook and Instagram executives but that they did little to resolve it.
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Dara Kerr · Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 2:30 PM
The Guardian · US newsThe Trump administration’s ‘America first’ approach has contributed to the scale of the crisis now unfolding in one of the world’s poorest countries
For months health experts have warned that the scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could surpass the one that swept west Africa in 2014-16. This week, the authorities in the DRC announced that a grim milestone has already been passed: at least 2,325 people have died from the virus, making it the deadliest of the country’s 17 outbreaks and the fastest-growing in history.
There is no effective vaccine against Bundibugyo – a rare strain of the virus that spread fatally undetected during the spring, often being misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In contrast to neighbouring Uganda, which succeeded in eliminating an outbreak, multiple factors are combining to let the disease rip through the DRC. The worst-affected region is contested by armed groups, and a context of population displacement and chronic insecurity has made monitoring and surveillance more difficult. Ebola treatment centres have been attacked as a result of misinformation and community distrust.
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Editorial · Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 10:59 AM
The Guardian · CaliforniaCompton’s Cafeteria is one of the earliest examples of LGBTQ+ resistance. Today, a prison company occupies the site
One of the earliest documented examples of LGBTQ+ resistance against police happened on a hot summer night 60 years ago this month. It started not with the throwing of a brick, as it did in New York City’s 1969 Stonewall riots, but with the throwing of a coffee cup inside Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco.
When police attempted to raid Compton’s – a hub for the drag performers, trans people and sex workers in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood – hundreds of people in the community fought back. A drag queen threw a coffee mug at a police officer; others threw dishes and chairs outside. It was the culmination of years of police harassment, arrests and violence against the community and the beginning of the city’s trans movement.
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Lex McMenamin · Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 7:00 AM
The Guardian · CaliforniaFirefighters describe being pushed to limit by a brutal wildfire season, with key leadership roles going unfilled
The US has faced a critical shortage of firefighters at the US Forest Service (USFS) this summer as thousands of fires erupted across the country.
Despite officials’ claims that the firefighting workforce was stronger than ever, the agency has failed to keep pace with escalating conditions and the catastrophic fires fueled by them, according to nine firefighters who spoke to the Guardian anonymously, because they are barred from disclosing the information to the public.
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Gabrielle Canon · Wed, Aug 19, 2026, 7:00 AM
Astoria & Co.Economist N. Robert Branch hosts 100+ participants in Beverly Hills to discuss restoring market order amidst LA’s 5.5% unemployment and regulatory friction.
Clara Harter · Sun, Apr 5, 2026, 6:23 PM
Astoria & Co.Yale-trained economist N. Robert Branch returns to Beverly Hills after a coast-to-coast tour, pitching a March summit and a liberalized playbook for unemployment and empty storefronts.
Emzy Veazy · Sat, Mar 14, 2026, 6:00 PM
Astoria & Co.LA uses Jan Toporowski’s financialization framework for debt stress tests, liquidity buffers, and leaner pension risk before the next market freeze.
Clara Harter · Sat, Feb 14, 2026, 2:57 PM
