Latest news with #NewsNation
The Hill
9 hours ago
- Health
- The Hill
Meta upgrades Instagram safety features for teens
Meta has upgraded Instagram safety features for teens, the company said in an email obtained by NewsNation. Meta said in the email to The Hill's partner that the upgrades include teenagers being able to 'see options to view Safety Tips and block an account prominently displayed at the top of new DM [direct messaging] chats, as well as the date the person joined Instagram.' The company said those upgrades are intended 'to give teens more context about who they're chatting to and help them spot potential scammers.' As the use of social media has gone up over the last two decades, concerns about the mental health of teens and children have also risen dramatically. A survey of 2,035 American adults from 2023 found that 50 percent of parents who had children below 18 believed their child or children's mental health had deteriorated in the prior year due to social media use. In April, Meta announced fresh 'built-in protections' for its Instagram Teen Accounts, including needing parents to consent for children to use the accounts ahead of the age of 16 and going 'live' on the platform. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy earlier this year reiterated that in an interview that parents should regulate their children's social media usage to safeguard their mental health, especially at younger ages. 'Delaying the use of social media for your kid as long as possible is important,' Murthy told NBC News's Kristen Welker. 'The bottom line is these devices, these platforms, in particular, social media platforms, are having an effect on our children,' he added.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- Climate
- The Hill
Who's To Blame? Lawmakers Expose Flaws In Disaster Relief After Heavy Floods Swamp Texas
NewsNation's Xavier Walton reports on the flood disaster that struck the state of Texas over Independence Day weekend that was beyond the state's ability to predict or fully manage, the state emergency management chief told the legislature on Wednesday.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bryan Kohberger's luxury prison perks revealed as Idaho murderer is ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars
Idaho quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger will get to enjoy perks including access to a TV and a tablet with music as he spends the rest of his life behind bars. Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after taking a controversial plea deal last month to avoid the death penalty, a move that angered some of his victims' families. As he languishes in Idaho's Maximum Security Prison, where he is expected to be sent, Kohberger will be afforded a number of amenities, including being able to watch movies to pass his sentence. The killer will also have access to emails, potentially affording him the opportunity to communicate with morbid fans. The details of Kohberger's prison life were revealed by NewsNation's Brian Entin, who said that the 30-year-old is likely to face a harsh reality despite the perks inside. 'It's the most severe facility in Idaho where the most dangerous prisoners go,' Entin said, adding that due to Kohberger's infamy, he 'could be a target' to other cons. The potential threat to Kohberger's life could see him locked up in an ultra-protective unit in the prison where inmates are confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, with only one hour outside in a cage. When Entin visited the facility, he said he observed inmates communicating through a method called 'fishing', where cons use strings from blankets or T-shirts to send notes through their doors. The tablets Kohberger will have access to are primarily only for visitations, where inmates will be able to sit at tables outside their cells but will be cuffed to the floor. To keep a tablet in his cell, Kohberger will have to pay $100, according to NewsNation, which will be able to play music, movies and email. This is the same price as getting a TV in his cell, which would come only with cable. Kevin Corson, owner of Idaho Bonding Company, told the outlet that Kohberger's infamy will mean he will be forced into extra security measures. 'He's going to have to be segregated; as you may know, people in prison don't like people who hurt women or children, and he's hurt women,' Carson said. 'And that's not something that the inmates there take lightly. It's something that is definitely going to put a target on his back.' At his sentencing on Wednesday, Kohberger was offered the chance to speak about the murders, but declined to do so. He sat emotionless throughout the hearing as friends and relatives of his victims read heartbreaking impact statements. According to body language expert Judi James, Kohberger's casual demeanor was an attempt at trying not to let the harrowing testimony get to him. 'The raw grief and distress displayed by the relatives of the victims was an impossible watch for almost everyone in the courtroom, apart from, emphatically and remarkably, Kohberger,' James told Daily Mail. 'Sitting looking relaxed in his chair with his elbows splayed out on the arm of the chair in a gesture of confidence and desired visibility, the opposite body language ritual of a desire to hide, which would include crossed arms, self-diminishing behaviors and eye cut-offs, he appeared to listen with what looked like a detached but forensic interest. 'Kohberger's eyes watched the relatives like a fascinated hawk. His eyes appeared to soak up every sob and every signal of distress.' It comes as the surviving roommates from Kohberger's rampage that killed four of their friends issued gut-wrenching statements during his sentencing hearing. Dylan Mortensen sobbed as she addressed the 30-year-old killer, and described him as 'less than human.' The sister of victim Kaylee Goncalves, Alivea, then delivered a searing statement, demanding he explain himself and tearing him down as a 'loser.' She demanded Kohberger 'sit up straight' while she spoke and called him a 'delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac.' 'The truth about Kaylee and Maddie is that they would have been kind to you…. In a world that rejected you, they would have shown mercy,' Kaylee Goncalves' sister Alivea began as she spoke to Bryan Kohberger directly. Kohberger watched Alivea intently, showing no emotion or flicker of expression. Body language expert James added of this moment: 'Her comment 'sit up straight when I talk to you' brought no change of pose or movement from Kohberger but it did point up his rather relaxed pose to the courtroom and hinted at the effect it was having on the relatives.' 'I wont stand her and give you what you want, I won't give you tears… instead I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer,' she declared. She then hit him with the very same questions that Kohberger posed in a survey on Reddit as part of his criminology degree at DeSales University. She went on to blast Kohberger's past and all his failings, saying: 'You thought you were so much better than everyone else.' 'The truth is you're basic,' she continued. 'You're a textbook case as insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath.' 'You're as dumb as they come. Stupid, dumb… weak, dirty.' In a damning conclusion, she told Kohberger: 'If you hadn't attacked them in your sleep like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f****** a**.' The courtroom erupted in clapping at the end of Alivea's statement.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Sen Johnson: Media ‘either duped or complicit' in Russia election interference ‘narrative'
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) accused the media of being 'either duped or complicit' on the interference of the 2016 election by Russians. 'I want the press to be honest. I want Pulitzer Prizes to be returned. They were either duped or complicit in pushing that false narrative that put America in political turmoil for years,' Johnson told NewsNation's Blake Burman on 'The Hill.' 'It's continuing to go on, all based on a Hillary Clinton dirty trick, the Steele Dossier that those guys knew was a dirty trick, and yet they used that to gin up the Mueller investigation, impeachments, everything else,' he added. 'Listen, this is, again election interference orders of magnitude worse than anything Russia or China ever, ever could hope to achieve,' he added. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard put out a report last week alleging that Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence linked to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gabbard argued in a statement that former officials took part in a 'treasonous conspiracy' and said her office was turning over evidence to the Justice Department for possible criminal referrals. The report follows President Trump's March memo ordering the declassification of 'all files related to Crossfire Hurricane,' the name given to the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has long denied that Russia influenced his successful White House bid in 2016 against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, Former President Obama denied the Trump administration's assertions that he manipulated evidence linked to Russian interference in the 2016 election. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,' Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement to The Hill's sister network NewsNation. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio,' he added.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) discusses the DIGNITY Act
Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) joins The Hill on NewsNation to discuss the DIGNITY Act, a bipartisan effort being relaunched to reform immigration laws.
