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Meta has been ordered to pay an additional $567m in compensation and strengthen child-safety measures across its platforms after a New Mexico judge found the technology company to be a “public nuisance.” The latest award brings total penalties in the case to $942m, following a $375m jury award in March. The lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2023, accused Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit content, solicitation, and human trafficking. Judge Bryan Biedscheid concluded that Meta’s platforms are a significant contributing factor to New Mexico’s youth mental health crisis, citing evidence of increasing depressive episodes, eating disorders, and suicide rates among adolescents. Torrez described the judgment as a potential “blueprint” for holding social media companies responsible for products that endanger children. Meta has said it will appeal the New Mexico ruling.

 

CNN

Financial Times

New York Times

PBS News

Meta has said that one of its AI models hacked ⁠another company during cybersecurity testing, after an error by its testing partner provided the model with unintended internet access. A Meta spokesperson told the BBC that it was investigating the hack, which had been caused by a "misconfiguration" by its independent tester. Meta said the security trials were conducted by Irregular, the same AI security vendor that carried out tests for Anthropic's AI model that had gained access to three other companies' systems. An Irregular spokesperson said the Meta incident "is the exact same evaluation-environment issue that was already disclosed by Anthropic last week."

 

CNN	Washington Post

Major public investors, including pension funds, have clashed with business lobby groups over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to rescind a rule requiring companies to disclose certain climate-related information. 

 

Financial Times

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the $110bn merger between Paramount and Warner Bros, saying that the tie-up does not "give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition in the U.K." The CMA's investigation, which was launched in June, came after Culture secretary Lisa Nandy asked the watchdog to look into the deal. The CMA has now ruled that the merger will not be referred to a phase two investigation. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also said it will not intervene, after Paramount made several "legally-binding commitments" centered on its U.K. broadcasting output, including an agreement over the editorial independence of news and a pledge not to combine its linear channels with on-demand services.

 

Financial Times

Daily Mail

The Guardian

Live shopping platform Whatnot is on track to generate more than $1bn in revenue this year after adding 20m new accounts in 2025, as its livestream auctions for trading cards, fashion and other collectibles continue to attract shoppers. However, the app is facing growing scrutiny over claims that its fast-paced auction format encourages compulsive spending and exposes users to fraud, with critics comparing its popular "card breaks" to gambling. The company says it has expanded its trust and safety measures, introduced optional spending limits and watch-time controls, and is testing additional safeguards, while rejecting suggestions that its platform promotes addictive behavior. Meanwhile, consumer protection lawyers have launched legal challenges alleging some of Whatnot's practices amount to illegal lotteries, highlighting the increasing regulatory scrutiny facing the rapidly growing live-commerce sector. 

 

Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is to pay German energy firm RWE $1.22bn to abandon plans to build wind farms off the coasts of New York, California and Louisiana. It is the fifth such deal struck by the administration to get companies to drop offshore wind projects. “After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the U.S. for the foreseeable future,” RWE said, referring to the leases it initially secured with a “long-term commitment to develop offshore wind capacity.” The company paid $1.1bn for its New York lease in a 2022 auction held by the Biden administration, while its leases in Louisiana and California cost a combined $163m. President Trump has said wind turbines are an "economic and environmental disaster." He previously said that he did not want "even one" built during his time in office.

 

Euronews

New York Times

Reuters

The Guardian

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established a new Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit within its Division of Enforcement to strengthen investigations into financial reporting fraud, accounting misconduct, and auditing violations. The specialized team will work across the SEC’s divisions to support enforcement efforts that align with the agency’s broader policy objectives. The unit will be led by Timothy Zimmerman, a former law firm partner and corporate legal executive who joined the SEC earlier this year as a senior adviser. It will be staffed by attorneys and accountants with expertise in financial reporting, accounting, auditing, and securities regulation. The announcement comes as SEC leaders seek to reinforce enforcement in core regulatory areas. According to a recent Cornerstone Research report cited by the agency, SEC accounting and auditing enforcement actions fell by 68% in 2025 compared with the previous year.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Accounting Today

Federal prosecutors have charged Roy Lee Harvey, former Nike warehouse supervisor Michael Reno Perkins, and 10 others with conspiring to steal at least $2m-worth of Nike products between 2021 and 2024 by diverting shipments from the company's Memphis distribution center. Investigators allege that Mr. Perkins recruited warehouse employees to steal highly sought-after sneakers, while Mr. Harvey coordinated orders based on demand from prominent resellers and used "ghost labels" to reroute packages to addresses in Los Angeles. The investigation began after Nike identified suspiciously relabeled shipments and worked with the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department to track 28 diverted packages using GPS devices. Authorities later recovered thousands of pairs of allegedly stolen shoes, clothing, and accessories valued at approximately $5m during searches connected to the case. Mr. Harvey has pleaded not guilty and maintains there is no evidence he knew the shoes were stolen.

 

Los Angeles Times

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said that his office has filed 82 lawsuits against the Trump administration, protecting an estimated $207bn in federal funding. “Since President Trump returned to office, California has been under attack - and has led the way in fighting back,” Bonta said. His efforts have defended birthright citizenship, halted National Guard deployments, and blocked federal interference in state elections. Despite some losses, Bonta's office has won 83% of court orders in cases against the administration. He believes California will be remembered for its resilience against federal overreach, saying: “Are these trying times? 100%. Absolutely, yes . . . But we shouldn't be helpless, because we're not helpless.”

 

Los Angeles Times

U.S. wholesale inventories increased 0.2% in June, slightly below the initial 0.3% estimate, as a decline in nondurable goods inventories, particularly petroleum, offset gains in durable goods, according to revised Commerce Department data. Inventories were up 4.2% from a year earlier, while business stockpiles have declined as a contributor to economic growth for five consecutive quarters amid strong domestic demand. Durable goods inventories rose 0.6%, led by motor vehicles, computer equipment, hardware, and machinery, while nondurable goods inventories fell 0.6%, including a 3.9% drop in petroleum stocks. Wholesale sales declined 3.0% in June after a 3.5% increase in May, pushing the inventory-to-sales ratio up to 1.19 months from 1.15 months.

 

Reuters

RTT News

A senior source has dismissed reports that AstraZeneca could be set to merge with Bristol Myers Squibb. Analysts have expressed confusion over the strategic sense of such a merger, citing overlapping drug portfolios and competition issues. Reuters has reported that there are "no discussions'' about a potential merger between the two companies, quoting a senior source who said: "There is no deal between AstraZeneca and BMS. There never was a deal to be done, and there are no discussions between the companies." The Financial Times first reported that the U.K. drugmaker was in talks to combine with its U.S. rival in a deal that would create one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical groups, valued at nearly $400bn.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

The Times

Etsy is cutting around 220 jobs, or approximately 12% of its workforce, as it restructures to focus on its core marketplace, while reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results and raising its full-year gross merchandise sales outlook. Second-quarter revenue rose 6.2% to $668.3m and gross merchandise sales increased 1% to $2.58bn, both ahead of expectations, while profit from continuing operations more than doubled to $114.3m. Etsy also authorized a new $2bn share buyback, funded in part by proceeds from the sale of Depop, and said the layoffs are intended to improve agility rather than reduce costs or replace workers with AI.

 

CNBC

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has said the bank is investing over $250m annually in GLP-1 weight loss medications for its workforce - an increase from zero five years ago. Moynihan described the expenditure as a “good investment,” highlighting potential health benefits for employees including reduced incidents of heart issues. “We see a great impact on the employees . . . It's been fascinating to watch our teammates' behavior on these adjustments - the loss of weight,” he said. The bank allocates more than $2bn yearly for healthcare for its approximately 211,000 employees, and is negotiating lower prices with drugmakers to manage costs effectively.

 

CNBC

The World Bank has called on developing countries to embrace AI tools to deliver better governance outcomes, warning that they risked being left behind if they failed to do so. "AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they ⁠should seize it," Indermit Gill, the World Bank's chief economist said as the organization launched its annual World Development Report. "They do not need large models or big data centers to reap its benefits," he added. "By adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, they can ​bring better medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension within reach of millions . . . AI could significantly boost that performance before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people." The report calls for countries to use the technology to "help extend otherwise costly medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services to underserved billions - doing in a decade what might otherwise take a century."

 

France 24

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Japanese industrial equipment maker Trusco Nakayama has developed a "human refrigerator" designed to help prevent heatstroke as the country experiences increasingly severe summer temperatures. The ¥1.5m ($9,500) Do Hiemon Box, which cools users with 5°C air inside a 15°C booth, has already sold around 200 units to customers including construction sites, steel mills and universities. The company has also deployed the units to evacuation shelters following last week's earthquake in Kumamoto. Trusco said demand for workplace cooling products has roughly doubled in recent years as rising temperatures and tighter heat safety regulations drive interest in cooling solutions. 

 

The Japan Times