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Just one week after Big Bear’s famous bald eagles Jackie and Shadow welcomed a new clutch, their nest has taken a turn — one of the eggs has cracked.Via livestream, a raven could be seen in the nest poking a large hole into, and potentially eating, one of the eagle eggs.
“Please stay calm,” Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media and website manager, wrote in a Facebook update. “If you need to step away from the screen then do so. It is a wild nest and anything can happen in nature.”In the nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, a raven could be seen poking a large hole into, and potentially eating, one of the eagle eggs. The intrusion was noticed on a Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media and website manager, confirmed the crack in Friends of Big Bear Valley’s official, which has nearly 400,000 members, after Jackie and Shadow were away from the nest, and eggs, for several hours Friday. “Please stay calm,” Voisard wrote. “If you need to step away from the screen then do so. It is a wild nest and anything can happen in nature.”It’s unclear if the second egg has been affected. Jackie returned to their nest after the raven left and resumed incubating, according to Bald eagles generally have one clutch per season, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley. A second clutch is possible if the eggs don’t make it through the early incubation process.Lawsuits in California federal and state court are unearthing documents embarrassing to tech companies — and may be a tipping point into federal regulation.The Meta researcher’s tone was alarmed. “oh my gosh yall IG is a drug,” the user experience specialist allegedly wrote to a colleague, referring to the social media platform Instagram. “We’re basically pushers… We are causing Reward Deficit Disorder bc people are binging on IG so much they can’t feel reward anymore.”Condensing complaints from hundreds of school districts and state attorneys general, including California’s, the suit alleges that social media companies knew about risks to children and teens but pushed ahead with marketing their products to them, putting profits above kids’ mental health. The suit seeks monetary damages and changes to companies’ business practices.“oh my gosh yall IG is a drug,” the user experience specialist allegedly wrote to a colleague, referring to the social media platform Instagram. “We’re basically pushers... We are causing Reward Deficit Disorder bc people are binging on IG so much they can’t feel reward anymore.” The researcher concluded that users’ addiction was “biological and psychological” and that company management was keen to exploit the dynamic. “The top down directives drive it all towards making sure people keep coming back for more,” the researcher added. The conversation was included recently as part of a long-simmering lawsuit in a California-based federal court. Condensing complaints from hundreds of school districts and state attorneys general, including California’s, the suit alleges that social media companies knew about risks to children and teens but pushed ahead with marketing their products to them, putting profits above kids’ mental health. The suit seeks monetary damages and changes to companies’ business practices. The suit, and a similar one filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, targets Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. The cases are exposing embarrassing internal conversations and findings at the companies, particularly Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, further tarnishing their brands in the public eye. They are also testing a particular vector of attack against the platforms, one that targets not so much alarming content as design and marketing decisions that accelerated harms. The upshot, some believe, could be new forms of regulation, including at the federal level. One document discussed during a hearing this week included a 2016 email from Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook’s live videos feature. In the email, the Meta chief wrote, “we’ll need to be very good about not notifying parents / teachers” about teens’ videos. “If we tell teens’ parents about their live videos, that will probably ruin the product from the start,” he wrote, according to the email. In slides summarizing internal tech company documents, released this week as part of the litigation, an internal YouTube discussion suggested that accounts from minors in violation of YouTube policies were actively on the platform for years, producing content an average of “938 days before detection – giving them plenty of time to create content and continue putting themselves and the platform at risk.”A YouTube spokesperson, José Castañeda, described the slide released this week as “a cherry-picked view of a much larger safety framework” and said the company uses more than one tool to detect underage accounts, while taking action every time it finds an underage account. If we tell teens’ parents about their live videos, that will probably ruin the product from the start.In court, the companies have argued that they are making editorial decisions permitted by the First Amendment,. That trial is set for June. The state court litigation moved into jury selection this week, increasing the pressure on social media companies. While the state and federal cases differ slightly, the core argument is the same: that social media companies deliberately designed their products to hook young people, leading to disastrous but foreseeable consequences. “It's led to mental health issues, serious anxiety, depression, for many. For some, eating disorders, suicidality,” said Previn Warren, co-lead counsel on the case in federal court. “For the schools, it’s been lost control over the educational environment, inability of teachers to really control their classrooms and teach.”Meta and other companies have faced backlash for years over their treatment of kids on their platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Parents, lawmakers and privacy advocates have argued that social media contributed to a mental health crisis among young people and that tech companies failed to act when that fact became clear. Those allegations gained new scrutiny last month when a brief citing still-sealed documents in the federal suit became public. While the suit also names TikTok, Snap, and Google as defendants, the filing includes allegations against Meta that are especially detailed. In the more than 200-page filing, for example, the plaintiffs argue that Meta deliberately misled the public about how damaging their platforms were. Warren pointed to claims in the brief that Meta researchers found that 55% of Facebook users had “mild” problematic use of the platform, while 3.1 percent had “severe” problems. Zuckerberg, according to the brief, pointed out that 3% of billions would still be millions of people. But the brief claims the company published research noting only that"we estimate that 3.1% of Facebook users in the US experience problematic use.”this month arguing that the litigation “oversimplifies” the issue of youth mental health, and pointed to past instances where it has worked with parents and families with features to protect kids. The federal case faced a key hearing this week, as the defendants argued that a judge should summarily dismiss the case. A decision on that motion is likely coming in the next few weeks, Warren said. Social media companies, like other web-based services, receive protection from some legal claims under a part of federal law. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives legal immunity to website operators for potentially illegal content on their platforms. Mary Anne Franks, a legal scholar in First Amendment issues at George Washington University who has long studied Section 230, said rather than online content in and of itself, the recent social media cases are focusing on the design of the platforms and their marketing. “The litigation strategy is saying it's the way that you're providing that space and you're pushing this toward individuals that are vulnerable that is really an issue here,” she said. “It's your own conduct, not somebody else's.” The companies are making key decisions behind the scenes, she said, and could be held responsible for them. “You were manipulating things,” she said the plaintiffs are arguing. “You were deliberately making choices about what comes to the top or what is directly accessible or may be tempting to vulnerable users.”Meanwhile, the related state lawsuit went to jury selection this week. The case, which makes similar claims about personal injury caused by the social media companies, has also drawn nationwide attention, and major industry figures like Zuckerberg are expected to appear on the stand. The personal injury case focuses on an unnamed plaintiff who claims to have had her mental health damaged by an addiction to social media.Franks said these trials could be a tipping point in regulating how tech companies design and market their products. While the companies have faced scrutiny in the past, she said, the glare of examination at trial could be especially bright. “There's always been talk of it and the members of Congress have kind of said, ‘maybe we'll regulate you,’” she said. “I think now the platforms are really getting nervous about what this is going to mean if they look really bad on the stand.”Burbank is officially launching a new hiking-trail-accessibility program for people with disabilities. Two new all-terrain wheelchairs will be available to rent, starting Saturday, at Stough Canyon Nature Center.On Saturday, Burbank is officially launching a new hiking trail accessibility program for people with disabilities. Two new all-terrain wheelchairs will be available to rent at Stough Canyon Nature Center for use on the fire trail.In recent years, Burbank has become a leader in the movement to make sports and the outdoors more accessible to people with disabilities. Since 2021, the city has launched several adaptive sports programs, including offering wheelchair rugby and fencing, Piper’s Pals youth baseball and basketball,Attendees will be able to try out the new all-terrain wheelchairs for themselves, ask questions and learn more about adaptive sports efforts from Burbank Parks and Recreation staff.There’s some debate among the people of Burbank as to how to pronounce “Stough Canyon.” LAist did some digging and foundfrom the Burbank Public Library. The canyon was named after prominent 19th-century real estate developer Oliver J. Stough, a descendent of German immigrant Gottfried Stauff, whose spelling of his surname was changed to Stough after migrating to the U.S in 1752. The verdict? Stough rhymes with “wow.”)The new all-terrain wheelchairs are the latest in that effort, said Diego Cevallos, assistant director of the city’s parks and recreation department. “We are building an ecosystem here in Burbank of robust programming and activities that cater to folks with disabilities,” he said. “Really what we want to do is inspire the community and also our other civic leaders to engage in this movement of making outdoor equity more accessible through programs just like this.”The program is open to anyone with mobility issues in the region, not only Burbank residents., then click on the “Facility Rentals” tab, scroll down to “Stough Canyon Nature Center” and click on “Adaptive Hiking Rentals.”You’ll have to create a profile and log in to reserve the chairs. Before getting on the trail, you’ll have to watch a safety tutorial video, sign a waiver and do a test drive. Once reserved, the user will have to bring a non-disabled companion to assist them and a staff member or volunteer with the Nature Center will accompany them on the trail. That docent will provide nature education during the hike and make sure everything is going smoothly and safely. Right now, the chairs can only be reserved for up to two hours, said recreation services manager Noah Altman, but he said staff welcomes feedback from the public and will consider updating the requirements for the program as needed. And an important note: Residents with all types of disabilities can use the chairs — it’s not necessary to have mobility in one’s hands. The family member or friend accompanying the user can remotely control the wheelchairs if needed.Mobility challenges are the most common type of disability in L.A. County — around half a million Angelenos have some type of ambulatory disability, But all-terrain wheelchairs cost around $20,000 and weigh around 400 pounds, making them out of reach and impractical for most individuals to own themselves, said Austin Nicassio, a San Dimas resident and founder ofNicassio provided consultation early on in the Burbank accessible trail project effort, and is currently working with L.A. County and California State Parks to bring all-terrain wheelchairs to more areas. The nonprofit is raising money to purchase all-terrain wheelchairs for use in those jurisdictions. “ It's a huge milestone,” Nicassio said of the Burbank program. “It's going to be absolutely life changing for everyone in Southern California.” For Nicassio, these efforts are deeply personal. Growing up in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, he used to be an avid hiker and mountain biker. “Five years ago I was completely able-bodied working as an aerospace engineer, mountain biking, hiking, surfing,” Nicassio said. “My body did whatever I wanted it to do, and I always took it for granted.”But in 2022, after a mild case of COVID-19, he started experiencing strange symptoms — muscle weakness, severe brain fog. He was later diagnosed with a condition that affects his blood flow and makes it difficult to stand for long periods of time and impossible to do anything too strenuous. He was also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.His mental health plummeted — he realized he used to cope with strong emotions by getting out on the trails or in the ocean. When he finally saved up enough to purchase his own off-road wheelchair, it was “life changing.” “And not just for me, but for my father, for my wife, for my friends, my whole community,” Nicassio said.“ No one has told me that their favorite hike or trail's been paved unless you're disabled, and it has to be,” said Nicassio. “Being out on these trails, a couple miles from the noise, from the trash, from the people, it's life changing.”If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Los Angeles County tenants who’ve fallen behind on their rent because of last year’s fires or federal immigration raids can soon apply forlast Friday. Now, county officials say applications will reopen Feb. 9. Tenants will be allowed to directly apply this time, and landlords and homeowners will get another shot too.The program offers to cover up to six months of missed rent or mortgage payments, with a cap of $15,000 per housing unit. Utilities and other household expenses can be covered as well.County officials said they received 4,644 applications during the first round. In the next phase, tenants can apply on their own, but they will eventually need their landlords to complete their own paperwork in order to receive funding.is a general assignment reporter. She covers the news that shapes Los Angeles and how people change the city in return.The ceremony will bring many of music's biggest names to downtown Los Angeles, and shut down streets around the arena.Closures starting early Sunday, after 1 a.m.:Pico Boulevard between Albany Street and LA Live Way11th Street between Blaine Street and Flower StreetFigueroa Street between Venice Boulevard and Olympic BoulevardPico Boulevard between Hope Street and Flower StreetFigueroa Street between Washington Boulevard and Venice Boulevard
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