Crews search for survivors after catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. Meta’s settlement in a social media addiction lawsuit is a first step toward a safer internet, parents say. Plus, a conservative TV network is planning MTV- and Bravo-inspired entertainment shows.
Here’s what to know today.
At least 270 dead after flooding on Nepal-Tibet border wipes out whole towns
At least 270 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after catastrophic flash floods swept through towns and valleys along the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region, leaving ruins in their wake.
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Videos show crowds trying to flee a surging wall of mud, rows of buses and trucks swept aside like toys, and bridges cracked apart and swept away. Peaceful, lush green valleys are transformed in an instant.
More than 500 foreigners from 32 countries are among those still unaccounted for in the rugged mountainous region, which is popular with pilgrims and trekkers. They include 65 people from the U.S.
Chinese officials said three people were dead, two had been rescued and 558 people were missing after a mudslide at a land crossing in Tibet’s Gyirong county, including 260 foreign nationals. It was not immediately clear whether China and Nepal were counting some of the same people.
The true scale of the casualties may take days to become clear, with power and communication lines swept away in some areas.
An ice and rock avalanche from a high-altitude glacier may have triggered the flooding, with a large volume of debris entering the Lende Khola tributary, researchers have said in a preliminary assessment. Experts are also examining whether the jolt as the avalanche hit the river may have caused the 4.4-magnitude earthquake observed by the U.S. Geological Survey yesterday. USGS later updated the event, saying it was a 5.2-magnitude glacial collapse.
Follow our live blog for the latest updates.
Judge allows Trump’s mail-in ballots plan to proceed
A federal judge lifted a nationwide injunction yesterday on President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in ballots, allowing him to move forward, at least temporarily, with his effort to exert federal control over the practice ahead of the midterm elections. The decision comes after a Supreme Court decision on Monday favored Trump in a similar case.
Trump’s executive order directs the U.S. Postal Service to track mail-in ballots and potentially reject those submitted by people not on a federal list of eligible voters, which conflicts with states’ traditional role in administering elections. There remains a strong chance that key aspects of the executive order will be blocked at some stage, possibly as soon as this week.
More on the legal challenges to Trump’s order.
More politics news:
- The man accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks will stand trial starting in June 2028.
- The Secret Service’s communications director and two other agency officials have been placed on leave amid an investigation into potential misconduct.
Meta’s settlement a first step toward safer internet, parents say
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to an $18 billion settlement in a wide-ranging social media addiction lawsuit with the state of California and several other states. The deal establishes two-hour daily limits and blocks nighttime use for teen users, hides likes on teens’ posts and blocks what the company called “extreme makeup filters.” Here’s what else Meta agreed to.
Parents who spoke to NBC News said they see the settlement as just a first step in an industry they say has prioritized engagement and growth over young users’ safety and well-being.
“One part of me is proud, and the other part is thinking: When are we going to actually hold someone accountable?” said one mother whose 16-year-old son died by suicide after, the family said, he was targeted in a social media sextortion scheme. Another mom, who lost her 17-year-old daughter to fentanyl poisoning after a drug dealer she met on Instagram sold her counterfeit Percocet, said she is skeptical. “That’s all part of their PR plan,” she said. Here’s what other parents said about the deal.
Tim Curry, star of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80
Just a day after the passing of country music star Dolly Parton, the world is mourning the loss of another pop culture icon: Tim Curry. The British actor died peacefully at his Los Angeles home at age 80, his representatives said.
Co-stars from “Clue” and “Home Alone 2” paid tribute to his illustrious career. A post on the Muppets’ social media page called Curry, who starred in “Muppet Treasure Island,” one of the few humans who “earned the title of honorary Muppet.” But the actor was perhaps best known for his memorable role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Curry had long been dealing with health issues following a 2012 stroke that left him partially paralyzed and unable to walk. In one of his last on-camera interviews, he reflected on how acting gave him “the freedom of being somebody else.”
Read more about Curry’s life and career.
Remembering Dolly Parton:
- In the Tennessee county that Dolly Parton called home, courthouse bells tolled, students observed a moment of silence and fans flocked to Dollywood. Here’s how Pigeon Forge paid homage to its most famous resident.
- Parton’s legacy of literacy lives on in a small English town.
- How Parton showed love to the LGBTQ community and what her support meant to them.
Staff Pick: MTV for MAGA: Conservative network plans new entertainment
The TV network home to Steve Bannon’s “War Room” and “The Charlie Kirk Show” is trying something new: an entertainment slate inspired by channels like MTV, Bravo and VH1 that aims to give viewers something different from the political news that has traditionally been the company’s bread and butter.
For anyone who grew up in that era, the planned lineup of Real America’s Voice will have some familiar echoes. There’s “Left Right Love,” a dating series that will bring together liberals and conservatives, and a talent competition with a working title of “Star Spangled Talent.” And RAV will also expand into music programming with “Real America’s Music LIVE,” a nod to MTV’s era-defining “Total Request Live,” and the flagship program for its forthcoming Real America’s Music channel.
The expansion comes as pro-Trump media faces headwinds and the broader industry runs into changing viewer habits. But Real America’s Voice is betting its unusually loyal audience can follow it beyond political news.
So I wanted to know more about what’s next for Real America’s Voice and why executives believe an audience built around politics will stick around for something different. — Katherine Doyle, national security reporter
Read All About It
- Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist renowned for her immersive mirror rooms and polka dots, has died at age 97.
- A near-total lunar eclipse will be visible across the U.S. tonight. Here’s the best time to see it.
- The FDA approved a groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug that experts predict will transform treatment for the disease.
- Blake Lively can recover about $400,000 in legal fees over Justin Baldoni’s dismissed defamation lawsuit against her, a judge ruled.
- For subscribers: A man known as “The Defendant” locked up for stealing a dead teen’s identity. The feds still don’t know his name.
NBC Selected: Online Shopping, Simplified
Hurricane season is here, so the NBC Selected staff spoke to a meteorologist about what to prep ahead of a storm and how to stay safe if one makes landfall. We also spoke with a doctor about what to know about West Nile virus, including the products that will help keep you protected.
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