It's the biggest trial of its kind yet, with dozens of states seeking financial damages that could total as much as $1.4trn (£1.03tn). Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is accused of knowingly and deliberately designing features that get children addicted to its social media platforms. It also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents' consent, in violation of federal law. The company denies wrongdoing, and said in a statement: "We are proud of our record in protecting teens on our platforms and the amount of effort that we've put into developing protections over the years, even before these cases were ever filed." While dozens of states filed the federal lawsuit three years ago, Tuesday's trial features four of those as plaintiffs - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. The other 25 states are expected to have trials later. Meta is also facing lawsuits from thousands of families over similar issues, as well as similar cases at the state level. See more from Sky News:New details on super powerful AI going rogueTupac suspect 'stoic and exasperated' in court Two trials found Meta liable for harm It follows a landmark trial in New Mexico earlier this year, which found Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms. The judge ordered the company to pay $567m (£421m) in damages - on top of the initial $375m (£280m) - and was also told to introduce new safety measures including a time limit of 90 hours per month for users under 18, AI chatbot restrictions, and mandatory warnings on the platforms. It meant the penalty totals close to $1bn. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. The company, along with Google, was also found liable by a court in Los Angeles in March for a woman's social media addiction - in what was hailed as a landmark ruling. A jury found that Instagram and YouTube were responsible for harm caused to the woman - referred to in court as KGM or Kaley - who said she developed a number of mental health issues after using social media from a young age. It marked the first time Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court about child safety - which he will do again during this federal trial. She was awarded $6m (£4.4m) in damages. Both companies disagree with the ruling and plan to appeal.

What's next after decades of relentless globalisation? It's top of the mind for you - the Stuff Matters listeners - and most Western politicians. In this Q&A episode, Ed has a go at sketching out a path forward for the West. Plus, a listener picks a bone with one of the arguments in our car seats episode. Are we just trying to pack more and more people into extremely dense cities to fuel economic growth like "battery chickens"? The Stuff Matters series producer is Jake Otajovic. The production team includes assistant producer Valeria Rocca, specialist producer Aoife Yourell, and video producer Charlie Bell. Our bonus episodes are produced by Soila Apparicio. The editor is Philly Beaumont, and the commissioning editor is Paul Stanworth. Sound design and mixing by Luke Hatten. Original music for the series composed by Klong and Ed Conway.

Amber heat health alerts are in place for every part of England, except the North East which has a yellow alert, from 9am on Tuesday until 9am on Friday. The amber alerts - issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) - say "significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures". They warn this could include "a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 or over," and "likely increased demand on all health and social care services". It comes after the UK equalled the record number of days with temperatures above 30C across the country this year. Temperatures of at least 30.6C were recorded on Sunday, bringing the total number of 30C-plus days in 2026 to 34 - matching the UK record set in 1995. Check the weather where you are While Monday starts the week comparatively cooler, temperatures will rise again by Tuesday before peaking midweek. Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said that "we'll probably see highs reaching the mid-30s quite widely on Wednesday, and indeed on Thursday too" in England and Wales. He added: "Thursday, at this stage, looks the most likely hottest day of the week. There's a small chance it could get even higher than [36C]." Read more from Sky News:UK water company made £1m payment to chiefFlight cancelled as child refuses to sit down Mr Morgan also said that the Met Office could issue an amber warning for extreme heat this week. It came amid predictions of food shortages and price rises, as UK farmers warn this year's dry weather has been a "disaster" for crops. Ahead of this week's heatwave, the Met Office has warned of the impact on infrastructure, such as railway lines and power networks. On Sunday, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident while 14 crews tackled two separate fires near Mansfield. In Hampshire, 26 fire engines attended a blaze near the A31 after a vehicle fire spread to nearby heathland, the fire service said. While half of England and all of Wales struggle under drought conditions, more than half a month's rainfall fell in north west Scotland in the last 48 hours, the Met Office said. "They've seen over 100mm of rain on Friday and Saturday, so the rain isn't far away and there is a little bit of rain in northern England and Northern Ireland today too," Mr Morgan said. This summer's extreme weather has included two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to more than 2,700 excess deaths. The highest temperature of the year was 38C, recorded at Lingwood in Norfolk on 28 June. Two more heatwaves last month, the driest July in England and Wales since records began, have fuelled drought and wildfires. Nineteen counties across England recorded 1mm or less rainfall across the month, with half of England and all of Wales plunged into drought. In recent weeks, large blazes broke out at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Headon Warren on the Isle of Wight, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. The dry conditions come after last year's drought summer, with the UK facing more extreme weather fuelled by human-caused climate change, mostly as a result of burning fossil fuels.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the salmonella outbreak "may be linked to eggs imported" from outside Britain. From 11 August last year to the start of this month, the agency said 207 cases had been confirmed - 199 in England, six in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. More than a third of people affected in the outbreak were admitted to hospital, while two developed potentially life-threatening bloodstream infections, the UKHSA added. Those affected include babies and patients as old as 90. See more from Sky News:England close to eliminating virusDisabled people to get more free travel Hannah Charles, lead epidemiologist for gastrointestinal infections at UKHSA, said it was working with the Food Standards Agency and other public health agencies to investigate the outbreak. The UKHSA added that the outbreak appeared to be connected to a previous spate of cases in 2025, which they said was also linked to imported eggs. Earlier this year, the UKHSA said salmonella cases were at a decade-high in England, increasingly slightly from 10,389 in 2024 to 10,406 in 2025. It noted in May that despite the rise, the figures "remain broadly comparable" to the year prior. Symptoms of salmonella, which is often caused by eating or handling contaminated food, generally include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting or fever. The UKHSA said those in vulnerable groups may experience more severe illness such as bloodstream infections, infection of metastatic sites, sepsis and multiorgan failure. Ms Charles said: "There are simple steps to prevent the spread of salmonella: wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom and before preparing and handling food, cook food thoroughly, and if you have any symptoms, avoid handling food for others where possible."

The company said that from mid-September, "AI Persona" badges will start to appear on some artist profiles to signal that their identity does not represent a real person. Spotify said the move was to make the platform more "transparent" and was in response to users expressing concerns about seeing artists that seem human but are in fact AI-generated. In a statement announcing the development, the company said: "True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. "In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That's more essential than ever in the age of generative AI." Spotify insisted the badge "is about the artist's public identity, not about how the music was made". It added that, by default, AI personas would not be included in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations unless users followed those artists. The badges will be displayed in the banner and "About" section of an artist's profile page, as well as in "Search" and on track rows across playlists. Listeners will be able to tap the badge to check if an artist has disclosed that their profile represents an AI persona or if the decision was made by Spotify following a review. Starting on Tuesday, artists will be able to share that their profile represents an AI persona through Spotify for Artists, while, in instances where Spotify has applied the badge, artists will be notified and given the opportunity to self-disclose or appeal. The company added that listeners will soon be able to report artist profiles they believe represent AI personas to its review team, but it did not disclose when that feature would be available. Read more from Sky News:British driver who broke sound barrier sets new recordThe 1999 solar eclipse in pictures AI music "flooding" streaming platforms AI-generated music appearing on streaming sites is becoming an increasingly pertinent issue. Deezer – a French streaming site for music – estimates that 60,000 fully AI songs are being uploaded to its site every day, over a third of all production. The platform said it is set to receive more than 20 million AI tracks a year, with Romain Hennequin, head of research at Deezer, telling Sky's Roland Manthorpe earlier this year that "it's a way to totally flood the music streaming services". Last year, Spotify removed 75 million spam tracks, many of which were AI-generated. The platform's entire catalogue currently stands at 100 million. While the tracks themselves are not fraudulent, the behaviour around them often is, with an automated system – a bot – being used to repeatedly listen to a song in order to make royalties from it. Thibault Roucou, Deezer's head of royalties, said that "the vast majority of the listeners of this content are in fact what we call 'stream manipulation' or 'fraud'." "It's an ongoing battle," he added.