Meta and Google's YouTube found liable in social media trial, Metro to vote on K Line extension, How CA monkeyflower survived drought — Afternoon Edition

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Today on the LA Report, an LA jury has found meta and YouTube liable in a social media

addiction trial.

We'll talk about an upcoming vote from Metro that will decide whether or not to extend

the K-line.

And how a California flower rapidly evolved to save itself from a historic drought.

It's Wednesday, March 25th, I'm Niddy, the Moreno, and you're listening to the LA Reports

Afternoon Edition from LAS News.

An LA jury has found meta and YouTube liable for causing harm to kids who use their services.

The jury sided with lawyers for the 20-year-old woman who brought the case, and they argued

that she got hooked on using YouTube and Instagram at a young age, leading to long-term mental

health issues.

And they said the companies were responsible for designing their platforms in a way that

was meant to addict users and that that negligence played a role in the woman's mental health

struggles.

Snapchat and TikTok, who were also named in the case, agreed to settle before the trial.

Metro's board is expected to vote tomorrow on whether to extend the K-line through Mid-City

and West Hollywood.

Our transportation correspondent, Kavish Harjai, joins us now to explain why this decision

has become a political test for Metro leaders.

So, Kavish, can you briefly tell us about this extension?

Sure.

So, the K-line currently runs from Redondo Beach to Crenshaw.

The Metro staff recommended route would extend it through Mid-City into West Hollywood and

stop at the Hollywood Bowl.

According to Metro staff, this would serve 60,000 daily trips.

They would also get to the most residents and jobs compared to other alternative studies.

It would connect to the D and B lines.

There'd be nine total stops, including three in West Hollywood, and that's really important

because the city has been campaigning very, very hard for years for this extension.

Coming up, we'll learn what residents have to say about the potential K-line extension.

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So Kavish, there are residents along the proposed route who are speaking out, right?

What are their concerns?

So there's pressure from an historic neighborhood in mid-city where homeowners there are continued

to be concerned about tunneling under their homes despite studies and years of Metro,

tunneling, disproving that there would be any surface level disruptions.

They're also concerned about the demolition of a nearby grocery store, which Metro,

if this item is approved on Thursday, will commit to relocating an adjacent property.

Two Metro board members have actually publicly recuse themselves from public meetings about

this item because they live in Lafayette Square, one of the neighborhoods in that area.

And the mayor, Karen Bass, has a seat on Metro's board, right?

Has she said anything about this project?

She said she supports the K-line North extension in a social media post on Monday.

And this post came after weeks of discussions of what is going to happen because also at

a committee meeting earlier this month, Metro board members decided to move it ahead without

a recommendation.

So that was kind of a red flag for supporters of the extension.

In her statement, however, Mary Karen Bass did say she wants to move the extension,

quote, full steam ahead, unquote, on Tuesday, streets for all a transportation advocacy group,

published draft text of emotion that the mayor could introduce Thursday,

emphasis on the draft, if that's what the mayor ends up putting forward,

would call for additional studies along for that mid-city segment and wouldn't necessarily

confirm what the full route of the train would be.

Well, we will keep an eye on that.

That's transportation correspondent Kavish Harjai.

Kavish, thank you so much.

Thanks.

For the first time ever, scientists have fully recorded the process of evolutionary rescue

when an organism evolves over time to save itself from environmental change.

As Kato Hernandez reports, that flower is from California.

That plant is the scarlet monkey flower.

It needs a lot of water, so during the drought of the 2010s, many suffered.

Amy Angert at the University of British Columbia and senior researcher on the study says it

was heartbreaking to watch them die.

When we saw that some were actually doing well and even starting to thrive again,

it was exciting to see that resilience in action.

Through genome sequencing, the team figured out that genetic differences that helped

monkey flower survive in hot and dry places were showing up more frequently.

This suggests other plants could be resilient, too.

Kato Hernandez, Elias News.

Thanks for listening to the LA Report.

I'm Nidea Moreno.

This podcast is produced with help from Jillian Moran-Perez.

Our engineer is Donald Bass.

You can read more at laas.com or listen live anytime on the laest app or on the radio at 89.3 FM.

This week on Imperfect Paradise, a budget deficit.

No one is excited to lay off anyone.

A superintendent under investigation, a looming strike.

Need a bed like off April 4, 10, or need the strike line.

Just a few of the major challenges the LA Unified School District is up against.

The consequences for the District's 400,000 students, their families, teachers, and staff.

Listen to Imperfect Paradise, a weekly news magazine from LAist wherever you get podcasts.