Proposed TikTok ban for kids fails in Virginia’s Legislature

RICHMOND, Va. — A GOP legislative effort to prevent Virginia children from using the popular video-sharing app TikTok — an idea backed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin — died this week in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The bill, sponsored by Republican Del. Jay Leftwich of Chesapeake, was left in a House of Delegates committee after concerns … Read more

How Axe Body Spray is trying to move beyond teenage boys’ lockers

If you were a teenage boy in the early 2000s, there’s a good chance you wore Unilever‘s Axe Body Spray at some point. “The idea that you spray this on and you get the girl is sort of nonsense, really. I mean, they know it, we know it. … So why don’t we just kind … Read more

Laura Linney and Nico Parker are mother and daughter in Laura Chinn’s ‘Suncoast’

PARK CITY, Utah — When writer-director Laura Chinn was a teenager in 2005, her mother moved her and her terminally ill brother to Florida. The idea was for him to spend his last days in hospice in peace. Instead, the place was mobbed by protesters and media because, as they’d quickly discover, Terri Schiavo was … Read more

US Woman Accused Of Having Sex With Two Teenagers After Spat With Husband

She is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. A 38-year-old woman in the US was charged Friday with criminal sexual conduct after allegedly having sexual contact with two 15-year-old boys. According to the New York Post, Allison Leigh Schardin, a mother of two, was staying at the same hotel in Roseville as a boys’ hockey … Read more

Men who say they were abused by a Japanese boy band producer criticize the company’s response

TOKYO — Members of a group of men who say they were sexually abused as boys by a Japanese entertainment mogul are accusing the company behind the scandal, previously known as Johnny’s, of not being sincere in dealing with the victims. Shimon Ishimaru, who represents the victims’ group, said many have not yet received compensation. … Read more

Alabama can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, appeals court rules

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama can begin immediately enforcing a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender people under 19, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, granting the state’s request to stay a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of the 2022 law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had … Read more

Meta to restrict teen content as complaints mount about youth harm

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attends a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2023. Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Meta said Tuesday it will limit the type of content that teenagers on Facebook and Instagram are able to see, as the company faces … Read more

Idris Elba calls for tougher action on knife crime after a spate of teen killings in Britain

LONDON — Actor Idris Elba on Monday urged the British government to ban machetes and serrated “zombie” knives to help stop young people falling victim to knife crime. The London-born star of “The Wire” and “Luther” joined protesters from the “Don’t Stop Your Future” campaign outside Parliament, posing with clothes and shoes representing people killed … Read more

US seizes more illegal e-cigarettes, but thousands of new ones are launching

WASHINGTON — Federal officials are seizing more shipments of unauthorized electronic cigarettes at U.S. ports, but thousands of new flavored products continue pouring into the country from China, according to government and industry data reviewed by The Associated Press. The figures underscore the chaotic state of the nation’s $7 billion vaping market and raise questions … Read more

Teenager Najiah Knight wants to be the first woman at bull riding’s top level. It’s an uphill dream

LAS VEGAS — Najiah Knight drops her 100-pound frame onto a snorting 1,300-pound bull and adjusts her ropes, warming the sticky rosin. Music blares across the arena, but Najiah can hear only her dad, in the chute with her, and her mom, cheering from the stands. She nods to indicate she’s ready, and a cowboy … Read more