News Wrap: Federal judge rules Meta does not have illegal monopoly

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other headlines: A federal judge ruled that Facebook's parent company, Meta, does not have an illegal monopoly over social networking. It's a huge win for the social media giant and means that Meta won't have to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

In his ruling, Judge James Boasberg said times have changed since the government first brought its case five years ago, with competitors like TikTok mixing things up in the market. Today's decision is a sharp contrast to recent rulings that found Google engaged in an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising.

The Internet infrastructure company Cloudflare says it's resolved an outage that disrupted thousands of Internet users earlier today. ChatGPT, New Jersey Transit, Spotify and even the online game League of Legends were affected. The company says the outage was caused by a file that triggered a — quote — "crash in the software system that handles traffic" for a number of its services.

Cloudflare helps Web sites secure and manage their Internet traffic. The company says it's monitoring for any further problems, adding, there is no evidence of a cyberattack.

A federal court is blocking Texas from using its new congressional map in next year's midterm elections. A three-judge panel sided with civil rights groups today, finding that — quote — "Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map." Governor Greg Abbott called that claim absurd and said Texas would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

It's the latest blow to President Trump's efforts to push states to redraw their maps ahead of next year's vote. Last week, Republicans in Indiana said they would not be taking up a similar effort there.

Federal investigators say two electrical blackouts disabled controls on the ship that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, killing six people. At a hearing today, the NTSB revealed one blackout was caused by a loose wire, the other by problems with a fuel pump.

Investigators said the crew did periodically inspect the wiring system, but there were no instructions on how to check individual wire connections. The NTSB chair said today that would be a tough task.

Jennifer Homendy, Chair, National Transportation Safety Board:

Our investigators routinely accomplish the impossible, and this investigation is no different. Locating a single wire that is loose among thousands of wires is like looking for a loose bolt in the Eiffel Tower.

Amna Nawaz:

Today's findings come after Maryland officials more than doubled the estimated cost to replace the bridge to at least $4.3 billion, and they say it won't be completed until 2030, which is two years later than expected.

The Trump administration is accelerating its plans to dismantle the Department of Education. Six new agreements announced today will move billions of dollars in grants to other federal agencies. Among these is a plan for the Labor Department to oversee some of the largest grant programs for K-12 schools. That includes money for schools serving low-income communities.

Critics say such actions put vulnerable students at risk. President Trump called for the elimination of the department in March, but that requires approval from Congress.

Turning overseas, Palestinian attackers stabbed and killed an Israeli man in the occupied West Bank today. They also wounded three others, one seriously, before Israeli soldiers shot and killed them. Today's violence follows a rash of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Man:

The draft resolution has been adopted.

Amna Nawaz:

And it comes a day after the U.N. Security Council voted in support of the U.S.-backed plan for Gaza's postwar future. That includes an international security force for Gaza.

Palestinians in Khan Yunis today said they are hopeful, but also skeptical of the plan.

Sadeq Abu Taema, Gaza Resident (through interpreter):

From our previous experiences, Israel doesn't commit to international resolutions. We pray to God that this time there will be real pressure from the West and the U.S. to pressure Israel.

Amna Nawaz:

Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority welcomed the U.N. vote, but Hamas rejected it, saying the proposed security force would allow Israel to maintain a firm hold on the territory.

On Wall Street, stocks struggled again today amid lingering worries about excessive A.I. optimism. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 500 points. The Nasdaq dropped 275 points on the day. The S&P 500 also closed firmly in negative territory.

And Britain's Royal Mint is honoring Freddie Mercury with a new coin four decades after his iconic Live Aid performance. It captures the Queen front man mid-performance, head back, microphone in hand, with a musical staff to represent his remarkable four-octave vocal range.

(Music)

Amna Nawaz:

That voice was on full display during what many consider one of the greatest rock sets of all time. Mercury's coin follows similar tributes by the Royal Mint to legends like David Bowie and Paul McCartney. It goes on sale today with prices starting at about $25 each.