News in brief

By The Associated Press

Social media ban for children introduced in Australia’s Parliament

MELBOURNE, Australia | Australia’s communications minister introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges.

Michelle Rowland said TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram were among the platforms that would face fines of up to $33 million for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.

Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after drowning sons

COLUMBIA, S.C. | A parole board in South Carolina has ruled unanimously that Susan Smith should remain in prison 30 years after she was convicted of rolling her car into a lake and drowning her two young sons.

The 53-year-old Smith appeared before the board for the first time Wednesday and said God has forgiven her. Then her ex-husband and father of the children she killed argued along with prosecutors and his relatives that she should remain incarcerated.

Prosecutors say Smith killed her 3-year-old and 14-month-old sons because she thought they were the reason a wealthy man broke up with her.

Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit against Moab, Utah police

SALT LAKE CITY | A Utah judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents Gabby Petito against the city of Moab.

The lawsuit alleged that police there did not do enough during a traffic stop to protect their daughter from the man who killed her weeks later. The plaintiffs’ lawyer says a state law making governmental agencies immune from lawsuits is unconstitutional and an appeal is planned.

Moab police encountered the couple in August 2021 and made them spend the night apart. The city says it is not liable for Petito’s death because the couple continued traveling. They cited several cases where courts have not found police at fault when domestic violence turns to murder.

—From AP reports