Mark Zuckerberg

YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump for suspending his channel in 2021, following the Jan. 6 riots. This is the third tech platform, after Meta’s Facebook and X, to settle with the president. File Photo by Pixelkult/Pixabay

Sept. 29 (UPI) — YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million, toward the construction of a new White House ballroom, to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump for suspending his channel in 2021 following the Jan. 6, riots.

The online video platform, owned by Alphabet, will pay $22 million from the settlement to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, which is “dedicated to restoring, preserving and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” according to court documents. The ballroom is estimated to cost $200 million, according to the White House.

The other $2.5 million from YouTube’s settlement will go to other plaintiffs, including the nonprofit American Conservative Union.

YouTube is the third tech platform to settle with Trump, who also settled with Meta and Twitter for banning his accounts in 2021. Trump settled with Meta for $25 million and with Twitter, renamed X, for $10 million.

All three platforms claimed Trump’s posts after the U.S. Capitol riots risked inciting further violence. Trump said the suspensions amounted to censorship. All of his accounts were reinstated after tech leaders took a more supportive stance, with Elon Musk of X, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet chief executive officer Sundar Pichai attending Trump’s inauguration in January.

Trump also has received settlements from media outlets, including CBS and ABC News. ABC and Disney settled with the president for $15 million toward his future presidential library after he accused the network and anchor George Stephanopoulous of defamation. And Paramount Global paid out $16 million for CBS’ editing of a Kamala Harris interview on “60 Minutes.”

Last week, YouTube said it would reinstate a number of banned accounts, which had violated the channel’s now defunct rules about posting misinformation about COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

YouTube “values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse,” the platform said.

META has launched a dizzying array of new hi-tech glasses – including a posh pair with a built-in screen for seeing apps.

The new specs were unveiled at today’s Meta Connect event by tech boss Mark Zuckerberg, alongside a genius AI that can create any video game that you dream up.

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Meta Connect is the company’s annual showcase for new gadgets and apps.

META RAY-BAN DISPLAY

This year, the headline product is the Meta Ray-Ban Display.

This is the company’s most advanced pair of smart specs to go on sale so far. The Sun’s Sean Keach has already tried them – read his Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on impressions.

Regular Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses come with a built-in camera and microphone, and an AI assistant to answer questions – even about real-world objects that you’re looking at.

But the new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses go one step further and feature a built-in screen.

This display is invisible to the outside world, so no one can see what you’re looking at.

But it can show you apps – like WhatsApp text chains, Instagram Reels, or your camera viewfinder – that float in your field of view.

You can even use it to see live captions over the face of someone speaking to you.

It’s a full-colour display but you can still see what’s going on behind the overlays.

You can even use it to follow directions that float in front of your eyes – but only for walking, not for driving.

They come with a Meta Neural Band, which goes on your wrist and detects tiny movements that let you control what you’re seeing.

So tap your fingers together to select, or roll your thumb to scroll.

The glasses start at $799 and are available from September 13 at limited stores in the US, followed by a UK release in early 2026.

They come in two colours, Black and Sand, with colour-matched Meta Neural Bands to go with them.

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META RAY-BAN GEN 2 GLASSES

The regular Meta Ray-Ban glasses have also been upgraded.

There’s now a new Gen 2 version that Meta says serves up twice the battery life of the old model.

And you’ll get 3K Ultra HD video capture too.

They’ll still feature the AI assistant, offer real-time translation, and music playback too.

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But now they’ll last eight hours with “typical use”, according to Meta.

And you can charge them up to 50% in 20 minutes, with a charging case that gets you an extra 48 hours of use.

There’s also an upcoming Conversation Focus mode that amplifies the voice of the person that you’re talking to.

So you can hear them better when you’re somewhere with a lot of ambient noise, like a busy restaurant.

There are some new styles too, given that this is effectively a fashion accessory as well as a gadget.

The new glasses go on sale today and start at $379 – with the Gen 1 version priced at $299.

META OAKLEY VANGUARD GLASSES

Meta has also teamed up with Oakley for some proper sports-friendly smart-glasses.

There’s a new product category called Oakley Meta Vanguard, which are meant for high-intensity activities.

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So think: outdoor cycling, mountain biking, trail running.

They have an “action-ready camera” built in, and a three-point-fit system plus three replaceable nose pads so you get a secure fit.

After all, you don’t want your posh specs falling off a cliff.

They have Oakley PRIZMTM Lens tech to block out sun, wind, and dust – and feature built-in speakers too, plus a five-microphone array that reduces wind noise.

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You’ll get nine hours of battery life from a pair – or six hours with continuous music playback.

And the charging case gets you an extra 36 hours of charge, with 50% refuelling for the glasses in 20 minutes.

You can also pair the glasses with Garmin and Strava to query your performance, and even overlay your exercise metrics on the video you capture.

The glasses start at £499 in the UK and $499 in the US.

META AI TO CREATE YOUR OWN GAMES

Meta also showed off a special tool that makes it extremely easy to create your own video games.

The games live inside Meta’s Horizon metaverse, which is a series of digital worlds that you can share with pals.

And now Meta has developed its AI helper to let you create massive virtual worlds, game textures, audio, skyboxes, and characters all just by typing in some words.

You can even generate custom voices for characters, give them personalities, and they’ll spring to life in seconds.

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The AI lets you create game rules and systems, spawn objects, and change what you’ve magicked up on the fly.

Importantly, you don’t need any experience of coding.

You just chat to the AI in a conversational way to edit your game, and it’ll generate automatically in just a few seconds.

Then you can invite friends to play in a custom video game that would normally have taken thousands of hours to create.

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I’VE already had a go with Mark Zuckerberg’s snazzy new smart glasses with a screen built in.

I’m out in California at Meta Connect where the company has unveiled the new Meta Ray-Ban Display smart specs – and I got an early demo with the new gadget.

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If you’re not familiar with Meta Ray-Ban gear, they’re a fairly simple concept.

They’re a pair of eyeglasses with cameras built in (for taking pics), microphones for calling, speakers for listening to music, and an AI assistant to answer your spoken questions. In fact, you can even ask about things you’re looking at – like a statue or a piece of art. Or your own wardrobe, if you want style advice.

Now Meta and Ray-Ban have created a brand new version with a built-in display, and they’ve aptly named it the Meta Ray-Ban Display.

This hi-tech gadget is the company’s first publicly available pair of smart glasses with a screen built in. And honestly, they’re pretty incredible.

Before I get into the features that I found most impressive, here’s what you actually get.

META RAY-BAN DISPLAY EXPLAINED

These glasses have all the features of a regular pair of Meta Ray-Ban specs.

But the main difference is that there’s a new full-colour hi-res display.

It has impressive clarity: I could easily read small text, see enough detail in images, and colour was bright and vibrant.

Obviously it’s nowhere near the screen experience of a smartphone, or a mixed-reality headset like the Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro.

But for an overlay on a pair of glasses, it’s pretty wild.

More importantly, no one else can see what you’re looking at. There’s no sign to the outside world that you’ve even got display running.

The display will show apps from your phone, like WhatsApp text threads, or Instagram Reels, or a Google Maps navigation window.

And you can also chat to the AI helper and see its responses in plain view – rather than simply relying on an audio reply.

To control what you’re seeing, you don a Meta Neural Band on your wrist.

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This picks up on tiny micro-movements, detects the gestures you make, and translates them as controls on the glasses.

So touching your index finger to your thumb is equivalent to a click or tap on a PC or phone.

You can go back by tapping your index finger to your thumb.

And rolling your thumb on your fist lets you scroll up and down, as well as left and right.

It’s very easy and intuitive.

And because it’s using the wristband and not cameras or sensors, you can have your hand off to the side or even behind you and the controls still work. This is pretty special.

So, what are the special tricks that blew me away?

META RAY-BAN DISPLAY HANDS-ON – MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE SPECS

First up is Live Captions.

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This will caption the words of someone you’re speaking to in real life.

So as you look at their face, you’ll see their words popping up as text in real time.

This is obviously life-changing for anyone with hearing issues.

But even if you’re just struggling to hear someone in a crowded restaurant, it’s pretty useful.

But that’s not all.

The glasses are directional, so they know where you’re looking.

I was chatting to someone from Meta while another person was nearby having their own conversation.

And my live captions focused in on the Meta person and cut out all of the ambient conversation.

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Then when I turned my head to look at the other person next to me, the captions switched to their speech instead.

This all happened in an instant. Incredible.

The next thing I was impressed by isn’t necessarily a life-changing mega-feature.

But it’s pretty neat and I think actually very useful. So it shouldn’t be overlooked.

Recipes.

Yes, you can ask Meta AI how to cook something, and it’ll conjure up the recipe.

Then it’ll hover in front of you in easy steps, and you can swipe along with the thumb gesture.

So you can follow along and cook without having a physical book or laptop there.

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And if you’re baking, you don’t actually have to touch a book or a device while your hands are covered in flour, or pizza dough, or whatever else. Very convenient.

Next is the Google Maps navigation, which is so plainly handy that it hardly needs me to explain why it’s useful.

Your exact directions will appear on the screen, telling you which way to walk.

And yes, it only works with walking. You can’t use this feature while driving. Safety first.

It’s a neat way to find your way around without having to constantly pull out your phone.

And that means it’s also a nice way to avoid falling prey to those pesky phone-snatchers too.

Video-calling is also on my list of incredible features.

Not that video-calling is anything new, of course.

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But dialling on WhatsApp and having the person’s face pop-up right in front of my eyes without blocking the outside world felt very sci-fi.

Except it’s not sci-fi, because I did it and it was seamless. It’s not quite teleporting, but it’s pretty close.

And lastly, I want to highlight how simple the controls are.

These are exceptionally easy to use, even if you have very little tech experience.

The Neural Band is very responsive, and even gives you haptic feedbacks – which feel like tiny nudges – to let you know you’ve successfully completed an interaction.

It takes literally 30 seconds to learn the moves, and then just a few minutes more to fully master them.

I had the specs on for about 20 to 30 minutes, and by the end, I was easily controlling the apps with my hands behind my back.

If that all sounds like great fun, you’ll be glad to know that the glasses go on sale in the US at select stores on September 30.

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They’ll cost you $799 for a pair, and that includes the Meta Neural Band and a case too.

If you want one in the UK, Meta says that you’ll have to wait until early 2026.

MANY of us have been guilty of sneaking a glance at something we shouldn’t – but these unfortunate celebs were caught in the act.

This week Judge Rob Rinder was snapped copping an eyeful of Liz Hurley‘s cleavage at the National Television Awards.

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The TV presenter, 47, posed beside the actress, 60 – both of whom star in Channel 4’s new reality show The Inheritance – on the red carpet at the glitzy event.

Later on during the ceremony Rob – who was married to Seth Cumming from 2013 to 2018 – cracked a joke about her daringly low-cut dress.

While the duo presented the gong for Best Reality Competition, he couldn’t resist another look before telling Liz: “How marvellous it is that you are defying Newton’s Law of Physics. Well done to you!”

The Good Morning Britain star’s cheeky comment went down well, with the audience erupting into laughter.

Here we reveal the other brazen celebs who only had their own breast intentions at heart…

Morning peak

Outspoken Piers Morgan was caught sneaking a peek down Susanna Reid‘s top while presenting GMB back in 2016.

The presenter was admiring her purple dress, which had a cheeky slit down the front.

Piers quickly realised he’d put his foot in it, admitting: “I was just admiring my co-presenter.

“The camera caught me at a difficult moment… I looked over and looked down and before I knew it…”

He wasn’t the only person to appreciate Susanna’s low cut dress that day, with many viewers praising how she looked.

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Billionaire blunder

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 40, landed himself in hot water when he was caught staring at fellow tech billionaire Jeff Bezos‘s fiancée’s chest.

The married social media magnate was snapped ogling Lauren Sanchez at President Trump’s inauguration in January this year – while her partner, 61, was stood right next to her.

Lauren, 55, hit headlines for her racy outfit at the swearing in, and it was later revealed her lingerie-style top was a $1,800 Alexander McQueen satin-trimmed bustier.

Mark – who wed Priscilla Chan, 40, in 2012 – raised more eyebrows less than 24 hours later when he ‘liked’ a photo of Lauren’s cleavage on her Instagram.

Fans were quick to mock the Meta founder, with one asking: “Will Zuck lose his Amazon Prime membership?”

Wedding leer

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While making a guest appearance on Good Morning Britain for the ‘wedding’ of Love Island stars Jessica Shears, 32, and Dom Lever, 34, telly host Jeremy Kyle was caught gawping at the bride’s breasts.

Given Jess was wearing a bikini for the live ceremony in 2018, her ample assets were on full display.

Viewers were quick to call him out, with one tweeting: “Jezza kopping a quick gorp at Jess’s t**s (sic).”

Another wrote: “Jeremy Kyle was staring at Jess’s boobs and it was disturbing.”

Jeremy, 60, had recently proposed to Vicky Burton, the former nanny of his kids, who he married in 2021.

Phwoar-lando

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Before Orlando Bloom, 48, and Katy Perry, 40, went their separate ways, the Lord of the Rings actor was caught with a wandering eye.

In September last year he was papped admiring Kim Kardashian‘s ample behind despite having his hand on fiancée Katy’s waist.

Fans were quick to criticise Orlando’s barely concealed stare at Kim, with one joking: “Maybe this is why they have been engaged for so long.”

Katy and Orlando went their separate ways in July this year, shortly after he was spotted having a cosy reunion with Kim at Jeff Bezos’ wedding.

Amanda’s Got Talent

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Simon Cowell, 65, clearly thought his Britain’s Got Talent co-host had talent(s) when he accompanied her to the British Academy Television Awards in 2010.

Amanda Holden, 54, had opted for a strapless gown, and Simon – who was at the time engaged to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy, 52 – couldn’t resist a glance at her bust.

The music mogul’s unfortunate moment was caught on camera – from multiple angles.

Though Amanda’s silver and white gown was fairly tame compared to the daring outfits she worn in more recent years.

Ola there!

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Dancer James Jordan, 47, was caught having a good look at Lisa Snowden‘s bosom – in a snap captured by his own wife.

The former Strictly Come Dancing professional was cosying up to the telly presenter, 53, at a bash in 2017.

Ola, 42, shared the photo of James gawping at Lisa’s chest on her Instagram story, captioned: “It’s my lovely Lisa Snowdon,” alongside a winking face.

The trio met after Lisa appeared on Strictly back in 2008 when she was partnered with Brendan Cole, 49.

Lady love

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It’s not just the famous blokes who appreciate the female form – in these amusing shots TV host Ellen DeGeneres, 67, was caught having a good inspection of Katy Perry’s boobs.

The women were at the Grammy Awards in 2013 when the talk show host was pictured ogling the I Kissed A Girl singer.

Standing arm in arm with her wife Portia de Rossi, 52, Ellen wasn’t shy about sharing her admiration.

Portia appeared to be find her spouse’s antics hilarious, while Ellen tweeted the photo with a birthday message for Katy captioned: “Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It’s time to bring out the big balloons!”

It didn’t go down too well with fans, with some accusing Ellen of double standards, pointing out if it was a man who made the joke it would be seen as sexist.

Tucci close for comfort

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Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci became close while co-starring in The Devil Wears Prada back in 2006.

During filming Anne revealed that her co-star – then married to his now ex-wife Kate Tucci – had become obsessed with her breasts, and he was even spotted having a sly look down her plunging black dress while promoting the film.

Anne joked that Stanley kept elbowing her in the boobs, leading him to reportedly joke that she should stop “flinging those melons around like it’s harvest season”.

The joke doesn’t seem to have bothered either party as they’ve remained bosom buddies and are currently filming The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — Several leaders from the tech sector will travel to the White House on Thursday for the fist event in the newly renovated Rose Garden.

Guests expected to attend include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, among more than two dozen other prominent tech and business guests.

Venture capitalist David Sacks, who has served as the White House czar on AI and cryptocurrency, will also be in attendance.

According to a press release, First Lady Melania Trump will host a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education, at which she will speak, alongside Task Force members and leaders from the private AI technology sphere.

President Donald Trump will then lead an event in the Rose Garden with the guests, which will be the first such happening there since it was renovated under the direction of the Trumps.

“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Hill.

“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” he added.

Those in attendance will see changes to the Rose Garden such as pavement over the former grassy space, with umbrella-shaded tables set in similar fashion to patio arrangements found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

One top tech leader not on the guest list is Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who served as an advisor to Trump and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Trump and Musk famously feuded shortly after Musk left working with the government.

June 16 (UPI) — The messaging service WhatsApp on Monday will begin to display ads for the first time as parent company Meta seeks to make business changes to the encrypted global platform.

Billions of international users of the popular messaging app will see business ads in its “updates” tab as Meta begins to monetize the WhatsApp “channels” feature with paid subscriptions and search advertising. In addition, business will have the option to run “status ads” that prompt a WhatsApp user to interact with advertisers on messenger.

Officials say, however, that WhatsApp will only collect limited private data used to target ads.

“Your personal messages, calls and statuses, they will remain end-to-end encrypted,” Nikila Srinivasan, Meta and WhatsApp’s VP of product management, told The New York Times.

There are no current plans for ads to be in private chats.

Meta, the global social media giant at one time known as Facebook when it purchased WhatsApp in a 2014 deal for some $19 billion, now permits advertisers to run click-to-message ads to WhatsApp via its branded subsidiary companies Instagram and Facebook.

WhatsApp has more than 3 billion monthly users, with more more than 100 million just in the United States and “growing quickly from there,’ according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In April, Zuckerberg said its ability for users to contact businesses “should be the next pillar” of WhatsApp’s business model.

But according to a company official, WhatsApp will use “very basic information” — such as a user’s home country, city, language, smart phone device or select data — in order to pick what ads to show, but ads might cost less to place on WhatsApp versus Facebook or Instagram.

In 2024, nearly all of Meta’s $164 billion revenue arrived from advertising and it holds about a 15% share of digital business advertising globally.

The advertising business for Meta-owned companies is “in as strong a position now as it’s ever been,” Brian Wieser, a financial analyst and founder of consulting firm Madison and Wall, told the Times.