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Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Alphabet Inc. and Snap Inc. must face trial over claims that they designed social media platforms to addict youths, a judge ruled, clearing the way for the first of thousands of cases to be presented to juries. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl late Wednesday ruled against the companies on their last chance to avoid trial. Kuhl trimmed a negligence allegation from one case, but allowed other claims to proceed after lawyers have spent years pouring through evidence and dueling over legal theories. (Mekelburg and Spoto, 11/6)

Four wrongful death lawsuits were filed against OpenAI on Thursday, as well as cases from three people who say the company’s chatbot led to mental health breakdowns. The cases, filed in California state courts, claim that ChatGPT, which is used by 800 million people, is a flawed product. One suit calls it “defective and inherently dangerous.” (Hill, 11/6)

In other health and wellness news —

A new study suggests that pouring a third drink could mean trouble for your brain. Harvard researchers have found that people who drink three or more alcoholic drinks a day may suffer a stroke more than a decade earlier than people who drink less. The research, published this week in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, links heavy drinking to not just earlier strokes, but also larger, deadlier brain bleeds and long-term brain damage. (Quill, 11/6)

Financial well-being can have an outsize imprint on older Americans’ quality of life, affecting their physical health, social life and even cognitive skills, new research shows. Low-income seniors are more likely to experience mental confusion, spend less time pursuing hobbies, and face difficulties with everyday tasks such as climbing stairs and grocery shopping, compared with their more affluent counterparts, according to survey results released Thursday from Pew Research Center. And just 21 percent are highly confident of having enough money in retirement. (Najmabadi, 11/6)

As birds fly south for the winter, they're carrying with them some unwelcome cargo: the H5N1 virus, or bird flu. In the past 30 days, the virus has struck 66 poultry flocks, leading to the deaths of more than 3.5 million turkeys, chickens and ducks, a steep increase compared to the summer months. The virus can spread easily when infected wild birds mix with commercial or backyard flocks. (Stone, 11/6)

A phase 1 randomized controlled trial of an experimental intranasal vaccine against multiple H5N1 avian flu strains generated a broad immune response in US adults, researchers reported today in Nature Communications. The findings come the same day as the Mexican Ministry of Health reported the death of a 3-year-old Durango girl from H5N1 infection, highlighting the need for prevention. (Van Beusekom, 11/6)

Two new analyses conclude that high-dose influenza vaccine is more effective against hospitalization and infection than the standard-dose version. (Van Beusekom, 11/6)