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Anyone who has attended a K-12 school or has a child, friend, or loved one who has attended one in the past decade knows one thing for sure — teachers and administrators are not fond of social media. One school is so critical of social media that it is suing the companies themselves.

The Lansing School District, which includes 25 schools in Michigan, filed a complaint against Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap, Inc. on Sept. 12 for not providing "adequate warnings" to children about how harmful social media can be, according to the Lansing State Journal. The school filed its complaint in the Northern District of California.

Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Mashable. Ben Shuldiner, the superintendent of the Lansing School District, said in a statement emailed to Mashable that social media is an "incredible tool" that can "be used to learn and to teach." However, he argues, it can "also be used to harm, to threaten, and to intimidate."

"We, as a district, believe that social media companies must do more to protect and support our students when they use their product," the statement reads. "We believe that social media companies must do more to address threats and intimidation on their platforms. We believe that social media companies must do more to limit access to inappropriate material. To that end, the Lansing School District, along with hundreds of other districts across the country, is engaging in litigation. We look forward to the social media companies taking responsibility for their product and creating a safe environment for our children."

SEE ALSO: 'Profound risk of harm': Surgeon General issues warning about youth social media use

While Lansing appears to be the only plaintiff in this case, it's not the only school district in the country suing social media companies. According to Education Week, Lansing is just one of 200 school districts that have sued social media companies for similar reasons. In March 2023, the San Mateo County School Board sued YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, alleging that social media sites make kids depressed and anxious, leading students to act out, which drains school resources. Other districts have joined consolidated lawsuits against the platforms.

"Teachers and school administrators have been at the front lines of addressing this crisis and are overburdened by the negative effects on their students — from how it has affected mental health to behavior in the classroom," Lexi Hazam, an attorney with Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a consolidated lawsuit, told Education Week. "Funds meant for educational purposes have been reallocated to address the misconduct of the corporations behind Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook. Social media companies should be held accountable and provide support to schools for the harms their products cause."

SEE ALSO: Instagram announces restrictive 'Teen Accounts' for users under 16

There’s a long legal road ahead for Lansing, but it signals a continued fight for children and teens in the face of social media’s effect on their mental health.

Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts sees one hell of a mish-mash MCU team assemble. Watch the trailer.

Federal officials acknowledged that few Chinese vehicles were on U.S. roads now, but said that the administration wanted to take proactive measures to strengthen national security.

It's once again time to "fall back," as the November time change approaches. If all this time shifting messes with your head, you're far from alone. Here's your twice-annual reminder about what this all means, and what to do. 

The shortening of days as the weather cools down means Daylight Saving Time (DST) is coming to an end, and it's almost time to switch back to standard time, when we set our clocks back an hour. Yes, this is the clock change where you get an extra hour of sleep, rather than losing an hour of sleep like you do in spring.

SEE ALSO: When the clocks change for Daylight Saving Time, and why we do it at all When does Daylight Savings Time end in 2024?

DST will technically end on Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 2 a.m. local time (if applicable in your area). Your smartphone will most likely change itself, but if you have, say, an old grandfather clock in your house, and you want to experience the time change as it happens, wait until 2 a.m. and set your clock back to 1 a.m. — yes, repeating the hour that just happened.

Alternatively, just set your grandfather clock back an hour before you go to bed on the night of Saturday, November 2.

What does the time change mean practically?

The "saved" daylight in the warmer months is the daylight from hours around dawn transferred to the evening, meaning when we set our clocks back, mornings will feel brighter, but the dark will suddenly set in much earlier. You'll gain an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night, which might help you feel more rested on Sunday. You might feel like a night owl that first evening, having dinner under the stars instead of at twilight.

Am I in an area where the time change is observed?

If you are in the U.S., you probably have to participate in DST, but you might be an exception if you live in:

• Hawaii, where the southern latitudes make the "Daylight Saving" concept less useful

• U.S. island territories like Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands (such as Saipan) where residents do not adjust their clocks for essentially the same reason as Hawaii

• Arizona excluding Navajo Nation, where there's no time change, just because

Why do we change our clocks to begin with?

"Daylight Saving" is an attempt to make use of "extra" daylight during the evenings in warmer months. Shifting the clock in the summer means the already longer days feel radically longer because most people's wake-ups are recalibrated to occur around sunrise, rather than having the first hour of valuable summer sunshine occur when most people are asleep.  

In the colder months, when there's no "extra" daylight to be conserved, we return to standard time, which re-aligns most of our wake-up times with the sunrise, and temporarily restores the accuracy of the term "high noon" because the sun is straight overhead once again. 

Astronomers have discovered that Earth's large, ever-looming moon is about to get company.

Beginning on Sunday, the planet will capture an asteroid sailing nearby, drawing it in for one loop around Earth before making its exit on Nov. 25. When it leaves, it will continue its trajectory around the sun. The two-month visit puts this space rock in the class of so-called "mini-moons." 

The asteroid getting its proverbial 15 minutes of fame is called 2024 PT5, discovered with the help of a NASA-funded asteroid detection system and a South African observatory in August. But before digging out binoculars from the closet, know this: It's only 33 feet wide — about the length of a Greyhound bus — and not bright enough to view with the naked eye or an amateur telescope. 

SEE ALSO: NASA's Mars rovers had a gangbusters summer of rocks Scientists suspect Earth's only fixed-orbit moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago. Credit: NASA

Throughout the solar system, close to 300 moons orbit the eight planets and Pluto, and scientists often find new ones as survey methods improve. The vast majority of moons circle gas giants Saturn and Jupiter. 

They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but their defining characteristic is that they orbit another cosmic object larger than themselves. While these natural satellites are quite common, moons are special to humans because Earth has just one in a fixed orbit — albeit a big rocky one roughly one-quarter Earth's size about 239,000 miles away. 

Earth has captured asteroids and pulled them into orbit with its gravity before, but often these space rocks fly by without completing a full circuit around the planet. Compared to mini-moons of the recent past, 2024 PT5 is a short-timer. In July 2006, a visitor dubbed RH120 stayed in orbit around Earth for a year before getting flung out in July 2007. Astronomers believe one that escaped in May 2020 could have been sweeping around the planet for several years. 

Throughout the solar system, close to 300 moons orbit the eight planets and Pluto, and scientists are often finding new ones as survey methods improve. Credit: NASA composition illustration

Two astronomers from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain made the latest mini-moon discovery while calculating the dynamics of near-Earth objects. Their findings were published in the journal Research Notes of the AAS. Prior research through NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System had already shown that the space rock was not a threat to smashing into Earth. 

While studying 2024 PT5's path, the research duo, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, could also trace back to its origin. The space rock likely came from the so-called Arjuna asteroid belt, a group of small rocks concentrated near Earth that was discovered in the early 1990s. 

Netflix has dropped its trailer for "This is the Zodiac Speaking", a documentary that apparently has "never-before-seen evidence" from a suspect's family.

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If you’re always dreaming of your next adventure or reminiscing about past travels, keeping a record of your globetrotting experiences can be as exciting as the trips themselves.

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Peacock has released its trailer for "Teacup", an eight-episode survival horror/thriller about a family farm under siege from an alien threat.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Monday, September 23, 2024:

Across2024 Charli XCX album with a lime green cover

• The answer is Brat.

All the ___ (super popular)

• The answer is Rage.

Like presents and first names

• The answer is Given.

Where fig leaves first came into fashion

• The answer is Eden.

Rain-friendly rental for an outdoor wedding

• The answer is Tent.

DownSomeone walking in front of a train?

• The answer is Bride

Bird in a Poe poem

• The answer is Raven.

Worker at an airport gate

• The answer is Agent.

Tweenager's age, maybe

• The answer is Ten.

Understand

• The answer is Get.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for September 23 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for September 23 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Gnaw-it-alls

These words are sometimes considered pests.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The answers are all related to a type of animals.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Rodents.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for September 23

• Muskrat

• Squirrel

• Hamster

• Rodents

• Porcupine

• Chinchilla

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

By tweaking the chemistry of rivers and oceans, humans could remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air. But huge challenges loom.

By tweaking the chemistry of rivers and oceans, humans could remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air. But huge challenges loom.

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There's something special about Monday Night Football, and we're not talking about the action on the field. We're talking about the fact that you can watch Monday Night Football for free from anywhere in the world with a simple hack.

If you're interested in watching Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Bengals vs. Commanders?

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders takes place at 8:15 p.m. ET on Sep 23. This fixture will be played at the Paycor Stadium.

How to watch Bengals vs. Commanders for free

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders is available to live stream for free on My5.

My5 is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone from around the world can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in the UK, meaning you can bypass geo-restrictions to access My% from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the NFL by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit My5

5. Live stream Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders for free from anywhere in the world

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but top VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can access free live streams of the NFL without actually spending anything. It's a short-term solution, but this gives you enough time to watch select NFL fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the NFL?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the NFL, for a number of reasons:

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Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for September 23's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for September 23 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Hot vapor.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

STEAM.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for September 23's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for September 23 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Off-road

• Green: Land for planting

• Blue: Cartoons sans their partner

• Purple: Types of parks

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Not Smooth, As Terrain

• Green: Bit of Land for Growing

• Blue: Member of a Cartoon Duo

• Purple: ___Park

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #470 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Not Smooth, As Terrain: BUMPY, ROUGH, RUGGED, UNEVEN

• Bit of Land for Growing: BED, PARCEL, PATCH, PLOT

• Member of a Cartoon Duo: CHIP, ROCKY, SCRATCHY, STITCH

• ___Park: AMUSEMENT, NATIONAL, PARALLEL, SOUTH

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Sunday, September 22, 2024:

AcrossOpposite of acidic

• The answer is Basic.

Where the hamstring is

• The answer is Thigh.

Pixar film whose opening 35 minutes feature nearly no dialogue

• The answer is Wall-E.

Glacial

• The answer is Slow.

"Yo ___" (Spanish for "I am")

• The answer is Soy.

Down"Oh, I meant to tell you ...," in texts

• The answer is BTW

Light bulb moments

• The answer is Ahas.

Window ledges

• The answer is Sills.

Shelter made of snow blocks

• The answer is Igloos.

Like bagels and gummy bears

• The answer is Chewy.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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