IFS NEWS WRITERS: Google has been fined $170 million for collecting children’s personal information on YouTube without their parents’ consent

by Korva Coleman and Jill Hudson

First Up

An aerial view shows damage after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas on Tuesday.

Social Media/Terran Knowles/Our News Bahamas via Reuters

Here's what we're following today.

Hurricane Dorian will move closer to Florida and up the Eastern seaboard Thursday through Friday morning. Meanwhile, the death toll in the Bahamas has risen to seven as rescue operations are struggling to get underway.

Google has been fined $170 million for collecting children’s personal information on YouTube without their parents’ consent. Federal Trade Commission regulators said the video site earned millions of dollars by using the data to target ads to children.

Walmart is changing its gun sales policy following two shootings at its stores within one week. The retailer announced Monday that it will dramatically cut sales of ammunition and is asking shoppers to refrain from openly carrying firearms in its stores.

The Coast Guard has suspended the search for survivors of a diving boat disaster off the coast of Southern California on Monday. The bodies of 20 victims have been recovered from the wreckage; divers are still trying to recover the remains of several other victims they have spotted in the waters near California's Channel Islands.

The Trump administration will divert $3.6 billion from military construction projects to build 175 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Top Democrats immediately blasted the plan.

Hong Kong’s chief executive is withdrawing the controversial extradition bill with China that set off more than three months of violent protests. Protesters’ demands, however, have grown.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is ready to call a snap election after lawmakers from his own political party abandoned his effort to force a no-deal Brexit. Many lawmakers oppose a disorderly exit from the European Union, which some economists warn could trigger a U.K. recession.

The Daily Good

Finding the bright side may help you live longer.

Even if optimism doesn't come naturally, it can be taught, researchers say. Therapists can help you practice reframing your expectations, to cultivate a sunnier outlook.

Roy Scott/Ikon Images via Getty Images

Good news for the cheery: A Boston study published this month suggests people who tend to be optimistic are likelier than others to live to be 85 or older. Researchers say they still can't tell how optimism might affect longevity, but upbeat people might be more motivated to try to maintain good health — such as maintaining a decent diet, engaging in regular exercise and not smoking. They may also be better at regulating stress.

Digging Deeper

For trans women, silicone “pumping” can be a blessing and a curse.

Trans people in the U.S. have turned to underground silicone injections for decades. And it has particularly impacted trans women of color and those living in poverty.

Anke Gladnick for NPR

Some transgender women are grappling with the decision to have a kind of underground plastic surgery called “pumping” to address their gender dysphoria. They are injecting illegal silicone to change the shape of their bodies and conform to conventional beauty standards. Many say meeting those standards can be a boon to a trans woman's self-esteem; breaking them can put a target on her back. But pumping is unregulated and dangerous: Illegal silicone can be cut with olive oil, paraffin wax or even automotive transmission fluid. Yet some trans women in poverty and those of color with the least access to health care may still make this choice.

Today's Listen

Can a bad diet make you go blind?

Researchers in the U.K. say a teen has suffered vision loss after years of eating a highly limited diet consisting of snacking on Pringles potato chips, as well as French fries, white bread and some processed pork products.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

Researchers in the U.K. say a 14-year-old boy has suffered permanent vision loss after years of eating Pringles potato chips, French fries, white bread and some processed pork products. Turns out the boy's highly limited daily diet — lacking in healthy foods, vitamins and minerals — had led to a rare case of optic neuropathy. (Listening time, 2:31)

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Congratulations, you’re in college! Now what?

The first year of college is crucial for setting students up for success and lays a strong foundation for life after university. Research shows that you’re far more likely to get a degree if you finish your first year. The Life Kit podcast has a few recommendations for acing freshman year. (Listening time, 18:56)

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Before You Go

Margaret Atwood says reader questions about the world of The Handmaid's Tale — and the world we live in now — inspired The Testaments.

Liam Sharp

Hear author Margaret Atwood read from The Testaments, her sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.
A new book looks at how the struggle to pay for college has transformed the experience of the American middle class.
An IBM age discrimination case is heading to court in Texas. ProPublica and Mother Jones reported last year the IT company fired more than 20,000 workers older than 40.
Searchers hope to find a meteorite — at the bottom of Lake Michigan.