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Iran dismissed a US ceasefire proposal on Wednesday and responded with its own negotiation plan as intermediaries sought to keep diplomatic channels between the warring countries open.

Iranian state TV quoted an anonymous official as saying Tehran had rejected the plan it had received via Pakistan, saying it would “end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met”, and until then would continue fighting across the region. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, later said the proposals had been “passed on to the country’s senior authorities” but Iran had “no intention of negotiating for now”.

Gulf states have expressed doubt over Donald Trump’s claims that talks are happening. In a notable departure from Qatar’s role as chief mediator in the region, a Qatari government spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatar was not involved in any mediation efforts, before adding: “If they exist.”

• What is the toll? The US-Israel war on Iran has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, more than 1,500 in Iran and 16 in Israel, according to each country’s authorities. More than a dozen deaths have been reported in the West Bank and Gulf Arab states. Experts warn there has been a collapse in healthcare access.

• This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

Meta and YouTube have been found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being harmed, a Los Angeles jury ruled on Wednesday.

The verdict comes just a day after Meta was ordered to pay $375m in civil penalties in a separate lawsuit in New Mexico. The jury found the company had misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation.

• What did the Los Angeles plaintiff allege? The 20-year-old woman testified that she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, which she said harmed her wellbeing. She blamed the platforms for her experience of body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia in her adolescence.

• How much will the companies pay the plaintiff? The jury awarded the plaintiff in the case damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder.

Epstein survivor who voted for Trump says she now fears ‘we’re not going to get justice’

After backing Donald Trump in 2024 in the hope that he would bring transparency to the Jeffrey Epstein case, Jena Lisa Jones, an Epstein survivor, has said she now fears “we’re not going to get justice in all of this”.

Jones criticized Trump for capitalizing on the case in his election campaign but then dismissing some calls to release additional Epstein files as a Democratic “hoax”. She added that she and other survivors had faced backlash for speaking out.

• What has Jones said about the files released? That she has yet to find her files among the released records. Some lawmakers and survivors say that materials are still missing.

• What has the justice department said? That all documents have been released, unless they are “duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation”.

In other news …

• The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro will appear again in a New York federal court on Thursday in his “narco-terrorism” case after being abducted by US forces in January.

• James Talarico, the Texas Democratic state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, has said he forgives Pete Hegseth’s pastor for praying for his death, after the defense secretary’s closest spiritual adviser said: “We want him crucified with Christ”.

• EU lawmakers will vote on the bloc’s tariff deal with the US on Thursday after months of delay.

• North Korea and Belarus have signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday, after a meeting between their leaders in Pyongyang.

Stat of the day: Up to 50% of US federal taxes go towards military spending

With up to 50% of US federal taxes going towards military spending, Clara Vondrich, senior policy counsel on climate at Public Citizen, argues that it’s time to revive the tradition of war tax resistance. Calling on others to take the risk and join her, Vondrich says that since the second world war, only two people have been imprisoned for non-payment of taxes in protest of war. “This war has short-circuited our democratic processes and our representatives were not consulted – call it taxation without representation,” she said.

The Filter recommends: The best bike lights in the US to see and be seen

Whether your bike is part of your daily commute or you cycle for fun at the weekends, owning a high-quality light is one of the cheapest investments you can make into your safety. Here are the best bike lights, tested by the Guardian in different road and weather conditions.

Don’t miss this: Marriage over, hospitalization … The AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion

When Dennis Biesma, an IT consultant, first decided to check out ChatGPT in 2024, he had no idea how it would derail his life. Within months, Biesma had sunk €100,000 ($115,000) into a business startup based on a delusion, been hospitalized three times and tried to kill himself. With the first support group for people whose lives have been wrecked by AI psychosis formed last year, Biesma describes how he fell down the rabbit hole.

Climate check: US has caused $10tn worth of climate damage since 1990, research finds

The US has caused a staggering $10tn in global damages to the world since 1990 through its emissions as the largest carbon emitter in history, researchers have found. This put it ahead of China – currently the world’s biggest emitter – which has been responsible for $9tn in damage in the past three decades. A quarter of the damage wreaked by US emissions has been inflicted on itself, though the poorest countries have suffered disproportionate economic pain.

Last Thing: What to know about ‘boy kibble’, the viral meal slop trend

In case you have no idea what “boy kibble” is, let me fill you in. It’s a term used by health-conscious gen Z men online to describe a simple, protein-heavy meal made up of ground beef, rice, and sometimes a vegetable or fat. “This is essentially old-school bodybuilding nutrition repackaged,” one expert said. But is boy kibble actually healthy?

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