What happened
A military judge yesterday ruled that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had exceeded his authority and acted too late when he canceled plea deals for three accused 9/11 conspirators, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The restoration of the plea deals, negotiated over two years and signed off by retired Gen. Susan Escallier, could mean life sentences for Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who have been awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay since 2012.

Who said what
Austin appointed Escallier as the senior official overseeing military commissions, then fired her after the deal. But she "possessed the legal authority" to sign the "enforceable contracts" between the government and the three defendants, Col. Matthew McCall wrote in his unreleased ruling, according to The New York Times. Austin could have stepped in earlier to oversee the case, the judge wrote, but he could not "delegate authority" to Escallier, "recognize her independent discretion, then reverse that discretion" when he did not like how she used it.

"We are reviewing the decision," said Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder. Families of some 9/11 victims are "adamant" the prosecutions "continue until trial and possible death sentences," The Associated Press said. But "legal experts say it's not clear that could ever happen," given the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through torture and other issues that have kept the case in pretrial hearings for 12 years. "Getting some kind of deal is better" than endless delay, terrorism expert Peter Bergen told CNN.

What next?
Pretrial hearings for Ammar al-Baluchi, a fourth defendant who did not agree to plead guilty, resume at Guantánamo Bay today. A fifth defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was "found incompetent to stand trial or reach a plea agreement," the AP said.

What happened
Australia's government today introduced legislation to bar people under 16 from social media. The age limit would take effect 12 months after being signed into law, giving Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook and other social media companies time to figure out how to comply.

Who said what
"Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters. "The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access," and they will be the ones penalized for underage use, he said. "The onus won't be on parents or young people." There would be no exceptions for young people who have parental consent, though kids already on social media would be exempted.

Most experts "agree that social media platforms can harm the mental health of adolescents," the BBC said, but they are "split over the efficacy" of total bans. More than 140 Australian and international experts said in a letter to Albanese last month that the proposed age limit was "too blunt an instrument." Meta's head of safety Antigone Davis said Instagram and Facebook would respect any age limit in Australia, but argued that stronger parental controls in app stores and operating systems would be a more "simple and effective solution."

What next?
Albanese said his government would introduce the legislation to Parliament next week, and if passed, the ban would be enforced by Australia's online regulator, the eSafety Commissioner.