AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge says he'll rule on the legality of Texas' strict new abortion law before it can take effect next week.
Judge Lee Yeakel said Wednesday at the conclusion of two days of testimony from abortion providers, attorneys for the state and others that he'll rule on the law's constitutionality before next Tuesday, when it is slated to take effect.
Abortion providers and abortion rights advocates say the tighter restrictions on when, where and how abortions can be performed are unnecessary and are simply meant to prevent women from getting abortions.
Andy Oldham, arguing for the state attorney general's office, told the court the restrictions are meant to protect the health of women and what he contends is a state interest in the lives of fetuses.
Having some fun on set, Channing Tatum posted a video of himself leaping from a balcony while filming a scene for "22 Jump Street" on Wednesday (October 23).
Captioned "I belieeeeve I can fly…#22 JumpStreet," the stunt was put in to slow motion for a more dramatic effect.
The sequel to last year's "21 Jump Street," the motion picture continues the story of policemen Greg Jenko and Morton Schmidt, who take on a college campus for an undercover investigation.
Also starring Jonah Hill and Ice Cube, "22 Jump Street" is slated to hit theaters on June 13, 2014. In the meantime, check out Channing's awesome jump in the player below!
What different advantages can a curved screen bring to a smartphone? Well, not a whole lot. But Samsung’s newest smartphone, the Galaxy Round, comes off as a posh device that may be the company’s best looking handset yet.
Earlier this month, the electronics giant unveiled the Android phone, calling it the world’s first to feature a curved touchscreen display. It has top-of-the-line specs, and includes a few software features that leverage the phone’s curved design.
Most of the world won’t see the phone anytime soon. Samsung, for now, only plans on releasing the handset to its home market of South Korea for the whopping price of about $1,000. On Wednesday, the company made the Galaxy Round available for hands-on use at one of its offices in Seoul.
Michael KanNice curves, Samsung.
In a way, you could describe the Round as a curved version of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, as the two handsets share nearly identical features and the same design style. Both have a full HD 5.7-inch screen, a fast processor, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and even the same leather-like synthetic fiber covering the back.
But despite their similarities, the Galaxy Round feels and looks different. The phone is slightly lighter at 154 grams, as opposed to 168 grams, and is easier to grip with its curved back. It’s one benefit of using Samsung’s flexible displays, which the company says weigh less than traditional displays. At the same time, the phone feels sturdy and its curves are more pleasing to the eye, when compared to the flat exterior of the Note 3.
What to do with a curved phone?
Consumers, however, don’t have to worry about the phone rolling off a table or even wobbling. The device’s display is not as round as its name suggests. The arch is quite subtle, and contours more at the edges. When placed on a table, the Round remains stationary. But due to its curved backing, Samsung included a few software features that activate when a user tilts the phone on its spine.
One of them, called the “Roll Effect”, automatically turns the screen on and displays the time and date, when the phone tilts toward the user. A similar feature allows the user to cycle through songs played on the device. A tilt toward the right side will forward to the next track while a tilt toward the left will restart the current song.
When put into practice, the two functions are easily activated, but sometimes it took a harder tilt to cycle through music tracks. Both features, however, can only activate if the phone is laid on a table. A third function works when viewing the phone’s image gallery. A soft touch to the screen’s center, and a flick of the wrist, will display a sidebar showing the other photo albums stored on the phone.
Michael KanStill Android, just curved.
These so-called “tilt functions” offer nice shortcuts, but they could also easily be incorporated into any Samsung phone. Perhaps the company will do so in the future, but it’s likely that most users will look at the features as novelties, much like how the Samsung Galaxy S4 will track facial and eye movements to help the user scroll through websites. Getting them to work on the Round can also take several tries at first.
In terms of looking at the phone’s actual screen, the curvature can also be easy to miss. When facing directly at the display, the arch blends in and seems flat. It brings to mind how the electronics industry is also moving to televisions with curved screens. These TVs can arguably offer a wider field of view over traditional flat screens. But in the case of the Galaxy Round, it’s hard to notice any difference, given that the phone already has a superb screen with its AMOLED display technology.
Still Android
Save for the screen, nothing else inside the phone is curved, according to the company. Like other Samsung handsets, the Round’s back cover can be removed, and its 2,800 mAh battery easily replaced. It currently comes in a dark “luxury brown” coloring, but a white version will be available in December.
Samsung is staying mum on the future of its curved displays for smartphones. But Tom Kang, an analyst with Counterpoint Research, doesn’t believe that phones like the Galaxy Round will reach major volumes until the benefits of the device become more pronounced.
“To create this kind of product, there are lot of changes you have to make to the production line,” he said. “When the consumer benefit is not substantially clear, it’s not economic to make those changes to your production line.”
Samsung seems to also be aware of the challenges, and is only selling the Galaxy Round in limited quantities. But aside from a few unique features, the phone doesn’t offer much new in terms of usability. Perhaps only the phone’s aesthetics really set it apart, and make it look appealing. While the handset is nice to hold, consumers outside of South Korea aren’t missing much from Samsung’s newest phone.
Michael Kan, IDG News Service Beijing correspondent, IDG News Service, IDG News Service
Michael Kan covers IT, telecom and Internet in China for the IDG News Service. More by Michael Kan, IDG News Service
Apple made waves during Tuesday's media event when the company announced that its iLife and iWork suite would be free for customers who buy a new Mac or iOS device. But the apps are also free for users who already have the apps installed, and one app is free, period.
Here's our guide to demystifying Apple's new pricing structure on its iLife and iWork apps.
How 'free with purchase' works When Apple first announced that its iOS apps would be free with the purchase of a new iPhone, I theorized that Apple might include a notification alert after you first activated your new device, with a link to download your free apps. Instead, there's no link or alert to be found. If you want your free iWork and iLife apps -- on OS X Mavericks or on iOS -- you have to first visit the Mac App Store to do so. When you do, however, the "Buy" button for those apps will be replaced with "Download" or "Update" (or the iCloud icon on the iOS App Store).
Though I can't yet confirm it (I asked Apple for more details but have yet to receive a response), I suspect that Apple associates the iWork and iLife suite with your Apple ID when you first activate a new device. That way, when you visit the app's page, it shows up as already "purchased" on your account, and you can download away.
The iLife app suite Apple's new iLife suite consists of three apps -- iMovie, iPhoto, and GarageBand -- available for both OS X and iOS. On the Mac side, you're looking at iPhoto 9.5, iMovie 10.0, and GarageBand 10.0. iPhoto and iMovie each appear on the store for $15, while GarageBand is a free download with a $5 in-app purchase. All three apps require OS X Mavericks or later; if you attempt to download them while running an earlier version of OS X, you won't be able to proceed.
Apple's iOS versions of these apps are all version 2.0 and require iOS 7 or later; iMovie and iPhoto show up as $5 on the App Store by default, with GarageBand again available as a free download -- you can add more touch-based instruments for a single $5 in-app purchase.
Like iLife, the iWork suite also consists of three apps—Pages, Numbers, and Keynote—which are available for both OS X and iOS. The new Mac versions are Pages 5.0, Numbers 3.0, and Keynote 6.0, and they too require OS X Mavericks; the iOS versions are all 2.0 and require iOS 7 or later. On the Mac, the three apps retail for $20 each; on the iPhone or iPad, they’re $10 each.
So who gets these for free and who has to pay up? Read on.
If you own iLife '11 or iWork ’09 apps (or v1 iOS apps) and you got them from the Mac App Store or iOS App Store: You should be able to download the latest versions for free by going to the app page on the Mac or iOS App Store.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A judge has sentenced an Ohio man to 6½ years in prison for causing a fatal wrong-way crash after a night of heavy drinking, which the man confessed to in an online video.
Franklin County Judge David Fais (feyes) sentenced 22-year-old Matthew Cordle on Wednesday to six years for aggravated vehicular homicide and six months for driving under the influence of alcohol. He also revoked his driving privileges for life as required by state law.
Cordle had faced up to 8½ years for killing Vincent Canzani in a June 22 crash. He had been on his way home after a night of drinking at bars near downtown Columbus.
Cordle confessed to the crime and promised to plead guilty in an online video Sept. 3 that has been viewed more than 2.3 million times.
He had been in jail since his guilty plea last month.
A person identifying himself as Jermagisty Tha King of Denver lights up a 28 ounce blunt on April 20, 2012 in Denver, Colo.
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images
A person identifying himself as Jermagisty Tha King of Denver lights up a 28 ounce blunt on April 20, 2012 in Denver, Colo.
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images
Over the past year, Americans' support for legalizing pot has surged 10 percentage points.
That's according to Gallup, which has been asking the question since 1969. That means that 58 percent of Americans — a clear majority for the first time in more than 40 years — support legalizing marijuana and just 39 percent say the opposite.
To see the dramatic shift in public opinion, just look at this historical graph from Gallup:
Gallup graph showing support for legalizing marijuana.
Gallup
This is also a trend we've seen in other polls. We noted the Gallup poll in 2011 that found support for legalization had reached 50 percent for the first time; and we noted a Pew poll in 2013 that found a 52-percent majority supported legalization for the first time.
This poll shows that support for legalization has accelerated. Gallup explains:
"Success at the ballot box in the past year in Colorado and Washington may have increased Americans' tolerance for marijuana legalization. Support for legalization has jumped 10 percentage points since last November and the legal momentum shows no sign of abating. Last week, California's second-highest elected official, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, said that pot should be legal in the Golden State, and advocates of legalization are poised to introduce a statewide referendum in 2014 to legalize the drug.
"The Obama administration has also been flexible on the matter. Despite maintaining the government's firm opposition to legalizing marijuana under federal law, in late August Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced the Justice Department would not challenge the legality of Colorado's and Washington's successful referendums, provided that those states maintain strict rules regarding the drug's sale and distribution.
"The movement to legalize marijuana mirrors the relatively recent success of the movement to legalize gay marriage, which voters have also approved now in 14 states. Public support for gay marriage, which Americans also overwhelmingly opposed in the past, has increased dramatically, reaching majority support in the last two years."
Now that we know HTC's One Max is likely to be living large at AT&T, another variant for Sprint looks to have also been unmasked by the FCC. An OP3P700 version of the 6-inch, 1080p device has just passed the US regulator with Sprint's LTE bands 25, 26 and 41, a likely sign that it's bound for Big ...
Contact: Dawn Fuller dawn.fuller@uc.edu 513-556-1823 University of Cincinnati
Green roofs (or living roofs) are becoming a growing trend in North America and have been long established in Europe for their value in conserving energy, improving air quality, managing storm water runoff, beautifying cities and even having a positive psychological impact on communities. A University of Cincinnati researcher and landscape architect is now proposing a better way of identifying green roofs by their characteristics as well as their benefits. Virginia Russell, an associate professor in the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), will present her proposal on Oct. 24, at the 11th annual CitiesAlive Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference in San Francisco.
Green roofs are loosely defined as "landscapes over structure," and the methodology and vocabulary of green roofs are imported from Europe, especially from Germany, where green roofs have been required on most structures for more than 20 years.
Currently, there are two categories of green roof that are defined by their maintenance regimens: translated from German, these two categories are "intensive" and "extensive." Intensive green roofs are deep, heavy, lushly planted, and they are often designed for 100 percent accessibility. The additional features to accommodate human use as well as complex plantings require "intense" maintenance.
By contrast, extensive green roofs are shallow, which limits the plantings to those that can survive in shallow growing medium, and they are less likely to be designed for frequent human access. Their maintenance regimen requires much less than an intensive green roof. Russell says the two words intensive and extensive translate into English to mean much the same thing, and therefore, they cause quite a bit of confusion. She says she found it difficult to rationalize the use of the two terms to her students, so she began devising a new vocabulary that would bring the benefits of green roofs into the foreground and associate them with sustainability rather than maintenance.
Russell's goal is to develop a classification system that identifies regional identity, which will support regional methods and plant palettes rather than generic applications that are alike from coast to coast. This approach will stimulate research and development of uniquely North American green roofs. It will also require an awareness of authentic sustainability: newly classified green roofs will be identified by social and economic benefits as well as their environmental benefits. "Just as animal kingdoms have higher and lower orders, green roofs will have higher orders that are more 'intelligent' because of their advanced and highly evolved sustainability measures," says Russell.
"The list of reasons to justify the development of a classification system for vegetated roofs is not complete without some mention of the difference between tough love and puppy love for vegetated roofs," Russell writes.
"Those involved in the industry manufacturers, vendors, installers, maintainers, advocates, researchers, educators, users are responsible for self-examination of motives and outcomes, and the development of a naming system that is closely tied to sustainability will acknowledge that not all vegetated roofs are valuable in such terms."
Russell is among the nation's earliest designers in North America to be accredited in green roof design and implementation through Green Roofs for Healthy Cities North America (GRHC), a not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the green roof industry in North America. Russell is a member of the GRHC Board of Directors and the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Living Architecture. She was featured in GRHC's anniversary book, "The Rise of Living Architecture" (2012) with noted designers such as William McDonough, Jason McLennan and Cornelia Oberlander.
###
The CitiesAlive Conference is exploring how living architecture can improve the resilience of communities. The conference, themed, "Securing Urban Resiliency with Living Architecture: Food-Water-Energy," will feature more than 100 presentations and discussions.
CitiesAlive is North America's only event dedicated to green roofs and walls and draws up to 1,000 sustainable building professionals working in the green roof and wall sector.
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Classification system proposed for green roofs
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Dawn Fuller dawn.fuller@uc.edu 513-556-1823 University of Cincinnati
Green roofs (or living roofs) are becoming a growing trend in North America and have been long established in Europe for their value in conserving energy, improving air quality, managing storm water runoff, beautifying cities and even having a positive psychological impact on communities. A University of Cincinnati researcher and landscape architect is now proposing a better way of identifying green roofs by their characteristics as well as their benefits. Virginia Russell, an associate professor in the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), will present her proposal on Oct. 24, at the 11th annual CitiesAlive Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference in San Francisco.
Green roofs are loosely defined as "landscapes over structure," and the methodology and vocabulary of green roofs are imported from Europe, especially from Germany, where green roofs have been required on most structures for more than 20 years.
Currently, there are two categories of green roof that are defined by their maintenance regimens: translated from German, these two categories are "intensive" and "extensive." Intensive green roofs are deep, heavy, lushly planted, and they are often designed for 100 percent accessibility. The additional features to accommodate human use as well as complex plantings require "intense" maintenance.
By contrast, extensive green roofs are shallow, which limits the plantings to those that can survive in shallow growing medium, and they are less likely to be designed for frequent human access. Their maintenance regimen requires much less than an intensive green roof. Russell says the two words intensive and extensive translate into English to mean much the same thing, and therefore, they cause quite a bit of confusion. She says she found it difficult to rationalize the use of the two terms to her students, so she began devising a new vocabulary that would bring the benefits of green roofs into the foreground and associate them with sustainability rather than maintenance.
Russell's goal is to develop a classification system that identifies regional identity, which will support regional methods and plant palettes rather than generic applications that are alike from coast to coast. This approach will stimulate research and development of uniquely North American green roofs. It will also require an awareness of authentic sustainability: newly classified green roofs will be identified by social and economic benefits as well as their environmental benefits. "Just as animal kingdoms have higher and lower orders, green roofs will have higher orders that are more 'intelligent' because of their advanced and highly evolved sustainability measures," says Russell.
"The list of reasons to justify the development of a classification system for vegetated roofs is not complete without some mention of the difference between tough love and puppy love for vegetated roofs," Russell writes.
"Those involved in the industry manufacturers, vendors, installers, maintainers, advocates, researchers, educators, users are responsible for self-examination of motives and outcomes, and the development of a naming system that is closely tied to sustainability will acknowledge that not all vegetated roofs are valuable in such terms."
Russell is among the nation's earliest designers in North America to be accredited in green roof design and implementation through Green Roofs for Healthy Cities North America (GRHC), a not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting the green roof industry in North America. Russell is a member of the GRHC Board of Directors and the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Living Architecture. She was featured in GRHC's anniversary book, "The Rise of Living Architecture" (2012) with noted designers such as William McDonough, Jason McLennan and Cornelia Oberlander.
###
The CitiesAlive Conference is exploring how living architecture can improve the resilience of communities. The conference, themed, "Securing Urban Resiliency with Living Architecture: Food-Water-Energy," will feature more than 100 presentations and discussions.
CitiesAlive is North America's only event dedicated to green roofs and walls and draws up to 1,000 sustainable building professionals working in the green roof and wall sector.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
October story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Ron Walli wallira@ornl.gov 865-576-0226 DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
MATERIALSImproving panel performance . . .
Researchers are using supercomputers to design better and less expensive solar panels that can capture the sun's rays more efficiently and maximize power production. Using Titan to simulate the formation of active layers that transform solar energy into electricity at a molecular level, Mike Brown and a team of scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are determining the best ways to generate energy with the compounds that coat the surface of organic photovoltaic cells. These experiments could produce solar cells that can be used on a wide variety of surfaces. The paper was published in the journal Physics Chemistry and Chemical Physics by a team at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. [Written by Jennifer Brouner, brounerjm@ornl.gov] [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
METALLURGYBetter magnetic materials . . .
Understanding the electrons that hold materials together may help scientists design strong, compact, lightweight and radiation-resistant metals at a lower cost. Using supercomputers to study the atomic structures of nickel and ironthe two main components of stainless steelresearchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are exploring ways to improve the quality of metals used in items such as cars, pipelines and nuclear reactors. This research could also help engineers create new metals and alloys that have better structural and mechanical properties than those that are commercially available. The ORNL research team is led by Markus Eisenbach. [Written by Jennifer Brouner, brounerjm@ornl.gov] [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
TRANSPORTATION Energy-saving lubricant additives
A team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and General Motors researchers has developed a new group of ionic liquids as lubricant additives that could help improve the energy efficiency of cars and trucks. The ionic liquid, when added to prototype low viscosity engine oil, boosted fuel economy by more than 2 percent compared to a commercially available synthetic 5W-30 oil, as demonstrated by an industrial standard fuel efficiency engine test. "This breakthrough ionic lubricant technology could potentially save the U.S. tens of million barrels of oil annually," said ORNL researcher Jun Qu. The prototype oil also successfully passed a 100-hour high-temperature, high-load engine dynamometer test. The Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office sponsored the research. [Contact: Morgan McCorkle, (865) 574-7308; mccorkleml@ornl.gov]
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October story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Ron Walli wallira@ornl.gov 865-576-0226 DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
MATERIALSImproving panel performance . . .
Researchers are using supercomputers to design better and less expensive solar panels that can capture the sun's rays more efficiently and maximize power production. Using Titan to simulate the formation of active layers that transform solar energy into electricity at a molecular level, Mike Brown and a team of scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are determining the best ways to generate energy with the compounds that coat the surface of organic photovoltaic cells. These experiments could produce solar cells that can be used on a wide variety of surfaces. The paper was published in the journal Physics Chemistry and Chemical Physics by a team at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. [Written by Jennifer Brouner, brounerjm@ornl.gov] [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
METALLURGYBetter magnetic materials . . .
Understanding the electrons that hold materials together may help scientists design strong, compact, lightweight and radiation-resistant metals at a lower cost. Using supercomputers to study the atomic structures of nickel and ironthe two main components of stainless steelresearchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are exploring ways to improve the quality of metals used in items such as cars, pipelines and nuclear reactors. This research could also help engineers create new metals and alloys that have better structural and mechanical properties than those that are commercially available. The ORNL research team is led by Markus Eisenbach. [Written by Jennifer Brouner, brounerjm@ornl.gov] [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
TRANSPORTATION Energy-saving lubricant additives
A team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and General Motors researchers has developed a new group of ionic liquids as lubricant additives that could help improve the energy efficiency of cars and trucks. The ionic liquid, when added to prototype low viscosity engine oil, boosted fuel economy by more than 2 percent compared to a commercially available synthetic 5W-30 oil, as demonstrated by an industrial standard fuel efficiency engine test. "This breakthrough ionic lubricant technology could potentially save the U.S. tens of million barrels of oil annually," said ORNL researcher Jun Qu. The prototype oil also successfully passed a 100-hour high-temperature, high-load engine dynamometer test. The Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office sponsored the research. [Contact: Morgan McCorkle, (865) 574-7308; mccorkleml@ornl.gov]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The newer, shinier, and freshly named iPad Air is finally here—and goddamn is it thin. But while super-skinny is nice and all, it doesn't necessarily make for a better device (nor was the now-old iPad big-boned by any means). So let's take a look at how the iPad Air compares to its toughest competition.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House economic adviser says the addition of 148,000 jobs in September is a sign of "solid" growth but forecasts worsening in October because of the 16-day partial government shutdown.
Jason Furman, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers, says the policy focus has to return to achieving a faster pace of job growth by increasing certainty and investing in jobs instead of what he said were the "self-inflicted wounds" of the past few weeks.
Furman was referring to the shutdown. He says it increased uncertainty and hindered job creation.
The September unemployment report was released Tuesday, weeks later than usual, because of the shutdown. Furman said the report describes the economy more than a month ago. He says more recent indicators suggest worsening in October.
Children play at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, where more than 120,000 Syrian refugees live. Roughly two-thirds are kids, many of whom have been traumatized by the violence in their homeland.
Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Children play at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, where more than 120,000 Syrian refugees live. Roughly two-thirds are kids, many of whom have been traumatized by the violence in their homeland.
Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Alexandra Chen, a specialist in childhood trauma, is on her way from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to the southern town of Nabatiyeh, where she's running a workshop for teachers, child psychologists and sports coaches who are dealing with the Syrian children scarred by war in their homeland.
"All of the children have experienced trauma to varying degree," explains Chen, who works for Mercy Corps and is training a dozen new hires for her aid group.
Her intense five-day workshop is based on skills and techniques developed in other conflict zones, used for the first time here.
"They need to know enough to understand exactly what's going on in the brain of the children they are working with," Chen says of her trainees. Her course stresses the science of severe trauma, which can be toxic for the brain.
"The human memory remembers negative memories almost four times more strongly than positive ones," she says.
Some 2 million Syrian children have been displaced by the war and more than 1 million of them are now refugees in neighboring countries. One of the biggest challenges for international aid agencies is healing the invisible scars of war in the youngest victims.
Mercy Corps organizes games and movies at the Zaatari camp to help children return to more normal activities and routines.
Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps organizes games and movies at the Zaatari camp to help children return to more normal activities and routines.
Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
"These children have seen terrible things, like bombings and people screaming and people dying, and they've smelled blood and smoke," Chen says as she opens the course. "For them, to be connected to the world feels like a very dangerous thing."
PTSD In Children
Chen tells the trainees that long-term exposure to violence can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which is difficult to treat in adults and even harder to manage in kids. Children can remain hyper-alert, with an "inability to step out of survival mode," which is often expressed as anger or aggression.
This group has already seen signs of severe trauma in Syrian children who recently arrived. Chen teaches them key skills to build a sense of safety for children.
But these newly trained Mercy Corps outreach workers face an overwhelming task. More than 85,000 Syrian refugees have migrated to this part of southern Lebanon, living in the poorest neighborhoods. Aid programs are underfunded and basic needs often go unmet.
Still, international aid organizations are raising the alarm over the newest arrivals. They have lived under traumatic conditions for much longer, surviving continuous bombardments, witnessing deaths firsthand, and many need immediate help.
Chen moves between workshops in Lebanon and refugee camps in Jordan to tackle the same problem.
A Camp Where Most Refugees Are Children
We met again in Zaatari, the sprawling camp in Jordan's desert with more than 120,000 residents, 65 percent of them under 18. Here, children seem dangerously aggressive, punching, fighting or throwing rocks in the open spaces between the refugee tents and trailers.
"Acting aggressively, in many ways, is the mind's way of making sense of what happened before," says Chen, who adds that she has seen behavior change. Many have made progress in a program run by Mercy Corps in a place called Dream Land.
It's in the middle of Zaatari, where kids can feel secure. They play soccer or build sandcastles in soft sand under a large tent that protects them from the sun.
Here, kids hammer on Legos in nearby trailers, while others sit, quietly, watching Tom and Jerry cartoons.
"The fact that they can sit there for an hour of Tom and Jerry is quite remarkable" says Chen, calling it a sign of healing.
But for some, the terrible memories can still become a trigger in daily life.
"The misunderstanding about trauma is that it is an event we have been unable to deal with in the past," she explains. In severe cases of PTSD, she says, "it is the person's inability to engage with the present that is the problem."
There have been some children who sneak into Dream Land in the middle of the night, she says.
"There was a little boy who would come at 3 a.m.," she says. "He would hide in the corner of the tent and shake. The stress that he was expressing was too much in his own little mind. He was unable to sleep. So, this is where he came to find refuge."
And that was a small success, that he had found a safe place.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nokia is expanding its lineup of Windows phones and introducing its first tablet computer, all sporting the powerful camera technology found in its flagship Lumia 1020 smartphone.
The struggling cellphone maker is turning to the camera to differentiate its phones from rivals. The Lumia 1020 has a 41-megapixel camera with technology designed to produce better low-light shots and offer greater manual controls than most smartphones.
The new devices will use Microsoft's Windows system and come as Microsoft aims to complete its 5.44 billion euros ($7.4 billion) deal to buy Nokia's phone business and patent rights. The deal is expected to close early next year.
Nokia, a Finnish company, has seen its cellphone business unravel since Apple revolutionized the way people use handsets with the 2007 introduction of the iPhone. Microsoft, meanwhile, is struggling amid declines in sales of traditional personal computers in favor of smartphones and tablets.
Nokia's new Lumia 1520 will have a larger screen, measuring 6 inches diagonally, compared with 4.5 inches on the 1020. Nokia said the new phone's camera will have only 20 megapixels in order to keep the camera sensor smaller and the phone thinner. But that's still more resolution than most other phones.
The 1520 will also come with new apps designed to organize photos based on where you take the shots and to give you more flexibility in determining —after the fact— where the image should be focused. The phone will cost $740, though wireless carriers are expected to offer it cheaper with two-year service contracts.
Nokia will also make a cheaper version, the Lumia 1320, for a contract-free price of $339. It will have a 5-megapixel camera and a slower processor than the 1520. Both run the latest version of Windows Phone 8, which has new features to accommodate larger screen sizes.
Nokia's first tablet will be the Lumia 2520. It will run Windows 8.1 RT, meaning it shares the tile-based interface of the phone software, but can run various apps designed for Windows tablets. However, RT is the lightweight version of Windows, so it will run only apps specifically designed for it. Regular versions of Windows 8.1 can run apps for older versions of Windows.
All versions of the 2520 will come with built-in 4G LTE cellular access. By contrast, iPads and most other tablets make cellular access optional, with their cheapest models capable of using Wi-Fi only for Internet access.
The 10.1-inch tablet will cost $499. An optional cover with a physical keyboard and extended battery life is $149 extra. The camera is 6.7 megapixels, but shares the low-light technology and manual controls found in the Lumia 1020.
All three devices are expected to go on sale by the end of the year. They will come in multiple colors with a hard, plastic back molded onto the device.
Nokia, now under the Microsoft umbrella, will combine an incoming Windows Phone update with its own smartphone upgrades. Lumia Black is its name, and it'll bring the new, unified Nokia Camera, alongside Storyteller and Beamer apps found on the new Lumia 1520 and 1320, to existing high-end Windows ...
Now that we know HTC's One Max is likely to be living large at AT&T, another variant for Sprint looks to have also been unmasked by the FCC. An OP3P700 version of the 6-inch, 1080p device has just passed the US regulator with Sprint's LTE bands 25, 26 and 41, a likely sign that it's bound for Big ...![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
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Nokia, now under the Microsoft umbrella, will combine an incoming Windows Phone update with its own smartphone upgrades. Lumia Black is its name, and it'll bring the new, unified Nokia Camera, alongside Storyteller and Beamer apps found on the new Lumia 1520 and 1320, to existing high-end Windows ...