You Can Get Your Apple Watch Starting in April

The Apple Watch will arrive in April.
Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the news this afternoon, during a conference call held to discuss the company’s earnings for the first fiscal quarter of 2015. “Development for the Apple Watch is right on schedule,” Cook said.
When the Apple Watch was unveiled in September, the company said it would arrive in “early 2015,” and recent rumors indicated a March launch date.
Others companies, most notably Samsung, have offered internet-connected watches. And countless other outfits are exploring other kinds of wearable computing devices. But the Apple Watch is perhaps the most highly anticipated.
It is the first entirely new device from the company since the iPad tablet, which was unveiled five years ago today. As Apple said when it revealed the Apple Watch in the fall, the device will sell for $349, and it will connect to the internet through your Apple iPhone. Among other things, the device will track your fitness, send and receive messages, and let you pay for goods, both online and off, through the new Apple Pay payments.

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Snapchat Gets Into the News Business With the Launch of ‘Discover’

Snapchat’s long-awaited news tool, Discover, is finally here, letting media outlets post bite-sized content on the popular messaging app. The company announced the news on Tuesday with a blog post, though rumors of a Snapchat news tool began circulating last year. Through Discover, users tap to open a new edition, swipe left to browse through different stories, or swipe up to see more from a story.
At launch, Snapchat is working with ten media partners, including CNN, ESPN, and National Geographic. These companies will release a new edition of Discover content every 24 hours, featuring both videos and articles hand picked by their staffers. The goal for these media companies, of course, is to hook a new, younger audience that doesn’t often connect with traditional media.
And for Snapchat, Discover presents a chance to justify that $10 billion valuation, as the ephemeral messaging app begins integrating ads into the editorial content. Snapchat will also begin producing articles and videos of its own, according to a recent report by Digiday. Both changes position Snapchat firmly in the realm of new media companies, which as a recent WIRED cover story explored, are quickly inventing new ways to not only deliver news to readers but also to make money from it.
But while many of these companies, like Buzzfeed and Medium, have forged their own paths to success, without relying on traditional companies to prop them up, Snapchat has been working side by side with these companies to develop a tool can can bridge the gap between old school journalism and a young, tech savvy audience.
“Social media companies tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular. We see it differently. We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important,” Snapchat’s blog post reads. “All too often, artists are forced to accommodate new technologies in order to distribute their work. This time we built the technology to serve the art: each edition includes full screen photos and videos, awesome long form layouts, and gorgeous advertising.”
So far, Snapchat’s media partners, who will share ad revenue with the company, have expressed the typical excitement about the app. “We’re always seeking out new audiences and advertisers, and it’s more important than ever to tailor content to suit the platform,” Andrew Morse, senior vice president and general manager of CNN Digital, said in a statement. “Snapchat is one of the most engaging platforms out there, and we’re excited to be able to program content specifically for that audience.”
And yet, working with Snapchat is still a risk for media companies, because, ultimately, their goals are at odds. Media companies don’t need Snapchat users to become even more devout Snapchat users. Media companies need to hook young readers while they’re on Snapchat, so that they’ll eventually seek out more stories from those media companies off of Snapchat.
Snapchat, by contrast, wants to own as big a share of the user engagement pie as it can. That’s why it’s going to develop original stories and videos that no other outlets have, but that are pitch perfect for its audience. If Snapchat can give its users an endless supply of stories from its own team, plus the best of what everyone else has to offer, plus access to all the silly selfies and self-destructing videos that made it what it is today, why would users go anywhere else?

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Greek election: Anti-austerity Syriza battles New Democracy

Greeks are voting in a general election which could result in Greece trying to renegotiate the terms of its bailout with international lenders. The leftwing Syriza party, which has been leading in opinion polls, wants part of Greece's huge debt written off and austerity measures revoked. This has spooked money markets and raised fears of a Greek exit from the euro.
But the governing New Democracy party says the economy is recovering.
Greece has endured tough budget cuts in return for the bailout negotiated with the so-called troika of lenders - the European Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).
The economy has shrunk drastically since the 2008 global financial crisis, increasing unemployment and throwing many Greeks into poverty. Polls across Greece are due to open at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and close at 19:00.

There are nearly 10 million eligible voters, who are electing the country's 300-member parliament. First exit polls are expected immediately after the voting ends. 'Dignity' Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras says his party will restore "dignity" to Greece by rolling back on cuts to jobs, pay and pensions which have hurt millions of people across the country.
The possibility of a Syriza victory has sparked fears that Greece could default on its debt and leave the euro - the single currency of 19 EU members.
This is despite the fact that Syriza has moderated its stance since the peak of the eurozone crisis, and says it wants Greece to stay a member of the currency.
Meanwhile, the leader of centre-right New Democracy and PM Antonis Samaras has promised to work "day and night" to keep the country standing. Syriza, he argues, could force the country from the euro by its policies, serving what he called the "drachma lobby", a reference to the former Greek currency.
He also warns that Greece could miss out on a massive programme of quantitative easing unveiled by the ECB last week to help stimulate the eurozone economy.

The centrist To Potami and the right-wing Golden Dawn party are expected to fight for third place in the elections. Greek economy in numbers
Average wage is €600 (£450: $690) a month
Unemployment is at 25%, with youth unemployment almost 50%
Economy has shrunk by 25% since the start of the eurozone crisis
Country's debt is 175% of GDP
Borrowed €240bn (£188bn) from the EU, the ECB and the IMF

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Zuckerberg, read these 10 books first

Mark Zuckerberg likes to make resolutions for the New Year. Once he decided he must only eat meat that he had killed himself -- an admirable, if quirky, resolution for any vigorous young man with a rifle. Another time he decided to learn Mandarin Chinese -- not a simple task. I wonder how that turned out? Now he's vowed to start a book club, hoping to channel the reading attention of the millions who follow him on Facebook. I like his latest idea a lot: Anything that gets people reading and talking about books is a good thing. Jay Parini Jay Parini If I were Mr. Zuckerberg, I would aim for books that can be read slowly and carefully by busy people in their spare time, choosing ones with the

capacity to enlarge their sense of what it means to be human and to live respectfully and generously among others. Which ones would you pick?
Here are 10 books that have meant a good deal to me -- a mix of fiction and nonfiction:

1."Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain. This is the primary text of American literature, high on any serious list of world classics. It's a book about the American soul, about race and community, and about the urgent need to "light out for the territory." As Huck and Jim float down the Mississippi on their quest for freedom, they take every reader of this truly great novel with them, forever.

2."The Death of Ivan Ilyich," by Leo Tolstoy. Written after Tolstoy's conversion to his own idiosyncratic version of Christianity, this short Russian novel brings us face to face with mortality. Each of us, sooner or later, will die. In the process of dying, Tolstoy's lead character comes to terms with his life and its meaning, which is made all the more vivid as it fades.

3."July's People," by Nadine Gordimer. This slim, intense novel appeared in 1981, not so long before apartheid had ended in South Africa. It imagined a violent finale to that conflict between blacks and whites -- an ending that (fortunately) didn't materialize. Yet this novel remains a strong evocation of cultural and racial differences; the sort of book that helps to explain racial divides that continues to haunt us.

4."Walden," by Henry David Thoreau. Another great American book, one that makes the vital connection between spirit and nature. It's an autobiographical masterpiece as well; the story of one man's quest for meaning in the wilderness. It's a wry, touching, eloquent evocation of human consciousness as well as conscience. Nobody can afford NOT to read this book slowly, carefully, more than once.

5."Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe. This fine African novel has been justifiably chosen by millions of readers as a book that gloriously summons the social, cultural and intensely personal situation of modern Africans living in the wake of colonial power. Achebe saw his fellow Nigerians as individuals caught in a web of social relations, delineated here with clarity and confidence.

6."Tao Te Ching," by Laozi, translated by Stephen Mitchell. This Chinese classic is one of the most influential books I have encountered in half a century of reading. The art of living is beautifully unfolded here in 81 tiny chapters. The author invites us to conform to the Tao itself, the universal principle of being, and his book teaches us how to live with ourselves and with others, how to govern a nation, a family, ourselves. It is a book to live with and learn from, decade after decade.

7."Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," by Annie Dillard. This lovely work of American autobiography is about paying attention to one's surroundings. Dillard explores the natural world around her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, moving through the seasons, coming to terms with her own solitude, her sense of vocation as a writer, and her understanding of what faith means. It's a book that should be read in tandem with Thoreau's "Walden."

8."What Is God?" by Jacob Needleman. A philosopher and religious scholar, Needleman writes about his own spiritual journey from atheism to a more complex understanding of the source of all being. Needleman asks: "Who is wise?" His answer is: "one who learn from everything and everyone." This book asks, even answers, many of the basic questions about being human, drawing on a wide range of religious traditions.

9."Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution," by Adrienne Rich. Published in 1976, this eloquent meditation on motherhood is told from the viewpoint of one of the finest American poets of the 20th century. It's a landmark study, a foundational book in modern feminist thought, and well worth reading, then rereading.

10."One Hundred Years of Solitude," by Gabriel García Márquez. The longest book on my list, but nobody can afford to ignore it. My old mentor, the Scottish poet Alastair Reid, used to say that anyone who hasn't read this book is still an intellectual virgin. Márquez tells the story of a single family in a remote village in Colombia. But this story is the human story writ small, the story of history itself, with its inevitable repetitions, its recurring ghosts, grounded in the nearly untranslatable poetry of human feeling.

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UK Ebola nurse's condition stabilizes

The condition of a health worker battling Ebola in London has stabilized, but she remains in critical condition, Britain's health secretary told lawmakers Monday. On December 29, Pauline Cafferkey, 39, of Glasgow, Scotland, became the first person to be diagnosed with the virus on UK soil, after returning from Sierra Leone the day before. On Saturday, the London hospital where she is being treated said that her condition had deteriorated over two days to critical. In a statement to the British House of Commons Monday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt commended Cafferkey and 69 other National Health Service volunteers who had spent Christmas in Sierra Leone for "the exceptional bravery and compassion they showed in joining the battle against Ebola." He said the doctor leading the team caring for Cafferkey at the Royal Free had updated him on her condition Monday morning. "As has been reported, Pauline's condition has deteriorated to a critical state, although she stabilized yesterday and continues to receive the best possible care," Hunt said. Screening The Health Secretary described Cafferkey's journey from Sierra Leone -- where she had worked for six weeks -- to Glasgow and London via Casablanca and Heathrow airports. Having been screened and cleared in Sierra Leone and Casablanca, Morocco, Cafferkey arrived at Heathrow where she was again screened. "As her temperature was in the acceptable range she was cleared to fly home to Scotland," Hunt said. "While still at Heathrow, a reassessment was triggered because of concerns she may have had an elevated temperature. She was reassessed and her temperature taken a further six times over 30 minutes. As her temperature was within the acceptable range, she was again cleared to travel." However, once in Glasgow, Cafferkey became feverish overnight and was admitted to an isolation unit on December 29. After testing positive for Ebola she was transferred to London Royal Free Hospital, Hunt said. "Some have asked whether it was appropriate for her to be allowed to travel onto Glasgow after she raised concerns about her health at Heathrow. The clinical advice on this is clear: You can only contract Ebola by coming into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person -- that means blood, vomit or diarrhea -- which becomes a risk when a patient is exhibiting feverish symptoms. "Because she didn't have a high temperature, the clinical judgment was made to allow her to continue her journey home," he said.

The Health Secretary said clinical protocols appeared to have been followed when Cafferkey returned to the UK but in terms of screening, "I don't think organizationally, it was as smooth as it could be." Review of procedures Cafferkey had been working at Save the Children's Kerry Town Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone.

On Monday, the charity said it was "doing everything possible" to establish how Cafferkey contracted Ebola and has been conducting a review since she was confirmed as having the virus on December 29. "The Serious Event Review (SER) is looking at how the patient might have contracted Ebola by reviewing training, safety protocols, how protective equipment is used, and working practices," it said in a statement. A panel that would include independent health experts would consider the review's findings, which would be made available as soon as possible, it said.

"As with other Ebola infections in health facilities, it may never be possible to be 100% sure how the patient was infected. The work of these brave health workers is never risk-free, but we are committed to doing everything possible to learn what happened and, if necessary, to make changes to our protocols and practice," Save the Children said.

"Staff safety is our No. 1 priority and our thoughts are with Pauline and her family at this very difficult time."

Britain's health secretary told lawmakers that Save the Children's review was being conducted in conjunction with Public Health England staff and it was hoped that it would report back "in the next few days."

"Obviously we're keen for them to report as quickly as possible but on the other hand we don't want to put them under pressure not to do a thorough report," he said.

Hunt said it was not believed that the protective suits worn by the workers had been breached, but that officials were continuing to "keep an open mind."

Hospital treatment The Royal Free Hospital said Wednesday that Cafferkey had decided to have blood plasma treatment -- using plasma from Ebola survivors -- and to take an experimental antiviral drug.
The hospital is equipped with a high-level isolation unit where access is restricted to specially trained medical staff. A specially designed tent with controlled ventilation is over the patient's bed. Another British volunteer nurse, William Pooley, was treated in the unit after his return home from Sierra Leone in August after being diagnosed with Ebola. He was later cleared of the virus.

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Except that this church is Unitarian. Unitarianism emerged in early modern Europe from those who rejected a Trinitarian theology in preference for the doctrine that God was one. By the 19th century, however, the Unitarian church had become a place for intellectuals who were skeptical of belief claims but who wanted to hang on to faith in some manner. Charles Darwin, for example, turned to Unitarians as he struggled with his growing doubt. My mother is the daughter of a Baptist pastor and the black sheep, theologically speaking, of her family. She wants to go to church, but she is not quite sure whether she wants God. The modern Unitarian Universalist Association’s statement of principles does not mention God at all.
As it happens, this kind of God-neutral faith is growing rapidly, in many cases with even less role for God than among Unitarians. Atheist services have sprung up around the country, even in the Bible Belt.
Many of them are connected to Sunday Assembly, which was founded in Britain by two comedians, Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. They are avowed atheists. Yet they have created a movement that draws thousands of people to events with music, sermons, readings, reflections and (to judge by photos) even the waving of upraised hands. There are nearly 200 Sunday Assembly gatherings worldwide. A gathering in Los Angeles last year attracted hundreds of participants.
How do we understand this impulse to hold a “church” service despite a hesitant or even nonexistent faith? Part of the answer is surely the quest for community. That’s what Mr. Jones told The Associated Press: “Singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people — and doing that in a community with wonderful relationships. Which part of that is not to like?”

Another part of the answer is that rituals change the way we pay attention as much as — perhaps more than — they express belief. In “The Archetypal Actions of Ritual,” two anthropologists, Caroline Humphrey and James Laidlaw, go so far as to argue that ritual isn’t about expressing religious commitment at all, but about doing something in a way that marks the moment as different from the everyday and forces you to see it as important. Their point is that performing a ritual focuses your attention on some moment and deems it worthy of respect.
In Britain, where the rate of atheism is much higher than in the United States, organizations have now sprung up to mark life passages for those who consider themselves to be nonbelievers. The anthropologist Matthew Engelke spent much of 2011 with the British Humanist Association, the country’s pre-eminent nonreligious organization, with a membership of over 12,000. The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist, is a member. The association sponsors a good deal of anti-religious political activity. They want to stop faith-based schools from receiving state funding and to remove the rights of Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords. They also perform funerals, weddings and namings. In 2011, members conducted 9,000 of these rituals. Ceremony does something for people independent of their theological views.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story Moreover, these rituals work, if by “work” we mean that they change people’s sense of their lives. It turns out that saying that you are grateful makes you feel grateful. Saying that you are thankful makes you feel thankful. To a world so familiar with the general unreliability of language, that may seem strange. But it is true.
Donna 7 hours ago I should be surprised by all the negative comments but I guess I'm not. I am 90% a non-believer (when there is turbulence on an airplane I... robinhood377 8 hours ago With what the writer portends....HOW does this all figure into that indescribable POWER of prayer/faith/inner self...to HELP overcome... dwilli 8 hours ago Luhrmann demonstrates that religion, or worship, is natural to mankind, but also how denatured we can become. The contraceptive mentality... SEE ALL COMMENTS WRITE A COMMENT In a study in which undergraduates were assigned to write weekly either about things they were grateful or thankful for; hassles; or “events or circumstances that affected you in the past week,” those who wrote about gratitude felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the coming week. There have now been many such studies.
CONTINUE READING THE MAIN STORY 955 COMMENTS Religion is fundamentally a practice that helps people to look at the world as it is and yet to experience it — to some extent, in some way — as it should be. Much of what people actually do in church — finding fellowship, celebrating birth and marriage, remembering those we have lost, affirming the values we cherish — can be accomplished with a sense of God as metaphor, as story, or even without any mention of God at all.
Yet religion without God may be more poignant. Atheists trust in human relations, not supernatural ones, and humans are not so good at delivering the world as it should be. Perhaps that is why we are moved by Christmas carols, which conjure up the world as it can be and not the world we know. May the spirit of Christmas be with you, however you understand what that means.

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Promising U.S. skiers killed in avalanche

An avalanche in Austria claimed the lives of two promising young ski racers Monday, the U.S. Ski Team said.
Ronnie Berlack, 20, and Bryce Astle, 19, were among a group of six athletes skiing at an Austrian resort. The four others managed to ski out of the slide, the team said on its website.
"Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate about their sport," U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Tiger Shaw said in a statement.
Berlack, from Franconia, New Hampshire, had been named to the U.S. Ski Team's Development Team. Astle, from Sandy, Utah, had been invited to train with the development team.
Messages are being left at the team's official Facebook page.
The avalanche occurred at around 2,800 meters (about 9,200 feet) in elevation. There was a level-three avalanche risk in the area (out of five) for places above 2,200 meters (7,200 feet).

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