Sprint's other prepaid provider finally gets Apple's latest smartphones. It's both the latest and one of the last carriers to offer the two devices.
Apple's iPhone 5C.
(Credit: CNET)
Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are finally making their way to Boost Mobile.
Boost, a unit of Sprint, said Monday that Apple's latest smartphones will be available on November 8. It's both the latest and one of the last carriers to offer the two phones.
Apple typically pushes its new iPhones to the large big-box retailers and national wireless carriers before expanding the distribution to partners focused on prepayment customers. Virgin Mobile, Sprint's other prepaid business, got the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C last month. A smaller number of users purchase the iPhone prepaid because customers are required to pay the higher unsubsidized price.
Boost declined to provide its prices for the iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear a death row appeal from a Florida man ruled mentally disabled in 1992 but later found competent to be executed after he scored 71 on an IQ test, the minimum under state law.
In a brief order, the court said it would consider whether Florida used a lawful process to determine that convicted murderer Freddie Lee Hall, awaiting execution pending appeals, was not mentally disabled after all.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that states could not execute someone who was mentally disabled because doing so violated the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, but the court left it to states to define who was disabled.
Hall's case gives the court the opportunity to revisit the matter and possibly order some U.S. states to change how they determine who is eligible for the death penalty.
"I suspect their ruling will affect not just Florida but the other states as well," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit in Washington that compiles execution data.
Thirty-two of the 50 U.S. states allow the death penalty, but only a handful of states vary from the definition of mental disability used by psychiatrists and others, Dieter said. Those states include Florida, Georgia and Texas.
The American Psychiatric Association this year dropped the term "mental retardation" in favor of "intellectual disability," which it says should be assessed not only with standardized tests but with clinical evaluations of everyday tasks such as language ability, social judgment and personal care.
The case puts yet another major U.S. social issue back in front of the Supreme Court's nine justices, who in the past year have also taken up questions involving same-sex marriage, racial preferences and abortion.
Human rights activists worldwide decry the death penalty.
The court left room in 2002 to return to the topic of mental disability and the death penalty. Justice John Paul Stevens' opinion for a 6-3 majority referenced clinical definitions of mental disability but did not explicitly adopt them as the court's own.
Justice Antonin Scalia, a senior conservative member of the court, wrote in dissent that the question was best left to jurors in part because "the symptoms of this condition can readily be feigned."
'BRIGHT LINE' DISPUTE
At the center of the new case is Hall, age 68 and convicted in the 1978 shooting deaths of a sheriff's deputy and a woman who was seven months pregnant.
In 1992, the first time state courts considered his competence, they found Hall to be mentally disabled, according to a brief filed by Hall's lawyer. But after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 ruling, Hall was tested again and was found competent with the IQ score of 71.
IQ is measured on a scale from 45 to 155 on a test known as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The average is 100, while "1 to 3 percent of the population has an IQ between 70 and 75 or lower," the Supreme Court said in the 2002 ruling.
Under Florida law, there is a three-part test for determining whether people are mentally disabled. They must have subaverage intellectual functioning and difficulty living independently, and they must show it before age 18.
Hall's lawyer said Florida's courts improperly are using a "bright line" standard for determining subaverage intellectual functioning: those with IQ scores of 70 or below may be mentally disabled, while those with scores of 71 or above may not be.
The inventors of the test that Hall took did not intend for it to give a bright-line answer, only a range of possible scores, and Hall's range would be 67 to 75, the lawyer said.
In urging the Supreme Court to stay out of the case, Florida's attorney general stressed that the state has a three-part test, not a single test based on IQ alone. It also said that Hall had scored as high as 80 on one test, and that regardless the question was best left for states to answer.
The court's 2002 ruling "expressly left the task of defining retardation to the states," the state said.
Oral arguments and a ruling are expected before the end of June 2014.
The case is Hall v. Florida, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-10882.
(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Howard Goller and Eric Beech)
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Welcome to the fall 2013 tablet edition of the Engadget buyer's guide. Choosing the right tablet can be difficult, especially now that the iPad Air and Surface 2 are hot off the press. Not to worry! Let us assist you with expert recommendations no matter your budgetary or size preference.
Are your Vines subpar? Do you need more than simple grid and focus tools to capture a stellar six-second concept? If so, then Vine's latest update might contain just the feature for you. Read on to find out about the service's newest feature, Time Travel.
A recently approved patent in South Korea hints that Samsung may have other wearables up its sleeve. The eyewear is being referred to as "sports glasses," complete with integrated earphones for listening to music and hands-free headset capabilities. Click the link to feast on a few more pics.
We knew ads were coming to Instagram, and now the company's shown off a concrete example of what we can expect when it's finally foisted upon us. Follow through to our full article to learn all you need to know about Instagram's new sponsored bits.
Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of St. Andrews warn that Uganda's African lionsa mainstay of the country's tourism industry and a symbol of Africaare on the verge of disappearing from the country's national parks.
According to the results of a recent survey, African lions in Uganda have decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years in some areas of the country, mostly the result of poisoning by local cattle herders, retaliations for livestock predation, and other human-related conflicts. The downward trend in lion numbers has conservationists concerned about the species' long-term chances in the country, often described as the "Pearl of Africa" for its natural wonders.
The study appears in the latest edition of the journal Oryx. The authors include: Edward Okot Omoya, Tutilo Mudumba, Paul Mulondo, and Andrew J. Plumptre from WCS and Stephen T. Buckland of the University of St. Andrews.
"African lions are a vital component of these ecosystems," said WCS conservationist Edward Okot Omoya, the lead author of the study. "They play an important role in disease control of antelopes and buffalo by killing the sick animals."
The paper describes the results of a "lure count" analysis survey to estimate the density and population distribution of lions and spotted hyenas in Uganda's three major conservation areas, conducted by researchers between November 2008 and November 2009. The researchers used a buffalo calf distress call (broadcast via speakers mounted on a vehicle roof rack) to attract both medium and large carnivores to the "call stations" as a means of calculating a current population estimate for the study locations. Previous survey methods used to count lions have included counting roars, identifying individual cats, and mark-recapture methods, but the methods are time-consuming and expensive.
Overall, the call station surveys attracted a total of 66 lions, 176 spotted hyenas, and seven leopards. The broadcasts also attracted a host of smaller predators, including side-striped jackals, black-backed jackals, white-tailed mongooses, and large spotted genets.
Using the data of animals observed, the analysis generated an estimated lion population of 408 animals in the three main strongholds for lions in Uganda, nearly two hundred fewer lions than estimates made in 2000-2002 (a statistical decrease of more than 30 percent). In Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, estimated lion numbers have decreased from 206 to 144 over the past decade (a 30 percent drop). In Murchison Falls Conservation Area, the team estimates a nearly 60 percent drop (from 324 to 132 lions in the past decade). Only in Kidepo Valley National Park did the researchers detect an increase in estimated lion numbers (climbing from 58 to 132).
"Lions are the species tourists most want to see in Uganda's savannas according to research by WCS. Surveys of tourists have shown that they would be 50% less likely to visit the parks in Uganda if they couldn't see lions, and if they did visit they would want to pay less for the experience. As an industry that generates more foreign currency in the country than any other business this could have significant consequences for Uganda" reported Dr. Andrew Plumptre, WCS's Director for the Albertine Rift.
The study also represents the first survey of hyena numbers from these areas, generating a population estimate of 324 hyenas (the researchers suspectbut cannot prove hyenas to be in decline as well).
"Conservation areas such as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which formerly contained the highest biomass of mammals on Earth, depend on the delicate balance between predators and prey," said Dr. James Deutsch, Executive Director of WCS's Africa Program. "Their loss would permanently alter two of Africa's great ecosystems."
The crisis in lion conservation in Uganda reflects the status of the species across Africa, where lion populations have dropped by 30 percent over the past two decades as a result of illegal killing and the loss of both habitat and prey. The most recent estimate of Africa's total lion population is approximately 32,000 animals. A group study led by WCS estimated that 42 percent of major lion populations are in decline. The species is nearly extinct in West and Central Africa. The species is listed as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but there is a current proposal to list the species as "Endangered" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of the continuing global declines.
###
The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo exhibits African lions in its African Plains habitat, a naturalistic exhibit space that exhibits both predator and prey species separated only by moats. The Bronx Zoo's lions are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a breeding cooperative administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to enhance the genetic viability and diversity of animal populations in accredited zoos.
WCS is grateful to Panthera and the U.S. Agency for International Development for the training and funding support provided to make this research possible.
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King of beasts losing ground in Uganda's paradise
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
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Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of St. Andrews warn that Uganda's African lionsa mainstay of the country's tourism industry and a symbol of Africaare on the verge of disappearing from the country's national parks.
According to the results of a recent survey, African lions in Uganda have decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years in some areas of the country, mostly the result of poisoning by local cattle herders, retaliations for livestock predation, and other human-related conflicts. The downward trend in lion numbers has conservationists concerned about the species' long-term chances in the country, often described as the "Pearl of Africa" for its natural wonders.
The study appears in the latest edition of the journal Oryx. The authors include: Edward Okot Omoya, Tutilo Mudumba, Paul Mulondo, and Andrew J. Plumptre from WCS and Stephen T. Buckland of the University of St. Andrews.
"African lions are a vital component of these ecosystems," said WCS conservationist Edward Okot Omoya, the lead author of the study. "They play an important role in disease control of antelopes and buffalo by killing the sick animals."
The paper describes the results of a "lure count" analysis survey to estimate the density and population distribution of lions and spotted hyenas in Uganda's three major conservation areas, conducted by researchers between November 2008 and November 2009. The researchers used a buffalo calf distress call (broadcast via speakers mounted on a vehicle roof rack) to attract both medium and large carnivores to the "call stations" as a means of calculating a current population estimate for the study locations. Previous survey methods used to count lions have included counting roars, identifying individual cats, and mark-recapture methods, but the methods are time-consuming and expensive.
Overall, the call station surveys attracted a total of 66 lions, 176 spotted hyenas, and seven leopards. The broadcasts also attracted a host of smaller predators, including side-striped jackals, black-backed jackals, white-tailed mongooses, and large spotted genets.
Using the data of animals observed, the analysis generated an estimated lion population of 408 animals in the three main strongholds for lions in Uganda, nearly two hundred fewer lions than estimates made in 2000-2002 (a statistical decrease of more than 30 percent). In Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, estimated lion numbers have decreased from 206 to 144 over the past decade (a 30 percent drop). In Murchison Falls Conservation Area, the team estimates a nearly 60 percent drop (from 324 to 132 lions in the past decade). Only in Kidepo Valley National Park did the researchers detect an increase in estimated lion numbers (climbing from 58 to 132).
"Lions are the species tourists most want to see in Uganda's savannas according to research by WCS. Surveys of tourists have shown that they would be 50% less likely to visit the parks in Uganda if they couldn't see lions, and if they did visit they would want to pay less for the experience. As an industry that generates more foreign currency in the country than any other business this could have significant consequences for Uganda" reported Dr. Andrew Plumptre, WCS's Director for the Albertine Rift.
The study also represents the first survey of hyena numbers from these areas, generating a population estimate of 324 hyenas (the researchers suspectbut cannot prove hyenas to be in decline as well).
"Conservation areas such as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which formerly contained the highest biomass of mammals on Earth, depend on the delicate balance between predators and prey," said Dr. James Deutsch, Executive Director of WCS's Africa Program. "Their loss would permanently alter two of Africa's great ecosystems."
The crisis in lion conservation in Uganda reflects the status of the species across Africa, where lion populations have dropped by 30 percent over the past two decades as a result of illegal killing and the loss of both habitat and prey. The most recent estimate of Africa's total lion population is approximately 32,000 animals. A group study led by WCS estimated that 42 percent of major lion populations are in decline. The species is nearly extinct in West and Central Africa. The species is listed as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but there is a current proposal to list the species as "Endangered" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of the continuing global declines.
###
The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo exhibits African lions in its African Plains habitat, a naturalistic exhibit space that exhibits both predator and prey species separated only by moats. The Bronx Zoo's lions are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a breeding cooperative administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to enhance the genetic viability and diversity of animal populations in accredited zoos.
WCS is grateful to Panthera and the U.S. Agency for International Development for the training and funding support provided to make this research possible.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
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.
For most of us, plague is something that maybe we read about in history books. In the 14th Century, it wiped out half of Europe's population. But the bacteria is busy killing wildlife now in the American West. By studying small mammals scientists have learned that plague is far more pervasive a killer than anyone thought.
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
And I'm Audie Cornish.
Most Americans' experience with plague is limited to history books. In the 14th century, it famously wiped out half of Europe's population. But right now, the bacteria is quietly ravaging wildlife in parts of the American West.
NPR's Elizabeth Shogren has the story.
(SOUNDBITE OF A PRAIRIE DOG)
ELIZABETH SHOGREN, BYLINE: This is what it sounds like if you walk through a prairie dog town in South Dakota's Badlands National Park.
(SOUNDBITE OF A PRAIRIE DOG)
SHOGREN: A chorus of prairie dogs telling each other to watch out for threats. But just down the road, as Dean Biggins hikes into what use to be a large prairie dog town, all he hears is an occasional call of the meadowlark.
(SOUNDBITE OF A MEADOWLARK)
DEAN BIGGINS: Several years ago, plague moved in with a vengeance and really pretty much wiped out the prairie dog.
SHOGREN: Biggins is a biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. He first saw plague in action in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1985, when he watched colony after colony of prairie dogs turn into ghost towns.
BIGGINS: Really a devastating feeling to have watched it and just basically be helpless to do very much about it.
SHOGREN: When plague wipes out a prairie dog town, it dramatically changes the ecosystem. It takes away food for predators like hawks and coyotes, and the intricate system of burrows and underground tunnels created by all those prairie dogs and used by many other critters collapses.
Back then, Biggins says scientists believed plague had a predictable MO.
BIGGINS: Plague would come from this unknown source and invade quickly into a prairie dog town, explode and kill almost all the prairie dogs, and then disappear back into its reservoir form where it existed without damaging anything too much.
SHOGREN: But it was Biggins' work with another animal that gave him clues that scientists were wrong about plague. In the late 1990s, Biggins was running a captive breeding program for endangered black-footed ferrets in Colorado. All of the sudden, ferrets started getting very sick.
BIGGINS: It was horrifying. I mean, absolutely horrifying. We actually did not know it was plague then. We suspected because of the symptoms. They tried to drink water, couldn't drink. They bled from the nose, so they were hemorrhaging inside.
SHOGREN: It turns out keepers had mistakenly fed the ferrets chunks of prairie dog meat infected with plague.
BIGGINS: I think we lost something like 26 ferrets to plague. So it was a real kick in the head to me.
SHOGREN: But it gave Biggins an idea. Maybe plague was the reason why ferrets weren't thriving in the wild. He started looking at the animals in Montana. He did not find a big outbreak killing ferrets. But he did find plague. He found it in coyotes and badgers. Plague doesn't make these animals sick. But when they've been exposed, it shows up in antibodies in their blood.
BIGGINS: If these animals can find something with plague out there, the ferret does the same thing. The ferret is going to die.
SHOGREN: Maybe plague was killing ferrets so fast that there was no trace left for researchers to see. So they decided to vaccinate ferrets to test their hunch.
BIGGINS: Turned out that the vaccinated ferrets survived at a rate of about 240 percent better than non-vaccinated ferrets, so there was our answer.
SHOGREN: They were right. Plague was active. That told Biggins that plague had a different MO. It didn't go on a mad killing spree, mostly in prairie dogs, and then go dormant.
BIGGINS: Now we recognize that the disease is out there killing mainly mammals every year.
SHOGREN: Since then, Biggins has confirmed his theory in field experiments on other small mammals. Plague is killing various kinds of mice and ground squirrels in New Mexico and Mexican wood rats in Colorado.
BIGGINS: The threat is to the ecosystems of the West. I think we could be having basically a Black Death type of episode occurring rather continuously in the United States that we haven't even recognized.
SHOGREN: Some experts say there isn't enough evidence to quantify plague's death toll. There aren't enough scientists studying these small animals in the West. That's because there aren't that many people getting plague, only seven reports each year in the U.S. Few people live where outbreaks occur.
Biologist Travis Livieri contracts with the federal government to capture ferrets and give them checkups. He's watched plague ravage populations of rare black-footed ferrets. Now, when he when he goes to scientific meetings, he warns his colleagues.
TRAVIS LIVIERI: Is everything, quote, unquote, "normal" with your favorite species? If it isn't, consider that plague might be there. It might be affecting your species in ways that you couldn't even imagine.
SHOGREN: In nearby Badlands National Park, biologist Dean Biggins' team is looking for mice. They've checked tens of thousands of traps over five months. But they've caught relatively few mice.
DIANNA KREJSA: We have a closed box.
SHOGREN: Researcher Dianna Krejsa looks into the trap.
KREJSA: It's a false positive, is that what we call it. It's closed but nobody is in there.
SHOGREN: Biggins is pretty sure he knows why this gorgeous habitat is so sterile. The plague that swept through here several years ago, wiping out prairie dogs, is still busy killing.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - The people of Madagascar vote on Friday in a presidential election they hope will end a five-year crisis and rebuild investor confidence to mend an economy crippled since President Andry Rajoelina seized power in a 2009 coup.
It is the first vote on the huge, nickel- and vanilla-producing island off Africa since the upheaval four years ago triggered by mutinous soldiers that drew sanctions against Madagascar and prompted donors to freeze crucial budget support.
Rajoelina, a former disc jockey, and the wife of the man he ousted, Marc Ravalomanana, were barred by an electoral court from competing. With no clear favorite among the 33 candidates, the election is not expected to produce an outright winner, meaning a likely run-off in December.
Polling stations open at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).
Presidential hopefuls have crisscrossed the Indian Ocean isle famed for its exotic wildlife and threatened rainforests, making lofty promises of free primary education, better management of mineral resources and a crackdown on corruption.
"People have waited a long time for this election. Finally, a chance for change," said 42-year-old Volana Ravaoarisoa, who lost her job in a textiles factory after the United States suspended Madagascar from a trade pact after the coup.
Many Malagasy are, however, less optimistic and fear the result will be disputed. That would risk prolonging uncertainty and more turmoil on the world's fourth largest island, situated in the Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa, as it struggles to lure back foreign investors, tourists and donors.
FINANCIAL PLIGHT
Madagascar's cash-strapped economy needed budget support back, its finance minister told Reuters.
Rajoelina, 39, rose to power after galvanizing popular anger at Ravalomanana's perceived abuses of power. He spearheaded violent street protests in early 2009 and toppled the self-made millionaire after dissident soldiers swung behind him.
Diplomats said they were keeping a watchful eye on the military, still headed by a general who backed Ravalomanana's ouster and whose commanders are seen as loyal to Rajoelina.
"The Malagasy want a president ... who is not hungry for power. The people deserve a better future," Rajoelina said late on Thursday in a pre-recorded address to the nation.
The bitter rivalry between Rajoelina and Ravalomanana persists. Both men agreed with regional states not to run for the presidency in order to help restore order, but remain influential in the voting, analysts say.
Ravalomanana, who fled to South Africa and remains there, has openly backed Jean Louis Robinson, a former minister during his presidency and regarded as a serious contender.
Publicly, Rajoelina has not endorsed a candidate. However, two aspirants, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, a former finance minister, and Edgard Razafindravahy are both widely seen as close political associates of the outgoing president.
One Western diplomat said flaws in the voting process were inevitable but that the alternative was another delay. Rajoelina first promised an election in late 2010.
"Everybody knows the vote cannot be perfect but everybody is playing the game," said Lydie Boka of French risk group StrategiCo. "Given the circumstances, maybe that is the best they can do."
Finishing up her midweek outing, Lizzy Caplan departed the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood on Wednesday night (October 23).
The “Hot Tub Time Machine” actress wore a pretty patterned dress as she scurried back to her car following the CFDA & Vogue Fashion Fund fete, smiling for the shutterbugs along the way.
In career news, Lizzy’s show “Masters of Sex” was just renewed by Showtime and will film 12 one-hour episodes for 2014’s season.
Also starring Michael Sheen, the series looks at real-life human sexuality pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson.
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