The Logoff is a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff. Today is a tough one: I want to focus on the Trump administrations freeze of foreign aid, an issue that is a matter of life-and-death for vulnerable people around the world.Whats the latest? People around the world are feeling the effects of Trumps Day 1 decision to freeze all foreign aid. The New York Times has a series of painful examples: displaced Sudanese people losing access to soup kitchens, Thai war refugees getting turned away from hospitals, Ukrainian civilians losing access to firewood.Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week ordered lifesaving aid to be temporarily exempted from the freeze, but ProPublica reported on Friday that that in at least some cases, that hasnt happened. The Times reporting also suggests the pause plus uncertainty over what aid is lifesaving has led to some essential funding falling through the cracks.Theres no way to sugarcoat this: Foreign aid saves lives, and freezing it will cost them.Is this funding freeze normal? Absolutely not. Foreign aid fluctuates between administrations, and the law gives them leeway in how it gets distributed. Sometimes individual programs will be stalled for review. But a wholesale freeze is unprecedented. How much money are we talking about? Last year, USAID, the State Departments foreign aid agency, dispersed $43.8 billion or about 0.7 percent of the federal budget.What comes next? Politico reported that the State Department has been given about three months to evaluate the foreign aid and then for Rubio to make a recommendation to Trump on which programs should be kept or discontinued. But Rubio on Friday signaled a deep skepticism, saying: The US government is not a charity.Killing the funding, however, would require Trump to stop spending that Congress approved a move likely banned by a 1974 law. Trumps team argues that law is unconstitutional, and so the fate of any canceled aid would likely fall to the courts.And with that, its time to log off ...It can feel uncaring or insensitive to deliver news with this gravitas and then pivot to joy. However, I believe that taking care of ourselves mentally including by consuming hopeful news is a part of being good citizens. To that end, heres a story featuring two things I deeply enjoy: polar bears, and potential scientific breakthroughs. Take good care this weekend. Ill see you back here on Monday.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

January has come and gone, and were already exhausted by 2025 for several big reasons. CES normally brings out enough off-the-wall tech to fill our baskets. This years big tech showcase included a few surprise products that seemed honestly great, from earbuds to e-bikes to AR glasses. After the festivities died down, the best gadgets of January included the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs, which have already proved so popular you cant buy one anymore. Then, Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S25 phones with all the AI capabilities we expected theyd have. Buckle up, as 2025 is only going to ramp up from here. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Adriano Contreras / GizmodoOne UI 7 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Youll have to pay for this Kuromi look! The first big release of the year is the shot across the bow for agentic AI in phones. The Galaxy S25 series packs a few minor improvements to Samsungs flagship mobile devices, including slightly lighter frames and slightly smaller bezels. Even with small camera improvements, the big update to the Galaxy S25 Ultra was its new AI capabilities. Neither the Now Briefi widget nor the personal AI add too much to the device. The cross-app capabilities arent fully realized either. Still, the $1,300 Galaxy is a speedy, pretty, and versatile phone, even if it doesnt offer a big reason to upgrade from a Galaxy S23 or S24. MSI Cyborg 14 Photo: Adriano Contreras/Gizmodo Just because Nvidias latest GPUs have hit the scene doesnt mean you shouldnt consider cheaper gaming laptops with previous-gen hardware. The MSI Cyborg 14 offers some strong performance in many games despite its size, and it looks the part, too, with its elements of see-through translucent plastic. It misses out on an RGB backlight keyboard for gamers who want to feel like gamers. It also doesnt have the brightest display or the best sound. Instead, it offers the baseline of what you need for gaming with a Nvidia RTX 4060 and Intel Core i7-13620H for $900. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Image: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo The $1,000 Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is one of the most controversial graphics cards that come from Nvidia. It doesnt showcase stellar performance over the RTX 4080 or 4080 Super, though each was released at similar price points. Its not as obscenely fast or obscenely expensive as the new RTX 5090, either. And yet, for the sake of playing your games at 4K with all the ray tracing bells and whistles, Nvidias $1,000 GPU is just about right. The Founders Edition is a sleek, two-slot card that can fit into most modern towers. The biggest boon is DLSS 4 and the addition of Multi Frame Gen. This means you can turn on all the settings you may want and still manage to get over 100 FPS in the most demanding titles. Oppo Find 8X Pro Photo: Adriano Contreras/Gizmodo For the sake of phones you cant easily get in the U.S., the Oppo Find 8X Pro makes us realize exactly what were missing. The Pro-level Oppo device looks great with the pearl white color and its large Hasselblad camera wheel. Better than that, it includes some of our favorite features from the iPhone, such as a programmable action button. The bright display, solid performance, and camera are all what one should expect from a premium device, although without the ultra-high resolution you expect from a near-$1,000 product. Its main issue is its availability. Oppos usual North American counterpart is OnePlus, but theres no equivalent to the Pro version of the Find 8X.RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet Photo: Adriano Contreras/Gizmodo You may be asking, who the hell needs an expensive, high-powered gaming tablet? Until you use it, you may start to see the appeal. The RedMagic Nova tablet starts at $500. Still, for that price, you get a powerful overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and a bright display made for taking your mobile Android titles and pushing them to their limit. Its biggest issues are the pre-installed bloatware and the obtuse Game Space UI for navigating all your select games. It also lacks a headphone jack, which is a sad touch. But otherwise, you cant get much better for a 10.9-inch tablet for playing Wuthering Waves or whichever is your mobile game of the moment. Garmin Fenix 8 Photo: Brent Rose The ultra-high-end Garmin Fenix 8 is supposed to be the top-end of sports smartwatches, and it shows. The 43mm version at $1,000 (and 47mm AMOLED for $1,100, as tested) screams premium, but its made for the outdoorsy types who may want to run a few miles before donning a wetsuit and going snorkeling. It has a 15-day battery life and a solid GPS with strong heart rate monitoring and the ability to track ECG readings. For sports, it also does a strong showing for all sorts of athletic activities. If the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is premium at $800, the Garmin Fenix 8 is at the absolute top of the pile.XReal One Pro Photo: Rmi Lou / Gizmodo For the sake of all the AR glasses we used at CES this year, the XReal One Pro at $600 was simply the most usable of the bunch. Its less altered reality and more of a secondary screen, but thats not a bad thing. It offers the ability to control the size and orientation of your mirrored screen. Plus, you can use it with a MacBook or PC to generate a faux ultrawide display right in front of your eyes. They may not include any random AI capabilities, but theyre better since theyre one of the few pairs that may work for use every day. Segway Xyber Image: Segway The Segway Xyber is the e-bike for the kinds of folks who, like their favorite pets, get the zoomies. The $3,000 e-bike has a top speed of 35 MPH, which is already plenty fast for any kind of e-bike, but it includes a dual battery that should be able to go 56 miles off one battery or 112 miles off both. We drove it around at CES, and it indeed feels more like a motorbike than an e-bike, despite the pedals. Were just waiting for the device to come out later this year, when Segway promises there will also be a street-legal version later this year. Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ100 Photo: Rmi Lou / Gizmodo When Panasonic proclaimed that its magnetic fluid drivers would make its new flagship earbuds stand out for HiFi audio, I didnt expect too much. ,However, when I actually got my hands on the $300 EAH-AZ100 buds, I was taken aback by the clean audio spilling out of the comfortably shaped buds. Combined with solid bass and noise cancelling, the EAH-AZ100 truly feels like the premium earbuds they claim to be.

In one of her last summers before real life and responsibilities take over, Natalia (Dolores Oliverio) agonizes when her crush falls for someone elsea teenage rite of passage that takes on a more sinister cast in Sundance selection The Virgin of the Quarry Lake. Based on a pair of short stories by Mariana Enriquez, Laura Casabs film draws on the unease of its settingit takes place in Argentina circa 2001, a time of political and economic upheavalas well as the real-world dangers sparked by Natis churning emotions. It yields a provocative yet nuanced portrait of a young woman who learns to embrace her primal, powerful anger, for better and worse. With no family other than her sharp-tongued grandmother (Luisa Merelas), Nati spends the hazy summer days with her best friends, sisters Josefina (Isabel Bracamonte) and Mariela (Candela Flores); when shes not with them, shes chatting with them online from the local internet cafean early indicator that The Virgin of the Quarry Lake is set nearly 25 years ago. Other signs include Natis fashions (her plastic tattoo choker necklace is retro perfection, as are her low-rise jeans) and the increasing sense of chaos infiltrating the world around her. We overhear snatches of bad-news reports from background TVs and worried neighbors, then we see the urgent fallout, including a water shortage and frequent power cuts. More symbolically, at the start of the movie an unhoused, inebriated man pushes his shopping cart into the middle of Natis street, then stumbles away after being badly beaten by an offended passer-bybut not before making uncomfortably prolonged eye contact with her. Even before another character says it aloud, theres a sense of a curse being placed on the block, as the cart, which is filled with oozing bags of something and other ominous objects, lingers unclaimed for weeks. Another mystical element enters the narrative early when Nati grumbles to Rita about the annoying existence of Silvia (Fernanda Echevarra), whos about 10 years older than Nati and her friends, and whose worldly cool has caught the attention of the friend groups sole male member, Diego (Agustn Sosa). Ritas solution is to write Silvias name on a piece of paper and place it into a jar, casting whats presumably a bad-luck spell. We dont immediately see any effects from this, but Natis fury grows more intense as Diego begins blowing her off to spend time with Silvia. Rarely has a jealous glare across a strobe-lit dance floor felt more malevolently potent than the one we see here.While the audience never gets a sense of what makes Diego so greatwe learn almost nothing about him, and his main appeal seems to be hes aroundthats possibly the point, as The Virgin of the Quarry Lake is more interested in exploring the tangled-up inner lives of teenage girls. Oliverios naturalistic performance conveys a character who pinballs between puffed-up confidence and extremely low self-esteem, and who must navigate growing up in an unstable environment where men (and some women, too) are not to be trusted. Its a life where change nearly always brings with it some form of heartbreak. To dig too deeply into what makes The Virgin of the Quarry Lakeso named for the isolated swimming hole the friends visit through the summera genre movie would be to spoil its shockingly surreal intrusions. But horrors, both all too real and fantastical, are what help Nati find her way to catharsis.The Virgin of the Quarry Lake played at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It does not yet have a release date. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Louis-Saint-Laurent School / STGM Architectes + Ateliers ArchitectureSave this picture! Maxime BrouilletArchitects: Ateliers Architecture, STGM ArchitectesAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:1541 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Maxime BrouilletManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: EQUITONE, Kalwall, Abet Laminati, Akupanel, Armstrong, Beldden Brick, CGC, Polyflor, Vicwest, ezoBordMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Designed to provide a living and learning environment tailored to children while maintaining a direct connection to the outdoors, the expansion of the school includes the addition of five preschool classrooms, a learning hub, and a new entrance hall leading to the schoolyard. The original building, constructed in 1959, exhibits typical features of a primary school from that era: a two-story building with a sloped roof and red brick cladding.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!From the new hall, a passage to the existing building offers a seamless flow through the school, granting access to the learning hub, which is at the heart of the project. Renovations in the existing building have reorganized various areas to clarify the school's layout, such as the administration sector, where the staff room has been relocated closer to the main office and existing entrance.Save this picture!The two classrooms that were somewhat isolated on the ground floor of the original building have been repurposed for arts and music activities. Three new cloakrooms have been added on the ground floor, serving as a filter for different entrances to the schoolyard, thus freeing up the corridors on the upper floors. Additionally, a reorganization of spaces near the gymnasium now allows direct access to the community from outside. Finally, an outdoor classroom has been set up on the roof of the extension to enhance the outdoor spaces.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The extension, with its wooden structure, integrates harmoniously with the existing building, both in terms of scale and material selection. The new pavilion is primarily clad in clay brick, a highly durable and timeless material. A color palette that contrasts with the existing school ensures a smooth integration while highlighting the contemporary addition to the overall structure. Recesses in the volume mark and protect the entrances, both at the front faade and the schoolyard. A change of material in these recessed areas helps to break up the volume and create depth in the design of the new building. Red-tinted composite cement panels are used in these areas, providing impact resistance and durability while bringing warmth and friendliness to the school.Save this picture!Generous glazing, both in the hall and classrooms, punctuates the faades and adds lightness to the architectural composition. Finally, the curved shapes present in the design are reflected throughout the project, both in the exterior and interior design. Echoing the rounded forms that characterize the region's landscape, the curve stands out as a distinctive feature of the extension, adding movement and dynamism to the architecture. The project was designed in collaboration with Ateliers Architecture, a local firm.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:6835 Rte Louis-S.-Saint-Laurent, Compton, QC J0B 1L0, CanadaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeSTGM ArchitectesOfficeMaterialBrickMaterials and TagsPublished on January 31, 2025Cite: "Louis-Saint-Laurent School / STGM Architectes + Ateliers Architecture" 31 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026167/louis-saint-laurent-school-stgm-architectes-plus-ateliers-architecture&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Humans are social creatures. Many of us enjoy spending time with friends and family doing social activities, like going out to dinner, attending sporting events, and participating in book clubs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), being social offers a myriad of health benefits, including emotional regulation, reduced stress and anxiety, better sleep, and a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.And now, thanks to a new study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, we also know that social interactions can help delay dementia by about five years.This study is a follow-up on previous papers from our group showing that social activity is related to less cognitive decline in older adults, said Bryan James, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at Rush, in a press release.Gathering Data on DementiaThe study surveyed 1,923 older adults without dementia, with an average age of 80, who are part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project. During the survey period, 545 participants developed dementia, while 695 developed other mild cognitive impairments.Researchers used a questionnaire to measure the participant's social activity. Questions included how often in the last few years they had participated in certain social activities, such as playing Bingo, going on overnight trips, visiting friends and family, going to sporting events, and going to restaurants.At the start of the study, none of the participants showed signs of cognitive decline; however, after five years, the results showed that the participants with more social interactions had reduced rates of dementia.With this information, the study suggests that an increase in social activities could lower the risk of dementia by 38 percent and could lower the risk of other mild cognitive impairments by about 21 percent compared to those who partake in fewer social activities.A five-year delay in dementia development could reduce the financial cost of dementia care by 40 percent per person who may develop it and add three years to their lifespan.Understanding the ResultsAccording to the researchers, social activities can help strengthen neural circuits in the brain, giving them a boost against the pathology buildup that occurs as we age. Social gatherings can stimulate the same parts of the brain associated with memory and thinking.Social activity challenges older adults to participate in complex interpersonal exchanges, which could promote or maintain efficient neural networks in a case of use it or lose it, James said in a press release.The study authors say that more research is needed to determine how well social activities can help with cognitive decline, but until then, theres no time like the present to gather with your loved ones and play a game or two of Bingo. Who knows, it might boost your luck. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. Late-life social activity and subsequent risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairmentCDC. Social ConnectionA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

Pain relief without addiction has been a pharmaceutical goal long before the opioid crisis. A newly approved medicine appears to have achieved that.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Journavx to treat short-term pain. The drug, which was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston and tested as a pain treatment following surgeries, targets the nerves near an injury site instead of in the brain.It works in a way that is different than previous medications, says Paul Negulescu, senior vice president at Vertex.Blocking a Different Pain PathwaySuch alternatives are sorely needed. About 40 million U.S. adults are prescribed an opioid every year, with about 85,000 developing an addiction within the first year of use. Opioid prescriptions peaked in 2010 and decreased each year through 2015, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. However, they are still prescribed much more heavily than in 1999. And people turned to stronger, illicit drugs like fentanyl after doctors started prescribing fewer opioids. Read More: The Opioid Crisis Is Not OverTargeting Pain at its SourceThe basic science discovery that prompted Journavxs development started with a finding in 1997 that predated the opioid epidemic. Researchers discovered that a category of proteins named Nav were expressed in the peripheral nervous system, but not the brain.It seemed like that would be a good target to treat pain, says Negulescu. Work on the human genome later solidified that protein as a potential target. Since then, with the advent of gene sequencing, we discovered there is mutations in this protein that increase sensitivity to pain.Scientists eventually discovered a total of 9 nav proteins. Vertex researchers explored them all to see which would be the most effective in treating pain. If you study one Nav, you have to study them all, says Negulescu.They settled on Nav 1.8, because it appeared to be the strongest potential pain blocker. Decades of research and testing followed, to see what parts of that protein would be the most effective spot for a medicine to bind to, and thus inhibit pain sensations.Avoiding AddictionThe approach is promising, says Michael Schuh, a pharmacist and pain medicine expert at the Mayo Clinic, who was not involved in the research. The problem we have with opioids is that they attach to certain places in your brain that makes people feel good about taking them, says Schuh. Then people have a tendency to get a tolerance so they don't get that same feeling, so they have to take more and more and more of it.Journavx will be available in tablet form. It was tested for pain relief treatment for up to 14 days. The new drug will cost $15.50 per pill. Comparable opioids retail as generics for $1 a pill or less. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Changes in Opioid Prescribing in the United States, 20062015Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

NewsHealth & MedicineA new kind of non-opioid painkiller gets FDA approvalThe oral drug, called Journavx, is meant to treat short-term pain A new oral drug called Journavx is intended for the treatment of short-term pain, such as following surgery or another tissue injury.Vertex PharmaceuticalsBy Aimee Cunningham28 seconds agoPatients seeking an opioid-free way to handle pain experienced in the short-term will soon have a new option.On January 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved suzetrigine for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in adults. The oral drug, called Journavx, is meant to ease short-term pain, the type that follows tissue injury, such as after surgery. The first of a new class of pain therapies to be approved in decades, the drug doesnt pose a risk of addiction as opioid medications do, evidence suggests.

An uptick in seismic activity on the volcanic island of Santorini has raised concerns about a potential eruption.

DeepSeek's V3 and R1 models took the world by storm this week. Here's why they're such a big deal.

submitted by /u/ToroAnimation [link] [comments]