Tom: Hey everyone. It is Thursday, February 26th.

And today, a tech giant is adding a

new shade of color to your smiley face text, bringing racial diversity to the tip of your
finger.

Plus, we will show you one school that’s handing out pencil and paper and taking back
cell phones and iPads. I am Tom Hanson and Channel One News starts right now.

Let's check in with headlines, and first up, three New York City men have been charged
with allegedly helping the terror group ISIS.

The three Brooklyn men are now facing charges of plotting to travel to Syria to join ISIS
and wage war against the U.S.

Authorities said one of them spoke of attacking President Obama or planting a bomb in
New York City.

One of the men was arrested trying to board a flight to Turkey. One was grabbed in
Brooklyn and the third was nabbed in Florida. Two of the men were citizens of
Uzbekistan, and the other, a citizen of Kazakhstan.

The three ranged in age from 19 to 30. All appeared in federal court yesterday. They are
charged with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a terror group.
They could face 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Next up, a lot of people have been talking about the movie "American Sniper." Well, the
real life Navy SEAL that the movie was based on was tragically killed two years ago.
And the man that was accused of shooting him has now been found guilty.

The shooter, a former Marine, was convicted this week of killing "American Sniper"
author Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield and could serve life in prison.

Eddie Ray Routh admitted shooting the men two years ago, and jurors rejected defense
claims that the Iraq War veteran was insane at the time.

Judy Littlefield: We have waited two years for God to give justice for us on behalf of our
son.

Tom: Jurors took just over two hours to return the verdict. During the trial they were
shown evidence of Routh’s erratic behavior and his confession.

Police: You saw your sister today. What did you tell her?

Routh: I told her I had to kill a man today.

Tom: The defense had asked for the case to be moved because of all the publicity,
largely created by the film "American Sniper," based on Kyle's best-selling book. Klye

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claimed to be the deadliest sniper in U.S. history, with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq.

And the film "American Sniper," is already the highest-grossing war movie.

The defense says Routh is suffering from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, from
serving in the Iraq war and plans to appeal.

And now on to another legal decision, this one handed down from the federal
government.

This week, the family of Trayvon Martin learned that there will be no federal civil rights
charges against George Zimmerman, the Florida man who shot the unarmed black
teen.

17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman three years ago this week
in Florida.

An altercation erupted and Zimmerman, who was acting as a neighborhood watchman,

shot Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed. Zimmerman was found not guilty in a Florida
court. A jury said there was not enough evidence to prove murder.

And on Tuesday federal prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to prove
Zimmerman willfully caused bodily injury because of Martin's race.

The family attorney for Trayvon Martin said the family was disappointed.

Benjamin Crump: They were heartbroken even though they expected that it was going
to happen, it was just hard actually hearing it, and knowing that the killer of your
unarmed child was never going to be held criminally liable.

Tom: Trayvon Martin’s parents can still sue George Zimmerman in civil court.

The case sparked intense discussion over race in America and then was followed last
year by the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen in Ferguson,
Missouri.

The public also waits for the Justice Department to make announcements about
whether federal charges will be brought in the Ferguson case.

And that's a wrap of headlines. Coming up, that smiley face you just texted will soon
look a little bit more like you! We will explain.

IPhone users look out, there’s a whole new set of emojis set to appear, trying to reflect
the racial diversity of our planet. Keith Kocinski has the story.

Keith: They are easy to understand, come in all shapes and sizes, are used to show a

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feeling or attitude, and soon, the emoji will get a makeover.

Female: There’s not an emoji. No, none of these look like me.

Keith: In response to some criticism that there was a lack of choices, Apple has created
300 new emojis, highlighting different races and professions.

Female 2: Now, you have more options to choose from. So I think it's great.

Keith: Youth organization DoSomething.org, which started an online petition and Twitter
campaign encouraging Apple to make the change, applauded the move.

Noami Hirabayashi: You need to see people that look like you in all the forms and ways
that you're communicating. And so, for a lot of minorities it feels really good to feel that
your voices have been heard and there's real change happening.

Keith: Rapid change. Emojis were created in Japan in the 1990s. But with the popularity
of smartphones and young people using text messaging more and more as a way to
communicate, there's been a global surge in emoji use.

Mimi Ito: Emoji are popular particularly in mobile communication because it's about a
shift towards doing conversational interactive communication over text messaging.

Keith: Because emojis do what texts can't, they replace the written word with a symbol,
or better yet, a combination of the 722 symbols. Like instead of saying ‘I love you’
there's this. Or instead of saying ‘I am going to get some food and then doing
homework’ there’s this. And their uses continue evolving.

Science guru Bill Nye used emojis to teach evolution. There's even an emoji translation
of Hermann Melville's famous book, “Moby Dick.”

And now, millions of people are going even further than the emoji, using personalized
avatars called bit-mojis.

Jacob Blackstock: There's a lot of emotional nuance that's missing from just text
conversation, and so we add that nuance. We add that emotion. And we also add you to
it that makes it that much more, like personal, visual and fun experience.

Keith: Celebrities like Seth Rogen and Brittany Snow, and musician Questlove have
created their own.

And here at Channel One News we even have our own awesomely personalized
emojis. So, for those wondering where the emoji craze will go? Well, it seems it is just
the beginning.

Mimi: We're likely to see some interesting new ways of using them and communicating

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with them that may be unexpected.

Keith: Keith Kocinski, Channel One News.

Tom: Got to love those emjois! Thanks Keith.

Alright coming up, we are checking out one California school that's ditching tech and
going back to the books.

Now, Arielle's here with one school's interesting take on what it means to be "old
school."

Arielle: Yeah, well teens spend more than seven hours a day in front of a screen. Be it
computer, smartphone, whatever. But imagine having to go a day without. That's what
one California school is doing. Check it out.

The Convent and Stuart Hall Schools, an elegant campus known for spectacular views
and first class technology, where even the ornate drawing room is tech infused.

But not today, this school is going retro.

Fiona Mittelstaedt: Usually we'd be on our IPads or computers doing work on our google
docs or whatever.

Arielle: For three days, there will be no computers, no IPads and seriously, no cell
phones.

Fiona: Since we don't have any electronics, we are playing cards and reading books
and occupying ourselves in different ways.

Arielle: For starters, that means learning the old fashioned way.

Star Hooper: As you can see, like five different books.

Arielle: And to find those books you can't use these, which means using a different kind
of hardware.

Fiona: I think we’re like the last class to be taught in elementary school how to do it. I
think we were the last class to be taught cursive in elementary school too.

Arielle: These students say they understand just how hard their parents had it.

Grace Apple: My mom is always telling me how when she was doing research papers
she had to go to the library and she had to go all over the city just to find research.

Arielle: But this conscious disconnection isn't just an exercise in academics. Technology

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has also changed us.

Grace Lachman: I've noticed myself today just reaching for my bag, looking for my
phone, wondering where it is. Then I realize that I have to resort to talking to the person
next to me or doing more studying.

Arielle: So, it is three days of pens, paper, and lots of books.

Star Hooper: I've got my little glasses and everything.

Arielle: And tuning in to the school days of the past.

Fiona: I'd have a lot more papercuts flipping through books.

Arielle: So do you think you can go tech free for a week? Head to Channelone.com and
find out how it could even give you a better night's sleep.

Tom: Thanks Arielle. I might just have to try it! Well, maybe.

Alright guys, we are all out of time today. I am Tom Hanson.

Arielle: I am Arielle Hixson.

Tom: Have a good one, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

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