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Heres what Trumps proposed border wall could look like
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Construction crews have already begun work on prototypes for President Donald Trumps proposed border wall. - photo by Herb Scribner
Reporters and social media users are getting their first glimpses of prototypes for President Donald Trump's border wall.

Reports about the border wall prototypes first came out late last month. Photos, videos and stories have since been making their way online.

Trump tweeted a video of the prototypes on Wednesday, sparking renewed interest.

The prototypes are being built in "a remote section of the San Diego borderlands, according to an NPR report Thursday.

Four of them are made with reinforced concrete, while four others are being made with "other materials," The New York Times reported. One of them is topped with spikes.

The companies have until Thursday to finish the models, The Associated Press reported.

The prototypes must meet guidelines set out by the Customs and Border Protection agency, which include making the wall 18 to 30 feet high and the ability to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools, according to the AP.

Six construction companies from Mississippi, Maryland, Alabama, Texas and Arizona are building the prototypes for a combined estimate of $20 million, paid by Customs and Border Protection, according to NPR.

The agency will later evaluate the wall prototypes.

"We want a better barrier. One that is hard to scale, hard to penetrate and hard to tunnel under," said Roy Villareal, chief of the San Diego Border Patrol, to NPR. "We're hoping innovation from private industry combined with our experience generates the next evolution of border security infrastructure.

Still, the proposed border wall is far from being started, according to Time magazine.

Funding for the wall, which is now estimated to be about $1.6 billion, remains at a standstill in Congress. Most recently, Democrats called for any of the walls funding to be removed from any bill that would reform the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era plan that kept 800,000 undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to Time.

Trump reportedly made a deal with the Democrats to reform DACA, as long as he received border wall funding, according to Vox.

"The real issue with building a border wall is what the Congress does, not what the contractors do ... The price tag on this is enormous," said Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, to NPR.

Leaders of San Diego and California have condemned the wall, too. The Golden State filed a lawsuit with the Trump administration over the plan to build the wall, Reuters reported.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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