Apple iOS 7: Sleek, Elegant Software Redesign for iPhone, iPad - ABC News

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Apple product lovers, your iPhone and iPad interfaces will look radically different this year.

At Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company executives unveiled new operating systems, iOS 7 for i-devices and OS X Mavericks for Macs, as well as a new version of its MacBook Air and a sneak peek at the next MacBook Pro.

Although Apple didn't announce any new iOS devices, the big redesign featuring an array of new software upgrades in the iOS 7 operating system will make existing devices seem new.

"We want to make the best product that people use more and love more than anyone else's," Cook said.

Let's recap the major announcements:

Read more at ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/apple-ios-sleek-elegant-software-redesign-iphone-ipad/story?id=19364781#.Ubl1yvmsg1h

The ACN Morning Report -- Wednesday March 27 2013

SCOTUS Reconvenes For Second Gay Marriage Case -- Group Balks At Paying $1.3 Million Reward -- Obama Appoints First Female Director Of Secret Service -- C.R. Keeps Washington At Work, More Work Needed -- Patraeus Apologizes For Affair -- Earthquake Hits Taiwan -- T-Mobile Gets iPhone 5

Supreme Court Reconvenes For Second Gay Marriage Case

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court today again will confront the issue of gay marriage, hearing arguments on a U.S. law that denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

Almost two hours of oral argument before the court will focus on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), just a day after the nine justices considered the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage.

The Obama administration's lawyers agree that DOMA is unconstitutional, and U.S. Solicitor Gen. Donald B. Verrilli Jr. will urge justices to invalidate it.

Group Balks At Paying $1.3 Million Reward For Chris Dorner

LAPD/AP

When ex-cop Christopher Dorner was hunting down Los Angeles police and their families, more than$1 million in reward money was raised for help in his capture and conviction.

Now that there are two sets of claims to the reward money, the groups that pledged the money are balking at paying because Dorner wasn’t captured or convicted. He died Feb. 12 when he shot himself in the head after being cornered by police and the subsequent gunbattle set fire to the house where he was barricaded.

The $1 million reward was offered by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa after Dorner had killed two officers, the daughter of an officer and her fiance, and wounded two other cops. It is unclear how many groups and individuals pledged the $1 million, however, the Peace Officers Research Association of California along with police unions, civil organizations and private citizens all contributed to the reward.

President Obama Appoints First Female Director Of Secret Service

New Continuing Resolution Keeps Government Funded, White House Says GOP Must Compromise

President Barack Obama signed the new continuing resolution on Tuesday to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year. The new CR doesn't eliminate sequestration but does provide some spending flexibility in various departments.

The measure sets spending at $984 billion and keeps sequestration's $85 billion cuts in place. The previous CR expires today. The new one freezes federal worker civilian pay and Congressional salaries for a third consecutive year but breaks out separate appropriation bills dealing with Agriculture; Commerce; Justice and Science; Defense; Homeland Security; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

Patraeus Apologizes For Extramarital Affair

AP

Former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) director David Petraeus has publicly apologized for the extramarital affair that led to his resignation and damaged his once-sterling reputation.

Petraeus offered the apology during a speech Tuesday night in Los Angeles before a group of military veterans and students in the Reserve Officer Training Corps . He said he was "keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey" were caused by his affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Injures 20 In Taiwan

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A strong earthquake has struck rural central Taiwan. Transport was suspended and at least 20 people have been injured. The island’s earthquake authority says the magnitude-6.1 tremor jolted Nantou County just after 10 A-M, at a depth of 15 kilometers. At least 20 people were injured, mostly by falling ceilings. The quake was felt 250 kilometers away in the capital Taipei. Does T-Mobile Have The Cheaper iPhone-5 Now that the iPhone 5 is finally available on T-Mobile, it's time to figure out where you can get it the cheapest. We've compared prices in the chart below to help you figure out which carrier is right for you. Note that the prices listed here are for the iPhone 5, but should apply to just about any smartphone on each of these carriers. It turns out that, even though T-Mobile is charging you for the full price of your phone, you're still paying the least amount of money in the long run (the amount you see in the chart includes your monthly $20 phone payment). Additionally, now that T-Mobile is contract-free, you're able to leave at any point you please. You'll either need to give up your phone or pay for the remainder, but you're not tethered to the carrier in any other way. Of course, you can still get out of your contract on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, but it's going to cost you.

The Morning Report -- Sunday March 3 2013

Kenya Prepares For Elections -- The Ratzinger Legacy -- Chavez Fights For Life -- Iran Says Assad To Run...For President -- Police Discontinue Search For Missing FL Man -- Apple, Samsung Settlement -- McConnell Defends Wife -- Spending Cuts Are Here -- Keystone XL Poses No Threat 

KENYA SEEKS TO AVOID VIOLENCE AS NATION PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS

Getty Images

Kenyans vote tomorrow in a tight two-way election for a new president as politicians urged supporters not to repeat deadly ethnic violence that marred the last national vote and led to slower economic growth.

An increase in support for Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, 51, has put him in a dead heat with Premier Raila Odinga, 68, in a race that includes six other challengers. The first round may fail to produce an outright victory, which would mean Kenyatta and Odinga face off in a second round.

THE RATZINGER LEGACY

THE helicopter that carried Pope Benedict XVI into retirement left behind a Catholicism in crisis. So say his critics, his admirers and everyone in between.

The church needs “shock therapy” from its next pontiff, writes one observer. Catholicism faces its worst crisis “since the French Revolution,” argues another. “Not since the Reformation,” writes a third, “has the Church been so shaken to its core.”

VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ UNDERGOING 'TOUGH' CHEMOTHERAPY

Reuters

(Reuters) - Ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been undergoing "tougher" new treatment for cancer, including chemotherapy at the military hospital where he has been for the past two weeks, his vice president said.

Speaking after a Catholic Mass to pray for Chavez's health, Nicolas Maduro described how the socialist president had personally given the order to leave Cuba in mid-February, two months after his latest cancer surgery there.

ASSAD TO RUN FOR SYRIAN 2014 ELECTIONS

AFP

TEHRAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said here Saturday that Bashar al-Assad is currently the " legal" president of Syria and will take part in the presidential elections in 2014.

Salehi made the remarks at a joint press conference with his visiting Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem in Tehran.

Syria, like any other country, has a president by elections, said Salehi, adding that by the next elections in Syria, Assad is the legal president of the Syrians and this is the official stance of the Islamic republic.

BODY IN FLORIDA SINKHOLE 'NOT POSSIBLE TO RECOVER' 

The effort to find the body of a Florida man who was swallowed by a sinkhole under his Florida home was called off Saturday and crews planned to begin demolishing the four-bedroom house.

The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole is almost completely covered by the house and rescuers feared it would collapse on them if they tried to search for Jeff Bush, 37. Crews were testing the unstable ground surrounding the home and evacuated two neighboring homes as a precaution.

APPLE'S AWARD AGAINST SAMSUNG CUT IN HALF

On Friday, Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court Northern District of California in San Jose lopped off at least 40 percent of the $1.05 billion jury award Apple had won against Samsung, last year.

Judge Koh has ordered a new trial to ascertain claims and damages of the portion that she took out from the jury award. According to Koh a new trial was required to determine the damages amount properly as the jury had committed errors in calculating the part of damages for which she ordered a new trial.

Lamentably, on Friday, Apple moved to have the jury damages award increased. Judge Koh, rejected that motion, put a $450.5 million portion of the jury award under question by mandating a retrial.

OBAMA FOCUSING ON RESTORING DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF CONGRESS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, now facing the consequences of automatic spending cuts and the complications they raise for his broader domestic agenda, is taking the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress in two years.

"What I can't do is force Congress to do the right thing," Obama said Friday after a fruitless meeting with Republican leaders to avert the country's latest fiscal crisis, known as the sequester. "The American people may have the capacity to do that."

Obama and his advisers believe that winning a Democratic majority in the House in 2014 is crucial to the outcome of his second term and to his legacy as president.

MITCH MCCONNELL CRITICIZES ATTACKS AGAINST WIFE

Getty Images

WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has lambasted a liberal group for criticizing the ethnicity of his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

McConnell told home-state supporters at a Republican dinner in Winchester that Progress Kentucky engaged in "the ultimate outrage" when it used Twitter to distribute a message making an issue of Chao's Asian heritage. The tweet said McConnell's marriage to Chao "may explain why your job moved to (hash)China!"

McConnell's described the tweet as "a racial attack" against Chao, who was born in Taiwan.

Progress Kentucky removed the tweet after Louisville public radio station WFPL-FM aired a story. And the group issued two apologies over the past week for what they described as "inappropriate tweets sent by our organization."

AUTOMATIC SPENDING CUTS UNWANTED CONSEQUENCE OF A TRIGGER NOBODY LIKED OR EXPECTED

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — It’s not the first time that government economic engineering has produced a time bomb with a short fuse.

Back in 2011, few lawmakers, if any, thought deep and indiscriminate spending cuts, totaling about $85 billion and now starting to kick in, were a smart idea.

The across-the-board cuts, set up as a last-resort trigger and based on a mechanism used in the 1980s, are a reality largely because President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, failed to find a way to stop them.

KEYSTONE XL OIL PIPELINE TO GET US APPROVAL

Bloomberg

A long-awaited environmental assessment of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline cheered oil executives who see it as a signal the Obama administration will approve a project that has come to be viewed as a fight between jobs and the environment.

The draft assessment, released yesterday by the U.S. State Department, makes no recommendation as to whether the Keystone pipeline should be built, and an administration official cautioned the report was a work in progress.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/02/4656022/obama-focusing-on-restoring-democratic.html#storylink=cpy

The Morning Report -- Friday March 1, 2013

Sequester Arrives To Cold Welcome -- Sinkhole Swallows Florida Man -- Congressional Democrats Urge Supreme Court On DOMA -- Woodward, Axelrod Clash -- Bradley Manning Pleads Guilty -- Cardinals Summoned For Conclave -- Congress Skips Town -- A $2,500 iPad Bill

GOVERNMENT STARES DOWN START OF STEEP CUTS

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government hurtled on Friday toward deep spending cuts that threaten to hinder the nation's economic recovery, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on an alternative deficit-reduction plan.

Locked in during a bout of deficit-reduction fever in 2011, the time-released “automatic” cuts can only be halted by agreement between Republican lawmakers and the White House. 

FLORIDA MAN SWALLOWED BY MASSIVE SINKHOLE IN BEDROOM

www.myfoxtampabay.com

A large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of a house near Tampa, trapping a 36-year-old man in the rubble.

The home collapsed late Thursday in a Seffner neighborhood. By early Friday, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials determined the home had become too unstable to continue rescue efforts.

"Right now, the potential for a collapse is very, very high," Jessica Damico, a Hillsborough Fire and Rescue spokeswoman told MyFoxTampaBay.com. 

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS URGE SCOTUS TO STRIKE DOWN DOMA

WASHINGTON — More than 200 congressional Democrats are urging the Supreme Court to overturn a key provision of the federal law against gay marriage.

The lawmakers are filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the justices Friday, asking them to strike down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. The provision denies all federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The Democratic brief is meant as a counterweight to House Republicans, who have been defending DOMA in court ever since President Barack Obama ordered the Justice Department to stop doing so. The president believes the measure is unconstitutional, but it will remain federal law unless it is repealed by Congress or overturned by the court.

BOB WOODWARD, DAVID AXELROD CLASH ON TV

David Axelrod and Bob Woodward clashed Friday over The Washington Post reporter’s claim that a top White House official had sent him an inappropriate email.

Axelrod and Woodward argued over the same two topics the White House has been disputing for the past week — whether President Barack Obama had “moved the goalposts” on the sequester and whether economic aide Gene Sperling had warned Woodward in an email.

BRADLEY MANNING SAYS HE LEAKED WIKILEAKS TO SPARK PUBLIC DEBATE

FORT MEADE, Md. -- After almost three years in custody, the Army private accused in the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history said he did it because he wanted the public to know how the American military was fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with little regard for human life.

Bradley Manning, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday at a military hearing at Fort Meade, Md., to 10 charges that could carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors plan to pursue 12 more charges against him at court-martial, including a charge of aiding the enemy that carries a potential life sentence.

VATICAN SUMMONS CARDINALS FOR CONCLAVE

ROME -- The Vatican is moving quickly to start the process of selecting the next pope, announcing Friday that the official invitation had gone out to the 115 eligible cardinals who will take part in selecting the next pope.

The Vatican said that "congregations" leading up to the actual conclave will start Monday.

CONGRESS HEADS OUT AS SEQUESTER BLOWS IN

One day before automatic spending cuts were due to hit the Pentagon and other federal agencies, Congress on Thursday abandoned efforts to avert the reductions and left town for the weekend. The sequester is here, and policymakers have no plans to end it.

President Obama is scheduled to meet Friday at the White House with congressional leaders, but expectations for the meeting are low. House Republicans are already turning their attention to the next deadline on March 27, drafting a measure that would avoid a government shutdown while leaving the sequester in place through the end of September.

FIVE YEAR OLD RUNS UP $2,500 BILL ON iPAD IN TEN MINUTES

Danny Kitchen had asked for the passcode for the device so that he could download a game, Zombie v Ninja, from the Apple store.

Greg and Sharon Kitchen eventually agreed and left their son alone with the tablet computer as they entertained friends at their home in Warmley, near Bristol.

But after downloading the free app Danny found his way into the game's online store and innocently ordered dozens of costly add-ons - totalling £1,710.43.

The Morning Report -- Sunday February 17, 2013

Pope Nears Retirement -- Dorner Hid In Unoccupied Condo -- Mother Presses Congress -- Obama Gets Golf Lessons -- Draft Bill For Illegal Legal Immigrants -- Russian Meteor Largest Since 1908 -- Apple/Samsung Plans 'Smartwatch' -- Google To Open Retail Stores -- Rubio Beats Obama To Israel

POPE NEARS RETIREMENT, SAYS "PRAY FOR ME AND NEXT POPE"

Reuters

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, addressing a crowded St. Peter's Square in his penultimate Sunday address before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign.

The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will resign on February 28, thanked them in several languages.

DORNER WAS HIDING IN UNOCCUPIED CONDO DURING MANHUNT

Associated Press

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- It didn't take ingenuity for Christopher Dorner to elude authorities for six days. He simply opened an unlocked door.

As law enforcement swarmed a mountain neighborhood searching for the fugitive ex-cop, Dorner hid in a condo 100 feet across the street from a command post and a short distance from where he left his burned-out truck.

SLAIN TEEN'S MOM PRESSES CONGRESS

Associated Press

The mother of a 15-year-old Chicago girl slain a week after performing at President Barack Obama’s inauguration is appearing in a new gun control public service announcement that calls on Congress to enact “common-sense reforms.”

“When my daughter Hadiya performed at the President’s inauguration, it was the happiest day of her life,” Cleopatra Cowley-Pendelton says in the commercial, paid for by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “A week later, she was murdered. Gunned down near her school. A piece of my heart is gone. Congress is debating how to fix our gun laws. They can start with background checks for all gun sales. Tell Congress to support common-sense reforms so no more innocent children are killed. And no parent has to go through this heartbreak.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA GETS GOLF LESSONS FROM TIGER WOODS' OLD COACH

PALM CITY, Fla. — President Obama is spending his President’s Day weekend in this upscale coastal community for a golf getaway with friends. But he isn’t spending his three days in the Sunshine State idly teeing off: The president received golf lessons today from the former coach of none other than Tiger Woods himself: Butch Harmon.

A veteran of the PGA Tour, Harmon is renowned today for his series of “Ultimate Golf” training videos. He flew to the area with his son, Claude III, to give the president personal tips.

OBAMA DRAFT BILL WOULD CLEAR PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

Reuters

(Reuters) - A draft of a White House immigration proposal would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years, USA Today reported on Saturday.

The plan, obtained by the newspaper, also would provide for more security funding and require businesses to check the immigration status of new hires within four years. Illegal immigrants could also apply for a newly created "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa, under the draft bill, it said.

RUSSIAN METEOR IS LARGEST SINCE 1908

A meteor that exploded in the skies above Russia’s Ural Mountains was the largest since the Tunguska blast in Siberia in 1908 and released about 33 times the energy of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Before hitting the Earth’s atmosphere yesterday, the object was about 17 meters (55 feet) and had a mass of about 10,000 tons, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement.

SAMSUNG PLANS SMARTWATCH

Above: Apple's Potential iWatch

Apple and Samsung may extend their smartphone and tablet battle to the wrist. New images have appeared online that are believed to be screenshots of the Samsung Altius, a smartwatch that will arrive later this year. The Altius could go head-to-head with Apple's own iWatch. Have the smartwatch wars begun?

The Altius screenshots leaked less than a week after both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal ran articles suggesting that Apple -- Samsung's main competitor in a variety of markets -- is working on a wearable product, probably a watch.

APPLE'S NEW iAD CAMPAIGN PROMOTES 300,000 APPS

Apple's initial ad campaign for the new iPad mini simply presented it next to the full size iPad both playing a duet in GarageBand, or alone in a user's hand to highlight its smaller size. 

The new ads present both a full size iPad and iPad mini, depicting both running one of a series of creative applications. Each ad has a simple headline that highlights a particular category or type of apps, such as "Ear Opening" for music related titles, "Elementary" for educational titles, "Well Versed" for music notation and ebooks and "Mind watering" for visually graphic apps.

RUMOR: GOOGLE PLANNING TO OPEN RETAIL STORES

Google opening up a retail store or two? That's this weekend's big rumor, with a few unknown sources letting slip that the search giant might be looking to open up stand-alone shops around the U.S. in a bid to get more Google products — tablets, phones, and all the other fun things cooking at Google HQ (glasses, anyone?) — into consumer hands.

It's a move that makes complete sense, given that competitors Microsoft and Apple both have retail stores of their own for pushing out product. And while Google's tested the retail waters a bit with some "store-within-a-store" setups at various Best Buy locations across the United States, the company has yet to go the full nine yards and establish broader retails presences that could focus more on selling instead of showing, as9to5google's Seth Weintraub suggests.

AHEAD OF OBAMA, MARCO RUBIO HEADS TO ISRAEL

As President Obama prepares for his first trip to Israel since assuming office, the man some hope will succeed him leaves Saturday for his own visit to the Jewish state.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an oft-mentioned potential 2016 presidential candidate, departed for Israel and Jordan.

The Morning Report -- Thursday February 14, 2013

Kerry Says 'Strong World' Will Work -- Christopher Dorner's Downfall -- Hagel Vote Coming -- New Cyber Bill -- Carnival Cancels 12 Cruises -- Republicans: 'Old Liberal Ideas' -- USPS Could Need More Money -- America/US Airways Merge -- Activists Protest Keystone XL Pipeline -- Apple's Latest Venture

KERRY SAYS 'STRONG WORLD'  WILL SEND MESSAGE TO IRAN, NORTH KOREA

Fox News Video

WASHINGTON –  The world must show its resolve in the face of North Korea's nuclear provocations or risk emboldening Iran, which is under scrutiny over its uranium enrichment program, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry said nations must agree on a "swift, clear, strong and credible response" to Pyongyang's third nuclear test and the authoritarian regime's "continued flaunting of its obligations."

CHRISTOPHER DORNER: SPARING HOUSEKEEPERS LED TO UNDOING 

Associated Press

There was no question. The man standing before Rick Heltebrake on a rural mountain road was Christopher Dorner.

Clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a bulletproof vest packed with ammunition, the most wanted man in America over the last week was just a few feet away, having emerged from a grove of trees holding a large, assault-style rifle.

As teams of officers who had sought the fugitive ex-Los Angeles police officer since last week were closing in, Dorner pointed the gun at Heltebrake and ordered him to get out of his truck.

SENATE DEMOCRATS TRY TO FORCE HAGEL VOTE

New York Times

WASHINGTON — Accusing Republicans of a new level of obstruction, Senate Democrats moved on Wednesday to force a vote on President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense.

Mr. Hagel’s nomination was endorsed by the Senate Armed Services Committee along party lines on Tuesday. But with Republicans demanding more information before allowing a vote on Mr. Hagel by the full Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, took procedural steps to limit floor debate on his nomination and bring the partisan clash to a head by Saturday.

A NEW FIGHT AGAINST US CYBER BILL

WASHINGTON — U.S. privacy and technology activists are preparing for a new round of fighting against an information-sharing bill they say will let private companies help the government spy on the American public.

 

They’re troubled by the Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act (CISPA), which passed the House of Representatives last year but failed to get through the Senate. House members Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberg are hoping to have more success passing it this year. They re-introduced the legislation at a cyber security talk in Washington Wednesday.

CARNIVAL CANCELS 12 CRUISES ABOARD SHIP PLAGUED BY MECHANICAL FAILURES

Associated Press

HOUSTON — Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before it was left powerless in the Gulf of Mexico by an engine-room fire.

The company’s announcement on Wednesday came as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom have complained to relatives that conditions on the ship are dismal and that they have limited access to food and bathrooms.

BOEHNER SHOWS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR OBAMA'S IDEAS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner expressed doubts Wednesday that the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate could reach agreement on a budget and avoid automatic spending cuts that could jeopardize economic growth.

In a post-State of the Union interview with The Associated Press, Boehner was also skeptical about President Barack Obama’s new proposal for federally supported universal pre-school. And he showed little support for Obama’s core proposals on immigration reform and gun control, including universal background checks.

USPS COULD NEED $45 BILLION BY 2017

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said his agency is on a path to need a $45 billion taxpayer bailout within five years if Congress fails to take action to reverse growing financial losses for the Postal Service.

The Postal Service recorded a nearly $16 billion loss during its last fiscal year. Mr. Donahoe said Wednesday the shortfall is likely to grow worse without the ability to make significant cost cuts, including ending Saturday delivery and placing postal workers on a private health-care plan.

AMERICAN AND US AIRWAYS MERGER APPROVED BY BOARDS

Reuters

Ending a yearlong courtship by US Airways, American Airlines agreed on Wednesday to merge with the smaller carrier, paving the way for the creation of the nation’s largest airline.

The boards of the companies met separately to approve the combination, according to two people with knowledge of the vote. A merger would bolster American’s domestic footprint, strengthen its presence in the Northeast and give it a bigger network to attract business travelers and corporate accounts.

ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT WHITE HOUSE PROTESTING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

European Press Photo Agency

When President Obama spoke about climate change in the State of the Union address Tuesday night, he failed to mention the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which aims to transport heavy crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and which needs his approval for a construction permit.

But that controversial project — which ranks as one of the top climate decisions the president will have to make this year — took center stage Wednesday as 48 activists engaged in civil disobedience at the gates of the White House.

APPLE'S ENTRY INTO WEARABLE TECH

(CNN) -- In the last week, the Apple iWatch has made the jump from unlikely rumor to a real product that's probably in development, thanks to well-placed leaks that have been showing up in various publications.

The latest is a report from Bloomberg that says Apple already has a team of 100 employees working on a wearable device.

The clues, and resulting flurry of speculation, are planting the seeds of an Apple watch in consumers' minds. The general public has not been crying out for a better watch. Apple dream-product rumors have mostly focused on an elusive Apple TV over the past year.

Google Could Pay Apple $1 Billion To Be Default Search Engine On iOS

Apple and Google are enemies and partners at the same time due to asymmetric competition. According to a report from Morgan Stanley, Google could pay more than $1 billion in 2014 to remain the default search engine on iOS. In 2009, Google paid only $82 million for the privilege. Analyst Scott Devitt believes that it is a per-device deal growing every year.

According to the report titled “The Next Google Is Google” and the table below, the total traffic acquisition cost is somewhat proportional to the number of iOS unit sales, with a traffic acquisition cost rate slowly going up from $3.2 per unit last year to an estimated $3.3 per unit this year and $3.5 per unit next year. That’s why the total traffic acquisition cost is going to increase in the coming years if iOS sales keep growing.

To put it into perspective, the Mozilla Foundation should get $400 million in 2014. Google remains the main contributor to the organization as one can read in Mozilla’s reports. Opera is another longstanding partner, but Morgan Stanley doesn’t give figures for this deal.

Over the years, Apple has gotten more revenue from Google as Microsoft has been pushing very hard and bidding to make Bing the default search engine. For example, Bing is now the default provider on Nokia and BlackBerry devices. Money is a major incentive for Apple. But selling a Google-free iPhone could dictate the company’s next move.

Yet, Apple shouldn’t shy away from $1 billion. As a company, profit is the most important metric. Google provides an easy way for the company to cash in a significant sum of money every year. At the same time, Google pays more money to Apple than it directly generates from iOS users. But user data is worth a lot. With only $2.9 billion in profit last quarter, it’s a non-negligible way to affect Google’s bottom line.

But the smartphone space evolves very rapidly. As Samsung is now the dominant manufacturer, the Apple-Google deal could peak soon. Google will watch closely how market shares change and could end the deal or lower its terms at the first opportunity.

The Morning Report -- Monday February 11 2013

Thousands Stranded After Storm -- Senator To Stall Nominations -- Drones To Be Used By LAPD -- Apple's Latest Invention -- Gen. Dunford Becomes US Commander -- Phillipine Town Mourns Crocodile -- Tornado Strikes Southern Mississipi -- Obama Girds For State Of The Union -- Budget Cuts Certain -- CISPA Returns

THOUSANDS STRANDED AND IN DARK AFTER 'NEMO'

Associated Press

Grabbing shovels large and small, residents and emergency workers across the Northeast struggled to dig out on Sunday after a gigantic midwinter storm left much of the region buried under drifting snow.

City streets resembled ski slopes or mountain passes, with cars and even some houses obscured by a thick blanket of white. More than three feet of snow fell in parts of Connecticut, and more than two feet accumulated on Long Island and in Massachusetts, where the storm caused coastal flooding that forced evacuations.

SENATOR GRAHAM VOWS TO STALL NOMINATIONS UNTIL MORE INFORMATION COMES ON BENGHAZI

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A leading Republican senator said Sunday that he will hold up Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees to head the Pentagon and the CIA until the White House provides more answers about the Sept. 11 attack against a U.S. installation in Benghazi, Libya.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina accused the White House of "stonewalling" requests to release more information about the attack, which killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. "We're going to get to the bottom of Benghazi," he told CBS' Face the Nation.

US TO USE DRONES IN CHRIS DORNER MANHUNT

Yesterday, as a task force of 125 officers, some riding Snowcats in the rugged terrain, continued their search, it was revealed that Dorner has become the first human target for remotely-controlled airborne drones on US soil.

A senior police source said: “The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: “We are using all the tools at our disposal.”

APPLE WORKING ON 'SMART' WATCH

Apple Insider

Dick Tracy had one. As did Inspector Gadget and James Bond. A watch that doubled as a computer, two-way radio, mapping device or television.

Though such a device has been lost to science fiction comics and spy movies of the era before smartphones, the smart watch might soon become a reality, in the form of a curved glass device made by Apple.

In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate on Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.

GEN. JOSEPH DUNFORD BECOMES U.S. COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN

Getty Images

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. took over Sunday as the newest and probably last U.S. commander in Afghanistan, charged with ending America's longest war even as insurgents continue to challenge the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Dunford, a four-star Marine officer, arrives as the U.S.-ledNATO coalition has closed three-quarters of its 800 bases and as it watches to see whether the Afghan security forces it trained can keep the Taliban insurgency at bay.

PHILLIPINE TOWN MOURNS DEATH OF LARGEST CAPTIVE CROCODILE

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The world's largest saltwater crocodile in captivity has died, sending villagers to tears in the backwater southern Philippine town that had started to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile.

The crocodile had been blamed for deadly attacks on people before it was captured in 2011 and sent to live at an eco-tourism park that was built to house the giant. The reptile quickly became a star attraction of marshy Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people in Agusan del Sur province about 515 miles southeast of Manila.

TORNADO RAKES ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Reuters

(Reuters) - A swarm of tornadoes tore through several counties in southern Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday, injuring at least 10 people and ripping apart hundreds of homes and other buildings, including parts of the University of Southern Mississippi, authorities said.

The Forrest County seat of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the adjacent town of Petal, both about 100 miles southeast of Jackson, the state capital, bore the brunt of storms that struck less than an hour before dark.

OBAMA GIRDS FOR STATE OF THE UNION, REPUBLICANS DO TOO

Associated Press

It’s unlikely that anybody will shout “You lie!” at President Obama as he delivers his State of the Union speech this week (unless it’s at home in front of the TV). Rep. Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina had to apologize and he was formally reprimanded by the House of Representativeswhen he did that during a joint session of Congress the President was addressing in 2009.

But Mr. Obama will face a tough crowd Tuesday night – at least among Republicans, who still control the House and have filibuster power in the Senate – as he lays out his plans for job creation and economic growth at a time when unemployment remains high.

AUTOMATIC BUDGET CUTS ARE ALMOST CERTAIN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In less than a month, a budget ax is set to fall on the federal government, indiscriminately chopping funding for the military and slicing money for various programs, including preschools and national parks.

The $85 billion in cuts that would take effect from March 1 through September — the first installment of $1.2 trillion in reductions over the next decade — would strike just about every agency and service in an attempt to ease the budget deficit.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SET TO ENACT CYBER SECURITY ORDER AS CONGRESS REVIVES CISPA

Bloomberg is reporting that the White House plans to introduce an executive order on cybersecurity sometime after next week's State of the Union address. The order, which has been in the works for months at this point, would arrive after several high-profile attacks have highlighted the danger posed by online threats. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times revealed they'd been the victims of attacks — thought to have originated in China — while Twitter announced it could have had as many as 250,000 user accounts compromised.

According to the report, the order will set up a set of voluntary cybersecurity standards that companies operating important US infrastructure will be able to participate in. Federal agencies will be encouraged to adopt the new protocols into existing regulations, and as expected, the order will instruct the government itself to share information about potential threats with companies in the private sector.

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