T-Mobile offering $0 down deal for all devices

Promotion starts July 27 and includes customers participating in JUMP!

Summertime and back to school sales are great ways to save a few bucks, and it looks like T-Mobile agrees. Starting tomorrow, July 27, customers can pick up any one of T-Mobile's devices for zero dollars down -- this means any smartphone, tablet, mobile hotspot, or feature phone. Even a phone like the recently released Sony Xperia Z, which was $99 just recently, will qualify for $0 down.

Both new and existing customers can take advantage of this deal, as long as they meet T-Mobile's "well-qualified" criteria (on approved credit). Those taking advantage of the new JUMP! program can also get in on this deal.

For a list of popular phones and their corresponding monthly payments with this promotion, jump past the break.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZTarQGAkdME/story01.htm

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Abbott to buy cataract laser, leg stent businesses

By Ransdell Pierson

(Reuters) - Abbott Inc said on Monday that it would enter the laser cataract surgery business by buying privately held OptiMedica Corp for up to $400 million and in a separate deal would pay $310 million for stent maker Idev Technologies.

The deals follow Abbott's spinout earlier this year of its branded prescription business into a separate company, AbbVie Inc. Abbott now focuses on medical devices, nutritional products and generic medicines.

Doctors perform most cataract surgeries by hand, but OptiMedica's Catalys laser system would allow them to replace some of the manual steps with its computer-guided technology.

The suburban Chicago company said it would pay $250 million for OptiMedica, net of cash, and make additional payments of up to $150 million upon completion of certain development, regulatory or sales milestones.

The Catalys system is approved for use in the United States and Europe in procedures that remove the crystalline lens, a part of the eye that can become clouded and impair vision.

Abbott said the laser could make a more precise incision, often in a perfectly circular shape, and then help break up the damaged lens - which is removed and replaced with an artificial one.

It will compete with cataract laser products made by Bausch & Lomb and by Alcon, a division of Novartis AG. Abbott earlier this year had been rumored as a potential bidder for Bausch & Lomb, an eye products company that in May agreed to be purchased by Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

Abbott said an estimated 22 million cataract surgeries would be performed globally this year. Abbott already sells other products involved in cataract surgery and care, including lenses used to replace the removed natural lens.

Its cataract products now generate annual sales of more than $600 million, reflecting growth over the past year in the high-single-digit percentage range.

The Catalys laser product could generate annual sales of "several hundred million dollars" within five years, John Capek, head of Abbott's medical device division, said in an interview.

Laser procedures are involved in about 20 percent of cataract surgeries, and that could rise to 70 percent over the next three to four years, he added.

In a separate announcement, Abbott said it would pay $310 million net of cash and debt for all outstanding equity of Idev and its Supera Veritas nitinol stent system. The product is approved in Europe to treat potentially dangerous blockages of major blood vessels of the leg due to peripheral artery disease.

Supera Veritas is only approved in the United States for treatment of narrowed bile ducts, related to cancer, but is awaiting approval for clots in the main artery of the thigh. If approved for that condition, Capek said the product would probably generate annual sales of "a few hundred million" dollars within three or four years.

Abbott expects the two deals to close before the end of the year, with no effect on its full-year 2013 results.

"We believe the transactions broaden Abbott's (product) offering and enhance its competitive position in vascular and vision care," Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen said in a research note.

Shares of Abbott were up 4 cents at $35.36 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/abbott-buy-cataract-laser-leg-stent-businesses-134540857.html

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Obama, GOP offer differing visions on immigration

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney listens to a question during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. Carney talked about The verdict in the george Zimmerman trial, Syria and other issues. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney listens to a question during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. Carney talked about The verdict in the george Zimmerman trial, Syria and other issues. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama speaks during a ceremony to present the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award to Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton, from Union, Iowa, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. White House spokesman Jay Carney says it would be inappropriate for President Obama to express an opinion on how the Justice Department deals with Zimmerman after the neighborhood watch volunteer's acquittal in the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old last year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama speaks during a ceremony to present the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award to Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton, from Union, Iowa, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. Obama welcomed Bush to the White House in a salute to public service and to the drive for volunteerism that the 41st president inspired with his "thousand points of light" initiative more than two decades ago.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is using his presidential pulpit to press the Republican-controlled House to embrace a path to citizenship for all 11 million people living illegally in the U.S., while a top Republican says only those brought to America as children should be given the highest priority.

With prospects shaky for passing an immigration overhaul in the House, the White House insisted Monday that to garner Obama's signature, any bill must satisfy the president's principles ? the path to citizenship chief among them. But Obama is leaving the particulars of how Congress gets there up to lawmakers, wary of strong-arming the process and handling Republicans an excuse to vote no.

"I cannot even begin to count the number of possibilities that could emerge through the House process. So I'm not going to," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "What I'm saying is that the end result has to meet the president's principles if he's going to sign it into law."

He said Obama would voice those principles and the benefits of fixing immigration Tuesday in interviews with Spanish-language TV stations.

If the White House had its way, the House would simply and swiftly take up a sweeping Senate bill that passed with bipartisan support. But House Speaker John Boehner has already rejected that notion, preferring to tackle the nation's immigration laws in "bite-sized chunks."

Boehner's approach reflects the intense skepticism of the GOP rank-and-file, who say they don't trust Obama will fulfill border-security requirements in the Senate-passed bill. Although Republicans generally acknowledge they must broaden their appeal to Hispanic voters whose influence in elections is rapidly growing, many say they fear primary challenges from the right if they support a new path to citizenship.

One exception that appeared to be gaining traction among Republicans is to offer a citizenship path only to those brought here as children. Allowing only those individuals to obtain citizenship could shield Republicans from attacks by conservatives that they're giving a free pass to those who voluntarily broke the law.

"I think that group of people ? some call DREAMers ? is a group that deserves perhaps the highest priority attention," Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said at an immigration-related conference in California. "They know no other country."

Goodlatte and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, both Virginia Republicans, are working on a bill to address the status of those immigrants, although the timing is uncertain. And Goodlatte cautioned that any such measure should hinge on completion of enforcement measures to prevent parents from smuggling their children into the U.S. in the future.

Obama has kept his distance from the back-and-forth in Congress, knowing that the political imperative for Republicans will likely be more persuasive than any pressure he applies ? and that aligning himself too closely to any legislation could actually make it harder to attract GOP support.

Still, with a major component of his legacy on the line, Obama is ratcheting up his efforts to make clear to Republicans that without meaningful action on immigration, Republicans will be hard-pressed in future elections to peel Hispanic support away from Democrats. More than 70 percent of Hispanics backed Obama in his re-election last year.

From the grounds of the White House, Obama will take to the airwaves Tuesday of Spanish-language TV stations in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and New York. The White House said Obama will argue that immigration reform is in line with the nation's values and in the country's economic interests.

___

Associated Press writer Amy Taxin in Newport Beach, Calif., contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-15-US-Obama-Immigration/id-abd0e977fb4a482985978beeed957ced

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After Acquisitions Aplenty, Yahoo Q2 Beats With EPS At 35 Cents, But Revenue Flat Again At $1.07B

The day for purple exclamation points (or lack thereof) has arrived. Yahoo just released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2013, with better-than-expected (non-GAAP) net earnings of $386 million, or 35 cents per share. Revenue (excluding traffic acquisition costs) was flat compared to last year, at $1.07 billion.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/J6kNUwcIroI/

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Mayor Names SED Dean to Boston School Committee

Hardin Coleman says the Boston School Committee needs to create ?a system that holds schools accountable for improving student performance.? Photo by Flickr contributor Jean-Edouard Babin

As a leading educator and career-long community leader, Hardin Coleman has served on many influential boards and committees. Most recently he was cochair of Boston?s External Advisory Committee for School Assignment, where he was instrumental in establishing a new formula for school choice.

Now Coleman, dean of the BU School of Education, has been appointed to the seven-member Boston School Committee (BSC) to complete the term of former member John Barros, who stepped down in April. Mayor Thomas Menino (Hon.?01) announced Coleman?s appointment on June 13, noting his ?leadership in one of our city?s finest higher education institutions, his extensive work with educators, counselors, and other partners, and a distinct perspective of Boston?s schools and families through his recent work to improve our system?s school choice process.?

SED dean since 2008, Coleman holds degrees in counseling and psychology from Stanford University, the University of Vermont, and Williams College. BU Today recently asked him about what needs to be done to improve Boston?s public schools, the challenge of finding a replacement for Superintendent Carol Johnson, who is stepping down after six years, and whether he?ll seek election to a full term when his interim term expires in January 2014.

BU Today: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the Boston School Committee?

Coleman: Creating a system that holds schools accountable for improving student performance, particularly among children who come from poverty or are English language learners.?Under Superintendent Johnson, many schools have demonstrated great improvement.?The BSC needs to find a way to take these improvements to scale.?In school-speak, it needs to eliminate level 4 (significantly underperforming) schools and increase the percentage of level 2 schools.?The second major challenge is getting the resources needed to drive significant improvement.

Where does Boston stand among the nation?s major cities with respect to public education, and what do you think are its strong points?

Last year the superintendent won a national award for her performance, and the district won a national award several years ago, which shows our national reputation is very strong.?One of the reasons we performed well in relationship to other urban districts has been the longevity of our superintendents (Johnson was here for six years and the previous superintendent for 10).?The average tenure nationwide is three years.?That stability is very important in an urban school district.?Another advantage for the district is a mayor who has made educational outcomes a priority for the city.?A third strength is the high quality of the Boston teacher corps and a fourth is the variety of academic programming available to a diverse student body.

Mayor Thomas Menino has named SED Dean Hardin Coleman to an interim term on the Boston School Committee. Photo by Cydney Scott

What should the priorities be in selecting a new superintendent?

School improvement research is demonstrating that the essential factors that lead to improved academic performance are the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom and the principal in charge of the building.?The next superintendent needs to show that she or he can recruit, retain, promote, and support great teachers and principals.

How did your involvement in the school choice system overhaul prepare you for this post?

The time I spent on the External Advisory Committee on School Assignment gave me an intimate view of the difficulty this district has in making quality education available for all students, particularly those who are in communities of poverty.?It highlighted the importance of making this information available to the public and the need to create a system that is accountable for improving.

Do you think the committee can solve its differences with the teachers union or is the relationship destined to become increasingly adversarial?

The committee?s primary responsibility is to support the ability of effective teachers to do their jobs well.?In addition to respecting and honoring due process in terms of employment, the committee needs to work with the Boston Teachers Union to increase the percentage of highly effective teachers in the classroom in every school in Boston.

How has the role of school committees evolved in recent years and how must they adjust to changing times?

Historically (I strongly recommend SED lecturer Joe Cronin?s book Reforming Boston Schools, 1930 to the Present), school committees have not always been judged by how well they support student performance.?Now and in the future, that needs to be the primary goal of the committee.?The current committee has done an excellent job of focusing on the needs of students, and I look forward to continuing that tradition.

What can be done to continue to boost achievement and high school graduation rates? What are the biggest obstacles to success?

To start, we need to create more family-supporting jobs for graduates of the Boston Public Schools so that getting that diploma will have a purpose.?If we reduce the poverty rate in the city, we will raise academic test scores and increase graduate rates. Second, we need to improve the quality of the academic experience in our underperforming schools.?Third, we must improve the articulation between the high school curriculum, the community college curriculum, and the needs of local businesses.?The biggest obstacle to success is the difficulty of getting different institutional systems (e.g., preschool, K-12, and community colleges) to be effective collaborators.

Can you comment on the value of charter schools? Should the state lift its cap on new ones?

As I review the research in education, charter schools are not the most effective strategy for producing sustainable improvement.?As I mentioned earlier, the important factors are effective teachers and principals.?The work that Boston public schools are doing to provide more effective professional development to its teaching corps and holding principals and network superintendents accountable for the academic performance of our schools is the most important focus of school reform.?I think there are many charter schools that are very effective for many of our children.?To create equitable access to a quality education for all of our students, however, I think we need to focus on recruiting, retaining, and supporting excellent teachers.

Will you seek a full term in 2014?

That is my intent.

Source: http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/mayor-names-sed-dean-to-boston-school-committee/

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Ortiz sets mark for hits by DH, Boston wins 11-4

Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz responds to the cheers of fans after he hit a double in the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. With the hit, Ortiz' 1689th in his MLB career, he passed the record held by Harold Baines for the most hits as a designated hitter in major league history. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz responds to the cheers of fans after he hit a double in the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. With the hit, Ortiz' 1689th in his MLB career, he passed the record held by Harold Baines for the most hits as a designated hitter in major league history. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz reacts in the dugout after he scored a run in the second inning after hitting a double against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. With the hit, Ortiz' 1689th in his MLB career, he passed the record held by Harold Baines for the most hits as a designated hitter in major league history. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz tips his helmet after hitting a double in the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. With the hit, Ortiz' 1689th in his MLB career, he passed the record held by Harold Baines for the most hits as a designated hitter in major league history. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz hits a double in the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. With the hit, Ortiz' 1689th in his MLB career, Ortiz passed the record held by Harold Baines for the most hits as a designated hitter in major league history. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Mariners' Brendan Ryan 'rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

SEATTLE (AP) ? As a younger player, Harold Baines and Edgar Martinez were among the hitters David Ortiz looked up to as examples.

So it's not lost on Ortiz that he has now passed both to become baseball's all-time leader in hits as a designated hitter.

"Wonderful hitters and when I first came up watching those guys," Ortiz said. "Now for your name to get mentioned next to theirs, it's a wonderful thing."

Ortiz doubled in his first at-bat to pass Baines for the most hits as a DH and hit a two-run homer an inning later, leading the Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.

Ortiz entered the night tied with Baines with 1,688 hits as a DH, and was acknowledged by a standing ovation from the mix of Red Sox and Mariners fans when he doubled to left-center field to lead off the second inning.

An inning later, Ortiz collected his eighth hit of the series with a two-run homer off Seattle starter Aaron Harang (4-8), his 19th this season.

"There is nothing that guy does that amazes me. He goes out there every day and is so consistent that you almost expect it. You kind of feel bad whenever he goes 0 for 4 and you're like, 'Come on man, are you kidding me?'" Boston catcher Jared Saltalamacchia said. "But that's how good he is and how consistent he's been in his career."

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, currently the best in baseball, and the Red Sox knocked around Harang for seven runs and eight hits.

Ortiz appeared touched by the ovation as he rumbled into second with the standup double. He tipped his helmet twice toward the standing fans and patting his chest as his milestone was shown on the video board. Ortiz already held the marks for the most runs scored, doubles, home runs, extra-base hits and RBIs by a designated hitter.

"The fans, they looked forward to that. They look forward to watch guys breaking records and getting to a certain level," Ortiz said. "They really appreciated it."

Ortiz scored in the second on Saltalamacchia's sacrifice fly, then provided the big blow in the third with a two-out, two-run homer to right-center field, his second straight game going deep.

"I've seen too much of him over the years," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "He is about as professional a hitter as you can be. Still has the bat speed, still has the power, commands the strike zone as good as anybody in the game."

Boston broke the game open in the sixth and knocked out Harang after singles by Jose Iglesias and Brock Holt to open the inning. Ellsbury and Shane Victorino both had RBI singles in the four-run inning that was helped along by a throwing error from Seattle shortstop Brad Miller.

After Seattle held a 5-1 lead after two innings in Tuesday's game, the Red Sox have outscored the Mariners 21-7 in the following 16 innings.

Ortiz's milestone night overshadowed one of the best starts this season by Boston's Felix Doubront. With its bullpen taxed in the opening two games of the series, Doubront (6-3) provided the outing Boston needed to give its relievers a rest.

Doubront took a shutout into the seventh and silenced a Seattle offense that scored 19 runs against Boston pitching in the first two games of the series. He allowed only a pair of early singles, and a double to Michael Saunders ? the first Seattle batter to reach second base ? in the fifth.

Seattle finally got to Doubront in the seventh when Jason Bay led off with a double and scored on Henry Blanco's two-out single. But that was the extent of Seattle's offense against the lefty. Doubront won his second straight start after going more than a month without a victory. It was the third time this season Doubront has allowed one earned run or less, and just the second time he's finished seven innings.

Doubront struck out six and walked two.

"We'll take a strong outing off a starting pitcher every night that we walk in here," Boston manager John Farrell said. "I think the biggest thing is he continued to put up zeroes after we scored runs and that kept the momentum on our side."

Notes: Seattle SS Brendan Ryan led off the eighth with a solo homer off Boston's Brandon Workman, making his major league debut. Seattle scored three times in the inning. ... Ellsbury returned after missing the first two games of the series with a sore wrist. ... Seattle RHP Stephen Pryor (60-day DL, lat muscle), threw a 25-pitch simulated game on Wednesday and will do the same on Saturday. Wedge said OFs Michael Morse (quad) and Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring) are not yet ready to go out on rehab assignments. ... Farrell said RHP Alex Wilson, placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday, has joint inflammation in his thumb, but the injury is not as serious as first believed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-07-11-BBA-Red-Sox-Mariners/id-1f5df74f448543809369c77eadabb63c

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Apple conspired to raise prices on e-books, judge rules

Retail

Reuters

1 hour ago

STAN HONDA / AFP - Getty Images

The front entrance to Federal Court as seen on June 3, 2013 in New York as the ebook price-fixing trial against Apple began.

In a decision that could reshape how books are sold on the Internet, a federal judge ruled that Apple Inc conspired to raise the retail prices of e-books in violation of antitrust law, and called for a trial on damages.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan is a victory for the U.S. government and various states, which the judge said are entitled to injunctive relief.

Apple had been accused of colluding with five publishers to boost e-book prices beginning in late 2009, as the Silicon Valley giant was preparing to launch its popular iPad tablet.

The U.S. Department of Justice said this conspiracy was designed to undercut online retailer Amazon.com Inc's dominance of the fast-growing e-books market.

Only Apple went to trial, while the publishers - Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group Inc and Macmillan, News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Pearson Plc's Penguin Group (USA) Inc and CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc - settled with the U.S. government and the states.

Cote said the conspiracy resulted in prices for some e-books rising to $12.99 or $14.99, when Amazon had sold for $9.99.

"The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy," Cote said.

"Without Apple's orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010," she added.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cote issued her 159-page decision after a non-jury trial that ended on June 20.

The case is U.S. v. Apple Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-02826.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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