AT&T to buy Leap Wireless for $1.2 billion

Consolidation continues in the wireless industry.

After failing to land T-Mobile US, AT&T said Friday it agreed to buy
prepaid wireless provider Leap Wireless International for $15 per
share in cash.

The nation's second largest carrier will pay about $1.2 billion for
all of Leap's stock and wireless properties, including licenses,
network assets, retail stores and about 5 million subscribers.

Shares of Leap, which is based in San Diego and sells its wireless
service through the Cricket brand, rose 2.5% to end Friday at $7.98
before the news was released.

In after-hours trading, Leap shares more than doubled to $17.31.

The deal allows AT&T to quickly build its presence in the increasingly
lucrative pre-paid market. AT&T plans to retain the Cricket brand name
and will open up its fastest data network -- 4G LTE -- to Cricket
customers. It also wants to expand Cricket's presence in more U.S.
cities.

Once the deal is completed, AT&T will tap Leap's unused spectrum –
which covers 41 million people – to expand its LTE network, it said.

"The combined company will have the financial resources, scale and
spectrum to better compete with other major national providers for
customers interested in low-cost pre-paid service," AT&T said in a
statement.

Leap's network covers customers in 35 U.S. states. As of the end of
the first quarter, it had 4,63 million customers, down from 5.17
million in the year-earlier period. Its first quarter revenue fell
4.3% to $789.9 million. As of April 15, Leap had $2.8 billion of net
debt.

The deal is subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission
and the Department of Justice. AT&T expects the transaction to close
in six to nine months.

Owners of about 29.8% of Leap's outstanding shares have agreed to vote
in favor of the transaction, AT&T said.

In 2011, AT&T agreed to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. But citing
anti-trust concerns, federal regulators quashed the deal.

SoftBank, a Japanese wireless carrier, las month completed buying
Sprint Nextel for $21.6 billion. T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier
in the U.S., also completed its acquisition of pre-paid carrier
MetroPCS earlier this year.

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23 injured in Pamplona as bull run ends in a stampede by the revelers

PAMPLONA, Spain — The penultimate bull run of Spain's San Fermin
festival left at least 23 people injured Saturday, when thrill-seekers
fleeing the beasts were crushed at the narrow entrance to the
bullring, officials said. An American citizen from Ohio was one of two
runners gored.

As the huge animals thundered into the entrance of the tunnel, they
were blocked by a mound of dozens of people who had fallen and were
piled on top of one other.
One bull that had fallen before the entrance got up and charged into
the clogged passageway. Two steers jumped over the pile of people as
they began to get up and flee.

"I felt anguish and helplessness for the people trapped there, not
knowing how to get out," said Jesus Lecumberri, 20, a student with
several years' experience running at Pamplona and other bull-running
festivals.

Lecumberri said he had charged in to the entrance alongside the first
bull, but saw the pileup and quickly dived into a ground-level hatch
built into the passage specifically to provide an escape route from
situations like this.

A gate normally used to let regional police into ringside positions
had been accidentally pushed wide open by a flood of runners, causing
an obstruction for others trying to enter the main arena, Interior
Ministry regional spokesman Javier Morras said.

"We all know that alley is a funnel and a critically dangerous point
at the entrance to the ring," Morras said. "Pileups there are one of
the biggest risks that can occur in the running of the bulls," he
said.

The blockage ended after attendants managed to let the beasts escape
through a side door normally reserved for matadors.

Javier Sesma, a health spokesman for Navarra province, said two of the
23 injured people were gored by bulls and that the others were hurt in
the stampede.

Sesma said one runner, a 19-year-old Spaniard from Vitoria city, was
seriously injured when his thorax was crushed, causing him to stop
breathing at the bull ring entrance. An Irish citizen also had
problems breathing because of the weight of people on top of him.

"His situation remains very grave, but he appears to be evolving
favorably," Sesma said of the Spaniard. "We are hopeful. His life was
at risk, but he is now more stable."

The American gored Saturday is a 35-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, who
is being identified only by the initials I.L., hospital officials
said. A 19-year-old Spaniard from the city of Azpeitia was gored in an
armpit during the 928-yard (850-meter) dash through Pamplona's narrow
streets, a statement said.

The American was undergoing surgery Saturday afternoon after suffering
a "rectal perforation," the Navarra government, which organizes the
annual festivities, said in a statement.

One of those gored had received treatment in one of the two operating
rooms at the bullring, Sesma said. The rest of the injured sustained
cuts and bruises.

Sesma said one spectator had a heart attack while watching the
stampede. By late afternoon, 16 of the injured had been discharged
from hospitalization, Sesma said.

On Friday, the festival drew widespread attention when an American
college student and two Spaniards were gored, and videos and photos of
the attacks were seen around the world.

The American patient, 20-year-old Patrick Eccles, a student at the
University of Utah, was said to be improving in a hospital Saturday.
"He is evolving favorably but, logically, has had a severe goring and
is still weak," hospital spokeswoman Marta Borruel said.

Javier Solano, a San Fermin expert working for national broadcaster
TVE, said the first recorded pileup happened in 1878, and that two
such blockages — in 1975 and 1977 — had led to several deaths.

The number of revelers attending the festival tends to swell at
weekends, causing the narrow streets of Pamplona to be thronged with
runners, increasing the risk of pileups and injuries.

The festival in this northern city dates back to the late 16th century
and also is known for its all-night street parties.

The runs, eight in all, are the highlight of a nine-day street
festival to honor Pamplona's patron saint, San Fermin.

Each morning, six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers that try
to keep the beasts together head from stables to the ring where
matadors will star in late afternoon bullfights.

The festivities, which end Sunday, were made famous by Ernest
Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."

The fiesta attracts tens of thousands of young people, many from
abroad, eager to mix alcohol with the adrenaline of running alongside
the massive bulls at 8 o'clock every morning.

Dozens of people are injured each year, with gorings often producing
the most dramatic injuries.

The last fatal goring happened in 2009.

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Mobile App Update Bonanza

Chrome, Facebook, Vine and other popular apps for Android and iOS
platforms got significant updates this week.
App developers pushed out scores of updates to their applications this
week. Smartphone and tablet owners can now do more with apps including
Chrome, Facebook, Maps, Skype, Twitter, Vine and Yahoo Mail. Here's
what's new.
-- Chrome: Google offered an update to its popular Android browser
that adds full-screen browsing to tablets. Chrome now lets users hide
the toolbar so Web pages will fill the entire display. The app added
support for Google Translate, which will translate Web pages from one
language to another. Last, Google Chrome for Android added a
right-to-left viewing option to support languages such as Arabic,
Farsi and Hebrew.
Facebook: Facebook was updated this week for both the Android and iOS
platforms. For Android, Facebook gained the ability to share news
stories privately, a new swipe-left-to-open messages gesture, the
ability to store and run the app from microSD cards, and drag-and-drop
folder support for Facebook Home. For iOS, Facebook added support for
verified accounts, which lets iPhone and iPad owners stalk, er, search
for and follow celebrities and other high-profile users. The app also
made it easier to edit Places within Facebook.

[ What's new on Microsoft's smartphone? See Windows Phone Scores More
Key Apps. ]

-- Google Maps: Google rolled out a huge update to Google Maps. The
update hit Android devices this week and will reach iOS devices soon.
The new Google Maps makes it easier to search for nearby places with
an Explore feature, and also added the ability to automatically alert
drivers to changing road conditions ahead. Even better, Google is
going to offer a version of Maps specifically for tablets.

-- Skype: Microsoft gave Windows Phone devices some love with a new
version of Skype. Skype 2.8 for Windows Phone 8 makes significant
improvements to the app's start-and-resume performance. Essentially,
users who've multitasked away from Skype will see much faster resume
behavior when they return to the app. Skype also makes changes to how
it tallies unread conversations on the Live Tile and made the app
available in South Korea.

-- Twitter: Twitter revised its application for Android and iOS
devices, as well as its dedicated Mac desktop application. The most
significant new feature in this version of Twitter is that it will
sync direct message status across devices. One of Twitter's most
nagging problems has been its inability to mark-as-read DMs between
devices. Now, when a Twitter DM is read on one device, such as an
Apple computer, it will be marked read on mobile devices as well.
Twitter also refreshed the search tool, which provides more user
details in results, and made it easier to join ongoing conversations.

-- Vine: Vine, Twitter's video-sharing social network, added tons of
features to its Android app that should make users happy. The update
gave Android devices a new quick-capture widget that can be put on the
home screen and used to jump straight to recording a video. The app
added 15 new channels through which users can browse for videos, and
added the ability to share videos, which Vine calls re-Vining, with
others. It also gained a new mute button and performance improvements.

-- Yahoo Mail: Yahoo updated its email app for both Android and iOS
devices. Yahoo Mail for Android devices added integration with
Dropbox. That means Yahoo Mail users can access and share their
Dropbox files from within the email program. The app also now lets
users swipe from message to message, and adds support for business
mail accounts. The iOS version of Yahoo Mail gets business mail
support, too, and throws in support for multiple accounts for good
measure.

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Napolitano resigns as Homeland Security secretary

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has handled
hot-button issues ranging from immigration to counter-terrorism, said
Friday she is resigning to run the University of California and its
system of colleges.

"I thank President Obama for the chance to serve our nation during
this important chapter in our history," Napolitano said in a
statement. "And I know the Department of Homeland Security will
continue to perform its important duties with the honor and focus that
the American public expects."

Obama praised Napolitano's performance during four-and-a-half years at
the Department of Homeland Security, noting that its responsibilities
during her tenure ranged from the Joplin tornado to Hurricane Sandy,
as well as efforts to thwart terrorism.

"Since day one, Janet has led my administration's effort to secure our
borders, deploying a historic number of resources, while also taking
steps to make our immigration system fairer and more consistent with
our values," Obama said. "And the American people are safer and more
secure thanks to Janet's leadership in protecting our homeland against
terrorist attacks."

PROFILE: Napolitano's tenure and legacy

White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that Napolitano will stay at
her post until September, and that Obama will be "very deliberate" in
selecting a successor.

A prominent senator -- Democrat Charles Schumer of New York -- has
already floated one name, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Her resignation caught many in Washington by surprise -- Napolitano
has often been mentioned as a potential successor to Attorney General
Eric Holder.

Some Republicans and others criticized Napolitano over immigration
policies, citing a de-emphasis on prosecutions against suspects
believed to be in the United States illegally. Napolitano also backed
a plan to end deportations against young people who lacked legal
status.

Napolitano and supporters said limited law enforcement resources
should focus on threats to public safety and national security.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Napolitano's tenure has been marked
"by a consistent disrespect for the rule of law," and that "the most
significant obstacle to immigration reform remains President Obama's
selective enforcement of the law."

Others, however, pointed to record numbers of deportations on
Napolitano's watch. Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day
Laborer Organizing Network, said, "we are pleased to see her go."

Sessions and other critics have also faulted Napolitano's department
for failing to be transparent about border security and the botched
"Fast and Furious" gun running investigation.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he and his fellow Arizonan "have had
our share of disagreements" over the years, "but I have never doubted
her integrity, work ethic, or commitment to our nation's security."

Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona, is only the third person to
lead the Department of Homeland Security, created a decade ago in the
wake of the 9/11 attacks. She held the job throughout Obama's first
term.

DHS employees "serve on the front lines of our nation's efforts to
protect our communities and families from harm," Napolitano said, and
working with them "has been the highlight of my professional career."

She said her department "has improved the safety of travelers;
implemented smart steps that make our immigration system more fair and
focused while deploying record resources to protect our nation's
borders; worked with states to build resiliency and make our nation's
emergency and disaster response capabilities more robust; and
partnered with the private sector to improve our cybersecurity."

The University of California regents who run a 10-campus college
system confirmed Napolitano's new appointment in a statement, praising
her as someone who has run large public agencies and has a deep
interest in improving higher education.

Chosen over more than 300 other potential candidates, Napolitano will
be the 20th president of the University of California.

"While some may consider her to be an unconventional choice, Secretary
Napolitano is without a doubt the right person at the right time to
lead this incredible university," said a statement from Sherry
Lansing, the regent and former film industry executive who headed the
search committee.

Added Lansing: "She will bring fresh eyes and a new sensibility — not
only to UC, but to all of California. She will stand as a vigorous
advocate for faculty, students and staff at a time when great changes
in our state, and across the globe, are presenting as many
opportunities as challenges."

In her statement, Napolitano said that in her new job she wants "to
play a role in educating our nation's next generation of leaders."

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Democrats vow abortion fight in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republicans in the Texas Legislature passed an
omnibus abortion bill that is one of the most restrictive in the
nation, but Democrats vowed Saturday to fight both in the courts and
the ballot box as they used the measure to rally their supporters.

More than 2,000 demonstrators filled the Capitol building in Austin to
oppose the bill, and state troopers drug six out of the Senate chamber
for trying to disrupt the debate. The Republican majority ultimately
passed the bill unchanged just before midnight, with all but one
Democrat voting against it.

"Today the Texas Legislature took its final step in our historic
effort to protect life," said Gov. Rick Perry who will sign the bill
into law in the next few days. "This legislation builds on the strong
and unwavering commitment we have made to defend life and protect
women's health."

Democrats, though, promised a fight in the courts.

"There will be a lawsuit. I promise you," Dallas Sen. Royce West said
on the Senate floor, raising his right hand as if taking an oath.

Democrats offered 20 amendments to the bill, which will ban abortions
after 20 weeks, require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges
at a nearby hospital and require all abortions take place in surgical
centers. They ranged from exceptions for rape and incest to allowing
doctors more leeway in prescribing abortion-inducing drugs. But
Republicans would have none of it.

The bill is just one of many across the nation championed by
anti-abortion groups set on a constitutional challenge to Roe vs Wade,
the U.S. Supreme Court decision guaranteeing a woman's right to decide
on an abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb.

Texas falls under the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has shown a
willingness to accept more stringent limits on abortions. Passing the
law also pleases Christian conservatives who make up the majority of
Republican primary voters.

But the measure has also sparked protests in Texas not seen in least
20 years, with thousands of abortion rights supporters flooding the
Capitol to draw out normally boring committee hearings and disrupting
key votes. Protesters finished a filibuster started by Democratic Sen.
Wendy Davis of Fort Worth by jeering for the last 15 minutes of the
first special session, effectively killing the bill.

That's when Perry called lawmakers back for round two. But opponents
said the fight is far from over and used the popular anger to register
and organize Democratic voters.

"Let's make sure that tonight is not an ending point, it's a beginning
point for our future, our collective futures, as we work to take this
state back." Davis told 2,000 adoring supporters after the bill
passed.

The Texas Republican Party, meanwhile, celebrated what they considered
a major victory that makes Texas "a nationwide leader in pro-life
legislation."

"As Democrats continue to talk about their dreams of turning Texas
blue, passage of HB2 is proof that Texans are conservative and
organized and we look forward to working with our amazing Republican
leadership in the Texas Legislature as they finish the special session
strong," a party statement said.

Friday's debate took place between a packed gallery of demonstrators,
with anti-abortion activists wearing blue and abortion-rights
supporters wearing orange. Security was tight, and state troopers
reported confiscating bottles of urine and feces as they worked to
prevent another attempt to stop the Republican majority from passing
the proposal.

Those arrested or removed from the chamber included four women who
tried to chain themselves to a railing in the gallery while singing,
"All we are saying is give choice a chance." One of the women was
successful in chaining herself, prompting a 10-minute recess.
Sen. Glen Hegar of Katy, the bill's Republican author, argued that all
abortions, including those induced with medications, should take place
in an ambulatory surgical center in case of complications.

Democrats pointed out that childbirth is more dangerous than an
abortion and there have been no serious problems with women taking
abortion drugs at home.

Cecile Richards, the daughter of former Gov. Anne Richards and
president of Planned Parenthood, said Texas Republicans and abortion
opponents won this political round — but it could cost them down the
road.

"All they have done is built a committed group of people across this
state who are outraged about the treatment of women and the lengths to
which this Legislature will go to take women's health care away," she
said.

The dedication of those activists will be tested during the 2014
elections. Democrats have not won a statewide seat in Texas since
1994, the longest such losing streak in the nation.

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Kanye West Is "Not Changing Diapers" for Baby North

Kanye West Is "Not Changing Diapers" for Baby North

It's a dirty job and somebody's gotta do it, but that somebody is not Kanye West. Since welcoming baby daughter North with girlfriend Kim Kardashian on June 15, West, 36, has embraced almost every aspect of fatherhood, with one notable exception: dirty diapers.

Read more:

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/kanye-west-is-not-changing-diapers-for-baby-north-201347

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Mandela on life support, faces 'impending death'

Mandela on life support, faces 'impending death'

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela is being kept alive by a breathing machine and faces "impending death," court documents show.

The former president's health is "perilous," according to documents filed in the court case that resulted in the remains of his three deceased children being reburied Thursday in their original graves.

"The anticipation of his impending death is based on real and substantial grounds," the court filing said.

Mandela, who was hospitalized on June 8, remains in critical but stable condition, according to the office of President Jacob Zuma, who visited the anti-apartheid leader on Thursday. The president's office also said doctors denied reports that 94-year-old Mandela is in a "vegetative state."

A younger person put on mechanical ventilation — life support — can be weaned off the machine and recover, but that it can be difficult or impossible for an older person. The longer a person is on ventilation the less the chance of recovery, said the chief executive of the Faculty of Consulting Physicians of South Africa.

Read more:

http://news.yahoo.com/mandela-life-support-faces-impending-death-223616156.html

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How to Be Better at Email: A Comprehensive Scientific Guide

How to Be Better at Email: A Comprehensive Scientific Guide

Email is all-pervasive, and arguably one of the most important tools of modern business. But the fact is most of us are not particularly good at it, wasting time on messages we should ignore and losing track of those that we should be focusing on. Then there's the base human instinct to cc: everyone in our address notebook whenever possible.

What are the best ways to take control and optimize your use of email? Quartz turned to academic research from around the world and other thoughtful sources to compile these insights and suggestions.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/better-email-comprehensive-scientific-guide-191230583.html

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Ex-Russian spy Anna Chapman proposes marriage to Edward Snowden

Ex-Russian spy Anna Chapman proposes marriage to Edward Snowden

The rest of the world may not want him, but NSA leaker Edward Snowden has at least one potential taker: Anna Chapman. The ex-spy tweeted yesterday, “Snowden, will you marry me?!”

The former Russian spy may have sympathy for the man who spilled top-secret documents. Chapman, after all, is no stranger to run-ins with government authorities.

The 31-year-old had been posing as a real-estate agent in the United States in 2010 when she was accused of gathering intel for Russia. She and nine others were deported back to Russia in a prisoner swap.

Read more:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/ex-russian-spy-anna-chapman-proposes-marriage-edward-171009157.html

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Egypt's security forces move against Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt's security forces move against Muslim Brotherhood

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- A day after deposing the nation's first democratically elected president, Egypt's security forces on Thursday moved to arrest leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood that had supported his rule and to silence their communications outlets.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad told CNN the ousted president, Mohamed Morsy, was under house arrest at the presidential Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo; the military has not commented on Morsy's whereabouts.

Morsy has refused an offer by the armed forces to leave Egypt for Qatar, Turkey or Yemen, the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported Thursday. The report said that he wouldn't step down voluntarily and that his speech Wednesday -- before his ouster -- represented a "flagrant challenge to its authority" and a "declaration of confrontation with it."

Read more:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/04/world/meast/egypt-coup/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

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Morsi is out as Egypt’s president

Morsi is out as Egypt’s president

CAIRO -- The leader of Egypt’s military ousted President Mohammed Morsi from office and replaced him with the head of the country’s constitutional court -- a move the presidential palace quickly branded a “complete military coup.”

The announcements capped days of political crisis that brought millions of Egyptians out to the country’s streets, spurring bellicose rhetoric from Morsi’s backers and Egypt’s military, and sparking deadly violence. Egyptians remained on the squares on Wednesday evening, the stark divides between their celebration and anger suggesting a new period of political uncertainty ahead.

In a terse televised statement Wednesday evening, Defense Secretary Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi -- joined by important Muslim, Coptic and opposition chiefs -- announced Morsi’s ouster. The head of Egypt’s highest court -- Adly Mansour, a judge who was named to the position only two days earlier -- would take over from Morsi effective immediately, he said.

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morsi-is-out-as-egypts-president-2013-07-03

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Snowden's Options for Refuge Narrow

Snowden's Options for Refuge Narrow

As Edward Snowden entered his second week of limbo in Moscow's airport on Sunday, his decision to go to Russia is looking riskier than it first appeared, and may have left him in a worse situation than if he had stayed in Hong Kong.

Even with his next move uncertain, the former National Security Agency contractor caused fresh uproar over the weekend. On Sunday, German weekly Der Spiegel, citing information from Mr. Snowden, reported that the U.S. had placed listening devices in a European Union office in Washington, infiltrated its computers and carried out cyberattacks against EU bodies. The report prompted strong criticism from several European governments. 

Mr. Snowden had hoped for asylum in Ecuador, but that seems less likely now. President Rafael Correa on Sunday retreated further from his country's early support of Mr. Snowden, telling the Associated Press it was up to Russian authorities to decide whether Mr. Snowden could travel to the Ecuadorean embassy in Moscow to seek asylum.

Read more:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/snowdens-options-refuge-narrow-021700323.html

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Snowden seeks asylum in Russia

Snowden seeks asylum again in Russia

MOSCOW (MarketWatch) — Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency staffer accused of espionage, has filed an application for political asylum in Russia, a Russian consular official said Monday.

The application was filed at the consular office in Terminal F of Moscow’s Sheremetevo Airport around 10:30 p.m. Sunday by Sarah Harrison, the WikiLeaks staffer who has accompanied Snowden since he left Hong Kong just over a week ago, the official said, noting that it was sent to the Foreign Ministry for processing.

The Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Neither Snowden nor Harrison, both thought to be in the transit zone at Sheremetevo, could be reached for comment.

The filing came hours before President Vladimir Putin told a news conference in Moscow that Russia would grant Mr. Snowden asylum “only if he stops his work aimed at harming our American partners,” an apparent reference to his publication of secret data about U.S. intelligence operations.

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snowden-seeks-asylum-in-russia-2013-07-01-121035356

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Putin says Snowden should stop harming 'our American partners'

Putin says Snowden should stop harming 'our American partners'

(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin made starkly clear on Monday that Edward Snowden was not welcome in Russia, and voiced solidarity with the United States over the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contactor.

However, speaking eight days after Snowden arrived at a Moscow airport where he is believed to remain, Putin repeated that Russia had no intention of handing the American over to the United States, which wants him on espionage charges.

For the second time in a week, he said Russian intelligence agencies were not working with Snowden and urged him to leave as soon as possible. "If he wants to go away somewhere and someone will accept him there, by all means," Putin said.

"If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: He must stop his work aimed at harming our American partners, as strange as that sounds coming from my lips," Putin told reporters after a gas exporters' conference in Moscow.

Read more:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/us-usa-security-snowden-putin-idUSBRE9600QP20130701

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