What's Our Cat Plotting? Laptop Magazine has awarded Apple the top prize in its Best Brands feature for the fourth year in a row, placing first in five of the eight categories it measures. In addition, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display took honors as the magazine’s top notebook of 2012, with editors praising the screen, performance, battery life, and design. Software and tech support were also highlighted. “Apple continues to epitomize the best of the best,” say the magazine’s editors. Danica Patrick Takes Last Place In Preakness Stakes ARLINGTON, TX—While gathered for a party at a coworker’s backyard pool Saturday, out-of-shape colleagues at Shuster, Layne & Associates were struck by the coincidence that they had somehow each forgotten to bring bathing apparel to the fes... Apple has announced that customers have now downloaded over 50 billion apps from the App Store. The 50 billionth app — Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC — was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio, who received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate the milestone. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.” This week, President Barack Obama and his administration have come under fire from political opponents seeking an explanation for the White House’s alleged complicity in a series of widely publicized scandals. CLEVELAND—Claiming they want to impose their will against the competition, Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski announced Friday that the team is gearing up to aggressively punt the ball down opponents’ throats this season. At each mention of the government’s targeting of conservative groups, the 8,000 delegates at the state party convention in Richmond roared their approval.     With Sergio Garcia plummeting from first place to a seven-way tie for eighth at the Players Championship last weekend, Onion Sports examines some of the worst chokes in the history of athletic competition. The owner of the Chinese vessel seized by North Korea voiced concern about the safety of the detained fishermen.     Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 second quarter ended March 30, 2013, posting revenue of $43.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share. During the quarter, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones, compared to 35.1 million in the year-ago quarter. And it sold 19.5 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 11.8 million in 2012. “We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline.” PARIS—Following a storied 21-year career, global soccer icon David Beckham officially announced Thursday that, at the age of 38, he is a giant quitter. With an eye toward helping students navigate the digital world, Burlington High School outside Boston adopted the iPad one-to-one program, which provides every student with an iPad. In its first year, the program has already made a big difference — students say they’re more excited and organized than in previous years, and teachers say they see a deeper level of learning. “Having a say in your education is really powerful,” says one student. “With iPad, you feel like you’re more in charge.” Apple has announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 25 billion songs from the iTunes Store. “We are grateful to our users whose passion for music over the past 10 years has made iTunes the number one music retailer in the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. The 25 billionth song, “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch, was purchased by Phillip Lüpke from Germany. As the downloader of the 25 billionth song, Phillip will receive a €10,000 iTunes gift card. WASHINGTON—Saying that those were definitely some good times, a reflective President Obama told reporters Friday that the current scandals plaguing his administration have made him long for the deeply frustrating, often maddening political climate o... A cyberunit of the People’s Liberation Army in China appears to have resumed its attacks using different techniques, hitting several of the same victims it has gone after in the past.     If shareholders separate the jobs of chairman and chief executive — positions that Jamie Dimon has held since 2008 — it would signal a shift in the balance of power in corporate America.     Obama told Morehouse College graduates that “laws, hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks like you can serve as president.”     An officer’s decision to enter a home in Uniondale, N.Y., and open fire, killing a gunman and a student being held hostage, may have eliminated the opportunity to negotiate with the gunman, some experts said.     In its annual rankings, Fortune magazine has named Apple the world’s most admired company for the sixth year in a row. Fortune calls Apple “a financial juggernaut,” citing Apple’s $13 billion in net income last quarter — earnings that made it the most profitable company in the world during that period. The magazine also applauds Apple’s “fanatical customer base” and the unprecedented success of the iPhone and iPad product lines. Across the United States, teachers are using iPad and other tablets to reinvent the presentation and management of educational material. According to a report in Wired magazine, “tablets’ simplicity, ease of use and the massive range of academically minded applications available are drawing teachers and educational technologists to the platform in droves.” iPad is leading this charge, as “the most popular tablet among educators,” and “Apple’s iTunes U is one tool making iPad-based course integration easier by helping teachers create and curate a wholly digital curriculum.”