Romney eyes five more victories
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney laid claim to the fiercely contested Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night with a fistful of primary triumphs and urged all who struggle in a shaky U.S. economy to “hold on a little longer; a better America begins tonight.”
Connecticut and Rhode Island fell quickly into Romney’s column on the first primary night since Rick Santorum conceded the nomination. Delaware soon followed, dashing Newt Gingrich’s hopes of a late comeback.
The vote count was slower in New York and Pennsylvania.
After struggling for months to prevail over unexpectedly persistent rivals, the Republican nominee-in-waiting was eager to turn the political page.
“After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and not a few long nights, I can say with confidence — and gratitude — that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility,” he said in excerpts of a speech to be delivered in New Hampshire.
Vowing to defeat President Barack Obama, he said that in the past three years, “we have seen hopes and dreams diminished by false promises and weak leadership.”
Mad cow disease case in California
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first new case of mad cow disease in the U.S. since 2006 has been discovered in a dairy cow in California, but health authorities said Tuesday the animal never was a threat to the nation’s food supply.
The infected cow, the fourth ever discovered in the U.S., was found as part of an Agriculture Department surveillance program that tests about 40,000 cows a year for the fatal brain disease.
No meat from the cow was bound for the food supply, said John Clifford, the department’s chief veterinary officer.
“There is really no cause for alarm here with regard to this animal,” Clifford told reporters at a hastily convened press conference.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is fatal to cows and can cause a fatal human brain disease in people who eat tainted beef.
The World Health Organization has said that tests show that humans cannot be infected by drinking milk from BSE-infected animals.
Apple sells 35M iPhones in 2Q
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable company, trumped skeptics once again by reporting blowout iPhone sales.
Apple says it sold 35 million iPhones in the January-to-March quarter, almost twice as many as it sold a year ago and above analyst expectations.
Apple’s stock was down 2 percent at the close of regular trading, as investors believed phone companies had reined in iPhone sales. In extended trading, the stock rallied $43.83, or 7.8 percent, to $604.11.
Net income in the company’s fiscal second quarter was $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per share. That was nearly double the net income of $6 billion, or $6.40 per share, a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $10.07 per share for the latest quarter, Apple’s fiscal second.
Revenue was $39.2 billion, up 59 percent from a year ago. Analysts were expecting $37 billion.
Push to buy Full Tilt Poker fails
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A French investment group’s push to buy troubled online poker operator Full Tilt Poker for $80 million fell through after the potential buyer couldn’t agree with the Department of Justice over how quickly players with money tied up on the site would be repaid, a lawyer for the group said Tuesday.
Benham Dayanim, a Washington-based attorney for Groupe Bernard Tapie, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that prosecutors changed their offer earlier this month and wanted players repaid in full within 90 days of the sale.
“We were not prepared to do that,” Dayanim said. “The DOJ did not make that a deal-breaker until the very end.”
