Amazon vows to fight FTC on kids in-app purchases

LOS ANGELES — Amazon said Wednesday that it is prepared to go to court against the Federal Trade Commission to defend itself against charges that it has not done enough to prevent children from making unauthorized in-app purchases.

The FTC alleged in a draft lawsuit released by Amazon that unauthorized charges by children on Amazon tablets have amounted to millions of dollars.

Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said in a letter Tuesday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez that it had already refunded money to parents who complained. It also said its parental controls go beyond what the FTC required from Apple when it imposed a $32.5 million fine on the company in January over a similar matter.

Amazon's Kindle Free Time app can limit how much time children spend on Kindle tablets as well as require a personal identification number for in-app purchases, said Amazon spokesman Craig Berman.

"Parents can say — at any time, for every purchase that's made — that a PIN is required," he said.

By not agreeing to a settlement with the FTC, the company faces a potential lawsuit by the FTC in federal district court.

Apple complained when the FTC announced its settlement with the company in January.

CEO Tim Cook explained to employees in a memo that the settlement did not require the company to do anything it wasn't doing already but he added that it "smacked of double jeopardy" because Apple had already settled a similar class-action lawsuit in which it agreed to refunds.

The FTC wouldn't comment on whether it is investigating Amazon's in-app purchase policies, but said in a statement: "The Commission is focused on ensuring that companies comply with the fundamental principle that consumers should not be made to pay for something they did not authorize."

In the FTC's draft complaint, the commission said that after Amazon began billing for in-app purchase in November 2011, an Amazon Appstore manager described the level of complaints about unauthorized purchases by children as at "near house on fire" levels.

It said Amazon began requiring password entry for in-app charges above $20 in March 2012, and then for all purchases in early 2013. However, for smaller purchases, entering a password once left open a billing window of 15 minutes to an hour in which new charges wouldn't require a password, the FTC said in the complaint.

Prompts from kid-targeted games like "Pet Shop Story" would sometimes not give a price for purchases, the FTC said. Sometimes the purchase prompts from games like "Tap Zoo" were easily mistaken for those using "coins," ''stars," and other virtual currency, it said.

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Bay State domestic workers get ‘bill of rights’

Massachusetts is now the fourth state in the nation to pass a law extending basic labor standards and worker protections to nannies, caregivers and other domestic workers.

The law lays out a "bill of rights," setting rules for meal breaks and termination notices, for example, and makes it clear the estimated 67,000 such workers in the state are eligible for unemployment insurance, workers compensation and minimum wage protections.

"Domestic workers represent an important segment of our workforce and are important to the Massachusetts economy," said Gov. Deval Patrick, who signed the bill into law yesterday. "This bill ensures they have the same basic workplace rights that we guarantee other workers in Massachusetts."

Donna Levin, co-founder and vice president of operations for Care.com, an online matchmaking service for domestic workers, said the law is a big step forward.

"It's fantastic for the caregivers," Levin said. "The same benefits you would expect from your employer, families now provide for domestic workers in their home."

Levin said many families do not consider nannies employees, and pay them under the table and don't offer benefits like maternity leave.

"It's really working to professionalize the industry," Levin said.

Attorney General Martha Coakley and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination will enforce the new law, which goes into effect April 1, 2015.

"Domestic workers are often alone, isolated and powerless," Coakley said. "This law will make sure domestic workers can do their jobs with dignity."

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Marty Walsh mulls his next hand

A frustrated Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday didn't rule out suing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission after it denied his request to delay awarding the coveted Greater Boston casino license until after a November vote on a possible repeal of the gaming law, and he said the city's total casino-related expenses could run into the "millions."

"Our attorneys are looking at what the next step will be," Walsh told the Herald. Asked whether that step could include suing the commission, the mayor said, "Potentially."

"I think the Gaming Commission is very shortsighted here," he said.

"This was an opportunity for us to save the taxpayers a lot of money here and allow us the opportunity to have a real discussion around what the voters of Massachusetts want. But again, pretty much not to my surprise, they took the action they took today."

Walsh said the city already has spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" and when asked if he expected the tab to rise to millions he replied, "Absolutely."

The mayor would not say whether he is less inclined now to go to arbitration with Wynn Resorts, which wants to build a casino in Everett, or Mohegan Sun, which wants to build in Revere, over how much money Boston is entitled to as a surrounding community.

Eugene O'Flaherty, the city's corporation counsel, argued that if the commission did not postpone awarding a casino license until after voters go to the polls Nov. 4, Boston would "suffer irreparable harm" in terms of time and money spent.

"The public interest is served by people having their say," O'Flaherty added.

Thomas Frongillo, another attorney for the city, told the commission Wynn, Mohegan Sun and their host communities "want you to issue a license to influence the November vote."

But representatives from both companies and both communities disagreed. And so did the commission.

"How does more information do irreparable harm (to voters)?" Commissioner Enrique Zuniga asked O'Flaherty.

"It's putting the cart before the horse," O'Flaherty answered.

But Commissioner James McHugh argued that if a license is designated in September, as planned, "it may energize voters. I don't see how it skews them. ... I think everyone would benefit from knowing what the end game is."

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Sun's future brighter after family dispute solved

LAS VEGAS — A battle over the future of the family-owned Las Vegas Sun has been resolved after one brother took sole ownership and vowed to continue publishing the newspaper.

Brian Greenspun announced Tuesday that he took control of the 64-year-old newspaper and its parent company, Greenspun Media Group, in an agreement that splits family assets among four siblings.

"This is a happy day for me," Brian Greenspun said. "This community must have, and richly deserves, multiple newspaper organizations covering it. We're here to stay and here to thrive."

The future of the Sun has been murky since last summer, when three Greenspun siblings moved to end a joint operating arrangement with the Las Vegas Review-Journal's parent company, Stephens Media. The joint operating agreement splits revenue between the publications, and the Sun is delivered as a section within the Review-Journal.

Brian Greenspun sued, saying ending the arrangement could kill the Sun.

The agreement announced Tuesday divvies up portions of the family business, placing luxury magazine network Niche Media in the hands of Janie Greenspun Gale and her husband, Jeff Gale.

In addition to the Sun, Brian Greenspun will take over other Greenspun Media Group assets, including the Sun's news website, Las Vegas Magazine, The Sunday newsmagazine and the arts and entertainment magazine Las Vegas Weekly. Those publications had previously been co-owned by the four siblings.

As a result of the agreement, Greenspun says he's suspending discussions on ending the joint operating arrangement with Stephens Media and will withdraw his lawsuit.

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Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com

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Newspapers: Disputed deal saving Salt Lake Tribune

SALT LAKE CITY — Executives of Salt Lake City's two daily newspapers say in new court filings that changes to terms of a joint operating agreement between The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News aren't intended to put the Tribune out of business.

The agreement is designed to save the paper, not lead to its demise, John Paton, CEO of Tribune owner Digital First Media, wrote in response to a lawsuit filed last month by a group of former Tribune employees. They argue the deal's terms violate federal antitrust laws and undermine the newspaper's role as an independent voice.

"There are no plans to cease publication of the Tribune today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or ever," Paton said in filings Monday.

The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the changes made in October to the six-decade-old agreement, and the newspapers' parent companies say they are cooperating with federal officials, though the investigation and lawsuit are delaying talks with possible Tribune buyers.

Deseret News CEO Clark Gilbert said going back to the old terms of the deal would not be "commercially practicable nor reasonably possible." The new agreement preserves both newspapers and was entered into in good faith, he said.

It shouldn't be scrapped because of groups "who do not understand the financial and managerial challenges of print and digital publishing in today's Salt Lake City environment," Gilbert wrote.

The group bringing the lawsuit, Utah Newspaper Project, argued that the revised agreement gives too much control to the Deseret News, which is owned by a for-profit arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Under the new terms, the Deseret News purchased the Tribune's share of a printing plant and gets 70 percent of the profits from the newspapers' joint print advertising and circulation businesses. The old profit split was 58 percent for the Tribune and 42 percent for the Deseret News.

The group said the agreement gives the Tribune too little revenue to publish its print edition long term and also jeopardizes its website, which relies on print revenue.

The deal also threatens the newspaper's independence by giving the Deseret News veto power over any potential purchaser of the Tribune, the group said.

In a joint filing Monday by the newspapers' parent companies, attorneys say the veto has been in the joint operating agreement since 2001.

The attorneys say the lawsuit and federal inquiry are delaying discussions with possible Tribune buyers, including Jon Huntsman Sr. The industrialist and philanthropist says he's a "strong member" of the Mormon church but believes it would not be in the best interests of Utah residents if a church-owned newspaper dominated state news.

Paton said dissolving the new terms would be "potentially fatal" to the Tribune, forcing disruptions to a new strategy that has put the emphasis on making profits from digital advertising.

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Unapproved device buys time for new pair of lungs

PITTSBURGH — An Oklahoma man is slowly gaining strength at a Pittsburgh hospital with a second set of transplanted lungs in a procedure that was possible only through a device that until now hasn't been used in the U.S.

The Hemolung essentially works like dialysis for the lungs, cleansing a patient's blood of carbon dioxide. The 33-year-old John Sacker was near death at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Cystic fibrosis destroyed his lungs and a severe infection caused his body to reject an initial set of transplanted lungs.

Doctors feared they couldn't get him strong enough to get another lung transplant but decided to gamble on the unapproved Hemolung. One of the devices was found in Toronto and brought to Pittsburgh, and Sacker improved to the point that in mid-March he got a transplant. Sacker calls the machine a lifesaver.

The Hemolung has been approved for use in Canada and Europe. Its maker, ALung Technologies Inc., is currently planning the stricter U.S. testing required by the Food and Drug Administration.

Sound:

%@AP Links

263-a-12-(Dr. William Federspiel, professior of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, in AP interview)-"the native lung"-Bioengineering professor Dr William Federspiel says the Hemolung removes dangerous C-O-2 from the blood. (1 Jul 2014)

<<CUT *263 (07/01/14)££ 00:12 "the native lung"

264-a-06-(Jonathan Sacker, transplant patient, in AP interview)-"hadn't got it"-Jonathan Sacker says the hemolung bought him critical time until he was able to get a set of new donor lungs. (1 Jul 2014)

<<CUT *264 (07/01/14)££ 00:06 "hadn't got it"

262-a-05-(Sallie Sacker, patient's wife, in AP interview)-"off the ventilator"-Sallie Sacker says the Hemolung saved her husband by buying him enough time to get donor lungs. (1 Jul 2014)

<<CUT *262 (07/01/14)££ 00:05 "off the ventilator"

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Regulators accuse T-Mobile of bogus billing

WASHINGTON — T-Mobile US knowingly made hundreds of millions of dollars off its customers in potentially bogus charges, federal regulators alleged Tuesday in the first lawsuit of its kind against a wireless provider.

The lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission, which fueled a separate federal investigation, demands that T-Mobile refund the money to consumers for subscriptions to premium text services such as $10-per-month horoscopes that were never authorized by the account holder. The FTC alleges that T-Mobile collected as much as 40 percent of the charges, even after being alerted by other customers that the subscriptions were scams.

The announcement was a blow to the popular mobile phone provider, which had been making gains in the market by offering consumers flexible phone plans.

"It's wrong for a company like T-Mobile to profit from scams against its customers when there were clear warning signs the charges it was imposing were fraudulent," said FTC Chair Edith Ramirez in a statement. "The FTC's goal is to ensure that T-Mobile repays all its customers for these crammed charges."

In a statement, T-Mobile called the allegations "unfounded and without merit."

"T-Mobile is fighting harder than any of the carriers to change the way the wireless industry operates, and we are disappointed that the FTC has chosen to file this action against the most pro-consumer company in the industry rather than the real bad actors," said John Legere, the company's CEO, in a statement.

The practice is often referred to as "cramming": businesses stuff a customer's bill with bogus charges associated with a third party. In this case, the FTC said, most T-Mobile customers never agreed to sign up for the services but were billed anyway.

T-Mobile says it tried to put consumer protections in place, but that many of the third-party vendors acted irresponsibly. The FTC counters that T-Mobile should have been tipped off that these text services were scams because of the high rate of customer complaints.

The FTC also alleges that T-Mobile often hid the charges, making it almost impossible for customers to protest. Regulators estimate that T-Mobile kept as much as 40 percent of the bogus charges, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars.

The FTC told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that it had been in negotiations with T-Mobile for months in an attempt to guarantee refunds would be provided to customers but that the two sides couldn't reach an agreement.

The Federal Communications Commission announced it would launch a separate investigation, which could result in heavy fines for T-Mobile if it confirms the FTC's allegations.

T-Mobile appears to have been laying the groundwork to head off the federal complaint. Last November, the company announced it would no longer allow premium text services because they were waning in popularity and that not all vendors had acted responsibly. In June, with the FTC complaint imminent, T-Mobile announced it would reach out to customers and give them a chance to request a refund.

The FTC said consumers should contact their wireless provider if they fear they are a victim of cramming. They also can file a complaint with the FTC.

One way for consumers to try to prevent fraudulent charges is to ask their providers to block all third-party businesses from providing services on their phones.

Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US, Inc., is a publicly traded company. According to its website, Deutsche Telekom AG maintains a 67 percent ownership in the company's common stock.

Sprint Corp., the third-largest cellphone carrier, is in talks to buy T-Mobile US Inc., according to published reports. Analysts believe such a link-up would face stiff opposition from the same regulators who blocked AT&T from buying T-Mobile in 2011.

T-Mobile's stock fell 21 cents to close Tuesday at $33.41.

___

Associated Press writer Anick Jesdanun contributed to this report.

___

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty

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From big to giant: Behemoth TVs start to take off

NEW YORK — Supersized isn't just for french fries.

Americans increasingly are replacing their once-enviable 50-inch TVs with even bigger screens. Think: 65-inches and up.

People are snagging big screens — pushing sales of them up 50 percent in the past year while overall TV sales have faltered. As prices fall, hardcore TV watchers and video gamers are finding sets affordable that a few years ago would have been playthings for wealthier people.

Jarvis Jackson, for instance, plans to spend up to $1,500 for a 65-inch TV with Internet capability. Jackson, who lives in Birmingham, Ala., says he'll scale back on dining out and postpone other purchases to make room in his budget.

"You definitely can tell the difference between a 55-inch and a larger size TV," says Jackson. "To get the right TV is important, especially when football season is coming up."

Shoppers like Jackson are being enticed by new technologies like Internet capability that allows Netflix streaming, and Ultra HD screens, which offer a sharper picture.

Falling prices have also made big screens more accessible to the average person: TV prices overall have fallen 9 to 11 percent, and the average price of a 50-inch TV is down $75 from two years ago to $573, according to research firm NPD Group.

"TVs are more affordable than they've ever been, so a 'supersized' TV today is still far less expensive than smaller screens were three or four years ago," says Jamie Bastian, a spokeswoman for Target, which expanded its selection of big-screen TVs to include 70-inch versions this year, up from last year's 60 inches.

Although TVs 65 inches or bigger account for just 2 percent of sets sold, they're the bright spot in a market that has been slumping in part because more people are using tablets and cellphones to stream movies and TV shows.

Overall, TVs 50 inches and bigger accounted for 25 percent of the sets sold in the past 12 months, up from 14 percent in 2012. NPD expects the figure to reach 30 percent this year.

The advent of flat screens and high-definition television prompted a rush to upgrade a decade ago, but things like 3-D TVs have failed to entice buyers in recent years. But experts say Ultra HD is a simple enough upgrade to gain widespread adoption in the next few years.

While overall TV sales have dropped as much as 10 percent annually since 2010, big-screen TVs have become the fastest-growing category. During the year that ended April, 800,000 65-inch TVs or larger were sold, a 69 percent jump. That equated to a 50 percent increase to $1.6 billion in sales in a TV market totaling an estimated $18 billion.

Lower-income shoppers are accounting for a larger share of the supersized TVs. In the year that ended in April, 61 percent of TVs 60 inches or larger were purchased by shoppers with household incomes of $75,000 or less, up from 45 percent a year earlier, according to NPD.

Retailers are taking advantage of the demand. Amazon.com plans to feature some 100-inch models this year, while Chicago-based electronics store Abt is expanding its warehouse space by nearly 30 percent, in part to accommodate bigger TVs.

Best Buy is increasing its selection of 55-inch-plus TVs by 20 percent. But big-screen TVs come with hassles: Best Buy delivery people sometimes have to open the box on the customer's front lawn or go through a patio door because the box won't fit through a regular door. Best Buy says a 55-inch Samsung TV weighs 37 pounds whereas a 75-inch Samsung TV weighs 83 pounds.

"I don't think anyone would have estimated the appetite for the size of these TVs," says Luke Motschenbacher, director of Best Buy's TV business.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is also beefing up its big-screens because of increasing customer demand. The retailer is allocating half of its TV wall to 50- to 60-inch TVs this year, up from about a third last year. It's also offering 80-inch TVs, including a $2,998 Vizio, in some stores. And Walmart.com is increasing its selection of stands to accommodate TVs over 60 inches.

This year, at Wal-Mart's Sam's Clubs, nearly half of the TVs will be at least 55 inches, up from about 30 percent last year. Last year, the biggest TV that Sam's Club sold in its stores was 80 inches. This year, it will sell 90-inch TVs in some locations.

Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer says the trend is "counterintuitive" to the overall frugality it's seeing from members, who are switching to cheaper chicken from more expensive cuts of beef.

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Audit shows problems at Samsung suppliers in China

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung said Tuesday an external audit found labor violations at dozens of its suppliers in China including failure to provide safety gear and excessive working hours.

Samsung Electronics Co. released the findings covering 100 of the company's Chinese suppliers in its annual social responsibility report. It has at least 200 suppliers in China.

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, faced allegations in 2012 of child labor and other violations in China. New York-based labor rights group, China Labor Watch, said working conditions at Samsung suppliers were "inhumane" and the company vowed to eliminate illegal overtime by the end of 2014.

The audit conducted last year found 59 Chinese suppliers did not provide sufficient protective goggles, masks and other safety equipment to workers while 48 let minors, which were classified as employees aged 16-18, handle chemicals. Most of the audited factories did not comply with legally permitted overtime hours.

Other violations included lack of evacuation drills or exclusion of night shift workers from the drills at 40 suppliers. Part-time workers were not compensated for overtime working hours at 39 suppliers.

The South Korean company said it had subsequently demanded suppliers comply with legal hours and reduce overtime. It said it asked suppliers to provide protective gear and conduct regular training. Suppliers that get low marks would face penalties.

Samsung conducted its own audit of Chinese suppliers in 2012 and said it found instances of Chinese workers working beyond legal hours.

It said no instance of child labor was found in the latest audit, which was carried out by a third party auditor certified by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, an electronics industry group.

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European shares gain, Asia lackluster

TOKYO — European shares rose Wednesday, led by BNP Paribas after the bank said it had enough funds to pay a nearly $9 billion settlement of charges it violated U.S. trade sanctions. Asian stock markets were lackluster despite an improvement in China's manufacturing.

In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 0.5 percent to 6,774.77. France's CAC 40 added 0.6 percent to 4,447.51 and Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent to 9,857.72.

BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, admitted to violating sanctions by processing billions of dollars in illegal transactions on behalf of clients in Sudan, Cuba and Iran that the U.S. had blacklisted to block their participation in the global financial system. The case has weighed on BNP's share price and the resolution, though it involves a massive fine, is a relief for shareholders.

U.S. markets looked set for a positive session, with Dow futures up 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures also up 0.2 percent.

In Asia, investors appeared to shrug off data showing Chinese manufacturing is regaining momentum,

Mainland China's key benchmark, the Shanghai Composite Index, added 0.1 percent to 2,050.38 after a monthly survey of purchasing managers by HSBC showed manufacturing grew in June for the first time in six months, though the expansion was weak.

The rate of improvement was "only slight and weaker than the historical average," HSBC said.

Markets in Hong Kong were closed for a public holiday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent to 15,326.20 after the central bank released a survey showing better-than-expected business sentiment despite a decline in the April-June quarter.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 percent to 1,999.00. Shares in Australia, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia also fell, while those in Taiwan and New Zealand gained.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 43 cents to $105.80 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 37 cents on Monday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 101.58 yen from 101.32 yen late Monday. The euro slipped to $1.3697 from $1.3693.

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Birth control ruling sparks political clash

WASHINGTON — Republicans called it a win for religious freedom. The decision of the Supreme Court, they said, is further evidence the country's new health care law is deeply flawed.

The claims of victory arrived almost immediately after the high court ruled Monday that some companies need not provide contraception to women as required by President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement. Yet there's a risk for the GOP in crowing too loudly.

Republicans for years have tried to make inroads with two groups that tend to favor Democrats: women and younger voters. And as popular as the court's decision will be with the Republican base, it's likely to be just as unpopular this year and into 2016 with those who depend on insurance to pay for birth control — a group that includes women and younger voters.

"The thought of your boss telling you what kind of birth control you can and can't get is offensive and it certainly is motivating to women to vote," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which plans to spend several million dollars this year to campaign for Senate candidates.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that some companies can hold religious objections allowing them to opt out of health law's birth control coverage requirement. While the ruling does not address the heart of the Affordable Care Act, it's a setback for Democrats and amplifies a longstanding argument from conservatives that the law they call "Obamacare" intrudes on religious liberties as part of a larger government overreach.

"This is a clear and decisive defeat against Obamacare and a victory for the rights of all Americans," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a fundraising appeal distributed less than three hours after the Supreme Court ruling.

But Republican leaders such as Priebus were careful to avoid mentioning the impact on women and their reproductive rights, underscoring the delicate balance the GOP must strike as it works to improve its image among women. The party is still recovering from a series of insensitive comments made by GOP candidates in the 2012 election, including Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin, whose campaign crumbled after he said women's bodies were able to avoid pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape."

"Republicans have to be careful about not appearing as though they're anti-contraception. This is a constitutional issue," said Katie Packer Gage, a GOP strategist whose firm advises Republicans on navigating women's issues. "We have to be very, very cautious as a party."

Polls suggest that most people — and a larger majority of women — think for-profit companies should be required to cover the cost of birth control. A Gallup survey conducted in May found that 90 percent of Americans, including 88 percent of Republicans, see the use of birth control as morally acceptable.

Democrats said the ruling would shine a spotlight on access to birth control and dovetail with a strategy by the party to mobilize female voters on issues such as raising the minimum wage and supporting pay equity for women.

In Colorado, for example, Democratic Sen. Mark Udall's first TV ad noted Republican Rep. Cory Gardner's past sponsorship of a bill to outlaw abortions in cases of rape and incest and support for an effort to grant an embryo the same legal rights as a person, which could have outlawed some types of birth control and all abortions. Gardner now says he opposes the "personhood" measure.

In Iowa, Democrats have signaled plans to highlight Republican Joni Ernst's support of a personhood amendment to the state's constitution. In Michigan, Democrats backing Senate candidate Gary Peters have sought to tarnish Republican Terri Lynn Land's record on reproductive rights, prompting her to air her own ad in April declaring, "As a woman, I might know a little bit more about women than Gary Peters."

It won't be clear until November whether women will respond to such appeals.

Fewer young women typically vote in midterm elections compared with presidential years. And they are particularly disengaged from this year's races: 63 percent of women under age 30 in an AP-GfK poll conducted before the ruling reported they "don't care very much" which party wins control of Congress. Just 21 percent said they were certain to vote in November.

Writing for the court's conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito suggested the White House could resolve the issue by broadening a birth control compromise it created earlier for religion-oriented nonprofits. In those cases a third party — usually an insurer — can cover contraceptives at no charge to the affected employees, and the government absorbs the cost.

But White House spokesman Josh Earnest signaled the administration may not take that route. Instead, he challenged Congress to pass legislation to address the coverage gap for women. That could put some Republicans in a difficult spot politically, but not right away. For now, they're enjoying what many viewed as a win.

"When Obamacare and its impact on people is front and center in the political debate, it's just not good news for Democrats," Republican strategist Kevin Madden said.

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Peoples reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and AP Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

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Timberwolves owner closes Star Tribune purchase

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves owner and printing company billionaire Glen Taylor completed his purchase of the Star Tribune on Monday, the newspaper said.

Terms were not disclosed, but Taylor has put the purchase price at around $100 million, the Star Tribune reported.

The Minneapolis media company joins Taylor's group of more than 80 businesses worldwide, including the Timberwolves, the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and dozens of companies in printing and other industries.

"As I've said before, the Star Tribune is not only a good business, it's an important institution for all Minnesotans," Taylor said in a statement. "Our state and the region benefit from the presence here of a strong journalistic enterprise."

Taylor, 73, of Mankato has said he will not take a managing role with the Star Tribune, although he said he will appoint his daughter, Jean Taylor, to the board of directors. The company's current management, including publisher Michael Klingensmith, will remain in place.

"We're delighted that Glen shares our passion and vision for building a successful 21st-century newsgathering and media enterprise," Klingensmith said in an email to Star Tribune employees.

The Star Tribune emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. Since then, the company has reduced most of its debt, partly by selling five blocks it owned in downtown Minneapolis for $38.5 million. The property will be part of an office tower project near the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, which is under construction.

Taylor is now the sole owner of the Star Tribune. The largest shareholders in the company were Wayzata Investment Partners and GE Capital, which together owned about 75 percent of the shares. The rest of the stock was owned by several dozen former creditors and other investors.

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Google Glass taking fans closer to the action

CHICAGO — Your favorite team is playing for the title, and you are in the middle of the field. You have a ticket in the very top row for an NBA playoff game, and a courtside seat. The referees are reviewing a big play in the final seconds, and you are right there in front of them.

Google Glass is slowly becoming more common in sports as teams and broadcasters try to bring fans closer to the action. The Philadelphia Eagles are going to test the Internet-connected eyewear for in-game use, and a company with a key application for the technology says it has secured a new round of financing that will help roll out its Glass program to sports, entertainment and other fields.

"When I talk to teams and ask them about what technology are they looking at, what technology are they keeping track of, the two answers I mostly commonly get are Google Glass and Snapchat," said Eric Fernandez, a founder and managing partner of SportsDesk Media, a fan analytics and digital media activation company.

The futuristic eyewear was known as "Project Glass" when it was introduced by Google in a video and blog post in April 2012. The Mountain View, California, company started selling the $1,500 glasses to a select crowd later that same year, but it only recently became available to the general public.

The use of Glass in sports has progressed from trendy athletes dipping their toes in the water to a tool for teams looking to draw fans to arenas and stadiums, and then keep their focus on the action, instead of their omnipresent smartphones and tablets. It comes with endless revenue possibilities, ranging from sponsorship deals for the new content streams to a possible attendance boost for teams with empty upper decks.

"I think the fan experience one is the one that's really hitting hard," said Eric Johnsen, the business development lead for Glass at Work, "and the performance line people are dabbling with, that's really interesting."

Punter Chris Kluwe used the eyewear in training camp last year to take fans inside an Oakland Raiders practice. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate wore the glasses at Super Bowl media day. Roger Federer used one when he hit with former tennis star Stefan Edberg during a visit to Google's campus, and a referee at the recent USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship donned the glasses for the NBC Sports broadcast.

But it is the big-picture applications that offer intriguing possibilities for teams and leagues concerned about attendance in the 21st century, when flat-screen TVs and rising prices at sporting events have made the in-home experience even more appealing.

The 2014 Know the Fan Report, produced by Sporting News Media, Kantar Media and SportBusiness Group, found 45 percent of fans use a second-screen device while watching sports on TV, a definite factor in the willingness of teams and broadcasters to take a closer look at Glass. The report was based on a survey of more than 1,000 American adults conducted in February.

"The focus has been through sports at large, how do you get people using their phones to interact during the game?" said Rob Laycock, the vice president of marketing for the Indiana Pacers and Fever.

"What's nice about Glass is that it's keeping your focus on center stage, you know main court, with the scoreboard right above it."

The NBA's Sacramento Kings used a CrowdOptic application to become the first pro sports team to employ Glass in the arena when they put the eyewear on their mascot Slamson and others for a January loss to the Pacers, allowing fans at the game and viewing at home to witness the courtside experience. Indiana used it for the first time for a March 26 game against Miami, and the Orlando Magic broke it out for their April 9 game against Brooklyn.

The Eagles are the first NFL team to try the application for Google Glass. They are planning for a similar approach to the Pacers, who used the CrowdOptic program to provide multiple courtside perspectives over the videoboard during games.

"We're on a constant search for ways to enhance the overall fan experience at Lincoln Financial Field," said Brian Papson, the vice president of marketing for the Eagles. "So what caught us is that this is a creative, different, new innovative way to do that."

There are many factors at play with the use of Glass at sports venues, including the strength of the WiFi network and the reliability of moving people wearing the technology. Thousands of people using their phones to post to social media or check fantasy sports can grind WiFi networks to a halt, and a courtside perspective becomes much less attractive when it's an obstructed view.

That's where CrowdOptic comes in.

"What our stuff does is it really converts all this chaos into a demonstrable broadcast feed that, for example, the Pacers can really count on," said Jon Fisher, the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based company. "So they can put Glass out there and it can work in many cases as well as any other fixed camera asset because of these algorithms at work."

Maintaining a reliable feed is just one potential problem for sports teams deploying the technology. There is concern about overwhelming fans with a barrage of viewing options. The eyewear has faced criticism over its intrusiveness and its ability to take photos and video through voice-activated commands, making it more likely that even attentive fans could find themselves on the videoboard before they realize what's going on.

The rollouts have been conducted with great care.

"We haven't just determined yet who's going to be wearing the Glass and deploying it, that's all up for a lot of discussion," Papson said. "But I think as content such as this continues to be more available, I think every team has those discussions as to what's not appropriate to provide."

Asked about his vision of the future, Johnsen paints a compelling picture.

"If a fan wants to be Tom Brady, 10 seconds left in the Super Bowl, in the red zone making the call in the huddle and executing a play," he said, "I think it's absolutely possible next 10 years if not sooner ... with Glass-like technology."

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Online:

Google Glass: https://www.google.com/glass/start/

CrowdOptic: http://www.crowdoptic.com/

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

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Japan's mixed data for May show economy slowing

TOKYO — Mixed economic data for May suggests Japan's economy is continuing to slow after a sales tax increase at the beginning of the second quarter.

Government figures released Monday and last Friday showed that housing starts and household spending fell in May while industrial output grew less than expected.

Japan's economy was the one of the best performing in the industrial world in the first three months of the year, growing 6.7 percent from the year before. But the April 1 increase in Japan's sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent is expected to cause a contraction in the economy for the April-June quarter because demand has fallen off following a rush of purchasing to beat the tax hike.

Factory output in the world's third-largest economy climbed 0.8 percent in May from a year earlier, and was up 0.5 percent from the month before, the economy ministry reported. That was lower than most forecasts, but an improvement from a 2.8 percent drop in April.

Higher output of machinery, cars and electronic devices accounted for most of the increase, the ministry said. Since manufacturers are reporting rising inventories, they are forecasting a decline in output in June before a further recovery in July and beyond, the report said.

Housing starts fell 15 percent in May from the year before, the government reported. Construction starts have slowed since hitting a peak in October last year.

Much of the growth in demand before the sales tax was raised was attributed to construction of new homes. Now, many lots that were cleared of older structures last year remain idle due to the fall-off in construction. The tax increase is part of measures aimed at containing Japan's vast public debt.

Household spending fell 8 percent in May, the sharpest drop in three years, following a surge in spending early in the year.

Assuming output falls as expected in June, Japan's manufacturing will likely contract 3.1 percent in the April-June quarter, Marcel Thieliant, an economist with Capita Economics, said in a commentary Monday.

"The rise in industrial production in May suggests that the sector is recovering from the weakness caused by the consumption tax hike," he said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has championed an economic strategy aimed at breaking Japan free of years of deflation. The theory is that companies and households will spend more now if they expect things to cost more in the future due to inflation.

Last week, Abe released the latest iteration of reforms he is proposing to help sustain growth and boost competitiveness, vowing to trim the country's massive public debt and spur companies to spend more and diversify their employment practices.

But for most families struggling to get by on incomes that have been falling since 1997, wages must rise to increase or keep purchasing power constant. Despite some of the biggest wage increases in years for employees of some of the biggest companies, such as Toyota Motor Corp., income of salaried households dropped a real 4.6 percent from the year before in May, to an average 421,117 yen (about $4,160), the eighth straight monthly decline.

So far, wage increases have been mainly in limited categories of workers, most of whom are contract or freelance employees in areas such as trucking and construction.

While there are shortages of labor in some key industries, the recovery so far is not helping push base wages higher for workers as a whole. Similar to the "jobless recovery" in the U.S., Japan's rebound so far has mostly boosted the hiring of temporary or contract workers, as rising prices and tax hikes eat into consumer purchasing power.

The consumer price index climbed 3.4 percent in May from a year earlier, the fastest increase since the oil shock in 1982, as 10 percent higher rates for electricity and a hike in the sales tax pushed costs sharply higher.

The central bank estimates that about 2 percent of the increase can be attributed to the increase in the tax rate to 8 percent from 5 percent.

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You can follow Elaine Kurtenbach on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/ekurtenbach

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Global stock markets mostly inch higher

SEOUL, South Korea — Global stock markets mostly inched higher Monday as investors prepared for a busy week of economic news that will give new clues about the strength of the global recovery.

European markets were steady in early trading. Britain's FTSE and France's CAC 40 were nearly flat at 6,761.24 and 4,438.43 respectively while Germany's DAX added 0.3 percent to 9,845.17.

Wall Street was set for a tepid session. Dow Jones futures were down 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures were little changed.

Trading this week is likely to turn on data from China and the U.S. and a European Central Bank meeting. Last week, Asian stock markets were buffeted by weak U.S. consumer spending and sluggish growth in Chinese industrial profits.

A preliminary reading of China's manufacturing for June, due Tuesday, will be scrutinized for evidence the slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy has stabilized.

Monthly U.S. employment figures are due Thursday. On the same day, the European Central Bank holds its monthly rate-setting meeting, where it is widely expected to stick with its easing stance.

In Asia, most markets closed higher. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent to 15,162.10, reversing morning losses. Japan's economy ministry said the country's industrial output recovered slightly in May from a fall in the previous month.

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.7 percent to 2,002.21 and China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6 percent to 2,048.33.

Stocks in Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia also rose. But Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9 percent to 5,395.70, one day ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 23,190.72.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was down 42 cents to $105.32 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 10 cents on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar slipped to 101.38 yen from 101.41 yen late Friday. The euro rose to $1.3660 from $1.3648, reversing an earlier drop.

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Lawmakers unveil compounding pharmacy bill

BOSTON — Massachusetts House and Senate negotiators have released a final compromise version of a bill overhauling compounding pharmacies.

The bill was prompted by a nationwide meningitis outbreak that authorities blamed on a tainted steroid produced by the now-closed New England Compounding Center in Framingham. The outbreak resulted in 64 deaths and hundreds of illnesses.

The bill reorganizes the board that oversees the pharmacies and requires it to participate in any national reporting systems on pharmacies, pharmacists and technicians.

It allows the board to levy fines of up to $25,000 per violation.

It also creates four new specialty licenses, and requires compounding pharmacies to notify patients whether a drug is a sterile or non-sterile compounded drug.

The compromise must get a final OK in each chamber before going to Gov. Deval Patrick.

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Cause of RAV4’s whining noise baffles 3 mechanics

I hope you can help us find out what is causing a loud whining on our 2013 Toyota RAV4. It started a month ago at 9,500 miles and is getting louder. The noise starts at about 55 mph and winds down when we slow down. Three Toyota mechanics drove it and none know what it is.

A quick Internet search turned up a number of posts dealing with a whining noise from newer RAV4s. Many point to a transmission issue, others to a problem with the rear differential. Many express difficulty in having the noise confirmed by the dealer and repaired. My Alldata automotive database pulled up service bulletins covering 2006-2012 RAV4s dealing with a whining noise corrected by replacing the engine insulators/mounts. I also found a bulletin suggesting a "growl" sound caused by contamination of the front bearing in the rear differential coupler.

You might be able to help the dealership pinpoint the origins of the whine with a few simple tests. While the whine is occurring at 55-plus mph, release the throttle so the car begins to slow. As the whine starts to "wind down," shift the transmission into neutral. Does uncoupling the driveline from the wheels change the noise? If so, it's a driveline whine — engine, transmission or differentials.

If not, re-engage the transmission into "D," accelerate back up to road speed where you are hearing the whine, then safely change lanes and back, turning to the left and right. Does turning in either direction change the noise? If so, wheel bearing/hub assemblies are suspect.

If neither of these tests helps, rotate the tires/wheels front to back and retest. If there's a change in noise, it's likely an issue with the tires.

And finally, maintain contact with the dealer asking him and Toyota to continue to investigate this issue.

I have a 2003 Buick that I have to have jump started regularly. I have installed a new battery every year but it does not hold its charge. I've been told to start the car every three to four days but even this doesn't seem to help. What can I do to keep the battery charged?

You've installed 10 new batteries in this car? If so, that's a record! Basically you have three choices: Disconnect the battery while the vehicle is parked, connect a trickle charger or battery maintainer while the vehicle is parked, or find the cause of the battery drain that is discharging the battery. The first two options aren't particularly satisfactory or convenient although they will prevent a dead battery.

I'd suggest having a shop perform a parasitic drain test. Connecting an ammeter or test light between the battery cable and battery with the ignition off will monitor the flow of electricity and identify any excess current flow. Normal would be less than 150 milliamps, which is 1.5 tenths of an ampere. Then, with the meter still connected, remove each fuse and relay one at a time to find the circuit with the excess current draw.

A typical cause for discharging a battery to where the vehicle won't start in roughly three days is a stuck relay or perhaps a small light bulb such as a trunk or glove box light.

How mechanically safe is it to drive using cruise control at 25-35 mph? A friend uses cruise control on streets so she doesn't speed. Does this hurt the car?

I don't think so. Most cruise systems are designed to not engage below a certain speed, typically the 25-30 mph range. But if the system will engage, it won't cause any damage to the vehicle. Personally, I'd be more concerned that with one less thing to monitor and maintain, there would be more opportunity for distraction while driving.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Pillow cuddles kids’ necks

A Framingham chiropractor is making it his mission to save children's necks one pillow at a time.

Kirt Josefek has launched a startup, KidCare, and is selling Kidzooz, a cuddly, plush, animal-shaped neck-supporting pillow designed for children, via a kickstarter campaign.

"You want to try to maintain the curve of the neck when you are sleeping instead of just rocking forward," he said. "I saw the need and I saw there are no other products out there, so I created them."

Josefek, who has owned MetroWest Chiropractic Associates for more than 35 years and was the Boston Celtics' team chiropractor in the 1980s, has seen many children come into his office with stiff necks, often caused by sleeping on adult-sized pillows or oversized stuffed animals that elevate the neck. But he could not find any neck-supporting pillows for kids on the market to recommend.

Josefek came up with the idea for the Kidzooz pillow around three years ago, while resting his head on his dog, Chester, and realizing how good it felt lying down on something soft, cuddly and lovable.

He scaled down a neck-supporting pillow for adults he designed and patented back in the 1980s to child-sized dimensions. The pillow is shaped to cradle the head using a soft polyester micro-denier fiber with foam borders and is covered with a plush exterior shaped like a tiger, panda or dog — like Chester.

"This really is a good pillow for kids. It is something that parents can be happy about when they put their kids to bed," he said.

Josefek hopes to produce other children's products down the road including foot-supportive slippers shaped like hooves and paws.

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Aereo fades to black ... for now

Internet TV streaming service Aereo temporarily shut down its service yesterday, three days after a devastating U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The company, which is headquartered in New York but has 80 of its roughly 115 employees in Boston, will "pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps," Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said in a letter to customers. Around 11:40 yesterday morning, the service stopped working. Kanojia said customers will be refunded for the last month.

"Aereo could see the writing on the wall," said Rutgers University law professor Michael Carrier.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Aereo violated copyright law by rebroadcasting over-the-air channels to its subscribers without paying retransmission fees to broadcasters as cable companies do.

The Supreme Court could not order Aereo to shut down, instead leaving it up to a lower court to issue a preliminary injunction, as requested by broadcasters.

Instead, Aereo decided to stop operations for now, but insists the company is not shutting down.

"The spectrum that the broadcasters use to transmit over-the-air programming belongs to the American public and we believe you should have the right to access that live programming whether your antenna sits on the roof of your home, on top of your television or in the cloud," Kanojia wrote in the letter.

Aereo could end up licensing its technology, or could be acquired by a company looking to expand its cloud options, said David Shlansky, an intellectual property lawyer.

"They can probably salvage something pretty valuable," he said.

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Mars 'flying saucer' splashes down after NASA test

LOS ANGELES — NASA has tested new technology designed to bring spacecraft — and one day even astronauts — safely down to Mars, with the agency declaring the experiment a qualified success even though a giant parachute got tangled on the way down.

Saturday's $150 million experiment is the first of three involving the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator vehicle. Tests are being conducted at high altitude on Earth to mimic descent through the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet.

A balloon hauled the saucer-shaped craft 120,000 feet into the sky from a Navy missile range on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Then, the craft's own rocket boosted it to more than 30 miles high at supersonic speeds.

As the craft prepared to fall back to earth, a doughnut-shaped tube around it expanded like a Hawaiian puffer fish, creating atmospheric drag to dramatically slow it down from Mach 4, or four times the speed of sound.

Then the parachute unfurled — but only partially. The vehicle made a hard landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Engineers won't look at the parachute problem as a failure but as a way to learn more and apply that knowledge during future tests, said NASA engineer Dan Coatta with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"In a way, that's a more valuable experience for us than if everything had gone exactly according to plan," he said.

A ship was sent to recover a "black box" designed to separate from the vehicle and float. Outfitted with a GPS beacon, the box contains the crucial flight data that scientists are eager to analyze.

NASA planned to hold a news teleconference on the flight Sunday.

Since the twin Viking spacecraft landed on the red planet in 1976, NASA has relied on a parachute to slow landers and rovers.

But the latest experiment involved both the drag-inducing device and a parachute that was 110 feet in diameter — twice as large as the one that carried the 1-ton Curiosity rover in 2011.

Cutting-edge technologies are needed to safely land larger payloads on Mars, enabling delivery of supplies and materials "and to pave the way for future human explorers," a NASA statement said.

Technology development "is the surest path to Mars," said Michael Gazarik, head of space technology at NASA headquarters.

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Associated Press Science Writer Alicia Chang contributed to this report.

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