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The Galaxy S4’s design is virtually unchanged from the Galaxy S III. And when I say virtually unchanged, I mean that you have to be pretty obsessive to notice the differences. Aside from a slightly more rectangular body and a more substantial, metal-esque band wrapping around the sides, there’s little to separate Samsung’s successor from its predecessor.

The most notable improvements to the phone’s hardware guts come in its processor, display and camera. None are revolutionary, but they all match or one-up the Android status quo.

The 5-inch, Super AMOLED display is one of the best Samsung has ever put on a phone, with a 1080p display and a pixel density of 441 per inch — more than enough to eliminate any trace of pixelation. The screen could stand to be a bit brighter, but that’s a minor quibble.

Even with a bigger screen and a beefier battery, the Galaxy S4 managed to get ever-so-slightly thinner, slimmer, and lighter than the Galaxy S III. It also got a power boost.

Smartphone makers have spent the past few years flinging extra cores at everything, so yet another quad-core processor — this time in the form of , Fortune 500) Snapdragon 600 — doesn’t sound all that exciting, especially compared to the “octo-core” Samsung Exynos 5 Octa that international markets are getting. (Geek caveat: Those extra four cores in the Exynos 5 are meant for low-power scenarios, so they don’t provide the massive boost over Snapdragon that you might expect.)

Still, the fact that the Galaxy S4 is more than three times faster than the Galaxy S III when run through the same benchmarking tests is nothing to scoff at.

In using the phone regularly for a week, I rarely came across a moment when it suffered from significant stuttering, lag or overheating. The one noticeable exception was when I played “Real Racing 3,” a graphically intense game that got choppy when too many cars were onscreen. That’s not really Samsung’s fault — Android is notorious for its game lag.

The Galaxy S4’s camera is also improved, though we’re at the point of diminishing returns. On paper, the leap from 8 megapixels to 13 megapixels sounds substantial, but we learned years ago that the megapixel arms race is only part of the story when it comes to camera quality. The Galaxy S4’s best new photo trick is a camera sensor that’s back-illuminated, which means it can capture more light and produce brighter, more-detailed images without the use of a flash.

The camera works well in most normal situations. Its new user interface, pulled from Samsung’s point-and-shoot Galaxy Camera, is nicely laid out and easy to use. The image processing time between hitting the shutter button and having a saved photo isn’t blazing, but also isn’t a nuisance one hour payday loan. A few of the software advances, like being able to erase unwanted objects from an image’s background or create time-lapse action shots, are neat and well-implemented.

Of course, these improvements — especially to the camera and screen — require more power, and Samsung obliged by packing in a bigger battery. With the screen’s brightness ranging between 50% and 75%, 4G turned on, and a few apps and services running in the background (Facebook, Gmail, Google Talk, etc. — the usual suspects), I was still able to get through a full day with moderate use. With heavier usage, I found myself having to recharge after 6 to 8 hours. On the whole, I didn’t notice any huge leap in battery life over the S3, but it certainly wasn’t worse, either.

The features Samsung wants buyers to focus on, though, aren’t the Galaxy S4’s internal guts, which are more or less identical to other top smartphones right now. It’s the software upgrades baked into Samsung’s custom “TouchWiz” interface. The phone’s flashier tricks include pausing video when you look away from the screen, letting you answer the phone by waving in front of it, and activating tilt-based scrolling when eye contact is detected. Samsung also pinched a few features from its Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet, like allowing two apps to simultaneously run side-by-side, and the Airview feature, which detects when your finger is hovering over — but not quite touching — the screen. The gesture can activate a secondary action or menu.

Those are neat tricks, but they’re more like a sword-juggling circus act than the revolutionary breakthrough Samsung would like them to be. They’re interesting, novel and sometimes impressive, but they’re not significant or lasting advances. None are meaningfully better than our existing methods of smartphone interaction.

So, is the Samsung Galaxy S4 one of the best Android phones available? Yes. There are few other phones, period, that are as powerful and capable. But, in line with what we’ve seen from the past few iPhone generations, the improvements here aren’t as pronounced and exciting as in past years. This isn’t a phone that’s going to convert an iPhone user, and current Galaxy S III owners aren’t going to miss out on a whole lot as far as features go.

If you’re ready for an upgrade, and are in the market for an Android phone, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be one of top two or three phones you consider. It’s not the standout, though, that Samsung needs to remain the preeminent leader of the Android field. Hear that, HTC?

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The company said in a release Tuesday that it now expects that same-store sales growth will be flat, because seasonal and weather-sensitive sales were softer than anticipated.

, Fortune 500) said it expects first-quarter earnings per share to come in slightly below the low end of its previous guidance of $1.10 to $1.20 when it reports earnings on May 22. It did not change its full-year guidance.

The prolonged winter weather has held shoppers back from their usual spring purchases across the board so far this year. Last week, the Census Bureau reported that retail sales fell 0.4% in March, as much of the U.S. suffered through cooler-than-average temperatures.

Shares of the company were down slightly in early trading.

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BOSTON—Boston law enforcement officials say the city’s downtown core will continue to be processed as a crime scene for at least several more days, with 30 explosives expert either on scene or en route to the city Tuesday morning.

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Speaking to reporters alongside representatives from the FBI, the Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the fire department and other agencies, Timothy Alben, superintendent of Massachusetts State Police, said there were 176 confirmed casualties injured when two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Three people have died, including an 8-year-old boy, and others remain in critical condition.

A person briefed on the investigation says the explosives were in 6-litre pressure cookers and placed in black duffel bags.

The person says the explosives were placed on the ground and contained shards of metal, nails and ball bearings. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The person says law enforcement officials have some of the bomb components but did not yet know what was used to set off the explosives.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday morning the explosions were being investigated as an “act of terror,” although authorities still did not know who is responsible.

He called the bombing “a heinous and cowardly act” used to target innocent civilians.

Obama spoke to reporters at the White House after a briefing by his national security team.

Rick Deslauriers, who heads the FBI office in Boston, said his agents are following up tips and other leads, and interviewing a number of witnesses.

He refused to say whether police have anyone in custody or are guarding a patient at a local hospital, as was reported Monday by several local news stations.

“This is a worldwide investigation,” said Deslauriers. “We will go to the ends of the Earth.”

Police are analyzing closed circuit camera footage taken near the scene and have repeatedly asked the public to hand over video footage and photos taken around the time of the explosion near the crime scene.

It’s unclear how a perpetrator could have planted the bombs, which one official said were not hidden in trash bins. Alben said police conducted a sweep of the finish-line about an hour before the race started.

Meanwhile, downtown Boston was a ghost town Tuesday morning. Streets remained cordoned off, while military humvees were parked on street corners, and soldiers and police patrolled streets and alleys.

Bomb squad and tactical response SUVs were the only vehicles navigating the streets, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

Discarded drinking cups and litter were left in place, waiting to be analyzed at what had become a 13 square block crime scene. A three-and-a-half mile no fly zone remained in place over Boston for aircraft flying under 3,000 feet.

Michael Butcher was 15 metres away from Monday’s bomb blasts.

“I had a hard time breathing, I could really feel it in my chest,” said Butcher, whose wife Kelly was competing. “After the first one, a few people actually started moving toward the blast to help the injured. Then the second one happened and everyone was realizing we have to get out of here.”

It took the Atlanta couple about an hour to find one another.

“I didn’t know where she was, or if she was okay,” Butcher said. “My kids were at home freaking out. Then we just found each other wandering in the street.”

“After running 25 miles I had marathon brain, fuzzy thinking,” Kelly Butcher said. “I didn’t really know what had happened until my husband told me.”

Federal investigators said Tuesday morning that no one had claimed responsibility for the bombings one of the city’s most famous civic holidays, Patriots Day, according to The Associated Press. But the blasts among the throngs of spectators raised fears of a terrorist attack.

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Massachusetts Gov personal loans for bad credit. Deval Patrick said Tuesday that no unexploded bombs had been found at the Boston Marathon. He said the only explosives were the ones that went off Monday.

FBI agents searched a suburban Boston apartment overnight and appealed to the public for amateur video and photos that might yield clues to who carried out the Boston Marathon bombing, while a doctor treating the wounded said one of the victims was maimed by what looked like ball bearings or BBs, according to The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words “terror” or “terrorism” as he spoke at the White House on Monday, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism.

“We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this,” the president said. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.”

Across the U.S., from Washington to Los Angeles, police tightened security, monitoring landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events.

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The FBI took charge of the investigation, converging on a home in the suburb of Revere on Monday night and appealing for any video, audio and photos taken by marathon spectators. Authorities gave no details on the search. Investigators were seen leaving a building there early Tuesday carrying brown paper bags, plastic trash bags and a duffel bag, according to The Associated Press.

Investigators refused to give any specifics on the bombs and say, for example, where they might have been hidden or whether they were packed with shrapnel for maximum carnage, as is often the case in terror bombings overseas.

But Dr. Stephen Epstein of the emergency medicine department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center told The Associated Press he saw an X-ray of one victim’s leg that had “what appears to be small, uniform, round objects throughout it — similar in the appearance to BBs.” He said it remained to be determined what exactly the objects were.

A European security official said Tuesday initial evidence indicates that the attacks were not the work of suicide bombers.

“So far, investigators believe it was not the work of suicide bombers, but it is still too early to rule it out completely,” said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press from the United States on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the U.S. investigation.

The Pakistani Taliban, which has threatened attacks in the United States because of its support for the Pakistani government, on Tuesday denied any role in the bombings.

The fiery explosions took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending columns of smoke rising over the street. Victims lost limbs and suffered broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.

As many as two unexploded bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course as part of what appeared to be a well-co-ordinated attack, but they were safely disarmed, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.

Martin Richard, 8, was among the dead, according to a person who talked to a friend of the family and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said the boy’s mother and sister were also injured as they waited for the race to finish.

Hospitals reported at least 144 people injured, at least 17 of them critically. At least eight children were being treated at hospitals.

The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious races and about 23,000 runners participated. Most of them had crossed the finish line by the time the bombs exploded, but thousands more were still completing the course.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said authorities had received “no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen” at the race.

“We still don’t know who did this or why,” Obama said at the White House, adding, “Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this.”

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The Ontario Provincial Police have lifted the Amber Alert for a 13-year-old girl.

Victoria Larabie was found in Durham region just after 9 p.m. Sunday night.

She is from Douro-Dummer Township, near Peterborough. She was reportedly picked up by someone driving a black SUV around 11:30 a.m. Sunday near Norwood, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Peterborough, heading towards Hwy. 115.

Larabie’s grandmother reported her missing to err on the side of caution, said Const. Iain McEwan of the Peterborough OPP.

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The accountant and the jeweler were longtime friends and golf partners. But the accountant was passing private information about two companies to the jeweler, who used it to play the stock market. Now they’re both under federal investigation, their reputations unraveling on a very public stage.

The scandal over a KPMG accountant passing information about client companies Herbalife and Skechers has unfolded in pieces this week. Late Monday KPMG announced it fired a partner in Los Angeles who leaked nonpublic information about companies that KPMG worked with. On Tuesday nutritional supplement maker Herbalife and shoe seller Skechers announced that they were the companies whose information was leaked. On Wednesday the fired KPMG partner, Scott London, publicly identified himself through his lawyer and issued a statement saying he deeply regretted his actions and was just trying to help a friend.

Thursday brought one of the remaining pieces of the puzzle. Bryan Shaw identified himself as the friend who got insider information from London.

In a statement through his lawyer, Nathan Hochman, Shaw said he received information from London “about a number of companies” from 2010 to 2012. He said he had “profited substantially” from trading stocks based on that information, but he didn’t provide details.

“I cannot begin to apologize for my incredibly stupid actions,” said Shaw, who runs a wholesale jewelry company. “There is no excuse for my wrongful conduct. I accept full and complete responsibility for what I have done and know that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for my tragic lapses of judgment.”

Shaw paid London for the information, but it isn’t clear how much. London’s lawyer Harland Braun has said it was “about $25,000″ over several years.

London said in his statement that he never leaked any documents. He described the interactions as his friend asking whether a stock was a good buy and London offering suggestions.

The FBI, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating. Lawyers for Shaw and London said their clients are cooperating.

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A man is charged with second-degree murder after a woman was found dead early Saturday morning in a Toronto Community Housing apartment in Regent Park.

The woman, Natasha Perez, 28, was found in the kitchen of a 24th-floor unit having suffered “sharp-force injury,” said homicide Det. Sgt Gary Giroux, noting a household knife was found on the scene.

Police were called to 220 Oak St., near Gerrard St. and the Don Valley Parkway shortly before 6 a.m. after a man called 911 from the apartment, said Giroux. The man was taken into custody at the scene.

Brian Harte, 42, of Toronto, is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Sunday.

Giroux said it is not clear what the relationship was between the accused and the victim.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident arose from a “dispute,” according to Staff Sgt. Kevin Guest.

Abena Oduro, who lives in the highrise, said she did not know the victim personally, but added she would often see a man in the building who other residents said was the victim’s boyfriend. She described him as “white with a goatee and tattoos.”

“He wouldn’t say a word whenever I was in the elevator with him.”

Oduro said dangerous activity is not uncommon in her building.

“Believe me, a lot of things are going on here,” she said. “A lot of the people in this building, 99 per cent of them do drugs or deal them.”

On Feb. 6, another resident of the building was shot in the chest when he opened the door of his second-floor apartment. He survived.

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On Twitter, negative views of vaccination are more contagious than positive sentiments — and too many pro messages may backfire.

That’s according to Penn State University researchers who tracked about 350,000 tweets from more than 100,000 people during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Their study was published Thursday in the journal EPJ Data Science.

The findings have implications that extend beyond the issue of vaccinations.

“People are getting information about how to deal with their health from a variety of sources and increasingly from social media,” said the study’s lead author Marcel Salath

Service industries in the U.S. expanded in March at the slowest pace in seven months as new orders and employment cooled.

The Institute for Supply Management

The closure of the PRACS Institute research office in St. Charles last month resulted in the loss of 267 jobs, according to a WARN notice filed with the state of Missouri. 

The  Fargo, N.D.-based drug trial company’s St. Charles office closed suddenly, and pending studies were cancelled at the site. 

According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) that PRACS filed with the state of Missouri March 27, 267 people lost their jobs at the St. Charles office, effective March 20. The federal WARN Act requires employees to detail information about layoffs and job reductions. 

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CHICAGO • United Airlines is delaying its new Denver-Tokyo service — again — because its new Boeing 787 jets remain grounded.

United said Friday that service between Denver and Tokyo’s Narita Airport will begin June 10. The airline had already pushed back the original March 31 start to at least May 12.

The airline said that it was still determined to use the plane on the new route.

The 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, promises a more comfortable ride for passengers and significant fuel savings for airline customers. But All 50 of the planes in airline fleets are grounded because of incidents involving smoldering batteries in January.

Boeing Co.’s fix for the lithium-ion batteries includes putting more space around cells and wrapping the batteries in steel cases.

CEO Jim McNerney said Thursday that Boeing was “very close” to getting the 787 approved for passenger flights. He said Boeing has “a high degree of confidence” in the battery-system changes.

The company conducted a 2-hour test flight of a 737 on Monday over Washington and Oregon and reported that everything went according to plan. The company is doing follow-up work in preparation for another test flight in which it would demonstrate the battery system’s performance for Federal Aviation Administration experts.

Officials in Denver say they’re confident the flights will benefit the city, the metro area and the Rocky Mountain region.

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