President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that he faced no real domestic opposition in the 15-month-old uprising against him. By Terrance Hanley According to a study published in the journal Psychological Science, repeating positive affirmations like "I am a lovable person" makes depressed people feel worse. NEW YORK—A full 20 minutes after running into casual acquaintance Dan Ehrlemeyer at a CVS drugstore Wednesday and exchanging pleasant small talk with him, area man Jason Ditmas, 32, told reporters he was still really shaken up by the experience. The Onion looks back at Alabama's first desegregated mass suicide, the historic V.E. Day Speech from FDR's rotting corpse, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad with the gold-plated femur of a Chinaman. In his review of the new iPad, AllThingsD’s Walt Mossberg describes viewing the Retina display as “like getting a new eyeglasses prescription — you suddenly realize what you thought looked sharp before wasn’t nearly as sharp as it could be.” He praises the performance of the iPad as “buttery smooth,” and he writes that he “loves” the photos he took with the new 5-megapixel camera. Mossberg concludes, “Since it launched in 2010, the iPad has been the best tablet on the planet. With the new, third-generation model, it still holds that crown.” Apple today announced that more than 25 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store by users of the more than 315 million iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices worldwide. The 25 billionth app — a free version of “Where’s My Water?” — was downloaded by Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China. As the winner of the App Store Countdown to 25 Billion Apps, Chunli Fu will receive a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. Bloomberg’s Peter Burrows reports that Apple is making rapid headway selling into corporations — especially financial services and pharmaceutical firms. Burrows writes that Apple’s corporate sales are being driven chiefly by iPad, which “has become a standard business tool.” The article quotes Matt Wallach, co-founder of Veeva Systems, who says: “I’ve seen a lot of devices come and go over the years. Nothing touches the speed of adoption of the iPad.” Blog post and video from Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit about company efforts to stop the Rustock spambot. At Lowe’s stores around the country, iPhone is changing customer service for the better. Using custom iPhone apps, store employees have key product information on hand, so they can check pricing, inventory, and location of items within the store, anytime, from their iPhones. And the free consumer app features how-to videos, prices and reviews, store locations, and gift card balances. “iPhone, iPad, and the iOS platform are enterprise solutions that we can build on for the future,” says Lowe’s Executive Vice President and CIO Mike Brown. Apple today introduced iPhoto for iPad and iPhone and major updates to iMovie and GarageBand, completing its suite of iLife apps for iOS. iPhoto includes breakthrough Multi-Touch features so you can use simple gestures to sort through hundreds of photos and find your best shots, enhance and retouch your images using fingertip brushes, and share stunning photo journals with iCloud. iMovie now gives you the ability to create Hollywood-style trailers as you record HD video on your iPad or iPhone. GarageBand introduces Jam Session, an innovative and fun feature that allows a group of friends to wirelessly connect their iOS devices to play instruments and record live music together. iPhoto, iMovie 1.3, and GarageBand 1.2 are available today for $4.99 (US) each from the App Store. Updates are available for free to existing customers. $86.40 (-$1.03) (-1.2%) Investor confidence wavered following president and CEO Inge Thulin’s gory public suicide at this morning's annual shareholder meeting. DIY 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CST Sherlock and Watson must complete a half-finished bungalow renovation before Moriarty blows up an innocent hostage. Check out the news from the launch and be among the first to download Internet Explorer 9. Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 second quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $24.7 billion and net profit of $6.0 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. “We’re thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.” New York Times writer Brian X. Chen reports that Amtrak is replacing its old manual ticketing system with iPhone, noting that the company is among the “growing number of businesses” to use iOS devices to improve operations. Chen reports that the system will allow conductors to keep track of passengers in real time and also provide updates to railway staff, such as if a disabled person is getting on at a particular stop or if equipment fails. Amtrak’s Matt Hardison says, “We’ve made a number of important improvements for both our customers and Amtrak, all in one fell swoop.” Following numerous religious protests, Indonesian officials have refused to issue a permit for Lady Gaga to perform in Jakarta next month. After two marriages to other people, James Palmenteri, 38, and Valerie Skinner, 35, have decided to waste their friends and family’s time, once again, this Saturday. Fez, an indie video game, delights in complexity and confusion. The new iPad — the third generation of the category-defining mobile device — arrived at Apple’s Retail Stores and the Apple Online Store on Friday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. local time in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK; along with Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Beginning at a suggested retail price of $499 (US), the new iPad features a stunning Retina display, Apple’s A5X chip with quad-core graphics, and a 5-megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. And iPad 2 is now available at a more affordable price, starting at just $399. Facebook will offer 421 million shares, 25 percent more than it had planned to offer, in response to high demand.