RadioShack files for bankruptcy; Sprint to take over some stores

(Reuters) - Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp (RSHC.PK) filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Thursday and said it had a deal in place to sell as many as 2,400 stores to an affiliate of hedge fund Standard General, its lender and largest shareholder.

Wireless company Sprint Corp (S.N) would operate as many as 1,750 of those stores under an agreement with Standard General, Sprint said separately.

RadioShack's bankruptcy, which has been expected for months, follows 11 consecutive unprofitable quarters as the company has failed to transform itself into a destination for mobile phone buyers. But its sale agreement with Standard General could spare it the fate most retailers suffer in Chapter 11, liquidation.

RadioShack said in a statement that the Standard General affiliate, called General Wireless, would acquire between 1,500 and 2,400 of its 4,100 stores.

Sprint would occupy about one-third of each RadioShack store, selling "mobile devices across Sprint`s brand portfolio as well as RadioShack products, services and accessories," Sprint said in its statement.

Other potential buyers will also have the opportunity to bid on RadioShack assets. Any deal will need approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, so nothing is etched in stone.

Sprint's chief executive, Marcelo Claure, in a statement said the deal will "allow Sprint to grow branded distribution quickly and cost effectively."

In an interview with Reuters earlier on Thursday, Claure said RadioShack had "incredible store locations," and he was keen to acquire some to cut down on long waits at Sprint's current stores. "Customers have to wait one or two hours to get a phone and that’s not acceptable," Claure said. [L1N0VF26W]

A spokesman for Standard General did not respond to a request for comment.

RadioShack, with 21,000 employees, $1.2 billion of assets and $1.39 billion of debts according to court papers, said it also has an agreement with a lender group led by DW Partners for a $285 million loan to operate in bankruptcy.

OTHER RESTRUCTURING MOVES

The Standard General deal is only a piece of its restructuring efforts. RadioShack has a deal with liquidation firm Hilco to shutter as many as 2,100 underperforming stores and said it has already begun discussions with other potential buyers to acquire the rest of its assets.

"These steps are the culmination of a thorough process intended to drive maximum value for our stakeholders," RadioShack Chief Executive Joe Magnacca said in the statement.

The chain's more than 1,000 dealer franchise stores, its Mexican subsidiary and its Asian operations are not part of the bankruptcy, it said.

For more details: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/06/us-radioshack-bankruptcy-idUSKBN0L92XC20150206

Lottery officials in N.M. claim ticket worth $500K was a misprint

According to Joyce Lupiani, a man in New Mexico thought he won half a million dollars on a scratch-off lottery ticket. But the state lottery says that the ticket was a misprint and they are refusing to pay.

John Wines bought the ticket on Dec. 6 at a gas station in Roswell, according to KOB-TV Channel 4. The winning numbers were 1 and 2 and Wines says that his ticket has five of the winning numbers, totally more than $500,000.

The New Mexico State Lottery says that is incorrect. The maximum prize for the tickets was only $250,000. And, if you take a close look, it appears that there is a number next to the ones on the ticket.

Lottery officials told Wines that the ticket was flawed and not worth anything.

Despite the fine print on the back of the ticket that says the lottery is not liable for "void, altered, or misprinted tickets," Wines disagrees and now he is suing the state lottery.

Wines says it is not his fault if the ticket was flawed and he bought it in good faith. In addition, he says, lottery ticket buyers are unable to read the fine print until after purchase.

Wines told KRQE News 13 that the "New Mexico lottery is cheating."

For more details: http://www.jrn.com/kgun9/now-trending/Lottery-officials-in-NM-claim-ticket-worth-500K-was-a-misprint-291042481.html

Arizona Teacher raped while giving exam to Prisoners. AZ district general says: She knows the risk. Really? System failed again.

According to Daily Kos, a woman who works as a teacher for the Arizona Department of Corrections suffered a brutal rape at the hands of a prisoner Jacob Harvey. Due to a special event, she was in a room without guards or cameras and had just finished administering a GED test when the unthinkable happened:

According to the lawsuit, the 20-year-old inmate grabbed her from behind and took her to the ground as she struggled. He then stabbed her repeatedly in the head with a pen, choked her, slammed her head into the floor, tore away her clothes and raped her, the lawsuit says.

The teacher told investigators she screamed for help, but no one came. After the attack, Harvey tried to use her radio to call for help but it was tuned to a channel the guards didn't even use. Eventually, Harvey allowed her to phone for help.

This week the Arizona Attorney General's office is asking for her subsequent lawsuit to be tossed, on the grounds that she should've known better:

"Plaintiff is an ADOC (Arizona Department of Corrections) employee who routinely worked at the prison complex," Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Weisbard wrote in his motion to dismiss. "By being placed in a classroom at the complex, the officers were not placing Plaintiff in any type of situation that she would not normally face. The risk of harm, including assault, always existed at a prison like Eyman."

Not placing her at risk? The rapist, Jacob Harvey, was there for another brutal rape:

And why she would be left alone with an inmate who less than a year before had been sentenced to nearly 30 years after a daytime home invasion in which he beat and raped a Glendale woman in front of her toddler.

The system failed her in all ways:

The lawsuit blames corrections employees for failing to establish proper security and its health care provider for not providing a mental health evaluation to the prisoner. That allowed the 20-year-old convicted rapist to be classified as a relatively low-risk offender and gain access to the classroom in January 2014.

The Arizona Attorney General's office should be ashamed of their attitude and efforts to dismiss the lawsuit. The unidentified woman is seeking $4 million in damages. Hopefully a jury will do the right thing since the state of Arizona won't.

See Arizona Republic Columnists Laurie Roberts and Ed Montini discuss the case here.

For more details: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/04/1362285/-Arizona-teacher-raped-while-administering-exam-to-prisoners-District-Attorney-She-knew-the-risks#?detail=facebook

TransAsia Accident in Taiwan

Please Pray for the family who are left behind by their loved ones after the TransAsia crashed in the River.

(CNN) -- The pilots of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 grappled with problems with both the plane's engines before it clipped a bridge and crashed 

into a river, Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council said Friday.

    The stall warning went off in the cockpit five times, starting from about 37 seconds after takeoff, the aviation agency told reporters, citing information from the aircraft's flight recorders.

    The two engines on the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft stopped producing power one after the other, and the pilots failed in an attempt to 

restart one of them, according to the agency.

      The pilots issued a mayday alert to air traffic control, announcing an engine flameout, or power failure.

      Flight GE235 crashed into the Keelung River in Taiwan's capital, Taipei, shortly after taking off Wednesday with 58 people on board.

      Authorities say that so far, 35 people have been confirmed dead, 15 survived and 8 are still missing, according to Taiwan's official news agency CNA. Two people on the ground were also hurt.

      The Aviation Safety Council said Friday it was still collecting information on the disaster and wasn't yet able to say what caused the engines to 

shut down.

      The agency says it will take months to carry out a full analysis of the contents of Flight GE235's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

      The reported engine problems tally with the account of Huang Chin-shun, a 72-year-old survivor of the crash.

       "I thought something's wrong with the engine because I always take this flight," Huang told CNN affiliate ETTV from his hospital bed on Thursday.

      Stephen Fredrick, a pilot who once flew ATRs for American Airlines, told CNN this week that it looked like Flight GE235 was gliding when dashboard cameras on the ground captured the moments before it crashed into the river.

      Fredrick pointed to the position of the nose, slightly down, and the wings, level. He said he thought the plane may have lost power in one or 

both of the engines.

      TransAsia was involved in another deadly disaster in July. Forty-eight people died after an ATR 72 aircraft operated by the airline crashed as 

it was attempting to land in the Taiwanese Penghu Islands during bad weather

For more details: http://www.kvoa.com/story/28043006/investigators-problems-with-both-engines-before-transasia-crash-in-taiwan

Super Bowl 2015 Patriots vs Seahawks. Current score.

CMA Philippines Students - Amazing Mental Arithmetic Skill

Are you able to do this? I can barely add 2 of 3 digits and these kids are awesome.



This video is credited to the CMA Philippines Academy.

Please Pray for the family of the 44 Fallen Police Officers in the Philippines

It was sad to think that the lives of these 44 fallen police officers were taken by militants in the Philippines. Please pray for those who are left behind  by their loved ones. 

Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) participate in a "walk for sympathy and justice" in Taguig City Friday, for the 44 slain Special Action Force personnel who were killed in Sunday's clash with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. President Aquino urged legislators not to abandon the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that seeks to end the decades-old insurgency in Muslim Mindanao. 

Picture above is credit to ABSCBN NEWS.