Walmart video rental service takes on Netflix

Mega-retailer Walmart is finally lurching back into the streaming video business, unveiling a new service that makes Vudu streaming video available from its Walmart.com Web site. Walmart bought Vudu back in early 2010, and an eye towards reaping income from Vudu services integrated with set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and HDTVs sold through the company’s massive retail efforts. Now, the company is making Vudu’s library of movies and other video content available for online streaming, with rentals starting as low as 99 cents—although that scales up to as much as $5.99. Purchase prices for movies start at $4.99.

“At Walmart, one of our key priorities is to provide a continuous channel for our customers, from our stores to our powerful e-commerce and social media platforms,” said Walmart.com senior VP and general manager Steve Nave, in a statement. “With Vudu becoming increasingly popular among our customers, we’re providing them more access to enjoy this digital entertainment experience directly online at Walmart.com.”

Walmart is not offering a subscription service, a la NetFlix, that provides customers with all-they-can-eat streaming for a fixed price. Instead, Walmart’s online video offerings take an approach like Apple’s iTunes store, where customers pay for content on an item-by-item basis.

As part of the launch, customers will be able to vote on Facebook for a new release title that will be available for customers to rent for just 99 cents: folks just need to log into Facebook and “like” the title they want to see get the discount treatment.

Wal-Mart, long the nation's leading seller of DVDs, signaled its intent to double-down on digital movie distribution in February 2010, when it spent a reported $100 million to acquire online video service Vudu, a Silicon Valley startup that was gradually being added to home entertainment devices.

Since the acquisition, Vudu has been able to leverage Wal-Mart's clout with manufacturers to incorporate its service into more than 300 consumer electronics products, including Internet-connected television sets, Blu-ray disc players and the Sony PlayStation 3 game console.

Huntsman campaign focuses on N.H.

While Jon Huntsman was winding down his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to China, a "campaign-in-waiting" was being carefully assembled, so that when he was free of his duties to the Obama White House, he could hit the ground running and get his 2012 candidacy in gear. Those first days of the Huntsman campaign were a model of effeiciency -- Huntsman got on the ground, met with state officials, laid out a plan of attack and -- with a little bit of web-video whimsy -- they got the media to devote lots of time covering the lead-up to his official announcement in front of the Statue of Liberty.

And that announcement? Well, it was kind of a bust! Republican voters, as it turned out, liked him less the more they got to know him. And since then, the campaign has gotten stranger.

Huntsman, in his speech, called for a “more skeptical’’ view of America’s foreign entanglements.

“I look at Libya. There’s no defined goal, no defined national security interest, no exit strategy. I say why do we want to be involved?’’ Huntsman said.

On Afghanistan, Huntsman said, “It’s time for us to come home,’’ citing several achievements there including free elections.

Turning to Pakistan, Huntsman said, “We can’t do a damn thing about Pakistan. Only Pakistan can save Pakistan. . . . We can’t wish for stability in a nation state more than they do.’’

The appearance came as Huntsman is building his presence in New Hampshire, with more than 20 paid staff and several offices opening this summer. Huntsman plans to return the first week in August. He will need to build up his name recognition. Recent polling put him in the low single digits in New Hampshire, and voters tend to know little about him.

Behind the scenes, Huntsman has been attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is ahead in polls here. A recent e-mail from Huntsman’s campaign was headlined, “The Romney-Obama Budget Plan: Raise Taxes.

Jared Lee Loughner:Give Me the Injection, Kill Me Now

Jared Lee Loughner, who is accused of killing six people and injuring 13 others in Tucson Arizona, including Gabrielle Giffords, is being forcibly medicated as he is a danger to himself.

Court papers have revealed that Loughner, who has been deemed not fit enough to stand trial, is depressed and has "regret for the circumstances that led to his arrest. He also reported that the radio was talking to him and inserting thoughts into his mind."

While under suicide watch, Loughner "began pacing quickly in circles near his cell door" and was heard "screaming loudly and seen crying for hours at a time," according to court documents. "He was observed rocking back and forth in the showers."

One doctor reported that Loughner was often viewed as "inconsolable, uncooperative and unresponsive" and "also displayed hypersexed behavior." He talked about the "killings" and the possibility of receiving the death penalty and sobbed uncontrollably for 55 minutes. At one point Loughner said, "I want to die. Give me the injection, kill me now."

A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments regarding Loughner's forced medication in August after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night denied an emergency motion by defense lawyers to keep prison officials from forcibly medicating Loughner with a psychotropic drug.

Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty in the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson that killed six and left 13 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. Loughner was declared mentally unfit to contribute to his defense by a federal judge and is being held in Springfield, Mo.

Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default

US debt crisis has escalated after Republicans were forced to rewrite their proposal to lift the debt ceiling, because they miscalculated how much the original plan would cut spending.

In an embarrassing development for John Boehner, the Republican Congress speaker, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled on Tuesday night that his bill would have only cut spending by $850bn over the next decade, not the $1.2tr he had aimed for. Republicans are now racing to rewrite the legislation, and have pushed back a Congressional vote on the plan from Wednesday to Thursday at the earliest.

Although Boehner was already struggling to find support for his package, the delay increases the risk that Washington will fail to agree a deal to raise the debt ceiling before 2 August, when the federal government is expected to run out of money.

The dollar dropped against other currencies on Wednesday morning as investors faced the possibility that America could default. Several economists believe the country will lose its AAA credit rating within months, which would push up its borrowing costs, even if the $14.3tr debt ceiling is increased in time.

The White House said on Tuesday it was working with Congress to devise a "Plan B" that might attract enough support. The two sides have been deeply divided for weeks, with Republicans demanding deep spending cuts and Democrats anxious to include tax rises as a major part of the deal.

Threat of a downgrade “is very damaging to all of us, and that would be a product of the dysfunction of Congress” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who led a faction of House Democrats who argued for a “clean” debt-limit increase early in the process, only to watch escalating chatter about the “Armageddon” of a missed deal feed scrutiny of the nation’s fiscal health.

S&P raised the threat of a downgrade July 14 by declaring that raising the debt limit alone might not be enough. It wanted to see an enforceable agreement to cut $4 trillion over 10 years to affirm the triple-A rating.

Administration officials were shocked by the move. They suggested privately that it did not seem to square with prior S&P reports, which said the nation’s larger budget problems could be dealt with over several years. Some administration officials dismissed the S&P report as little more than amateur political prognostication by people with limited understanding of how Washington works.

But the White House’s statements in the past week show a downgrade is now top of mind. Obama himself invoked the country’s triple-A rating in a rare prime-time address Monday as he outlined the consequences of default.

“For the first time in history, our country’s triple-A credit rating would be downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United States is still a good bet,” Obama said. “Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people. We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis — this one caused almost entirely by Washington.”

Nearly every debt-limit conversation on Capitol Hill is infused with debate over the potential for either a downgrade, a default, or both. Democrats have embraced the argument of the White House: A short-term plan could result in a debilitating downgrade even if default is avoided.

Republicans are moving forward with their two-phase plan, but they’ve shown some concern about the possibility of ratings agencies scarring America’s creditworthiness. There’s significant disagreement in the GOP about the prospects of default and downgrade, and some lawmakers believe the administration and congressional leaders have created a false panic to box them into voting to raise the debt ceiling.

David Wu to Resign Amid Pressure

Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday he would resign from Congress, following allegations of sexual misconduct with a teenage girl.

The resignation announcement came in the wake of a report last week that the teenage daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor called the congressman's office earlier this year to accuse him of an unwanted sexual encounter over Thanksgiving.

Wu, 56, acknowledged the incident to his aides but said it was consensual, the Portland Oregonian reported.

On Monday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called for a formal ethics investigation. By Tuesday, Wu, a seven-term member of Congress, said he would resign his post, which he called "the greatest privilege of my life."

"I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations," Wu said in a statement. "The well-being of my children must come before anything else."

The accusations against David Wu are jarring and exceptionally serious. While he – like every American – deserves an opportunity to address those accusations and defend himself, our constituents in the first district of Oregon deserve a member in the House of Representatives whose main focus is fighting for their interests,” the senators said.

“This is a critical time for our state and our nation and Oregonians need every member of their Congressional delegation to be effective. While no one takes pleasure in asking a colleague to resign, we believe he can no longer be an effective representative for our shared constituents and should, in the best interest of Oregon, step down.”

On Monday, Wu confided in his close friend and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), who in his advice to Wu said, “Dave, you have to do what’s in the best interest of your young family, and yourself and then the institution, in that order.”

Larson also told Wu that “there are no good answers to this,” during their conversation.

Someone speaking on Wu’s behalf initially told reporters the 7-term Oregon Congressman would not resign, but would not seek reelection in 2012. Two Democrat elected officials had already announced their intentions to run against Wu before these recent allegations were made public.

The congressional district Wu has represented since 1999 is heavily Democratic and he previously won each of his previous races by double-digit margins.

Wu is the second House Democrat to resign over sexual indiscretions this year. In June, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned after sending inappropriate messages and photographs to several women via Twitter.

When Wu’s resignation is effective and his seat has been officially vacated, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber will call a special election.