With nary an encore, the troubled, and troublesome, mechanized set for the “Ring” cycle at the Met, is placed in storage for at least a few years.     Patrons of Darrin’s Bar and Grill looked on in horror Friday as the Barenaked Ladies song “One Week” was brutally murdered by local band Wrong Turn. Blog post and video from Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit about company efforts to stop the Rustock spambot. Apple has announced that customers have now downloaded over 50 billion apps from the App Store. The 50 billionth app — Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC — was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio, who received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate the milestone. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.” For the 37th time since they assumed control of the House of Representatives in 2011, Republican congressmen will hold a vote this week aimed at curtailing, defunding, or repealing the Affordable Care Act. Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps — nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone. The App Store has over 500 million active accounts and had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads during the month. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, says, “It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community.” Developers have created over 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and have been paid over $7 billion by Apple. What's Our Cat Plotting? Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 second quarter ended March 30, 2013, posting revenue of $43.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share. During the quarter, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones, compared to 35.1 million in the year-ago quarter. And it sold 19.5 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 11.8 million in 2012. “We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline.” This week, President Barack Obama and his administration have come under fire from political opponents seeking an explanation for the White House’s alleged complicity in a series of widely publicized scandals. A throng of thousands broke through police cordons in Tbilisi to attack a group of about 50 demonstrators, and at least 12 people were injured.     Government mismanagement has left toilet paper in short supply in Venezuela, causing long lines to form throughout the country to purchase the rapidly dwindling item, and prompting lawmakers to call for the immediate importation of 50 million rolls. A video being shopped by two men with drug connections apparently shows Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto smoking a crack pipe.     Military officials said attacks were launched against the Boko Haram Islamist group in border areas in a forest south of the city of Maiduguri.     Though once widely reviled, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his reputation as an economic pragmatist and modernizer seem to be resonating with the public.     The best tool to improve and keep track of your health may be in your pocket, says Dr. Eric Topol, a pioneering figure in “wireless medicine” — the practice of using apps and devices in health care. An article from NBC News describes how new apps for iPhone and other devices can measure vital signs and even detect whether someone is having a heart attack. “These days, I’m prescribing a lot more apps than I am medications,” says Dr. Topol. “The smartphone will be the hub of the future of medicine.” Apple has announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 25 billion songs from the iTunes Store. “We are grateful to our users whose passion for music over the past 10 years has made iTunes the number one music retailer in the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. The 25 billionth song, “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch, was purchased by Phillip Lüpke from Germany. As the downloader of the 25 billionth song, Phillip will receive a €10,000 iTunes gift card. The South Korean Defense Ministry said the missiles were fired Saturday off North Korea’s east coast.     The trains crashed after a derailment near Fairfield on Friday evening, injuring 60 people, five of them critically, and snarling transit corridors in the Northeast.     Lawmakers sought to tie the matter to the carrying out of President Obama’s health care law. Their charges range from clearly questionable actions to seemingly specious allegations.     Officials called the explosions in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province the first major terrorist attack since the general election.     The attacks made Friday one of the bloodiest days this year, as the country struggles to contain sectarian violence.