10 things you need to know today: March 19, 2012

Apple prepares a big-money announcement, details emerge about the Afghan-massacre suspect, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

Apple stock holders may be cashing in Monday.
(Image credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)

1. APPLE TO MAKE $98 BILLION ANNOUNCEMENT

On Monday morning, Apple is set to announce plans for its $98 billion cash stockpile. Many anticipate that the company will pay shareholders a dividend for the first time since 1995. Others anticipate a stock buyback. Last Thursday, the tech giant's shares surpassed $600 for the first time ever. In other Apple news, on Friday This American Life announced that it was retracting a popular podcast criticizing the company's labor practices in China. The episode centered around an excerpt from Mike Daisey's play The Agony and the Ectasy of Steve Jobs. TAL says Daisey flat-out lied in his stories of the people he met and labor violations he witnessed while visiting factories in Shenzen, China. [Reuters]

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