Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, appeared on five network talk shows to mount a defense against Republican lawmakers who accused the president of mismanagement.     PALATINE, IL—During a tennis tournament hosted by Fremd High School, spectators, coaches, and fellow competitors agreed Thursday that the massive gulf in skill levels between top-ranked Anthony Pagano and bottom-seeded Tyson Vandervennet was the mos... Across the United States, teachers are using iPad and other tablets to reinvent the presentation and management of educational material. According to a report in Wired magazine, “tablets’ simplicity, ease of use and the massive range of academically minded applications available are drawing teachers and educational technologists to the platform in droves.” iPad is leading this charge, as “the most popular tablet among educators,” and “Apple’s iTunes U is one tool making iPad-based course integration easier by helping teachers create and curate a wholly digital curriculum.” Pro-government fighters are reported to hold more than half of the border city of Qusayr, in a critical setback for rebel forces.     Thomas Firestone, a former Justice Department official who had been working in Moscow as a lawyer, was declared “persona non grata” this month, possibly because he reportedly had rebuffed an effort to recruit him as a spy.     A council representing 12,000 officers who issue documents will join a council representing 7,700 deportation agents in fighting a Senate proposal.     Steven A. Cohen, rather than be subject to broad questions from prosecutors, is expected to assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination.     The Syrian military on Sunday launched an offensive to retake a strategic rebel-held town near the Lebanese border, a government official said.     CLEVELAND—Claiming they want to impose their will against the competition, Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski announced Friday that the team is gearing up to aggressively punt the ball down opponents’ throats this season. Tornadoes ravaged portions of central Oklahoma on Sunday, reducing portions of a mobile home park to rubble and killing a 79-year-old man whose body was found out in the open.     Apple announced financial results for its 13-week fiscal 2013 first quarter ended December 29, 2012. The company posted record quarterly revenue of $54.5 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $46.3 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share, in the 14-week year-ago quarter. “We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.” Apple announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 10 through June 14 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At the five-day conference, developers from around the world will learn about the future of iOS and OS X. WWDC will also feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by over 1,000 Apple engineers and hands-on labs to help developers integrate new technologies. And the popular Apple Design Awards will showcase the most outstanding apps available through the App Store and Mac App Store. Tickets for this year’s WWDC go on sale Thursday, April 25, at 10 a.m. PDT. Apple is making the MacBook Pro with Retina display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at $1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Apple also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of flash has a new lower price of $1,399. The new models are available starting today through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. Obama told Morehouse College graduates that “laws, hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks like you can serve as president.”     An inquiry into the attack that included rock-throwing priests caught on television cameras has led to no arrests.     An officer’s decision to enter a home in Uniondale, N.Y., and open fire, killing a gunman and a student being held hostage, may have eliminated the opportunity to negotiate with the gunman, some experts said.     Yair Lapid, the popular television host whose political rise has been undercut by the austerity budget he presented as finance minister, is trying to take the long view.     CORTLAND, NY—Amid mounting scrutiny over scandals involving last September’s attack on the U.S. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut urged commuters to stay home Monday if possible rather than face crowded, rainy highways around Fairfield.     A cyberunit of the People’s Liberation Army in China appears to have resumed its attacks using different techniques, hitting several of the same victims it has gone after in the past.     James Levine, who has defined the Metropolitan Opera for more than 40 years, returned Sunday after two years to lead the Met Orchestra at a packed Carnegie Hall.