Apple Buys Back $14 Billion Shares and Other News You Need to Know

 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
Apple Buys Back $14 Billion Shares and Other News You Need to Know
Customers test iPads on April 4, 2012 inside an Apple store. Credit: JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images

Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world.

Apple’s sapphire-manufacturing capabilities just got a major boost. The Cupertino, Calif.'s manufacturing partner GT Advanced has obtained 518 sapphire furnaces, with another 420 on the way, according to 9to5Mac.

In other Apple news, the tech giant scooped up $14 billion of its own shares, according to The Wall Street Journal.

And IBM will begin developing self-destructing electronic devices for the U.S. government.

Check out the video, above, for more on these stories.

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