Pope Francis

Apple CEO Tim Cook traveled to Europe this week to meet with European Commission antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in Brussels on Thursday, before heading to Rome on Friday to meet Pope Francis and Italian developers. Cook first met with Vestager to lobby against an European tax investigation that could force the iPhone and iPad maker to pay more than $8 billion in back taxes on overseas earnings, according to Bloomberg. European Commission headquarters in Brussels (Image: Hungary Today) Apple is accused of operating multiple subsidiaries in Ireland to avoid paying higher taxes outside the United States, where it earns just under 60% of its revenue. Apple books its taxes in Ireland using low operating costs, allowing it to pay a foreign tax rate of only 1.8%, according to the report. If the European Commission finds wrongdoing with Apple’s corporate arrangement in Ireland, the company's $64.1 billion in profit generated from 2004 to 2012 could be subject to a higher 12.5% corporate tax rate -- just over $8 billion in back taxes. A decision in the probe could be made by March, but may take longer due to additional information requested by European regulators. Apple continues to deny any wrongdoing, and vows to take the European Commission to court over any negative verdict. Meanwhile, the agenda of Cook's meeting with Pope Francis remains private. The 15-minute discussion was held at 11:30 a.m. local time. Pope Francis is known to incorporate technology into his position and takes to Twitter fairly regularly to share messages, and his old iPad was

While many customers around the world anticipate receiving their brand new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus when the smartphones launch on September 25, pre-order deliveries in areas of New York City and Philadelphia could be delayed as Pope Francis prepares to visit both of those cities next week. Pope Francis visit could delay iPhone 6s deliveries in NYC and Philadelphia UPS, a courier service that frequently delivers Apple pre-orders, has posted a temporary service notice on its website that states no pickups and deliveries will be available in the following ZIP code areas of NYC and Philadelphia this Thursday-Friday and Friday-Saturday respectively due to security measures. Affected ZIP Code Areas New York City: 10001, 10007, 10017, 10021, 10022, 10023, 10029 Philadelphia: 19102, 19103, 19104, 19106, 19107, 19109, 19123, 19130, 19146, 19147 The affected areas in New York City are all in Manhattan, including parts of Chelsea, Civic Center, East Harlem, Midtown, Tribeca and the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. Pope Francis will be making appearances in those areas at St. Patrick's Cathedral, United Nations headquarters, 9/11 Museum, Central Park, Madison Square Garden and elsewhere next Thursday and Friday. The affected areas in Philadelphia include parts of Bella Vista, Callowhill, Center City, Devil's Pocket, Fairmount, Grays Ferry, Logan Square, Mantua, Northern Liberties, Passyunk Square, Pennsport, Point Breeze, Poplar, Powelton Village, Rittenhouse Square, Society Hill, Southwark, Spring Garden, Spruce Hill, University City, Washington Square West,