In 2,000+ stores and online, Straight Talk and Walmart are offering the iPhone 5 for $649 plus a $45 a month no-contract plan. That plan includes unlimited talk, text and data.

“We believe customers shouldn’t have to choose between saving money and having the latest technology,” said Seong Ohm, senior vice president of Entertainment for Walmart U.S. “Now customers can have the coveted iPhone with unlimited talk, text and data without a contract for $70 a month thanks to our exclusive Straight Talk plan and industry first financing offer.”

Here’s how it works:

Customers can purchase one of two plans – a $45 a month plan that includes unlimited calling, text, and data and a $60 a month plan that includes unlimited talk, text, and data plus unlimited international calling. Of course, both of these plans are part of Straight Talk’s no-contract service.

Of course, customers will have to buy the phones outright – no contract deal. Walmart is offering the iPhone 5 (16GB) for $649 or the iPhone 4 (8GB) for $449.

Walmrt is also offering an interest-free fixed monthly payment plan of $25 a month with a Walmart credit card.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the remarkable iPhone 5 to customers looking for one of the most advanced smartphones with one of the most affordable No Contract plans ever,” said F.J. Pollak, CEO and President, TracFone Wireless. “The advanced iPhone 5 with our unlimited $45 monthly plan and Walmart’s $25 special financing offer is a marriage made in heaven – making it the most affordable premium smartphone offer in America. With this exclusive offer the last reason for not purchasing the No Contract Straight Talk plan is gone.”

According to the AP, somewhere around 5,000 different products are going to be available for same-day delivery this holiday season. Walmart kicked off the test program around the D.C. area on October 2nd, and moved on the Philadelphia a couple of days later. Today, they’re expanding it to Minneapolis, and later this month will take it to San Jose and San Francisco.

Here’s how it will work: For a flat fee of $10, customers can have an unlimited number of items shipped to their doorstep in a matter of hours. Except for customers in California, there is also no minimum purchase charge (it’s $45 in San Jose and San Francisco). To receive same-day delivery, customers must place their orders by noon. They will then be able to choose one of three four-hour windows to receive their merchandise that day. Products will be coming from local stores.

This test is an expansion of Walmart To-Go, their grocery delivery service.

Of course, Walmart is trying to compete in a market of online retailers like Amazon, who have already opened up same-day shipping in a number of locations.

“This builds on a testament to try to provide greater convenience to our customers,” said Walmart spokeswoman Amy Lester. “This is truly to learn and better understand what our customers want.”

Customers wants quick delivery. And in order to get that, $10 doesn’t sound all that bad – especially on a bulk order. Whether or not we see the option expand to more cities across the country most likely depends on its popularity in these test cities during the lucrative Christmas shopping season.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many adults are not up-to-date with recommended life-saving immunizations. Vaccinations may not be top-of-mind while the weather is still warm, but they are a critical part of public health, especially in light of recent outbreaks of whooping cough and shingles,” said John Agwunobi, a doctor and president of Walmart U.S. health and wellness. “We are making it easy and affordable for our customers to receive their vaccinations – while on their normal shopping trips they can simply stop by immunization events, which will accept thousands of insurance plans and offer low price options for our cash paying customers.”

Just this week the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported the death of a Forsyth County two-month-old to whooping cough. Immunization relies on herd immunity to protect those who are not immune to a particular disease, or cannot yet be immunized. Herd immunity requires that a large portion of the population be immunized.

The immunizations at Walmart will be available to anyone three years or older. The vaccines available include ones for pneumonia, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Chickenpox, HPV, MMR, meningitis, shingles, tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough, though specific offerings may vary by store. This year’s flu shots will also be available for $25.

The group of retailers behind MCX, which will grow, seems to think that they have an edge over mobile payments competitors (like Google, Isis, etc.), in that they are retail, and therefore understand customers habits better. They will use this knowledge of customers to run their kinds of offers and promotions.

“MCX will leverage mobile technology to give consumers a faster and more convenient shopping experience while eliminating unnecessary costs for all stakeholders,” said Mike Cook, corporate vice president and assistant treasurer at Walmart. “The MCX platform will employ secure technology to deliver an efficiency-enhancing mobile solution available to all merchant categories, including retail stores, casual dining, petroleum and e-commerce.”

“We believe MCX is uniquely qualified to offer the most comprehensive mobile payment options for consumers,” said Terry Scully, president of financial and retail services at Target. “By participating in MCX, merchants are in a position to effectively deliver innovative payment approaches that aren’t available today.”

“As merchants, no one understands our customers’ shopping and payment experience better than we do, and we’re confident that together we can develop a technology solution that makes that experience more engaging, convenient and efficient,” said Mark Williams, president of financial services for Best Buy.

There’s no launch date or CEO for the MCX yet, but the companies are reportedly looking for a leader. The group says it expects to announce additional members during the coming months.

Instead of sticking around to make sure everyone was all right, Canady and his bullet wound bolted from the store. Although police were forced to engage the shooter in a foot pursuit, he was eventually apprehended and arrested for his actions. Not surprisingly, authorities don’t take kindly to folks who fire weapons inside department stores and then attempt to flee the scene.

“The bullet struck Canady in the buttock, then ricochet on the floor and broke into pieces. Two children and a woman were also wounded when they were struck by bullet fragments,” KDFW-TV reported. Although Todd had a concealed weapon permit for the firearm, he’s still going to jail for evading arrest. Additionally, Canady might find himself being charged with felony injury to a child.

It doesn’t pay to shop at Walmart these days. If your child isn’t getting hit by stray bullets, chances are you’re going to be menaced by roving packs of unruly teenagers who are looking for a place to hold an impromptu party. Never mind all of the freaks and geeks and weirdos documented at People of Walmart. This world is full of extremely frightening people, and, as far as I can tell, they all shop at America’s leading retailer.

Then, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is going to talk to Walmart employees at the retail giant’s monthly meeting on Saturday, according to Reuters.

So, why is Zuck and the whole team traveling to Bentonville, Arkansas to talk to Walmart execs?

Simply put – we don’t know for sure. But it has something to do with broadening the two companies’ relationship.

In a statement, Facebook said that it was looking forward to “deepening” its relationship with Walmart. Facebook also said that they can learn from Walmart’s “experience and management team about building a strong, durable and valuable company for the long term.”

Walmart also painted broad strokes with a statement:

“We appreciate and value the ongoing strategic partnership we have with Facebook. Their help and support with testing new and innovative products and technologies to reach our customers has been invaluable.”

It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that some expanded retail partnership could come out of this meeting (or meetings like it in the future). Walmart already pays to advertise on Facebook, and they have even delved into the app culture with a Facebook app they launched last Christmas for online shopping.

Walmart has also shown some initiative with other online programs like it’s “Pay with Cash” feature that lets online shoppers purchase items, pay with cash at a local Walmart store, and have their products delivered – all plastic free.

Facebook, of course, is always looking for ways other than ads to boost revenue.

You have to think that Facebook and Walmart can partner up to do something other than exile Pitbull to Alaska – funny as that may be.

Let’s get one thing straight: This isn’t the modern, squeaky-clean flash mob you’ve seen on various early morning chat shows when you’re getting ready for work. No, this is an old-fashioned flash mob, one that shows up with very little warning to do whatever the hell it wants to do. In this case, these folks had nothing but mayhem and destruction on their minds, and that’s precisely what went down inside a Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida over the weekend.

After a nearby party was busted up by the local police force following an alleged shooting, nearly everyone in attendance decided to head to the neighborhood superstore. 300 teenagers suddenly descended upon the retailer, cutting a swath of destruction throughout the store. Merchandise was stolen, destroyed, or carelessly tossed about. At one point, people actually started throwing food at one another while horrified employees and innocent bystanders watched helplessly from the sidelines. Among the stolen items was an anti-theft security system, which proves once again that technology doesn’t stand a chance against unruly teenagers.

Although the embedded video is far from hilarious, it does feature a few chuckle-worthy moments. For instance, one guy can be heard telling everyone that he’s selling food stamps, while others proudly announce that they’re headed to Wendy’s following the impromptu gathering. Reports have also indicated that gunshots were heard inside the store during the chaos, though no injuries or property damage have been reported.

Police admit that no one was arrested following the flash mob’s assault on the Walmart location, though some of the teens involved will most likely face charges. Assuming, of course, the local authorities can locate some of the individuals responsible for this madness. If you’re curious to see the mob in action, take a look at the video embedded below. It’s a little shaky and pixelated, but you’ll definitely get an idea of what went down.

While browsing at a Walmart in George, a young woman was approached by 43 year-old registered sex offender Joey Leaphart, who introduced himself as a representative from AFV. After inquiring about her painted toenails, Leaphart said that he would pay for her purchases if she would participate in a “prank” for the show. Possessing little to no common sense, the woman agreed, which is when things got uncomfortable.

Leaphart took a picture of her naked foot, which he followed up with a request to kiss the body part in question. Under the impression that she was going to be part of a nationally-broadcast television program, the 18 year-old agreed. Joey then led his victim behind a clothes rack, stating that he didn’t want people to think he was weird for what he was about to do. Before placing her big toe in his mouth, he said, “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Yikes.

As soon as he started sucking on the digit, the woman, obviously surprised by the audacity of this supposed AFV employee, screamed for him to stop. Leaphart, of course, immediately headed for the exit, but not before leaving the poor woman with a parting comment. “Oh, it tasted so good though,” he reportedly said. Yikes again. Unfortunately, Leaphart is apparently still on the loose, his mouth poised to strike again.

This isn’t the first time the man’s obsession has landed him in hot water. In February, Joey thought it would be fun to ask a woman at a Walmart in South Carolina if he could kiss and smell her feet. It’s unclear whether or not this woman was a gullible as his Georgia victim.

So far the winning store is in Kodiak, Alaska. A writer for the Boston Phoenix encouraged people to send him to the most remote Walmart possible, and it’s working. Right now the Kodiak Alaska Walmart has 42,000 likes, about 6 times the town’s population.

The rest of the Walmarts have until July 16 to pull ahead and save Pitbull from his frosty fate. Pitbull hopes that Miami will come to his rescue, but right now the top searched Miami Walmart locations have around 700 likes. They have a long way to go.

Follow @haleyhead

Haley Forman
@haleyhead

#exilepitbull Kodiak, Alaskas zipcode is 99615. please send pitbull here. #kodiakgirl

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1 day ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

Pitbull retweeted this from a girl that actually lives in Kodiak, Alaska. We can only assume that she is the only one that actually wants him to go there because she likes him.

Kodiak is known for its thriving Kodiak brown bear population. A fact that Pitbull jokes about on Twitter. At least he’s being a good sport about it.

Follow @Pitbull

Pitbull
@Pitbull

Picture me with a Kodiak…Ha! daleeeeee!!!!! #exilepitbull@walmartspecials@Sheets

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1 day ago via web · powered by @socialditto

Follow @Pitbull

Pitbull
@Pitbull

I hear there’s bear repellant at Kodiak, Alaska @walmartspecials@sheets#exilepitbull daleeeeeee!

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2 days ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

Now, if there was only a way to make him stay there.

Load up your online shopping cart, get the total, go to Walmart, pay the balance in cash, then, your stuff will arrive in the mail shortly (or you can pick it up at the store).

In the eight weeks since its launch, “pay with cash” now accounts for 2% of all Walmart.com shopping. Also, 30% of the “pay with cash” customers are entirely new to Walmart.com. I think that makes a powerful statement about online shopping.

Many consumers don’t use credit or debit cards, and Walmart tapped a valuable demographic with this new service. You know what else is big news? The “pay with cash” orders are 50% larger than those of the average online shopper. That’s powerful stuff!

I think we can safely say Walmart will be recognized as an innovator with this one. Walmart.com CEO, Joel Anderson has noticed the online shopping trend and he intends to capitalize on it as much as possible.

In fact, Anderson says the company is striving for an “anytime, anywhere” presence in consumer spending. Their focus has shifted to online spending, and more specifically, mobile.

Walmart.com CEO, Joel Anderson, comments on the future of retail:

“I can’t overstate how mobile is changing how we interact with our consumers,”

“We have to embrace these changes,”

“What we have to do is provide anytime, anywhere access. The customer is demanding that.”

So, while we have seen Walmart attempt to break into online shopping with other services like their Vudu streaming video, and their Goodies gourmet sampler program, “pay with cash” online has been one of the most successful and it truly taps a whole new demographic of shoppers.

Who knows what their current focus on the mobile shopping platform will bring us, but if it’s anything as groundbreaking as “pay with cash”, Walmart will be raking in the dough.