In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

  • CoLucid Pharmaceuticals leaves the Triangle;
  • Cree targets rural areas with new LEDs;
  • New Samsung and HTC phones coming April 10;
  • A new “American Idol”- or “Voice”-like app launches;
  • PayPal pays $7.7 fine.

The details:

  • CoLucid Leaves Triangle

Startup CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, which is developing treatments for migraine headaches, has moved to Massachusetts from the Triangle. The company raised new funding in January and chose to move to where some of its newly recruited executives live.

“We are very proud to have been a North Carolina-based company since our inception. However, given the expansion of our management team with Massachusetts-based executives, we feel it is the right time to relocate. Cambridge is the heart of the biotechnology industry and we are very excited to be a part of all the innovation and excitement that takes place here every day,” said Thomas Mathers, CoLucid’s CEO.

  • Cree’s new rural LEDs

Cree unveiled this week new LED lighting fixtures that target the needs of rural areas. They are called the LED Rural Utility Lights, or RUL, series. 

The LED fixtures are “designed to deliver an unprecedented combination of price, performance and quality to accelerate adoption of LED lighting across rural areas in North America. The first of Cree’s innovative outdoor LED luminaires to address the estimated 10 to 13 million rural street and area light fixtures installed, the new RUL Series delivers a better, more affordable lighting experience for residential roadways, security, storage and loading areas with game-changing efficacy, rapid payback of less than one year* and Cree’s industry-leading 10-year warranty,” Cree says.

“The RUL Series exemplifies Cree’s commitment to relentless innovation, resulting in another uncompromising LED luminaire that challenges long-established assumptions for what’s possible in lighting, while lowering the cost of ownership,” said Norbert Hiller, Cree executive vice president, lighting. “By providing unmatched performance and price, the RUL Series improves the value of LED lighting for our customers and enables municipalities and utilities to take advantage of Cree’s best-in-class solutions for all of their outdoor lighting needs.”

  • New Samsung, HTC phones coming April 10 in US

New phones from Samsung and HTC will be available in U.S. stores starting April 10.

Advance orders for the new HTC One begin Friday, and those customers might receive their phones before April 10. Orders for Samsung’s Galaxy S 6 phones start Friday as well, with delivery expected around April 10.

Phone sizes won’t change. HTC is largely keeping the same design, but improving the camera and personalizing the home screen based on your location. It also promises to replace the phone once if you smash or crack it. Samsung is swapping its plastic back cover for more stylish metal and glass to better compete with the iPhone. It also improved the camera and software interface.

Prices will vary by carrier. No-contract versions generally start at about $650, in line with the iPhone and other high-end devices.

At AT&T, prices for the Galaxy S 6 start at $685, paid in installments. A higher-end Edge model, with a display that curves on the both sides, starts at $815. The no-contract price for the HTC One is $709.

T-Mobile’s prices work out to $680 for the S 6, $780 for the S 6 Edge and $650 for theHTC One.

Sprint will lease the S 6 phone for free and the S 6 Edge for $5 a month to those opting for an $80-a-month Unlimited Plus plan. After two years, though, customers must pay the balance or continue a leasing plan, which costs $20 a month for the S 6 and $25 for the Edge. Without a lease, customers pay $650 for the S 6 through Sprint’s Boost Mobile prepaid service.

Sprint didn’t immediately say what the HTC One will cost, while Verizon has yet to announce prices for any of the phones.

  • ‘American Idol’-like talent competition app launches

For anyone who’s ever dreamed of being on “American Idol” or “The Voice” as a performer or judge, a new app seeks to make their fantasy come true.

The talent competition app “Chosen” from David Hyman, the former CEO of Beats Music, launched Thursday for invitees on Apple devices.

“We designed ‘Chosen’ for tastemakers, up-and-coming talent and the more than 1 billion fans of online music videos, traditional reality competition TV shows and mobile gaming,” said Hyman in a statement.

In the app’s “karaoke” and “lip sync” modes, performers can show off their range from a selection of 75 different tunes, while the “perform now” mode allows entertainers of any kind to showcase any skills, from hip-hop dancing to violin playing.

The uploaded performances can be voted on by fellow users. The winner will be announced in June and be given a chance to perform on stage at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.

  • PayPal to pay $7.7M in sanctions violations settlement

PayPal Inc. has agreed to pay $7.7 million to settle with U.S. regulators who said the payments company allowed violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency of the Treasury Department, announced Wednesday the civil settlement with the digital payments processor.

The agency said PayPal, a division of eBay Inc., didn’t adequately screen transactions so it could detect those by people or entities subject to sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan. OFAC says the lapses occurred over several years through 2013.

PayPal, based in San Jose, California, said in a statement that it voluntarily reported to the agency questionable payments it had processed. It said it has taken steps to improve compliance, such as real-time scanning of payments.

OFAC also said that PayPal processed $7,091.77 in transactions in a customer account registered to Kursad Zafer Cire, an individual on a special State Department list as someone contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Despite red flags from PayPal’s own screening system, the transactions continued from October 2009 to April 2013, the agency said.