Here are your daily Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today.

Best Buy Accidentally Leaks Apple HDTV Details: Apple’s much-rumored iTV made an unusual appearance on Monday according to The Verge. A survey issued by big box electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) included details on an Apple HDTV, claiming the device will feature a 42-inch LED screen, run on the same iOS operating system as in the iPad and iPhone, include a microphone and iSight camera for video calling via Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Skype, and offer streaming video services like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) YouTube. The whole package will run about $1,499, expensive when priced against other Smart TV models sold by Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Samsung (PINK:SSNLF). Confirmit, a Norwegian research firm used by Best Buy in the past, issued the survey. These details jive with previous rumors about Apple’s television, but they shouldn’t be taken as confirmation that they will be included on product’s final feature list. With the exception of references to the iOS platform and iCloud services, the features of the TV are common among Smart TVs. For now, investors and consumers alike should wait for Apple to make a proper announcement.

Apple Again Faces Pressure over Elections from Calpers: For the third year in a row, the California Public Employee’s Retirement Systems (Calpers) will lean on Apple to change how it elects its directors. Calpers, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., wants Apple shareholders to be able to elect a director by a majority vote. As of now, shareholders can only withhold votes for new directors rather than vote to not elect them. This means that directors can maintain their place on the board by a single vote from board members. Calpers proposed similar changes in 2011, but while 73% of Apple shareholders supported those changes, Apple declined to change its voting process. Apple claims that the proposed process could remove widely supported directors from the board simply because shareholders fail to vote. Calpers claims that Apple needs to institute the new changes to maintain proper levels of accountability.

HTC Profits Fall Due to iPhone Popularity: Taiwanese smartphone maker and 2011 standard bearer for Google Android smartphones, HTC (PINK:HTCXF) watched its profits tumble 26% in the fourth quarter and warned that revenue could be down 36% at the end of the first quarter in 2012. What’s troubling the company? According to CFO Winston Yung, HTC’s weakness is due to “competition in the U.S. from iPhone and Smasung.”