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Travel
Three ways to bring added entertainment to your outdoor experiences
(BPT) - There’s a reason it’s called the “great” outdoors. Nothing can quite compare with the beauty and majesty of wild places. When summer rolls around, the urge to explore grows for many people, inspiring millions of travelers to camp, hike and tour the country’s natural wonders. Modern outdoor enthusiasts have disco...
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Hitting the road? Apps to pack to avoid summer brain drain
(BPT) - Warm weather and sunshine are putting families across the country in vacation-planning mode. Whether traveling by train, plane or automobile, mobile devices are typically the first thing parents and kids pack. In fact, American families take more than 100 million leisure trips a year and the average family jugg...
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Moving in the military? How to make the process easier
(BPT) - Moving can cause stress for family members, especially military families that are required to move frequently and potentially without a lot of warning. Sometimes these moves are within a base, while other times they can be to a new base on the other side of the country. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and Per...
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Disciplined and committed candidates wanted to serve in the elite United States Submarine Force
(BPT) - Sailors silently gliding underwater while patrolling the ocean depths in a nuclear-powered sub and the pride of earning the coveted Submarine Dolphins. This is the exciting and challenging life for personnel in the United States Naval Submarine force. Today, U.S. nuclear powered submarines are an integral part ...
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1,000 shades of green: Nature made sexy in the Pacific Northwest
America's West Coast has allure to spare: stretches of ocean highway, famously laid-back and inviting cities and beaches galore. But the northern half of the coast, the Pacific Northwest, is arguably one of the richest natural playgrounds in the country. From its soaring peaks to its mysterious forests, this is the plac...
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Tuscany travel: For curious travelers, an Italian feast for all the senses
Some say that travel is about the journey more than the destination. And for a growing number of travelers, it’s all about the experience - both on the journey and within the destination. Travelers focus on getting a deeper, more authentic look at well-loved destinations. Tuscany travel experiences figure on the vacat...
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Road trip tips: How to plan a memorable summer vacation and save money
(BPT) - As beautiful summer weather gradually makes its appearance across the nation, thoughts turn to summer travel plans. Americans enjoy the fun and relaxation of traveling: 77 percent of domestic trips are for leisure purposes, according to the U.S. Travel Association. If you want to vacation with friends or family,...
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Iconic Hotels in Europe
Accommodations often take a backseat during the planning stages of a vacation. However, sometimes the places you stay can end up being the best part of your getaway. In Europe, travelers can reserve rooms in centuries-old hotels that have survived civil and world wars or were retreats for legendary fashion icons, author...
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What famous European hotels would Gatsby visit?
Accommodations often take a backseat during the planning stages of a vacation. However, sometimes the places you stay can end up being the best part of your getaway. In Europe, travelers can reserve rooms in centuries-old hotels that have survived civil and world wars or were retreats for legendary fashion icons, author...
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The 5 best natural attractions in the Pacific Northwest
America's West Coast has allure to spare: stretches of ocean highway, famously laid-back and inviting cities and beaches galore. But the northern half of the coast, the Pacific Northwest, is arguably one of the richest natural playgrounds in the country. From its soaring peaks to its mysterious forests, this is the plac...
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Stay safe on the road this summer
(BPT) - As you hit the road for this year’s vacation, you may see an increasing number of vehicles on the sides of the highway broken down either with mechanical problems or flat tires. Don’t derail your travel fun by being one of them. A few simple steps will help you avoid being stuck on the side of the road – or at l...
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Return from vacation truly refreshed
Sometimes vacations aren’t quite as relaxing as you plan or expect them to be and these days traveling itself can often be stressful, almost to the point of defeating the purpose of one’s getaway. Shouldn’t you come back from a trip feeling more refreshed than when you left? More and more travelers are beginning to catc...
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national news

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng speaks to journalists following an appearance in New YorkBy Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressman who has been blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's main champion in Washington said people working for New York University have tried to keep him from meeting Chen, barging into a meeting on Capitol Hill and pulling Chen out on one occasion. U.S. Representative Chris Smith, an outspoken supporter of Chinese dissidents since the 1980s, described repeated instances of various people he says were from NYU interfering in his attempts to meet with Chen. ...


2013-06-20 02:08:46 -0500

Reporters and television cameras are reflected in the glass doors as J.W. Carney, defense attorney for accused mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, leaves the U.S. Federal Courthouse at the end of first day of Bulger's trial in BostonBOSTON (Reuters) - The trial of James "Whitey" Bulger on Thursday turns back to evidence of the 19 murders the alleged mob boss is accused of committing or ordering while he ran the ruthless Winter Hill crime gang in the 1970s and '80s. Family members of some of Bulger's alleged victims may take the stand to identify photos of their murdered relatives. Three days of testimony from star witness John Martorano - the first of Bulger's former lieutenants to take the stand - included chilling details of hits the now 72-year-old confessed killer described carrying out with Bulger. ...


2013-06-20 04:11:59 -0500

North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate, former Charlotte Mayor McCrory meets supporters during U.S. presidential election in CharlotteBy Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - North Carolina's governor, hoping to resume executions in his state, on Wednesday signed the repeal of a law that has allowed death row inmates to seek a reduced sentence if they could prove racial bias affected their punishment. The Racial Justice Act, the only law of its kind in the United States, had led to four inmates getting their sentences changed to life in prison without parole after taking effect in 2009. ...


2013-06-19 20:20:27 -0500

FILE - In a Monday, Jan. 17, 2011 file photo, gun violence protesters participate in a lie-in during an anti-gun rally at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. Nearly six in 10 Americans want stricter gun laws in the aftermath of last month's deadly school shooting in Connecticut, with majorities favoring a nationwide ban on military-style, rapid-fire weapons and limits on gun violence depicted in video games and movies and on TV, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. A lopsided 84 percent of adults would like to see the establishment of a federal standard for background checks for people buying guns at gun shows, the poll showed. President Barack Obama was set Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 to unveil a wide-ranging package of steps for reducing gun violence expected to include a proposed ban on assault weapons, limits on the capacity of ammunition magazines and universal background checks for gun sales. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:


2013-06-20 06:47:13 -0500