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The career paths that lead to everyday acts of heroism
(BPT) - Often, we don’t think about heroism until we see it in action - when disaster strikes and ordinary people exhibit extraordinary courage and compassion to help victims in their time of need. The truth is, however, that the best of human nature is on display every day in the lives of millions of Americans who work...
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New initiative celebrates unsung heroes of severe allergy awareness
(BPT) - Individuals at risk for anaphylaxis – a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction – know the importance of having people around them who can help with allergen avoidance, such as bringing allergy-friendly food options to the company party or helping to shield from bees on the playground. Now, there is a new way to say “thank you” to the teacher, relative or co-worker who has made a difference in the life of an individual at risk for anaphylaxis. Sanofi US has launched a Severe Aller...
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Technology can turn $25 into a family giving tradition
Technology has been connecting families for generations. The invention of the phone let us hear voices of loved ones far away, and the creation of the Internet helped us to see them. Today, those same technologies that we’ve used to bring our families closer together are helping us to connect with and support families w...
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How to support your friend in a split
(BPT) - When a marriage ends in divorce, it’s not just the couple who is involved. Friends and family members are also part of the process and often play many different parts – from objective confidant to reliable “vent-ee.” If you’re suddenly or unexpectedly thrown into this role, what help are you prepared to offer? S...
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Five reasons Asian Americans should get tested for hepatitis B
(BPT) - More than 1 million Americans have a lifelong, or chronic, infection of hepatitis B. This includes one out of every 12 Asian Americans. If you or your parents were born in Asia or the Pacific Islands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you get tested for hepatitis B. Hepatitis ...
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How your unused airline miles can help a child
(BPT) - Helping a child in need may be easier than you think, by redirecting a common resource that often just goes to waste. Industry experts say Americans collectively are holding on to 9.7 trillion unused airline miles. Many people don’t have enough miles to qualify for reward travel. Others aren’t able to use the m...
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Rare Disease Impact Report quantifies patient and caregiver challenges on journey to diagnosis and beyond
(BPT) - Getting a diagnosis is just the first of many challenges patients with rare diseases – and their caregivers – face. “We went through a number of specialists until we found a team that finally looked at my daughter, Hannah, as a patient with unique needs,” says Carrie Ostrea of Las Vegas, Nev. “The process was f...
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Digging soon? Call 811 first for safety's sake
(BPT) - With winter forgotten and spring in the air, many homeowners are packing away their snow boots and rolling up their sleeves to get started on long-awaited home improvement projects. Across the country, homeowners and professionals alike will plan landscaping and home-improvement projects that require digging thi...
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Nearly 1 in 10 Americans lives with a rare disease
(BPT) - Did you know that the same number of people die each year from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, as breast cancer? And yet IPF, a rare and debilitating disease that causes permanent scarring of the lungs, is still relatively unknown. Fortunately, the focus on rare diseases like IPF is growing because they’...
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Rare Disease Day 2013: Maintaining bone health in people with multiple myeloma
(BPT) - In honor of the sixth annual Rare Disease Day, celebrated on Feb. 28, it is important to drive awareness about some rare cancers that are many times undiagnosed until the cancer has already spread. One particular cancer, multiple myeloma, often goes undiagnosed until the disease has spread to the bone. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow.  An estimated 70,000 people in the United States are currently living with multi...
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Igniting the conversation about rare diseases
(BPT) - Each year, people across the world are invited to join together to raise awareness about rare diseases. Unlike more common conditions such as diabetes and breast cancer, many of these diseases, as well as the people affected by them, are not recognized by their own awareness initiatives throughout the year. Yet for people living with rare diseases and their loved ones, the path to a confirmed diagnosis, adapting to new treatment regimens, and facing the day-to-day challenges of thes...
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Cycling to help stop diabetes
(BPT) - The American Diabetes Association is challenging bicycle riders to be part of the movement to Stop Diabetes(R) by participating in the annual Tour de Cure(R), a cycling event to raise funds to help fight diabetes. Tour de Cure is a fun way to get out with your family, friends or co-workers and has routes designe...
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national news
Powerball jackpot could go higher than $600 million

People wait in line to purchase Powerball lottery tickets at the Port Authority bus station in New YorkBy Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Powerball jackpot Saturday night could be even higher than the record $600 million being advertised, possibly rivaling the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, a Texas Lottery official said on Saturday. "Oftentimes, the advertised amount is lower than what the actual jackpot ends up being," said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery. "It's entirely possible this $600 million jackpot will end up being a bigger jackpot." The Powerball record in November was advertised at $550 million, but ended up being $587. ...


Sat May 18 13:30:43 UTC 2013
Republican cites IRS scandal in close Virginia governor's race
By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Virginia Republicans on Saturday formally nominated Ken Cuccinelli for governor in the nation's marquee 2013 political race, and the conservative attorney general wasted no time reminding voters of the scandals facing President Barack Obama. "I am not a true conservative because I have not been investigated by the IRS," joked Cuccinelli, referring to the controversy that has engulfed the federal tax collection agency over its targeting of conservative Tea Party groups. ...
Sat May 18 17:08:25 UTC 2013
U.S. state cancels subsidy for investment from Pakistani company
By Susan Guyett INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Indiana has canceled subsidies for a planned $1.8 billion fertilizer plant in the state because of concerns that a Pakistani company involved in the project makes products used in improvised explosives that kill and injure U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Midwest Fertilizer Corp, which has sought to build the plant in southern Indiana, is 48 percent owned by Fatima Group, which produces a calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer in Pakistan known to have been used in improvised explosives in Afghanistan. Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a Republican, had put a $1. ...
Sat May 18 16:49:43 UTC 2013
Residents capture amazing videos in the face of tornadoes
A series of 16 violent tornadoes ransacked north Texas this week, killing six people and flattening entire neighborhoods. Seven people who were reported missing early Friday morning have now been accounted for, but the storms aren't over yet. Severe thunderstorms are expected late Friday in Alabama and Mississippi, and the Plains and the Midwest face [...]
Fri May 17 19:53:22 UTC 2013