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Get smart about buying insurance
(BPT) - For most Americans, insurance coverage is a necessity. While coverage can be confusing and expensive to obtain, its solace is undeniable in the event of a car crash, emergency surgery or if your home has been damaged in a storm. From home and health to auto, life, disability and more, it’s important to be smart...
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How to make your home stand out in a hot real estate market
(BPT) - The residential housing market is heating up, but before you post that for-sale sign, consider making upgrades that add style and value to your home. With many buyers seeking wood floors, kitchen upgrades and other add-ons, it’s important for homeowners to highlight these features so their property stands out fr...
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Summer snacking: As American as baseball, apple pie ... and jerky
(BPT) - Summer snacking is among the most popular of American traditions – right up there with baseball and apple pie. When the sun is shining and the weather is wonderful, we love to feast on our favorite treats at ballgames, picnics and outdoor activities. Yet the desire for indulgent taste can often get in the way of making good nutritional choices, especially while out and about. Here are some easy tips for planning flavorful, healthy and satisfying snacks that you and your family can p...
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Mold woes? Manage moisture through better ventilation
(BPT) - Few phrases can strike fear into a homeowner’s heart as powerfully as the words “you have a mold problem.” Mold troubles in your home can cause health troubles for your family, and both issues can be notoriously difficult to resolve. It occurs everywhere in nature, but when mold begins growing indoors, it can da...
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Hey Mom, take a second for yourself [Infographic]
Moms are always taking care of everyone else – the kids, their spouses and even Fido. But when they do have free time, 60 percent of moms would use it to do something for themselves, such as indulge in a snack or watch TV. So whether you are relaxing, even for a moment, or taking a deep breath as you transition from one activity to the next, treat yourself to Dole Fruit Parfaits. The cool, refreshing taste of real fruit comes together with a smooth layer of deliciously light-tasting creme f...
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'Summer-ize' your home to look and smell wonderful in warmer weather
(BPT) - The three R’s aren’t just reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic. In the summer, they refer to “reorganizing,” “restyling” and “reviving” your home. It’s the perfect time to bring a summery, comfortable feeling to your home’s interior. Luckily, you don’t need to redo every room or throw out all your furniture to get a ...
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Take three laps for kids' good dental health with NASCAR star Greg Biffle
(BPT) - What can a kid do in two minutes? If they want good oral health, they’ll spend that time brushing their teeth twice a day, recommends the American Dental Association. When it comes to racing, NASCAR driver Greg Biffle can do a lot in those two minutes – run three laps in his racecar, do nine pit stops or two vi...
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Fraud alert: Grandparent scam continues to trick people out of money
(BPT) - Imagine being woken by a phone call in the middle of the night. It’s your crying grandchild, who is asking for money because of an accident. Of course you want to help your loved one, so you do whatever you can in this emergency situation. You open your wallet without hesitation. Unfortunately you’ve just becom...
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Take it to the park: Get active outdoors and help your favorite park win big
Think back to your favorite memory in the park. Do visions of playing soccer with your family, riding a bike or enjoying a game of Frisbee with friends come to mind? If so, recreating those memories in your favorite park this summer will be even more rewarding. So make this summer all about being active! It’s not only ...
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New baby checklist: Tips to start securing your child's future
(BPT) - Your new bundle of joy has just arrived. In addition to midnight feedings and changing diapers, new parents need to take important steps to set up their children for success in the years to come. According to FindLaw.com , the nation’s leading website for free legal information, the first and most important st...
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Gearing college grads up for the workforce
(BPT) - The job market doesn’t appear to be as tight as it was a year ago. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent in April 2013, down from the 8.1 percent we faced in April 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Even so, finding a job remains a tough challenge for new college graduates who are eager ...
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Four simple tips to help you land a great job
(BPT) - Whether you’re just graduating and entering the job market for the first time or you’re changing careers, job searching is never easy. And if you’re among the more than 1.5 million college grads looking for work this year, you will need to work smarter to stand above the crowd and land that dream job or internsh...
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national news

Yellow crime tape surrounds a field for Hoffa investigation, in suburban DetroitBy Joseph Lichterman OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (Reuters) - The search for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, missing since 1975 and thought to have been murdered by members of organized crime, brought investigators with shovels on Monday to an overgrown field in suburban Detroit, not far from where Hoffa was last seen alive. A backhoe was driven onto the property, and video recorded from a helicopter by Detroit television station WDIV showed agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation digging for the union leader's remains. ...


2013-06-17 19:49:41 -0500

The interior of an unoccupied communal cellblock is seen at Camp VI, a prison used to house detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo BayBy Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cliff Sloan has represented Jon Bon Jovi's band in legal matters and argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, he has perhaps his toughest assignment: Helping to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Washington attorney was named on Monday as the State Department's Guantanamo Bay envoy, a central player in President Barack Obama's renewed push to make good on a 2008 campaign promise to shut the installation where the United States holds terrorism suspects. ...


2013-06-17 20:09:29 -0500
By Ronnie Cohen SAN RAFAEL, California (Reuters) - An elderly California photographer charged with the slayings of four prostitutes dating back to the 1970s opened his own defense at his serial-murder trial on Monday, declaring to jurors, "I'm not the monster that killed these women." Joseph Naso, 79, who has admitted a penchant for taking erotic pictures of women and displayed dozens of such photos in court on Monday, stood stoop-shouldered in a blue suit and tie, his hands crossed behind his back, as he politely greeted the 12 men and women who will decide his fate. ...
2013-06-17 22:33:19 -0500
Edward Snowden, America's most-wanted whistle-blower, says the truth about the government spying program he revealed will eventually come out, regardless of what happens to him. "All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me," Snowden wrote in a live [...]
2013-06-17 09:42:20 -0500