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Money & Finance
Making summer fun to teach your kids life lessons
(BPT) - Ah, the hot days of summer when a neighborhood lemonade stand is the perfect place to buy – or sell – a cold, refreshing drink. While a lemonade stand is a classic summer activity for kids and their parents, it’s also a great way to help teach children about earning money, building community and expressing creat...
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Expert advice for smart investing strategies
(BPT) - After five years of market volatility, recession and uncertainty, markets in the U.S. are showing signs of life. Leading indexes are now approaching all-time highs, and many individuals are taking a fresh look at their investment plans. But with the sting of recent losses and swings still fresh in mind, now is a...
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How to avoid a big tax bill or fine-tune your refund
(BPT) - Think back to your last income tax return. Did you owe Uncle Sam a lot of money, or did he give you a big refund? Whatever your situation, you can influence next year’s outcome by adjusting your payroll withholding. Remember the IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, your employer asked you...
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100 percent live like they mean it, 61 percent invest like they do [Infographic]
Charles Schwab surveyed 1,000 Americans who express a significant degree of personal ownership in their everyday lives, and found that a majority are also highly engaged in investing: nearly two-thirds (61 percent) are actively involved in their portfolios.  Though a majority of those surveyed also grab hold of the wheel when it comes to investing, a sizeable number of go-getters in life say they are not actively involved in their investment portfolio, revealing a dichotomy between how they...
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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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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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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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Making a career move? Consider the insurance field
(BPT) - Looking to start your career – or change your current one? As you contemplate your next career move, there’s one industry that might not be on your radar: insurance. “The insurance industry usually isn’t what people think of when they’re planning their careers or considering totally different jobs,” says Charle...
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Six simple steps to financial success
(BPT) - After watching the stock market soar to record highs over the first four months of the year, many investors are wondering if they should make changes to their investment portfolios. Perhaps - but not because of what the stock market has done. Investment decisions based on short-term market moves are often short-...
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Got student debt? How your credit affects more than just borrowing power
(BPT) - If you’re a recent college graduate, chances are you left school with more than just a diploma. You’re probably carrying debt, as well. You may already know how debt affects your future borrowing power, but it’s important to also understand how credit impacts other areas of your financial life, as well – such as...
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Choosing the right financial products for all stages of life
(BPT) - No matter where you are in your life, you have a lot of decisions to make. When to buy your first house? What school to attend? Is it the right time for a job change? As things change in life, those changes influence your financial decisions, too. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has put together a high-level o...
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Americans concerned about outliving their money
(BPT) - What concerns Americans the most as they look ahead toward the retirement years? One of their biggest worries is outliving their money, according to a recent survey by Prudential Retirement. A substantial 71 percent of survey respondents fear they may not have enough retirement income to last a lifetime. Only on...
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national news

Ariel Castro enters the court room for a pre-trial hearing in ClevelandCLEVELAND (Reuters) - Authorities plan to present evidence next week to a grand jury as they seek to bring more charges against the former Cleveland bus driver accused of holding three women captive in his home, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said Wednesday. Ariel Castro, 52, has pleaded not guilty to more than 300 charges against him, including rape and kidnapping, for holding the women and prosecutors are seeking to indict him on more charges related to later periods, McGinty said. ...


2013-06-19 09:06:52 -0500
(Reuters) - A freeway bridge under construction collapsed in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday, killing one worker and injuring another, a fire department spokesman said. The collapse occurred when four workers were removing supports from the bridge being built for the State Route 202 freeway, Captain Forrest Smith of the Mesa Fire and Medical Department said. One man was found dead under the debris. Another worker was injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, Smith said. The cause of the collapse was unknown. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone and Gerald E. McCormick)
2013-06-19 09:13:05 -0500

A federal investigator carries yellow crime tape at field where Hoffa investigation is ongoing, in suburban DetroitOAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (Reuters) - The FBI on Wednesday morning called off the search for the remains of former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa in a suburban field near Detroit, the head of the Detroit office said. The third day of searching was in its early hours when Robert Foley told reporters that no evidence of human remains had been found. The FBI began digging in the field after an 85-year-old reputed mobster told them he was sure Hoffa was buried alive in the field after his disappearance in another Detroit suburb in 1975, when Hoffa was 62. ...


2013-06-19 09:56:29 -0500
The producers of an upcoming documentary on TWA Flight 800—which exploded and crashed into the waters off of Long Island on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on board—claim to have proof that an explosion outside the Paris-bound flight caused the crash. And six former investigators who took part in the film want the [...]
2013-06-19 09:16:24 -0500