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Get ready to enjoy your home's exterior beauty
(BPT) - It’s time to make your home’s exterior shine with some added summer curb appeal. You can quickly do the easy stuff – wash your windows, plant annuals, install pathway lights – to spruce things up. But you should also consider those projects you’ve been avoiding. * Is your wood deck cracked, gray and seen better...
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Time is short to prepare for the Obamacare metal plans
Millions of consumers will be faced with a choice to enroll in one of four different Obamacare “metal plans,” on Oct. 1. The metal plans are new categories of health insurance - nicknamed “metal” because each plan is named after a metal - created by the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. Many consumers have littl...
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Looking for a greener way to clean your pool?
(BPT) - There’s no better way to enjoy the summer than by lounging by the pool. Unfortunately, this backyard family oasis requires regular maintenance throughout the summer that can include expensive and sometimes unhealthy chemicals. Have you ever wished there was an easier way you could clean your pool, that was also ...
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Recycled plastics in the garden: It's all about the 'green'
Our lawns and gardens seem to be all about the “green.” We spend a lot of green on our lawns and gardens – nearly $30 billion a year. We grow a lot of greens – nearly a third of us grow food in our gardens. And many companies now make outdoor gardening products with recycled materials, such as plastics – which contribut...
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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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Dress your home to impress buyers this summer
(BPT) - Your home is a place to kick off your shoes, relax and enjoy precious time with friends and family. Nothing quite tops the feeling you get when you walk through your foyer, close the door behind you and forget the day’s troubles. But as families expand, promotions require unexpected relocations or a coveted resi...
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Sun safety: Protect your eyes and vision [Infographic]
As summer approaches, consumers will stock up on sunscreen to help protect against skin cancer. However, what people don’t realize is that prolonged sun exposure without proper UV protection for their eyes may also lead to a variety of vision disorders.
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Summer entertaining made easy
(BPT) - The weather is warming up and summer is right around the corner. From holiday celebrations to road trips, family vacations to block parties, it’s the time of year for cookouts. Make all of your summer cuisine extraordinary no matter what the occasion with these five simple tips: * Kick seasoning up a notch – Sp...
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Be berry aware [Infographic]
Did you know cranberry juice can deliver the same nutritional benefit as eating a handful of the small but mighty fruit? Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, an 8-ounce beverage containing at least 27 percent cranberry juice will deliver the same health benefits you would receive from eating 1 1/2 cups of fresh cranberries. Learn how you can pack the most nutrition into your cranberry juice by visiting www.BeBerryAware.com .
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Secrets to a fun, enjoyable and fuss-free sundae bar for summer entertaining
(BPT) - Yummy flavors, delectable toppings and the freedom to mix them together however you choose – who doesn’t love a sundae bar? With all the options available, a sundae bar may seem like too much work to pull off, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s for a graduation or birthday party, Memorial Day or Independenc...
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What to look for in your next smartphone
(BPT) - Seventy-nine percent of smartphone users have their phones on or near them all but two hours of the day when they’re awake, according to a recent IDC Research report. For many, smartphone use is now a way of life, making it even more important to think carefully before you choose your next one. Today’s market is...
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national news
Lawyer Cliff Sloan faces tough assignment: Closing Guantanamo

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
Airlines' performance improves, lags other industries: U.S. poll

A passenger plane approaches to land as other aircraft taxi to the runway at the San Diego International Airport in San Diego, CaliforniaBy Chris Michaud (Reuters) - U.S. consumers are more satisfied with airlines in recent years but the industry still gets relatively low marks, mainly due to the onboard experience, according to a new customer poll released on Tuesday. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index, which surveys some 70,000 U.S. customers annually on more than 40 industries ranging from apparel and hospitals to banks and insurance, found only television and internet service providers ranked lower. ...


2013-06-18 00:16:15 -0500
Lawyers probe jurors for hidden agendas in Trayvon Martin murder case

Trayvon Martin's parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin on the fifth day of jury selection at Seminole circuit court in SanfordBy Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A white man with a chest-length gray beard wrote in a questionnaire for prospective jurors that he could keep an open mind about George Zimmerman's guilt or innocence but he failed to mention the $20 donation he made to the murder defendant's legal fund. The donation came to light in open court Monday under questioning by state prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda. "Don't you have a stake in this already?" Rionda asked the man. ...


2013-06-18 00:18:00 -0500
Snowden: U.S. ‘not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me’
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