Surname Racial Bias? Winners and Losers in 2012 Election

The first color a voter sees in studying the ballot might be the red or blue of the Republican or Democratic parties. But gender–and race–can be a significant factor in the power of choice and the ultimate composition of Congress. Last month, 78 U.S. House contests pitted a white candidate against a person of color; 47 white lawmakers won, or 60 percent. (In 10 additional races, both candidates were...

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Fixing the GOP: Party Like It's 1949

Americans by a 15-point margin in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the Republican Party needs less conservative policies that are more focused on middle- and lower-income Americans, rather than better leaders to sell its existing positions.And 63 years ago, Americans by an 11-point margin said precisely the same thing.See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.Mark it up to the...

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Obama nominating Kerry for secretary of state

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday will nominate Sen. John Kerry as his next secretary of state, a senior administration official said, making the first move in an overhaul of his national security team heading into a second term.If confirmed, Kerry would take the helm at the State Department from outgoing Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has long stated her intention to leave...

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Obama nominates Kerry for secretary of state

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, one of Washington's most respected voices on foreign policy, as his next secretary of state.The move is the first in an expected overhaul of Obama's national security team heading into his second term.As the nation's top diplomat, Kerry will not only be tasked with executing the president's foreign policy objectives,...

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Son says Romney was reluctant to run for president again: report

 Republican Mitt Romney's family had to convince him to make a second bid for the presidency because he was reluctant to run again after failing to secure his party's nomination in 2008, Romney's son told the Boston Globe on Sunday.In an article that examined what went wrong with Romney's losing 2012 presidential campaign, Tagg Romney said his father Mitt said he had no intention of running again...

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Access to Money-Saving Benefits for Those 60 and Older

It's no secret many Americans are facing tough economic times and perhaps no segment more so than those aged 60 and older who are living on reduced or fixed incomes. The National Council on Aging and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging wants to help connect those individuals with services to help reduce the costs for prescriptions, utilities, food and health care.Aid Funds Available...

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Healthy Hollywood: Get Movin' Monday - A Toning Must For 50-Plus Women!

Who says everything goes south after 50? Just look at the rock-solid bodies of Madonna, Christie Brinkley, and Sharon Stone and you know mature women can be and are hotter than ever.The celebrity magnet, Physique 57, (a favorite toning regimen of Kelly Ripa & Sofia Vergara) has put together a new class/workout for women over 50. "Our 'Fit for Life' classes are small group training sessions (limited...

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Should Seniors Live Alone or With Family?

Put Grandma in the garage? Yes. But a garage transformed into a well-appointed studio apartment with skylights and a patio for morning coffee.Home remodeling for those who can afford it is one answer to a growing issue: How do you take care of family members in their late-retirement and twilight years? And then, a tougher question: When a home solution won't work, what assisted-living or nursing home...

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The Baby Boomer Number Game

There are 75 million baby boomers who are on the verge of retirement. For the next twenty years, an average of 10,000 people each day will reach age 65, which has historically been the retirement phase of life.Between 2000 and 2010, the number of people age 65 to 84 in the U.S. grew by 3.3 million. While 13 percent of Americans are currently age 65 or older, that proportion will jump to 18 percent...

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How health care law affects lives of 7 Americans

 A father lost his job at a medical device company that is facing a new tax. A young woman got back on her parents' insurance and was able to get surgery for an injury that could have hobbled her. A part-time sales woman stopped putting off a colonoscopy and cancer screenings and saved nearly $3,000 because health plans now must pay for preventive care without co-pays. A business owner received...

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Smoking in pregnancy tied to lower reading scores

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies exposed to their mother's cigarette smoke in the womb later perform more poorly on reading comprehension tests, according to a new study."It's not a little difference - it's a big difference in accuracy and comprehension at a critical time when children are being assessed, and are getting a sense of what it means to be successful," lead author Dr. Jeffrey Gruen...

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Antibiotics in pregnancy tied to asthma in kids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children whose mothers took antibiotics while they were pregnant were slightly more likely than other kids to develop asthma in a new Danish study.The results don't prove that antibiotics caused the higher asthma risk, but they support a current theory that the body's own "friendly" bacteria have a role in whether a child develops asthma, and antibiotics can disrupt those...

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