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It's All Politics
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

How The Federal Budget Is Just Like Your Family Budget (Or Not)

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 7:51 pm

The House has begun debate on its budget resolution, with a vote expected later this week. And as supporters talk about this budget, there's one comparison you hear a lot.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio: "Every family in America has to balance their budget. Washington should, too."

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J.: "You know, every family in America understands the necessity of a balanced budget."

Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.: "This is how every family tries to live in good times and in bad. Your government should do the same."

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Guns In America: A Loaded Relationship
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

What's Worked, And What Hasn't, In Gun-Loving Switzerland

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 8:34 pm

Switzerland has an entrenched gun culture that is embraced by most of its 8 million citizens, some of them as young as 10 years old.

Every Swiss community has a shooting range, and depending on who is counting, the alpine country ranks third or fourth in the number of guns per capita.

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The Salt
4:49 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Cash Back On Broccoli: Health Insurers Nudge Shoppers To Be Well

Credit SIPHIWE SIBEKO / Reuters /Landov
A shopper at a branch of South African retailer Pick n Pay in Johannesburg. Health insurer Discovery offers rebates on health food at the chain to its members who enroll in a health promotion program.

At $2.50 a pound, broccoli may seem too expensive. But cut the price by 25 percent, and our thinking about whether we should buy it may change.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concludes that rebates on healthy food purchases lead to significant changes in what people put in their grocery carts.

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The Two-Way
4:38 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Statue Of Liberty Will Reopen July 4th, Says Parks Service

Credit Richard Drew / AP
A sea shell rests on a wall surrounding the Statue of Liberty, in New York in November. Tourists in New York will miss out for a while on one of the hallmarks of a visit to New York, seeing the Statue of Liberty up close. Though the statue itself survived Superstorm Sandy intact, the storm damaged buildings and Liberty Island's power and heating systems.

The National Park Service is almost finished with extensive repairs at the Statue of Liberty site and they expect to reopen it to the public by July 4th.

The damage was caused by Hurricane Sandy. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a statement that the hurricane damaged docks, the energy infrastructure on Ellis Island and crippled the security screening system.

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It's All Politics
3:59 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Assault Weapons Ban Is Gun Debate's First Casualty

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has been told that her assault weapons ban will not be included in the Democratic gun bill to be introduced on the Senate floor in the coming weeks.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 4:48 pm

The prospects of an assault weapons ban emerging as part of any post-Newtown gun control law looks highly unlikely after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opted not to include it in a Democratic proposal to be offered on the Senate floor in coming weeks.

"My understanding is it will not be [part of the base bill]" to be introduced on the Senate floor, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said after meeting with Reid on Monday, according to Politico. "The leader has decided not to do it."

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