Easy steps can cut winter heating bills

Natural gas and heating oil prices rose again Thursday, continuing a recent upward tick. Even so, the cost of heating your house, apartment or condo should dip this winter, according to recent projections by the government.

But you don't have to simply hope for lower prices and milder weather to reduce costs – you can cut 5% to 30% of your energy bills by taking a few simple steps, says Christina Kielich of the Department of Energy.

Start by combating myths and learning how your home works.

Myth:

Exhaust fans only remove odors.

Reality: Your kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans can drain your house of heated air in one hour, says Gordon Holness, president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Myth:

Duct tape seals ducts.

Reality: It's good for almost everything else, but it curls and unravels on heating ducts. Buy a mastic or tape designed for hot areas. Turn on the heat and follow the ducts wherever you can fit. Put your hand near the joints to feel where hot air is escaping, then apply the mastic or tape. A tip from George Stuckey of Fox Service in Austin: If you choose the shiny, foil-like tape, rub it briskly with a spoon or an old credit card after you apply it. That activates the glue and helps it adhere.

Myth:

Really small openings don't matter.

Reality: Tiny openings around dryer vents and garden faucets allow cold air to enter your home all winter long. Inexpensive sealing putty, which comes in rope form and has the consistency of Play-Doh, can solve your problem quickly. It works indoors and out and stays in place for decades, Stuckey says. [Read More]

READ MORE - Easy steps can cut winter heating bills

Easy steps can cut winter heating bills

Natural gas and heating oil prices rose again Thursday, continuing a recent upward tick. Even so, the cost of heating your house, apartment or condo should dip this winter, according to recent projections by the government.

But you don't have to simply hope for lower prices and milder weather to reduce costs – you can cut 5% to 30% of your energy bills by taking a few simple steps, says Christina Kielich of the Department of Energy.

Start by combating myths and learning how your home works.

Myth:

Exhaust fans only remove odors.

Reality: Your kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans can drain your house of heated air in one hour, says Gordon Holness, president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Myth:

Duct tape seals ducts.

Reality: It's good for almost everything else, but it curls and unravels on heating ducts. Buy a mastic or tape designed for hot areas. Turn on the heat and follow the ducts wherever you can fit. Put your hand near the joints to feel where hot air is escaping, then apply the mastic or tape. A tip from George Stuckey of Fox Service in Austin: If you choose the shiny, foil-like tape, rub it briskly with a spoon or an old credit card after you apply it. That activates the glue and helps it adhere.

Myth:

Really small openings don't matter.

Reality: Tiny openings around dryer vents and garden faucets allow cold air to enter your home all winter long. Inexpensive sealing putty, which comes in rope form and has the consistency of Play-Doh, can solve your problem quickly. It works indoors and out and stays in place for decades, Stuckey says. [Read More]

READ MORE - Easy steps can cut winter heating bills

Obama: New Orleans not forgotten

NEW ORLEANS — In his first presidential visit to this city, Barack Obama praised the resiliency of residents in rebuilding their flood-wrecked homes and promised to continue flowing federal dollars to the effort.

"It is always an inspiration to spend time with the men and women who have reminded the rest of us what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy and rebuild in the face of ruin," Obama said during a town-hall-style meeting at the University of New Orleans.

Obama's visit here — his sixth since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and first as president — was eagerly awaited by residents and leaders throughout the Gulf Coast, who still rely on federal resources to rebuild from the floods. [Read More]

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Lindsay Lohan ordered to appear in court

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lindsay Lohan has another date with a judge.

A judge in Beverly Hills, California, has ordered the Mean Girls star to appear at a court hearing Friday morning.

The 23-year-old actress was placed on three years of probation in 2007 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of being under the influence of cocaine, and no contest to two counts of drunken driving and one count of reckless driving. She spent 84 minutes in jail.

It is unclear why Lohan has been ordered to appear. The judge's order was made during a routine progress report Wednesday.

Court records show that no warrant has been issued, and they do not reflect a probation violation has occurred.

E-mails to Lohan's publicist and attorney were not immediately returned Thursday.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'Texas Monthly' Recognizes Ben DuBose Among the Super Lawyers of Texas

DALLAS, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben DuBose, of DuBose Law Firm, PLLC, has been recognized by Law & Politics Media and Texas Monthly as one of the select "Texas Super Lawyers" in the October, 2009 Texas Monthly "Texas Super Lawyers" edition. Earlier this year, Mr. DuBose was chosen as one of the "Best Lawyers in Dallas" by D Magazine. In 2005 he was honored by Law & Politics Media and Texas Monthly magazine as a "Rising Star of Texas Law."

In selecting attorneys for Super Lawyers, Law & Politics Media employs a rigorous, multiphase process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.

During his legal career, Mr. DuBose has practiced law with some of the nation's most prominent law firms representing personal injury victims and consumers. He has obtained significant results for hundreds of mesothelioma victims from coast to coast for over a decade. Mr. DuBose has led the way to discover the asbestos-containing properties of many products previously unknown in asbestos litigation. He was also part of a legal team working with Trial Lawyers for Public Justice seeking to prevent unsafe asbestos abatement practices in the case of Families for Asbestos Compliance, Testing and Safety v. City of St. Louis as well as recent efforts by the EPA and the City of Ft. Worth, Texas to test the controversial "wet method" of asbestos removal.

"My goal as an attorney has always been to help people receive the justice they deserve. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to help injured victims and their families throughout my career," said Mr. DuBose.

Ben DuBose received his J.D., cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar and courts of Texas, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He is a member of the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Public Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Bar Foundation, Dallas Trial Lawyers Association and the State Bar College of Texas. [Read More]

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American father in custody case released from Japanese jail

Japanese authorities have released an American man who was jailed for allegedly trying to snatch back his children from his estranged wife.

Police in the rural southern town of Yanagawa let Christopher Savoie go Thursday without indicting him on charges of child kidnapping.

Officials said the indictment was "on hold," but did not elaborate.

The prosecutor's office in nearby Fukuoka said Savoie was released after he promised not to take his children back to the United States "in this manner," implying he could not have any contact with the children.

Savoie, 38, a Tennessee native and naturalized Japanese citizen, allegedly grabbed his children -- 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca -- as his estranged wife walked them to school on September 28 in Yanagawa. [Read More]

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Obama to make first visit to New Orleans as president

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- President Obama will visit New Orleans on Thursday for the first time since taking office, to address rebuilding efforts in the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina four years ago.

During his trip, Obama will visit a charter school and host a town hall meeting to hear residents' concerns, the White House said.

The president's visit will focus on efforts to help rebuild the Gulf Coast, including cutting red tape and easing funding so residents can become self-sufficient.

"The president made a promise to come to New Orleans and wanted to fulfill that promise as soon as his schedule allowed," said Nicholas Shapiro, White House spokesman. [Read More]

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Gangsters' girl: I sold myself for shoes, clothes

All that glitters may not be gold, but for Colombia's narco-molls the most important thing is that it glitters. Beauty queens, fashion models, actresses or regular girls made good are lovers of drug capos and above all lovers of the finest luxuries cocaine money can buy.Few are prepared to speak publicly and even less to appear on camera.
Those who date mob bosses don't want to blow their cover. That could expose their boyfriends to arrest and themselves to retaliation. In addition it could bring anti-drug police sniffing, ready to seize ill-gotten gains. [Read More]

READ MORE - Gangsters' girl: I sold myself for shoes, clothes

Senate panel OKs health reform bill; Obama: 'We're not there yet'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The health care reform debate reached a new milestone Tuesday as a key congressional committee passed an $829 billion plan projected to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans.

The Senate Finance Committee's bill would subsidize insurance for poorer Americans, establish nonprofit health care cooperatives, and create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to purchase coverage.

Among other things, it would cap annual out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The plan is financed by a combination of reductions in spending for Medicare and other government programs, as well as higher taxes on expensive insurance policies and new fees on the health industry. [Read more]

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Young people are at risk for H1N1 complications, studies say

An analysis of the sickest swine flu patients in Australia, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand suggests that relatively healthy adolescents and young adults are among the most likely to get very sick after an H1N1 infection, a pattern similar to that seen in the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Almost all critically ill patients in the studies were sick for only a few days before rapidly progressing to more severe symptoms and respiratory failure, which required treatment with a breathing machine, according to three studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The mortality rate ranged from 14.3 percent to 41.4 percent, depending on the country. The findings may help shine some light on what the 2009 H1N1 flu season may bring, and who may be hit the hardest by the swine flu during the next few months.

"These studies are telling us that young people are at risk for bad complications of H1N1 and under usual circumstances, [seasonal] flu does not cause acute respiratory failure in younger people," says Dr. Neil Schachter, the medical director of the respiratory care department at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City, and the author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu.[Read more]

READ MORE - Young people are at risk for H1N1 complications, studies say