'Biggest Loser' coach Bob Harper says get fit for summer -- and beyond
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BC-50P-AARP-HARPERFITTIPS:MCT (1104 words)
Want to get fit fast for summer? NBC's "Biggest Loser" guru Bob Harper, who has whipped many obese contestants into shape in a TV season, says start small and stay focused. But he also asks, why do the work just for summer? Healthier lifestyles (and drastically slimmer bodies) can be had for good. Here's how to do it. Q: What's your best advice for people over 50 who want to get in shape by ...

May/16/2013 09:07 AM

5 ways to protect yourself in the hospital
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BC-50P-AARP-HOSPITALTIPS:MCT (491 words)
Each year, more than 180,000 people die in U.S. hospitals from preventable accidents and errors. And while an even larger number of these incidents are not fatal, they can still turn into a nightmare for the patient. So how does one safeguard oneself against becoming a victim? The April/May issue of AARP The Magazine reveals how hospitals fight efforts and how patients can protect themselves ...

May/16/2013 09:04 AM

Survey: Prescription costs a common concern among Part D enrollees
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BC-50P-MEDICARERX:MCT (501 words)
If you're among the more than 31.5 million people enrolled in Medicare Part D, according to a new survey, prescription drug costs are probably on your mind. The survey, by KRC Research on behalf of Walgreens, says more than a third of respondents, 37 percent, have daily concerns about the cost of their prescriptions. And one in five, 22 percent, say they've had to make a sacrifice, such as ...

May/15/2013 01:12 PM

Boomer boredom: Make a change in your life and reap the rewards
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BC-50P-BOOMERBOREDOM:MCT (760 words)
It happens at least once a week. I drive right by my house. Living in a gated cookie-cutter neighborhood where every house looks exactly alike - and I mean exactly alike - lends itself to confusion and monotony. Most homeowner rules don't allow for anything that stands out or draws attention. At Halloween, my kids and I aren't sure if we just knocked on that door or the door next door. Baby ...

May/15/2013 12:53 PM

Where are they now: The Five Phases of B.J. Thomas - and the 'Raindrops'
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BC-50P-WHERENOW-BJTHOMAS:MCT (2437 words)
The year was 1969. What was on the "it" list? - The upstart New York Jets shocked the world by rocking the vaunted Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, - Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, - The U.S. unemployment rate was a paltry 3.6 percent (imagine that!), - "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head." And B.J. Thomas, then 27, had a scratchy throat at a most pivotal time ...

May/15/2013 12:48 PM

B.J. Thomas on today's music
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BC-50P-WHERENOW-BJTHOMAS-MUSIC:MCT (524 words)
Now, B.J. Thomas wants to talk music. The sounds of music have changed since the 1960s. One can cite the computerization effect through digital technology. "Music has had great technical advances," Thomas said. "When I cut 'Raindrops,' we had about 100 musicians in the studio. Now with today's technology, you can do everything with a keyboard. "Now with digital music, a wrong note can be ...

May/15/2013 12:45 PM

Hear me now
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BC-50P-HEARINGLOSS-FACTS:SR (725 words)
Katherine Bouton's 2013 book "Shouting Won't Help: Why I - and 50 million Other Americans - Can't Hear You" is a groundbreaking look at hearing loss and what it means for individuals, families and communities. Bouton, a former New York Times editor, began losing her hearing when she was 30, and kept it hidden (as best she could) for decades. Bouton now believes that people with hearing loss ...

May/15/2013 12:19 PM

The art of hearing: She said
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BC-50P-HEARINGLOSS-SHESAID:SR (1205 words)
My husband and I have already decided on the epitaph for our combined gravestone. It will read: "Talking together again." When I married Tony 28 years ago, my friends who had married strong, silent guys envied me the catch of a "verbal man." So when Tony's hearing began deteriorating more than a decade ago, I did not react well. I felt angry, frustrated and sad. You don't read much about the ...

May/15/2013 12:14 PM

The art of hearing: He said
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BC-50P-HEARINGLOSS-HESAID:SR (1156 words)
Huh?" I ask my wife, Becky, for the third time. She stomps her foot, rolls her eyes in frustration, and utters a short irritated growl, "Urrgh! Didn't you hear me?" I've suffered significant hearing loss over the past 16 years. I was fitted with my first hearing aids in 1998. I knew I had to get them if I wanted to continue discussing literature with students in my college classes at Gonzaga ...

May/15/2013 12:09 PM

Boomer U: A lifetime of worry, anxiety for baby boomers
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BC-50P-BOOMERU-THREATS:SR (761 words)
The sirens blared each Wednesday at noon in my 1950s-1960s childhood. We knew what it would mean if the sirens blared any day but test day. An atomic bomb was headed to Spokane, Wash. It would all be over. When I was 9 years old, in 1964, some Jesuit priests came to dinner, friends of my father. We talked about Communism and nuclear threats, and I eagerly joined in the discussion. Later, one ...

May/15/2013 11:53 AM