Among the changes is a requirement that every record be released eventually and that federal agencies review how and why they mark documents classified or deny the release of historical records. A National Declassification Center at the National Archives will be established to assist them and help clear a bac
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When Daniel Ottalini entered the University of Maryland in 2004, his family had an array of choices to cover the cost — cheap student loans, a second mortgage at low rates, credit cards with high limits and their own soaring investments.
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Top Searched Weight Loss Programs on AOL Search:
1. Weight Watchers
2. Jenny Craig
3. NutriSystem
4. Medifast
5. Sensa
6. TOPS
7. Slim Fast
8. Overeaters Anonymous
9. eDiets
10. LA Weight Loss
Choosing the best diet plan for you is almost as hard as dieting! When searching for a diet program, look for one that will provide counseling to help you change lifestyle factors that contribute to losing weight, like eating habits and fitness activities. You want a program that will focus on keeping the weight off, not just a quick fix. Also choose a diet program with qualified counselors that can help you plan effective weight control and train you to cope with temptations.
According to your searches, the best weight loss program is Weight Watchers. This program focuses on slow and steady weight loss by keeping within a daily allotment of food points. Dieters can choose to attend group meetings, which create a system of support, and meet with counselors for extra guidance and weight loss tips.
Other popular diets use pre-portioned food for healthy weight loss. For example, NutriSystem, number 3, delivers delicious meals to your house so you can monitor caloric intake precisely. The second most-searched weight loss program on our list, Jenny Craig, combines pre-portioned foods with your normal groceries for a practical approach to weight management.
Sensa is the newest weight loss program to spike on our hot list. The natural weight loss system helps you to eat less of the foods you love without having to stick to a strict, restrictive diet regimen. By sprinkling their Sensa Tastants powder on your food, your biological senses will trigger a full feeling, meaning you eat less.
What diets work for you? Let us know! Search for more weight loss programs on AOL Search.
More Offers: lemonade diet, cholesterol diet, protein diets, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, diet tips
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Top Searched Products to Help You Quit Smoking on AOL Search:
1. Chantix
2. Zyban
3. Nicotine Patch
4. Commit
5. ZeroSmoke
6. Nicorette Gum
7. Nicocure
8. Smoke Away
9. Nicotine Gum
10. Nicotine Inhaler
Smoking is not an easy thing to try to quit, not that I have ever tried. I’ve never been a smoker, but, as I’ve seen many friends and family members struggle with their nicotine addiction, I know it isn’t easy to quit smoking.
Now, more than ever, is a great time to quit especially because there are so many products out there to help you deal with your addiction. The hard part is finding the one that works for you. Trial and error is probably the best way to figure out which product will suppress your addiction.
In order to help you figure out where to start, I decided to look at which products are popular among our users. Prescription medications Chantix and Zyban topped the list, followed closely by the Nicotine Patch. One of the most innovative products on the list is ZeroSmoke, a product that uses magnets to create a pressure point on the ear stimulating the production of neurotransmitters in the brain which eliminate the desire to smoke. Other popular products include Nicorette Gum, Nicotine Gum and the Nicotine Inhaler.
Do you know of any products to help quit smoking that didn’t show up on our list? If so, please tell us about them. Try searching for products to quit smoking on AOL Search or check out AOL Shopping.
More Offers: smoking, stop smoking medicine, hypnosis to quit smoking
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Refinancing your mortgage is a highly flexible financial tool, available to many homeowners. Mortgage refinancing allows home owners to potentially get lower interest rates and lower monthly payments, to switch from an adjustable to a fixed rate mortgage, to take out home equity, to consolidate debt, and even to combine two mortgages into one.
Though highly flexible, the real value of mortgage refinancing comes when the costs of refinancing can be recouped in a short period of time. You see, getting any type of mortgage costs money in terms of various fees, and refinancing is no exception. Costs for refinancing include: application fee, appraisal fee, survey costs, attorney fees, title search and title insurance, home inspection costs, origination fees and possibly mortgage insurance as well. The total costs typically add up to an average of 3% to 6% of the total outstanding mortgage balance.
In order to take advantage of the mortgage refinance deal, you must calculate what is known as the break even period (also called a payback period).
The break even period is an equation that relates the sum of total monthly savings over a period of time to the refinancing costs (fees). For example, if it takes 18 months to cover what you paid in closing costs before you actually start saving money, and you plan on moving out in 12 months, than refinancing does not make sense. On the other hand, if you know you're not going anywhere, than mortgage refinance can be a great tool to start saving money long term.
Here is a sample calculation to illustrate how easy it is to compute:
Before Refinance
Home Value: $300,000
Mortgage: $220,000
Mortgage Length: 25 years
Interest Rate: 7.5%
Monthly Payment: $1,609
After Refinance
Home Value: $300,000
Mortgage: $220,000
Mortgage Length: 25 years
Interest Rate: 4.1%
Monthly Payment: $1,157
Break Even Period
Refinance Cost: $ 6000 (3% of the 220,000 mortgage)
Monthly Savings at New Interest Rate: $1,609 – $1,157 = $452
Break Even Period: 14 months
As you can see from the example above, it will take 14 months to save $6,000 with the new monthly savings. In this case, it makes good sense to refinance if you are planning on living in the same home for more than 14 months.
On March 4th 2009 Obama launched the Making Homes Affordable program designed to help home owners who have suffered a financial hardship in our harsh economy.
Are you eligible for refinance under the Making Homes Affordable Program? – if you answer Yes to all the questions below, you are most likely eligible:
The home Affordable Refinance Program is also available to homeowners who are late on payments, or who can prove they will not be able to keep up with payments, due to respectful reasons, such as a lay off or a salary reduction. The home that is being refinanced must be the primary residence of the borrower. Vacation homes and commercial buildings are not accepted. Specifically the following types of properties are eligible: houses, condominiums, one to four unit properties, manufactured homes, co-ops.
If you are determined to be eligible you may be able to reduce your interest rate to as low as 2%, and extend the term to up to 40 years. You may also refinance from high risk loan types such as an interest only mortgage or a balloon mortgage to a more stable option such as a fixed rate mortgage, so it’s definitely worth your while to see if you qualify.
About the author: Terry Henson is a financial writer with an emphasis on mortgage products and financial trends that affect mortgage rates. Terry also writes for the Canadian mortgage rate comparison website Kanetix.ca, which offers competing quotes for mortgage refinancing, home equity loans, second mortgages and more. Visit the website to find out more.
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There is no crazier place to live in America than Los Angeles, so many people, so many cars. It is a nightmare trying to get to work in the morning; you probably need to leave your house an hour early just to get to work on time. So many people live there, but why?
Who would really want to live in a place so crowded and full of people that the air actually gets dirty? If you get to a place out of the town so you can see Los Angeles you can actually tell the air is different, it is very thick and dark. It is like living in fog all the time. I doubt that is very healthy. I think it is wonderful to live in place where you can see tons of mountains and nature and not be surrounded by businesses and building. You cannot go for a hike or get fresh air. But places like Washington I know is a great place for outside activities.
Also something I have noticed is that places like Washington get all the seasons, we get winter, spring, summer, and fall; and places like Los Angeles only get one or maybe two. That is not fun at all, when you have children, during Christmas they will have no snow to play in. Now what kind of Christmas is that? I don't think I could get into the Christmas mood if we didn't have snow on the ground during Christmas. Christmas is all about snuggling up on the couch and drinking hot coco because it's too cold to go outside; it is not about going outside to go tan in the hot sun.
But there are some fun things you can do in LA and not in Washington, for example, in Washington we have to close down our amusement parks because it gets to cold and the rides wouldn't work. In LA they don't have to worry about the weather getting so bad that they have to close down all there rides. Also they can go to the beach whenever they want during the year. It would be nice to have a yearlong tan but then again, the wont have snow for Christmas.
Some people think that LA holds a reputation of how only pretty girls go to the beach, how many times do you see an unattractive or a girl in a modest swimsuit? Mostly all the girls there are there for looks, they don't care about having fun, they want to get a tan and show off their bodies in their little polka dot bikinis. I think that would be intimidating for people that actually want to enjoy themselves on the beach. But places like Washington it isn't like that, there are different kinds of people everywhere and we don't judge and we make everyone feel included. Hopefully people down there will have a change of heart. Los Angeles is cool but Washington is way better.
I have seen plenty of pets abused in T.V. shows and in books, but the one thing I have not seen is a pet being abused in real life; And I don't plan on seeing one ever. I used www.petfinder.com to save hundreds of pets. When I first found the site, I was excited because I was hoping that I would never see a pet abused.
After using it for the first time, I went on a 2 mile run and all of a sudden I saw someone kick their cat out of their house. Maybe it wasn't their cat but still, that is no way to treat an animal. I was so scared that he might have seen me and chased me down, but I turned around and started heading home. I went back to the site and kept using it and never saw an animal abused again.
Tim Tebow often references bible passages on his eye blacks during games. This week he decided to use the bible verse John 16:33. The verse basically indicates that he will have peace through his hard times. It is Jesus Christ speaking to his disciples. He is trying to give his disciples hope when he knows they are about to go through a rough time. Everyone wanted to know the context of the situation in order to better understand what Tim was trying to say. It seemed to be appropriate for the game.
Some people are really mad about his eye black. They are mad that he is putting bible references in it. They believe that he needs to stop preaching his religion and keep it to himself. They feel like he needs to be just playing the game while keeping religion out of it. Some people are really glad that there is someone who is going far and also believes in religion.
I hope that people will keep from getting too upset. It does no good to be upset by the things that people do like this. Hopefully he can continue to do what he pleases without getting too much ridicule.
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Efforts are currently underway to redesign and rebrand the US dollar but whether or not you think the dollar is just fine as it is or truly believe that it needs to be reinvented for a new generation, you probably are only familiar with the money that’s been in circulation during your lifetime. Here’s a look back at what US currency looked like in earlier times.
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