Economics and Investing: - SurvivalBlog.com

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Economics and Investing: Permalink | Print. Debt Contagion Ahead! (Conveniently timed for after the U.S. Presidential election.): Citigroup Economists Say Greece To Exit Euro Zone On Jan. 1, 2013. (Thanks to K.A.F. for the ...

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Business travelers, how to pick carry-on luggage - Consumer News ...

--> Carrying on? Do it with the right kind of bag NEWS07
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Carrying on? Do it with the right kind of bag
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The right piece of carry-on luggage?durable, spacious and stylish?can go a long way toward making a business trip less stressful.

It's important ?that the bag is made of a ballistic nylon material or something very similar, a very thick, durable nylon that can endure the rigors of travel,? says Caitlin Krupinski, manager at Kaehler Luggage in the 900 North Michigan Shops.

Ms. Krupinski recommends Tumi's Alpha Frequent Traveler Zippered Expandable Carry-On ($595) for its durability, expandable interior and five-year warranty. Her top choice for travelers with many hanging items is Hartmann's Carry-On Mobile Traveler Garment Bag ($595). Detachable pockets can store non-hanging items.

If your goal is to be the envy of your fellow travelers, says Julie Selakovich, director of marketing at Saks Fifth Avenue's Michigan Avenue store, Prada's Vela Garment Bag ($1,785) and Gucci's Large Carry-On Duffel ($1,350) are classic styles for both men and women.

? ?

(Note: Your first name and last initial will appear with your remarks.)

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Gillmor Gang: Adventures in Medication

Gillmor Gang test patternThe Gillmor Gang ? Robert Scoble, Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor ? explodes in opinions about Facebook IPO, Facebook privacy or lack of it, Facebook acquisition frenzy-to-be, and more Facebook, Facebook, Facebook. Surprisingly, this one goes on for a record-breaking hour and thirty-nine minutes, proving once again that size doesn't matter. Except in electronic condoms. Also discussed; Why G-Tar didn't win the Techcrunch Disrupt grand prize, why Kevin Marks' Target knockoff doesn't come close, and why Keith Teare is a venture communist. No animals or Wall Street traders were harmed in the making of this film. As John Taschek implied, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Did I mention we talked about Facebook.

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BBQ Safely and Healthfully this Summer | RealFoodTraveler.com

BBQ Safely and Healthfully this Summer

However, health practitioners tell us that barbecuing comes with some hidden dangers. The last thing you want to do is give your guests (or your family) food poisoning, burns or even worse, cancer.

Chicago Healers Practitioner Dr. Martha Howard says that raw or undercooked meat, fish or chicken can cause illnesses like salmonella, e coli and other bugs. Grills can be temperamental and, if handled incorrectly, are prone to explosions and giving people burns. Even more worrisome, charred meat produces three cancer-causing chemicals.

It is easy and simple to keep barbecues light on danger and heavy on fun, says Dr. Howard. Here are her tips for throwing the healthiest and safest barbecue this summer.

The process of barbecuing meat causes the three cancer-causing chemicals:

  • PhlP, which has been proved to cause cancers in rats. An April 2006 presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research showed that when this barbecue/char chemical was added to rats? food, they developed cancerous changes in their intestines, spleens and prostates within four weeks.
  • HCAs (heterocyclic amines). They are also produced when meat is charred. This compound can increase the risk of breast, stomach, colon, and prostate cancer.
  • PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) which are produced by smoking fat from chicken, fish or meat.

The good news? You don?t have to give up your barbecue entirely. Here? are some ways to decrease risks from these cancer-causers and from other barbecue dangers:

Clean the grill?get rid of the old fats

  • Avoid petroleum starters for charcoal. Use a wood starter and stack charcoal up in a two-pound metal can (no paint on the can, please) with the ends cut off. Lift off the can with tongs and spread out the coals when they are well started.
  • Know how to turn a propane grill on and off safely. Avoid a time gap between opening the valve and starting the grill.
  • Wash your hands after touching raw meats and use separate plates and cutting boards for raw and cooked meats. Be sure to wash your hands again before putting on long, heat-proof barbecue gloves.
  • Trim most of that fat?less fat means fewer PAHs.
  • Use marinades?they tend to protect meat from charring. Put marinades on the meat of choice and put all items back in the refrigerator until ready to go. Don?t let meat sit out.
  • Prior to grilling, follow proper pre-cooking instructions, especially for items like raw brats. Avoid taking burgers, chicken or other meats directly from the freezer to the grill.
  • Cut meat and chicken into smaller pieces so they cook thoroughly.
  • Turn down the fire and turn your burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken often, so they cook through, and come out a gorgeous golden brown.
  • Use a meat thermometer to be certain it?s safe to be served.
    • Chicken: 165 degrees.
    • Hamburger: 160 degrees.
    • Pork: 150 degrees.
    • Hot dogs: 140 degrees.
    • Steak 145 degrees for medium rare (only if you know where your steak comes from) and 160 degrees for medium
  • Don?t forget about veggies; throw them on the grill too! ?Make kabobs to incorporate meat with veggies.? Brush all the veggies with oil, cook the onions with the meat, and grill the other vegetables separately. That way the meat gets done, and the vegetables don?t get overcooked.
  • At the end of the barbecue, be sure to put out charcoals or double-check that the propane valve has been turned off.

?

Chicago Healers (www.ChicagoHealers.com) is the nation?s pioneer prescreened and integrative health care network, offering a comprehensive understanding of each practitioner?s services, approach and philosophy.

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Macaw Health and Fitness App from U.S. Preventive Medicine Wins ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. and DALLAS, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ ??U.S. Preventive Medicine?s Macaw?, enabled by Qualcomm Life Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, was named the winner in the Mobile Applications: Health, Wellness and Fitness category of CTIA?s Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards. In its seventh year, the CTIA E-Tech Awards honor the industry?s most innovative wireless products and services in the areas of mobile apps, consumer electronics, enterprise and vertical markets and infrastructure. Winners were announced at International CTIA WIRELESS? 2012 taking place earlier this month in New Orleans.

Unlike other available health and fitness apps, Macaw is based on the clinical science of preventive medicine and is universally designed for people who exercise regularly as well as those who are novices when it comes to physical activity. By leveraging Qualcomm Life?s expertise in wireless technology, Macaw will transform a smartphone into the ultimate personal health monitor, connecting an individual?s health apps and wireless devices for tracking weight, fitness, overall activity and biometrics ? including pedometers, glucose meters, activity armbands, scales, labs, sleep managers, mobile weight loss apps and blood pressure cuffs ? into a single app for complete tracking.

Macaw currently allows integration with the Fitlinxx Actiped+ all-day activity monitor, WorkSmart Labs? weight loss and fitness app Noom Weight Loss and Withings WiFi Body Scale. Macaw users are able to track their physical activity, nutrition, progress and health knowledge while engaging in games that unlock prizes.?

Macaw is available for download on the iPhone App Store and Android Market. You can also stay up-to-date by following Macaw on Facebook (Facebook.com/ThePreventionPlan), Twitter (@MacawApp) and YouTube (YouTube.com/MacawApp). View the video at www.youtube.com/macawapp.>

?CTIA is pleased to congratulate U.S. Preventive Medicine and Qualcomm Life on winning the CTIA E-Tech Award for representing the best in wireless innovation for mobile applications in health, wellness and fitness,? said Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA.

Nearly 250 entries across 15 awards categories were judged by a panel of media and industry analysts and scored on innovation, functionality, technological importance, implementation and overall ?wow? factor.

?This award helps to validate our mission of utilizing technology to transform the way people think about and manage their health,? said Christopher Fey, founder, CEO and chairman of U.S. Preventive Medicine.? ?Through Macaw, U.S. Preventive Medicine is making it easier for people to engage in actions to improve their health while on the go.? Macaw enables people to take control, improve their own health status, and possibly reduce their health care costs along the way.?

For more information on the CTIA E-Tech Awards, visit www.ctiashows.com/awards.>

To learn more about International CTIA WIRELESS 2012, visit www.ctiawireless.com.

Follow CTIA Shows:
Facebook:? www.ctiashows.com/facebook
LinkedIn:? www.ctiashows.com/linkedin
Twitter:? www.ctiashows.com/twitter?(#CTIAW12)

About CTIA
CTIA ? The Wireless Association? (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry?s voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry?s leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C.

About U.S. Preventive Medicine?
U.S. Preventive Medicine (http://www.USPreventiveMedicine.com) is leading a global preventive health movement focused on saving lives and money by keeping people healthy and better managing chronic conditions before they progress. Innovative products ? The Prevention Plan? web-based health management platform and Macaw mobile health fitness app ? are based on the clinical science of preventive medicine: primary (wellness and health promotion to keep healthy people healthy), secondary (screening for earlier detection/diagnosis) and tertiary (early evidence-based treatment to reduce complications and disability). The company is accredited in wellness and health promotion by NCQA (the National Committee for Quality Assurance) and disease management by URAC. More information can be found on Facebook (Facebook.com/ThePreventionPlan), Twitter (@USPM) and YouTube (YouTube.com/thepreventionchannel).

Contact:
Tricia L. Ridgway-Kapustka, APR, CPRC
U.S. Preventive Medicine, Inc.
(904) 562-6254
TKapustka@uspm.com


Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/macaw-health-fitness-app-u-155700946.html

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Free Health and Fitness Expo June 10 ? Medford Public Schools

Free Health and Fitness Expo June 10

1st Annual Medford Health and Fitness Expo

Sunday June 10, 2012
10am to 3pm
Medford High School
Health and Fitness Center, 3rd Floor
Community School entrance
489 Winthrop Street

This event is FREE to the public!

Activities include:

  • Interactive and Complimentary Health Screenings
  • Sports Clinics and Fitness Classes
  • Weight Loss Challenge Sign Ups (with Fitness Together Medford)
  • Exhibitors Categories will include: General Health; Preventive Health; Nutrition; Exercise/Fitness/Sports; Merchandise for Sale; Aging in Place.

Fitness Class Schedule- Cage 1

  • Pilates with Amy Langone from Oxygen Mind & Body, 11am
  • Springstep Dance Classes with Julie, 12pm
  • Zumba with Nanci Palladino, 1pm

Sports Clinic Schedule- Cage 3

  • Golf Clinic with MHS Varsity Golf Team, 10:30am
  • Baseball Clinic with MHS Varsity Baseball Team, 11:30am
  • Crew Clinic with MHS Varsity Crew Team, 12:30pm

Bootcamp Clinics with Neil from Fitness Together in Weight Room- various times

Come get your picture taken with Patriot?s Mascot Pat Patriot from 12-2.

Participating Vendors:

Whole Foods Market
Hallmark Health Systems
Fitness Together
Oxygen Mind & Body
Mike?s Gym
Network Health
Cosmetic & Esthetic Dentistry
Friends of Middlesex Fells Reservation
Medford High Cheerleaders
Medford Musculary Therapy Centre
Children?s Dental Assts of Medford
Winchester Hospital Health & Weight Mgt
Medford Chiroptractic Center Armstrong Ambulance
Roshankish Martial Arts
John Chiesa & Mary Wells-Fitness and Health

Brought to you by the Medford Chamber of Commerce & Whole Foods Market

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AM2 Announces Console Game Tournament Schedule | Anime ...

No anime convention would be complete
without competitive and interactive video games. AM? is no exception to
this. Are you a tough enough to challenge adversaries to these games? To those elite few, we will be offering various gaming tournaments throughout the weekend at the Console Game Room sponsored by SNAKEBYTE USA with games supplied by GAMEFLY. More info and convention registration can be found at www.am2con.org

Winners will receive amazing prizing provided by SNAKEBYTE USA!

?There is something for everyone,? states Convention Representative Chase Wang, ?get your Passports today and join the fun!?

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

Game Day
Street Fighter Third Strike Friday, 12:00 PM
Cyberbots Friday, 8:00 PM
Gundam Extreme Versus Saturday, 12:00 PM
Street Fighter X Tekken Saturday, 8:00 PM
Smash Brothers Brawl Sunday, 12:00 PM
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Sunday, 8:00 PM

More tournaments will be added in the future, please stay tuned for further
details.

All Tournaments require a valid AM? passport to participate. Tournament sign-ups will be on-site only.

Open gaming stations will be available to rent throughout the weekend.
Attendees are welcome to bring their own consoles for open gameplay.
Controllers are available for rent. A current AM? passport or valid ID is needed for controller and station rentals.

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Brad Pitt - Jennifer Aniston Relationship Undermined by Incorrect ...

Posted on May 24, 2012

Speculation continues around the break-up of Brad Pitt as well as Jennifer Aniston, and what part Angelina Jolie may have enjoyed. At least three distinctive rumors are becoming more common as to what may have been the cause.

Rumors of an Extramarital Affair

One gossip has it that Pitt and co-star Angelina Jolie ended up having an affair. This gossip began circulating very last May, when Pitt was photographed holding Jolie?s present on the set despite the fact that filming Mr. & Mrs. Mason. They both denied there was any romance.

Your Recipe for Emotionally charged Infidelity

?Even if the gossip of an extramarital extramarital relationship are untrue,? says author along with infidelity expert Ruth Dallas, ?it highlights the danger of the wrong friendships with members of the opposite sex. This can lead to over emotional infidelity, which is often any precursor to sex-related infidelity?. Problems can develop if your friendship is conducted from the view or without the knowledge of the other fighter?s marriage mate. Matters usually start with someone the wayward other half knows and comes in contact with on a regular basis.

Workplace Extramarital relationships

According to one study, 73% of infidelity begins in the workplace. Friendships this start out innocently ample progress to emotional infidelity and eventually increase to extrrrramarital extramarital liasons. Says Houston, ?This is whether the workplace is usually a movie set or even office environment. And work environment affairs are on the growth.? Anytime a couple of the opposite sex are in close proximity on a regular basis for more periods of time, the potential for sentimental infidelity exists. Just about all that?s needed to take this to the next level is intimate chemistry and opportunity. ?Even if the intense year-long a friendly relationship between Pitt and Jolie wouldn?t take a sexual switch,? says Dallas, ?they were treading on damaging ground.?

When Opposite Sex Friendships Turned into a Problem

Time expended by a husband by using a ?friend? of the opposite sex ?s time spent away from her wife, unless they will include her from the activities taking place ?Even if there?s no sex required,? explains Dallas, ? emotional connection occurs, and in no time, infidelity is rearing its ugly mind.? Opposite sex relationships become a problem once they become a replacement for wedding ceremony. When one marriage mate starts posting hopes, dreams, special moments and romantic information with an women in your life ?friend? instead of their other half, a bond evolves which has infidelity possible. Houston warns, ?All it will take for the situation in order to spiral out of control and unfaithfulness to occur is an environment of secrecy, sexual chemical make up, and the opportunity issue. Even if an affair was not the original intention.?

Arguments In excess of Starting a Family

Another rumor has this that constant reasons between Pitt and Anniston above the issue of starting a family were any contributing factor to the split. Pitt, 41, is usually anxious to start a family group, while Aniston, 35, is usually reluctant to do so within the expense of her performing career. During the shooting of Mr. & Mrs. Cruz, Angelina Jolie brought her 3-year-old adopted son, Maddox to the set every day in addition to Pitt enjoyed spending time with the little boy. Their distance caused him to check Aniston unfavorably with Jolie, by pointing out for you to her that Jolie, that?s 6 years the younger, has successfully blended motherhood with her appearing career.

A Marriage ?Ripe? for the Affair

Regarding the friendly relationship that developed concerning Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ? if there was problems in the wedding, however minor, that it was a bad time to style a close relationship along with someone of the opposite sex ? even if of which friendship was celibate. It doesn?t take significantly for such a relationship to make the passage from emotional to sexual infidelity. Dallas observes, ?If there are key problems between couples, that marriage is definitely ?ripe? for an affair. Considering the right (or improper) set of circumstances, infidelity could be just a ?friendship? aside.?

Telephone Sexual intercourse

Still a third gossip has it which Pitt and Jolie, called one another constantly on the phone. Purportedly Jennifer Aniston listened in during one conversation (either by chance or deliberately) along with heard Pitt and Jolie experiencing telephone sex. ?If the actual rumor about phone sex is true,? says Houston, and then Pitt?s friendship with Jolie got already crossed the series ? even if cell phone sex was as much as it went.? Frequent lunches, dinners out, meetings, or calls with the ?friend? that a loved one ?forgets? or neglects to say, have a way of alienating one?s marriage spouse.

Denials All Around

Angelina Jolie has got denied any responsibility for the Pitt ? Aniston divide. Both Pitt and Aniston ourselves have publicly waived that a third party was involved. Even Folks magazine said any friendship between Pitt and also Jolie never reached the aim of an affair. Throughout ?Jennifer?s My Space Blog? Aniston proclaimed, ?The tabloid stories wasn?t true, no one was initially cheating, no one seemed to be carousing around town, it just have not out.?

Jolie Direct or Indirectly To blame

Says Ruth Houston, ?The bottom line to all the gossips and speculation is the following: It appears that either direct or indirectly, Jennifer aniston, contributed to the break-up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Regardless of whether her only position was to prompt Pitt to make unfavorable comparisons between Aniston and Jolie.?

This Lesson

Whatever the the reality is concerning Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston as well as Angelina Jolie, the session is clear: Avoid opposite sex http://www.moviesinfohub.com/angelina- jolie friendships that come to be very close in addition to exclude your partner and also marriage mate. They?re able to lead to emotional mistrust. Houston cautions ?If intimate chemistry and the opportunity factor are also part of the amalgamation, sexual infidelity http://www.moviesinfohub.com/adam- sandler most likely are not far behind.In

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Ukraine plays down Euro 2012 snubs over Tymoshenko

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Competitive Senate race shaping up in North Dakota

MINOT, N.D. (AP) ? North Dakota's prosperity from an energy boom as the rest of the country slowly crawls out from under a collapsed economy is making a contest of a Senate race that Democrats had all but conceded.

Heidi Heitkamp, a former state attorney general with ties to the energy industry and a one-time candidate for governor, is perhaps the state's only Democrat who can prevent the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad from flipping to the GOP in November.

Heitkamp, 56, touts her success as attorney general in fighting new regulations on coal and her work for a natural gas and coal production company since leaving office. She keeps a healthy distance from her party's standard-bearer, criticizing President Barack Obama over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and complaining that he "hasn't done enough" to support the energy industry.

Republicans maintain that Heitkamp will still prove too liberal a candidate to keep Conrad's seat for Democrats. But they acknowledge it's a tighter race than they expected.

The GOP's candidate is Rep. Rick Berg, a successful real estate developer and longtime state legislator elected to the House just two years ago with strong tea party support.

North Dakota is an improbable battleground as both parties vie for control of the Senate. Republicans need to net four seats to take control, but strategists in both parties see few paths to a GOP majority that don't include North Dakota.

In a sign of the race's competitiveness, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recently began running ads in the state, as did Crossroads GPS, a policy and advocacy group led by Republican operative Karl Rove.

North Dakota is the election's atypical battleground in a sputtering economy.

The state is in the midst of an oil boom. Production has increased fivefold over the past five years and North Dakota now accounts for 9.1 percent of the nation's oil production, up from 2.3 percent just five years ago. Its natural gas and coal industries enjoy similar growth.

As a result, the state's per capita income is soaring, up 78 percent since 2000, when the average North Dakotan took in $25,592. Today the average is more than $45,000.

Both Senate candidates say they will work to continue the prosperity.

Berg, one of the more inconspicuous members of a large and outspoken GOP freshman class, starts the race as a favorite. He has outraised Heitkamp by about 2-to-1 and has nearly twice as much cash on hand as she does ? $1.6 million to about $850,000.

North Dakota has a Republican governor, the GOP controls its Legislature, and in 2010 a Senate seat and a House seat, the one Berg now holds, both flipped to Republicans. The state hasn't voted for a Democratic president since Barry Goldwater was the Republican nominee in 1964.

Thus far, Berg, 52, is running on the same issues that helped him unseat longtime Democratic Rep. Earl Pomeroy in 2010: cutting the federal budget deficit and limiting government's power.

"We should show Washington how we do it in North Dakota," Berg said in a speech accepting his party's nomination at its state convention. "I'm running to stop the over-regulating of our economy and start growing it."

Democrats see key differences between this year and 2010. Heitkamp is the chief one.

While lagging behind Berg in raising money, she still has raised 10 times as much as the Democratic Senate candidate in 2010.

North Dakota is not a particularly expensive state in which to campaign. GOP Sen. John Hoeven raised slightly more than $3 million in his winning campaign in 2010.

Heitkamp is arguably better known than Berg. She's previously run for statewide office five times and helped lead a successful campaign to amend the North Dakota Constitution to restrict the ability of local governments to take private property for economic development projects.

Berg's first run for statewide office was in 2010, though he did serve as a leader in the Legislature. He certainly isn't as well-known as Hoeven, who was elected in 2010 with more than 75 percent of the vote after 10 years as governor.

In Congress, Berg has been a reliable vote for the GOP majority. He announced his Senate bid just months after he was elected to the House.

Berg "has not been in statewide office long enough to really create much of an impression, in terms of being a policymaker," said Mark Jendrysik, a professor of political science at the University of North Dakota. "But he certainly says the right things to appeal to the conservative Republican base."

Heitkamp has criticized Berg's vote for the House Republicans' budget blueprint and its proposed cuts to Medicare and federal crop insurance programs. Berg defends his vote, calls the budget targets "suggestions" and implies that he will protect North Dakota's interests.

Heitkamp has also pushed her ties to the state's energy industry. Since leaving office she's served as a director at Dakota Gas, a natural gas and coal company. Like Berg, she supports hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the exploration technique that has led to a boom in oil production in western North Dakota.

At a recent energy-themed campaign event in Minot, she criticized Obama as dithering on Keystone, the proposed pipeline for carrying oil from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. "So we're going to wait until we have a better economy and have more costs?" she said. "You look at it now, and it makes perfect sense."

In an interview, Heitkamp made it clear she intends to keep her distance from Obama.

"I think he's failed in the one test America had for him, which was to unite the country," she told The Associated Press. "I think he needed to be more hands-on. ... I don't think he's done enough to think broadly and come up with solutions that would engage both sides in a reasonable dialogue."

Republicans say Heitkamp's tough talk on Obama is an election-year conversion and predict her past support for his health care overhaul and candidacy in 2008 will be her undoing. The latest Crossroads ad, for instance, targets her support of Obama's health care plan.

Voters, however, say they're most concerned with maintaining North Dakota's economic success.

Jay Elkin, who farms near Taylor in Stark County in southwestern North Dakota, said he's likely to vote for Berg because he "understands business, he's a successful businessman and he's been involved in government and knows his way around."

Scott Shivley, who ranches near Velva, in north-central North Dakota, came to a Heitkamp campaign event in Minot to hear more about her energy ideas. He hasn't decided whom he will support but said balancing energy development with other needs is critical.

"The energy development is toughest on people who are on fixed wages, living in towns like Minot and Williston," he said.

___

Jackson reported from Washington.

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