Six of 13 small cars recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earn the TOP SAFETY PICK award, and none earn a poor rating in any of 4 tests. This is a turnaround from a few years ago when small cars struggled to earn top safety ratings. The new tests include hybrids and gasoline-only models that are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles available in the U.S. market.
The ratings are based on performance in front, side, rollover, and rear impact evaluations. Cars that earn the top rating of good in each test and have available electronic stability control (ESC) qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK. Winners are the 2012 Ford Focus and Honda Civic, along with the 2011 Hyundai Elantra, Lexus CT 200h hybrid, Nissan Juke, and Toyota Prius hybrid. The Civic, CT 200h, Elantra, Focus, and Prius have at least one version with a government fuel economy rating of at least 40 miles per gallon on the highway. The Dodge Caliber, Honda CR-Z and Insight hybrids, Nissan Sentra and Versa, Scion xD, and Suzuki SX4 also were rated but didn’t earn TOP SAFETY PICK.
Delivering a healthy dose of good news to Midwest families, Meijer announced today that its free pre-natal vitamins prescription program has filled its 1,000,000th prescription, at a cost savings of nearly $14 million to Midwest families.
The announcement, made by Hank Meijer, Co-Chairman and CEO, came as the Midwest retailer reported that its pharmacies had hit the million-mark milestone earlier this week.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/meijer/50770/
School is out for the summer and for many teens playing video or online games is high on their activity list. According to a new survey from Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF), 56 percent of teens say they spend 30 minutes or more playing video or online games on average each day, with 18 percent spending over two hours gaming. The good news is that over half (58 percent) of teens say that the games they play are at least sometimes educational, and 76 percent of the young people polled believe that educational gaming is a great way for them to learn.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/capitalone/51263/
Vikes, Dance Fever, French Fries. The names might not be familiar to you, but chances are good your kids have heard of them. These are the street names for prescription drugs, and more and more teens are using them to get high.
Each year, nearly 2 million teens abuse prescription drugs. The new parent’s Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Guide from BeSmartBeWell.com and The Partnership at Drugfree.org breaks down the most commonly abused prescription and over-the-counter drugs in a simple-to-understand and interactive web page. Learn drugs’ “street” names, how kids are using them (inject, inhale, etc.), why they're dangerous and the warning signs of abuse.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/besmartbewell/50821/
Today, hotels.com®, the leading provider of lodging worldwide, released its biannual Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®), revealing a 3 percent global price increase and a gradual recovery despite major natural catastrophes and world events affecting travel during the first half of the year. Room rates are still lower than their peak in mid-2007, indicating to travelers that good deals and value are within reach for consumers.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52047-hotels-com-price-index-three-percent-global-increase-gradual-recovery
More than eight in 10 Americans ages 50-64 believe healthy teeth and gums are essential to maintaining overall good health, yet only a third say they are taking good care of their oral health, according to a survey conducted by the American Dental Association (ADA), with Crest® and Oral-B®. To help bridge this gap, Crest Pro-Health and actress, author, and health advocate Marilu Henner are committed to educating older adults about the importance of gum health during the 2nd annual National Gingivitis Awareness Month this September.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/crestprohealth/49093/
A good fit is easier than ever to find when shopping for a booster seat, new ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show.
A record 31 seats have been designated BEST BETS, meaning they correctly position a vehicle safety belt on a typical 4 to 8 year-old in almost any car, minivan, or SUV. Prices for these top-rated seats range from less than $15 to several hundred dollars.
Carol Platt was caught in the middle of the economic downturn with no backup plan. Searching for a stable job in an unstable economy proved to be difficult without a college degree. Her work history and past successes were overlooked. It had always been a dream of hers to complete her degree; after a failed first attempt, she was unsure of her ability to follow through. She began researching online education options and felt that Kaplan University stood out; she decided to complete her college degree online. Carol enrolled in Kaplan University’s School of Business and Management and earned her bachelor’s degree online, focusing on business with an emphasis in human resources.
The adult continuing education program at Kaplan University is designed for working professionals who seek to further their career or, like Carol, want to earn their university degree online.* Students can complete assignments on a schedule that fits their lives. It’s this type of flexibility that helps prepare Kaplan University online students for success. Even if you already have an established career, it’s never too late to consider online business school to further your knowledge and update your skills. Increase your marketability with one of Kaplan University’s online bachelor degree programs without taking time off of work to attend class.
* Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional training or certification may be required.
“I grew up in Graham, North Carolina. My parents both worked for the textile mills, both had fourth grade educations and my mom always wanted me to get an education. When I graduated from high school it was my dream to go to college. I failed the first class of my life which was my chemistry class. I was just overwhelmed so I left after about a year and half, got a job and kept trying to go back to school. For me it was personally devastating. It really bothered me. I felt like I was failing. I had one shot and I blew it.
When Jenna left for boarding school I couldn’t even open the door and go in the room and I was almost 52. All of that coincided with the downturn of the market. I had almost $6 million dollars in contracts waiting to close and they all fell through—every single one of them. I thought, ‘now what? I don’t have a degree, there are no jobs.’ It doesn’t matter what I had done or how much success I had, the requirements are to have a degree. Not only that, I had to walk back in the door competing with people half my age and many of them had MBAs.
It was just a matter of figuring out how to do it—so that’s when I started to check into what were the institutions, what was the cost, how were they respected. Kaplan [University] had a degree in business with a specialty in human resources. As I started narrowing the options down, it made it into about the final three. I took those three finalists to my traditional education friends and I said, ‘I want to know what the most respected online degree would be if someone was coming into your office looking for a job.’
The IT Dean, the Computer Science Dean, felt like Kaplan [University] had the best online delivery program that was out there. The Academic Dean’s advice was that this is a respected degree that you’re not going to have people questioning whether you were competent when you came out. Everything that you take there will be accepted if you go on to a master’s [program] anywhere so that was a very good recommendation. When I sat down at graduation, 31 years later, and I’m looking up at the podium and it says, ‘Kaplan University: a Different School of Thought’ that was probably more me because I do think a little differently. I’m willing to work on things that innovate and I think that’s more of an opportunity for me and many students like me.~N
Lisa Nichols, contributing author of The Secret and one of the great inspirational speakers of our time, believes the best way to stay motivated when continuing your education is to “begin with the end in mind.” Pushing forward through challenges is what makes accomplishment so gratifying. Every accomplishment leads to personal growth. Nichols believes that making the completion of your degree “non-negotiable” means that you will not settle for anything less.
Kaplan University’s online degree programs cater to the busy lifestyle of today’s working professional. The distance learning programs available at Kaplan University could help you further your career, potentially lead to advancement opportunities, and assist in creating a different lifestyle for you and your family.* Nichols relates her own life experiences as a single mother working full time in this inspirational video that address the challenges Kaplan University students may be facing. She encourages students to recognize how important pursuing a degree can be to their professional success. Perhaps one of the most powerful messages Nichols relays is to focus on the positive outcome continuing education can bring. She urges students to “stay motivated by not checking into how difficult it might be” but to “check in with how sweet it gets to be.”
*Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional training or certification may be required.
“I would say to a Kaplan [University] student, ‘You’ve really made a decision to take your life by the reigns, to give yourself a second, third, fourth, fifth chance. That this season is your season and that you’ve served everyone else and this gift is a gift for you.’ When you serve yourself you allow yourself to then begin to serve everyone else from your overflow. But one of the things I would mainly say is that when you’ve been good to you, this is a gift, when you’ve been good to you then you’ll serve with more gratitude to everyone else so hold on to this. Hold on to this moment; carve out time. There’s never enough time. There are a hundred people that are going to pull at you- carve out this space for you. Say, ‘You know what? I’ve nurtured everyone, I’ve served everyone, this is my moment. This is my time to shine. This journey with Kaplan [University] is super important to me and it’s non-negotiable.’
When you say ‘no matter what,’ graduating should be ‘no matter what.’ ‘No matter what’ means I’ve removed every other option off the table. Graduating and taking advantage of this opportunity is something that nothing else can happen but this; this is non-negotiable. When you move everything else off the table other than making it, the only thing left is making it and so I would say to the Kaplan [University] student, ‘you’ve already jumped in, now say ‘no matter what’.’
I think one of the ways to stay motivated is to begin with the end in mind. See yourself on graduation day, see yourself with a certificate saying, ‘I completed. I did it. It’s done.’ See yourself in the lifestyle that this accomplishment will award you to have. When you being with the end in mind and you get so viscerally and emotionally connected to the outcome. Steven Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, ‘Begin with the end in mind.’ See it, believe it, taste it, walk it, talk it, feel it and then go every day just getting to that feeling in reality. Have such a barometer to show you where you’re going and know what it looks like to be there and then become non-negotiable on it.
Stay motivated by not checking into how difficult it might be, check in with how sweet it gets to be. I believe that my life today is a result of hunkering down and seeing myself in a place where I wasn’t; seeing myself in a lifestyle th
24-hour preschool television channel Sprout will debut the new, animated preschool series Poppy Cat on Monday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET, during the season premiere of Sprout’s signature, original bedtime block, The Good Night Show. Airing exclusively on Sprout in the U.S., Poppy Cat is produced by Coolabi Productions.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sprout/48462/
Life with our four-legged friends is so much fun that it inspired dog owners across the country to write a jingle about it. Yesterday, Country Music star Trace Adkins selected Dewey Longuski of Mason, Mich. as the Grand Prize winner of the Waggin’ Train® Tail Waggin’ Jingle Contest, which asked dog owners to create an original jingle with lyrics describing how they enjoy a “tail waggin’ good time” with their best buddies. As the Grand Prize winner of the national contest, Longuski won the opportunity of a lifetime to perform his jingle in a recording session produced by the Country star.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53057-trace-adkins-names-grand-prize-winner-waggin-train-jingle-contest
On November 17, millions of Americans will mark the American Cancer Society’s 36th annual Great American Smokeout by giving up smoking for the day, and maybe for good. Because smoking can trigger asthma symptoms in children, quitting is an important first step toward protecting kids’ health. BeSmartBeWell.com tells parents the steps they can take on the Great American Smokeout, and every day of the year, to lower the risk for childhood asthma.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/childhoodasthma/50826/
