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A reusable water bottle is good for the environment, but can also harbor bacteria. In fact, it could have more bacteria than a toilet. The Water Filter Guru says a study found that a squeeze top water bottle can have 6000 times more bacteria than a toilet. Your water bottle might be harborin…

Q: I am 76 and my wife is 58. I own our home outright, and she will inherit the house when I die through a living trust. Is it to her advantage to maintain the situation the way it is from a capital gains perspective, or should I add her to the deed now? I am thinking of the step-up in valuation of the house when she inherits it to minimize her capital gains tax if/when she sells the house.

Because home prices have risen so dramatically since 2020, tax assessments are rising as well—which means larger annual property tax bills. Higher property taxes can be daunting for homeowners, but they are a boon for state and local governments that rely heavily on property tax revenue. Pro…

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The Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature has given final approval to a Medicaid expansion agreement. Thursday's state House vote reverses longstanding opposition to the measure, which now goes to expansion advocate and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature. GOP legislative leaders reached a deal earlier this month, capping years of debate over whether the politically closely divided state should accept the federal government’s coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. North Carolina was one of 11 states that hadn't yet adopted expansion. The bill contains one caveat: A state budget law must be passed before expansion can be carried out.

A federal appeals court has blocked President Joe Biden’s order that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected arguments that Biden, as the nation’s chief executive, has the same authority as the CEO of a private corporation to require that employees be vaccinated. The ruling from the full appeals court — 16 judges at the time — reversed an earlier ruling by a three-judge appellate panel that had upheld the vaccination requirement. Opponents of the policy said it was an encroachment on federal workers’ lives that neither the Constitution nor federal statutes authorize.

The specter of missing GoPro camera footage documenting the 2016 ski collision between Gwyneth Paltrow and a retired optometrist has been raised at trial in Park City. The daughter of a man suing Paltrow has testified Thursday that her father Terry Sanderson's health and cognitive function deteriorated after the collision, when he broke his ribs and suffered from a concussion. Paltrow has claimed that Sanderson was actually the culprit for the collision, and her attorneys also questioned the daughter about her father's mentions of Paltrow's wealth and celebrity. Paltrow is likely to be called to testify Friday or early next week.

Lawmakers in states including Colorado, California, Texas and New York are taking big, legislative swings at the eating disorder crisis. It’s estimated that around 30 million Americans — about the population of Texas — will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime. Every year about 10,000 die from the illness. The proposals include prohibiting the sale of weight loss pills to minors, blocking the use of body mass index or BMI in determining treatment and restricting social media algorithms from promoting content that could exacerbate the illness. Among the most common eating disorders is anorexia, which typically involves restrictive eating habits and extreme thinness. It can cause abnormally low blood pressure and organ damage.

For the first time in three decades, the U.S. has a new favorite dog breed, according to the American Kennel Club. Adorable in some eyes, deplorable in others, the sturdy, push-faced, perky-eared, world-weary-looking and distinctively droll French bulldog became the nation's most prevalent p…

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