If you're one of the growing number of people who work for yourself or can't get health insurance through your job, now you've got another option. The Freelancers Union, a New York-based organization for self-employed workers, contractors, part-timers, and others who don't have an employer providing them with benefits, rolled out health insurance policies in 30 states this week. But there's a catch: These plans don't offer the same protections or benefits as the group plans many workers get through their employers. You may be turned down by the insurer for medical reasons, and even if you're approved your coverage may be more limited than you'd get elsewhere.
In the end, there was no loud burst, or even a sharp pop. Instead, the springtime aftermath of the nation's housing bubble is sounding "more like a whoopee cushion," says June Fletcher, author of House Poor: How to Buy and Sell Your Home Come Bubble or Bust. "The air is coming out of the market, but slowly."
AP - A stomach ailment forced President Bush to miss some meetings at an international summit on Friday, but after resting in his room, he rejoined the gathering and prepared for talks in Poland on a missile defense system.
AP - Carloads of attackers descended on a police chief's house northeast of Baghdad at dawn Friday, killing the official's wife, two brothers and 11 guards, and kidnapping three of his grown children, Diyala provincial police reported.
AP - Paris Hilton is headed for a courtroom showdown Friday that could put her back behind bars, as prosecutors sought to hold sheriff's officials in contempt for releasing her early from jail.
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