For over twenty years, the Inspector General has recommended that Congress close the loop-hole in the federal law applicable to pensions, ERISA, that allows this state of affairs to persist.

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But in the new world of deals, local merchants have a branded medium within which they can deliver the right offer, at the right time, to the right audience, time and time again and use techniques such as re-marketing to close the loop.

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Some of the avatars have a sensor that activates the messages when someone is close by, others repeat their pre-programmed speeches on a loop.

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Viewers are shown close-ups of a healthy lung next to a blackened emphysemic lung, and the loop of a transplant scar that runs under Ms Laffin's arm and across her back.

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The researchers saw the loop when looking at the Arches Cluster, a star-forming region close to the Milky Way's centre.

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