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ByKenThomasandLisa Lerer The Associated Press MONTICELLO, IOWA Hill- ary Clinton laid out the early cornerstones of her 2016 presidential campaign Tuesday, casting herself as a "champion" for struggling Americans and embracing economic and good-govern- ment policies promoted by liberal Democrats. "I think it's fair to say that as you look across the country the deck is still stacked in favor of those al- ready at the top," said Clin- ton, seated at a table with students and teachers at a community college in ru- ral Iowa in her first formal public event since return- ing to presidential politics. "There's something wrong with that." Clinton said she would focus her campaign for the Democratic nomination on four broad areas, listing the need to build "the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday," strengthen families and communities, fix dysfunc- tional government while addressing ways of getting "unaccountable money out of the system," and protect national security. "We've got to figure out in our country how to get back on the right track," Clinton said at a branch of Kirkwood Community Col- lege. "I'm running for pres- ident because Americans and their families need a champion and I want to be that champion." Clinton is facing pres- sure from the liberal wing of her party to make tack- ling economic inequality a central theme of her new candidacy. And she picked up on that, saying there is "something wrong" when hedge fund managers pay lower tax rates than typi- cal workers and when stu- dents and their families are forced into debt to pay for education and skills train- ing. Although she is running in what is expected to be the most expensive elec- tion in history, Clinton em- braced the idea of a con- stitutional amendment, if that's what it takes, to ad- dress the Supreme Court decision removing cam- paign-finance obstacles for big-money interests. Clinton is opening her campaign with small events such as the community col- lege meeting and leaving big rallies for later. Fresh from a two-day road trip from New York, Clinton visited a coffee ship in the Mississippi River town of LeClaire in the morning. Her 2016 debut is reminis- cent of the "listening tour" that opened her 1999 cam- paign for a New York Sen- ate seat, when she ventured into small upstate towns to convene meetings with vot- ers and local leaders. In Iowa, Clinton aims to overcome her disappoint- ing third-place finish in the 2008 caucuses. Her events Tuesday and Wednesday focus heavily on pocketbook economic issues in small-town Iowa, and Clinton was expected to connect with local offi- cials, community leaders and Democratic activists. At the LeClaire coffee shop earlier she ordered a Masala chai and a Carmel- low latte, along with some water with lemon, and chat- ted with patrons and Mayor Bob Scannell, an indepen- dent. "I always vote for the person who I think will do best for the country, and she has my vote," he said. Clinton is taking a low- key approach to raising money for now, forgoing the celebrity-studded fun- draisers that marked her husband's presidency, as well as the high-dollar pri- vate events put on this year by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a potential GOP rival. Instead, Clinton's initial appeals for money will be for small-dollar donations collected over the Internet instead of in swanky fun- draising blowouts in New York, Los Angeles and Sil- icon Valley. Advisers have set a mod- est goal of raising $100 mil- lion for the primary cam- paign and will not initially accept donations for the general election. "Everyone knows that over time Hillary Clinton will raise enough to be com- petitive," said Tom Nides, a top Wall Street supporter and former State Depart- ment adviser to Clinton. "Her objective is not to raise money to prove that she can. It's to build the grass- roots organization." 'CHAMPION' In Io wa , Cl in to n la ys o ut t en et s of 2 01 6 ca mp ai gn CHARLIENEIBERGALL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton meets with local residents at the Jones St. Java House on Tuesday in LeClaire, Iowa. By Lauran Neergaard The Associated Press WASHINGTON Those lost car keys that were an an- noyance in your 30s can spark major anxiety in your 60s. Turns out it's pretty normal: The brain ages just like the rest of your body, says a new re- port that urges Americans to take steps to keep sharp in their senior years. The prestigious Institute of Medicine examined what scientists know about "cog- nitive aging," changes in mental functioning as we get older. This isn't a disease like Alzheimer's but a natural process — and it's not al- ways bad. Wisdom can in- deed increase with age, and years of experience can prove invaluable, stressed Dr. Dan Blazer, an emeri- tus professor of psychiatry at Duke University who chaired the IOM commit- tee. "The brain ages in all of us. But there's wide vari- ability in the way the brain ages," Blazer said. Staying cognitively sharp is one of the biggest concerns of seniors, with good reason. Tuesday's re- port warns that even sub- tle slowdowns can affect daily life, making seniors more vulnerable to finan- cial scams, driving prob- lems or other difficulties in a technology-driven world. Indeed, while some peo- ple will experience little if any cognitive change, many older adults process infor- mation more slowly, and have more difficulty mul- titasking than when they were younger, the report found. What's called work- ing memory — the brain's short-term storage — often declines with age but typi- cally long-term memory re- mains intact even if it takes longer to recall someone's name. That kind of change may not be obvious until, say, someone is faced with a complex financial decision or forced to make a trans- action quickly and has trouble, Blazer said. Older adults are losing nearly $3 billion a year, directly and indirectly, to financial fraud, the report noted. What's the difference be- tween normal aging and cognitive decline? "There's no clear line that we can draw here," Blazer cautioned. Someone experiencing memory difficulty needs to be checked by a doctor, said IOM panelist Dr. Jason Karlawish of the University of Pennsylvania. With Al- zheimer's, nerve cells in the brain die. With normal cog- nitive aging, neurons don't die — they just don't work as well, he explained. The best advice for stay- ing sharp as you get older: Be physically active. The sooner you start the bet- ter, but it's never too late, Blazer said. The IOM also recom- mended: —Control high blood pressure and diabetes, and don't smoke. Those are key risks for heart disease, and what's bad for your heart is bad for your brain. —Some medications commonly taken by seniors — including certain anx- iety or sleep drugs, anti- histamines, bladder drugs and older antidepressants — can fog the brain, so ask about yours. —Keep socially and intel- lectually active. —Get enough sleep. —Be careful of products that claim to improve cog- nitive functioning. There's no evidence that vitamins and dietary supplements like ginkgo biloba help, Blazer said. And the jury's still out on whether com- puter-based brain-training games do any good, he said. The IOM also urged more research into normal cognitive aging, which has been left somewhat behind the study of diseases like Alzheimer's, and more ed- ucation of doctors about their patients' risks. For example, hospitalized se- niors are at increased risk for delirium — sudden con- fusion and agitation — that can cause lingering cogni- tive decline after they go home, but there are ways to prevent it. The IOM also said gov- ernment agencies and com- munities should consider cognitive aging as they set policies and programs. It cited a California law to protect older adults who are signing up for reverse mortgages, and a Michi- gan plan to improve older driver safety through such steps as adjusting traffic lights to counter glare. HEALTH Re po rt s ug ge st s wa ys t o ke ep a gi ng b ra in s sh ar p The Associated Press YUMA, ARIZ. Police say 18-month-old twin boys drowned in an Arizona ca- nal after their stroller rolled into the flowing water when their mother stopped to bat away a bee. Yuma police said 26-year- old Alexis Keslar jumped into the steep-sloped canal Friday but couldn't rescue the boys because the deep water was moving too fast. 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