This holiday season isn't quite so merry for American shoppers as large shares are dipping into savings, scouring for bargains and feeling like the overall economy is stuck in a rut under President Donald Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds. The vast majority of U.S. adults say they've noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly half of Americans say it's harder than usual to afford the things they want to give as holiday gifts, and similar numbers are delaying big purchases or cutting back on nonessential purchases more than they would normally. read more
Ben Palen " a Kansas native and a fifth-generation farmer and agriculture consultant " blasted President Donald Trump's repeat tactic of putting farmers in distress and then dangling tax-funded salvation before them and hungry developers. "[T]he Trump administration will provide several billion dollars in bailouts to farmers, with an emphasis on corn and soybean growers," Palen wrote in the Kansas Reflector. "... Predictably, political dances followed the announcement, with various farm groups issuing statements supporting release of this money." "It's pathetic," Palen wrote. "It's especially so when the Republican sycophants who represent Kansas farmers fall all over themselves to pay homage to Trump. How about some honest conversations about what this regime has done to American farmers via a patchwork of actions that show little understanding of international trade and so many other issues?" read more
ERIKA KIRK WENT ON FOX NEWS on Wednesday to mark the three-month anniversary of her husband Charlie's assassination. But her goal wasn't just to commemorate that tragic moment. It was to staunch the cataracts of conspiracy theories that have been promoted by Candace Owens, who's earned tens of millions of YouTube views for her wild, unfounded speculation about Kirk's death. Without naming Owens, Erika Kirk jabbed at an unnamed person making "hundreds and thousands of dollars every single episode going after the people that I love." "My message to them is to stop"to stop," Kirk said, turning directly to the camera. As the segment ended, Kirk held up her late husband's new, posthumously published book and said its title, giving it an imperative intonation to reinforce the apparent message to Owens: "Stop, in the Name of God." read more
A former crypto entrepreneur who was behind two digital currencies that collapsed and lost an estimated $40bn (29.9bn) has been sentenced by a New York judge to 15 years in prison for an "epic" fraud. Do Kwon, a South Korean national, was co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, which developed the TerraUSD and Luna digital coins. Kwon had admitted misleading investors about TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin that was supposed to maintain its value against the US dollar. He was one of a number of crypto bosses to face charges in the US after digital tokens slumped in 2022, triggering the failure of several companies. US District Judge Paul A Engelmayer, who handed down the sentence, said the Stanford graduate had repeatedly lied to investors who trusted him with their money.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed on Wednesday to a job-market risk that economists have been worried about for months: Official statistics could be drastically overstating recent hiring. read more
Megyn Kelly says racist turd Charlie Kirk was robbed.
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