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Key Points The IRS has unveiled higher federal tax brackets for 2025 to adjust for inflation. The standard deduction will increase to $30,000 for married couples filing together and $15,000 for single taxpayers. There are also changes to the long-term capital gains brackets, estate tax exemption, child tax credit eligibility and more. ================================================================ The IRS has announced new federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for 2025. In its announcement Tuesday, the agency raised the income thresholds for each bracket, which applies to tax year 2025 for returns filed in 2026. The top rate of 37% applies to individuals with...

Speaking anonymously to far-left NBC News, Kamala Harris campaign staffers say they are concerned about losing the swing states of Michigan and North Carolina. As you will see below, the loss of those two states would narrow Kamala’s path to victory considerably. On-the-record staffers claim to be bullish about these must-win states, but campaigns that believe they are about to lose leak this kind of DoomSpeak, and that appears to be what we have here: “There has been a thought that maybe Michigan or Wisconsin will fall off,” said a senior Harris campaign official, who stressed that the bigger concern...

Under Kamala Harris’ failed leadership, prices have surged by a crushing 21.8 percent, slapping North Carolina families with an extra $1,000 in monthly costs just to survive. It’s no wonder that over half of North Carolinians say inflation is crushing their pocketbooks, with 50.2 percent of the state identifying it as the most pressing issue they face. Harris' reckless economic policies are driving hardworking families into the ground, leaving them to struggle under the weight of skyrocketing prices and financial uncertainty. When President Trump is elected, he will put an end to the economic disaster created by Kamala Harris and...

I have never accepted irrational religious beliefs. If something in my -- or any -- religion doesn't make sense, I don't accept it. That's why my five-volume commentary on the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is titled "The Rational Bible." This strikes more than a few religious people as problematic, since many religious people thrive on irrational beliefs. There is a famous Latin phrase, Credo quia absurdum, "I believe because it is absurd," which has long been attributed to the Church theologian Tertullian (early third century). Tertullian did not in fact say that. But he said something...

Six Israeli hostages, who were murdered in a tunnel by Hamas terrorists in August, were likely used as human shields to protect the recently killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, according to a Channel 12 report on Sunday. The hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Carmel Gat reportedly lived on energy bars for months before eventually being executed by terrorists in Gaza. On Sept. 1, Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of the murdered hostages in a Rafah tunnel. Sinwar likely chose these six Israelis as human shields because they were considered particularly valuable assets. For...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” Luke 12:35–36What does it mean to “Gird your loins?” This phrase, which is not commonly used today, literally means “tighten your belt.” It traditionally refers to one who is wearing a long robe that makes it difficult to move quickly and easily. Thus, to gird your loins means that you tuck in the long robe and tighten your belt so that you are...

The United Methodist Church’s highest court will soon determine whether congregations can continue to leave the denomination in response to its progressive stance on LGBT issues. From 2019 to 2023, around 7,500 congregations used a temporary provision in the UMC Book of Discipline to disaffiliate from the denomination in response to its debate over sexual ethics. The United Methodist Judicial Council has been asked by the Kentucky and Alabama-West Florida conferences about whether another provision in the Book of Discipline can be used to exit the denomination. According to the UMC Kentucky Conference, the Judicial Council will consider the matter...

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-harris-neck-neck-dems-lose-ground-among-latino-black-voters-poll

The “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania have paved the path to the White House for the last two Democratic presidents. But with just 14 days until the Nov. 5 election, there are concerns within Kamala Harris’ campaign about whether the vice president can claim all three states. Recent discussions have centered on the possibility of an anomaly happening this year with just part of the blue wall breaking its way. The conversations have focused on whether Michigan or Wisconsin “fall” to former President Donald Trump while the two other states go blue, according to three sources with...

Welcome to the "Would You Like Fries with That?" edition of Wargaming the Electoral College, your semi-occasional glimpse into the what-ifs and prognostications of the 2024 presidential election. For what it's worth, I first started doing these — using photocopied U.S. maps and blue and red magic markers — during my sophomore year at Mizzou during the 1988 election. Which is my way of admitting I was not a well young man. That election was a gimme, with George H.W. Bush successfully running for Ronald Reagan's third term, and what a shame he didn't deliver. So I called all 50...

Last week, PJ Media published my column, “Here’s How You’ll Know When the Race Is REALLY Over.” (It was a follow-up to an earlier analysis of how we’ll know when Kamala Harris realizes she’s losing. That one got a lot of attention too, because Harris completed 75% of my predictions within two days.) But in the “When the Race Is REALLY Over” column, the checklist is shorter.Just two bullet points:Kamala Harris (and other leading Democrats) will start blaming the American people directly for failing to support them. It won’t just be racism/sexism anymore, but something deeper than that.You’ll see an...

The State Censor cleared for publication on Tuesday that the UAV launched by Hezbollah on Saturday struck the private home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and caused damage. The UAV precisely struck a bedroom window. All three UAVs that were launched that day were intended for the Netanyahus' home. The Netanyahus were not home at the time of the strike. "Iran's proxies, who today tried to assassinate my wife and me, have made a serious mistake," Netanyahu said after the strike. "This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing the war of renewal against our enemies,...

Sky News contributor Megyn Kelly has mocked the “media meltdown” after Donald Trump’s viral McDonald’s shift.Megyn Kelly calls out ‘media meltdown’ over Donald Trump’s McDonald’s shiftOn Sunday, the former president manned the fries and served customers at the drive-thru at a McDonald’s in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.“The reason they went in a full meltdown over this is because that's how effective it was,” Ms Kelly told Sky News host Paul Murray.“Even they could see this is dangerous. He is charming, Americans will love it and it makes her look terrible.”

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Rick Becker, the driver of the statewide measure to essentially abolish property taxes, said he sees the fundraising efforts of the “vote yes” and “vote no” camps as a classic David-and-Goliath matchup. Supporters of Measure 4 have raised just over $105,000 for a group called End The Unfair Property Tax. The coalition opposed to Measure 4, Keep It Local, has raised more than $1.8 million, according to campaign finance reports available as of early Friday afternoon. Becker described the donors supporting Measure 4 as “regular North Dakota folks.” [snip] Education-related groups have made the...

No commentary, just memes. MORE AT LINK..........................

Yesterday, Donald Trump joined Fox News host Lawrence Jones at a Bronx barbershop. Trump, a Queens native who spent a lot of time on construction sites, was clearly at home among these guys in a way that Kamala and Walz never could be. (JD Vance would be at home there, too.) There was no fakery. Trump may be a billionaire, but these are his people—and because Trump is real, he understood the pain the barber’s hyper-inflated energy bills are causing him. That pain and Trump’s recognition explains why he’s campaigning in New York, a place that ought to be a...

Updated, accurate reports have just been released by distinguished economists, federal watchdogs and reputable fact checkers on the actual economic situation—according to these, the U.S. has been in a recession since 2022, and the real inflation rate is now hovering close to 40%. Most recently, the Brownstone Institute indicated the actual inflation rate as close to double the “informed” rate from media and government sources:Many have questioned the accuracy of official inflation statistics, with dozens of academic papers written on the topic and doubts voiced by sources ranging from the New York Times to former President Donald Trump.[snip]According to our...

Target is slashing prices on 2,000 items, marking the second time this year that the retailer cut customer costs as it attempts to attract inflation-weary shoppers ahead of the holiday shopping season. Some prices have dropped effective immediately on a number of items, including home goods, beauty products, food, beverages and toys. In a press release, Target said it “routinely adjusts its prices to remain competitive in markets across the country” and the discounting will continue through December. Target’s price cuts have boosted customer spending after a string of dreadful quarters for the company. Discounts helped turn around Target’s fortunes:...

Voters in Los Angeles are expressing skepticism of Measure A, a ballot initiative that would raise sales taxes in the county to provide more services to the homeless, expanding Measure H, which was passed by referendum in 2017. Measure H raised sales taxes by a quarter of a percent — and the homeless population kept rising. That rise was driven by a variety of factors, but access to generous services — like hotel rooms — may have been one of them. While opinion polls suggest that support for Measure A is near 50%, that is far lower than the nearly...

Yet another reason to disband entire swaths of federal law enforcement: The federal government has a long, proud history of arming people who commit violent crimes. Sometimes it’s intentional as it was during the Obama era Fast and Furious program when the ATF shipped weapons to the Mexican cartels. Sometimes it’s due to basic stupidity and negligence as it was when a BLM ranger left his gun in his car in San Francisco where it was stolen. It was later used to murder Kate Steinle... It seems that parts from a number of their retired duty weapons — firearms that...