News From Around the Web
#10 Teen Tourists Stabbed by Deranged Stranger at Grand Central Who Shouted ‘I Want All the White People Dead’ on Christmas - New York Post
A troubled vagrant randomly stabbed two teenage girls enjoying a Christmas morning meal with their parents at a Grand Central Terminal restaurant — after ranting that he wanted “all white people dead,” authorities said. Steven Hutcherson, 36— who cops and sources said has a slew of prior arrests and a history of mental health issues — had allegedly popped up at the restaurant and said he wanted a table but wasn’t going to order anything, staffers told The Post.
#9 Vivek Ramaswamy Suggests Only ‘Low IQ’ Candidates Spend on TV Ads After Report His Campaign Will No Longer Buy Airtime - Victor Nava for New York Post
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suggested Tuesday that only “low IQ” political candidates spend money on TV ads after a report indicated that his campaign will no longer spend money on TV spots with just weeks to go before the first nominating contests. The Ramaswamy campaign had stopped buying cable ads and currently has no TV ad reservation booked ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses and the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, NBC News first reported. “Presidential TV ad spending is idiotic, low-ROI & a trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ,” the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur wrote on X.
#8 GOP Legislators In 3 States Seek To Keep Biden Off 2024 Ballot - Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
Pennsylvania State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd, and Arizona State Rep. Cory McGarr released the following joint statement about their efforts and upcoming legislation to remove the current president's name from the ballot in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. "I am joining with PA Rep. Aaron Bernstine and AZ Rep. Cory McGarr to introduce legislation to remove Joe Biden from the ballot in response to the absurd ruling by radical Democrat judges in Colorado, removing Donald Trump from their ballot," Ms. Byrd said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
#7 The 32 States Where Zombie Deer Disease Has Been Reported so Far - and Why Humans Should be Prepared for 'Slow-Moving Disaster' - Stephen M. Lepore for Daily Mail
At least 32 states in America and parts of Canada have seen reports of a virus dubbed 'Zombie deer disease' that could potentially spread to humans in what one expert calls a 'slow-moving disaster.' The fatal brain virus, which leaves animals confused, drooling, and unafraid of humans, may someday infect people, as cautioned by some authorities. The alarm was raised after a deer carcass tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming in November. Dr. Michael Osterholm, who studied the spread of what's known as 'mad cow disease,' is the one who sounded the alarm in The Guardian, calling it a 'slow-moving disaster.'
#6 'Blasphemous' Same-Sex Nativity Sparks Fury, Priest Who Erected It Cites Pope as Inspiration - Warner Todd Houston for The Western Journal
A blasphemous LGBT-themed Nativity scene was erected by an activist Catholic priest in Italy, angering local politicians, traditional Catholics, and serious Christians everywhere this year. The display at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Capocastello di Mercogliano, Italy, features two “Mary” figures and omits Joseph. Left-wing activist Father Vitaliano Della Sala defended the display, saying, “I wanted to show with this scene that families are no longer just the traditional ones,” according to Reuters. The priest, who is well-known as a far-left agitator in the area, also cited Pope Francis as part of the inspiration for the Nativity display due to the pope’s recent efforts to soften the church’s resistance to the radical gay agenda.
#5 Harvard President Claudine Gay is Now Accused of Botching a Study that Landed her Major Tenure at Stanford - Harriet Alexander for Daily Mail
Harvard's embattled president is facing yet further questions about her academic record after a statistics expert challenged the data used in a report that helped win her tenure at Stanford. Claudine Gay, who took over as president in July, has been at the center of a firestorm since the October 7 Hamas attacks. She was seemingly slow to condemn students who justified the terrorist violence and slow to speak out against antisemitism on campus. The harsh spotlight has spread to her academic record, with accusations of plagiarism - and on Tuesday, a data scientist challenged her analytical methods. It was then revealed that she had refused to share her data, raising eyebrows in academia.
#4 KER-CHING Americans to Get a Paycheck Boost in 2024 as IRS Changes Tax Brackets - James Lawley for Money News
The IRS has announced that tax brackets will be shifting up 5.4% in 2024, meaning more Americans will have to pay less tax. Taking effect in January, both the federal income tax brackets and standard deductions are going up, shielding more of your paycheck from the IRS. The changes, which were announced in November, are designed to help Americans retain their purchasing power as inflation counteracts pay rises. This year's increase is substantial because the inflation rate remains way higher than the Federal Reserve's target.
The standard deduction, which reduces the amount you must pay taxes on, is going up as follows:
- To $29,200, up from $27,700, for married couples filing jointly
- To $14,600, up from $13,850, for individuals
- To $21,900, up from $20,800, for heads of household
- 10%: Taxable income up to $11,600
- 12%: Taxable income over $11,600
- 22%: Taxable income over $47,150
- 24%: Taxable income over $100,525
- 32%: Taxable income over $191,950
- 35%: Taxable income over $243,725
- 37%: Taxable income over $609,350
- 10%: Taxable income up to $23,200
- 12%: Taxable income over $23,200
- 22%: Taxable income over $94,300
- 24%: Taxable income over $201,050
- 32%: Taxable income over $383,900
- 35%: Taxable income over $487,450
- 37%: Taxable income over $731,200
The top rate of tax remains at 37% this year.
#3 Blue Cities Went All-In for Electric Transit, But the Buses Couldn't Handle the Cold - Michael Schwarz for The Western Journal
Frigid temperatures and a myriad of other problems have plagued Duluth and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul during their transition to zero-emission buses. Drew Kerr, spokesman for Twin Cities Metro Transit, explained that charged buses travel far shorter distances than manufacturers advertised. “Using garage chargers alone, electric buses can remain in service for 70 to 75 miles before needing to return to the garage; with on-route chargers, electric buses were scheduled to be in service for up to 90 miles before returning to the garage” Kerr said. “They would fail. They would not perform. They would experience malfunctions and glitches. They were extremely problematic right out of the gate,” Clark said. Furthermore, Duluth’s electric bus fleet has provided inadequate comfort by failing to keep riders warm in winter. Meanwhile, the Twin Cities’ fleet has proven comparatively unreliable. In Minneapolis-St. Paul, electric buses have broken down at twice the rate of traditional diesel-powered buses. All of this leaves the general impression that electric buses lack efficiency and do not meet riders’ needs.
#2 Six in Ten Voters Say, Biden, 81, Should NOT Run for President in 2024 - Nick Allen for Daily Mail
Six in ten voters, including nearly one-third of Democrats, say Joe Biden should not run for president in 2024, according to an exclusive DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners poll. In a further alarming sign for Biden, almost half of Democrats say it is not too late for the 81-year-old to be replaced as their party's nominee. The extensive survey showed 60 percent think Biden should not seek re-election, with only 34 percent saying he should and six percent expressing no opinion. The latest set of alarming results for the Biden administration comes less than 24 hours after a DailyMail.com poll revealed Donald Trump is ahead by four points nationwide.
#1 Joe Biden’s Trade Office Helps China Avoid U.S. Tariffs, Again - John Binder for Breitbart
Hundreds of China-made products will continue avoiding United States tariffs thanks to an extension announced by President Joe Biden’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) this week. The Section 301 tariffs on billions of dollars worth of China-made products were first imposed by former President Trump after a decades-long free trade consensus in Washington, DC, that eliminated nearly four million American jobs from the U.S. economy from 2001 to 2018. On Tuesday, Biden’s USTR Katherine Tai announced that her office will extend tariff exclusions for more than 350 China-made products and 77 COVID-19-related categories. The China-made products that will escape U.S. tariffs thanks to Biden include breast pumps, solar water heaters, garage door openers, X-ray tables, and thermostats, as well as food products from China such as crab meat, Dungeness crab, and Alaskan sole. While Biden keeps such tariff exclusions for China, a growing bipartisan coalition of Republican and Democrat lawmakers is asking the administration to revoke U.S. free trade relations with China.
And Now for Something Special 
Pennsylvania SPCA Shelter Empties Kennels for First Time in 47 Years: ‘A True Miracle’ - Andy Corbley for Good News Network
For the pooches and purr-babies in the SPCA shelter of Adams County, Pennsylvania, Christmas came early. By Saturday, two days before Christmas, every last one of them had found a new owner, leaving the kennels vacant on Christmas Day for the first time in 47 years of operations. “To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement! The staff and volunteers have worked VERY hard to take care of the animals in our care and to make sure they got adopted to the right home!” the team wrote on Facebook. “This year, we have adopted out 598 animals and reunited 125 strays with their owners!”
