* Rand Paul Releases Annual ‘Festivus’ List of Wasteful Government Spending - Paul highlighted more than $1 trillion in wasteful spending that included $10B on leasing, maintaining, and furnishing almost entirely empty buildings; $4.8 million on influencers; $2.1 million for Paraguayan border security; a $12 million Las Vegas pickleball complex; and $32,596 on break-dancing.

“Last Festivus, we bemoaned the national debt nearing $34T. In just a year, Washington’s career politicians and bureaucrats have managed to push it beyond $36T unsurprisingly, with hardly a second thought,” said Paul in the report.

* “Who’s to blame for our crushing national debt? Everybody,” Sen. Paul said.

* US National Debt Exceeds $36T as Fed Survey Warns of Risk to Financial Stability.

* Shame: Steve Bannon Backs Increasing Taxes on Wealthy Americans!

* Will TikTok be banned? - Billionaire Frank McCourt wants to buy the app.

* Boar's Head, cucumbers, frozen waffles, McDonald's: The biggest food recalls of 2024 - Forbes / USAToday.

* Egg prices rise again in November as bird flu causes havoc in industry - USAToday.com

The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3.65 in November, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up from $2.50 at the beginning of the year.

* The Speed of Human Thought Lags Far Behind Your Internet Connection, Study Finds - dnyuz.com

Now researchers have estimated the speed of information flow in the human brain: just 10 bps.

* The speed of human thought is dwarfed by the flood of information that assaults our senses.

Dr. Meister and Ms. Zheng estimated that the millions of photo-receptor cells in a single eye can transmit 1.6 billion bps - They left out the unconscious signals that our bodies use to stand, walk or recover from a trip. If those were included, “you’re going to end up with a vastly higher bit rate,” he said.