The front lawn of the Milam family's Dallas home has been turned into a miniature golf winter paradise for the holidays. The Christmas decorations are on display from almost sunrise to sunset, and visitors can rent a club to play a game of putt-putt with themes like Santa, candy canes, snowflakes, and more. Firefighter and father of two Mike Milam stated, "You can see not just the excitement and wonderment of kids but also of adults." Since the Covid epidemic, the Milam family has made decking out the front yard an annual ritual. The ornate decorations of the family of four reflect a trend that several shops, such as Home Depot and Walmart, have attempted to follow in recent years: Even while they keep an eye on their spending on other luxuries, some consumers are increasing their purchase...

Even if there aren't many houses for sale right now, there is still a lot of vacant properties. Actually, the highest in history. According to a new research from Realtor.com, the number of additional bedrooms—defined as a bedroom that is greater than the number of people living in the property, including one for an office—has increased to its highest level since the U.S. Census started keeping track of this statistic in 1970. According to the most recent Census data available, the number of additional bedrooms increased from 31.3 million in 2022 to 31.9 million last year. There were just 7 million additional bedrooms in 1980. The fourfold increase coincides with a decrease in the average number of people living in a home, which fell from 3.1 in 1970 to a record low of 2.5 in 2023. Accordi...

The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a major defense spending plan that was approved by the Senate on Wednesday. One of its provisions prohibits the coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender children of military personnel. After the House passed the same bill last week, which was negotiated by both party leaders, the Senate passed the final version of the law by a vote of 85 to 14. Now, it will go to the desk of President Joe Biden to become law. The Defense Department's budget for the upcoming year is established by the $895 billion bill. Although it contains more than a thousand pages of defense policy, Democrats were especially incensed about the prohibition on gender-affirming care for kids. On Monday, more than 20 Democratic senators, led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, ...

President Joe Biden is currently awaiting legislation that would involve the federal government in mending the dysfunctional teen business. After passing the Senate unanimously last week, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act was approved by the House on Wednesday with a resounding majority. The bipartisan law requires a federal study on the frequency and extent of child abuse and deaths in adolescent residential institutions, with reports to be released every two years for ten years. Along with examining current rules and professional standards governing the programs, the research will offer suggestions on how local and federal authorities might enhance their control. Child welfare advocates and survivors of the troubled teen industry—a collection of boarding schools, residential treatme...

Authorities said Tuesday that a man from Michigan had confessed to organizing a mass shooting at the offices of a local political party and a club in the area because he connected both places to homosexuals. In Owosso, which is roughly 25 miles west of Flint, Mack Davis, 22, entered a guilty plea to one count of committing a hate crime by trying to carry out the mass murders. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, he could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated in a statement attached to the release that such cruel and despicable hate-fueled violence, which targets innocent people based on their sexual orientation, is incompatible with our beliefs as Americans. The LGBTQI+ community will not be the target of crim...

In an attempt to maintain stability in what seems to be a stable but declining economy, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point reduction in its key interest rate on Wednesday. This is the third rate cut by the central bank in 2024. The Fed's target rate is now between 4.25% and 4.5% as a result of the action. The Fed now only anticipates two interest rate cuts in 2025, according to its statement announcing the move. The unemployment rate is still low, it said, while the inflation rate "remains somewhat elevated." According to a different paper issued by the Fed on Wednesday, central bankers now think it will take until 2026 to reach their targeted inflation rate of 2%. According to Bloomberg's survey of economists, three cuts were anticipated next year because they thought the econo...