Homeless on the rise in U.S.

By OC Tribune Staff on December 27, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

HOMELESSNESS is rising in the U.S. (Shutterstock).

Despite extensive and expensive efforts to the contrary, homelessness in the United States increased by 18.1 percent in 2024, according to a new federal study.

The Associated Press reports that the Department of Housing and Urban Development states that there’s more than 770,000 unhoused, an admittedly low count.

That comes after a 12 percent increase in 2023. That rise was blamed on steeply increasing rents and the end of economic assistance tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest report indicates that Black people are overrepresented in the homeless population, being about 23 percent of the number. About 12 percent of Americans are classified as Black or African American.

Big city homelessness is sharply up, and the effects of the Maui fire are still being felt, with over 5,200 people still in emergency housing in Hawaii.

Stock market drops as year fades

WALL STREET was not bullish on Friday. (Shutterstock).

The last full week of trading days in 2024 at the New York Stock Exchange dropped sharply on Friday.

According to United Press International, Wall Street saw a sell-off in “Big Tech” stocks to put a downbeat “period” on what was otherwise a strong year for investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 333.59 points (0.77 percent), while Nasdaq fell 298.33 points (1.49 percent) and the Standard and Poor 500 skidded by 66.85 points (2 percent).

Gold was also down by 0.83 percent and silver by 1.39 percent while the value of American oil stocks rose by 1.41 percent.

Trump wants to save TikTok

Can TikTok, the popular but controversial video platform, but saved? President-elect Donald Trump thinks so.

DOES TIKTOK have a friend in the White House? (Shutterstock).

On Friday, Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to “pause” a new law – set to go into effect on Jan. 19 – which would ban TikTok from the United States unless it is divested from Byte-Dance, its Chinese-based parent.

Trump said he believes he can “save” it from concerns that it has been used to spread disinformation and influence American attitudes in favor of China.

At issue is whether or not a ban on a major communications edifice – which includes 14.7 million followers of Trump – would be an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of expression.

Weather: Cooler, maybe a bit wet

As we advance forward to the end of 2024, our West Orange County cities can expect continued cool temperatures and some chance of rain. The forecast for Saturday is for a daytime high of 64 with an overnight low of 49 under cloudy skies. Sunday will cool a bit to 61 (50) with partly cloudy conditions. Monday will begin a mild warming trend to 63 (48) with those same partly cloudy skies and Tuesday hit 68 (57) with a return to cloudy conditions.