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Good morning,

This cohost announced her exit from America’s most popular game show this weekend.

Who is Mayim Bialik?

Sony’s decision leaves Ken Jennings, a former Jeopardy champion, as the sole host. The company says going with a solo host is intended “to maintain continuity for our viewers.” The Mo News audience appeared to be split about the decision in an Instagram poll we took over the weekend.

Either way, we are hoping this iteration of the show will inspire some SNL greatness again one day soon.

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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🗞 HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA

Homelessness this year hit its highest level ever recorded, jumping 12% as housing costs climb and pandemic assistance runs out.

BY THE NUMBERS
Particularly troubling, families with kids saw a 16% increase in homelessness.

• 28% of the total homeless population— roughly 186,100 people— are families with children.

  • 50% of those families were Black.

    • In the U.S. in 2023, Black people made up 13% of the total population, but they made up 21% of those living in poverty and 37% of all people experiencing homelessness. The overrepresentation has been seen in previous years as well.

• Hispanic and Latino people saw the largest numerical increase, up 28% from 2022 to 179,336 in 2023.

STATE-BY-STATE
Over 60% of the 200,000+ people experiencing homelessness in California and Oregon were unsheltered, which means they are living on streets, in vehicles, or at parks. That compares to only 4.9% of New York’s 103,200 homeless population; NYC is legally required to provide shelter to anyone who requests it.

• In the last year, homelessness jumped in these states:

  • New York 39.1%

  • California 30.5%

  • Florida 18.5%

⬇️ But, Florida’s is down from 2007 by -36.0% and Texas by -31.2%.

WHY THE SPIKE NOW?
For about a decade, homelessness was on the decline. Then, from 2016-2020 it was increasing again. What’s behind this recent spike?

• Pandemic-era protections — think direct payments, rental help, extra money for children — helped lead to three consecutive years of the lowest poverty rates on record, but those protections are now mostly gone.

• High housing costs and low incomes are also fueling the crisis.

  • The median rental cost was just under $2,000/month in Nov.

    • Housing inflation is slowing, but it’s still incredibly expensive to own or rent a home.

  • In 2022, 12.4% of Americans, or 37.9 million people, lived in poverty — living-off-of $13,590 or less for individuals and $23,030 or less for a family of three.

MIGRANTS
A surge in new migrants across the U.S., notably in major cities, has collided with the housing crisis. And it’s leading to a fight for already scarce resources.

• The Biden administration has provided more than $1 billion in grant funding to cities and states to fund critical needs for migrants.

  • It’s also looking into federal land and buildings that could shelter migrants.

• NYC: Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded for federal help — he estimated it would cost $12 billion to house and care for migrants over the next three years and $5 billion this year alone.

  • 🚨By 2025, the city could have 100,000+ migrants in homeless shelters, about twice the current number.

• Chicago: The city has more than 68,000 unhoused people, in addition to nearly 9,500 migrants.

  • Officials expect migrant support to cost over a quarter of a billion dollars this year. Local advocates say that's more than they've ever seen deployed toward homelessness.

WHAT’S BEING DONE
The newest Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report says there were 7% more beds for people experiencing homelessness in 2023 vs 2022. But this under-paces the 12% increase.

• THE WHITE HOUSE announced a plan to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025 last year — but that will be hard with this year’s increase.

  • HUD blamed the rise on the expired pandemic-era assistance, and called on Congress to pass Biden’s 2024 budget that has additional assistance.

  • HUD projects to give grants for homeless support services to 330,000 people in 2023, a 15% increase from 2022.

🚨 Last year, not counting federal money, Texas put $19.7 million into its three main homelessness programs – equal to about $806 per unhoused person. California poured $1.85 billion into its three main programs – or $10,786 per unhoused person.

• California officials have gone down to Texas to see what they can learn.

  • Texas recorded a 28% drop in homelessness since 2012, while California’s homeless population grew by 43% over the same period.

• WHAT THEY SAW: Prioritization for permanent housing instead of temporary shelters, finding places for people before clearing encampments, and clear coordination between the city, county and local organizations.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Negotiators are rushing to reach a US border security deal ahead of the Senate's holiday recess (AP)

📌 Major storm battering Florida expected to slam East Coast, bringing hazardous winds and potential flooding rain (NBC NEWS)

📌 Florida GOP censures Chair Christian Ziegler and strips him of authority amid sexual assault investigation (CNN)

📌 Haley see surge in polls in New Hampshire; Trump dominates in Iowa (CBS NEWS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages raises alarm about its conduct in Gaza (AP)

📌 North Korea fires ballistic missile into sea, blames US for destabilizing region (FOX)

📌 Chileans reject conservative constitution to replace dictatorship-era text (REUTERS)

📌 Alex Batty, British teen missing for 6 years, returns to UK after being found in France (USA TODAY)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Activision Blizzard agrees to settle California case alleging discrimination against women (CNBC)

📌 Teamsters union authorizes potential strike at Anheuser-Busch (FOX BUSINESS)

📌 Quaker Oats recalls granola products because of concerns of salmonella contamination (NPR)

📌 FDA is investigating whether lead in applesauce pouches was deliberately added (NPR)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 ‘Wonka’ hits the sweet spot, tops box office on opening weekend (CNN)

📌 Harry wins hacking payout in phone-hacking case against Mirror publisher (BBC)

📌 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants stars reunite to support America Ferrera at Barbie event (PEOPLE)

📌 What are ketamine infusion clinics where Matthew Perry sought help? What you should know (USA TODAY)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: DECEMBER 18

• 1620: The English ship Mayflower arrives at modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts.

• 1892: “The Nutcracker,” Tchaikovsky’s ballet, publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia. While now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.

• 1966: The TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss's classic children's book, aired for the first time and became a holiday staple.

• 1969: The Jackson 5 release their debut album, ‘Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5.’ It features ‘Want You Back.’

• 1997: Comedian Chris Farley died at the age of 33.