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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates, an annual snapshot of the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings. The report found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023. This report reflects data collected a year ago and likely does not represent current circumstances, given changed policies and conditions.
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The third Monday in February is set aside for Presidents' Day in the United States, which is actually referred to as Washington's Birthday on the federal calendar. Washington's Birthday had always been celebrated on February 22, but with the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968, the holiday was moved. In fact, Washington's birthday has not been celebrated on the actual day of his birth since the law first took effect in 1971.
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Maternal prenatal infections affect millions of women each year, and a recent study found that the timing of those infections could affect children's cognitive development. A 2022 study published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth found that infections in the third trimester were significantly associated with decreased verbal IQ at age four and total IQ at age eight. Such findings underscore the potentially significant impact prenatal infections can have, but researchers behind the study noted that further study is necessary to determine if effects persist in future cognitive outcomes.
Read moreOptimism is running low among Oklahomans as they look ahead to 2025. A survey of 3,000 people conducted by MarketBeat. com asked respondents to rate their financial optimism for the coming year on a scale of 1 to 10. Oklahomans scored a somewhat pessimistic 4 out of 10, below the national average of 6/10, while Hawaii residents reached an impressive 9/10 optimism rating. It appears that challenges such as rising interest rates and global economic uncertainty have weighed heavily on Oklahomans’ financial outlook for 2025.
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As 2024 comes to a close, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the U.S. population will be 341,145,670 on New Year’s Day, an annual increase of 2,640,171 or 0.78%.
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