The Evening: Record homelessness in the U.S.

Plus, how to get fitter in 2025.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 27, 2024 By Justin Porter Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday. Homelessness spikes in the U.S. A second impeachment in South Korea Plus, Christmas in outer space Skid Row in Los Angeles, Calif. Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times Homelessness reached record levels in the U.S. this year The number of people experiencing homelessness topped 770,000, an increase of more than 18 percent over last year and the largest annual increase since the count began in 2007, the federal government reported today. Nearly every category of unhoused people grew, with the rise especially steep among children and people in families. The report listed the national housing crisis and the end of pandemic-era supports as reasons, but federal officials told reporters that asylum-seeking migrants had overwhelmed the shelter systems and made for much of the increase. Veterans were the lone group among whom homelessness declined last year, and the number of homeless veterans is down more than half since 2009. That trend has been driven by bipartisan support for services and housing that is at odds with the rancor of the broader homelessness debate. The new numbers may widen that partisan divide. Democrats often blame soaring housing costs, flagging government rental subsidies and extremes in economic inequality, and tend to support an expanded safety net. Many Republicans blame liberal permissiveness and want to require unhoused people to seek aid for mental illness or substance abuse as a condition of receiving aid. President-elect Donald Trump has called for clearing cities of encampments and placing unhoused people into camps. Separating sludge from wastewater at a facility in Fort Worth. Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times The E.P.A. promotes fertilizer it was warned was toxic The Environmental Protection Agency has continued to encourage the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, even though it was told that it contained high levels of toxic "forever chemicals," a Times investigation found. In 2000, scientists at the chemicals giant 3M discovered high levels of PFAS — the virtually indestructible chemicals used in nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpets and many other products — in the nation's sewage. 3M never published its research, but shared its findings with the E.P.A. in 2003, according to documents reviewed by The Times. Today, the E.P.A. still promotes the use of sludge as fertilizer. It doesn't require testing for PFAS, despite the fact that whistle-blowers, academics, state officials and the agency's internal studies over the years have also raised contamination concerns. A rally against the impeachment of acting President Han Duck-soo in Seoul. Han Myung-Gu/EPA, via Shutterstock South Korea impeached its acting president Less than two weeks after the nation impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law, lawmakers voted to impeach the acting president. The news rattled the economy and sent South Korea's currency, the won, plunging. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was impeached by opposition lawmakers after he refused to appoint three judges to fill vacancies in the Constitutional Court, which will be deciding whether to reinstate or formally remove Yoon. The lawmakers described Han's refusal as a delaying tactic. Brice Ménard and Nikita Starkman What a century of human stuff looks like It took roughly four billion years for the first protozoa to grow into the 1.1 trillion tons of biomass that inhabit Earth today. It took us about a hundred years to make enough roads, skyscrapers, cars, cellphones, bricks, plastic bottles, bobblehead dolls and whatever else to outweigh everything living on Earth. That's the main conclusion from a meticulous global inventory of stuff, compiled in 2018 by a geophysicist and his colleagues. A physicist and a graphic artist recently turned their inventory into helpful visual aids. Take a look (they don't weigh much). More top news Gaza: The Israeli military forced patients and staff members to leave one of the last functioning hospitals in the Palestinian enclave's north. Iran: Cecilia Sala, a prominent Italian journalist who had been reporting from Tehran, was arrested and jailed in the infamous Evin prison. Health: Bird flu samples from a very ill patient had "concerning" mutations, but there is no sign that they are widespread in nature. Africa: Many of the continent's leaders are optimistic that Trump's return to the White House will bring more investment and less pressure to uphold democracy. Finance: Everyone from JPMorgan's chief executive to the International Monetary Fund has been ringing alarms about the shadowy world of private credit. Media: Republicans have tried to defund NPR and PBS for decades. Now Elon Musk is gunning for them. Cuba: The island is in its worst economic crisis since Fidel Castro took power 66 years ago. New York: A video released by the state attorney general shows prison officers fatally assaulting an inmate at the Marcy Correctional Facility. TIME TO UNWIND The New York Times Are your eyes sharper than A.I. tricks? Artificial intelligence can fabricate entire videos and photos, and those can be hard enough to spot. But now A.I. can also make minute but important alterations in genuine still and moving images, further blurring the lines between real and fake. Think you can't be fooled? In this quiz, we've taken photographs shot by Times reporters and edited them with A.I. tools. Your job: Point to the part of the photograph that is A.I.-generated. Related: OpenAI said it would be restructured as a for-profit corporation. The nonprofit that controls the organization would receive shares in the new company. Clockwise from top left: Joshua Bright, Melissa Schriek, Ben Rayner, Nicholas Sansone for The New York Times Twelve ways to get fitter in 2025 At its core, the secret to a healthy fitness routine is simple: Find ways to move. There are limitless options, but the best exercise is whatever you enjoy enough to keep doing it. Here is a selection of our favorite workouts from the year, whether you're looking to get your butt in shape or to boost your mood. Let's start simple, with a walk. Your holiday traditions We asked readers about the traditions they are most looking forward to this year. We're featuring their responses this week. Every year my mom and I spend a day baking over 10 different kinds of treats from recipes passed down in our family. We assemble boxes and deliver them to our neighbors. It's a tradition we've done since I was a kid with my grandmother and will pass on to the next generations. — Tess Murphy, San Francisco Also: Tell us about your New Year's resolutions. Dinner table topics The deluxe limited edition book of "Onyx" by Rebecca Yarros. Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times Judged by its cover: Elaborately designed books with patterned edges and other effects are spreading throughout the publishing industry. But you can't hide: She had an affair with a married man and ran a marathon to purge her sins. It didn't work. Put a ring on it: The bald eagle has long been the official emblem of the United States. A new law finally made it the national bird. Last call: The sun may be setting on craft beers. More breweries closed this year than opened. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Christopher Testani for The New York Times Cook: Pai huang gua, a Chinese dish of smashed cucumbers with sesame oil and garlic, can beat hot weather and hot food. Plan: Is a safari on your bucket list? Make sure you pick the right one. Resolve: If you're planning to quit drinking in 2025, or make other health changes, we can help. Watch: Here are seven new movies our critics are talking about this week. Protect: Flooded homeowners face a hard choice: Raise or raze? Download: Don't miss these five small but mighty video games. Play: Today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. For more, find all our games here. ONE LAST THING From left: Expedition 72 crew members Nick Hague, Don Pettit, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. NASA Celebrating the holidays very, very far from home Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore left Earth in June on what was supposed to be an eight-day trip. On Wednesday — about six months and several spacecraft malfunctions later — they donned Santa Claus hats and wished their families the best from 250 miles up. They held a zero-gravity cookie-decorating contest and built a reindeer from storage bags. Their tenure is likely to keep them in Earth's orbit for at least two more months. Have a stellar evening. Thanks for reading. Jonathan Wolfe will be writing on Monday. — Justin Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at evening@nytimes.com. And follow The New York Times on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok at @nytimes. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet)

You are subscribed to BIO, CISE, EDU, GEO, OIA, OISE, MPS, SBE, or TIP from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF provides these email updates to the research community for new or recently updated funding opportunities, including those in cross-cutting, multidisciplinary programs. Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet) See this in PDF format Document Number: nsf23-619     Continue reading on NSF.gov       Would you like to change how often you receive these updates? You can select immediate, daily or weekly emails from NSF in your subscriber preferences. Additional Resources WHO IS NSF? For more than 70 years the U.S National Science Foundation has funded basic research that has transformed our lives. For a glimpse into who we are and what we do, watch this video. WEBSITE For special resources, galleries and a closer look at our various research areas, visit our website. MULTIMEDIA GALLERY Our Multimedia Gallery has some of the most stunning images for you to use as a virtual background. Multimedia Gallery. FACT SHEETS Concise, factual summaries describing NSF at a Glance, By the Numbers, or other science topics, please visit this page.   Manage Preferences / Unsubscribe   |   Help   |   Contact NSF This email was sent to stevenmagallanes520.nims@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Science Foundation · 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314 · 703-292-5111