Welcome to Friday, October 11th, numbered and bulleted lists...

Between 2010 and 2018, the homeless population in New York grew by 36% while California’s grew 7%.

Still, homelessness as a whole is on the decline, according to two metrics used by the federal government: point-in-time counts compiled by local governments and local estimates reported to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) that’s reported as a national aggregate.

As this chart from USAFacts shows, both the point-in-time and HMIS counts of America’s homeless population have been on the decline in recent years. The HMIS total declined from a high of 1,593,794 homeless Americans in 2008 to 1,416,908 in 2017. Similarly, point-in-time homelessness has fallen from a peak of 647,258 in 2007 to 552,830 in 2018.

Read more about homelessness in America here, then tell your reps:

Do you think more should be done to reduce homelessness?

On the Radar

What if Trump contests the results of the 2020 election?

It’s not completely speculative fiction: the president has discussed serving more than two terms on multiple occasions. He’s also continued to claim, with no evidence, that he “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”

Trump also tweeted this:

So... What happens if Trump contests the results of the 2020 elections?

For example, what if Trump claims, on November 3, 2020, that the elections were hacked and/or that millions of unauthorized immigrants voted and he's issuing an executive order blocking the election results?

We consider this possibility here, citing precedent (Bush v. Gore), state rights, and the symbolism of the White House.

“All candidates have a right to contest results in federal court,” Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley explained to Politico. “It’s not up to the candidate to decide if an election is valid. It’s not based on their satisfaction or consent. They have every right to seek judicial review.”

Are you concerned about voting fraud in the 2020 election?

China Censorship

A bipartisan group of lawmakers that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have sent a letter to National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver that slams the league for “self-censorship” after it “caved to Chinese government demands” for an apology.

The controversy began after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl tweeted in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, but he then deleted the Tweet and both the franchise and the NBA apologized for the “regrettable” comments. That didn’t stop a backlash in China, as the state broadcaster CCTV and Internet company Tencent (which has a $1.5 billion broadcast rights deal with the NBA) canceled broadcasts of NBA preseason games. Sportswear giant Nike later pulled all Houston Rockets merchandise from its stores in China.

The AOC-Cruz letter reads in part:

“The NBA should have anticipated the challenges of doing business in a country run by a repressive single party government ― including by being prepared to stand in strong defense of the freedom of expression of its employees, players, and affiliates across the globe. NBA players have a rich history of speaking out on sensitive topics of social justice in the United States, and the NBA takes pride in defending their right to do so. Yet while it is easy to defend freedom of speech when it costs you nothing, equivocating when profits are at stake is a betrayal of fundamental American values."

Should the NBA be criticized for censoring speech China doesn't like?

Under the Radar

Diplomatic Immunity

An American diplomat’s wife quickly departed the U.K. after she was allegedly involved in a fatal wrong-way car crash in Northamptonshire. Anna Sacoolas left the country after the U.S. Embassy in London asserted her diplomatic immunity.

Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road near the Royal Air Force Croughton station (operated by the U.S. Air Force) when she crashed into 19-year-old motorcyclist, Harry Dunn.

“I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose," said U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Trump said he'd speak with Sacoolas "so there can be some healing," but added: "The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road. That can happen.”

How do you feel about diplomatic immunity?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should Certain Conditions in Syria be Met Before U.S. Troops are Withdrawn?