• Homelessness hit a record high this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development found.
• About 770,000 people were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in January.
• In a silver lining, homelessness among veterans decreased markedly.

This year, homelessness was the worst it has ever been — for everyone except veterans, that is.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the results from the annual point-in-time surveys of unsheltered homeless people, which cities nationwide conducted in January.

Overall, homelessness was the highest it has been since the government began keeping track, with about 770,000 experiencing unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. That's an 18% increase from the same time in 2023, the HUD said in its report released on Friday.

"While this data is nearly a year old and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness," Adrianne Todman, HUD's acting secretary, said in a press release.

Veterans were the sole group that saw a positive change. According to the survey, homelessness among veterans dropped to 32,882, the lowest number on record and about an 8% decrease from 2023. Unsheltered homelessness among veterans also dropped to 13,851, an 11% decrease from 2023.

"This year, HUD has helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable, rental homes," the department said in the press release. The Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 vets in 2024.

Researchers at the Brookings Institution found that homeless people in many major cities rely on temporary and emergency shelters. Building paths to permanent housing, on the other hand, improved housing access overall, leading to declines in homelessness in some cities, the researchers found.

A Colorado man who allegedly attacked an AAPI TV reporter and demanded to know whether the journalist was a U.S. citizen, saying, "This is Trump's America now," is facing bias-motivated charges.

Driving the news: Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, was arrested on Dec. 18 in Grand Junction, Colorado, after police said he stalked KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja'Ronn Alex's vehicle for around 40 miles.

Zoom in: Egan tackled and choked Alex before several people intervened and restrained the suspect until officers arrived on the scene, Grand Junction police said.

• According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the AP, Egan, driving a taxi, had pulled up next to Alex at a stoplight and asked: "Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump's America now! I'm a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!"
• The attack occurred outside of the television station and was caught on camera, the arrest affidavit said.
• Egan was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility and charged with bias-motivated crimes, second-degree assault, and harassment.

Egan's lawyer, Ruth Swift, did not immediately return an email from Axios.

Zoom out: Alex is a native of Detroit. KKCO/KJCT reported that he was driving a news vehicle at the time.

• Alex told police that he believed he had been followed and attacked because he is a Pacific Islander, per the AP.

Context: The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, recently shared with Axios new data that showed 2023 hate crimes overall hit records across 10 of the nation's largest cities, rising 16%.

• Hate crimes against all Asian American communities have been on the rise since the pandemic, with 1 in 3 Asian American adults reporting being the subject of a hate act last year.

Grand Junction is around 250 miles west of Denver.

• When I was a college student, I decided to skip studying abroad.
• There were many reasons, but mainly, I wanted to stay with my boyfriend and roommate on campus.
• Now, as a mother of two, I regret that decision to travel freely at a young age.

I went to a liberal arts college that felt, at times, like a four-year sleepaway camp.

After spending high school studying, not dating, and having no social life, college was a dream come true. During freshman year, I snagged a great roommate, several lifelong friends, and a boyfriend.

When it came time to decide if I should study abroad, it was sophomore year, and I was still going strong with my roommate, friends, and boyfriend. I didn't want to leave them, so I decided not to study abroad.

I'm big on accepting my past decisions, but this one, to decline the opportunity to study abroad, is one of my persisting regrets.

I didn't study abroad for a few reasons

When asked, I told people I "couldn't" go abroad and still graduate on time. I was a double major and trying to minor in classics. There were quite a few graduation requirements I'd yet to take, and I remember thinking it would be hard to get all my credits for general ed and my majors while abroad. I didn't want my senior year of college to be spent scrambling to graduate.

If I'm being honest with myself, though, I was scared. I wasn't good at learning languages, so I'd either have to go somewhere English-speaking or put forth a significant effort to gain mediocre language skills in order to navigate another country. I wasn't a very chill traveler, had only ever traveled with family, and liked my comfort foods and spaces.

But my biggest fear was that I would miss out on a great social life I built. Socially, my life had never been better. I'd found a home at my school, had friends who were like family, and was in a relationship. He told me he wasn't planning to go abroad either for similar reasons: He also had a competitive major and liked his life the way it was.

I didn't want to miss a moment with those people.

I regretted my decision the following year

I was immensely lucky and privileged to be at college: A scholarship and my parents paid my tuition. I should've taken the opportunity given to me at that time, so it was short-sighted not to have the chance and study a culture other than my own.

My junior year ended up being one of the most stressful times of my life. The boyfriend and I broke up and got back together — and then we had even more issues. Many of my friends were abroad either for one semester or the whole year, including my previous roommate. Her replacement for the fall semester and I were, to put it mildly, a bad fit. I never felt so alone as I did those first few months of junior year.

I regretted not going abroad, but I was still nervous to do so because my on-and-off-again boyfriend was still on campus.

Years later, I still imagine what my life would be like if I did study abroad

Looking back 20 years later, I wish I'd just gone on my own little adventure. It would have been good for me to stretch my comfort zone at 20 when I was able to move more freely than I am now that I'm financially and physically responsible for myself and two kids.

Because I married that college boyfriend, had two children, and then divorced in 2020, I often wonder if it was worth staying behind for him.

I honestly think it was a sliding doors moment, and my entire life would be different today if I'd taken the opportunity. While I'd like to think I learned from my junior year experiences, I think I could have gotten there faster with a little physical distance from the place and people I'd come to rely on for emotional regulation.

The "Friends" finale aired in the spring of my freshman year — when I was entrenched in these relationships. Rachel famously gets off the plane, doesn't go to Paris, and gives up her dream career. We were supposed to think her staying with her friends and baby-daddy/sometimes boyfriend was the peak of romance. Now, I wish that both Rachel and I had gotten on that plane and taken the chance on the unknown.