THE NEWS

Housing Affordability Is A Global Issue

Housing affordability has become a defining economic issue across much of the world, but the relationship between home prices and incomes differs more than many people realize.

Using data from the UN Habitat World Cities Report 2026, Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld created this map comparing median home prices with annual household incomes across more than 180 countries, revealing where buying a home is relatively attainable—and where it remains far out of reach.

The World’s Most Affordable Housing Markets

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the lowest home price-to-income ratios in the dataset at 3.0. The U.S. ranks seventh-lowest at 4.5, below Canada (9.4), Australia (7.5), and the UK (8.3).

The ratio shows how many years of median household income would be needed to match the median home price. A lower figure indicates greater affordability, though the measure does not account for mortgage rates or other homeownership costs.
RankCountryHome Price-to-Income Ratio
1🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia3.0
2🇦🇪 UAE3.0
3🇿🇦 South Africa3.4
4🇰🇵 North Korea3.5
5🇴🇲 Oman3.6
6🇳🇷 Nauru4.0
7🇺🇸 U.S.4.5
8🇹🇻 Tuvalu5.0
9🇳🇦 Namibia5.2
10🇹🇱 Timor-Leste5.2
11🇵🇲 Saint Pierre and Miquelon5.2
12🇶🇦 Qatar5.3
13🇧🇹 Bhutan5.5
14🇧🇿 Belize5.5
15🇸🇧 Solomon Islands5.5
16🇵🇼 Palau5.5
17🇹🇴 Tonga5.5
18🇵🇸 State of Palestine5.6
19🇱🇦 Laos5.7
20🇩🇲 Dominica5.7
21🇳🇮 Nicaragua5.8
22🇻🇺 Vanuatu5.8
23🇬🇩 Grenada5.9
24🇫🇯 Fiji6.0
25🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea6.0
26🇼🇸 Samoa6.0
27🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago6.1
28🇲🇺 Mauritius6.2
29🇷🇪 Réunion6.2
30🇯🇲 Jamaica6.2
31🇱🇨 Saint Lucia6.2
32🇾🇹 Mayotte6.5
33🇸🇭 Saint Helena6.5
34🇧🇪 Belgium6.5
35🇰🇮 Kiribati6.5
36🇸🇨 Seychelles6.6
37🇩🇰 Denmark6.6
38🇵🇾 Paraguay6.7
39🇫🇲 Micronesia6.7
40🇨🇻 Cabo Verde6.8
41🇨🇾 Cyprus6.8
42🇮🇸 Iceland7.0
43🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis7.0
44🇲🇭 Marshall Islands7.0
45🇱🇾 Libya7.2
46🇸🇿 Eswatini7.2
47🇲🇻 Maldives7.2
48🇳🇱 Netherlands7.2
49🇧🇧 Barbados7.2
50🇮🇪 Ireland7.3
51🇱🇸 Lesotho7.4
52🇯🇴 Jordan7.4
53🇦🇺 Australia7.5
54🇰🇲 Comoros7.6
55🇩🇯 Djibouti7.8
56🇫🇮 Finland7.8
57🇪🇸 Spain7.8
58🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire8.0
59🇸🇳 Senegal8.0
60🇲🇲 Myanmar8.0
61🇧🇯 Benin8.1
62🇹🇬 Togo8.1
63🇲🇾 Malaysia8.1
64🇮🇶 Iraq8.1
65🇱🇻 Latvia8.1
66🇳🇴 Norway8.1
67🇷🇼 Rwanda8.2
68🇬🇦 Gabon8.2
69🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe8.2
70🇲🇬 Madagascar8.3
71🇨🇲 Cameroon8.3
72🇨🇬 Congo8.3
73🇬🇲 Gambia8.3
74🇬🇧 UK8.3
75🇿🇲 Zambia8.4
76🇲🇽 Mexico8.4
77🇸🇲 San Marino8.5
78🇪🇭 Western Sahara8.6
79🇧🇫 Burkina Faso8.6
80🇲🇷 Mauritania8.6
81🇧🇭 Bahrain8.6
82🇲🇼 Malawi8.8
83🇲🇱 Mali8.9
84🇧🇸 Bahamas8.9
85🇭🇳 Honduras8.9
86🇸🇱 Sierra Leone9.0
87🇳🇿 New Zealand9.0
88🇪🇷 Eritrea9.1
89🇸🇩 Sudan9.2
90🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau9.2
91🇱🇷 Liberia9.2
92🇮🇳 India9.2
93🇧🇬 Bulgaria9.2
94🇨🇦 Canada9.4
95🇧🇮 Burundi9.5
96🇦🇩 Andorra9.5
97🇱🇮 Liechtenstein9.5
98🇨🇷 Costa Rica9.5
99🇧🇲 Bermuda9.5
100🇸🇸 South Sudan9.6
101🇳🇪 Niger9.6
102🇮🇹 Italy9.7
103🇨🇭 Switzerland9.7
104🇬🇳 Guinea9.8
105🇸🇪 Sweden9.9
106🇸🇴 Somalia10.2
107🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea10.2
108🇵🇦 Panama10.2
109🇯🇵 Japan10.3
110🇦🇹 Austria10.3
111🇹🇩 Chad10.4
112🇧🇴 Bolivia10.5
113🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo10.6
114🇩🇪 Germany10.7
115🇰🇿 Kazakhstan10.9
116🇷🇴 Romania10.9
117🇨🇫 Central African Republic11.1
118🇪🇨 Ecuador11.1
119🇦🇴 Angola11.2
120🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina11.4
121🇰🇼 Kuwait11.5
122🇬🇷 Greece11.5
123🇱🇺 Luxembourg11.5
124🇪🇪 Estonia11.8
125🇫🇷 France11.8
126🇹🇳 Tunisia11.9
127🇬🇹 Guatemala11.9
128🇪🇬 Egypt12.0
129🇲🇩 Moldova12.1
130🇲🇹 Malta12.1
131🇸🇮 Slovenia12.1
132🇺🇦 Ukraine12.2
133🇧🇩 Bangladesh12.6
134🇹🇷 Türkiye12.6
135🇵🇹 Portugal12.6
136🇱🇹 Lithuania12.7
137🇲🇪 Montenegro13.1
138🇸🇰 Slovakia13.2
139🇭🇷 Croatia13.2
140🇬🇪 Georgia13.3
141🇵🇱 Poland13.3
142🇲🇰 North Macedonia13.3
143🇺🇾 Uruguay13.7
144🇧🇾 Belarus13.8
145🇵🇰 Pakistan13.9
146🇦🇫 Afghanistan14.1
147🇮🇱 Israel14.1
148🇲🇦 Morocco14.2
149🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan14.3
150🇦🇿 Azerbaijan14.5
151🇭🇺 Hungary14.6
152🇨🇿 Czechia14.9
153🇺🇿 Uzbekistan15.3
154🇸🇬 Singapore15.5
155🇨🇱 Chile15.6
156🇦🇱 Albania15.7
157🇩🇴 Dominican Republic15.8
158🇷🇸 Serbia15.9
159🇰🇪 Kenya16.0
160🇩🇿 Algeria16.0
161🇦🇲 Armenia17.2
162🇨🇴 Colombia17.5
163🇲🇳 Mongolia17.6
164🇱🇧 Lebanon18.3
165🇧🇷 Brazil18.3
166🇮🇩 Indonesia18.5
167🇻🇪 Venezuela18.9
168🇵🇪 Peru19.0
169🇦🇷 Argentina22.7
170🇻🇳 Vietnam23.5
171🇹🇭 Thailand24.0
172🇲🇨 Monaco25.0
173🇮🇷 Iran25.1
174🇰🇷 South Korea26.0
175🇳🇬 Nigeria28.2
176🇵🇭 Philippines30.1
177🇰🇭 Cambodia32.5
178🇳🇵 Nepal32.8
179🇨🇳 China34.6
180🇱🇰 Sri Lanka40.8
181🇸🇾 Syrian Arab Republic86.7
–🌐 World Average11.2
In Gulf countries, relatively high incomes and government-backed housing initiatives help keep homeownership within reach for many citizens.

In the U.S., rising mortgage rates and constrained housing supply have weakened affordability in recent years. Even so, home values remain relatively low compared with household incomes on an international basis.

Around three billion people worldwide remain underserved by the housing market as home prices continue to outpace incomes in many countries.

Where Buying a Home Is Most Difficult

At the other end of the ranking, Syria records the world’s highest home price-to-income ratio at 86.7, followed by Sri Lanka (40.8) and China (34.6). South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines also rank among the world’s least affordable housing markets.

Although China’s housing market has cooled in recent years, home prices remain high relative to household incomes after decades of rapid appreciation fueled by urbanization and investment demand.

Several European countries also post relatively high ratios. Portugal (12.6), France (11.8), Luxembourg (11.5), and Germany (10.7) all rank well above the U.S. (4.5), reflecting affordability pressures across many advanced economies despite generally higher incomes.

Why Housing Affordability Is a Global Challenge

The data shows that housing affordability depends less on a country’s overall wealth than on how closely home prices track local incomes.

Even wealthy economies can become difficult places to buy a home when prices rise faster than wages, while some emerging markets remain comparatively affordable despite lower incomes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App 

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on home price-to-income ratios by state.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/30/2026 – 05:45

Microsoft posted strong Azure and Copilot growth, while Meta missed revenue guidance forecasts as free cash flow plunged leading to diverging stock moves.

The summer’s collective uplift from our nation’s 250th birthday and the United States’ role in co-hosting the World Cup has collided with the ominous spread of socialism among the American left. The dangerous philosophy is no longer confined to Ivy League faculty lounges or deep-blue enclaves of New York City, either. In next month’s primary in my home state of Michigan — a critical national battleground — Democrats could nominate Abdul El-Sayed for the U.S. Senate.El-Sayed may try to distance himself from the “socialist” label and his long-standing ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, but his platform speaks for itself. For starters, he not only boasts the support of prominent socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., but has also recently campaigned with them in Michigan. Furthermore, he has gone out of his way to link himself to self-described democratic socialist and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Last summer, his campaign even ran ads declaring, “Zohran won. Abdul is next.”Like the private jet-flying, multiple-home-owning Sanders, El-Sayed is a hypocrite. He has demonized high earners while earning an income in 2025 that puts him squarely in the top 1%. He has also advocated for “Medicare for All” and railed against employer health plans while his wife allegedly operates a medical practice that appears not to accept Medicare or any insurance at all.SOCIALIST-BACKED DEM WHO RIPPED THE WEALTHY CRACKS STATE’S TOP 1%, TAX RETURNS SHOWBut perhaps most troubling is the radical economic agenda El-Sayed seeks to bring to Washington. One staple of his stump speech is his criticism of “corporate oligopoly” and his demand for a “muscular” Federal Trade Commission, or FTC. On that front, El-Sayed’s campaign draws directly from the anti-business orthodoxy pushed by Lina Khan, former chair of the FTC under President Joe Biden and current chair of the board of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.Under Khan’s watch, sweeping federal investigations and punitive lawsuits became standard operating procedure, sending a chill through innovators and entrepreneurs nationwide. Her time leading the once-bipartisan agency was mired in hostility toward enterprise, job losses and internal agency mismanagement. By echoing Khan’s rhetoric, El-Sayed is not just pandering to the far left but also preparing to execute her ideas in the Senate. Their shared worldview appears to treat success as suspect and the federal government as a weapon to punish companies for innovating, competing and winning in the marketplace.Unfortunately, key pillars of this agenda are already surfacing. Take the recently revived American Innovation and Choice Online Act, or AICOA. Having failed to advance in previous Congresses, it’s back this summer as living proof of an anti-business and anti-growth philosophy.RAHM EMANUEL WARNS DSA AGENDA DOESN’T PLAY WELL OUTSIDE ‘UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN’Among other harmful provisions, the bill establishes a financial threshold above which tech companies would be subject to punitive, European-style regulations. Should the legislation become law, federal regulators will have sweeping authority to single out and penalize American companies for being successful innovators.If elected, it’s a good bet El-Sayed won’t just support this regulatory overreach; he will champion its expansion, putting Michigan’s job creators and critical industries in the crosshairs.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONFor my friends on the right who are watching the rise of socialism with glee and viewing it as a glide path to victory in the general election, think again. In a challenging midterm political environment, anything can happen. To win public support, we need to do more than just paint our opponents as extremists.We must, as Ronald Reagan said, put forward our own bold colors and not pale pastels. We must be clear about how and why free markets provide opportunities, especially for younger audiences who are already nervous about their future amid the rise of artificial intelligence. History shows us that innovation leads to more jobs and opportunities. But that can’t happen if we cede leadership to China out of fear of the unknown or surrender the economic argument to the likes of Mamdani, Khan and El-Sayed, who will replace optimism with fear tactics.That means articulating a clear, affirmative vision for economic growth: cutting burdensome regulations that stifle investment and hurt startups, defending free-market competition, and ensuring that American enterprise remains the envy of the world.

The Democratic Socialists of America recently rolled out a policy platform wrapped in delusional promises — free government-run health care, the abolition of the police and prison systems, and the defunding of our military. While those proposals sound crazy enough, something far more radical is buried underneath: a call to abolish the Senate and subordinate the presidency and the Supreme Court to a new unicameral body that would choose and control the executive and judicial branches.That proposal is not just unserious — it is a direct assault on the Constitution. The attacks on the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and the calls to abolish the Senate spring from the same impulse: impatience with constitutional limits on political power. When institutions become obstacles to ideological goals, the answer should never be to tear them down.That dangerous mindset has consequences beyond political rhetoric. Our Supreme Court justices and their families have been subject to escalating threats in recent years. DSA CO-CHAIR EMBRACES ABOLISHING SENATE, ICE, BORDERS AS DEMOCRATIC INFIGHTING ESCALATESDuring a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, I heard directly from Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan. Both described a security posture that has not kept pace with the threats they now face. In fact, after the leak of the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Barrett came home from work wearing a bulletproof vest given to her by her security detail. She recounted placing the vest on a table and having to explain to her 12-year-old son what it was and why she had it.No justice should fear for their safety because they faithfully discharge their constitutional duty. Yet instead of treating this as the urgent, nonpartisan security matter it is, we continue to hear rhetoric that attacks the very legitimacy of the court as an institution. In 2020, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch would “pay the price” if they acted to restrict abortion. His comments were inappropriate and dangerous. Unfortunately, this sentiment has continued to proliferate and fuel physical threats. More recently, congressional Democrats have called the Supreme Court “corrupt,” “rigged” and “a disgrace.”Criticism of the court’s decisions is part of a healthy democracy. Justice Kagan said as much herself. But there is a clear difference between criticizing a ruling and undermining the legitimacy of the institution or inciting threats against those who serve on it.JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH BREAKS SILENCE ON VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST JUDICIARY, SUPREME COURT LEAKSThe same impatience animates the DSA’s call to abolish the Senate. The Senate provides a necessary counterbalance to the House of Representatives. It balances power by granting each state equal representation, protecting smaller states from being steamrolled by larger ones. Because senators serve staggered six-year terms, the body is insulated from drastic swings in public opinion. That deliberate friction is what has allowed the republic to endure for generations.The three branches of government conceived by the Founders have served our democracy well. Republicans and Democrats alike should reject calls to dismantle our constitutional order.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONNow is the time to reaffirm our commitment to those institutions. Congress can ensure that Supreme Court justices have the security resources necessary to carry out their duties without fear or intimidation. I will continue making this a priority through my role on the Appropriations Committee. But we need every American to reject the DSA’s reckless calls to dismantle the constitutional framework that has preserved our republic for 250 years.The answer to political disagreement is not to weaken the Constitution — it is to defend it.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. DEB FISCHER

Before the ever accelerating news cycle takes us back to combat operations with Iran, we should note one more facet of the Dr. Fauci story.That Dr. Fauci invoked the protection of the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday should not surprise anyone. His diaries are damning. Any statement he makes puts him in peril of violating 18 U.S.C. 1001 which penalizes false statements to any federal official.Dr. Fauci made many false statements during the Covid pandemic. He has received a pardon. He does not want to re-enter the world of potential criminal conduct by trying to justify his evasions and falsehoods.INSIDE FAUCI’S PRIVATE DIARY: WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT TRUMP, TV PERSONALITIES AND CELEBRITIESDr. Fauci did a lot of good in his long career. He also did a lot of harm. I trusted him completely at the beginning of the pandemic, but by the time of my third and final interview with him, I was urging him on air to resign as his lack of credibility was harming public health at that moment and long into the future.The interview angered him, which is fine. Journalists should expect to anger people occasionally. It is part of the job.What Dr. Fauci revealed to his diary that day has not yet received much attention. The September 29, 2021, entry shows that he himself suffered from full-blown “Trump Derangement Sydrome (“TDS”).My attention has been fixed on this entry on September 29, 2021, and not because it followed the interview with me which angered him, but because, as Dr. Fauci recorded, the interview “triggered him.” The doctor’s entry, with its spelling and punctuation, concludes:”This conversation triggered in me some serious thinking about several things including when I actually would want to retire from the untenable situation that I am in of having 10s of millions of people hate me because I stand for the truth. Also, this nonsense about conflating the discussion about gain of function with the lab lead theory is preposterous and totally distracting and draining of everyone’s energy. Richard Ebright with his gain of function obsession is a total a–hole who is pushing this theory because he “wants to be somebody”. I am terribly disappointed with Jesse Bloom and David Relman for doing somewhat of the same thing. they have been pushing to stop any gain of function research for a long time and I believe that in some respects they are pushing for an even hoping that this was a lab leak, which the molecular analysis of the viruses that we used in the lab compared to the virus SARS-CoV-2 clearly indicate that it is molecularly impossible for the viruses under the auspices of the NIH grant to have been manipulated into or evolved into SARS-Cov-2. The opposition to me is part of the ‘big lie’– ‘Lock her up’; Trump won the election; January 6th was really a friendly visit to the Capitol; ‘the China virus’ and Trump was correct, ‘Fire Fauci’ since he was wrong all along and so let’s discredit him, and so on. Quite frankly, I am finally coming to the realization that our democracy is truly threatened and that it is possible, even likely, that our democracy will crumble with the 2024 election. If trump wins , we are finished . If trump loses, his far right lunatics will likely try again to overthrow the election. And with the attempts to have state legislators (Republican) validate the electoral votes, I am really afraid that they might be successful. Having said all of this, there is no way that I am going to retire before this outbreak is under control.”Three observations about this long and rambling paragraph.LEGACY MEDIA COVERS ANTHONY FAUCI DIARY BY CRITICIZING DONALD TRUMP INSTEAD OF FAUCI’S DISHONESTYFirst, I had urged Dr. Fauci on air to retire because people didn’t trust him. He resisted this on air, but then admits the truth of the charge in his diary. When “10s of millions of people hate” you, and you are a public health official, it’s time to step aside.Second, his contempt for President Trump leads him to ridiculous “TDS”-driven excess such as the alarmism about our democracy. That’s a left-wing talking point that has never been remotely true, but he believed it which underscores his susceptibility to legacy media narrative. Again, if you are a Democratic senator or official, repeating left-wing nonsense for your base is part of the job. But public health bureaucrats are supposed to function without absorbing the crazy rhetoric of either extreme.Finally, this entry is not getting much attention because of the presence over the Manhattan-Beltway legacy media, not of an Iron Dome or a Golden Dome, but of a left-wing “Democrat dome” that destroys or at least partially disables incoming bad stories for Democrats and Democrat-adjacent officials and media figures.From the national security peril of Secretary Clinton’s private server, to the idiocy of the Steele Dossier and Hunter Biden’s laptop, to the absurdity of the Judge Merchan trial of Donald Trump in New York City and the Javert-like actions of Jack Smith, to the Robert Hur tapes and more, the stories that blow up beloved narratives of the left just don’t hit the legacy media with much if any impact. The Democrat Dome works.The “Democrat Dome” is a remarkable, a “platinum dome” that almost never fails to at least minimize if not totally destroy such “bad for Democrats” stories. It also works to intercept most good news for President Trump. Its effectiveness has been near 100%.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThe Manhattan-Beltway legacy media’s Democrat dome has been showing signs of stress and failure in recent years. Bari Weiss has helped slowly turn CBS News into a fifth column for objectivity within the dome’s coverage area, and the continual bombardment by new media of great news stories on the Democrat dome is coming close to overwhelming it for good.The final bit of public service Dr. Fauci is providing is this latest barrage on legacy media’s credibility. Its many figures named in the diaries obviously won’t want to cover the diaries and the numerous sub-stories contained within them.But that’s not going to work. Too many parents have too many children penalized by the awful public policy peddled by Team Fauci for the story to pass. Dr. Fauci may have in fact launched the most devastating fusillade at the Democrat Dome of the many that have marked the decade of Trump.Now back to the war and what should be a massive escalation by American and allied forces.Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT

LOS ANGELES, CA – As new data show homelessness rising in Los Angeles, local activist John Alle said Mayor Karen Bass has neglected her responsibility to address the issue and witness firsthand the crime, drug use and deteriorating conditions in some of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released its 2026 annual homeless count Friday, finding overall homelessness increased 3.4% in LA and 1.2% across the Los Angeles Continuum of Care following two consecutive years of declines, though LAHSA said “neither change is considered statistically significant.”The count estimated 45,194 people were experiencing homelessness in LA and 73,040 across the Continuum of Care, which excludes Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale.”She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t see it,” John Alle, a Santa Monica business owner and co-founder of the Santa Monica Coalition who owns properties across Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital in an interview last month.KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS”We’ve invited her numerous times to ride along with us through Alvarado, Third Street, Park View, MacArthur Park and Westlake. Come drive with us. Have a police officer follow behind for security. And she refused.”The report also found street homelessness rose 7.9% in Los Angeles and 3.3% countywide, with an estimated 29,115 people living on the streets in the city. LAHSA said funding cuts affecting Time-Limited Subsidies and other economic factors reduced the number of people permanently housed by about 5,100 from the “record high of 28,625 people housed permanently in 2024.”In a press release Thursday responding to the data, Bass argued funding cuts “at the federal and state levels” contributed to the rise, adding the Trump administration had “driven up the cost of gas, groceries, and rent — pushing more families to the edge — and slashed critical safety net funding.””For two years straight, we drove down homelessness by historic margins — but as expected, last year our efforts ultimately couldn’t keep up with policies and funding cuts at the federal and state levels that pushed more people onto the streets,” she said.Bass also admitted in a May interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson that she did not fulfill her promise to end street homelessness in the city by 2026 because she “didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers” her administration would face.Alle said crime has “gotten so bad” in neighborhoods including Little Bangladesh, which Bass has previously described as one of “LA’s most vibrant communities.””In Little Bangladesh, the crime is so bad that we’re finding people on the streets unconscious,” he said. “We’re having handymen pick up needles and dispose of them.”SPENCER PRATT SAYS HIS POLICY WILL FORCE HOMELESS OUT OF LA AND INTO CITIES LIKE SEATTLEPointing to his tenants’ experiences, Alle said he sees the impact of the crisis every day on the “mom-and-pop” renters who live in his apartment buildings and pay thousands of dollars a month, saying “it doesn’t sit well with me.””From people overdosing outside the gated apartment buildings I own, to people attacking each other, murders, and calling 911 only to be put on hold for sometimes an hour, and then being told, ‘Well, you’re lucky. Sometimes it’s two hours,'” he said.Alle accused Bass of ignoring neighborhood conditions despite living nearby at Getty House, the mayor’s official residence in Windsor Square.”The streetlights are out,” he said. “The rubbish isn’t collected. The streets are dirty. It’s one thing to complain about copper wire theft, but we’re just talking about normal streetlights and replacing the bulbs.”But it’s not just residents who are affected, according to Alle, who said small businesses are being forced to close early to avoid crime and making it harder to stay in the city.”When I see them having to leave work at four o’clock, I see them having to close their businesses at four o’clock during the winter and at dusk during the summer,” he said. “That’s not good. I want them to succeed. If they don’t succeed, they can’t afford to stay in LA I feel for them, and their problems are my problems.”HOUSING FIRST IS A DISASTER. I SAW SACRAMENTO’S HOMELESS CHAOS FIRSTHANDMultiple studies have found that a large portion of homeless individuals in Los Angeles County aren’t originally from there and Alle has been vocal about how his coalition partnered with an artificial intelligence company to create an AI-powered hotline that has helped more than 40 homeless people return to their home states over the past year.”They’ve called us from shelters,” he said. “They’ve called us from parks. The people calling aren’t entrenched with the drugs or the gangs. They came here for noble reasons.”Additionally, Alle said his coalition collaborates with local law enforcement, paying for bus, plane or train tickets to help homeless people voluntarily return home, where they can reunite with family or enter treatment programs.”We’re not gonna put them behind the slammer,” he said.Alle said the most “heartbreaking” part is watching families embrace loved ones returning home, with many looking “completely different” after recovery.”It’s a long road ahead, but they’re trying because they’ve seen hell in LA,” he said.While acknowledging the program won’t end all homelessness, Alle said helping even a small number of people rebuild their lives is a victory.”One person saved is great. Fifteen percent, and the 40 people we’ve saved, is tremendous,” he said.Bass will face off against progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman, who has her own ties to the homeless crisis as chair of the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, in her bid to win another term as mayor in November.

A Washington mother says she is withdrawing her children from an elementary school after learning a Pride-themed lesson had been presented during music class without advance notice to parents or an opportunity to opt out, raising questions about district policies governing classroom instruction.”I assumed I had probably missed an email asking for consent, but there was nothing,” Maria Varchetto said in communications with school administrators, which she shared with Fox News Digital on Monday. “No advanced notice, no opportunity to review the lesson, no information letting parents know this topic would be discussed. No option to request that our kids be allowed to opt out and participate in an alternative activity. There was nothing.”Varchetto alleged the lesson was presented to elementary school students, including her daughter, on June 15 at Martha Lake Elementary School in the Edmonds School District as part of a music class and that parents were not informed beforehand.TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS WOKE SCHOOLS ACCUSED OF HIDING STUDENTS’ GENDER TRANSITIONS FROM PARENTSVarchetto said that a video entitled, “Why is Pride in June,” from the YouTube account, “Queer Kid Stuff,” which, according to the account, “imagines a kinder and more equal future through highly-accessible education and entertainment for kids ages 3+,” was shown to her fourth-grade daughter.The YouTube channel describes itself as an “LGBTQ+ educational webseries for children ages 3+ hosted by a tie-wearing queer lady, Lindsay, and her non-binary best-stuffed friend, Teddy. Gender Studies 101 meets Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood!”Varchetto said the incident prompted her to remove her children from the school.VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SUED OVER ALLEGED POLICY OF KEEPING STUDENTS’ GENDER TRANSITIONS HIDDEN FROM PARENTS”We are 100% removing our kids from this school as I have no trust in the leadership,” Varchetto said.Other materials Varchetto said were included were a list of videos from musicians in the LGBTQ+ community such as Freddie Mercury of Queen, Lil Nas X, and Billy Porter dancing in a ballgown on Sesame Street.Varchetto told school officials that her daughter recalled hearing during the lesson that students could identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, asexual, nonbinary or Two-Spirit.She said an administrator told her she had not been aware those topics were part of the classroom discussion, leaving Varchetto wondering whether the lesson included more than the materials she had been shown.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OPENS FOUR TITLE IX INVESTIGATIONS INTO MICHIGAN AND NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL DISTRICTS”No handouts were sent home (which is typical for music class),” Varchetto told Fox News Digital in a statement.Varchetto said she asked the school for a copy of the lesson materials but was told they could only be reviewed in person rather than sent electronically. She also said parents were not notified beforehand that the lesson would be taught, were not given an opportunity to opt their children out, and received no advance communication about its content.She said that cultural lessons were taught every month for the theme of that month, but that Pride month was left off of the list of lessons.”I feel mad they did this, mad they hid it,” Varchetto said. “I feel insulted, offended, angry, and sad that my kids are now being taken out of a lifestyle they’ve grown to love, away from the friendships they’ve built, all because this one teacher didn’t care to ask permission and a principal lied and hid it.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Edmonds School District said, “The lesson was not part of a districtwide Pride curriculum. It was a music lesson developed by the school’s music teacher that highlighted the contributions of influential musicians, including some who identify as LGBTQ+.”The spokesperson continued, “The purpose of the lesson was to teach music and music history through the lives and contributions of notable artists. Discussions about an artist’s background or identity were included as relevant biographical context, similar to how students may learn about other aspects of historical figures’ lives that helped shape their experiences and contributions.”The spokesperson added, “We expect instructional materials to be age-appropriate and aligned with district expectations and state standards. As with any concern raised about classroom instruction, we will work with the school administrator to determine whether they met those expectations.”

The State of Maine s the third of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels built for the U.S. Maritime Administration to train merchant mariners.

UK Regulator Targets Data-Center Land-Grab On The Power Grid

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem, on Wednesday launched a consultation on a proposed commitment fee for data center projects as part of broad reforms to ensure network capacity is used for projects that are ready and able to connect.

The proposal includes a new Data Centre Commitment Fee, which would be paid by large data center developments when accepting a connection offer, Ofgem said in a statement.

The fee would be refunded when the project reaches grid connection status and forfeited if the project exits the grid queue early.  The fee would be set within a proposed range of £237,500 to £712,500 per megawatt (MW), equivalent to around 2.5% to 7.5% of average project costs.

“The proposals are aimed at tackling speculative projects from securing scarce network capacity without any firm intention to connect, ensuring the queue enables investment ready, viable projects,” Ofgem said.

Plans for a commitment fee for data centers were drawn up after the UK saw a surge in connection applications in the past two years, driven largely by demand from data center projects.

“Ofgem is concerned that a significant number of projects in the queue may not ultimately proceed, potentially delaying viable developments and creating misleading signals about future network investment needs,” the regulator said.

Last year, Ofgem approved an investment program of $32 billion (£24 billion) to maintain essential gas distribution networks and expand the power grid in a move to boost energy security and allow more renewables to enter the electricity system.

However, demand and applications for connections have soared over the past year, mostly driven by plans for data centers.

“The connections system must work for consumers and for the projects that are ready to invest, build and connect,” said Eleanor Warburton, Ofgem’s Director for Energy System Design and Development.

“Where speculative projects take up space in the queue, they can delay other schemes and create uncertainty about future network needs,” the official added.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/30/2026 – 05:00

Investors were digesting megacap tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates steady.