→ Google says it’s seeing a record number of searches from internet users looking for friends. “How to make friends,” “where to make friends,” and “where to meet people” have all popped to the top of the Google Trend charts, just as U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, released a new report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.”

Even before the social isolation and lockdowns administered by American officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, half of U.S. adults were reportedly enduring measurable levels of loneliness, according to the report, a problem that has only worsened since.

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While violent crime has been on a downtrend in New York City, petty crime is up, a lot: 53% over the past three years. The NYPD is now saying a review of last year’s arrests shows that one-third of all shoplifting arrests made in NYC in 2022 are attributable to just 327 people who were arrested and rearrested more than 6,000 times. The National Retail Foundation reports that 37% of all inventory shrinkage in 2021 was due to theft, and the NYC-based retail coalition Collective Action to Protect Our Stores estimates that its 5,000 small businesses from around NYC and New York State have lost a combined $300 million in revenue due to the increase in crime. If recidivism is a huge driver here, it doesn’t appear that bail laws will be changed anytime soon, as state Democrats rejected Gov. Kathy Hochul’s March proposal to re-introduce bail for smaller crimes.

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