In 2022, most American cities are still separated along racial lines.

“We don’t have a lot of diversity in Milwaukee, so to speak. It’s a good place to live, but if you are a Black man or woman, it has its challenges,” said Shiquita Mann.

Mann is the product of policies that have embedded her city with segregation. 

“Even when you go into certain stores, people are looking at you as if you do not belong,” Mann said.

She is also the product of a meaningful effort to change segregation.

Six miles from Mann’s basement is the Milwaukee night market.  It's where she sells candles and builds her business.

In most American cities, barriers, both physical and political, separate racial and ethnic communities. In Milwaukee, North Holton Street is the literal dividing line between the mostly-Black neighborhoods to the west and the mostly-white neighborhoods to the east. 

“You drive through white Milwaukee. The streets are clear. There’s no trash. The neighborhoods are great. The houses, you don’t see any houses that is owned by the city. As soon as you hit into the Black areas, you see abandoned houses. You see there’s trash everywhere. We literally can drive from one block and then go to the next block, and you can tell the difference. That’s how real it is,” Mann said.

By most metrics, Milwaukee is the extreme. A Berkeley study ranked it America’s fifth most segregated city. For decades, all but two of its suburbs had housing covenants that prohibited Black families from living in residential areas. But it’s part of a country in which two-thirds of white Americans say they have zero non-white friends, and nearly half of Black Americans say they have zero non-Black friends. 

Angela Damiani said she helped launch the night market in 2014 in an effort to bring more people together.

“There are emotional barriers too, where people don’t feel like they belong, like they’re allowed to go to places, and the market has been like this access point for people to see each other, to be, like, human together,” Damiani said.

 In 2021, the market began reserving 10 spots for vendors of color. They sell art, food, and items of all sorts to a crowd of all backgrounds.

“We are in some of these spaces where I couldn’t even imagine there will be," Mann said. "For example, the night market. I couldn’t see myself here, but here I am. I’m learning now to embrace. If I’m in a space where I don’t see me, this is my time to shine.” 

The window for local, state and tribal governments to challenge their 2020 census figures closes after Friday, and with it the opportunity to correct mistakes in population totals that could cost them millions of dollars in federal funding.

As of this week, almost 160 challenges had been filed through two programs the U.S. Census Bureau started to give governments opportunities to appeal their population totals. Those 2020 census figures help determine how $2.8 trillion in federal government spending is distributed each year.

Some cities like Brookhaven, Georgia, found out this month that their challenge was successful. Officials in the city of more than 57,000 residents in metro Atlanta said new parcels were annexed in late 2019 but the 1,200 residents living in them weren't counted toward the city's figures during the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident, which started three months later.

The U.S. Census Bureau conceded the error, a victory Brookhaven city officials estimate will be worth $10 million in funding streams over this decade.

"This final action ensures that all of Brookhaven's residents were indeed counted as our own," Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst said two weeks ago after receiving a letter from Census Bureau Director Robert Santos confirming the numbers were being revised.

Dozens of other cities like Las Vegas still have their cases pending. Officials in Nevada's largest city, with more than 656,000 residents, believe the census missed two homeless shelters with under 1,000 residents during the count.

Group quarters — including homeless shelters, dorms and prisons — were among the most difficult to count as campuses closed and prisons and nursing homes were locked down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincided with the start of the 2020 census. The Census Bureau created a separate program to handle these challenges.

Other cities, like Milwaukee, are still awaiting an answer despite filing their challenges many months ago. Milwaukee officials in a challenge filed last December said 16,500 residents were overlooked in houses and apartments, primarily in communities of color. The 2020 census put Wisconsin's largest city at 577,222 residents, down about 3% from 2010.

City spokesperson Jonathan Fera said in an email that there was "no frustration" surrounding the delay and that "Milwaukee will continue to await a response from the U.S. Census Bureau."

Milwaukee succeeded with another, separate claim that more than 800 jail inmates were missed, part of a challenge organized with other Wisconsin municipalities.

While any changes to the numbers after a successful challenge will be applied to population estimates used for the rest of the decade in determining federal funding, they can't be used to change how many congressional seats each state was allotted during the apportionment process nor for the data used for redrawing political districts.

A final tally on the success of challenges won't be known for several months because of the pending cases. The 2020 census put the U.S. population at 331.4 million residents.

"It will take several months to complete processing and to notify those who have submitted" a challenge, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.

Challenges to 2020 census numbers were less frequent than the nearly 250 requests made for 2010 census figures — a surprise given the hurdles the most recent count faced.

The 2020 census was one of the most difficult in recent memory. Its start coincided with the U.S. spread of the coronavirus in spring 2020, but census-takers during the home-visits phase also contended with wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the Gulf Coast. Some advocates also believe the Trump administration's failed efforts to add a citizenship question and keep people in the U.S. illegally from being counted for apportionment dissuaded some from participating.

Some cities waited until the last minute to ask for a review of their numbers. Marquette, Michigan, located on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, filed a challenge that only was received by the Census Bureau on Monday. Officials in the city of more than 20,700 residents believe 1,000 students living in dorms and other student housing at Northern Michigan University were missed, an oversight that could cost the city $70,000 in state revenue sharing.

"We watched the process play out in other places and chose to take advantage of it when we did," said Sean Hobbins, assistant city manager. "It wasn't like we were trying to run up against the deadline."

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Across the country, many major American cities are reporting spikes in violence.

Nationwide, homicides are up more than 44% compared to where they were in 2019.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden will speak about the violence and provide some solutions to reduce the bloodshed.

RECORD HOMICIDES

The following cities set new records for homicides in 2021:

• Albuquerque
• Austin
• Colorado Springs
• Columbus
• Indianapolis
• Louisville
• Memphis
• Milwaukee
• Philadelphia
• Portland
• Tucson

In Tucson, there were 93 homicides in 2021. In 2020, the city reported 68 homicides.

In Milwaukee, there were 197 in 2021 compared to 190 the year before.

In Indianapolis, 271 homicides occurred in 2021. That's a rise from 215 in 2020.

Other major metropolitan areas like Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Denver and Cleveland didn't set records but they came close.

PRESIDENT SET TO SPEAK

Mayors and police chiefs all around the country have their own ideas as to what is needed to reduce violence. On Thursday, Biden will share ideas. Whether or not they will make a difference is still unclear.

The president will deliver his remarks from New York City, a city reeling from the deaths of two police officers who were killed in the line of duty last month.

Biden is expected to address efforts to provide more federal funding to hire more officers nationwide and improve community programs that are meant to prevent violence.

The president will also highlight ways for police to better engage suspects, especially those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Biden is also expected to talk about how well his newly-created “Strike Force” program is combating gun trafficking, which is the process of firearms being moved from one city to another.

GUN TRAFFICKING UPDATE

It's estimated 50,000 guns are moved around the U.S. each year through gun trafficking, usually from states where it's easier to buy a gun to places where it is tougher.

That's how many criminals around the country are getting their guns, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“We know that new guns are arriving by car, by bus and by train every day," Adams said during a recent speech on gun violence.

Biden's visit to New York is tacit approval of the city's new approach of utilizing more police on the street, which is the opposite of what the "Defund the Police" movement called for in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

Whatever specifics Biden lays out Thursday, the reality is that his power on the issue of guns is relatively limited. Efforts to pass comprehensive gun control and universal background checks in Congress remain stalled.

Millions of children in America became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this week. And some officials are sweetening the deal by including them in various incentive programs.

In New York City, children can claim $100 if they get their first dose of Pfizer's vaccine at city-operated vaccine site. Alternatively, they can get tickets to city attractions such as the Statue of Liberty or the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. The incentive program was already available to other New Yorkers who got vaccinated.

"We really want kids to take advantage, families take advantage of that," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. "Everyone could use a little more money around the holidays. But, most importantly, we want our kids and our families to be safe."

In Chicago, health officials are also offering $100 gift cards for children ages five to 11 when they get the shots at Chicago Public Health events or clinics, officials said.

Plus, the Chicago school district — one of the largest in the nation — is closing on November 12 for Vaccination Awareness Day to make it easier for students to get their shots.

"It is rare that we make a late change to the school calendar, but we see this as an important investment in the future of this school year and the health and wellbeing of our students, staff, and families," Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez said in a message to parents.

The perks come after the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention on Tuesday cleared children as young as 5 for smaller vaccination doses, making most Americans eligible for the shots.

In Texas, San Antonio officials announced that parents and guardians who help their children get vaccinated at a public health clinic may claim a $100 gift card for H-E-B grocery stores. And in neighboring Louisiana, officials said the 5-11 age group could soon also claim $100.

In Minnesota, officials launched the "Kids Deserve a Shot" program intended to bolster vaccine numbers among those ages 12 and 17, officials said. The state is offering a $200 visa card as well as the opportunity to enter a raffle for a $100,000 college scholarship or a Minnesota experience prize package.

However, it's unclear if the various incentives will help bolster the vaccine numbers.

A study published last month in JAMA Health Forum found that incentive lotteries organized by 19 states did not seem to work.

However, the researchers speculated that lotteries may be less enticing than actual cash for vaccines.

A survey in May from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 47% of people who say they want to "wait and see" before being vaccinated said paid time off to get it would make them more likely to do so, and 39% said a financial incentive of $200 from their employer would work.

Overall, the U.S. has fully vaccinated more than 58% of the total population as of Thursday, according to CDC data.

Video above shows world's most livable cities for 2019.The impact of COVID-19 on global livability has been absolutely devastating.Well over a year into the pandemic, ongoing health crises, border closures and lockdowns are continuing to affect millions of people around the world.But some destinations have fared much better than others in managing the virus, meaning those who live there were able to get back to some semblance of normal life reasonably early on.New Zealand has been significantly praised for its handling of the crisis so it's perhaps no surprise that one of its cities has been named the world's most livable city for 2021.Auckland came out on top on The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Livability Index of 140 cities around the world thanks to its success in containing the pandemic quickly, enabling restrictions to be lifted early on.The annual list did not go ahead in 2020, but Austria's Vienna, number one in both 2018 and 2019, has completely dropped out of the top 10 after being heavily affected by COVID-19, and now sits in 12th place.Down Under dominanceNew Zealand's capital Wellington was fourth on this year's list, tying with Japan's Tokyo, and four cities of Australia, where tough border controls have been in place throughout the crisis, occupy the top 10.Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane came in third, sixth and 10th place respectively, while Melbourne tied with Switzerland's Geneva at number eight."The cities that have risen to the top of the rankings this year are largely the ones that have taken stringent measures to contain the pandemic," Upasana Dutt from The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a statement."New Zealand's tough lockdown allowed their society to reopen and enabled citizens of cities like Auckland and Wellington to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to pre-pandemic life."Meanwhile, Tokyo wasn't the only Japanese city near the top of the list. Osaka, which was number four in 2019, has moved up to second place.Although Asia-Pacific cities seem to have excelled, Canada, which had three cities, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto near the top two years ago, has dropped out of the top 10 entirely. At number 16, Vancouver is the highest Canadian city on the list.Perhaps unsurprisingly, the overall global average livability score has dropped by seven points when compared with figures before the pandemic.The index takes into account more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors spanning five broad categories: stability (25%), health care (20%), culture and environment (25%), education (10%), and infrastructure (20%).While the categories were not amended this year, a number of indicators were taken into account, such as stress on health care resources and restrictions on local sporting events, when calculating scores for the health care, culture and environment, and education categories.However, the way in which each city handled the pandemic, how quickly vaccines were rolled out and the level of border restrictions put in place has led to major changes in the rankings.Health care impact"The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on global livability," adds Dutt. "Cities across the world are now much less livable than they were before the pandemic began, and we've seen that regions such as Europe have been hit particularly hard."In Europe, Germany saw the biggest drops in ranking, particularly the city of Hamburg, which fell 34 places to 47th on the list.But despite some social restrictions still being in place in Switzerland, the Central European country has seen two its cities move up, with Zurich and Geneva rising from 11th and 14th to seventh and eighth place.Overall health care scores have also dropped due to the pandemic, with Czech Republic's Prague, Greece's Athens and Indonesia's Jakarta, where case numbers were rising at the time the survey was conducted, scoring significantly lower than in previous years.In comparison, Spanish cities Barcelona and Madrid performed well in the health care category, gaining almost 25 points due to their health systems experiencing less strain when compared with the early wave of COVID-19 in 2020.Hawaii's capital city Honolulu also upped its health care score, with an increase of 33 points as a result of reducing Covid case numbers and good vaccination rates.In fact, Honolulu was one of the biggest movers on the 2021 list, rising 46 places to number 14. Houston has jumped 25 spots to number 31, a rise likely connected to Texas being among the first U.S. states to lift restrictions on public spaces.Deteriorating conditionsBut while there have been many significant differences towards the top, very little has changed at the bottom of the list.While Damascus sits in last place once again "as the effects of the civil war in Syria continue to take their toll," it's closely followed by Nigeria's Lagos, Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby and Bangladesh's Dhaka, which were all in either similar or identical spots in 2019.These cities have consistently performed badly over the years due to the instability caused by ongoing civil unrest and military conflicts, amongst other issues.According to the report, conditions here have deteriorated even further in the past 12 months, especially when it comes to health care, due to COVID-19.Although successful vaccination rollouts and the easing of restrictions in various countries has raised hopes, the pandemic is continuing to rage on, with India currently in the midst of a deadly outbreak."Conditions in the poorest cities are likely to deteriorate further, should cities fail to get the vaccines they need to prevent the spread of new COVID-19 variants," reads the report. "Weak health care systems could come under greater strain, as they have in India."This ultimately means we're likely to see more significant changes to the annual list come 2022, with some of the cities that have dropped down possibly regaining their former positions."The pace of recovery of livability in most regions will be determined by how effectively the health risks of the pandemic can be controlled, through a combination of vaccination, testing, tracing and quarantine measures," the report continues."Barring huge setbacks, such as the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, scores for culture and environment should improve."The world's most livable cities 20211. Auckland, New Zealand2. Osaka, Japan3. Adelaide, Australia4. Wellington, New Zealand4. Tokyo, Japan6. Perth, Australia7. Zurich, Switzerland8. Geneva, Switzerland8. Melbourne, Australia10. Brisbane, AustraliaThe world's least livable cities 20211. Damascus, Syria2. Lagos, Nigeria3. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea4. Dhaka, Bangladesh5. Algiers, Algeria 6. Tripoli, Libya7. Karachi, Pakistan8. Harare, Zimbabwe9. Douala, Cameroon10. Caracas, Venezuela