Sunday marks National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day, commemorated on the longest night of the year. The event and awareness day honors the thousands of homeless people who have died and serves as a reminder of the innumerable hardships and risks people living without shelter face. Advocates hope that the designated memorial day will encourage health care providers, community organizations, and social service agencies to combine forces in order to more effectively address the needs of this population. At the same time though, supporters see declaring the names of the dead of equal importance, to remind society of their dignity and worth. While homelessness is…

Sunday marks National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day, commemorated on the longest night of the year.

The event and awareness day honors the thousands of homeless people who have died and serves as a reminder of the innumerable hardships and risks people living without shelter face.

Advocates hope that the designated memorial day will encourage health care providers, community organizations, and social service agencies to combine forces in order to more effectively address the needs of this population.

At the same time though, supporters see declaring the names of the dead of equal importance, to remind society of their dignity and worth.

While homelessness is on the decline in the U.S., the more than 578,000 homeless people living without permanent shelter face critical challenges. Homeless individuals face violent attacks and, compared to the general population, are at greater risk for chronic illness, poor mental health, and substance abuse, according to the CDC.

Last year, homeless people experienced a 23 percent surge in targeted attacks compared to the number of assaults in 2012, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH).

One of the drivers of these assaults, experts say, is the criminalization of homelessness.

“Cities continue to crack down on the homeless population by enforcing laws and creating a hostile attitude toward the homeless population,” Michael Stoops, NCH director of community organizing, told The Huffington Post in March when the preliminary figures were released.

Now that winter has set in, homeless people are also at a heightened risk of developing hypothermia and freezing to death.

Though hypothermia can set in anywhere between 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, many emergency shelters don’t open their doors until well after the thermometer drops to that point, a NCH survey released in February found.

Winter shelters in Des Moines, Iowa, for example, don’t open until the thermometer plummets to 20 degrees.

But people aren’t freezing to death just in characteristically frigid places.

In one week last winter, seven homeless people died on the streets in California from possible hypothermia, according to ABC7.

One of those casualties was Joe White, 50, who didn’t want to burden his mother and couldn’t get a spot at a shelter, ABC7 reported.

After waiting for months, the Hayward, California man finally climbed to the second spot on a list for permanent housing.

But he was found dead, likely from hypothermia, before he could get his chance to move indoors.

Several hundred people commemorated their own local version of Homeless Persons Memorial Day on Thursday night in Philadelphia to remember 149 people who were homeless or formerly homeless and died in the last year, Philly.com reported.

“[When movie stars die, their passing is] ‘mourned by millions,’ The Rev. Domenic Rossi said, according to Philly.com. “[As for the homeless], ‘God remembers them, and in God’s name, so do we.’”

Find out more about Homeless Person’s Memorial Day and what you can do here.

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Homeless Persons Memorial Day Honors Dignity, Worth Of People Without Shelter Whom We’ve Lost

Nicki Minaj’s new breakup film has arrived. In “The Pinkprint Movie,” the artist combines tracks off her new album “Pinkprint” to tell the story of a relationship holding on by its last threads. The video — which is divided into parts “The Crying Game,” “I Lied,” and “Grand Piano”– captures the accompanying feelings of heartbreak with aplomb. It lasts sixteen minutes, so make sure to have a box of tissues ready before hitting play. On the not so sad side, Minaj’s vocals have never sounded better. Some speculate that the short film is inspired by Minaj’s real-life breakup with her longtime boyfriend Safaree …

Nicki Minaj’s new breakup film has arrived. In “The Pinkprint Movie,” the artist combines tracks off her new album “Pinkprint” to tell the story of a relationship holding on by its last threads. The video — which is divided into parts “The Crying Game,” “I Lied,” and “Grand Piano”– captures the accompanying feelings of heartbreak with aplomb. It lasts sixteen minutes, so make sure to have a box of tissues ready before hitting play. On the not so sad side, Minaj’s vocals have never sounded better.

Some speculate that the short film is inspired by Minaj’s real-life breakup with her longtime boyfriend Safaree Samuels. Though Minaj has not said that the video is based on their relationship, Minaj got emotional with Power 105.1’s Angie Martinez when discussing the split in a radio interview last week:

“I’ve never been single for the past 15 years of my life,” she said.

“I don’t even know how I’m gonna function without that person in my life. I’ve never lived my life as a famous person without him. So I don’t even know how to really function. I tell my girlfriends, my best friends, but sometimes I still want to tell him stuff and get his opinion, cause…”

The “Anaconda” singer then took a break in the interview after getting visibly upset. Watch Minaj’s the full interview with Power 105.1 here.

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Nicki Minaj’s ‘The Pinkprint Movie’ Will Make Your Heart Ache

Every season has its definitive, nostalgia-inducing scent. In summer, it’s the balmy combination of warm air, sunscreen and barbecue; come spring you’re likely to get a whiff of fresh air and fresh laundry. It’s harder, though, to pinpoint winter’s signature scent. There is that distinct smell of firewood permeating people’s homes or the baked good wafting from someone’s oven or another. But you could also say the fragrance of winter is the ever-present scent of freshly-cut pine. We aren’t ones to pass up a challenge here at HuffPost Home, so we rounded up 20 home fragrances that claim to embody all the things about winter that we love, and put them to…

Every season has its definitive, nostalgia-inducing scent. In summer, it’s the balmy combination of warm air, sunscreen and barbecue; come spring you’re likely to get a whiff of fresh air and fresh laundry. It’s harder, though, to pinpoint winter’s signature scent. There is that distinct smell of firewood permeating people’s homes or the baked good wafting from someone’s oven or another. But you could also say the fragrance of winter is the ever-present scent of freshly-cut pine.

We aren’t ones to pass up a challenge here at HuffPost Home, so we rounded up 20 home fragrances that claim to embody all the things about winter that we love, and put them to the test: What is the most authentic holiday home fragrance out there?

To determine the most Christmas-y scented candle money can buy, we had our editors rate each one on the following:

How likely is this fragrance to…

… Evoke holiday cheer
… Take me back to childhood holidays
… Make me want to cozy up next to it on a chilly winter night
… Smell like the holiday ingredient it promises

Naturally, we couldn’t test every candle, diffuser or air freshener on the market, but here’s how the ones we did test ranked:

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A Definitive List Of Holiday Candles, Ranked

A new video showing the aftermath of Ray Rice’s assault on his then-fiancee Janay at an Atlantic City, N.J. casino emerged this week. In the security camera footage, obtained by ABC News and released on Friday, Janay Rice (then Palmer) refuses to talk to Ray when he approaches her after the attack. They later reconcile, kissing before taken away by police. Both were arrested on assault charges. According to ABC, Rice tried to prevent the network from obtaining the footage. ABC has only released about 2 minutes of the apparently 45-minute video. Rice knocked out his now-wife Janay in an elevator at the Revel casino …

A new video showing the aftermath of Ray Rice’s assault on his then-fiancee Janay at an Atlantic City, N.J. casino emerged this week.

In the security camera footage, obtained by ABC News and released on Friday, Janay Rice (then Palmer) refuses to talk to Ray when he approaches her after the attack. They later reconcile, kissing before taken away by police. Both were arrested on assault charges.

According to ABC, Rice tried to prevent the network from obtaining the footage. ABC has only released about 2 minutes of the apparently 45-minute video.

Rice knocked out his now-wife Janay in an elevator at the Revel casino in February before dragging her unconscious body across the floor. Video of the night first emerged in February, but it wasn’t until September, when a more graphic video leaked, that widespread outrage against the NFL player grew.

The couple were married in March.

The treatment of Janay Rice after the incident, who is seen handcuffed in the new video, drew criticism:

“The police were not following protocol as the law and policies indicate in New Jersey,” executive director of the New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women Jane Shivas told the Baltimore Sun after the video was made public. “The fact that she was knocked out completely and he’s much bigger than her and a football player – for them to put her in handcuffs after an injury like that seems unconscionable. It also does not follow procedure.”

Ray Rice eventually pleaded not guilty to a third-degree charge of aggravated assault in May. He avoided standing trial and was accepted into a pre-trial intervention program. Ray Rice’s contract with the Baltimore Ravens was terminated in September after TMZ released graphic video of him striking Janay inside the elevator.

Excerpt from: 

New Ray Rice Video Shows Aftermath Of Domestic Assault

Former New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had contributed to police officers turning against him by running an “anti-police campaign” for mayor in 2013. Kelly appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday to discuss the killing of two NYPD officers. When asked by host George Stephanopoulos if it’s fair for critics to partially blame de Blasio for the death of the two cops, Kelly said the mayor had set off a “firestorm” by raising concerns over his son’s safety. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion involved when two police officers are killed,” Kelly said. “When the mayor made statements about…

Former New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had contributed to police officers turning against him by running an “anti-police campaign” for mayor in 2013.

Kelly appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday to discuss the killing of two NYPD officers. When asked by host George Stephanopoulos if it’s fair for critics to partially blame de Blasio for the death of the two cops, Kelly said the mayor had set off a “firestorm” by raising concerns over his son’s safety.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion involved when two police officers are killed,” Kelly said. “When the mayor made statements about how they had to train his son, who is biracial, to be careful when he’s dealing with the police, I think that set off this latest firestorm.”

On Saturday, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot dead in their squad car by a gunman identified by police as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley. Brinsley had reportedly posted on social media boasting of his plan to kill two cops in revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police.

The head of the largest police union in New York City, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, accused de Blasio and those protesting the deaths of Brown and Garner of inciting violence that led to Saturday’s shooting.

“There’s blood on many hands tonight,” NYC PBA president Pat Lynch said Saturday. “That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the office of the mayor.”

Kelly served as police commissioner from 2002 to 2013, and is a staunch defender of the city’s stop and frisk policy — which de Blasio promised to reform during his mayoral campaign.

“Quite frankly, the mayor ran an anti-police campaign last year when he ran for mayor,” Kelly told ABC.

“You’re talking about his opposition to stop and frisk,” Stephanopoulos asked. “Is that what you think was anti-police?”

“I think a lot of the rhetoric was — at a time when the police had a 70 percent approval rating,” Kelly replied. “Obviously that’s not the case now.”

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also criticized de Blasio, accusing him of “allowing protests to get out of control” following a grand jury’s decision to not indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for using a fatal chokehold on Garner.

“If I was in the situation that Mayor de Blasio is in, and I feel sorry that he’s in this situation, I would give a speech to the police department and I would explain that maybe I was wrong about a few things,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, de Blasio praised the slain officers and strongly condemned the “heinous individual” responsible for the attack.

“When a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society,” he said. “It is an attack on all of us. It’s an attack on everything we hold dear.”

Read more on the NYPD shooting here.

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Ray Kelly: Bill De Blasio Ran ‘Anti-Police Campaign’

WASHINGTON — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) blamed this weekend’s killing of two NYPD officers on anti-police “propaganda,” for which he said President Barack Obama bears some responsibility. “We’ve had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police,” said Giuliani during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t care how you want to describe it — that’s what those protests are all about.” Giuliani cited the nationwide protests against institutional racism and police brutality that followed the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York, and that flared up anew after the respective grand…

WASHINGTON — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) blamed this weekend’s killing of two NYPD officers on anti-police “propaganda,” for which he said President Barack Obama bears some responsibility.

“We’ve had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police,” said Giuliani during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t care how you want to describe it — that’s what those protests are all about.”

Giuliani cited the nationwide protests against institutional racism and police brutality that followed the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York, and that flared up anew after the respective grand jury decisions not to indict the officers responsible in either case. Giuliani said those demonstrations, and the ongoing criticism of police tactics and the criminal justice system, were part of what led to the shooting of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Police say the alleged shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, traveled to New York from Baltimore with the intention of killing police officers.

“The protest are being embraced, the protests are being encouraged. The protests, even the ones that don’t lead to violence — a lot of them lead to violence — all of them lead to a conclusion: The police are bad, the police are racist,” said Giuliani. “That is completely wrong. Actually, the people who do the most for the black community in America are the police.”

The former mayor accused black commentators of creating “an atmosphere of severe, strong anti-police hatred in certain communities.”

Giuliani also accused New York Mayor Bill de Blasio of “allowing protests to get out of control.” But he said it was not the time to call for de Blasio’s resignation, as “a lot of other police officers were killed under a lot of other mayors.”

“If I was in the situation that Mayor de Blasio is in, and I feel sorry that he’s in this situation, I would give a speech to the police department and I would explain that maybe I was wrong about a few things,” said Giuliani. “Maybe I was wrong about putting too much emphasis on, you know, police misconduct, when in fact police misconduct is a minor part of the problem. Community, serious violent crime, is a much bigger part of the problem.”

“I think I would say to them, and I have said this to the police, ‘You know, the people who are saving black lives in this city are you, the New York City Police Department.’ I’m not doing it. President Obama is not doing it. Mayor de Blasio is not doing it,” Giuliani went on. “He’s not out at night walking up and down housing developments and trying to save children from being killed. The police officers are doing the most, right now, in these very, very poor communities.”

The advocacy group Black Lives Matter, which has organized several protests against police misconduct, issued a statement on Sunday condemning the shootings.

“An eye for an eye is not our vision of justice,” the group’s statement read. “We who have taken to the streets seeking justice and liberation know that we need deep transformation to correct the larger institutional problems of racial profiling, abuse, and violence.”

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Rudy Giuliani Accuses Obama, Black Leaders Of Stoking ‘Anti-Police Hatred’

The man whom police say murdered two NYPD officers as they ate lunch in their patrol car Saturday had a long criminal history. Court documents show that Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had been arrested in Ohio for theft and robbery, and in Georgia for robbery, shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly conduct and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to WABC. The New York Times reports that Brinsley was convicted on weapons charges in Georgia in 2011 and served two years in prison there. He also had prior arrests in Brooklyn, where his family still lives. “The family is grieving and they’re still trying to cope with what’s happening. It was an estranged relationship,” Tony…

The man whom police say murdered two NYPD officers as they ate lunch in their patrol car Saturday had a long criminal history.

Court documents show that Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had been arrested in Ohio for theft and robbery, and in Georgia for robbery, shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly conduct and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to WABC.

The New York Times reports that Brinsley was convicted on weapons charges in Georgia in 2011 and served two years in prison there. He also had prior arrests in Brooklyn, where his family still lives.

“The family is grieving and they’re still trying to cope with what’s happening. It was an estranged relationship,” Tony Lindsey, a friend of Brinsley’s mother, told WABC. The suspect’s sister, who lives in Georgia, told The New York Times that she had not seen her brother in two years.

Brinsley allegedly shot his girlfriend in Baltimore early Saturday morning, then traveled to New York with the intention of killing police officers, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said in a press conference Saturday night.

A user believed to be Brinsley posted threats against cops on social media prior to the shooting. Those threats were relayed to the NYPD by Baltimore-area police shortly before the shooting, which Bratton and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both described as an assassination.

Brinsley allegedly walked up behind a squad car in Brooklyn on Saturday and fired shots inside, striking Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. He then ran to a nearby subway station and took his own life. The officers were pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital.

NYPD detectives traveled to Baltimore Saturday night to look into Brinsley’s past and investigate his alleged ties to a prison gang that has advocated violence against cops.

Groups critical of heavy-handed policing were swift to condemn the attack. Black Lives Matter, an organization that has staged protests in response to recent grand jury decisions not to indict officers in the deaths of black men, released a statement Saturday calling the shooting a murder.

“An eye for an eye is not our vision of justice,” the statement said. “We know all too well the pain and the trauma that follows the senseless loss of our family members and loved ones.”

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Ismaaiyl Brinsley, Alleged Cop Killer, Had Criminal History, ‘Estranged Relationship’ With Family

President Barack Obama strongly condemned the killing of two New York City police officers, calling on Americans to “reject violence.” “I unconditionally condemn today’s murder of two police officers in New York City,” Obama said in a statement. “Two brave men won’t be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification. The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day – and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day.” Obama continued: “Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal – prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen.”…

President Barack Obama strongly condemned the killing of two New York City police officers, calling on Americans to “reject violence.”

“I unconditionally condemn today’s murder of two police officers in New York City,” Obama said in a statement. “Two brave men won’t be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification. The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day – and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day.”

Obama continued: “Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal – prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen.”

An earlier White House pool report noted that Obama had been briefed on the situation while vacationing with his family in Hawaii.

The officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, were shot dead Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, New York. The gunman, whom police identified as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, shot the officers while they were sitting in their squad car outside a housing project in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The gunman fled the scene to a nearby subway station, where he shot and killed himself.

“Today two of New York’s finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation,” NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said. “They were, quite simply, assassinated — targeted for their uniform and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe.”

Read more on the shooting here.

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Obama Condemns Killings Of New York City Police Officers