Your weekend must reads 🗞

A snappy roundup of the week's best stories.

Advertisement Read in browser The Short List Sat Dec 9 2023 John Riley | Audience Editor America's doomsday "preppers" are worried about a breakdown after the 2024 election. Parents of color are feeling the pinch of parent PLUS college loans. And concerns are rising about Ozempic, the diabetes drug that also causes weight loss. 👋Good morning! It's John, your Short List editor, here again with the stories that really hit the mark this week in USA TODAY. But first: Is Hanukkah too political? Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, began this week. But some Jews are experiencing resistance to their celebrating amid the Israel-Hamas war. The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here. Could the election cause society to collapse? These people think so. 🗳️A small but growing segment of Americans consider themselves "preppers" − people prepared to survive without assistance during disasters. Increasingly, however, the catastrophe preppers fear is not floods or earthquakes, but a breakdown of government immediately following the 2024 election. Read more How parents are being buried by their kids' student loan debt 💵With the rising costs of college, parent PLUS loans have become popular among low-income parents of color. The country's total parent PLUS debt averages more than $29,000 per borrower – and often a lot more. In conversation with Parent PLUS borrowers, most of them Black, USA TODAY found many resigned to spending the rest of their lives buried under debt. Read more Women and students: They account for two-thirds of US student loan debt Can you lose too much weight on Ozempic? Ask Sharon Osbourne. ⚕️Frustrated with her constantly fluctuating weight, Sharon Osbourne last December started taking Ozempic – a medication intended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that causes weight loss. Now  Osbourne says she's gone off of it after she lost 42 pounds and "couldn't stop losing weight." Read more How Ozempic works: Diabetes drug helps pancreas release insulin Keep scrolling: There are more great stories below.👇 See you next week! House Republicans whisper about expelling Matt Gaetz: 'He is hated' Matt Gaetz continues to draw the ire of his GOP colleagues in the House, leading some members to privately discuss expelling him. READ MORE Advertisement COVID's early retirees no longer say they'll come back A declining share of people who retired early during the pandemic say they'll come back to work. Don't look to this group to help fix labor shortages READ MORE Why 'Little House' star Melissa Gilbert ditched Botox, breast implants When "Little House on the Prairie" actress Melissa Gilbert reached midlife, she stopped Botox, ditched her breast implants and found herself. READ MORE Dump Bill Belichick? Split with Patriots might be sensible and a stunner As the Patriots bottom out under Bill Belichick amid a 2-10 season, a possible split with the legendary coach has to be on the table for Robert Kraft. READ MORE They trusted a funeral home. Their loved ones were left to rot. Federal and state authorities say the owners of Return to Nature failed to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies. READ MORE The Essentials: 'Golden Bachelor' needs his Jet Ski and Swiffer WetJet The Essentials: Gerry Turner found his true love on "The Golden Bachelor." But what else does he need in life? Well, the need for speed and ice cream. READ MORE The top 1% of American earners have more wealth than the middle class More than one-quarter of all household wealth, 26.5%, belongs to the super rich, and their wealth is growing. READ MORE Never say this one thing to a narcissist – or you'll regret it One of the worst things you can do is tell someone that they are a narcissist − even if you are correct. Here's why. READ MORE These 'perks' used to be a given: How to get what you want from hotels In a business with near record-high rates, guests love the simple idea that hotels would give them what they want. READ MORE Advertisement Sign up for the news you want Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. SEE ALL NEWSLETTERS ➔ Newsletters   |    eNewspaper   |   Crosswords Follow Us Problem viewing email? View in browser Unsubscribe  •  Manage Newsletters  •  Terms of Service  •  Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights  •   Privacy Notice  •  Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy  •  Feedback