$138 billion
The collective cost of invasive species -- such as the Burmese python, Asian carp and yellow star-thistle -- to U.S. taxpayers each year.
Source:
Stateline
The collective cost of invasive species -- such as the Burmese python, Asian carp and yellow star-thistle -- to U.S. taxpayers each year.
The area that the rash of wildfires afflicting California are now responsible for burning statewide since Sunday, Oct. 8. For the sake of comparison, that area is larger than the 304.8 square miles that comprises all five boroughs of New York City.
The number of times Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said "invest" or a variation of the word during a budget speech. He even used it three times in one sentence: “Because Chicago has been willing to invest in our young people, invest in our future, and address our long-term fiscal challenges, businesses have shown the confidence to hire in Chicago, move to Chicago, invest in Chicago and start up in Chicago.”
The number of proposals -- out of a total of 2,012 that were submitted -- that will move forward for review by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a body that meets once every 20 years to consider changes to the state constitution suggested by citizens of the state. The proposals that will be advanced represent less than 0.3 percent of the total that were filed, down from 18 percent the last time the commission met, in 1997.
Amount of time some victims of Hurricane Irma have had to wait in line for food-stamp benefits from the state Department of Children and Families. Tens of thousands of people across the state -- including 50,000 at one site alone -- have camped out for hours, often in hot temperatures, in the past week, overwhelming state workers.
Number of buildings destroyed by wildfires in California in the past week. One blaze alone, the Tubbs fire, has incinerated more than 5,100 structures, making it the single most destructive fire in state history.