News in Numbers
The estimated number of U.S. gun sales that were prevented by the background check system last year, an all-time high and nearly twice as many as the year prior. Approximately 42 percent of the denials were due to a felony conviction on the buyers’ felony record.
The amount that 100 Ulster County, N.Y., residents are receiving each month for a year as a part of an experimental universal basic income program.
The proportion of Americans who are “highly concerned” that ending COVID-19 restrictions will result in an increase in virus infections in their community; 34 percent think that the restrictions were lifted too quickly.
The number of municipal broadband providers in Ohio that would be prohibited from providing service as long as there was a private-sector company operating in the area under a proposed amendment to a budget bill. The legislation would allow municipalities to provide broadband to only unserved areas, those without access to download speeds of at least 10 mbps, which classifies over 98 percent of the state ineligible. Cleveland has said they would challenge the legislation if enacted.
The proportion of election officials across the nation who feel unsafe on the job, while one in six election workers reported being threatened because of their work.
The estimated cost of the 2020 Census, which is far below the previously estimated $15.6 billion price tag, partly due to technology upgrades which allowed many households to respond to the Census online.
The amount that NJ Transit paid to four injured people and the family of a woman who was killed by a train that crashed through a barrier in Hoboken Terminal in 2016.
The amount that California will restore to its bullet train project. The Trump administration revoked the funds in 2019. The high-speed rail was originally supposed to be completed and running by 2020 when residents approved the project in 2008.
The surface elevation of Lake Mead along the Nevada-Arizona border, a record low. The last time this level was hit was in July 2016 and it’s the lowest the reservoir has been since the lake was filled in the 1930s. Officials expect the water level to continue to decrease until November.
The proportion of Americans who support same-sex marriage, an all-time high for the nation since 1996 and a 10 percent increase since 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. While Democrats have consistently been supportive, 55 percent of Republicans now approve as well.
The proportion of Americans who support Facebook’s decision to extend the platform’s suspension of former President Trump for another two years. Only 15 percent of Republicans were in support of the suspension.
The amount that New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have proposed to put toward federal cybersecurity funding to help prevent hackers from breaching public systems. The proposal is inspired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority breach.
The number of Walmart employees who will receive smartphones as a part of the company’s initiative for its new app, Me@Walmart. The employees will be able to use their phones and apps while on the job and for their own personal use.
The current capacity of California's 1,500 reservoirs in comparison to the levels they should be at during this time of year. State officials are concerned that if water levels continue to drop, which they are expected to do throughout the summer, power plants will need to be shut down and water supplies to farmers and households will be significantly or completely reduced.
The proportion of American adults who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. President Biden announced a “month of action” to urge Americans to get vaccinated in a final push to reach the administration’s goal of having 70 percent of Americans vaccinated by Independence Day.
The estimated proportion of President Biden's 1,500 federal agency appointees that identify as LGBTQ.
The amount that The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration plan to spend reconstructing and building a new tunnel between New York City and New Jersey.
The number of mass murders that have occurred so far in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization differentiates between mass murders and mass shootings in that a mass murder is any instance in which four or more people are fatally shot in a single event while a mass shooting is any instance in which four or more people are shot or killed in a single event. By these definitions, there have been 232 mass shootings since the year began.
The proportion of Americans who believe that Asian American discrimination has worsened in the past year. Six in 10 Americans also say that racism is a “very” or “extremely” serious problem in the U.S.
The number of states in which more than half of adults are fully vaccinated; D.C. is also of those with more than half of its residents fully vaccinated. Maine, Connecticut and Vermont lead the states with vaccination rates among adults at more than 62 percent.
The amount that former hotelier and political appointee Gordon Sondland is suing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for in an attempt to cover the costs of his legal fees for the 2019 impeachment proceedings, for which he was a key witness.
The proportion of federal correctional officer jobs that are vacant, which means other prison workers, like teachers, cooks and nurses, have to guard inmates.
The number of House Republicans who voted to approve an independent investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, going against party leaders’ attempts to block it.
The estimated population of the Navajo Nation, which just recently surpassed the Cherokee Nation’s population, making the Navajo the largest Native American tribe in the nation.
The number of COVID-19 vaccines that were administered to children between the ages of 12 and 15 last week after the CDC’s approval. Overall, more than 4 million people under the age of 17 have received the vaccine.
The proportion of Americans who cannot name a prominent Asian American, according to a recent survey by the nonprofit Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change.
The amount of money that will go to California public schools if the winning SuperLotto Plus lottery ticket is not redeemed. The winner of the $26 million lottery prize says that the winning ticket was accidentally washed away in a load of laundry.
The number of Arkansas workers across all industries who got sick with COVID-19 from May 19, 2020, to April 8, 2021. 2,866 of those cases, nearly one-third, work at Tyson Foods Inc., the third-largest employer in the state.
The number of feral cats that have been released onto Chicago’s streets since 2012 in an attempt to control the city’s rat problem.
The proportion of LGBTQ social media users who have experienced harassment and hate speech, according to a new report by GLAAD. Of those who experienced harassment, 75 percent encountered the problem on Facebook, while Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok had much smaller shares.
