News in Numbers
The amount that California could pay in reparations to thousands of victims who were sterilized after the state deemed them unfit to have children decades ago. California is at least the third state to pay victims of the so-called eugenics movement, but the state’s proposal is also unique because it will also pay female inmates who were forced to get sterilized between 2005 and 2013.
The extortion amount that hackers, suspected to be behind a mass attack that affected hundreds of companies worldwide late on Sunday, are demanding to restore the data they are holding ransom, according to a posting on a dark web site.
The number of years that President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn have been married, making them the longest-married presidential couple in American history. At 96, Carter also is the longest-lived of the 45 men who’ve served as chief executive.
The number of federal agencies that used facial recognition software to identify protesters during demonstrations following the death of George Floyd last year.
The proportion of state and local government employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of the government workers who have not been vaccinated, 33 percent cited a lack of trust in government as the reason why they are undecided or will likely not get the shot.
The temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) reached in Portland, Ore., over the weekend, a new record for the city. The previous record of 107 degrees Fahrenheit was last hit in 1981.
The proportion of Americans who believe that abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances within a pregnancy’s first trimester. However, 65 percent and 80 percent believe that it should usually be illegal in the second and third trimesters, respectively.
The amount of America’s gross domestic product that is applied to infrastructure. In comparison, the European Union applies 5 percent towards infrastructure, and its 9 percent in China.
The number of workers at Houston Methodist hospital system who have quit or been fired from their job after they refused to meet the hospital’s vaccination mandate. Approximately 97 percent of the hospital system’s nearly 26,000 employees are fully vaccinated, with 2.4 percent having valid exemption or being granted a deferral.
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.
