News in Numbers
The donation that Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, has promised to give to the Australian wildlife recovery effort. Many are upset by the number as it is less than Bezos makes in 5 working minutes.
The number of new U.S. astronauts officially added to NASA ranks last Friday. “The new graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars. With a goal of sustainable lunar exploration later this decade, NASA will send the first woman and next man to the surface on the Moon by 2024. Additional lunar missions are planned once a year thereafter and human exploration of Mars is targeted for the mid-2030s.”
The amount requested by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to replace old computer technology that’s being used by the state for things like payroll and accounting. The money will be stretched across the next eight years, starting with a $1.5 million installment in 2020’s budget. The upgrade will help the state phase out old systems, like paper timesheets, “which are still being used across Rhode Island state government.”
The amount of time that telecommunications companies would have to have in backup power for all cellphone towers in high-risk fire areas, as proposed by California lawmakers. The legislation was drafted after a Federal Communications Commission report revealed that during a power shutoff in late October, 874 cell towers were offline. Millions of people were affected during the shutoff and some were so isolated during the outage they couldn’t even call 911. “This bill is not about checking your Facebook status. It’s about life and death.”
The amount of single-day sales that the Apple App Store brought in on New Year’s Day. The company reported the record-setting amount of single-day sales in conjunction with the announcement that the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve brought in another record: $1.42 billion. The total amount of money that the App Store brought in last year was $54 billion.
The proportion of growth of tech jobs in New York City over the past decade. Big tech companies like Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon all have plans to move to New York City and establish large offices. By 2022 there is projected to be 20,000 workers between the four giants.
The number of temporary workers that the U.S. Census will need nationwide to ensure that all households are accounted for. The workers are hired as employees, with benefits and disability coverage available, but it can be difficult to get people to apply for the jobs, especially in areas with low unemployment, like San Francisco. To get an accurate count in California’s Bay Area, the Census will need about 12,000 temporary workers.
The amount scammers would be fined for illegal robocalling operations according to the new law that aims to reduce the number of robocalls Americans will receive in 2020. While the new law won’t reduce the number of robocalls immediately, Americans should expect to see the effects in about six months. Government officials hope that by reducing robocalls, less Americans will be subjected to scams that steal social security numbers, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
The amount of money that has been collectively given from Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple to 2020 campaign contributions. The report by the Center for Responsive Politics showed that the amount included money from the companies, owners, employees, and their families. Big tech has become more involved with politics, donating money to candidate campaigns, changing policies, and redefining what constitutes “free speech.”
The number of U.S. states that aren’t planning on spending any extra money on the 2020 Census. The 26 states that are spending money to encourage participation are spending a combined total of nearly one-third of a billion dollars. For those governments that aren’t spending extra money, sometimes local governments, businesses, and philanthropies are stepping in to bridge the gaps.
Congress has established new funding of $425 million for election security in anticipation of the 2020 election. The spending package is expected to be approved by the end of the week. The money will be allocated to states via grants, and then the states will be able to decide how it’s further spent. While election security advocates are happy about the money, many are concerned about the timing. “A year late & a billion dollars short on #electionsecurity.”
The new number for the suicide prevention hotline to increase access and reduce stigma around mental health. The previous number (800-273-TALK) is being shortened to parallel the other two help numbers, 911 for emergencies and 311 for city services. Last year the 163 suicide prevention hotline call centers received 2.2 million calls. “No one is embarrassed to call 911 for a fire or an emergency. No one should be embarrassed to call 988 for a mental health emergency.”
The cost of a Lyft rental as a part of its new rental program, a deviation from their traditional ride-hailing. The rental program debuted last spring to San Francisco and Los Angeles riders and announced on Thursday that it would expand its eligible pool of users, hoping to reach all L.A. and SF users in coming months. The program allows rental for up to two weeks without a mileage restriction.
The amount of money for which Scott Breza is suing Tesla after his 2017 Model X 75D allegedly swerved off the road to avoid objects that were not really there while in autopilot. Breza is claiming the car is defective and that Tesla hadn’t corrected the errors after several requests by Breza. Tesla will no longer be taking orders for the 75D version of the Model X vehicle, but when asked if they would discontinue the entire Model X line, CEO Elon Musk responded very simply via Twitter: “Def not.”
The total time it took Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket to fly into space and back in the company’s 12th test flight. New Shepard is a passenger rocket that will take crews into the upper limits of the Earth’s atmosphere so that the riders can experience weightlessness. The first passenger-loaded launch was originally planned to happen by the end of 2019, but “we’ve tapped the brakes a bit.”
The number of attorneys general that are requesting the federal government implement stricter online protections for children. A letter to the Federal Trade Commission asked for stronger rules regarding data collection for children under 13 years old. “Without modification to the current rule, companies will continue to build profiles on children based on collected data. Those profiles will be used to target them for many decades to come.”
The value of a joint venture announced last Thursday between General Motors and LG Chem of South Korea to “manufacture electric vehicle batteries” in a formerly idled plant in “northeast Ohio, a significant step for the nation’s largest automaker in its bid to electrify its future offerings.” The move is expected to create 1,100 new jobs.
The number of allegations of serious sexual assault in the U.S. against Uber during 2017 and 2018. Additionally, 107 people died in Uber crashes and 19 were killed in physical assaults, either during or shortly after the Uber ride.
The number of cellphone bills that were exposed online accidentally by a Sprint contractor who stored invoices on an unprotected Internet server. The documents, which contained names, addresses, phone numbers, and some call histories, have since been collected, although “it’s not known how long the bucket was exposed.”
The estimated cost to have Pegasystems Inc. build the U.S. Census Bureau an electronic version of the 2020 Census. This amount is about $40 million more than the projected cost when the company was first hired in 2016. Additionally, it was found during 2018 testing that the website was hacked by Russian IP addresses. “He got into the network. He got into where the public is not supposed to go.”
The proportion of households nationwide that will be receiving paper copies of the 2020 Census by mid-March. As the Census shifts toward a primarily online platform, many counties, especially those in rural areas, are concerned about residents’ accessibility to participate. Some companies are even installing free Internet connections to ensure participation.
The value of sales purchased via smartphone on Black Friday, the most ever. The total amount spent online during Black Friday this year amounted to $7.4 billion.
The increase in crypto theft between 2018 ($1.7 billion) and the first nine months of 2019 ($4.4 billion). Most crimes that amount to less than $5 million are often underreported and officials are seeing fewer attacks with “bigger wheelbarrows of cash.”
The number of on-street parking spaces in New York City, almost one for every three people, of which 95 percent are free. A transportation panel in Manhattan has floated the idea of eliminating free street parking entirely.
The amount of U.S. adults who believe “it is not possible to go through daily life without companies collecting data about them.” The Pew Research Center, which conducted the study, also reported that 63 percent of the same surveyed group believe it is not possible to go through daily life without the government collecting data about them, revealing a large feeling of privacy mistrust.
The percentage of Oracle board and leadership members who are African American or Asian American. A group of House Democrats sent a letter on Friday to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison reprimanding the company’s lack of diversity on their board. The six members requested a response from the computer technology company in the form of an executive-level briefing.
The number of workers that will be laid off by the shared workspaces company, WeWork. The company released a statement on Thursday explaining that the layoffs, which will release nearly 20 percent of the company’s staff, are “to create a more efficient organization.” WeWork has been struggling to keep afloat as it has undergone several large losses in the previous months.
The size of the new, $1 billion Apple Campus that will be constructed in Austin, Texas, next to the existing facility that produces MacBook Pro laptops. There are currently 7,000 Apple employees working in Austin, but the new campus plans to host 5,000 new employees with capacity to grow the staff to 15,000. The Austin Campus is projected to open in 2022.
The value of Uber shares sold by company co-founder Travis Kalanick in the last two weeks.
The amount of money that was lost last year due to a cybercrime called Business Email Compromise (BEC), which uses fake, but realistic, emails to trick employees into wiring money into the wrong account. This was three times the amount of money that was stolen through BEC in 2016. But BEC isn’t the only cybercrime on the rise; it was reported by the FBI that Americans lost $362 million in romance and confidence scams last year, an increase of nearly $150 million from the year prior.
