News in Numbers
What the U.S. spends, per person, on prescription drugs. Canada, by comparison, spends only $669. To lower costs, some states, cities and counties are importing drugs from Canada.
States that collected more income tax revenue last year than they did before the 2008 recession, even when inflation is taken into account. Federal tax reform and the economy both offered a boost.
Settlement that drug distributor McKesson Corp. has agreed to pay West Virginia for its role in the opioid epidemic. A month earlier, Purdue Pharma settled a similar lawsuit with Oklahoma for $270 million.
Measure by which a Medicaid expansion vote failed in the Kansas Senate this week. Kansas is one of the 14 states that has not made more low-income people eligible for the government's low-cost health care.
Time that a Mississippi prison has been on lockdown due to a shortage of corrections officers. Most of the inmates are locked in their cells for 23 hours a day and not allowed visitors.
Lifetime limit a potential ballot measure would impose on serving in the Arkansas Legislature. If passed, the state would have the strictest term limits in the country. A competing ballot initiative would instead set a 12-year limit but allow lawmakers to run again after a four-year break.
Increase in monthly welfare benefits for a single mother in Massachusetts with two children -- one born while the family was receiving welfare. The Democratic legislature overrode the GOP governor to end the state's "cap on kids." More than a dozen states still have a similar policy.
Annual salary for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. He pledged to donate it to K-12 schools all four years of his term and last week gave away his first-quarter salary.
Year that the number of middle-income Americans -- making between $25,000 and $74,000 -- is expected to double among people 75 or older. More than half of them likely won't be able to afford housing and health care.
Reduction in toxic emissions from local plants when they were covered by local newspapers, according to a study. Other research shows that newspaper closures can lead to more polarization, fewer candidates and a rise in municipal borrowing costs.
Increase in the number of paid firefighters since the 1980s even though the number of overall firefighters dropped 5 percent. With fewer volunteer firefighters, departments have had to hire more paid ones.
New residents that Alameda County, Calif., which includes Oakland, gained last year -- much lower than the more than 13,000 new residents it had regularly gained for years. It reflects a larger trend of migration to the West and the South slowing down after years of explosive growth.
Amount the former first lady of Oregon has agreed to pay to settle an ethics case against her. Cynthia Hayes worked as a paid consultant and an unpaid policy adviser to John Kitzhaber, who resigned in 2015 over the scandal.
Households being helped by Denver's first-of-its-kind program that uses public and private money to subsidize rent for low-income people. It has been running for almost two years.
Maximum amount that Florida law allows government agencies to pay in lawsuits. The Broward County School Board argues that would be the total payout for all victims of the Parkland shooting, but the parents are challenging the sovereign-immunity law -- and how it applies when there are multiple victims -- in court.
Life expectancy that makes a person eligible for physician-assisted suicide in New Jersey, the latest state to legalize "aid in dying." Seven other states have similar laws.
Increase in voter registrations in Georgia after the state enacted automatic voter registration (AVR). More than a dozen states either have or are in the process of implementing AVR.
States that have loopholes that make it legal to rape your spouse. Minnesota and Ohio are considering bills that would close them.
Potential fine for parents in New York City who don't vaccinate their children against measles -- a once-eradicated disease. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency for parts of the city on Tuesday over the outbreak, which has largely impacted the Orthodox Jewish community.
Reported measles cases this year, which is the highest in the past five years. The once-eradicated disease spread to four more states last week.
Of death among Native American women and girls is murder. In some counties, their murder rate is more than 10 times the national average.
The number of people in Louisiana who have been booted from Medicaid after an upgraded state computer check determined they earn too much to receive the government-run health insurance.
The amount Americans borrowed in the past year to pay for health-care costs not covered by their insurance plans, according to a Gallup survey.
The number of years it will take to repair more than 47,000 structurally deficient bridges in the U.S., according to a new report.
Money raised by 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. The South Bend, Ind., mayor is the first to reveal his fundraising totals from the first few months of 2019.
Portion of the 755,000 people expected to lose food stamps who live below the federal poverty line. The public comment period for the Trump administration's new rules ends today.
Federal funding that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had used as of January to recover from the 2017 hurricanes, according to a new GAO report. While Florida and Texas had spent $1 million and $18 million, respectively, it's still only a tiny slice of the total disaster aid given to them.
Anticipated drop in traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study, if Los Angeles implemented congestion pricing, which charges people to drive in certain areas, for one of the region’s most gridlocked corners.
Money that Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, and the company’s owners, the Sackler family, have agreed to pay Oklahoma to settle an opioid lawsuit. It will be divided between the state, cities, counties and a new addiction treatment and research center at Oklahoma State University.
