The Week by the Numbers: January 12-18, 2014
By Matt Phifer
3 – Golden Globes for “American Hustle”
“American Hustle” led the way at the Golden Globes, collecting three prizes, “Best Musical or Comedy”, “Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy” for Amy Adams and “Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, Musical or Comedy” for Jennifer Lawrence. The movie “Dallas Buyers Club” and TV shows “Breaking Bad” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” all won two Golden Globes. “12 Years A Slave” won the Golden Globe for best drama.
85 – Age Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned on January 15th
Wednesday marked what would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 85th birthday. The former civil rights leader who made his iconic “I have a dream” speech just over 50 years ago was remembered throughout the later part of the week in the lead up to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
$30.7 Million – Amount of money Clayton Kershaw will make per year according to his new contract
The Los Angeles Dodgers re-signed their ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw to a seven year deal worth a whopping $215 million. Kershaw’s contract, in which he’ll make an average of $30.7 million per year, is the largest contract ever given to a pitcher in Major League history. Kershaw won his second Cy Young Award in 2013 while leading the majors with a 1.83 earned run average and topping the National League with 232 strikeouts.
$765 Million – Concussion settlement by the NFL was rejected by a federal judge
U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody questioned whether the NFL’s $765 million settlement with more than 4,500 former players over concussions was enough compensation. She asked for detailed financial information on a plan that would cover over 20,000 players for 65 years. She wrote that she had concerns about the “fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the settlement.” Brody was also concerned that not all players suffering from degenerative brain disease and similar ailments would receive help with their medical costs.
$1.1 Trillion – Spending bill approved by the House of Representatives
A $1.1 trillion spending bill for the fiscal year was approved by the House of Representatives in a 359-67 vote on Wednesday. The 1,582 piece bill was introduced on Monday night. Despite Tea Party and conservative groups such as Heritage Action and Club for Growth’s warnings, 166 House Republicans voted for the bill. The Democratic-controlled Senate will vote on the bill early this week.
The Week by the Numbers: December 22-28, 2013
By Matt Phifer
1 – Day extension to the deadline to sign up for Obamacare in order to be covered by January 1
On Monday December 22, the Obama Administration extended the deadline for people to sign up for Obamacare by one day to December 23. People who signed up by that date would be covered by January 1. This is the second extension to the Obamacare sign-up deadline after the original December 15 date was extended to December 22 following the issues with the HealthCare.gov rollout.
51 – Touchdowns thrown by Peyton Manning this season, a new single season NFL record
On December 21, Peyton Manning threw four touchdowns vs. the Houston Texans on his way to setting the new NFL single season passing touchdown record by one touchdown. Manning previously held the title from 2004 to 2007 when Tom Brady took the record with 50 touchdown passes. UPDATE: Peyton Manning threw four more touchdown passes in the last game of the season vs. the Oakland Raiders to finish the regular season with 55 touchdown passes.
71 Degrees – Temperature recorded in New York City’s Central Park on December 21, a new record
Sunday December 21 saw a myriad of weather across the United States including an ice storm in upstate New York and New England as well as powerful storms and tornadoes in the southeast. But in New York City and other Mid-Atlantic cities the story was the unseasonably warm weather. The weather service confirmed a high of 71 degrees in New York City’s Central Park, breaking a 1998 record of 63 degrees. It was the second straight day a record temperature was recorded in Central Park after the thermostat topped out at 65 degrees on December 20, breaking the 2011 record of 62 degrees. The warm weather was also felt in Philadelphia, where temperatures reached 68 degrees on December 21.
The Week by the Numbers: September 1-7, 2013
By Matt Phifer
4th – Ranking of the Rim Fire in California
On September 1st, the Rim Fire was officially denoted as the fourth largest wildfire in California’s history as it reached a whopping 351 square miles, bigger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose combined. California starting ranking the size of wildfires in 1932. The fire started August 17 in Stanislaus National Forest and has also affected Yosemite National Park.
7 – Touchdowns thrown by Peyton Manning in an NFL Record Tying Performance
The new NFL season started with a bang Thursday as Peyton Manning threw an NFL record tying seven touchdown passes in the Denver Broncos’ 49-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Only six other quarterbacks in pro football history have thrown for seven touchdowns, the last one being the Minnesota Vikings’ Joe Kapp in 1969, making Manning the first to accomplish the feat since the NFL-AFL merger.
52 Hours, 54 Minutes and 18.6 Seconds – Diana Nyad’s time swimming between Cuba and Florida
On September 2nd 64-year-old long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to ever complete the 111-mile swim between Cuba and the Florida Keys without a shark cage. It took her 52 hours, 54 minutes and 18.6 seconds to complete the swim. This was Nyad’s fifth attempt at the swim. Her previous attempts were cut short due to shoulder pain, an asthma attack and on more than one occasion, jellyfish stings. This time Nyad wore a mask to protect her from jellyfish stings. Nyad addressed the crowd gathered at the shore to greet her saying, “I’ve got three messages: One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is, it looks like it’s a solitary sport, but it’s a team.”
169,000 – Jobs added in the U.S. in August
Friday’s jobs report showed that the U.S. added 169,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment dropped from 7.4 percent in July to 7.3 percent. Part of the lower unemployment rate can be accredited to nearly 312,000 people who dropped out of the labor force.
$130 Billion – Amount Verizon Wireless will pay Vodafone for its U.S. wireless business
On September 2nd Verizon Wireless announced that it would buy Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, the third largest corporate deal in history. Vodafone will return $84 billion of the proceeds including stock to its shareholders and ramp up its investment in its networks.