The Week by the Numbers: December 1-7, 2013
By Matt Phifer
7.7 Percent – November Unemployment Rate, the lowest since December 2008
The Labor Department revealed the November unemployment rate to be 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in October. It is also the lowest unemployment rate in four years. The economy added 146,000 jobs over the course of the month.
56 – More Countries now have access to iTunes
On Tuesday Apple made iTunes available in 56 more countries including Russia, Turkey, India and South Africa. The additions nearly doubles iTunes’ geographic footprint at 119 countries. More than 20 million songs will be available for users, including international stars and artists that will be of interest in individual countries. Pricing will vary by country.
82 mph – Speed of the Metro-North Train that derailed in the Bronx
Initial black box data from the Metro-North Train that derailed on December 1 show that the train was entering a 30-mph curve at 82 mph. Four people were killed and over 60 were injured when the train jumped the tracks in the Bronx. Engineer William Rockefeller later told investigators he was “in a daze” before the incident. Initial toxicology reports came back negative.
95 – Former South African President Nelson Mandela died at age 95
Former South African President and anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 in Johannesburg on Thursday. Mourners gathered outside of Mandela’s home to create a makeshift memorial as leaders from around the world sent condolences to Mandela’s family and the people of South Africa. Mandela leaves a legacy of peace and forgiveness as well as a united South Africa, a concept that at one time was not considered possible.
5 Billion – Records of Cell Phone Locations Collected by the NSA
The Washington Post reported that the NSA is collecting nearly 5 billion records a day on the locations of cell phones worldwide. The information was discovered in the materials provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. According to the Post, the records feed a vast database of at least hundreds of millions of devices.
The Week by the Numbers: October 20-26, 2013
By Matt Phifer
$17-20 – The Initial Public Offering of Shares of Twitter
Twitter announced that it would sell about 70 million shares of the company between $17 and $20 when it IPO’d. This would raise up to $1.6 billion and value the company at $11 billion. Twitter’s modest IPO price was chosen to avoid what happened to Facebook during its IPO in May 2012 when the company’s shares fell below their offering price.
35 – World Leaders’ Calls were Monitored by the NSA
Previously classified documents released by Edward Snowden show that the NSA was monitoring the calls of 35 world leaders. According to memos, the NSA encouraged workers in agencies such as the State Department and the Defense Department to “hand over their rolodexes.” The identities of the 35 leaders are not known, but the revelation comes not long after German chancellor Angela Merkel accused the United States of tapping her cell phone.
58 – Percentage of Americans Who Support Marijuana Legalization
On October 22nd, Gallup revealed that according to its polling, 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization. This is the first time in the poll’s history that a majority of Americans favored marijuana legalization. That is an eight percentage point jump from just two years ago and a drastic increase from the results of Gallup’s initial poll on the issue in 1969, when only 12 percent of those questioned favored legalization. In the past year, Washington and Colorado became the first two states to legalize marijuana.
148,000 – Jobs Created in September
The Labor Department’s delayed September jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.2 percent.
The Week by the Numbers: October 13-19, 2013
By Matt Phifer
1.5 Percent – The Estimated Increase of Government Benefits in 2014
An AP Analysis has shown that the increase in government benefits could be one of the smallest in four decades. The AP estimated that the increase for social security beneficiaries, disabled veterans and federals retirees could only be 1.5 percent. The exact increase amount will not be revealed until the Labor Department releases its September inflation report.
16 Days – Duration of the Government Shutdown
Late on the night of October 13th, Congress voted to end the government shutdown and avoid a default, which could have put the nation’s credit rating and the world economy in danger. The total time of the government shutdown was 16 days. The Republican party failed in its attempt to halt the rollout of Obamacare and now finds itself with low approval ratings just a little over one year from the 2014 midterm elections. The resolution extends federal funding for government agencies through January 15th and delays enforcement of the debt limit until February 7th.
More than 250 Million Per Year – Rate at which the NSA Collects E-Mail Address Books
Government officials and previously top-secret documents released by Edward Snowden have revealed that the NSA collects hundreds of millions of e-mail address books and buddy lists from live chat services. Based on what the documents describe as a typical daily intake, the NSA collects more than 250 million e-mail address books per year. Analysis of the data allows the NSA to map relationships and search for hidden connections. The collection takes place overseas, but senior intelligence officials told the Washington Post that the program also sweeps in the contacts of some Americans.
The Week by the Numbers: June 16-22, 2013
By Matt Phifer
Sometimes the real story is in the numbers.
0 – Men on George Zimmerman’s Jury
Last week the six person jury was assembled for George Zimmerman’s trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. All six jurors are women and none of them are black. Zimmerman is accused of second-degree murder. He claims he was acting in self defense when he killed the Florida teenager. Martin’s murder set off a firestorm concerning race and Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
3 – Charges against NSA leaker Edward Snowden
Late Friday afternoon it was revealed that the Justice Department was charging NSA leaker Edward Snowden with one count of theft of government property as well as two counts under the Espionage Act, including “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.” Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Over the weekend the United States unsuccessfully tried to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. According to the latest reports Snowden is currently in Moscow seeking asylum in Ecuador.
+13 – Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open Score, his worst 72-hole score in a major as a pro
Tiger Woods ended the U.S. Open with a final round score of 74 en route to a final score of 293, 13-over-par. Woods’ 13-over-par finish is his worst in 72 holes at a major tournament in his professional career.
14 Years – Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s New Sentence
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s was re-sentenced to 14 years in prison on Friday as part of a court-ordered reduction of his original sentence. Skilling was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2006 for his part in the collapse of energy company Enron, but a federal appeals court vacated the original prison term in 2009, stating that the sentence was improperly applied. The re-sentencing was delayed as Skilling appealed the charges against him. In addition to his prison time, $40 million of Skilling’s earnings will be distributed to the victims of Enron’s collapse. Skilling was originally found guilty of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors in trying to make Enron look like a success while the business crumbled.
Over 50 – Terrorist Attacks Thwarted by the NSA
On Tuesday, General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Administration, told the House Intelligence Committee that over 50 terrorist attacks had been thwarted by the two now controversial programs that monitored cell phone and internet data. Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce revealed that one of these plots was to blow up the New York Stock Exchange.
The Week by the Numbers: June 9-15, 2013
By Matt Phifer
Sometimes the real story is in the numbers. This week is a short post, but these numbers pack a punch.
.161 – Ike Davis’ Batting Average When Demoted to the Minor Leagues
New York Met Ike Davis was demoted to the team’s Triple-A affiliate on June 9 after a dismal first portion of the season. Davis’ batting average was just .161, the worst of any player in the Major Leagues with enough at bats to qualify for a batting title. His slugging percentage against balls in the strike zone was just .333, which is down from .634 in 2012.
9,000-10,000 – The number of U.S. government requests for information from Facebook in the second half of 2012.
In the wake of the revelations that the NSA has allegedly been requesting information such as phone records, Facebook revealed in a blog post on June 14 that they received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for information from U.S. government entities in the second half of 2012. The blog post said this ran the gamut from “things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat.” Facebook said the data requests applied to between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts. Comparatively, there are 1.1 billion active Facebook users around the globe.