How do you know when a man is about to say something intelligent?
When he starts his sentence with, “My wife once told me…” –Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm, humor, and bluntness.

This week’s topics include the Powerball jackpot, the Mueller investigation, unemployment, Kamala Harris & teachers, MLB opening day & the Kansas City Royals, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, CNN poll, Planned Parenthood of Montana, 2019 Division 1 Men’s & Women’s NCAA tournament, CVS & Walgreens & Cannabidiol, and one perfect bracket!

768,400,000

A single ticket sold in Wisconsin matched all six numbers in the Wednesday night Powerball drawing to win the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot climbed to an estimated $768.4 million at the time of the drawing with a cash option of $477 million. (AP)

The winning numbers are 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball number is 12.

34,000,000

The fact-checking website PolitiFact is reporting although the total cost of the Mueller investigation is not publicly known at this point, they project it will be close to $34 million.

PolitiFact also reported that on social media, complaints about Mueller’s spending are sometimes met with a retort that the investigation paid for itself given related asset forfeitures. PolitiFact wondered if that were true and found there isn’t a direct link. There is an estimate the asset forfeitures from Paul Manafort would be around $22 million.

Everyone should read the full Politifact report by clicking HERE.

By the way, the Whitewater investigation (Clinton) cost “more than $70 million.” (Source)

Just sayin…

211,000

That’s how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (USDOL)

13,500

Presidential hopeful U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) proposed a huge pay raise for American teachers. Teachers would receive an average $13,500 pay raise under the senator’s plan, which her campaign bills “the largest investment in teachers in American history.” Harris’ campaign estimates her proposal would cost about $315 billion over 10 years. (CNBC)

That would be nice. Teachers deserve more pay.

150

Today (Thursday) is opening day of the 150th Major League Baseball (MLB) season, although the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners already played two games in Tokyo, Japan, on March 20/21. (Wikipedia)

My Kansas City Royals are ranked as the 28th best team in baseball for 2019 according to ESPN power rankings (there are 30 teams). Looks like it will be another bad year for Royals fans…

71

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler celebrated his 71st birthday with actress daughter Liv and his entire band in Las Vegas on Tuesday. (PageSix)

Keep on rockin’

56

A new poll from CNN found that a majority (56%) says the President and his campaign have not been exonerated of collusion, but that what they’ve heard or read about the report shows collusion could not be proven. Fewer, 43%, say Trump and his team have been exonerated of collusion. A main point is Independents. The poll found that independent voters break against exoneration — 58% say the President and his campaign were not exonerated. (CNN)

Trump will need independent voters to win reelection.

50

This week Planned Parenthood of Montana is hosting an event in Helena, the first of three celebrations recognizing a half-century of providing affordable health care. Other events will be held in Billings and Missoula. (HelenaIR.com)

Planned Parenthood provides valuable healthcare services.

16

The 2019 Division 1 Men’s NCAA tournament continues Thursday (today) and Friday, March 28/29 with the Sweet 16. (CBSSports.com)

The 2019 Division 1 Women’s NCAA tournament continues Friday and Saturday (March 29/30) with the Sweet 16. (NCAA.com)

8

CVS Pharmacy said on Wednesday that it has started selling cannabidiol, or CBD, products in select states. The pharmacy chain said the products include topicals such as creams, sprays, roll-ons, lotions, and salves. These products are available in 8 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee. (CNBC)

Walgreens announced they will sell the cannabis-based products in nine states: Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana. (CNBC)

Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active ingredient in cannabis derived from the hemp plant. It may help treat conditions like pain, insomnia, and anxiety. (Harvard.edu)

1

The NCAA reports that this year tens of millions of brackets were entered into major online NCAA tournament bracket games. Only one bracket is still perfect going into the Sweet 16. That bracket belongs to Gregg Nigl, a 40-year-old neuropsychologist from Columbus, Ohio. (CNBC)

Here’s your 15 minutes of fame, Gregg!

 

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