You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be. ― Lou Holtz

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 and humor.

This week’s topics include unemployment claims, deaths in the USA from coronavirus, Fox News, FiveThirtyEight election forecast, Montana Senate Debate poll results, confidence in the police, Trump’s disapproval rating, 2020 Census, The Squad, Trump’s intelligence briefings, and much more!

963,000

In the week ending August 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 963,000, a decrease of 228,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 5,000 from 1,186,000 to
1,191,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,252,750, a decrease of 86,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,250 from 1,337,750 to 1,339,000. (DOL)

165,975

That’s how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 165,975 deaths and 5,195,195 cases across the country so far. The first death in the US was reported on February 29. (John Hopkins)

Last Thursday there were 158,170 deaths.

87

People who cite Fox News as their main source of political news are older and more likely to be white than U.S. adults overall. Americans ages 65 and older account for around four-in-ten of those who say their main source is Fox News (37%), compared with 21% of all adults, according to the November survey. And around nine-in-ten who turn to Fox News (87%) identify their race and ethnicity as non-Hispanic white, compared with 65% of all adults. (Pew Research)

I guess Fox News is brainwashing the old folks…

71

The FiveThirtyEight blog says there is a 71% chance of Joe Biden beating Donald Trump in November. (FiveThirtyEight)

It’s still early and, as a reminder, Hillary Clinton was also given a 71.4% chance of winning around this time in her race against Trump. (Washington Examiner)

So you’re telling me there’s a chance…

64

According to The Western Word poll, that’s the percentage (64%) of people who picked Montana Governor Steve Bullock as the winner first U.S. Senate debate. There were 28% who thought U.S. Senator Steve Daines won the debate. Another 8% felt it was a draw. (TWW)

Thanks to all those who participated!

56/19

Fifty-six percent of White adults and 19% of Black adults say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the police. This 37-percentage-point racial gap is the largest found for any of 16 major U.S. institutions rated in Gallup’s annual Confidence in Institutions poll. (Gallup)

54.5

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. His approval rating is just 41.8%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week his disapproval rating was 54.7%.

46

That’s Montana’s rank for the 2020 Census self-response. Last week Montana ranked 46. Montana has a 57.0% response rate to rank #46. Last week Montana had a 56.7% response rate. Minnesota leads the nation with a 72.6% rating. The national response rate is 63.4%. (Census)

4

All four members of the “Squad” of progressive first-term members of the House have won their primaries. The “Squad” consists of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley. Given the overwhelmingly Democratic character of their districts, that means they are all but officially headed back to Washington next year. (Huff Post)

That’s bad news for the Trump supporters…

0

President Donald Trump’s interest in taking intelligence briefings has been declining steadily since his first months in office and has dropped to near zero in recent weeks, according to a HuffPost review of all of his daily schedules. (Huff Post)

Lord, please watch over us.

##END##