Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter. ― J. Nozipo Maraire

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you are 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 early voting, unemployment, coronavirus deaths in the USA, Trump and China, migrant families, Trump’s disapproval rating, Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s sexual misconduct, same-sex civil unions, and much more!

44,007,397

That is how many people have voted in the United States so far! (Source)

Make sure you vote!

787,000

In the week ending October 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 787,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 56,000 from 898,000 to 842,000. The 4-week moving average was 811,250, a decrease of 21,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 33,500 from 866,250 to 832,750. (DOL)

*Note: On Thursdays, my column is not published until right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time) so I can post the latest unemployment numbers. 

243,274

That is how many Montanans have voted so far! (Source)

This is going to be a record turnout!

222,220

That is 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 222,220 deaths and 8,338,413 cases across the country so far. The first death in the US was reported on February 29. (John Hopkins)

Last Thursday, there were 216,904 deaths.

188,561

An account controlled by Trump International Hotels Management LLC paid $188,561 in taxes in China from 2013 to 2015, according to The New York Times. (NY Times)

It is nice that he paid taxes somewhere! Did they check to see if Steve Daines has paid taxes there?

545

Lawyers appointed by a federal judge to identify migrant families who were separated by the Trump administration say that they have yet to track down the parents of 545 children and that about two-thirds of those parents were deported to Central America without their children, according to a filing Tuesday from the American Civil Liberties Union. (NBC News)

Shameful.

54.0

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating according to the FiveThirtyEight blog. His approval rating is just 42.4%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week Trump’s disapproval rating was 53.6%.

51

A slim 51% majority of Americans support federal judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death last month. At the same time, 46% of U.S. adults do not want Barrett to be seated, and 3% do not yet have an opinion of her nomination. (Gallup)

Barrett will probably get about 52 votes on her confirmation – and that is enough.

19

That is how many women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. (USA Today)

Trump is a sexual predator.

1

Pope Francis became the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions in comments for a documentary that premiered Wednesday, sparking cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue. (AP)

Good for the Pope. Some conservatives may go off the deep end when they hear what the Pope said.

## VOTE ##