Quote for today…
You are the artist of your life. Don’t give the paintbrush to anyone else. ― Iva Ursano
Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you are a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I look at the numbers in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.
This week’s topics include the Mega Millions lottery, Ohio prizes, deaths from coronavirus, unemployment claims, fully immunized Montanans, Republican Party turmoil, TWW poll results, NFL schedules, highest-paid athletes, and much more!
430,000,000
That’s the jackpot ($430 million) for Friday night’s Mega Millions lottery. (MegaMillions.com)
Last week the jackpot was $370,000,000.
1,000,000
Ohio will give away $1 million prizes to five adults, plus another five full-ride public college scholarships to teens who get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Wednesday during a statewide televised address. (Columbus Dispatch)
That’s a great idea! Hey Montana…
583,690
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 32,815,408 cases across the country so far. The first death in the USA was reported on February 29, 2020. (Johns Hopkins)
Last week the death total was 579,280.
473,000
In the week ending May 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 473,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 9,000 from 498,000 to 507,000. The 4-week moving average was 534,000, a decrease of 28,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week’s average was revised up by 2,250 from 560,000 to 562,250. (DOL)
*Note: On Thursdays, this column is published right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time), so I can post the latest unemployment numbers.
358,177
That is how many Montanans have been fully immunized for COVID-19. (Source)
Last week the number of fully immunized Montanans was 337,159.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Montana’s estimated population in July 2019 was 1,068,778.
We should all be wearing masks and practicing social distancing until we have a higher percentage of fully immunized Montanans.
100
Over 100 former Republican officials will sign a letter on Thursday declaring that if the Republican Party does not break with former President Donald Trump and change course, they will back the creation of a third party. (Reuters)
Good for them.
91
This week’s poll asked, “Should Liz Cheney be removed from her leadership position in the House Republican Conference?”
NO: 91%
YES: 6%
UNDECIDED: 3%
On Wednesday, the House Republicans removed Cheney from her leadership position.
17
The NFL released their 2021 schedule on Wednesday. There will be 17 regular-season games. Check out the schedule by clicking HERE.
Go Chiefs!
10
On Wednesday, Forbes released its annual ranking of the world’s Top 10 highest-paid athletes of 2021, with UFC’s Conor McGregor leading the way with $180 million in earnings over the last 12 months. Two soccer stars — Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ($130M) and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo ($120M) — were second and third, followed by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ($107.5M) and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James ($96.5M). (CBS Sports)
That’s a lot of money.
The Western Word 
If Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus Type – 2 is any indication, We will poison ourselves before we give up meat. The stench alone is a warning.
Before Great Falls start down the hog CAFO road, here’s a number we should become familiar with that I recently came across. It doesn’t take long for a state to become essentially uninhabitable. What will be our FEC? Not a pleasant thought.
“Largely because of 23 million hogs, Iowa now has a “Fecal Equivalent Population” of 168 million people, as the University of Iowa’s Chris Jones has shown. Over-application of manure, too often on frozen ground, and miles of increased field tiling drive increases in Iowa’s stream nitrate loads.”
Larry – interesting. I know some of these companies move into an area, throw their money around to get positive feelings toward them and then build their “farms” and mass produce meat. Thanks, JmB