Quote for today…

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. – Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” If 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 United States women’s national team, winter Olympics and Daytona 500 viewers, nation, state, and local COVID numbers, unemployment claims, TWW poll results, the best NBA players, Biden approval numbers, and more!

24,000,000

Players from the United States women’s national team have settled their class-action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for a total of $24 million, the two sides announced in a court filing on Tuesday. In settling the suit, the players will receive a lump sum payment of $22 million. This amount will be distributed in a manner proposed by the USWNT players and approved by the District Court. U.S. Soccer will also pay an additional $2 million into an account to benefit the USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer. Each player will be able to apply for up to $50,000 from this fund. (ESPN)

This is great news!

11,400,000

The final scores are in, and NBC is no doubt happy to put the Beijing Winter Olympics in the rear-view mirror. The games reached an average combined audience of 11.4 million people in primetime on NBC, the USA cable network, and Peacock streaming service, the network said. That’s the lowest-ever American audience for any Olympics, and down 42% from the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018. (AP)

It’s hard to watch the Olympics when you can find out the winner before you watch.

8,900,000

Just under 9 million viewers tuned into Sunday’s Daytona 500 won by Austin Cindric. The first race of the 2022 season drew an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and was down slightly from the average audience of 9.17 million who watched the 2019 Daytona 500. (Yahoo)

As a comparison, the Super Bowl was watched by 112.3 million viewers. NASCAR has a big problem.

941,909

That is how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There have been 78,731,240 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 928,519.

Thanks to everyone who wears a mask and has been vaccinated – you are patriots!

554,847

That is how many Montanans have been fully immunized for COVID-19. This is still just 54% of the eligible population. (Source)

Last week, the number of fully immunized Montanans was 553,324.

Find COVID-19 Vaccines Near You by clicking HERE.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Montana’s population in April 2020 was 1,084,225.

232,000

In the week ending February 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 232,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 248,000 to 249,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 243,250 to 243,500. (DOL)

Note: On Thursdays, this column is published right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time), so I can post the latest unemployment numbers.

75

The NBA 75th Anniversary Team has been announced. Click HERE to see if your favorite player made the list. (NBA.com)

65

This week’s poll question asked, “Do you agree with ex-officer Kim Potter receiving a two-year sentence for the killing of Daunte Wright?”

Here are the results:

NO: 65%
YES: 23%
UNDECIDED: 12%

Thanks to all who participated.

50

The Cascade County (Great Falls, MT) City-County Health Department reports that as of Wednesday still only 50% of eligible individuals in the county are fully vaccinated. (Source)

The “Case Rate” and “Positivity Rate” are still “High” in Cascade County.

C’mon people – get vaccinated!

42.4

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, that is President Joe Biden’s current approval rating. (Source)

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 41.4%.

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