Quote for today…

Those who fly solo have the strongest wings. – 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 Cheney’s record, COVID numbers, unemployment claims, Life expectancy in the USA, TWW poll results, Biden approval numbers, federal mask mandate, inflation, worldwide gas prices, and much more!

2,940,000

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) set a personal fundraising record in the first quarter of 2022, raking in nearly $3 million as she fights off a Trump-backed primary challenger. Cheney raised $2.94 million in quarter one, according to a source familiar with the fundraising, bringing her total haul this cycle to upward of $10 million. With the funds raised in the first three months of 2022, Cheney has $6.8 million in cash on hand. (The Hill)

The primary election in Wyoming is on August 16.

987,560

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 80,514,666 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 983,817.

185,000

In the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 185,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 166,000 to 167,000. The 4-week moving average was 172,250, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 170,000 to 170,250. (DOL)

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

77

Life expectancy in the United States fell by nearly two years in 2020 to about 77 years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharpest drop compared to 19 other high-income countries, according to a recent analysis. Americans, on average, had a life expectancy of 76.99 years in 2020, down from 78.86 years in 2019, according to the study, which looked at national death and population counts in 2019 and 2020, as well as provisional data for 2021 to calculate mortality rate ratios. (MSN.com)

Wow, this ride is about over for me…

43

This week’s poll question asked, “Should the Biden Administration end the policy called Title 42?”

Here are the results:

NO: 43%
UNDECIDED: 38%
YES: 19%

Thanks for participating!

41.6

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

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 41.6%.

15

The Biden administration will extend the federal mask mandate for all transportation networks through May 3, 15 days after it had been set to expire amid a new coronavirus surge fueled by the BA.2 variant. (The Hill)

8.5

The Labor Department said Tuesday that its consumer price index jumped 8.5% in March from 12 months earlier, the sharpest year-over-year increase since 1981. Prices have been driven up by bottlenecked supply chains, robust consumer demand and disruptions to global food and energy markets worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine. (AP)

For several months the Republicans have been blaming Biden for the jump in inflation. It’s to win the House and Senate in the midterms. If you check social media much, those talking points are working as some of the most uneducated conservatives as well as the staunchest Republican supporters are repeating them.

0.095 – 10.880

That is the average price per gallon of gas around the world as of April 11, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price on April 11 was $4.51. The week before (April 4), the average price in the USA was $4.57.

## INFORMED, NOT INFLUENCED ##