Quote for today…
The biggest wall you’ve gotta climb is the one you build in your mind. – 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 Montana children & hunger, COVID numbers, unemployment claims, NFL draft, Ukrainian refugees, TWW poll results, Biden approval numbers, gas prices, and more!
473,000,000
A ticketholder in Arizona won the $473 million Powerball jackpot after Wednesday night’s much-anticipated drawing, according to Powerball’s website. The winning numbers were: 11, 36, 61, 62,68, and Powerball 4. (NY Post)
36,600,000
People worried about Montana losing out on $36.6 million in money for children this summer continue to advocate that the state submit a plan to secure the federal funds for food. (Daily Montanan)
It would be nice if the Republicans cared for children out of the womb, too.
992,740
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 81,189,379 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 990,208.
180,000
In the week ending April 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 180,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 184,000 to 185,000. The 4-week moving average was 179,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 177,250 to 177,500. (DOL)
Note: On Thursdays, this column is published right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time), so I can post the latest unemployment numbers.
118
The oldest living person on Earth is now a 118-year-old French nun who enjoys chocolate and wine, according to Guinness World Records. Sister André, born Lucile Randon, became the new record holder following the death of Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman who previously held both titles. (Fox5NY)
I love the “enjoys chocolate and wine” part…
87
Tonight begins the 87th edition of the NFL draft. (NFL.com)
I’m holding out hope that I will be drafted in the later rounds…
78
Seventy-eight percent of Americans say they would approve of “allowing up to 100,000” Ukrainian refugees into the United States as the process to do just that gets underway. This is the highest level of U.S. public support for admitting refugees that Gallup has found in its polling on various refugee situations since 1939. (Gallup)
We do have a heart…
61
This week’s poll question asked, “Should the U.S. Supreme Court side with Kennedy or Bremerton?” (Background)
Here are the results:
BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT: 61%
COACH JOSEPH KENNEDY: 27%
UNDECIDED: 12%
Thanks for participating!
41.9
According to FiveThirtyEight.com, that is President Joe Biden’s current approval rating. (Source)
Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 42.3%.
0.095 – 10.879
That is the average price per gallon of gas around the world as of April 25, 2022. (Source)
In the USA, the average price on April 25 was $4.51. The week before (April 18), the average price in the USA was $4.49.
The Western Word 
“I don’t believe that just because you are against abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation about what the morality of pro-life is.”
Sister Joan Chittister