Quote for today…

Your doubts will create mountains. Your actions will move them. -Mel Robbins

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 COVID numbers, unemployment claims, Donna Lemon, Elsie Arntzen, Biden approval numbers, TWW poll results, same-sex marriage, child molesters, gas prices, and more!

1,007,682

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 83,701,322 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 1,003,737.

200,000

In the week ending May 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 200,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 210,000 to 211,000. The 4-week moving average was 206,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 206,750 to 207,000. (DOL)

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

1981

A federal judge on Wednesday granted John Hinckley, the man who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan and three others in a 1981 assassination attempt, unconditional release from the remaining restrictions he faced, U.S. media reported. (Reuters)

1973

It’s an unsolved mystery nearly 50 years old. On a summer night in 1973, the body of Montana resident Donna Lemon was found near the Snake River in Idaho. (KRTV)

Please watch the special – it’s only 30 minutes but very interesting. You may know something about the case.

100

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen was fined $100 after she pleaded no contest to a citation alleging she illegally passed a stopped school bus while children were boarding. (AP)

That sounds like a weak fine for the crime…

76

This week’s poll question asked, “Who will win the 2021-22 NBA Championship?”

Here are the results:

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: 76%
BOSTON CELTICS: 24%

The first game is tonight.

71

Seventy-one percent of Americans say they support legal same-sex marriage, which exceeds the previous high of 70% recorded in 2021 by one percentage point. These data are from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 2-22. (Gallup)

After Roe v. Wade, I suspect the MAGA folks will go after same-sex marriage.

55

A Gallup poll conducted mostly after the draft of a Supreme Court decision addressing abortion rights was leaked finds a marked shift in public attitudes over the past year. After a decade in which Americans’ identification as “pro-choice” varied narrowly between 45% and 50%, the percentage has jumped six points to 55% in the latest poll, compared with the prior measure a year ago. (Gallup)

41.0

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

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 40.9%.

5

Jason Michael Day who was accused of sexually molesting two small children has been sentenced by Cascade County District Judge John Parker to 30 years with the Montana Department of Corrections with 25 years suspended. Day must complete phases one and two of sex offender treatment and will be designated as a tier one sex offender. (Great Falls Tribune)

My opinion is the district court judges in Cascade County are soft on people who sexually molest children.

0.084 – 11.20

That is the average price per gallon of gas around the world as of May 30, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price on May 30 was $4.79. The week before (May 23), the average price in the USA was $4.74.

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