Quote for today…

Common sense is the most limited of all natural resources. – 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 lottery jackpots, COVID numbers, unemployment, gun violence, Woody Williams, wrong track, TWW poll results, pride in America, Biden approval numbers, iPhone, worldwide gas prices, and more!

366,700,000

A ticket sold in Vermont won the $366.7 million Powerball lottery jackpot last night. (Source)

360,000,000

That’s the jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions lottery. (Source)

You can’t win if you don’t play…

1,017,468

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 87,411,073 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 1,014,835.

231,000

In the week ending June 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 231,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 4,000 from 229,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,000 from 223,500 to 224,500. (DOL)

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

9,663

As of June 27, 2022, there have been:

• 9,663 gun deaths
• 18,261 gun injuries
• 292 mass shootings
• 532 children (age 0-11) shot
• 2,312 teenagers (age 12-17) shot
• 550 defensive use incidents
• 728 unintentional shootings
• 11,748 suicides*

*FYI: Because of the way suicides are reported, this number is an estimated calculation based on CDC data with today being the 178th day of the year. Please refer to our methodology for more information on suicide data collection processes. (Gun Violence Archive)

98

Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, whose heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the Battle of Iwo Jima made him a legend in his native West Virginia, died Wednesday. He was 98. (AP)

Rest in peace, Woody. I salute you!

85

Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults say the country is on the wrong track, and 79% describe the economy as poor, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The findings suggest Biden faces fundamental challenges as he tries to motivate voters to cast ballots for Democrats in November’s midterm elections. (AP)

82

This week’s poll question asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion?”

Here are the results:

• DISAPPROVE: 82%
• APPROVE: 15%
• UNDECIDED: 3%

Thanks for participating!

39

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

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 39.3%.

38

The 38% of U.S. adults who say they are “extremely proud” to be American is the lowest in Gallup’s trend, which began in 2001. Still, together with the 27% who are “very proud,” 65% of U.S. adults express pride in the nation. Another 22% say they are “moderately proud,” while 9% are “only a little” and 4% “not at all” proud. (Gallup)

I love my country; I’m very concerned about the political atmosphere and the hatred.

15

Fifteen years ago yesterday (Wednesday), the iPhone, the revolutionary device presented to the world by the late Steve Jobs, officially went on sale. (MacRumors.com)

I had a Blackberry for many years, but now I have an iPhone.

0.084 – 11.45

That is the average price per gallon of gas around the world as of June 27, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price on June 27 was $5.19. The week before (June 20), the average price in the USA was $5.19.

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