Quote for today…

The only thing that makes life unfair is the delusion that it should be fair. ― Steve Maraboli

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.

Topics include – Mega Millions winner, COVID numbers, unemployment, Capitol riot sentences, hello Kansas, early education, Biden approval numbers, protests, Deshaun Watson, gas prices, and more!

1,337,000,000

The incredible Mega Millions® jackpot run is over! A lucky ticket-holder in Illinois will be celebrating summer as the latest winner of a billion-dollar lottery jackpot. One ticket matched all six numbers in the July 29 drawing – the white balls 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67, plus the gold Mega Ball 14 – to win the prize of $1.337 billion ($780.5 million cash). The final value was higher than the estimate based on actual sales. It’s the second largest jackpot in the 20-year history of the game, topped only by the $1.537 billion won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018. (MegaMillions.com)

One ticket matched all the numbers of all the tickets sold. Wow!

1,032,097

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 91,794,887 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 1,028,819.

260,000

In the week ending July 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 260,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 256,000 to 254,000. The 4-week moving average was 254,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 249,250 to 248,750. (DOL)

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

87

Guy Reffitt of Texas was convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, helmet, and body armor. He was sentenced Monday to seven years and three months (87 months) in prison, the longest sentence imposed so far among hundreds of Capitol riot cases. (AP)

The sentences in these Capitol riot cases all seem like a slap on the wrist to me.

59

Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state’s constitution, a resounding win for the abortion rights movement in the first statewide electoral test since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. With 98% of the vote counted, 59% of voters favored preserving abortion rights compared to nearly 41% who supported removing abortion protections from the state constitution, according to Edison Research. (Reuters)

States should put it to a vote as Kansas did, but as a faithful reader pointed out the right-wing extreme legislatures probably aren’t going to allow the voters to directly weigh in on the abortion question anymore.

46

A study from WalletHub found that Montana ranks 46 and is listed as one of the states with the worst early education systems. (WalletHub)

That’s not good.

39.2

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

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 38.4%.

39

Nearly four in 10 Americans, 39%, say they have felt the urge to organize or join a public demonstration. This is statistically similar to the previous 36% reading in 2018 but much higher than the 10% who said the same in 1965. The reasons behind Americans’ desire to protest today are markedly different than four years ago. Gallup found that Abortion/Pro-life/Planned Parenthood is the top reason to protest (31%). (Gallup)

Peaceful protests are wonderful!

6

The NFL on Wednesday appealed the six-game suspension for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, seeking a tougher penalty for violating the league’s personal conduct policy in the wake of disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson’s ruling Monday. Watson has been accused of sexual assault and other inappropriate conduct during massage sessions in civil lawsuits filed by 25 women. (ESPN)

That seems like a soft sentence for what he did.

0.084 – 11.27

That is the range of the price per gallon of gas around the world as of August 1, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price per gallon of gas on August 1 was $4.46. The week before (July 25), the average price in the USA was $4.60.

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