Quote for today…

Don’t worry, some people are their own punishment in life. – 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.

Topics include – Mega Millions, Trump fraud, COVID numbers, unemployment, student debt relief, House/Senate projections, Biden approval, Twitter Anniversary, interest rate increase,, gas prices, and more!

301,000,000

The Mega Millions lottery jackpot is getting huge. The estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $301,000,000. (Mega Millions)

Good luck!

250,000,000

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sued former President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, three of his adult children and others for allegedly widespread fraud involving years’ worth of false financial statements related to the company’s business. The 220-page civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court seeks at least $250 million in damages. (CNBC)

Lock them up…

1,055,196

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 95,874,605 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 1,052,214.

213,000

In the week ending September 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 213,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 5,000 from 213,000 to 208,000. The 4-week moving average was 216,750, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,250 from 224,000 to 222,750. (DOL)

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

120,400

More than 10 percent of Montanans will be eligible to receive student debt relief through President Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiative, according to new data from the White House. A breakdown of eligible recipients shows that about 120,400 Montanans will qualify for debt relief; of that number, 78,600 Montanans who received Pell Grants are eligible for additional relief. Students who did not receive Pell Grants are eligible for $10,000 of student debt relief, and those who received the grants are eligible for $20,000. (Daily Montanan)

I think this is a good thing, and I don’t have any student loans.

72

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the Republicans currently have a 72% chance of winning the majority in the House. (Source)

Last week the chance of Republicans winning the House was 72%.

70

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, currently, the Democrats have a 70% chance of keeping the majority in the U.S. Senate. (Source)

Last week the chance of Democrats winning the Senate was 71%.

42.4

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

Last week, Biden’s approval rating was 42.2%.

14

I celebrated my 14th Twitter Anniversary this week. I am a long-time user of Twitter. I joined in September 2008. Twitter sent me a friendly notification that you can view HERE.

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord. I will follow you back no matter which way you lean.

0.75

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed on Wednesday that he and his fellow policymakers would “keep at” their battle to beat down inflation, as the U.S. central bank hiked interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point for a third straight time and signaled that borrowing costs would keep rising this year. (Reuters)

Interest rates are going up. Great Falls and Cascade County are raising our taxes. Now they want us to pay for a public safety levy. Bite me…

0.084 – 11.23

That is the range of the price per gallon of gas around the world as of September 19, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price per gallon of gas on September 19 was $3.92. Last week (Sept. 12), the average price in the USA was $3.96.

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