numbers: ShortFormBlog

14:57 • 1 month ago

How one modern labor union grew really big, really fast

205k the number of members of the Freelancers’ Union, a two-decade-old membership organization which has grown to be one of the largest unions in the country, in large part because it offers something that many freelance workers and independent contractors struggle to receive—affordable health insurance. Roughly 23,000 people in New York state alone rely on the organization’s health care programs — a level of success so significant that the group was able to receive extra loans from the Obama administration to expand the program. Premiums through the program cost $225 to $603 per month—significantly less than individual programs. source

22:49 • 1 month ago

And the award for lamest celebrity appearance ever goes to …

Tags: rihanna es Barrington High School chicago chicagoland suburbs numbers 34 • Permalink

16 the number of minutes pop star Rihanna stayed at a Chicagoland high school today after claiming traffic issues forced her to be more than four hours late to a scheduled appearance. (She ran out of time before her show at the United Center, offering free tickets to some of her patient fans.) “It’s one thing to be fashionably late. This is just rude. Our lives don’t revolve around a pop star,” one student claimed. Barrington High School won a contest sponsored by the singer, which led to the appearance. source

13:18 • 1 month ago

Why Kansas City moved away from zero-tolerance against violent crime

Tags: numbers es kansas city missouri violent crime focused deterrence carrots and sticks 23 • Permalink

nine the number of times in the past 44 years that the murder count in Kansas City, Mo. has fallen below 100 in a single year. Zero tolerance hasn’t worked for the city, so they’re now switching to a new carrot-stick model known as “focused deterrence” to help cut down the city’s violence rate, with the goal of catching people on the edges of violent crime before they fall deeper into crime. “For those on the bubble, a lot of them want to do what’s right,” said the city’s police chief, Darryl Forte. source

20:19 • 1 month ago

Air traffic control towers across the country closing due to sequestration

Tags: numbers es faa federal aviation administration air traffic control air traffic control towers 26 • Permalink

149 the number of air traffic control towers that the FAA is closing as a result of sequestration. The towers, whose closure could affect air travel, will start shutting down next month. Some airports won’t even have operational towers. “We will work with the airports and the operators to ensure the procedures are in place to maintain the high level of safety at non-towered airports,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. source

14:54 • 1 month ago

A government shutdown may have been prevented, but the GOP isn’t happy

Tags: Politics United States Federal Spending Government Shutdown House of Representatives numbers sc 16 • Permalink

318 Representatives voted in favor of the stop-gap measure passed by the Senate on Wednesday, sending it to President Obama’s desk for final authorization.
109 Representatives voted against the measure, including Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash who opposed the spending bill because it “permits funding for [the] implementation of Obamacare.” source

18:45 • 2 months ago

Deadly training accident claims lives of Marines

Tags: marines marines killed marines training training exercise accidental death marines mortar ct numbers 16 • Permalink

7 Marines killed by the unexpected explosion of a 60mm mortar during a training exercise in Nevada. Seven survivors have received hospital care in Reno — one has already been released, one is in fair condition, while five more remain in serious condition with major injuries. source

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17:46 • 2 months ago

Numerous bombings reported in Baghad on the ten year anniversary of the Iraq War

Tags: Iraq United States Baghdad Bombings Terrorism Car Bombings Improvised Explosives Iraq War numbers sc 22 • Permalink

56 people were killed by twelve different bombings spread across Baghdad on Tuesday, exactly one decade after former President George W. Bush announced the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
200 more were injured by the blasts, which reportedly targeted Shia areas across Iraq’s capital city. In response to the attacks, the Iraqi government has postponed provincial elections in Anbar and Nineveh which were previously scheduled for April 20. source

15:06 • 2 months ago

Syria: Use of chemical weapons reported in Tuesday attack

Tags: Syria Assad Regime Syrian Rebels Syrian Conflict Chemical Weapons War Crimes numbers sc 42 • Permalink

25 people were killed, and dozens more injured, following an apparent chemical attack in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday. Both the Assad regime and opposition forces have blamed their opponents for the attack; however, the perpetrator(s) of the apparent war crimes are unknown at this time. source

14:23 • 2 months ago

Study: Cable news heavily opinionated, but not the way you’d think

Tags: Television News Fox News MSNBC CNN Opinion Journalism State of the Media numbers sc 57 • Permalink

55% of Fox News’ programming relies on opinion-based broadcasts, as opposed to factual reporting, according to the latest Pew Research State of the Media report.
85% of MSNBC programming is opinionated, leaving CNN as the least-opinionated name in news with only 45%, according to the research and polling organization. source

12:15 • 2 months ago

Security researcher Andrew “weev” Auernheimer sentenced to prison

Tags: numbers weev es Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Andrew weev Auernheimer Andrew Auernheimer hacking incidents matthew keys cfaa 26 • Permalink

41 the number of months that Andrew “weev” Auernheimer faces in prison over the disclosure of 114,000 AT&T iPad user emails in 2010, which were gathered using publicly-accessible means. Auernheimer, who also owes a $73,000 fine to AT&T over the incident, was charged and sentenced for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is what SFB contributor Matthew Keys was charged under last week. The two share a lawyer. source

Hedge fund, facing insider trading accusations, pays out massive settlements

Tags: numbers es sac civil lawsuits hedge funds insider trading Steven A. Cohen 16 • Permalink

$616M the amount that affiliates of the high-profile hedge fund SAC will pay out in two civil lawsuits in an effort to fend off accusations of insider trading. The settlements, which include no admittance of wrongdoing, would not preclude future lawsuits or criminal charges against the firm, which was founded by Steven A. Cohen, one of the world’s richest men. “We cannot tolerate a market rigged for the benefit of insiders and their cronies,” said the SEC’s George Canellos. source

16:06 • 2 months ago

Seton Hill women’s lacrosse bus crashes in Pennsylvania

Tags: bus crash bus crash deaths deaths accident ct numbers seton hill seton hill women's lacrosse 14 • Permalink

2 people killed, and 24 hospitalized, following the grisly crash of a bus chartered by the Seton Hill University women’s lacrosse team, en route to a game against in-state Millersville University. The crash occurred near Carlisle, Pennsylvania – the driver of the bus was one of the two people killed, while the other death, a passenger, occurred at the hospital. Sadly, this marks the third collegiate sports team bus crash since the 27th of February. source

EDIT: This is Seton Hill, which is based in Pennsylvania, not Seton Hall, which is based in New Jersey. Sorry about that.

19:45 • 2 months ago

Federal judge finds FBI’s usage of national security letters unconstitutional

Tags: numbers es unconstitutional fbi national security letters unconstitutional privacy eff Electronic Frontier Foundation 36 • Permalink

16.5k the number of ultra-secret national security letters sent by the FBI, with gag orders, in 2011. The agency has sent hundreds of thousands of them over the years—and appears to have finally met its match in the form of a federal judge who ruled on Friday that the orders were unconstitutional. The case, involving an unnamed telecom firm, prevented the firm from speaking about the case to the public. source

14:50 • 2 months ago

Coordinated attacks leave double digit death toll in central Baghdad

Tags: Iraq Baghdad Suicide Bombings Terrorism Car Bombings numbers sc 10 • Permalink

25 people were killed in Baghdad on Thursday in a series of coordinated bombings near the heart of Iraq’s capital city. Seven policement and 15 civilians were among those killed, and all of the attackers involved were killed by a combination of return fire and the explosives they detonated.
50 people were also wounded in the attacks, though no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the bombings at this time. The bombings all targeted government facilities inside the Green Zone, though Western Embassies remained strangely untouched, leading authorities to believe the violence was inspired by sectarian conflict as opposed to discontentment with the United States. source

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