You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
0 Cabinet-level meetings
President Trump is scheduled to sit down with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, for a high-stakes negotiation on Tuesday in Singapore. But John Bolton, the national security adviser, has convened no Cabinet-level National Security Council meetings in preparation for the summit. Politico calls it “a striking break from past practice.” [Politico]
4-5 odds
Justify, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes (and secretively part-owned by George Soros), will race for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes Saturday. Justify is a heavy favorite in the field of 10 horses, currently going off at odds of 4-5. There have been only 12 Triple Crown winners since 1919. Justify’s competition will include Free Drop Billy, Vino Rosso and Gronkowski. [CBS Sports]
1.5 percent of all American deaths
A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association attributes 1.5 percent of all American deaths in 2016 to opioids. This staggering figure, which given the data used may be an underestimate of the true total, eclipses the deadliness of the Vietnam War during its bloodiest year. One in five deaths of young Americans, ages 25 to 34, are attributed to opioids. [The Washington Post]
70,000 fans
More than 70,000 Washington Capitals fans logged on to claim a ticket for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in the Capitals’ 18,506-seat arena in D.C. And the team wasn’t even playing there. The mad dash was for a viewing party where they’d show the game on the big screen. FYI Caps fans: I’ve got a 50-inch plasma and room for like six or seven of you. BYOB, though. [ESPN]
14 million Facebook users
For four days in May, a software bug caused some 14 million Facebook users’ settings to change, such that all of their posts were public. The company said it later fixed the problem, turning all these users’ posts to private. Sing like no one is listening. Dance like nobody’s watching. Post like 2 billion people are reading. [CNN]
$100 trillion
A billion dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A trillion dollars. Even cooler, of course, is $100 trillion. According to the Federal Reserve, total U.S. household wealth topped that final, coolest number for the first time ever. [AFP]
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