You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
More than 200 hockey players
More than 200 of the best women’s hockey players announced yesterday that they were going to boycott hockey this year, refusing to play professionally anywhere in North America. The move comes as they seek the establishment of “a single, economically viable professional league.” [Associated Press]
$1,005.60 bar tab
A group of Trump staffers at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 had drinks at the resort’s Library Bar, kicking out the bartender so they “could speak confidentially,” while Secret Service guarded the door. Mar-a-Lago then generated a bill for over $1,000 (service included) for 54 cocktails. The bill was sent to the State Department, which said no thanks, and was ultimately paid by the White House. “Donald Trump’s White House pays a bill and Donald Trump’s club reaps the revenue,” wrote ProPublica. [ProPublica]
2 fraternities
Swarthmore College’s only two fraternities have agreed to disband and give up their frat houses. The decision comes after a four-day sit-in at the frats by other Swarthmore students who were incensed by leaked internal documents that detailed “years of misogynist, racist and homophobic remarks, as well as jokes alluding to sexual assault by members.” [NPR]
7th senator
Michael Bennet, Democratic senator from Colorado, has entered the presidential race, becoming the seventh senator to do so, and the 20th Democratic candidate for president, according to our criteria for a “major candidate.” He was appointed to the senate in 2009, prior to which he had never run for office. [FiveThirtyEight]
About 600,000 bees
An arsonist in the Texas county of Brazoria, south of Houston, burned or otherwise destroyed 20 beehives, killing some 600,000 bees, according to the Brazoria County Beekeepers Association. The perpetrator remains at large and the motive is a mystery. “Could it be another beekeeper? There are a lot of different avenues that it could take,” a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office said. [The New York Times]
300 passengers and crew
The Freewinds, a 440-foot cruise ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology and the site of Tom Cruise’s 42nd birthday party, has been docked in quarantine in St. Lucia in the Caribbean with 300 passengers and crew locked inside. A crew member was found to have contracted a case of measles. [The Hollywood Reporter]
1,197 days
It’s been 1,197 days since FiveThirtyEight launched its politics podcast. The podcast was originally focused on covering the 2016 election, but has since moved on to covering the Trump White House, the 2018 midterms and — now — the 2020 presidential primary. In the run-up to the 2020 election, the podcast crew is hitting the road and taping live shows around the country. Next week they’re in Texas and if you want to catch them in Houston, use the code 538POLITICS for $10 off.
From ABC News:
It’s Morning, America: Friday, May 3, 2019
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