You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
20 pages
In January, President Trump’s lawyers sent a 20-page letter to special counsel Robert Mueller arguing that it is within the president’s powers to terminate the Russia investigation and to exercise his pardoning power, and therefore that he could not possibly illegally obstruct any aspect of the investigation. The New York Times, which obtained and published the letter, called it “a brash assertion of presidential power.” [The New York Times]
27 candidates
Akinyemi Agbede, Travis Allen, J. Bribiesca, Thomas Jefferson Cares, Christopher N. Carlson, John Chiang, John H. Cox, Delaine Eastin, Yvonne Girard, Shubham Goel, Robert Davidson Griffis, Zoltan Istvan, Josh Jones, Gloria Estela La Riva, Peter Y. Liu, Albert Caesar Mezzetti, Hakan “Hawk” Mikado, Robert C. Newman II, Gavin Newsom, Amanda Renteria, Michael Shellenberger, Desmond Silveira, Jeffrey Edward Taylor, Klement Tinaj, Antonio Villaraigosa, Johnny Wattenburg and Nickolas Wildstar are all running for governor of California. The primary election is tomorrow. [The Sacramento Bee]
56.7 percent of second-serve points
“Rafael Nadal is likely more dominant at clay-court tennis than any other athlete is at any one thing,” wrote FiveThirtyEight contributor Amy Lundy. A big part of that has been turning a tennis weakness — the second serve — into a tennis weapon. He’s won 56.7 percent of second-serve points on his favorite surface. As I write, Nadal is back on clay in Paris, in the round of 16, gunning for his 11th French Open title. [FiveThirtyEight]
67 software flaws
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote is Monday morning, and for some the focus will not be on slick new features and fancy new gadgets but rather on the regular and proper functioning of the company’s software. Since September, Apple has issued 14 software updates and fixed 67 software flaws with its mobile operating system, iOS. That’s a 46 percent increase from a year ago. [The Wall Street Journal]
499 civilians
According to a Pentagon report to Congress, U.S. military actions in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen killed 499 civilians in the first year of the Trump administration. This official count includes airstrikes and ground operations. The publication acknowledges there are additional casualty reports that remain to be assessed, so the count could increase. [CNN]
37,241 McDonald’s restaurants
There are 37,241 McDonald’s restaurants in 120 countries, but not a single one in North Korea. In a recent fast-food development, however, Kim Jong Un, according to an intelligence report, may allow a “Western hamburger franchise” into Pyongyang as a gesture of goodwill. Perhaps that’s a good sign for the future. Thomas Friedman once famously observed that no two countries that both had a McDonald’s had gone to war with one another. [The Washington Post]
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