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Significant Digits For Monday, Oct. 2, 2017

You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.


At least 50 dead

More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded by a gunman who opened fire on thousands of concert-goers on the Las Vegas strip on Sunday night. The massacre is already being referred to as the most deadly mass shooting in recent American history, and the death toll is only expected to rise. [NPR]


8 minutes

O.J. Simpson is once again a free man. He was released at 12:08 a.m. Sunday from Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada, eight minutes after he became eligible for parole. O.J. Simpson was incarcerated for nine years following a botched robbery in Las Vegas. [The Los Angeles Times]


25.6 percent

Despite only accounting for 16 percent of the population, Catalonia — a region of Spain seeking independence — produced 20.1 percent of Spanish GDP in 2015 and 25.6 percent of exports in 2016. The Spanish government cracked down on an attempt to hold a referendum regarding secession. [POLITICO]


45 kilograms

Four men were indicted Friday in New Jersey after their arrest in June for possessing 45 kilograms of fentanyl, the highly potent drug believed to be driving much of the increase in opiate fatalities. For perspective, 45 kilograms of fentanyl is enough for 18 million lethal doses. [NJ.com]


74 percent

Percentage of New York City subway commuters late to work because of problems riding the rails this past summer, according to a survey referenced in a report from city Comptroller Scott Stringer. The report claims that the negative economic impact from the troubled system has been as much as $400 million. [Gothamist]


More than 8.9 million children

The Children’s Health Insurance Program, which funds low-cost heath insurance for more than 8.9 million children whose family incomes come in just above Medicaid qualification, is set to expire. The uninsured rate for children fell from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 4.5 percent in 2015 under the program, and funding will run out at the end of the month. [ABC News]


$291.2 million

“It,” the film adaptation of the Stephen King novel, is on top at the box office after gaining on “American Made” and “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” The film has made $291.2 million dollars since its release in early September. [EW.com]


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Walt Hickey was FiveThirtyEight’s chief culture writer.

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