You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
3 warm winters
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released its winter temperature forecast and it appears that most of the U.S. is poised for a warmer-than-usual winter. Should that pan out, this will be the third warmer-than-average winter in a row. [NPR]
24-hour ready alert
For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Air Force is reportedly making preparations to put its nuclear-armed B-52 bombers back on a 24-hour alert posture. That includes the installation of new beds for more than 100 crew members. [Defense One]
43 percent
Percentage of people who took the California bar exam in July, 2016, who passed, compared to nearly 62 percent in 2008. California’s minimum score of 144 is the second highest in the country, and law school deans want it lowered to be more in line with other states. [AP News]
56 percent
A new class action lawsuit against General Electric alleges that the company managed its 401(k) plan to benefit itself, steering employees into funds that were managed by a subsidiary. Those funds charged high fees and went on to underperform investment markets. As The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Of the retirement plan’s $28.5 billion in assets as of the end of 2015, the lawsuit asserts, about half was invested in mutual funds. Of the mutual fund assets, about 56% were invested in five GE-owned funds — all but one of which underperformed its benchmark investment index.” [The Los Angeles Times]
$10 million
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is dropping “well over $10 million” on a nationwide television ad campaign calling for President Trump’s impeachment. Steyer is also considering mounting a primary campaign against incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein next year. [CNN]
$32 million
On Friday, The New York Times reported a previously unknown settlement between Bill O’Reilly and a network analyst who accused him of harassment, sharing sexually explicit material and a “nonconsensual sexual relationship.” The settlement — the sixth we now know of involving O’Reilly and largest — was for $32 million, and occurred just about a month before Fox renewed his contract for $25 million a year for four years. [The New York Times]
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