You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
3.5 percent
2016 sales growth of Coke Zero, apparently insufficient for Coca-Cola, which is replacing the beverage with the internationally popular Coke Zero Sugar. [CNN Money]
Title VII
The Department of Justice argued Wednesday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect gay and lesbian workers from discrimination. This is a change from the previous administration’s position on the question. [BuzzFeed]
7
Number of Senate Republicans who joined their Democratic colleagues in opposing a “repeal and delay” of the Affordable Care Act. (The measure would have repealed parts of the health law after two years without immediately settling on a replacement.) The “no” votes came from Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Dean Heller, John McCain, Rob Portman, Lamar Alexander and Shelley Moore Capito. [FiveThirtyEight]
105,153 cases
An outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka has resulted in 105,153 cases as of Monday, with 296 people succumbing to the disease so far. The disease is a mosquito-borne pathogen. [TIME]
$2.4 million and $8.4 million
President Trump on Wednesday announced that he would ban transgender people from serving in the military. Trump cited the cost of medical care related to gender transition treatment as a primary reason for his decision. A Rand study estimates those costs at between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually. [The Washington Post]
15 million
Number of times the premiere of “Game of Thrones” was pirated in the U.S. last week, according to a company that sells anti-piracy tech. Still, one of the significant lessons from the music business is that focusing on the pirates while neglecting the people who do in fact pay for the product is the road to ruin. [Bloomberg]
If you see a significant digit in the wild, send it to @WaltHickey.