You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
81 years 11 months
That’s the age of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired from the Supreme Court yesterday, effective July 31. After President Trump nominates a successor, Chief Justice John Roberts is likely to become the court’s median justice, sitting at its ideological center. It’s also possible that this won’t be Trump’s last opportunity to fill a seat. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 85 and Justice Stephen Breyer turns 80 in August. [FiveThirtyEight]
1938
That was the last time Germany appeared in a World Cup and didn’t advance past the first round. That is, of course, until yesterday, when they lost 2-0 to South Korea and fell out of contention. Auf Wiedersehen. Mexico and Sweden took the two advancing spots in Germany’s Group F. Bienvenido and välkommen. [The Washington Post]
28 million clicks
In January 2017, Slate, an online magazine, received more than 85 million clicks originating from outside sources. Almost a third of those, 28 million, came from that big blue behemoth, Facebook. But Facebook is beginning to pull away from the news business, and skewing its feed toward posts from individuals — I believe they’re referred to as “friends.” As a result, Slate’s Facebook clicks dwindled to 3.6 million this past May. [Slate]
$71.3 billion
The Justice Department blessed Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, provided that it sell off 22 of Fox’s regional sports networks. (Disney owns FiveThirtyEight.) Once again, “The Simpsons” proves prophetic. [Variety]
Immigrant detention centers in 17 states
ProPublica has found, compiled and mapped 97 facilities holding immigrant children in 17 states. As of Tuesday, these facilities housed over 2,000 children separated from their parents with whom they crossed the border, in addition to nearly 9,000 children who crossed the border before the implementation of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. [ProPublica]
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