You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
62 employees
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that it is investigating 62 current and eight former Border Patrol employees after uncovering a closed Facebook group that scorned migrants and lawmakers. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the agents could get counseling or face written reprimands, suspensions, demotions or firings. [The Associated Press]
241-241
“It was insane. It was pulsating. It was chaotic. It was breathtaking. It was cruel. It was unbelievable. It was extraordinary. It was epochal.” Such was the reaction of the cricket world to the World Cup match between New Zealand and England that ended tied 241 to 241 after 50 overs each, a tied Super Over and presumably many metric tons of tea. England was declared the champion thanks to its boundary count. I’m giddy, and this is a cricket column now. [ESPNcricinfo, h/t @awkyser]
17.2 million, er, 22.2 million
A row erupted at the World Series of Poker when Dario Sammartino faced an all-in bet from Nick Marchington at the final table of the Main Event. Sammartino asked the dealer how much was in the pot and got an answer of 17.2 million. Sammartino called the bet, but the problem was that there was 22.2 million in there. And Sammartino lost the hand. The World Series of Poker vice president ultimately explained that, regardless of what the dealer says, it’s the player’s responsibility to know the size of pot and the bets being made. [Deadspin]
27 years
The economy of China, the world’s second largest, grew last quarter at its slowest rate in 27 years — 6.2 percent, according to data released by that country’s government. Experts suggested that the slowdown occurred in part because of China’s the trade war with the United States.” [NPR]
$1 billion richer
After the news that the Federal Trade Commission would levy a $5 billion fine on Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the value of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s shares in the company increased by some $1 billion over 30 minutes. Facebook, which had expected a fine and whose investors were apparently relieved that it wasn’t even bigger, saw its stock rise about 1 percent in response. [Business Insider]
50-pound note
The Bank of England will issue a new 50-pound note that will sport the face of Alan Turing, the mathematician, computer science pioneer and World War II codebreaker. The bank, which solicited public submissions for a currency-bound scientist, received 227,299 nominations covering 989 eligible individuals. [BBC]
From ABC News:
SigDigs: July 16, 2019
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