You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
90,000 bottles of vodka
Three thousand boxes containing 90,000 bottles of Russian vodka, thought to be destined for Pyongyang for Kim Jong Un and his army chiefs, was seized by Dutch customs officials. This, once again, really proves that old stereotype about the party-pooping Dutch customs official. [The Guardian]
42 percent vs. 10 percent
The Columbia Journalism Review in partnership with Reuters/Ipsos conducted a national poll of Americans’ views on the press. And the results were the talk of Journalism Twitter yesterday. One top line: 42 percent of Democrats versus 10 percent of Republicans believe that the media does not have a partisan bias. Another: 60 percent of all respondents believed that reporters get paid by their sources “sometimes or very often.” (They don’t.) [Columbia Journalism Review]
75 pages of polling data
Court documents reportedly suggest that Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, gave Konstantin Kilimnik, who is allegedly a Russian spy according to special prosecutor Robert Mueller, 75 pages of documents containing polling data. The data, known as Exhibit 233, is from “prior to the Republican Convention and the start of the General Election.” [Daily Beast]
8,132 “pot cases”
In a very San Francisco story, the city of San Francisco, in partnership with a nonprofit called Code for America, will dismiss 8,132 marijuana cases — including misdemeanor and felony use and possession convictions — identified with an automated high-tech clearance system. [NBC News]
54.3 percent of respondents
They call it the “invisible primary” but it sure seems visible to me — heck, it’s right here in my column. Anyway, as FiveThirtyEight contributor Seth Masket wrote, one way to try to take the temperature of this invisibility is to talk to party activists. As of this month, Kamala Harris is leading by this measure, as she is being considered by or is already supported by 54.3 percent of early-state Democratic activists. Cory Booker is close behind at 48.5 percent, Sherrod Brown at 45.7 percent, and Elizabeth Warren at 40 percent. [FiveThirtyEight]
146,286,173 followers (and counting)
Ariana Grande, who is a singer, is now the most followed woman on Instagram. Her 146,286,173 followers (Seriously? Good Lord.) surpassed the previous record holder, Selena Gomez, who is also a singer and has 146,267,801 followers. At press time, I have 174 followers on the photo-centric social media platform. [Billboard]
Love digits? Find even more in FiveThirtyEight’s book of math and logic puzzles, “The Riddler.” I hope you dig it.
If you see a significant digit in the wild, please send it to @ollie.
From ABC News: