You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
3 years
It’s been almost three years since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared with 239 people on board, and after a laborious search of more than 46,000 square miles of sea, the search for the remains of the aircraft has been called off. [The New York Times]
7 years
President Obama on Tuesday commuted most of the 35-year prison sentence of former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who has been incarcerated for almost seven years. She will be released in four months. Manning — who has tried to take her own life twice in the past year — leaked documents from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and roughly 250,000 diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. [The New York Times]
18 percent
Percentage of Philadelphia households that reported evidence of rodents, the largest percentage among the 25 U.S. cities broken out in data from the latest federal American Housing Survey. When it came to vermin of the cockroach variety, New Orleans, Houston and Miami topped the list of infested cities. [Bloomberg]
45 percent
Percentage of people who think the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is a good idea. As the GOP-controlled Congress plans its repeal, the legislation has never been more popular, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Among respondents, 45 percent said it’s a good idea, and 41 percent said it’s a bad idea. [Mark Murray, NBC News]
1,000 questions
Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee sent secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson almost 1,000 questions that must be answered before a vote on his nomination. That’s a lot more than is typical. [Slate]
$15,000
Possible value of stock in Zimmer Biomet, a medical device maker, bought by Tom Price just before the representative introduced a bill that would directly benefit the company. Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, says he didn’t know about the transaction. Price’s Senate confirmation hearings start today. [CNN]
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