News

Hard Numbers: What does it cost to save an American job?

14,000: A sprawling NYT report says more than 128,000 people have disappeared into Syria's government prison system, where torture, rape, and summary executions are rampant, since the start of the civil war in 2011. Some 14,000 people are believed to have been tortured to death, with one officer proudly calling himself "Hitler."

2/3: Cuba, hit by tighter US sanctions and shrinking imports of cheap oil from Venezuela, has returned to a policy of rationing basic foodstuffs. The state-controlled economy imports roughly two-thirds of what its 11 million citizens eat, at an annual bill of $2 billion.

2.8 billion: Since 2016, Facebook has deleted some 2.8 billion "fake" accounts as part of a Whack-A-Mole style effort to stamp out disinformation campaigns designed to mess with elections. The tech giant's next big test on this score is the European Parliamentary election later this month.

815,000: The tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on imported washing machines last year helped to create nearly 2,000 new jobs in the United States, at a cost to consumers of more than $815,000 per job created, according to a University of Chicago study. #TradeoffsOfTrade

More For You

Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda in Pitalito, Colombia, on April 11, 2026.
Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda campaigns in the southern town of Pitalito, Colombia, on April 11, 2026.
Santiago Chimbaco/LongVisual via ZUMA Press Wire

On Sunday, Colombians will have their say on their first left-wing leader, as they head to the polls to vote in the first round of the presidential election.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, on April 21, 2026.
ILIA YEFIMOVICH/Pool via REUTERS

The United States and Iran seem to be moving closer to a deal to end the war, which could hurt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection hopes.