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Hard Numbers
A volunteer florist adds baby's breath flowers to a Valentine’s Day rose bouquet on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
200: Disruptive weather patterns fueled by climate change have inflicted major crop damage in West Africa, where most of the world’s cacao, the raw form of the bean that is processed into cocoa, is grown. The price of raw cocoa, chocolate’s key ingredient, has surged by 200% over the past year. Roses won’t be cheap either. Is there a “bah humbug” equivalent for Valentine’s Day?
400 million: The US State Department’s procurement forecast for 2025, which details purchases the agency expects to make, included $400 million for armored Tesla vehicles. Tesla is owned by someone called Elon Musk. On Wednesday, as this story started to make headlines, the document was updated, changing “Armored Tesla” to “Armored Electric Vehicles,” but the contract value remains the same.
94.5: Despite President Xi Jinping’s pledge that China’s carbon emissions would peak by 2030, the country’s coal plant construction climbed by 94.5 gigawatts in 2024, its highest level since 2015.
457: Liberian President Joseph Boakai has suspended 457 top government officials, including ministers, for failing to declare their assets to the country’s anti-corruption agency. The workers will be out for a month, unpaid, or until they provide the required declarations.
4,000: In Colombia, a bill aims to prohibit sales of merchandise glorifying Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord who has been linked to more than 4,000 murders. Vendors are not happy with the proposed law, insisting that Escobar merch sells well and helps support their families.
200,000: The Trump White House on Thursday instructed federal agency leaders to terminate the bulk of their probationary staff. This reportedly could impact as many as 200,000 employees who have worked for the federal government for less than a year. Some staffers in public safety and law enforcement roles are expected to be spared, so it’s unclear how many will be impacted.
59-10: An exclusive GZERO and Echelon poll found deep partisan divides over DOGE’s plans to shrink the US government. The poll found that 59% of Republicans believed cutting 300,000 federal jobs would increase government efficiency, compared to just 10% of Democrats. When it came to its efforts to dismantle USAID, 60% of Republicans support completely overhauling or eliminating the agency, compared to only 12% of Democrats.Hard Numbers: Bear of a joke, BC’s snowpack slacks, US more corrupt than ever, US buyers wary of Canadian M&A, Americans ❤️Valentine’s Day
A polar bear statue is pictured during a blizzard in Churchill, Manitoba.
28: Average snowpack in British Columbia is currently 28% below normal levels for this time of year. Since the snow ultimately melts in spring and summer, the low levels now raise the risk of drought later this year.
65: The United States got its lowest score ever on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions index, dropping four points to 65 out of 100 on the annual measure of public sector corruption and graft. The index, which has run since 2012, went public earlier this week. Among all countries in the world, the US now ranks 28th. Denmark yet again took the top spot. The score reflects views through the end of 2024 and does not include perceptions of the US since then.
22: Merger and acquisition activity involving US buyers in Canada hit a 22-year low in January as President Donald Trump’s tariff threats left prospective buyers worried about their bottom lines. While US buyer acquisitions in Canada had grown 72.4% over the past five years, with 50 such deals in January 2024, this January saw only 19 deals.
27.5 billion: Americans are feeling the love: They plan to spend a record-breaking amount this year on Valentine’s Day gifts, including flowers, candy, and fancy nights out. According to the National Retail Federation, the nationwide total spend could hit a whopping $27.5 billion. In Canada, meanwhile, Cupid has shot slightly fewer people this year than in recent years. While more than a third of Canadian shoppers will make Valentine’s related purchases this year — at 37% — that is down 2 percentage points from last year and a heartbreaking 11 points from 2023.Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher takes part in the Victory Day military parade general rehearsal on the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on May 5, 2024.
2,460,000,000,000: In 2024, global defense spending rose to a new height of $2.46 trillion, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. Worth noting: The Kremlin outpaced all other European countries combined. Russia’s military expenditure equated $461.6 billion in purchase parity terms, eclipsing Europe’s $457 billion.
124: 2024 was the deadliest year for journalists on record since the Committee to Protect Journalists started tracking more than 30 years ago. At least 124 media workers were killed last year — nearly two-thirds of them in Gaza. The next deadliest nations were Sudan and Pakistan, with six deaths each.
20: At least 20 people, including children, were injured in Munich on Thursday when a driver plowed into a trade union demonstration. The driver was detained at the scene, and another man in the car, a Mini Cooper, was reportedly shot by police. The attack puts the German city on alert just a day before it's set to hold the 61st edition of the Munich Security Conference featuring world leaders. Some of those involved were critically injured, officials said.
200,000: A deeply unserious campaign for Denmark to purchase California from the United States gained significant traction online this week, following President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to purchase Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. So far, more than 200,000 people have signed the virtual petition to “Måke Califørnia Great Ægain.”
14: Nearly 14 years after an earthquake and tsunami led to a triple meltdown at the Fukushima power plant, the Japanese government is considering an about-face on its plans to limit reliance on nuclear power. A draft strategic energy plan from the trade and industry ministry calls for a “maximization” of nuclear power to help reach its emissions and energy security targets. The plan calls for around 20% to stem from nuclear reactors by 2040, 40-50% from renewables, and 30-40% from coal (down from 70% at present).
Hard Numbers: New records set in global defense spending and journalist deaths, Danes joke about buying California, Japan may u-turn on nuclear energy
Russia's Su-57 stealth fighter is at the 2024 Zhuhai Air Show in Zhuhai, China, on November 14, 2024.
2,460,000,000,000: In 2024, global defense spending rose to a new height of $2.46 trillion, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. Worth noting: In purchasing power parity, the Kremlin outpaced all other European countries combined. Russia’s military expenditure equated $461.6 billion in purchase parity terms, eclipsing Europe’s $457 billion.
124: 2024 was the deadliest year for journalists on record since the Committee to Protect Journalists started tracking more than 30 years ago. At least 124 media workers were killed last year — nearly two-thirds of them in Gaza. The next deadliest nations were Sudan and Pakistan, with six deaths each.
200,000: A deeply unserious campaign for Denmark to purchase California from the United States gained significant traction online this week, following President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to purchase Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. So far, more than 200,000 people have signed the virtual petition to “Måke Califørnia Great Ægain.”
14: Nearly 14 after an earthquake and tsunami led to a triple meltdown at the Fukushima power plant, the Japanese government is considering an about-face on its plans to limit reliance on nuclear power. A draft strategic energy plan from the trade and industry ministry calls for a “maximization” of nuclear power to help reach its emissions and energy security targets. The plan calls for around 20% to stem from nuclear reactors by 2040, 40-50% from renewables, and 30-40% from coal (down from 70% at present).
Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane flying him back to the United States after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured his release February 11, 2025.
3.5: Marc Fogel, a 63-year-old American teacher imprisoned in Russia since 2021, has been released following negotiations by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Fogel, who taught at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, served 3.5 years of a 14-year sentence for bringing medical marijuana into the country. The release is being framed as a gesture of goodwill from Russia amid discussions about the Ukraine war.
70: In December 2024, 266 out of 389 US metro areas – nearly 70% – reported higher unemployment rates compared to the year before, according to Labor Department data. The largest increases occurred in southern cities like Dalton, GA, where unemployment was up 3.5%, and Asheville, NC, which was up 2.6%, as well as cities across Michigan, likely because of the 2% decrease in manufacturing jobs statewide.
86: A nationwide power outage in Sri Lanka last weekend was triggered by a monkey entering a power station near the capital Colombo. The incident left millions without electricity as temperatures hit the high 80s amid extreme humidity. While the event sparked humor online, it highlighted serious concerns about Sri Lanka’s fragile power infrastructure … and its ever-expanding monkey population.
50: A recent survey reveals that Donald Trump is more popular than Gustavo Petro in Colombia, with three-quarters of the population disapproving of Petro compared to 50% approving of the US president. The Bloomberg survey looked at Colombian attitudes following Petro’s much-publicized but brief rejection of deportation flights last month – a decision that 74% of the population disapproved of. The incident sparked widespread economic concerns, with 88% of Colombians fearing Trump would retaliate with tariffs.Hard Numbers: Amazon’s spending blitz, Cal State gives everyone ChatGPT, a $50 AI model, France and UAE shake hands
The Amazon logo is being displayed on a smartphone in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on June 10, 2024.
500,000: More than half a million new people will gain access to a specialized version of ChatGPT after OpenAI struck a deal with California State University, which has 460,000 students and 63,000 faculty members across 23 campuses. Students and faculty will be able to use a specialized version of the chatbot that can assist with tutoring, study guides, and administrative tasks for staff. The price of the deal is unclear.
50: Researchers at Stanford University and the University of Washington trained a large language model they say is capable of “reasoning” like the higher-end models from OpenAI and Anthropic. The catch? They did it while spending only $50 in compute credits. The new model, called s1, is “distilled” from a Google model called Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental, a process that allows training fine-tuned models based on larger ones.
1: France and the United Arab Emirates struck a deal to develop a 1 gigawatt AI data center on Thursday, ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris. It’s unclear where the data center will be located, but the agreement means that it will serve both French and Emirati AI efforts.
HARD NUMBERS: Chinese marriages fall, Romanian president resigns, Bangladesh police arrest hundreds, Palestinian Authority may scrap “martyrs’ payments.”
A group wedding at the Harbin Ice and Snow World on January 6, 2025 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. As the population continues to decline, the Chinese government has been trying to boost marriages and fertility rates.
20: The number of marriages in China fell to 6.1 million last year, 20% lower than in 2023 and down by more than 50% since 2013. The marital malaise is part of a bigger demographic crisis facing China. Although it boasts the world’s second-largest population, at 1.4 billion people, the country’s population is declining. Until 2015, the state enforced a “one child” policy to avoid urban overcrowding. But since then high costs of child care and education have stymied government efforts to encourage people to have children.
6: At least six people were detained Monday during celebratory demonstrations in Bucharest following the resignation of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Iohannis has been under pressure to step down since the annulment last December of the election to pick his successor after a social media campaign allegedly organized by Russia helped a little-known far-right candidate to win. Although Iohannis’ term has ended, he was trying to stay in power until the rerun election in May. This triggered criticism and protests over the perception that, on top of involvement in the unpopular decision to scrap the election results, he was acting unconstitutionally by exceeding his term.
1,300: Police in Bangladesh have arrested at least 1,300 supporters of former PM Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in mass protests last August that were touched off by a backlash against certain hiring quotas in the civil service. Since then the interim government has struggled to tamp down tensions between supporters of Hasina, a strong female leader who came to power in 2009, and her opponents. Hasina herself is currently in exile in India.
20: The Palestinian Authority, which enjoys limited self-rule in the West Bank, has reportedly signaled to the Trump administration that it could scrap its controversial “martyrs’ payments.” Under this 20-year-old policy, the PA gives financial support to the families of Palestinians killed or wounded while carrying out acts of violence against Israel or who are imprisoned by Israel. The PA has often framed the policy as a social welfare measure under conditions of occupation, while critics say that it’s a “pay to slay” policy that simply encourages more violence and terrorism.