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A drone view shows a flooded area in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, in Houston, Texas.
Hard Numbers: Doctors at a distance, US inflation falls again, Beryl barrels through insurers, Virginia bans smartphones in schools
670,000: Is there a doctor in the house? Maybe, but if you’re an Ontarian, you might have to travel. At least 670,000 residents of the province live more than 50 kilometers from their family physician, according to a new report. Meanwhile, the number of Ontarians who have no family doctor at all has risen by a third since 2020 to more than 2.5 million people.
3: Annual inflation in the US fell for the third straight month in June, coming in at 3%, down from 3.3% in May. That will give the Fed room to start cutting rates again soon, but popular perceptions of inflation persist. Polling earlier this spring showed that two-thirds of Americans consider high prices a top problem, even after months of declining inflation. Why? Because things cost significantly more than they did before the pandemic-driven price surge.
2.7 billion: Damage inflicted by Hurricane Beryl will cost US insurers at least $2.7 billion, according to initial estimates. The storm, which slammed into southeastern Texas on Monday, lashing the Houston area with heavy wind and rains, destroyed property and left millions without power. For more on how climate change is cooking US insurers, see our special report by Ian Bremmer here.
1.2 million: Virginia will limit or ban cellphone use in public schools, a move that would affect 1.2 million students. Earlier this summer, the Los Angeles city school system issued a similar ban, amid heightened attention to the ways that smartphone use by adolescents can interfere with learning and threaten mental health. In Canada, Alberta will soon join Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia with a similar measure.
A homeless man's tent is seen in an alley in downtown Toronto, Ontario.
HARD NUMBERS: Ontario’s ex-cons struggle to find homes, First Nations challenge carbon tax, “Super pigs” eye the border, Alberta cashes in on TV
17.3: The percentage of prisoners released from Ontario jails who have nowhere to live has nearly doubled over the past five years, reaching 17.3% in 2021-2022, the most recent annual data show. Experts blame a triple crisis of housing affordability, mental health, and addiction, and warn that there is a high correlation between homelessness and recidivism.
133: A group representing 133 indigenous groups in Ontario filed a lawsuit today challenging the federal government’s carbon tax, which they say disproportionately burdens their communities. The tax, a cornerstone of Justin Trudeau’s climate agenda, has seen growing local pushback, especially after the PM excluded home heating oil from the tax in October in a move viewed as a sop to his constituents in Atlantic Canada, where the fuel is most common.
62,000: As if there weren’t enough to worry about in the world, the US is now bracing for an invasion of “super pigs” from Canada. More than 62,000 of the voracious, destructive, and nearly unkillable creatures have already been spotted roaming the US-Canada borderlands. They are the crossbred descendants of wild boars that Canadian farmers released into the wild after the boar meat market crashed in the early 2000s. Experts say the pigs are an “ecological train wreck.” We can’t read this story without hearing “Super Pig” to the tune of Rick James’ “Superfreak” — and now … neither can you.
141 million: And the last (of us) shall be first … The post-apocalyptic HBO show “The Last of Us” generated $141 million for the province of Alberta, where it was shot in 2021-2022. That makes it the most lucrative TV show ever shot in Canada. Next season, the drama moves to British Columbia.