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12.2%
The overall U.S. trade deficit rose 12.2 percent last year, nearing $1 trillion as Americans purchased large volumes of foreign machinery, medicines, industrial supplies and car parts, the New York Times reports.
517,000
“The employment picture started off 2023 on a stunningly strong note, with nonfarm payrolls posting their strongest gain since July 2022,” CNBC reports. “Nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 for January, above the Dow Jones estimate of 187,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4% vs. the estimate for 3.6%.”
64%
Just over half of American voters think Ukraine is winning the war against Russia and nearly two-thirds want to keep helping them in their fight, according to a new Fox News survey. Sixty-four percent favor the U.S. continuing to provide weapons to Ukraine and 63% support ongoing financial aid. Those numbers are up a touch compared to six months ago, when approval was 61% for weapons and 59% for money.
60
“A federal judge sentenced pro-Trump livestreamer Anthime ‘Baked Alaska’ Gionet on Tuesday to 60 days in prison for his actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6, calling his raucous conduct ‘shocking’ amid the chaos of the mob,” Politico reports.
$4.55 million
“Donald Trump’s tax returns show he extended sweetheart loans to his three eldest children—Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric—saving them a small fortune while adding to the intrigue surrounding the former president’s tax maneuvers,” Forbes reports. “The younger Trumps owed their father a collective $4.55 million and paid him roughly $50,000 in annual interest from 2015 to 2020… That figure suggests the heirs paid an overall interest rate of about 1.1%.”
65%
A new CBS News poll found that most Republican voters expect the party to follow Donald Trump’s policies and 2020 views, if not the former president himself. The results indicate 35% of Republicans think party loyalty to Trump is “very important,” and another 30% called it “somewhat important.”
700%
The percentage jump in babies named Lionel or Lionela in Santa Fe, Argentina, after Lionel Messi led his country to victory in the World Cup.
$3 million
Julie Fancelli, a daughter of the founder of the Publix grocery store chain, “was willing to shell out as much as $3 million to people and groups protesting congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory,” the Washington Post reports.
3.2%
“America’s economy grew much faster than previously thought in the third quarter, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s battle to cool the economy to fight inflation is having only limited impact,” CNN reports. “The Commerce Department’s final reading Thursday morning showed gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, grew at an annual pace of 3.2% between July and September. That was above the 2.9% estimate from a month ago.”
$2 billion
“The Biden administration announced a nearly $2 billion arms package for Ukraine that for the first time includes a Patriot air-defense system to help Kyiv protect itself against the barrage of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles Russia has unleashed on the country’s electrical grid and other infrastructure,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Also for the first time, the U.S. is providing kits that will enable Ukraine to use its bombs to carry out precision strikes against Russian forces.”
