The numbers for October 17, 2014
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The numbers for October 17, 2014
Of all the countries that have pledged money to the UN’s $1 billion fund to fight Ebola, only Colombia has paid, the BBC reported, bringing the fund total to $100,000. There has been $20 million pledged to the fund, and $400 million given to other UN-affiliated organizations, but the main UN trust fund is bare.
There was a flurry of other Ebola news Friday morning: President Barack Obama appointed an “Ebola Czar,” a Pentagon parking lot was shut down after a woman who had recently traveled to Africa began vomiting and the State Department announced that a healthcare worker who may have come in contact with the virus is on a cruise ship in Belize. We’ll have more later today.
Here are some other stories we’re reading – and numbers we’re watching – Friday.
The valuation of anonymous messaging app Whisper, which transmits up to 2.6 million posts each day. In an exploration of deeper journalistic partnership with the company, the Guardian reported that Whisper tracks users’ location data, even if they had specifically opted out. The company also reportedly zeros in on potentially “newsworthy” users, following their posts closely and tracking their movements.
That’s how many new movies based on DC Comics Warner Bros. announced this week, to be released between 2016 and 2020. That’s an insane amount of movies, and a very bold bid to out-Marvel Marvel. Grantland has an informative but scathing breakdown of all the characters Warner will be adapting in pursuit of some sweet, sweet “Avengers” money.
That’s how many people are currently waiting for an organ transplant—only 8,200 people donated organs between January and July 2014. Bioethicist Sigrid Fry-Revere argues that the current law, which contains strict guidelines about how donors can be compensated for expenses related to their donation, is preventing patients from getting the treatment they need.
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