USAFacts

Welcome to #JustTheFacts, a new series featuring our founder Steve Ballmer and data directly from the US government. Americans deserve clear, trustworthy facts to make up their minds on today’s most pressing issues. Join Steve as he walks through the data on immigration, the economy, healthcare, and much more to help you inform your perspective. Get the numbers — not rhetoric — ahead of the US elections. Watch our first episodes tomorrow 8/1 on Fox at 9 PM ET/PT and 8PM CT/MT. https://lnkd.in/gDAes94B

🗳️We are four weeks out from #ElectionDay. So how many Americans are ready to vote? As of September, 186.5 million Americans were registered to vote — that’s nearly 6 in every 10 Americans!    Of those voters, 47% have declared an affiliation on their registration: Republican, Democrat, independent, minor parties, or unaffiliated.    Keep in mind, 18 states do not require voters to declare a party affiliation.    Are you registered to vote? 

📢 We're officially gearing up for our 2025 Summer Internships! Catch us at the career fairs at Howard University and the University of Washington TODAY. We’re excited to meet you and chat about our #internship opportunities in engineering, data science, product management, marketing, and more. Come say hi — and pick up some swag!

There were 1,558 executions under federal or state authority from 1977 to 2022 — 99% of which were state executions. This averages 34 executions per year, though the annual number of executions decreased from 98 in 1999 to 18 in 2022. Texas presided over 37% of all executions under state authority, more than four times any other state. Oklahoma, Virginia, Florida, and Missouri were next.

How do US emissions compare to the rest of the world? China made up over one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2022. The US was next highest at 12.8% — a total emission of 4.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. Just one other country — India — accounted for more than 5% of global emissions. US emissions have declined since peaking at over 6 billion metric tons in 2007 but increased from 2020 to 2022.

Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern US last week, leaving people without food, water, and shelter. According to the Energy Department, over 2 million people are without power. Although it's too soon for the government to release the official fatality count from the disaster, combined estimates from multiple states have put Hurricane Helene’s death toll above 100. Since 1940, hurricanes have been responsible for nearly 11 deaths per year in the US. Some hurricanes have resulted in more fatalities, such as Hurricane Katrina, which claimed over 1,000 lives in 2005, and Hurricane Ian, which claimed at least 116 lives in 2022.

🔋American drivers are charged up about electric vehicles! Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles more than doubled from 2018 to 2021, with hybrids making up the bulk of those sales. Californians are leading the way with over 3,000 registrations per 100,000 people. That’s 66% more than the runner-up Washington at 1,805. Let us know: Are you fueling up or plugging in?

More and more Americans are living without kids in the home. Fifty-eight percent of households are made up of either a married couple without kids at home (29.4%) — which would include those with adult children — or a single person living alone (29.0%). Meanwhile, the share of households with married parents and kids at home has dropped from 44.2% in 1960 to 17.9% in 2023. Single-parent households also declined, falling from 8.1% in 2022 to 7.4%. What does your household look like now compared to when you grew up?

How much do you trust your data sources? Turns out, Americans are least likely to trust the information they get from artificial intelligence. Businesses and social media scored second and third lowest. On the flip side, public TV, radio, national TV, and local news came out on top as the most trusted sources. Our 2024 State of the Facts poll with AP-NORC explores how Americans feel about facts and where they get their data. Learn more in the full report.🔗 https://lnkd.in/gVANeXkx

Congress passed a stop-gap spending bill on Wednesday to temporarily avoid a government shutdown. During a shutdown, non-essential government services may be suspended, including national parks, museums, federal research projects, and processing of some government benefits. It can also mean temporary layoffs for government employees. The last shutdown, in 2019, lasted 34 days, making it the longest in US history. In March, Congress passed funding through the end of the fiscal year, which ends Tuesday. This week’s bill will keep most programs funded through mid-December — when we’ll probably repost this chart.