You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
27 states
Twenty-seven governors announced their opposition to allowing refugees of the civil war in Syria into their states. Those states include Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Louisiana — and they all have something in common. So far 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, and more than 11 million of the 22 million people who lived there have fled their homes. [CNN]
$35
Cherry Hill Mall in southern New Jersey will charge patrons at least $35 to sit with Santa and tell him all the crap they want. Listen, if demanding Philadelphia-area kids want to have a portly man over-promise and under-deliver on what he’s going to do for you in December, my understanding is that Chip Kelly will do it for free. [Philly.com]
168 raids
The French Interior Ministry said it had conducted 168 raids as of Monday morning searching for individuals connected with the attacks in Paris last Friday. So far 23 suspects have been detained. [NPR]
1,000
A project from The Guardian devoted to tracking the number of people killed by U.S. police has counted 1,000 deaths caused by law enforcement so far this year. [The Guardian]
£600,000 a week
Star soccer player Lionel Messi, currently of Barcelona, is kicking the tires on a potential move to the English Premier League. But any team interested in the impossible player will have to pay dearly for him: Messi reckons he wants £18 million per year after taxes, or £600,000 a week. Perhaps one of the petrochemical billionaires behind one of the U.K. clubs can shake out his couch cushions and find the money. [ESPN FC]
$10 million
Overstock.com, the e-commerce retailer, has $4.3 million worth of silver and $6 million worth of gold hoarded at an off-site facility in Utah, apparently a rainy-day fund in the event of an economic catastrophe. [BuzzFeed]
$75 million
Music streaming service Rdio is shutting down, with Pandora paying $75 million for some remaining assets. [BusinessWire]
$95.5 million
For-profit education company Education Management Corp., which owns the Art Institutes, South University, Argosy University and Brown-Mackie College, settled with the Justice Department for $95.5 million over allegations it overstated career-placement opportunities to students and paid recruiters with illegal enrollment incentives. The company admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which it will pay through 2022. [PBS]
$1 billion
Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, a craft beer brand, was purchased by Constellation Brands, the mainstream beer-producer that makes Corona and Modelo for the U.S. market, for $1 billion. The craft beer business is growing at a massive clip — by 18 percent in barrel volume in 2014 — compared to mainstream suds, which saw tepid 0.5 percent growth by the same measure last year. [Reuters]
$12.2 billion
Marriott International agreed to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts — the company behind Sheraton, Westin, and W hotels — for $12.2 billion. The result would be the world’s largest hotel company, with a total 1.1 million rooms. [The Washington Post]
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