Stormed

$0

The cost to become owner of The Skagway News, an Alaskan newspaper with two staff members. The publisher is giving away the small-town newspaper to anyone willing to run it.

30%-50%

The increase in nighttime light intensity in U.S. suburban areas due to Christmas decorations, according to NASA.

11

The number of consecutive AFC East division titles that the New England Patriots have won, the most of any NFL team.

Surrendering to the state

[ Nov. 9 ] The actions of Bethany Christian Services mirror the very weak response of so many churches to cultural pressure. Bethany’s leaders will one day be held to account for these decisions. I pray they will see the error of their ways. —Sven Trenholm on wng.org

‘God always has a plan.’

Tua Tagovailoa, star quarterback for the University of Alabama and an outspoken Christian, on going down with a season-ending injury, which cost him millions in NFL draft stock. The Tua-less Crimson Tide went on to lose to rival Auburn, making 2019 the first time Alabama’s football team lost two regular season games since 2010.

Hired

U.S. employers added 266,000 jobs in November, raising hiring to its highest level since January. Wages rose 3.1 percent compared with a year earlier, and unemployment matched the 50-year low set in September at 3.5 percent. The return to work of 40,000 striking autoworkers at General Motors helped drive the increase in jobs, as did other factories adding 13,000 jobs. Retailers added 2,000 jobs for the holiday season.

$34 million

The size of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s initial advertising purchase in 46 states ahead of his bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, according to Advertising Analytics. 

44%

The share of American Christians who told researchers at Barna Group that attending church is not an essential part their faith.

220 pounds

The weight of a collection of netting, rope, plastics, and other ocean trash found in the stomach of a dead sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Scotland.

A jump too hard

It probably wasn’t the message one father was trying to send. Part of a bridge collapsed at Disneyland on Nov. 10 after a man broke it while jumping up and down. Officials with the California park said the man had been jumping on the suspension bridge three stories above the Tarzan’s Treehouse attraction to demonstrate to his children the bridge was safe to cross when a wooden plank gave way. Park officials say no one was injured in the incident, and the bridge was reopened the next day following repairs.