The Daily Data sums up the numbers making headlines.
Here are the figures for Thursday, January 30, 2020.
10 Days
In order to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, officials in China are rushing to build two hospitals in 10 days. The Wall Street Journal reports that both hospitals will be located in the city of Wuhan, and will contain 1,000 beds each. Construction is expected to be completed by Feb. 5th. Over 40 airlines have suspended flights to and from China. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared coronavirus a global public health emergency. Learn more.
62 Emoji
Soon, 62 new emoji will be available on both Android and iOS devices. The Unicode Consortium is the organization that selects emoji designs each year. For 2020, new emoji include a trans flag, hugs, bubble tea, 55 skin tones and gender variants, blueberries, prehistoric animals, and more. You can preview the 2020 emoji list here.
$550 Million
Facebook will pay $550 million to settle a 2015 class action lawsuit. The social media giant was accused of using its facial recognition technology (already available several years ago) to “tag” users, thereby violating Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook users residing in Illinois may receive up to $200 each. In the future, Facebook will need to obtain consent before using automated facial recognition technologies on Illinois residents. Learn more via The Verge.
4 Votes
It’s likely that no additional witnesses or documents will be allowed at President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. A final vote will take place Friday. Democrats will need 4 Senate Republicans to vote in support of their motion for additional trial witnesses. Three moderate Republicans have publicly remained open to the idea of hearing witnesses. If the motion fails tomorrow, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could push for an early acquittal. Watch the trial live.