2026-01-16 01:39:27
For the Minnesota Star Tribune, Jeff Hargarten and Jake Steinberg report on the growing count of federal personnel:
A potential 3,000 federal agents from ICE and CBP is equivalent to five times the manpower of the Minneapolis Police Department.
It’s close to the total headcount of sworn officers among the region’s largest 10 law enforcement agencies and equals nearly one agent for every 1,000 of the Twin Cities’ 3.2 million residents.
Good use of unit-based pie charts to show the counts and breakdowns.
Tags: government, Minnesota Star Tribune, police
2026-01-15 22:20:16
What is the most middle name in the United States? Erin Davis grew curious enough to find the answers in data. For females, the most middle names are Rae, Marie, and Mae. For males, the most middle names are Lee, Kumar, and Ray.
The answers are straightforward, but finding the answers was more roundabout, because you can’t just dig into the annual baby names dataset from the Social Security Administration. Instead, Davis used voter registration data, which comes with its own challenges.
Tags: Erin Davis, middle, names
2026-01-15 22:06:26
Hi all. Nathan here. This is the Process, the newsletter for FlowingData members on data and charts beyond defaults. This is issue #371. Today, we rework a chart to focus on the useful bits.
Become a member for access to this — plus tutorials, courses, and guides.
2026-01-14 20:50:29
A SpaceX rocket explosion elicits images of spectacle and maybe thoughts of a lot of funds up in flames. But if you’re a pilot flying in an area suddenly defined by the FAA as a debris zone, you probably have other things on your mind. ProPublica analyzed flight data where a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded on January 16, 2025.
We compared the plane’s locations and maneuvers to the FAA’s debris zone, which was based on coordinates it released to air traffic personnel. We identified planes inside the zone during or just after the explosion in January, as well as others that appeared to take significant action to avoid the area. Planes that had just crossed the zone or flew in parallel to it were not included. This analysis may not be comprehensive of all evasive maneuvers or disruptions caused by the explosions.
Tags: explosion, ProPublica, SpaceX
2026-01-14 20:04:26
For Bloomberg, Molly Smith reports on the state of government data:
But Trump has made it clear that some data collection simply didn’t align with White House “priorities” that no longer include “woke” topics such as climate change (a “hoax”) or diversity, equity and inclusion. Many of the cuts have also been aimed at data that would reflect poorly on the administration’s policies.
The administration will no longer conduct an engagement and satisfaction survey of the federal workforce after gutting its ranks, and it tried unsuccessfully to disable a website on government spending. The Social Security Administration quietly stopped publicly reporting its live call-center wait times as it was experiencing significant customer service changes and staffing reassignments. The Environmental Protection Agency is moving toward ending a majority of reporting requirements under a “burdensome” greenhouse gas program as the administration rolls back emissions controls. The US Department of Agriculture canceled its food security survey just days before the government shutdown disrupted food aid for tens of millions of people. The USDA also released a delayed trade report that was stripped of its usual analysis, reportedly because the comments ran counter to the president’s messaging.
A lot of people who think these takedowns are a good thing are going to experience the effects of not having enough data to see properly.
Tags: Bloomberg, government, takedown
2026-01-13 19:04:23
Probability expressed as a percentage is a value between 0% and 100%. If there is a 0% probability that something happens, then the thing is impossible. If there is 100% probability that something happens, then the thing is definite. This uses words to describe a number.
Now turn it around. What probability do you use to describe the words? If something is unlikely, what are the chances that something occurs? Adam Kucharski made a quiz that lets you assign probability to common words used to express probability. Then compare against what others answered.
See also: the distributions of likelihood and the CIA rendition from the 1990s.
Tags: Adam Kucharski, uncertainty, words
