The numbers for October 13, 2014
Snapchat, Ebola and more numbers we're watching and reading today.
Sentencing is underway for Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted last month of culpable homicide — equivalent to manslaughter — in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius’ defense team asked for leniency, the New York Times reported, citing the athlete’s anguish over the killing. One witness suggested house arrest and community service, which prosecutors rejected.
Pistorius could face up to 15 years in prison and the trial will resume Tuesday morning. In the mean time, here are the stories we’re reading — and other numbers we’re watching — Monday.
200,000
That’s how many sensitive photo and video messages — some of minors — that were stolen in the latest hack into the self-destructing message app Snapchat. The images began appearing on 4chan over the weekend, Business Insider reported, and users set up a system to search for specific usernames. The unofficial app SnapSaved has taken responsibility for being hacked, but experts say the blame could be on Snapchat’s own security, which is open to third-parties like SnapSaved.
29
The list of globally, systematically important banks maintained by the international Financial Stability Board. U.S. and U.K. regulators will simulate the failure of two big lenders and their impact on the global economy as part of a “war game” Monday, Bloomberg reported.
$29.31 billion
The National Institutes of Health’s budget for fiscal year 2013, which has been on a steady decline for a decade, when adjusted for inflation. NIH head Francis Collins told the Huffington Post a lack of funding has inhibited the organization’s research on an Ebola vaccine.