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FDA lifts its ban on gay men donating blood

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Tuesday.

52

That’s how many incoming students will receive full scholarships to attend Marlboro College in Vermont. It will cost the university around $2 million to pull off this first year. But for small colleges like Marlboro, continuing to attract students to enroll becomes a challenge, especially for admissions officers.

30 years

That’s how long the FDA had maintained a ban on gay men donating blood. That is, until the policy was overturned on Monday. The FDA cited a lack of evidence linking the prevention of HIV spreading and barring gay men from donating. As Reuters reports, gay men will still have to wait out a 12-month deferral window from their most recent sexual encounter with a man.

$13 billion

That’s how much the in-home delivery market pulls in a year. You know the story: You find the perfect piece of furniture on the web, wait for it to go on sale … and then see the savings go out the window with “white-glove” delivery fees. Businesses are increasingly adding on such fees, requiring that furniture be delivered and assembled by their hired workers.