Plus, which airlines are the best and worst for on-time arrivals?

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** How many people die of the flu?
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After unusually low flu activity in 2020 and 2021, cases are rising in the 2022–2023 season. USAFacts has updated this popular article ([link removed]) with the latest data for perspective on how influenza has affected the nation for more than a decade.
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* The 2017–2018 flu season was the deadliest between 2010 and 2022, with an estimated 52,000 deaths and 710,000 hospitalizations. Last season, approximately 5,000 people died from the flu, and 100,000 were hospitalized.

* Americans 65 and older are the most likely to die from the flu. This age group’s flu death rate was 6.9 per 100,000 for the 2021-2022 season, a rate more than three times higher than any other age group.

* Age-adjusted death rates allow for fairer comparisons among groups with different age distributions. Not all states have data available, but Kansas, West Virginia, and North Dakota had the highest age-adjusted flu death rates per 100,000 people in 2020: 3.67, 3.14, and 3.01, respectively. Utah had the fewest: 1.26 deaths per 100,000 people.

* Aspects of the pandemic have led to lower flu activity. First, fewer people got routine health checks or tested for influenza in 2020 and 2021 than in previous years. Second, health measures to slow the transmission of COVID-19, such as quarantines, school closures, and face masks, helped reduce the spread.

Since only some people sick with the flu visit a doctor, it's difficult to know the total number of annual flu cases nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a mathematical model to estimate the total number of flu cases and deaths. Learn more in this article ([link removed]) .

Where did 2022 Senate campaign funds come from?

Senators sworn in last week were elected in the costliest midterms in history. Analysis of data on the most expensive 2022 Senate campaigns ([link removed]) — Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Arizona — reveals insight into the changing nature of funding federal campaigns.
* The Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida Senate campaigns raised more than $500 million combined.

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* Campaigns must itemize individual contributions over $200 and disclose some personal information about the contributors. These disclosures show that most of the $200+ donations raised in these Senate campaigns came from outside their states. As the money raised in a Senate campaign grew, so did the percentage of out-of-state contributions.

* Thirty-five percent of Herschel Walker’s itemized campaign contributions came from within Georgia, while 9.6% of Sen. Raphael Warnock’s did. Warnock raised the most money of any candidate in these midterms, reaching $176 million by December 2022.

* Federal Election Commission data shows that Democratic contenders outraised the Republicans in these four races, with the widest gap between candidates in the Arizona race.

See more charts tracking the money ([link removed]) . And how did the Georgia race compare to the 2020 Senate races? Find out here ([link removed]) .

Data behind the news

Millions of people nationwide dealt with below-zero temperatures late last month. Californians are facing the aftermath of heavy rain — with the threat of more rain to come. How out of the norm are these weather events? See decades of temperature and precipitation data right here ([link removed]) .

Travelers found themselves at the mercy of delayed or canceled flights during the winter holidays. USAFacts collected transportation data on which airlines are the best — and worst — for on-time arrivals ([link removed]) .
One last fact
Including the current 118th meeting of Congress, there have been 128 House speaker elections since 1789. Fifteen of these elections have required multiple ballots.

In 1855, the 34th Congress had more than 20 candidates for House speaker. After two months and 133 ballots, the House chose Representative Nathaniel Banks.

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