Hard Numbers

90,000: The "Yellow Vest" protests are catching on in western Canada where fuel fears come in a different form, namely low prices hurting domestic oil producers and their employees.

A Facebook group for protesters, Yellow Vests Canada, drew 90,000 members in its first two weeks.

14,000: President Trump announced this week that ISIS has been "defeated" in Syria and that US troops will soon be withdrawn from that country. The plan continues to draw criticism from a number of US lawmakers, including Republicans, in part because the US military reported recently there were still as many as 14,000 ISIS militants in Syria as recently as June and a similar number in neighboring Iraq.

2008: As of yesterday's close on Wall Street, the Dow and S&P 500 are on track for their worst yearly performance since 2008. We can't remember what happened that year, but it must have been bad.

1: A calendar that features only pictures of Vladimir Putin is the #1 best-selling 2019 calendar in Japan. Because the Japanese love Putin? Doubtful. Because Russian bots are brainwashing Japanese holiday shoppers? We're not going there. Because the Japanese love kitsch? That seems more likely.

More from GZERO Media

​Trump's silhouette as a wrecking ball banging into the Federal Reserve.
Trump's silhouette as a wrecking ball banging into the Federal Reserve.
Gemini

President Trump has made no secret of his longstanding desire for lower interest rates to juice the economy and reduce the cost of servicing the $30 trillion federal debt.

The Nepalese government’s decision last week to ban several social platforms has touched off an ongoing wave of deadly unrest in the South Asian country of 30 million.

The Nepalese government’s decision last week to ban several social platforms has touched off an ongoing wave of deadly unrest in the South Asian country of 30 million.

General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, takes part in an extraordinary government cabinet meeting at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, following violations of Polish airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine in Warsaw, Poland, on September 10, 2025.
(Photo by Aleksander Kalka/NurPhoto

NATO jets last night shot down Russian drones that had entered Polish airspace. Poland said the unmanned aircraft had crossed the border en route to a strike on Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

100: In his ongoing, and so-far fruitless, efforts to convince Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump reportedly asked the EU to apply 100% tariffs on India and China, the Kremlin’s most important trade partners.

Throughout his Walmart career, Greg has earned nine promotions, moving from an hourly associate to now overseeing 10 Walmart stores. His story is one of many. More than 75% of Walmart management started as hourly associates, and the retailer offers competitive benefits to support associates on and off the clock. At Walmart, there is a path for everyone. Learn how Walmart is investing in opportunities for associates at all levels.

This summer, Microsoft released the 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, demonstrating Microsoft’s sustained commitment to earning trust at a pace that matches AI innovation. The report outlines new developments in how we build and deploy AI systems responsibly, how we support our customers, and how we learn, evolve, and grow. It highlights our strengthened incident response processes, enhanced risk assessments and mitigations, and proactive regulatory alignment. It also covers new tools and practices we offer our customers to support their AI risk governance efforts, as well as how we work with stakeholders around the world to work towards governance approaches that build trust. You can read the report here.