Hard Numbers: Massive US floods, Dagestan attacks, Bad booze, Deadly Hajj, Toodaloo to Taylor Swift

​A drone view shows a flooded area following heavy rainfall in Rock Valley, Iowa, U.S. June 22, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
A drone view shows a flooded area following heavy rainfall in Rock Valley, Iowa, U.S. June 22, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Chris VB/via REUTERS

1,000,000: Over a million people in the Upper Midwest were under flood warnings on Sunday after several days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate in parts of Iowa and South Dakota. Iowan officials said the inundation has already exceeded the 1993 flood that killed 50 people, and the worst of the flooding is expected Monday and Tuesday.

15: Terrorists in Russia’s Dagestan province killed at least 15 police officers, four civilians and an Orthodox priest in coordinated attacks on churches, synagogues, and police stations in two cities on Sunday. Dagestan is a majority Muslim region with a history of extremist violence, and the tragedy follows ISIS-K's brutal slaying of 140 civilians in a Moscow concert venue in March, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

54: At least 54 people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have died after drinking alcohol polluted with methanol. Dozens more have been hospitalized. Methanol is, chemically speaking, also a type of alcohol, but it needs to be filtered from ethanol (the fun stuff) or it can cause severe liver damage, blindness, and death. The likely culprit is homebrewed alcohol, which many in India consume despite the health risks because store-bought booze is too pricey.

1,000: Over 1,000 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials said Sunday. No explanations were offered for the deaths, but the governments of Jordan and Tunisia blamed excessive heat, and reporters on the scene witnessed pilgrims passing out, vomiting, and collapsing under the searing sun.

88,446: Taylor Swift said 88,446 people attended her concert in London’s iconic Wembley Stadium on Friday. The Prince of Wales attended – he was celebrating his 42nd birthday – and netted a selfie with the pop star and two of his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Artificial intelligence is transforming the global workforce, but its impact looks different across economies. Christine Qiang, Global Director in the World Bank’s Digital Vice Presidency, tells GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis that while “every single job will be reshaped,” developing countries are seeing faster growth in demand for AI skills than high-income nations.

Hamas militant stands guard, as heavy machinery operates at the site where searches are underway for the bodies of hostages killed after being seized by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2025.
REUTERS/Stringer

On Monday, Hamas freed the remaining 20 living hostages, while Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — the first step in the ceasefire deal the two sides struck last week.

- YouTube

As the US economy continues to defy expectations, Eurasia Group Managing Director of Global Macro Robert Kahn says the key question is whether a slowdown has been avoided or merely delayed. “The headline here is the impressive resilience of the US, maybe also the global economy over the last six months,” Kahn tells GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings.