Numbers

By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Daren Fonda, Ling Minhua, Ellin Martens, Benjamin Nugent, Julie Rawe, Eric Roston, Josh Tyrangiel

16,851 Minnesota state tax-rebate checks, each for $95, that were erroneously sent to children

11,000 Estimated number of checks that have already been cashed, costing Minnesotans about $1,045,000

1,546 Interracial marriages conducted in Alabama in 1998

99 Years that interracial marriage has been illegal in Alabama. A ballot proposal to repeal the ban goes to voters this fall

3.9% U.S. unemployment rate in September, tying a 30-year low

7.5% Unemployment rate in September 1992, when Bill Clinton was challenging President Bush

1,240,000 Estimated car thefts in the U.S. in 1998--an average of one every 25 seconds

350,400 Estimated shopping-cart thefts in the U.S. annually--an average of one every 90 seconds

Sources: AP, USA Today, Department of Labor, FBI