Numbers

U.S. MILITARY

65,000

Estimated number of gays and lesbians serving under the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. Twenty-eight retired generals and admirals marked the policy's 14th anniversary on Nov. 30 with a petition urging Congress to repeal it

10,000

Number of members of the armed forces who have been forced out of the military through 2006 as a result of the policy

NATIONAL DEBT

$1 million

Amount the national debt grows per minute

$9.13 trillion

Value of the national debt--which translates into $30,000 for each individual in the U.S.--up from $5.7 trillion when President Bush was sworn into office in 2001

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

65,000

Number of AT&T pay phones the company will sell off by the end of 2008

1889

Year the first coin-operated phone was installed, in a bank in Hartford, Conn.

TEEN DRIVING

6,000

Number of teens who die per year in car crashes, a figure that has not dropped in the past decade. The holiday season is one of the deadliest times of the year

27%

Percentage of parents who discuss safe driving when their children are 12 or younger, vs. 77% who discuss smoking, according to an Allstate Foundation poll

Sources: New York Times (2); AP (2); Los Angeles Times; AP; Allstate Foundation (2)