Numbers

$427 billion U.S. budget deficit predicted for 2005, the highest ever and equal to 3.5% of the gross domestic product

$80 billion Supplemental military budget requested by President Bush for 2005, which would bring total U.S. spending on the war in Iraq to more than $200 billion by year's end

$250 million Estimated amount the Bush Administration spent on contracts with major public relations agencies from 2001 through 2004

$128 million Amount the Clinton Administration spent on contracts with major public relations agencies during the previous four years

$300 Market price, before the tsunami, to rent a house with indoor plumbing in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, for one month

$4,000 Current market price, due to increased demand from aid workers and journalists

1,418 Calories in a Hardee's Monster Thickburger, nearly twice as many as in a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with cheese

20% Increase in sales at Hardee's stores since the Thickburger line debuted in 2003

Sources: Reuters; New York Times; House Committee on Government Reform (2); Wall Street Journal (4)