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Russia packed my bags last night pre-flight

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Thursday.

$250 million

That’s how much the city of Cleveland expects will be spent during the upcoming Republican National Convention. But all that economic activity comes at a cost. The city is in the midst of building a brand new 600-room Hilton hotel, as well as a $35 million renovation of Public Square. There’s a payoff, though. Philadelphia went through a similar high-priced makeover before it hosted the RNC in 2000. And those investments have certainly paid off, as the City of Brotherly Love has successfully hosted several other major events since.

2

That’s how many ads were purchased by Arby’s during Wednesday’s airing of the “Daily Show,” the penultimate episode. It’s a tongue-in-cheek move by the fast food chain — Jon Stewart has mercilessly joked about the franchise over the years, at one point saying, “Arby’s, the meal that is a dare for your colon.” As the Wall Street Journal writes, the move speaks to how desirable the “Daily Show’s” demographic is to advertisers, as its audience is often young and affluent.

90 percent

That’s how much of Duke Energy’s revenue comes from selling electricity directly to customers; the company reports earnings Thursday. But last year, its customer base increased by only 1 percent. And a lot of customers are using less electricity as people continue to change their behavior.

$490 million

That’s the value of a contract between NASA and Russia’s space agency to transport U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station. The move comes at a time when relations between the two countries is at a low not seen since the Cold War. But as Business Insider writes, NASA officials say they must rely on Russia for transport to the ISS, as they have since July 2012 when the U.S. ended its space shuttle program.

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