USA Times Data Desk
The USA Times Data Desk is the newsroom’s data and investigations unit. It collects prices, fees and public records directly from the source, verifies them item by item, and builds the charts and tables behind USA Times investigations. Every figure it publishes is traceable to a named, dated source.
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The FTC Can’t Ban Personalized Pricing. Its New Draft Policy Explains How It Plans to Police It Anyway.
In a draft enforcement policy statement approved 2-0 on Aug. 19, the FTC says undisclosed use of personal data to set individual prices likely violates Section 5 — and its examples name delivery apps, rideshare platforms, grocers, and hotels.
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The Fed’s July Vote Was 9–3 to Hold. The Minutes Show the Case for a Hike Went Well Beyond the Dissenters.
“Many participants” said tightening would likely be necessary if inflation didn’t decline, according to minutes of the July 28–29 FOMC meeting released Wednesday — a far broader hawkish camp than the three formal dissents suggested.
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The ‘Coalition’ Fighting NYC’s Delivery Bill Is 97% Amazon Money, State Filings Show
Amazon put $5,001,377 behind the Five Borough Jobs Campaign — 97% of its disclosed 2026 funding — to fight a bill the city’s own injury data helped inspire. Here are the numbers on both sides.
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1,089 of IMAX’s Screens Still Run on 2008 Technology. Only 63 Can Show the Format’s Full Frame.
1,089 of IMAX’s commercial locations were still running 2008-era xenon digital projection as of the end of 2025 — the largest single tier in its network. And of the roughly 1,876 systems IMAX operates worldwide, only 63 can show the format’s full 1.43:1 frame.
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The FTC Voted 3-1 to Stop Defending Its Own Non-Compete Ban. Two Other Biden-Era Rules Got Killed the Same Week.
The FTC voted 3-1 to stop defending its own nationwide non-compete ban in court — and the same Federal Register notice formally kills the CARS auto-ad rule and scales back the click-to-cancel subscription rule. All three were struck down by federal courts, mostly on procedural grounds.
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There Are Still 7.4 Million Open Jobs in America. Federal Government Postings Are Rising — Wholesale Trade Is Cutting Them Fast.
June JOLTS data shows 7.4 million job openings nationally, essentially flat — but federal government postings rose 39,000 even as federal hires fell, while wholesale trade cut openings by 74,000, the largest single-industry drop in the report.
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IMAX Just Had Its Best Q2 Installation Quarter in a Decade. Its Backlog Grew Anyway.
IMAX installed 38 systems in Q2 2026, its best second quarter in a decade, and revenue rose 12%. Its backlog still grew to 421 systems — and the company quietly canceled backlog for 17 China locations “no longer beneficial” to pursue.
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The National Average Movie Ticket Is $10.75. IMAX Routinely Charges Double That in New York and LA.
NATO’s national blended average movie ticket runs about $10.75. IMAX tickets average roughly $17.80, and routinely exceed $22 in New York and Los Angeles — and the surcharge doesn’t even tell you which of IMAX’s seven projection tiers you’re getting.
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U.S. Population Growth Cut in Half in One Year. The Cause Wasn’t Births or Deaths — It Was a 54% Collapse in Immigration.
U.S. population growth was cut roughly in half in a single year, per new Census data — not because of births or deaths, but because net international migration collapsed 54%. Five states lost population, and Florida’s once-dominant domestic migration edge has nearly disappeared.
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MTA Weekend Subway Ridership Is Nearly Back to 2019. Weekday Ridership Is Still 26% Below It.
New York State Comptroller data shows weekend subway ridership hit 89% of 2019 levels in 2025, while weekday ridership sits at just 74% — a gap that’s nearly tripled since 2020. We broke down the borough splits, the bus fare-evasion problem, and what the MTA is doing about it.