CNBC: Trump underperformed in most counties where he held large rallies

 There were 30 Trump campaign stops in that period, according to an NBC News tally, in states from Arizona to Nebraska to Pennsylvania. In five counties that Trump visited he saw better results than he did in 2016, but in the remaining 25 his margins of victory got smaller, his margin of defeat grew or the county flipped Democratic. [...]

Crowd sizes are often held out as a way to gauge support for a politician, and sometimes they are. But during a pandemic, with a polarizing candidate on the stump, it’s possible the meaning of the rallies were misread. While the crowds were visible sign of enthusiasm for Trump, there were much bigger, and less visible, groups of people who were not at the rallies and who may have seen them in a negative light. [...]

To be clear, none of this is provable. These are correlations, not one-for-one causal relationships. Trump’s rallies may have helped him, even in the places where he underperformed in 2020. Maybe they prevented him from doing worse.

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CNBC: More Americans went to the library than the movies in 2019

The poll is an update to a 2001 survey. While the overall rankings of the eight activities remained the same between the 2001 and 2019 surveys, movies did decrease. Trips to the movie theater dipped 1.3 average visits. This could be attributed to the rise in streaming networks, where box office hits and niche films are available with monthly subscriptions. [...]

Men and woman reported doing most of activities at about the same rate, Gallup says. However, women reported going to the library twice as frequently as men. Men were more likely than women to visit casinos, attend sporting events and visit national or historical parks.

People between the ages 18 to 29 visit the library much more than the other groups. Gallup says this is probably because people in college frequent the library to study. People between the ages 18 to 29 also visits casinos the most.

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CNBC Make It: Why Finland And Denmark Are Happier Than The U.S.

What does it take to be happy? The Nordic countries seem to have it all figured out. Finland and Denmark have consistently topped the United Nations’ most prestigious index, The World Happiness Report, in all six areas of life satisfaction: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity.