  Recent analyses that include cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy
measurements from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the South Pole Telescope
have hinted at the presence of a dark radiation component at more than two
standard deviations. However, this result depends sensitively on the assumption
of an HST prior on the Hubble constant, where $H_0=73.8\pm2.4$ km/s/Mpc at 68%
c.l.. From a median statistics (MS) analysis of 537 non-CMB $H_0$ measurements
from Huchra's compilation we derive $H_0=68 \pm2.8$ km/s/Mpc at 68% c.l., in
good agreement with the results of a recent analysis of the full Huchra list of
$H_0$ measurements. This result is also fully consistent with the value of
$H_0=69.7\pm2.5$ km/s/Mpc at 68% c.l. obtained from CMB measurements under
assumption of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. We show that with the MS $H_0$
prior the evidence for dark radiation is weakened to $\sim 1.2$ standard
deviations. Parametrizing the dark radiation component through the effective
number of relativistic degrees of freedom $N_{eff}$, we find
$N_{eff}=3.98\pm0.37$ at 68% c.l. with the HST prior and $N_{eff}=3.52\pm0.39$
at 68% c.l. with the MS prior. We also discuss the implications for current
limits on neutrino masses and on primordial Helium abundances.
