What in the World Wednesdays #5: Shutdowns and SweetHearts

By: burgundy bug

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Bonfire

Source: [FRAMES] Bonfire | Penelope Peru Photography P³

After 35 days, the partial shutdown of the U.S. government draws to a temporary close. Meanwhile, a 14 year old in Arizona exposes a major security threat through a FaceTime glitch, SweetHearts will have to settle for a substitute, and both sides of the globe are facing extreme weather conditions.

What in the World of Politics

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FDR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2019

On Friday, January 25, 2019, the President signed into law:

H.J. Res. 28, the “Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019,” which includes a short-term continuing resolution that provides fiscal year 2019 appropriations through February 15, 2019, for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government included in the remaining seven appropriations bills.  Also included in the enrolled bill are provisions regarding retroactive pay and reimbursement, and extensions of certain authorities.

Source: READ: White House announces President Trump has signed bill to end shutdown | CNN

Spanning on a whopping 35 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history drew to a close on Jan. 25 via a bill President Donald Trump signed into law last week, which is available on The White House website.

I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and re-open the federal government

Source: Trump announces shutdown deal with no money for border wall | CNN

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and re-open the federal government,” President Trump said on Friday. “I will sign a bill to open our government for three weeks until February 15th.  I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly, or as soon as possible.”

The president also cautioned audiences of his “very powerful alternative” solution to the shutdown, which is perhaps a nod towards his ability to declare a national state of emergency.

Read: The U.S. Government Shutdown: A Three-Week Recap on The Burgundy Zine for more on President Trump announcing his right to declare a national emergency.

Source: The Burgundy Zine

With this, The Burgundy Zine is happy to announce the 6-week recap of the partial U.S. government shutdown scheduled for Feb. 8 has been canceled. However, regular updates will resume after Feb. 15, if the shutdown resumes.

In other news, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation has sparked an online community of satirical infatuation, memes, merchandise, and even a love song, according to VICE.

“Many people really seem to be, increasingly, in love with Robert Mueller,” Alex Norcia writes.

“Hey Robert Mueller” – Mouths of Babes

Source: “Hey Robert Mueller” – Mouths of Babes | Mouths of Babes

“I think of Robert Mueller as the closest thing we have to a superhero right now,” Tylan Greenstein, one half of the musical duo Mouths of Babes told VICE.

Since Mueller was appointed to serve as the Special Counsel overseeing the investigation with Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian government officials by the Justice Department in May 2017, he has exposed a number of crimes. His discoveries have lead to indictments as well as guilty pleas from 34 individuals and three companies, Vox reports.

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What in the World of Arts and Entertainment?

We must keep fighting for the kind of world we want to live in. On this #DataPrivacyDay let us all insist on action and reform for vital privacy protections. The dangers are real and the consequences are too important.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 28, 2019

On Jan. 19, 14 year old Grant Thompson of Arizona discovered the FaceTime glitch that allows you to hear who you are calling prior to them even responding to the call, according to The New York Times.

The glitch, affecting any device operating on iOS 12.1 or later, was recreated in an article published on 9to5Mac.

This is an incredibly serious privacy concern, as there is no indication the recipient can be heard through the other line. On their device, it simply looks as though there is an incoming FaceTime call.

Apple has since then disabled group FaceTime in an attempt to combat this security issue, reports The Washington Post.

As an additional security measure, users may disable FaceTime altogether via their iOS settings.

How to Disable FaceTime

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iOS 12.1 main Settings menu

Source: The Burgundy Zine

Step 1: Navigate to your device settings and scroll to the FaceTime option located towards the bottom of the main menu.

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Step 2: Open the FaceTime settings and set the FaceTime slider to off. If FaceTime is disabled, your screen should appear similar to this. Otherwise, the slider will remain green.

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What Else is Going on in the World?

Although they outranked heart-shaped boxes of chocolate two years in a row according to an infographic released by CandyStore, the company responsible for producing SweetHearts has closed their doors, according to National Public Radio (NPR).

The New England Confectionery Co. (NECCO) was forced to cease operations following several warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) including “significant evidence of rodent activity” among other unsanitary conditions.

Although this news is incredibly disheartening, there will be no shortage of SweetHearts in 2020 as the brand was purchased by the Spangler Candy Company.

Spangler has reportedly purchased 20 acres of land neighboring other candy-producing facilities to build a safe and sanitary environment to make SweetHearts going into the next decade.

However, Krispy Kreme and Brach’s are selling conversation heart donuts and candies respectively to keep us from having a heartless Valentine’s Day.

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Conversation Heart Donuts on the Krispy Kreme website

Source: Doughnuts | Krispy Kreme

On a far less sweet note, weather warnings are being issued across the Midwestern part of the United States.

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Wind Chill warning for Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota

Source: The Weather Channel

Temperatures are reaching historic lows. The Weather Channel has issued a warning for residents of Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota to prepare for wind chills reaching as low as -60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, Australia is experiencing a summer of record-breaking highs. Temperatures reached 117.5 degrees Fahrenheit in Elizabeth North on Jan. 24, according to the Weather Zone.

As a result of these dangerously high temperatures, the island of Tasmania is currently being ravaged by wildfires, the Tasmania Fire Service depicts on their interactive map.

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Interactive map via Tasmania Fire Service

Source: Tasmania Fire Service

These extreme weather patterns have their roots in climate change, according to The New York Times.

“When something happens – whether it’s a cold snap, a wildfire, a hurricane, any of those things – we need to think beyond what we have seen in the past and assume there’s a high probability that it will be worse than anything we’ve ever seen,” Crystal A. Kolden, an associate professor at the University of Idaho who specializes in wildfires, said to The New York Times.

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In Conclusion…

• President Trump signed a bill on Friday to temporarily reopen the government until Feb. 15.
• Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigations have sparked an entire online community of satirical infatuation, memes, merchandise, and even music videos.
• 14 year old Grant Thompson of Arizona discovered a major security glitch on FaceTime that allows you to hear who you are calling prior to them even responding to the call.
• The traditional producers of SweetHearts, NECCO, closed their doors after multiple FDA warnings. The company was bought by Spangler, which will resume the production of SweetHearts going into the new decade. Meanwhile, both Krispy Kreme and Brach’s have begun selling their own conversation hearts to insure this Valentine’s Day isn’t heartless.
• Wind chill warnings have been issued across the Midwestern U.S., with temperatures dipping to -60 degrees Fahrenheit in Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota.
• Australia is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, with temperatures reaching 117.5 degrees Fahrenheit in Elizabeth North. These temperatures have sparked wildfires across the island of Tasmania.

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