Hurricane Helene:
On September 26th, a category 4 hurricane, known as Hurricane Helene, hit Florida. It reached out to Georgia and North Carolina, resulting in 227 dead and millions without power. Flash flooding occurred at high levels in affected areas, which caused evacuations to become more difficult. The higher strength of hurricanes and other natural disasters can be accredited to global warming. The planet has become warmer by 1.3 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit, due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. Additionally, it is important to note that there has been wide coverage of this hurricane and alleged ties to the upcoming election, so it is important to look into the credibility and bias of sources. Government and mostly unopinionated sources are the more reliable.
Dockworkers Strike:
Dockworkers across the East Coast, from Maine to Texas, went on strike from October 1st to October 3rd of this year. The strike is occurring because workers want to ban automation in ports, have a fear of AI, and want a 77% pay raise over a six-year period to account for inflation. Many people, for the short time of the strike, hoarded commodities such as toilet paper, because they thought there would be nothing left in the stores, similar to the mindset during COVID-19’. Joe Biden, the current U.S. president, had the chance to stop the strike and put workers back to their jobs under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, but he did not want to go through with it as he did not feel it was right to do so. Currently, the strike is suspended to allow for the formation of new contracts. The dockworkers union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is negotiating until January 15th, 2025, which is when the strike would go out of suspension.
New iPhone 16 and IOS 18:
The new iPhone 16 was released on September 20th, 2024 for $799. The only notable physical change is the addition of two newer buttons. This includes the action button, which replaces the silent button and now allows for a series of other actions that are personalized to the user’s choice, such as turning on the flashlight. There is also a new camera button that allows easier access to the camera app and makes it so a user can take pictures with the click of a side button. Additionally, inside the phone, there is the new A18 chip with 30% greater battery life than the previous, 8GB of RAM, a 1,000-cycle battery, and an updated IOS 18 with Apple Intelligence on the way or already on the phone depending on the date read. The iPhone 16, complying with the European Union’s new laws, has a USB-C port instead of the lightning cable, so it is best to get new chargers if buying it right after owning an iPhone 14 or older. Apple’s most notable features for IOS 18 are a redesigned photos app for convenience, a fully customizable and versatile control center, RCS messaging, which stands for Rich Communication Services that add services like notifications when typing, a new password manager instead of “keychain”, and other updates across other services and devices like Ipads and Apple Watches.
Interest Rate Cuts:
The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to cut interest rates by 0.5%, from the original 5.5 percent to 3.5 percent. This action will occur sometime in 2025. By cutting the rate, it will reduce inflation in the future and stabilize the market as a precaution for another economic crisis. It will also make it so people might be more willing to invest.
References
Anderson, M. (2024, October 3). 7 things to know about the U.S. dockworkers strike and its effect on the economy [Fact sheet]. PBS News. Retrieved October 20, 2024, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/7-things-to-know-about-the-u-s-dockworkers-strike-and-its-effect-on-the-economy
Gibbs, S. (2024, September 16). This article is more than 1 month old iOS 18 release: Everything you need to know about Apple’s big updates [Fact sheet]. The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/16/ios-18-release-apple-updates-ipados-18-macos-sequoia
Gibbs, S. (2024, October 17). IPhone 16 review: More buttons and speed for Apple’s standard phone [Fact sheet]. The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/17/iphone-16-review-more-buttons-speed-apple-standard-phone-battery-life
U.S. Federal Reserve. (2024, September 18). Federal reserve issues FOMC statement [Press release]. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20240918a.htm
World Weather Attribution. (2024, October 9). Climate change key driver of catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Helene that devastated both coastal and inland communities [Fact sheet]. World Weather Attribution.org. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-key-driver-of-catastrophic-impacts-of-hurricane-helene-that-devastated-both-coastal-and-inland-communities/