• The government shutdown is ongoing, with no end in sight.
• The State Department does not have funding during the shutdown.
• But despite the lapse in funding, the State Department's passport functions are still operational.
• Americans can still apply for and renew passports during the shutdown.
• The timeframe for receiving a new passport will also remain the same.

While the government shutdown is ongoing and the State Department does not currently have funding, Americans can still apply for and receive a passport during the closure.

According to the State Department, passport services are available during the shutdown and all passport services at post offices, libraries, and other facilities will remain open. Passport renewals are also available in person or by mail.

Additionally the timeframe for receiving a passport remains the same: 4 to 6 weeks for a routine request and 2 to 3 weeks for an expedited request.

While the State Department's passport services remain unaffected by the shutdown, other aspects of the department were impacted by the lapse in funding.

Read more:The government shutdown is in day 29 and has shattered the record for the longest shutdown in history»

23% of the State Department's direct-hire overseas employees and 40% of the department's direct-hire employees in the US were placed on furlough due to the shutdown. But after the department's lawyers found additional sources of funding in the department's budget, many employees were ordered to come back to work.

"Recognizing the increasing hardship to employees caused by the ongoing lapse in appropriations, the Department is taking steps to make additional funds available to pay employee salaries," Bill Todd, the department's deputy under secretary for management, said in a statement on Thursday. "By taking these steps, the Department expects to be able to resume most personnel operations and fund most salaries beginning with Pay Period 2."

While the department was able to find funds for the next pay period, it is unclear whether there is enough money for any additional work beyond two more weeks.

The State Department was one of a handful of agencies to order workers back to the job from furlough this week as the shutdown drags on. But most of the other agencies will be unable to pay the employees coming back to work until the shutdown is over.

Read more:The government shutdown has gotten so bad that agencies are using legal loopholes to restart critical functions»

As it stands, the government shutdown is in its 31st day— a record for the modern era — and shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

SEE ALSO: The government shutdown is now the longest on record and the fight between Trump and Democrats is only getting uglier. Here's everything you missed.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• The US government shutdown is now the longest in the country's history and has shown no signs of abating.
• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has suggested that US economic growth could go to zero, and one analyst said it could even go negative.
• The US-China trade war and a looming conflict about the debt ceiling are creating a perfect storm.

We're 31 days into the record-breaking US government shutdown, and while most economists agree it will weigh on US economic growth, the chorus of warnings about doomsday scenarios is getting louder.

Government shutdowns have typically lasted a few days or a couple of weeks, but the fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats appears set to continue for much longer. According to economists, the negative effects of the shutdown will only grow as the ripple effects from the 800,000 federal employees and millions of government contractors going without pay spread through the economy.

Adding to the gloom is the negative effect of the US-China trade war, falling stock prices, growing worries about a slowdown in international growth, and a looming conflict about the debt ceiling.

Given all of the worries facing the US economy, warnings about the shutdown are only amplifying:

• Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its concern about the economic cost of the shutdown. It "definitely becomes a significant shock if it lasts for months rather than weeks," Ethan Harris, the head of global economics research, told the Financial Times. "There is a sensitivity in the markets to signs of dysfunction in Washington."
• Standard & Poor's said the cost of the shutdown could soon equal Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
• The White House even increased its internal estimate of the hit to gross domestic product. A White House official confirmed to Business Insider that the Trump administration's model estimated that the shutdown would shave off 0.13 percentage points from GDP for every week of the shutdown — higher than the 0.08 percentage points originally assumed.
• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that the shutdown was a serious problem for the US economy and cited research that found US GDP growth could go to zero if the shutdown continued.
• Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson was even more bearish, warning that if the shutdown were to last through March, the US's first-quarter GDP growth could be negative.
• BAML's figures actually suggest that for each week the government is shut down, US GDP growth is cut by 0.05 percentage points. This is half the economic impact of the 2013 shutdown because this one affects only part of the government. But the economists warned that the pain could get exponentially worse as the fight continues.
• Another major concern is the possibility that the shutdown will affect the US's credit rating. During the 2013 shutdown fight over the debt ceiling, the US was downgraded to AA+ by S&P, a historic first for the country. While Fitch maintained the US's AAA rating in 2013, James McCormack, the agency's global head of sovereign ratings, warned that a downgrade was possible in 2019.
• Credit Suisse economists estimated that the shutdown would come to an end relatively soon and shave off 0.6 points to 0.8 points from first quarter GDP. But if the closure were to go for longer than another week or two the economic impact could be seriously damaging. "If the shutdown persists though, a substantially larger drag is possible," the Credit Suisse economists wrote. "An outright contraction in the first quarter, and downgrades to the entire 2019 outlook are not out of the question."

"The longer this shutdown drags on, the more collateral damage the economy will suffer," analysts at S&P said last week.

There are a variety of reasons for the shutdown slowdown. For instance, figures from 2013 suggest that federal workers spent 10% to 15% less while they went unpaid, reducing consumer spending.

The shutdown also exacerbates worried about potentially more economically damaging fights in Congress, the most pressing of which is the need to raise the debt ceiling in the coming months.

As it stands, the debt ceiling, or the statutory limit on the amount of debt the federal government can hold, kicks back in on March 1. While the US Treasury can maintain funding through special measures, the ceiling will still need to be lifted by Congress sometime over the summer.

Some analysts have said the historic dysfunction over the shutdown sets a nasty precedent for a debt-ceiling fight. Without an increase in the ceiling, the US could default on some of its debt, an unprecedented move that would send shockwaves through the global economy.

"Normally, the debt ceiling ends up being lifted, but with deadlock in Congress" there's added risk, said Neil MacKinnon, a global macro strategist at VTB Capital.

SEE ALSO: Even the White House knows the government shutdown is causing serious economic problems for the US

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Barbara Corcoran on Donald Trump: 'He is the best salesman I've ever met in my life'

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider and The Points Guy Affiliate Network receive a commission from card issuers if you apply through these links and are approved.

• Earning new member bonuses is the fastest way to earn credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
• You can use points from cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Platinum Card® from American Express for virtually free travel, upgrades, cash back, gift cards, and more.
• Some of these offers are brand new, and some — like an unprecedented offer from Southwest— are only available for a limited time, so make sure not to miss out.
• Here are some of the best welcome bonuses and card products available in the first month of 2019.

Earning credit card rewards points for your everyday spending is easy, especially with cards offering bonus earning on things like dining or at supermarkets.

However, the fastest and easiest way to earn a lot of points quickly — whether you're planning a big trip but don't have enough points yet, or you're just looking to build up your stores — is to open a new credit card that offers a lucrative welcome bonus.

Credit card issuers like Chase and AmEx offer huge bonuses to attract customers, and while each card may have different eligibility requirements, in most cases if you haven't had that card before, you're good to go.

You can read more about earning new card member bonuses and how that will affect your credit score here, or scroll down to find some of the best offers available this month.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.

When you're working to earn credit card rewards, it's important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.

1. Any Southwest credit card

Sign-up bonus: A Southwest Companion Pass (good through 2019) and 30,000 Rapid Rewards points (after spending $4,000 in the first three months). Offer ends February 11.

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most coveted scores in the credit card rewards and "travel hacking" world. When you have it, you can bring a travel buddy with you on any Southwest flight — whether you booked your ticket with points or cash — for just the cost of taxes and fees, which are usually around $5.60 for domestic flights. The pass isn't a one-time thing; you can use it as many times as you like until it expires.

Usually, to earn the Companion Pass, you'd have to take 100 flights with Southwest, or earn 110,000 points in a calendar year. Then, you could use the pass for the rest of the year, and all of the following calendar year.

For the first time ever, Southwest is offering the Companion Pass — plus 30,000 points — as a sign-up bonus when you open a new consumer credit card. The pass will only be good through 2019, but it's still a fantastic deal.

There are three Southwest consumer cards, but our choice for the best one is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card. That's because, unlike the other cards, it comes with enough tangible benefits to cancel out the cost of its annual fee.

You can learn more about the Companion Pass and the three Southwest cards here.

Click here to learn more about the Southwest Priority card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

2. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Sign-up bonus: Up to 200,000 miles (50,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months, and an additional 150,000 miles after spending $50,000 in the first six months). For a limited time only.

Like the Venture, the Capital One Spark Miles is gaining the ability to transfer miles to 14 airline frequent flyer partners. Unlike the Venture, the Spark Miles is still offering a limited-time sign-up bonus to mark the change.

The spending requirement to earn the full bonus — $50,000 in the first six months — is high, but it's definitely achievable for plenty of small- and medium-sized businesses — particularly those that lay out for materials, equipment, or services on behalf of a client.

The Spark Miles is fairly similar to the Venture, aside from the fact that it's a business card rather than a personal one. It earns 2x miles on all purchases, with no limits, and has a $95 annual fee that's waived the first year.

It was already a solid card; with the ability to transfer miles to airline partners, plus the massive sign-up bonus, the Spark Miles becomes a major player.

Click here to learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

3. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 miles (after spending $3,000 in the first three months).

The Capital One Venture has historically been a useful card, thanks to a solid earning rate of 2x miles on everything, even though the rewards program was just...fine. Unlike cards offered by competitors, miles had a fixed value of 1¢ each toward travel purchases. Generally, transferable credit card points— those that you can transfer to an airline frequent flyer program, should you choose — are more valuable, thanks to the way that booking frequent flyer award tickets works. You can read more about that here.

However, Capital One has announced that as of December 10, Venture cardholders will be able to transfer miles to 14 new airline partners, significantly increasing the potential value of each mile.

Capital One had a month-long promotional sign-up bonus (up to 75,000 miles) when it first made the announcement. Although the bonus has returned to its normal amount — 50,000 miles when you spend $3,000 in the first three months — it's still a solid value worth pursuing.

The Capital One Venture earns miles at a rate of 2x per dollar spent on all purchases, and an incredible 10x points per dollar spent on hotel stays when you book and pay through Hotels.com/Venture. Hotels.com has its own loyalty program that rewards you with a free night after 10 paid nights, so that equates to a staggering 20% return on hotels.

Between the ability to transfer miles to airlines, and the chance to earn up to 10x miles on hotels, this is one of the best cards available right now.

The card also offers a credit to enroll in TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. It has a $95 annual fee, which is waived the first year.

Click here to learn more about the Capital One Venture from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

4. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard

Sign-up bonus: 70,000 miles (after spending $5,000 in the first 90 days). For a limited time only.

This is the highest sign-up bonus we've ever seen for this card — an exciting development, coming near the end of a busy year for Barclaycard's flagship US product.

Earlier this year, Barclays closed applications for one of its most popular credit cards, before relaunching the card with a new all-time highest sign-up bonus. Then, this fall, Barclays began waiving the card's $89 annual fee for the first year, a first for the card.

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus earns double miles on every dollar spent. Miles can be redeemed for one cent each on travel purchases (applied as a statement credit to negate the cost of that purchase), or a half-cent each for cash back or gift cards. Best of all, you'll earn 5% of your miles back every time you make a redemption.

Effectively, that means that the sign-up bonus is worth $700 toward travel, plus an extra $100 from the miles you'll earn meeting the spending requirement.

The card comes equipped with Chip-and-PIN service, which, combined with the fact that the card has no foreign transaction fees, makes it a great option when traveling internationally.

Depending on your spending habits, it is easy to get more value from the card than what you pay for the annual fee, thanks to the 2x earning rate on all purchases. Of course, the sign-up bonus alone will cover the annual fee for more than eight years.

Click here to learn more about the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard.

5. Platinum Card® from American Express

Welcome Offer: 60,000 points (after spending $5,000 in the first three months).

The American Express Platinum card has one of the highest annual fees of any consumer credit or charge card — $550 — but as AmEx's flagship product, this premium credit card offers a tremendous amount of value to offset that fee. For example, I got more than $2,000 worth of value in my first year with the card.

The card earns Membership Rewards points, the currency in AmEx's loyalty program, which can be exchanged for statement credits or cash back, used to book travel through AmEx's travel website, or, to get the most value, transferred to any of 17 airline and three hotel transfer partners (transferable points are among the best). Travel website The Points Guy lists a valuation of 1.9¢ per Membership Rewards point; based on that, the welcome offer is worth around $1,140.

The Platinum Card earns an incredible 5x points on airfare purchased directly from the airline, and offers a $200 airline fee credit each calendar year, and up to $200 in Uber credits each card member year. It also grants the cardholder access to more than 1,200 airport lounges around the world, including Delta Sky Clubs and AmEx's own Centurion Lounges. Other benefits include automatic gold elite status at Starwood, Marriott, and Hilton hotels, a statement credit to cover enrollment in Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, concierge service, and much more.

If you're an active military servicemember, you can get the AmEx Platinum Card's fee waived.

You can read our complete review of the card here.

Click here to learn more about the American Express Platinum from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

6. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

Sign-up bonus: $500 (after spending $3,000 in the first three months).

If dining and cooking are your thing, and cash back is what you're after, the Capital One Savor is sure to please.

The card earns unlimited 4% cash back on all dining and entertainment, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% on everything else. Plus, the card offers a whopping $500 sign-up bonus when you spend $3,000 in the first three months.

The Savor carries a lower annual fee than the AmEx Gold — $95, waived the first year. The earning rate will make up for the fee in many cases, based on normal spending, but if that's too high for you, there's an alternative: the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.

The SavorOne card has no annual fee, and offers a slightly lower — but still valuable — earning rate of 3% cash back on dining and entertainment, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% on everything else. It offers a lower sign-up bonus of $150 when you spend $500 in the first three months.

Click here to learn more about the Capital One Savor card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

Click here to learn more about the Capital One SavorOne card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

Read more: The Capital One Savor offers 4% cash back on dining and entertainment — here's how much the average American saves each year with the card

7. Chase Sapphire Preferred

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points (after spending $4,000 in the first three months).

The Sapphire Preferred is one of the most popular all-around rewards credit cards, and it's easy to see why. This card earns 2x points per dollar spent on just about all travel and dining purchases, and 1x point on everything else. It also comes with a ton of travel and purchase protections, such as rental car insurance, trip delay coverage, and extended warranty.

The sign-up bonus — 50,000 UR points — is worth, at the very least, $500 as cash back or gift cards. However, if you book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and use points to pay, you'll get a 25% bonus, making points worth 1.25 cents each. That means that the sign-up bonus would be worth $625.

Even more lucrative — the Chase Sapphire Preferred lets you transfer your UR points to a few different frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. This comes in handy because, in many cases, it costs fewer points to book a trip if you go through one of those programs, as opposed to using the points as cash. You can read more about why transferring points to frequent flyer programs gets you more value here.

This all comes for a fairly standard annual fee of $95, which is waived the first year.

Click here to learn more about the Sapphire Preferred from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

8. Chase Sapphire Reserve

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points (after spending $4,000 in the first three months).

The Sapphire Reserve is basically a beefier version of the Preferred. While the card comes with the same sign-up bonus, it earns points on everyday spending faster, nabbing a higher 3x points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases, and 1x on everything else. It also offers similar, though in many cases, enhanced travel and purchase protections.

Unlike the Preferred, the Sapphire Reserve comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you and any travel companions free access to more than 1,000 airport lounges around the world.

You can use points from the Reserve the same ways as with the Preferred, except that you'll get a 50% bonus when booking travel through Chase, making your points worth 1.5¢ each.

The card carries a higher annual fee than the Preferred: $450. However, it also comes with a $300 travel credit each card member year. Each year, you'll get statement credits for the first $300 in travel-related purchases you make, including things like subway fare, taxis, parking, and tolls, as well as airfare and hotels. When you subtract this credit from the annual fee, the card is effectively only $150 each year.

If you're not sure whether the Preferred or Reserve is the better card for you, take a look at this breakdown. Also keep in mind that you can typically only earn the sign-up bonus for one Sapphire-branded card every two years.

Click here to learn more about the Sapphire Reserve from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

9. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Welcome offer: 150,000 Hilton Honors points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

The premium Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card has a hefty $450 annual fee, but it comes with so many perks, benefits, and rebates that it's more than worth paying for Hilton loyalists — or even brand-agnostic hotel guests.

In addition to a $250 airline fee credit per calendar year and a $250 Hilton resort statement credit each card member year, the Aspire also offers a $100 Hilton on-property credit every time you book a stay of two nights or longer at a Hilton property — you just need to book through a specific website for cardholders.

The card also offers a free weekend night reward each year — regardless of how much you spend — and a second if you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year. It also comes with complimentary Diamond status.

The Aspire earns a tremendous 14x points per dollar spent with Hilton, 7x points on flights booked with the airline, car rentals, and at US restaurants, and 3x points on everything else.

Click here to learn more about the Hilton Honors Aspire card from Insider Picks' partner The Points Guy.

10. Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card

Welcome offer: 30,000 Go Far points (after spending $3,000 in the first three months).

This new card from Wells Fargo has one of the more attractive rewards offerings you'll find from a no-annual-fee card. The new Propel card is actually a re-launch of an old product — Wells Fargo stopped accepting applications for the old card back in February, before announcing the new product and reopening applications this summer.

The card earns 3x points on all travel, dining, and select streaming services (and 1x point on everything else). If that sounds familiar, it's because it's almost the same as the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve.

There are some key differences between the cards. The Propel lets you redeem points for 1¢ each toward cash back, merchandise, travel, or more, while the Sapphire Reserve offers a range of more valuable redemption options — it's easy to get at least 50% more value for Chase points. Plus, the Sapphire Reserve offers a number of premium perks that the Propel doesn't, like airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit travel delay insurance, and more.

Of course, the Sapphire Reserve also comes with a $450 annual fee, while the Wells Fargo Propel doesn't have a fee. Between the new member offer, and the solid earning rate on popular spend categories, the Propel makes a decent option for those who don't travel often, or who aren't comfortable floating a large annual fee.

We named the Propel the best no-fee card of 2018.

Click here to learn more about the Wells Fargo Propel card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

DON'T MISS: Southwest just announced an unheard-of deal for its credit cards — you'll get the coveted Companion Pass simply by opening one

SEE ALSO: The best credit card rewards, bonuses, and perks of 2019

Join the conversation about this story »

The healthcare industry is in a state of disruption. Digital solutions are becoming a necessary part of the new global standard of care for patients and regulation is being fast-tracked to catch up to digital health innovation.

These rapid changes will have ripple effects across the entire healthcare system, impacting incumbents and new entrants alike.

Based on our ongoing analysis, understanding of industry trends, and conversations with industry executives, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together The Top Five Trends Shaping The Future of Digital Health.

To get your copy of this free report, click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Chick-fil-A has been serving up its original chicken sandwich since 1964, according to the restaurant's website.
• The chain recently said the sandwich was the fourth-best-selling item on the menu in 2018, behind waffle fries, soft drinks, and chicken nuggets.
• From the secret blend of spices and seasonings to the unique pressure fryer and the precise placement of pickles, there's a lot that goes into the making of this seemingly simple sandwich.
• Chick-fil-A follows the "lean" process, which employs ever-evolving methods of reducing waste and creating the best customer experience possible to produce fresh food in a short time.
• Since all fillets are breaded by hand daily and assembled to order, Chick-fil-A has specified every step of the process down to the minute across all locations.
• I went behind the counter at the Chick-fil-A on Fulton Street in Manhattan to have a look at the busy kitchen, and I got the chance to see exactly how the chain's No. 1 sandwich is made.

SEE ALSO: Shake Shack's new chicken nuggets will soon be served nationwide. Here's how they stack up next to the ones served at Chick-fil-A.

Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A on his secret recipe for success — for what's now the chain's original chicken sandwich.

He modeled the cooking process on the way his mother would fry chicken at home: She would put a lid over the stove to create a sort of pressure cooker, allowing the chicken to cook more quickly and evenly.

Cathy took this idea and brought it to Henny Penny, a food-equipment manufacturing company, and came up with a special pressure fryer that's now used in all Chick-fil-A locations. I got to see how it works! But more on that later.

Source: Henny Penny

Serena Williams is on the cusp of making even more history.

The 37-year-old has banked more than $88 million from prize money in tennis, has won 72 Women's Tennis Association singles titles, and is hoping to win her 24th Grand Slam title — which would equal the record set by Margaret Court 46 years ago.

Victory at the 2019 Australian Open would exorcise her notorious straight sets loss to Naomi Osaka in September, 2018, when she was slapped with a hat-trick of code violations.

The aftermath has seen her lampooned in the Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, where she was drawn as an angry baby with grossly exaggerated features like oversized lips, a big nose, and wiry hair. The cartoon was called "racist and misogynistic" by Williams' husband the Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Williams was then slammed as "no feminist hero," while umpires consider a boycott of her future matches because she called the US Open umpire a "liar" and a "thief" too.

The 2019 tennis season has begun with great positivity, however. She began the year playing a historic doubles match against Roger Federer, praising him afterwards as the "greatest of all time."

Read more: Serena Williams praised Roger Federer as 'the greatest of all time' after losing to him in a historic doubles match

At the Australian Open itself Williams has created headlines for her post-match interviews as well as her extraordinary tennis. Recently she claimed that she does not even know where trophies are, and that she has watched Frozen 3,000 times.

What remains clear is that Williams is a fierce competitor. But in order to maintain her sporting dominance, Williams has to eat right before a match. So what sort of food does a 23-time tennis major champion serve up?

Here's everything Williams likes to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

SEE ALSO: Serena Williams looked mortified and turned around after walking onto the Australian Open court while 'world number one' Simona Halep was being announced

DON'T MISS: Serena Williams says she and Venus were never 'afraid to be black' in tennis, and she wants her own daughter to be confident in her body

UP NEXT: Serena Williams praised Roger Federer as 'the greatest of all time' after losing to him in a historic doubles match

This is Serena Williams, a superstar tennis player who has reached two Grand Slam tournament finals in 2018 since returning to the sport after taking time out to give birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. This week, she is looking to reach the final of another major — the 2019 Australian Open.

Before a game, Williams "usually can't" eat and says it may be down to nerves. However, if she was going to have a meal, it would be a "protein and carb" combo like turkey sausage and baked potato.

Source: Glamour.

When Williams is away from the court, she spares no expense and orders a delicious and healthy looking platter for breakfast including staples like smoothies and fruits.

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• The government shutdown is in its 32nd day and there is no end in sight.
• The US Department of Agriculture will still send out Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, benefits for January and February despite the shutdown.
• The USDA's Child Nutrition Programs will also be funded into February, but it is unclear what will happen if the shutdown continues after that.
• Other food programs such as Commodity Supplemental Food Program and WIC will not receive federal funding during the shutdown, but may continue using state and local funds.

With no sign of ending anytime soon, the government shutdown is starting to take its toll on federal services and workers. But for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, there is some good news — for now.

According to a plan released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), SNAP benefits will be available during the start of the shutdown as previously appropriated funding is carried over to meet the needs of the program.

In the initial USDA release about the shutdown, the department said SNAP benefits for January would be available but there was no commitment for February. In a later announcement, the USDA said that the department will send money for February's benefits to states that administer the program.

Benefits for the month of February have already been sent out, well ahead of the typical timing. Usually the funds would go out on or after February 1, but in order to ensure that the money is available the USDA told state agencies that administer the program benefits had to be sent out by January 20.

USDA officials could not commit to providing SNAP benefits in March and it appears unlikely that the funds will be there if the shutdown were to run that long.

Given the fact that President Donald Trump threatened to shut the government down for "months or even years" during a meeting with congressional leaders on Friday, the uncertainty of SNAP benefits beyond February could become a problem for the millions of people who rely on the program.

Another problem has popped up with the SNAP benefits as well. Around 2,500 retailers are unable to renew their licenses to accept the SNAP payments, meaning customers in those stores can't use their Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, cards to purchase groceries.

Sarah Jackson, an employee at a store in Arkansas, told PBS that her store's license expired during the shutdown and the retailers did not make the cutoff to renew the license to accept SNAP benefits.

"Because of an argument about a wall, I have to look people in the eyes every day and tell them they can't pay for their food, for their children's food," Jackson said.

The USDA said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune that only a small group of stores have lost their ability to accept SNAP benefits and the stores themselves were responsible for the problem.

"There is a small percentage of stores that failed to complete a required reauthorization process that was due on December 21," the spokesperson said. "Due to non-response, those stores were removed from the program, per standard procedure. These stores can take steps to update their status once FNS funding is restored and the necessary staff are in place to process the applications."

Funding for the USDA's Child Nutrition Programs including "School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Feeding, Summer Food Service and Special Milk" will also continue into mid-February, according to the USDA's plan, but it is also unclear what will happen after that point.

Some school districts around the country are scaling back their food offerings due to the extended shutdown, as it is unclear when funding could run out. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted on January 18 that school lunch programs are funded through March since they are paid for quarterly.

Read more:Here's what happens to Social Security and disability benefits during a government shutdown»

But while SNAP and the Child Nutrition Program are safe for now, other food programs under the USDA's purview are not as lucky.

Other non-SNAP domestic food programs are no longer receiving federal funding, but may be sustained through state and local funding. The programs that are no longer receiving USDA funds include the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, a program focusing on low-income seniors; The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

95% the staff at the office of Food and Nutrition Services— which oversees SNAP benefits and other food programs — is now on furlough and no longer receiving pay.

Read more:The effects of the shutdown are only going to get exponentially worse as the fight drags on»

In addition to the food programs, other essential USDA duties including the inspection of eggs, dairy, and other food products will continue. Those services deemed non-essential, such as research or the staffing of some national forests, are discontinued.

The shutdown is now in its 32nd day and there is no clear end in sight.

SEE ALSO: From airport lines to food inspections, here are all the ways the government shutdown is impacting the lives of average Americans

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• Religion plays an increasingly significant—and complicated—role in Silicon Valley.
• Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, who announced their separation on January 9, control one of the most powerful companies in the world, Amazon, and have never discussed their religious beliefs.
• Biographical details, family history, and public records suggest both were raised under some form of Christianity.
• It's unclear whether they currently identify as Christian or follow any other kind of religion.

The end of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos' 25-year-long marriage has drawn the world's attention to the circumstances of the couple's courtship, wedding, and marriage — and what those might foretell about the future of Amazon, on which they built their fortune.

But a curious gap remains in the public understanding's of the Bezos family: their religion.

This gap is stranger than it might initially seem.

Of the ten richest people on the planet, as ranked by Forbes last year, most have publicly discussed or disclosed their religious beliefs. Bill Gates and his family attend a Roman Catholic church. Warren Buffett, raised Presbyterian, identifies as agnostic. Bernard Arnault is Catholic but doesn't attend Mass. Carlos Slim Helú is a Maronite Christian. Mark Zuckerberg embraces his Jewish upbringing, while Larry Ellison, who was raised under Reform Judaism, no longer follows a particular belief system. Charles Koch is non-religious, too.

Certain hints exist for the remainder. David Koch's 1996 wedding was officiated by an Episcopalian priest. Armancio Ortega Gaona hasn't discussed his personal religion, but his eponymous charitable foundation has donated€40 million ($45.6 million) to Caritas Spain, which describes itself as "the official confederation of the social and charitable action organisations of the Catholic Church in Spain."

And then there's Jeff Bezos.

Neither he nor MacKenzie have ever disclosed any details of their religious beliefs. The public record is similarly lacking. This is particularly noteworthy given their stature in Silicon Valley, where religion and technology have become increasingly intertwined. Indeed, its leaders' most intense preoccupations — including transhumanism, artificial intelligence, life extension, and simulation theory— either raise, or seek to answer, fundamentally religious questions.

The personal beliefs of the technology industry's leaders have proven influential, too. Mark Zuckerberg, who believes religion is "very important," has highlighted his Jewish faith in debates about Facebook's role in American society, white nationalist violence, and Donald Trump's presidency. PayPal co-founder and evangelical Christian Peter Thiel has favorably compared the aims of Christian theology to those of the technology industry. The work of René Girard, the Christian intellectual who developed the theory of "mimetic desire,"inspired Thiel to become the very first investor in Facebook.

The religious faith of the Bezos family, by contrast, has mostly remained a subject of scattered online speculation. Obscure websites like Christian Patriot Daily claim Jeff Bezos is Christian. The most legitimate-seeming source, a 2018 Quora post written by a former Amazon engineer, merely denies that he is Jewish.

This kind of chatter is nothing new: People have been interested in the beliefs of celebrities, major CEOs, and other public figures for a long time. But the stakes are clearly higher for the chief executive officer of Amazon, a powerful businessman whose decisions affect hundreds of millions of people. Which beliefs might influence those decisions, and in what way, is a question of significant public concern. 

So what do Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos believe?

This a tricky question to pursue due to the couple's reticence. But it is possible to infer — from family history, public records, and biographical accounts — what their beliefs might be. A widebodyof research, as well as common-sense intuition,  supports the theory that the religious beliefs of parents affect, without necessarily determining, those of their offspring. And there are more than a few bread crumbs strewn across the internet. 

The details of Jeff's upbringing contain a handful of clues to begin with.

It's unclear whether his birth parents, Ted and Jacklyn Jorgensen, practiced any religion. The aforementioned Quora post says that both were Christian, but doesn't cite a source. When INSIDER sought clarification from the post's author, Vivek Pai, he pointed us to an article on Answers Africa and what appears to be the family tree of Jeff Bezos on the genealogy website Geneanet. The first claims Bezos "is said to be Christian" without further elaboration, while the second doesn't mention religion at all. It's true, though, that his father's surname, Jorgensen, is a common one in Norway and Denmark, both of which are predominantly Christian.

The picture is somewhat clearer for Jeff's adoptive father, Miguel "Mike" Bezos, who appears to have been raised in the Roman Catholic Church.

At the age of 16, in July 1962, he emigrated to the United States as part of Operation Peter Pan, a clandestine program designed by a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Miami. The program relocated children of Cuban parents fearful of the country's newly-elected president, Fidel Castro, whose government suppressed Catholic activity on the Caribbean island. The majority of those children were Catholic.

After being placed in a Catholic group home in Delaware, Miguel matriculated to the Catholic-affiliated University of Albuquerque in the New Mexico city of the same name, where he met Jacklyn Jorgensen and later married her. According to "The Everything Store," reporter Brad Stone's 2013 book about Amazon, their wedding took place in 1968 at the First Congregational Church of Christ in Albuquerque.

The details of that ceremony are uncertain. But the affiliation of the venue at the time is clear. The church was founded in 1880 in the Protestant congregationalist tradition, in which each individual church operates more or less autonomously. It later affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a progressive Protestant denomination founded in 1957. "We were part of the UCC from the beginning of the denomination in 1957," said Rev. Sue Joiner, the senior minister of the church.

According to its current website, the church's congregants "seek to reconcile with those who have been condemned and injured not only by the Church but also by society, and stand with them in their struggle for equality and justice."

The family background of MacKenzie Bezos offers more evidence. While not much is known about her upbringing in San Francisco, both of her parents, Jason and Holiday Tuttle, appear to be active in the Catholic community of Palm Beach, Florida. A database maintained by the Palm Beach Daily News, a local newspaper that covers the town's philanthropic social scene, shows they attended the annual gala for the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Holiday also serves on a parish committee at St. Edward's Roman Catholic Church, which belongs to the same diocese.

Other clues are more recent. Late last year, Jeff Bezos' philanthropic arm, the Bezos Day One Fund, donated $97.5 million to 24 organizations that combat homelessness. Five of those organizations are affiliated with religious institutions, and each of them is Christian: Three are affiliated with the Catholic Church, and two others with the Salvation Army, a Protestant church founded in 1865.

The Bezoses' 1993 wedding

At least one piece of evidence, the Bezoses' official marriage record from 1993, has never been published. INSIDER recently obtained a copy from the Palm Beach County Clerk in Florida. It appears to be one of the very few public records concerning the early marriage of Jeffrey Preston Bezos and MacKenzie Scott Tuttle.

The document shows that a local minister, Rev. Richard Riccardi, officiated their ceremony at The Breakers, a luxury hotel on Palm Beach Island. A man with a very similar name, Richard Sebastian Riccardi, currently serves as the Presiding Bishop of the Old Catholic Church of New Utrecht, an independent Catholic denomination based in nearby West Palm Beach. Based on real estate and business records in Florida, they appear to be the same person.

Riccardi's denomination follows the teachings of the Old Catholic Church movement that emerged in 19th-century Europe. Its adherents reject the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility, under which the Pope is precluded from committing an error regarding the beliefs and morals of the larger Catholic church. Riccardi's church places a particular emphasis on inclusion and tolerance.

"Divorce, birth control, sexuality to name a few ... are non issues for us," Riccardi wrote in an undated letter posted to the website of the Diocese of New Utrecht in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Some things are better left between God and the faithful and we should not interfere."

It's unclear what led the Bezoses to choose Riccardi as their officiant. "It is my policy not to comment on any ceremony that I am or have been privileged to perform without the knowledge or consent of the individuals in question," Riccardi told INSIDER in an email. He didn't respond to further questions about what kinds of ceremonies he performs.

However, the website of Rabbi Solomon Rothstein, a professional wedding officiant who conducts Jewish and interfaith ceremonies throughout Florida and major US cities, indicates that Riccardi frequently teams up with Rothstein for the latter. When reached by telephone, Rothstein said he couldn't comment without talking with Riccardi first. He didn't respond to a follow-up email.

What this body of evidence suggests is that Jeff Bezos was raised within a some strand of Christianity, possibly some form of Protestantism or Catholicism (or, perhaps, a mixture of both traditions), and that MacKenzie Tuttle was raised within the Roman Catholic Church. And that, in turn, suggests the couple chose Riccardi to officiate their wedding in 1993 because their marriage was technically an interreligious one. Less clear, of course, is whether Jeff or MacKenzie currently identify as Christian, and if so, of which denomination.

The absence of a clear answer does not diminish its significance. What Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos believe in, and how it affects their business decisions, is relevant to their customers, employees, shareholders, and clients. As Amazon grows ever more powerful, it will eventually affect you, too.

The Bezoses and their relatives did not respond to requests for comment.

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• I have never been able to do an at-home blowout. Whenever necessary, I'd gladly fork over high salon fees to avoid the inconvenience.
• The T3 1.75-inch BodyWaver ($129) is my solution. It requires minimal effort, but it gives me the shine, body, and loose waves of a professional blowout from home. 
• If you're looking for a curling iron, don't buy this. If you're looking for a "blowout with a big round brush" look in 30 minutes without a hair dryer, you'll probably love it. 

My battle with thick, frizzy hair is a well-documented one on the internet. Before I built an arsenal of airtight products over the course of my early 20s, my signature hairstyle was a sheepish, please-don't-look-at-me bun that was good at covering the sins of an imperfect genetic lottery. Stylists would go into salon appointments optimistic and then fall back, calling in reinforcements of — at a personal record — three other pairs of expert hands to get the job finished in time. 

In high school, I got my hair cut every two months, motivated by the manageability of frequent blowouts more than healthy ends. In New York, where great haircuts can run a much higher tab than those in Minneapolis suburbs, this is no longer a sustainable solution. Instead, I got the T3 1.75-inch BodyWaver for $129 — which is about the price of two NYC DryBar blowouts with tip.

I get that some magical people can manipulate a round brush and a hair dryer at home and like the result. They do not need this tool. I, however, am not one of them. And while I'm sure I could master the technique if I really tried, I just don't want to. Given all the other skills I could hone with that time instead, this is one I'm willing to cut corners on.

To be honest, I'd rather just buy something — and that's what led me to the T3 1.75-inch BodyWaver. It gives me the same shiny, bouncy loose waves of a salon blowout — but without the blowdryer or inconvenience. 

Even for a hot tool, it's simple to use: the handle is ergonomic, a nine-foot 360-degree swivel cord moves with you, and T3's signature Tourmaline SinglePass radial technology means there's always even and consistent heat, which also means the process is faster and requires fewer damaging second passes on sections. The T3 Tourmaline and ceramic seal the cuticle to produce that salon-level shine, and five heat settings adjust for any hair type or condition. And there's both a cool tip and a one-hour auto-off for safety. I've been using mine without issue for a year, but Sephora notes a two-year warranty. 

Instead of an ongoing salon fee, a permanent bun, or battling through a Youtube tutorial on using a round brush at home, I trade 30 minutes in for polished hair. And there's no roar of a blowdryer, so the time is usually maximized by watching a show or listening to a podcast anyway. Every time I use it, friends and coworkers ask if I got my hair cut. Given my prior track record, I assign all the credit to the BodyWaver. 

Having said that, you shouldn't buy it if you're looking for a traditional curling iron, or if your hair is so short that a 1.75-inch tool won't make much of a difference. But if you're looking for a life hack that lets you skip the blow dryer and salon for the volume and wave of a blowout look in 30 minutes, then you'll probably love it. It's worth noting though that some Amazon reviews note receiving a BodyWaver that didn't turn on once plugged in, though one possible explanation is that the BodyWaver is turned on by twisting the power and temperature dial and not immediately once it's plugged in for the first time. When it's on, the indicator light will flash during heat up and then turn solid when the barrel reaches the temperature you set. 

All in all, the T3 has been a lifesaver. It helps me save money on unnecessary salon visits without compromising on frizzy hair or an at-home chore I dread. The T3 SinglePass tech means less damage to my hair, and the exchange of 30 minutes at home for the look of a professional blowout is pretty unbeatable.

Buy the T3 BodyWaver 1.75” Professional Ceramic Styling Iron, available on Sephora and Amazon, $129

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NOW WATCH: This tiny building in Wilmington, Delaware is home to 300,000 businesses

• Business Insider talked to Laura Barrowman, the chief technology officer at Credit Suisse, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday.
• Barrowman said big software companies need to do a better job of allowing companies they acquire to maintain some of their independence.
• Barrowman is watching to see how IBM handles integration of Red Hat, which it acquired for $34 billion in 2018.

The technology industry has loads of examples of mergers that fell flat, from Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's phone business to Google's buyout — and subsequent sale two years later — of Motorola Mobility. 

The impact of a failed deal can often reach Wall Street, where firms increasingly rely on big technology companies to help power their IT systems. As a result, banking executives are always nervous about the implications of M&A on their businesses. 

For example, when a large technology company makes an acquisition there is always a concern around whether the smaller firm will be able to maintain some level of independence, said Laura Barrowman, chief technology officer at Credit Suisse

Barrowman, who spoke to Business Insider on Monday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, pointed to Red Hat's $34 billion acquisition by IBM, in what is the biggest software deal ever, as a potential example. Companies like Red Hat risk losing out on what has made them so appealing after being bought by large vendors.

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Barrowman said she isn't convinced that IBM will keep Red Hat run separately.

"They have not got a good track record around that," she said.

A representative for IBM declined to comment on Barrowman's remarks, but pointed Business Insider to previous remarks made on an analyst call. 

It's a problem that exists across the industry and isn't going away anytime soon. Large tech companies continue to look to acquire smaller startups they feel can complement their existing products or grow their market share.

As a result, clients need to be prepared for potential changes that will come as a result of M&A, Barrowman said. 

"When you look at some of these small vendors, some of their concepts are brilliant," she said. "But when you get it working to a point where it is working and you become reliant on it, they get bought out."

Some tech giants recognize they need to allow companies they buy to continue doing what worked so well for them in the past. Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016 and GitHub in 2018, but chose to allow both to operate as independent subsidiaries with their own CEOs. The same can be said for Cisco's purchase of wireless networking startup Meraki in 2012.

Barrowman said Dell's $67 billion deal for EMC in 2015 is another example of a deal she initially felt could go awry. 

"I had worried that they need to keep their independence," Barrowman said "When Dell had done mergers previously they had integrated the whole thing into Dell and it had become the Dell philosophy... The way they brought them in they had made them Dell."

Credit Suisse was a client of EMC at the time. Barrowman made it clear that despite any potential organizational changes that might occur via the deal, it should remain business as usual for the Swiss bank's relationship with the software company, a request Dell obliged.

"When the Dell guys came to speak to me and they said, 'What do you want as a client?', I said 'I want to keep my EMC team. I don't want you to replace them with a Dell team because to me we don't have the same strategic relationship or strategic understanding of our business.'"

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• Keisha Williams was sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in federal prison on Friday after pleading guilty to 14 fraud-related charges. 
• Williams was accused of swindling $5 million out of investors for a healthcare software program she told them she had bought. 
• She never fully purchased the program, however, and instead spent the money on trips with her girlfriend. 
• Williams took a birthday trip to Disney World, a $75,000 trip to Jamaica, a $200,000 trip to Italy, and more.

A Virginia woman who swindled $5 million in a healthcare investment scam spent the money on extravagant trips to Europe and the Bahamas in one of the "worst cases" a judge said she had ever seen.

Keisha Williams, 42, of Ashburn, Virginia, was sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in federal prison on Friday after admitting to running a fraudulent healthcare software scheme that scammed more than 50 million people out of their savings, according to The Washington Post.

She pleaded guilty to 14 fraud-related charges last year.

Williams lived lavish life, traveling to the Bahamas, Italy, and Bora Bora, where she bragged about spotting actor Tracy Morgan and boasted she had "the biggest villa on the island."

At her sentencing, Williams was ordered to hand over an $1,800 leather portfolio she bought on her trip to Italy and carried at the trial, along with a car, gun, watches, and other items.

"The way in which you spent this money ... is appalling," Judge Leonie M. Brinkema told Williams at the sentencing.

At the start of her scam four years ago, Williams had claimed to have purchased Austrian software that would allow doctors to remotely talk to patients.

Read more:12 of the biggest money scandals and scams of 2018

To supposedly buy the product, she convinced a California businessman named Christian D'Andrade to become her partner and raise $4 million, including $1.4 million of his own money. Another $1 million came from other victims.

But Williams never fully purchased the healthcare software, and only spent $300,000 on the product, The Washington Post reported.

The remaining $5.4 million she got from investors was mainly spent on her and her girlfriend, according to court records seen by The Post.

Williams took a birthday trip to Disney World, a $75,000 trip to Jamaica, a $200,000 trip to Italy where she stayed in five-star hotels, and more.

Meanwhile, D'Andrade lost two houses, a car and all of his savings while waiting to be paid back on his investment, The Post reported. After losing everything, D'Andrade sent Williams the only money he had— a Social Security check — which he'd planned to use to pay overdue phone and utility bills. 

Several other investors lost their savings, too.

According to court filings obtained by The Post, Williams allegedly told her family that if they wanted her to visit her dying grandmother, "they need to send some money if they want me there.”

Williams, who has degrees in electrical engineering and law, was eventually arrested in February 2018.

It came after she was investigated following complaints from small businesses that had paid her consulting firm advances for jobs that were never performed.

Read more:

• 5 GoFundMe campaigns that weren't what they claimed to be
• People have been sharing a too-good-to-be-true Lululemon ambassador Instagram post and it's actually a scam
• A Minnesota man allegedly faked his own death by putting his clothes and ID on a dead body to collect $2 million
• 5 signs the scholarship you're applying for may be a scam

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NOW WATCH: 7 science-backed ways to a happier and healthier 2019 that you can do the first week of the new year

This is a preview of the Global Payments Landscape report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report  here.

• Noncash payments are on the rise worldwide.
• As new players emerge to capitalize on consumer appetite for digital payment methods, three mature markets — the UK, Australia, and Sweden — have become standouts for what a more cashless society could look like.
• The UK, Australia, and Sweden are transitioning to digital particularly well, and can serve as a roadmap for other mature markets seeking to overcome the legacy channel of cash.

Noncash payments have been gaining popularity around the world for the last decade. And though cash isn’t anywhere near dead, its global growth is slowing as consumers turn to emerging cashless alternatives.

But there are a few key markets - Australia, Sweden, and the UK - where annual noncash payments have already surpassed traditional cash transactions altogether — and they’re stong early indicators of what a truly cashless society could look like.

Why are digital payments on the rise?

The growing adoption of noncash payments is a direct result of the rise of e-commerce, but that’s not the only factor. Consumers today are adaptable to disruptive technologies and are generally open to trying new types of digital payment methods.

This consumer appetite is compounded by their access to infrastructure, as well as the emergence of government-backed initiatives, such as real-time transfers and the backing of electronic currencies, that make digital payments more enticing to both consumers and merchants.

How are Australia, Sweden, and the UK driving the world towards cashless payments?

Australia, Sweden, and the UK are emblematic of opportunities for payments players to lead the world away from cash. The Global Payments Landscape from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, provides a snapshot of the payments industry in each of these three markets.

The report shows that several leading payments players have already emerged or are dominant within each of these regions — and they’re finding success in different ways. For other mature markets seeking to overcome the legacy channel of cash, the digital transformations of Australia, Sweden, and the UK can serve as a roadmap.

Here are the strategies these regions are implementing in the race to become the world’s first cashless society:

• Australia is launching government initiatives and instating new regulations. The Australian government has banned purchases over AU$10,000 ($7,500) from being made in cash, as well as launched the New Payments Platform (NPP) to allow real-time funds transfer as a means of replacing transactions typically made in cash, such as paying back a friend.
• In Sweden, consumers are rapidly abandoning cash in favor of cards. In fact, only 2% of the total value of transactions in Sweden consist of cash — a figure that’s expected to decline to less than half a percent by 2020.
• Contactless payments are leading the shift away from cash in the UK. Nearly the entire population has a debit card, and debit card transactions surpassed cash payments for the first time at the end of 2017. This milestone was largely fueled by the surge in contactless cards, which grew 97% annually last year to hit 5.6 billion transactions.

Want to Learn More?

The Global Payments Landscape from Business Insider Intelligence compiles various payments snapshots, together illustrating how digital payment methods are supplementing or replacing cash in each market.

Each snapshot provides an overview of the payments industry in a particular country, and details the evolution of its development. They also highlight notable payments players in each region and discuss the opportunities and challenges that players are facing in their respective markets.

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• Two of the US military's service academies are facing major repair projects.
• The renovations are needed to address years of insufficient maintenance and other issues.
• The projects will cost millions of dollars and take years to complete.

The US Naval and Air Force academies are dealing with major maintenance issues that will require ambitious and expensive overhauls to fix.

The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, has seen its infrastructure deteriorate to the point that it endangers the training and teaching of the school's students, known as midshipmen.

A 2018 audit obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Capital Gazette found a litany of problems, including leaking pipes, mold, crumbling buildings, and failing utility systems.

Read the full Capital Gazette report here >>>

According to The Gazette:

"The report took stock of 13 unfunded maintenance or renovation projects spread among 15 facilities between March 6, 2017, and April 26, 2018. Ten of these facilities are highly important to the academy mission, according to its internal rating system. But of those 10, four rated 'poor to fair' and five rated 'failing to poor' at supporting the academy’s ultimate goal — to ready midshipmen for naval service."

A logjam in the maintenance process was made worse by dramatic budget cuts after the academy lost its Flagship Institute designation in the 2013 federal budget sequester. But the problems date back much further.

The Macdonough Hall gym, built in 1903, has never been renovated and is still used by three-quarters of the student body for athletics. Its pool is in particularly bad shape, with exposed rebar on its floor and a failing filter system leaving higher amounts of chlorine in the water.

The Nimitz Library, built in 1975, has also never been renovated. It lacks electrical capacity to support all the laptops and cellphones of students and visitors. Its bookshelves are so close together that a person in a wheelchair likely couldn't move between them — a violation of federal law mandating equal access for people with disabilities.

Read more: The Coast Guard turned down a request for an Arctic exercise out of concern the US's only heavy icebreaker would break down and Russia would have to rescue it

The Flagship Institution designation has been restored, and the academy will get $15 million every other year, starting in fiscal year 2020. The school continues to do emergency maintenance, but even with the influx of money it would take years to fix all the problems, according to The Gazette.

The Air Force Academcy has similar problems

In Colorado, maintenance issues at the US Air Force Academy are more limited in scope but are still having a high-profile impact.

The Cadet Chapel soaring over the Colorado Springs campus has leaks and corrosion linked to cost-cutting measures taken during its construction. The chapel was dedicated in 1963.

The building is clad in aluminum panels with striations in the surface that the architect, Walter Netsch, wanted to use to reflect light at different angles as the sun hit it at different angles throughout the day, creating a "living building" affect, according to the Associated Press.

To keep the project on budget, however, the school left out sections of sheet metal called internal flashing that Netsch's design put under the seams of the aluminum panels to direct rain and snowmelt away from the interior. Caulk was used to seal the seams instead.

Read the full Associated Press report here >>>

Water has been getting through the seams for years, according to the academy's architect, Duane Boyle. There have been multiple applications of caulk, but that has degraded the aluminum.

"We just put buckets out, and if anything we will wipe the wood down when we can," chapel spokesperson Stephen Peterson told CBS 4 Denver in November.

The school has formulated the most ambitious renovation project in the building's history to fix the problem — replacing the aluminum skin and installing internal flashing using silicone rather than sheet metal.

The plan includes removal and cleaning of about 24,000 pieces of stained glass. The pipe organ in the chapel will also be restored, Peterson said.

During the renovation, the only thing visible in the middle of the structure will be the steel frame, Peterson said. "It will be like a giant erector set."

The project was supposed to start in summer 2018, but it's been postponed twice so school officials could request clarifications from contractors bidding for the project, though Boyle said price was not a factor in the delays. The start date is now June 2019.

The academy has said the project could cost anywhere between $25 million to $100 million and take four years to complete. The chapel draws 800,000 visits a year — 500,000 by tourists and 300,000 by people attending events there — but it would be closed to the public throughout the renovation.

"This is a very large, complicated project," Boyle told the AP. "We'd rather get it right going in."

SEE ALSO: Unpaid Coast Guard members are deploying for a months-long mission in the Pacific — at home, their bosses are warning about their houses

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NOW WATCH: INSIDE WEST POINT: What it’s really like for new Army cadets on their first day

• Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady comprise one of the most successful power couples.
• One is one of the most successful supermodels in the world and the other is the greatest quarterback ever.
• Together, Gisele and Brady have a quiet, but lavish, lifestyle. 

Gisele Bündchen is one of the most successful supermodels in the world. According to Forbes, she was the highest-earning model in the world for 10 consecutive years before retiring from the runway in 2015, but even today she is still one of the world's highest paid models.

Her husband, Tom Brady, is the greatest quarterback of all time. Brady has five Super Bowl rings and three league MVP awards, and he's still leading the New England Patriots even though he is well into his 40s.

Bündchen and Brady married in 2009 and together they lead an extremely fabulous life.

At one point, the duo owned a $20 million castle complete with a moat and have since bought a lavish NYC apartment overlooking the water. They co-chaired the Met Gala in 2017 and have partnerships with a number of luxury brands.

Take a peek into the couple's opulent lifestyle below:

Tony Manfred contributed to this report.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and superstar quarterback Tom Brady make up one of the most powerful celebrity couples on the planet.

Brady is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time after earning five Super Bowl rings and three league MVP awards in his 19-year NFL career.

Source: Spotrac

Bundchen reigned over the modeling world for well over a decade and was the top-earning supermodel for 10 consecutive years. Even though she retired in 2015, Bündchen was still one of the top-5 highest paid models of 2018.

• Altria was downgraded by Morgan Stanley on Monday, with analysts citing regulators threatening to supress the e-cigarette market. 
• The Food and Drug Administration on Friday reportedly threatened to pull all e-cigarette and vaping products off the market. 
• FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb blamed rising youth-vaping rates on the increased availability of e-cigarette products and named the brand Juul as a top-vape choice among teenagers. 
• The commissioner's stand against e-cigarettes and Juul is bad news for Altria, which recently invested $12.8 billion into the company.
• Watch Altria trade live.

The cigarette-maker Altria, which recently made a big investment in the e-cigarette space, fell 6.44% Tuesday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, citing regulators' threatening to suppress on the e-cigarette market.

"Harsh FDA regulatory objectives" are putting Altria's business at risk, Morgan Stanley analyst Pamela Kaufman said in a note out on Tuesday. Kaufman downgraded Altria to "underweight" from "equal-weight" and slashed her price target by 17% to $45, near where shares are trading Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley's note came days after the head of the Food and Drug Administration reportedly threatened to pull all vaping products off the market if companies don’t stop marketing such products to youth. 

"I'll tell you this," FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said at a public hearing Friday in Silver Spring, Maryland, according to The Hill."If the youth use continues to rise, and we see significant increases in use in 2019, on top of the dramatic rise in 2018, the entire category will face an existential threat." 

Gottlieb blamed rising youth-vaping rates on the increased availability and convenience of e-cigarette products and named the brand Juul as a top-vape choice among teenagers.

The commissioner's stand against vape cigarettes and Juul brand is bad news for Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes. In December, Altria announced a $12.8 billion investment into the e-cigarette startup Juul, good for a 35% stake. The deal values Juul at $38 billion, roughly twice the company's previous valuation. Altria also agreed to make its retail network available to Juul to help it reach adult smokers, with direct communications through cigarette-pack inserts and mailings to adult smokers via its databases.

"Altria's $12.8 billion investment came at an expensive valuation considering Juul's reduced financial visibility due to FDA flavor restrictions at retail and potential for more severe FDA regulation to come," Kaufman said. 

In November, the FDA laid out a plan to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes like Juul in convenience stores, in order to prevent a new generation of nicotine addicts. It also said it was looking into new restrictions on ethanol cigarettes.  

Altria was down 36% in the past year and are trading around $45.21 on Tuesday.

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• The maker of Marlboro cigarettes is in a bind and can make 2 major deals to dig itself out, analyst says (MO)

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• We create about 88 pounds of plastic a year — per person. And even if you sort your plastics into the right bins, less than 9% of plastic is actually recycled.
• That's because some things like single-use straws and utensils are too small to be processed by recycling plants and get dumped in a landfill only to then make their way into the ocean.
• This five-piece set of metal straws from Amazon is an easy alternative to using plastic straws, and I'll never use anything else ever again.

I'd like to think that I was always pretty green — I reuse plastic bags from the grocery store as garbage bags, I donate clothes instead of throwing them out, and I sort my recyclables accordingly. But it wasn't until I started reading about the disastrous effects of single-use plastics that I realized just how un-eco-friendly I really was. Suddenly, I started noticing just how many of the plastic straws I'd pilfered from my office were strewn across my apartment.

Now, you might think that plastic straws can just go into the recycling bin, but you'd be wrong. In fact, maddeningly enough, most plastic straws don't even get recycled. They're so thin and small that recycling plants can't process them so they get chucked out into a landfill along with the rest of the trash and float out into the ocean sooner or later.

So, in an effort to actually live more eco-friendly this time and reduce my own plastic usage, I started using metal straws. This $10 set from Amazoncomes with two angled straws for normal drinks like water or juice, two straight straws for thick drinks like smoothies, and a cleaning brush not unlike a pipe cleaner or mascara spoolie brush that you run through the straw to get rid of gunk.

The straws are made of food-grade stainless steel that won't rust and is free of BPA (which comes from hard plastics), phthalates, and lead. When I first used them, I was worried that I might taste that distinctive, and frankly, disgusting metal tang, but they actually didn't taste like anything or change the taste of my drinks at all. In fact, most of the time, I don't even register that I'm using a metal straw — to me, it's just a straw. I use them at home and at work, though I haven't graduated to bringing them out to a restaurant yet. In those situations, I just tell the waiter that I don't want a plastic straw.

Of course, I need to acknowledge that forgoing plastic straws isn't going to make a difference if we're still using plastic bags or water bottles, or if recycling plants can't figure out a way to properly process them, but for me, at least it's a start. In fact, it has led to other good habits like refusing plastic utensils from my takeout orders, bringing my own tote bags to the grocery store, and even composting.

Buy the Greens Steel Stainless Steel Straw Set for $9.99 from Amazon

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• Governments aren't prepared for the adoption of 5G, Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden told Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
• In five years, the population of the world with access to mobile broadband will go from less than 60% to 92%, he said. 
• Ericsson thinks it needs to close the educational gap for industry leaders and governments.

As the world races to adopt 5G, there are concerns that governments aren't ready.

"Governments aren't as prepared as we had hoped," Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden said on Tuesday, speaking to Business Insider at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ekudden said that governments don't fully understand what the infrastructure can do for consumers and enterprises and that the change will be so revolutionary that countries will need experts who are dedicated to making sure digital infrastructure is updated, as telecom companies do.

Ericsson, a Swedish telecom company, needs to close the educational gap for industry leaders and governments, he said.

Ekudden said less than 60% of the world's population has mobile broadband today. In five years, that figure will hit about 92%. In the US alone, 55% of the population will have mobile 5G subscriptions, from zero today.

5G is the fifth — and next — generation of wireless technology. It's expected to deliver faster speed than the current 4G LTE standard, and allow for "internet of things" deployments.

Read more: AT&T's betting you're going to watch a lot more video in the future — and that's driving its 'video centric' 5G network strategy

Industry analysts also say the change will revolutionize technology.

"Every industry, every vertical, and nearly every aspect of humanity will be impacted. 5G is being considered a 'general purpose technology' or 'GPT' like the wheel, steam power, electricity, the computer, and the Internet,"analysts at Cowen wrote in September.

And the GSMA, a trade body for mobile network operators, anticipates IoT revenue to increase 313% by 2025, to $1.1 trillion.

SEE ALSO: Verizon and AT&T are banking on 5G to connect every device on the planet to the Internet, and it could be a $1.1 trillion opportunity

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NOW WATCH: What will happen when Earth's north and south poles flip

• Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S10 suggest some significant changes are coming to Samsung's flagship Galaxy S lineup in 2019. 
• Some of the rumored changed include a total redesign, improved cameras, and new bleeding-edge features.
• It's tempting to believe every rumor, especially if it comes from notable and previously accurate sources, but we won't know for sure until Samsung's official announcement, scheduled for February 20.

Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S10 could deliver significant updates in design and features to the South Korean smartphone manufacturer's flagship line of premium phones.

That's what the rumors are suggesting, at least. Even Samsung's mobile-business leader, DJ Koh, has chimed in to hype up the next Galaxy S smartphone. 

If the rumors are accurate, we should expect a pretty significant overhaul in the Galaxy S10 lineup that could see the adoption of new technologies, next-gen specs, and a more modern design. The rumors paint a futuristic vision of the Galaxy S10's looks.

We'll see exactly what Samsung's been up to this last year when the company hosts its 2019 Unpacked event on February 20, which is where the company usually unveils its new Galaxy S flagship devices. 

Check out the latest leaks and rumors about the Galaxy S10:

SEE ALSO: Details about Google's next version of the Android operating system — Android 'Q' — are already starting to come out

There will be four models of the Galaxy S10, including the Galaxy S10 "E," regular Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10 Plus.

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Samsung Galaxy S10E, S10, and S10+ (L to R), encased pic.twitter.com/Pk2gpXkXxn

Samsung is supposedly planning to offer three variants of the Galaxy S10, according to technology analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has accurately predicted elements of new Apple iPhones, as well as various subsequent leaks and rumors.

Kuo believes one model will have a 5.8-inch display, another will have a 6.1-inch display, and the third will have a 6.4-inch display. 

A recent Bloomberg report suggests that one of the models will be a more budget-friendly version of the Galaxy S10 that won't come with the curved edges, but rather a more traditional flat display. A rumor featured in Gizmodo suggests that the "budget" Galaxy S10 will be called the "Galaxy S10 Lite," or the Galaxy S10 "E."

The fourth model, which isn't included in the image above, is said to be an ultra-premium device. Find out more below.

The Galaxy S10 "X" is said to be an ultra-premium model with 5G and every feature under the sun.

It's said the Galaxy S10 "X" will have a huge 6.7-inch display, and it'll include support for 5G networks, a total of six cameras, an in-display fingerprint sensor, a massive battery, 10GB of RAM, up to a terabyte (1,000 GB) of storage, and AI software that'll learn the way you use the phone and adjust specific functions accordingly.

5G is a new wireless standard that promises extremely fast data speeds and potentially less congestion than today's 4G LTE standard. That means 5G data speeds could still be fast even during times of peak data traffic.

So far, however, 5G availability is extremely limited and hasn't been fully deployed by most carriers. If a 5G model is released, it'll only fulfill its potential in a few cities where 5G is starting to roll out.

The bezels will be almost non-existent, but it still won't have a notch.

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Galaxy S10 protective film, this Hole is smaller than the Galaxy A8s,S10 only a 6.1-inch 19:9 ratio, it seems that the S10 is as small as the S8, one-handed operation is not difficult. pic.twitter.com/fETKtTyvoF

Bloomberg's report suggested the Galaxy S10 will have "almost no bezel" on the top and bottom of the phone — a design that the supposedly leaked screen protector for the Galaxy S10, shown above, supports.

With ever-diminishing bezels, most phone makers have resorted to using the infamous notch design to house the selfie camera and various sensors. Samsung has staunchly opposed the notch design, and it's apparently sticking to its guns for the Galaxy S10.

Blass suggests it'll have a "punch hole" style selfie camera, and the latest rumors suggest it'll be found on the top-right corner of the display. Samsung's latest mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A8s, could also offer a good idea as to what this punch-hole design will look like. The Galaxy A8s could actually be giving away the Galaxy S10's design when you keep in mind Samsung's reported plan to introduce newer features to its mid-range devices before its high-end flagship devices.

• Michael Graves, a portfolio manager for Steve Cohen's quant arm, will start his own fund — the third launch of his career.
• Graves was one of the top portfolio managers for Cubist, Point72's quant arm, and at least four members of his former team will join him at his new fund. 
• Quant funds struggled last year, losing more money than the rest of the hedge fund industry on average, according to data from Hedge Fund Research. 

A former top quant manager at Steve Cohen's firm is launching his own fund.

Michael Graves, who was a portfolio manger at Point72 Asset Management's Cubist unit for nearly a decade, resigned from the firm in 2018. Now, he's starting his own quant-focused hedge fund and asset management firm, a source familiar with the new venture told Business Insider. At least four analysts and developers from Graves' team will join him, a source said. 

The quant-focused fund will launch in the middle of the summer with a fundraising target between $600 million and $750 million. Paloma Partners, which helped launch quant giant D.E. Shaw in the 80s, is one of Graves' investors. 

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The potential launch comes at a rough time for hedge funds. The average fund lost more than 4% in 2018. Quant funds performed even worse, declining more than 5% for the year, according to data from Hedge Fund Research.

The number of hedge fund launches also slowed in 2018, though big names like former Millennium star trader Michael Gelband were still able to raise money. According to Hedge Fund Research, last year ended with four fewer hedge funds that it began with in January, falling from 8,335 to 8,331.

Graves' new hedge fund, which doesn't have a name yet, will be able to use the track record that he and his team developed at Cubist.

Graves joined Point72 in 2010 after working as a quant for years at firms including the former- Credit Suisse First Boston and BNP quant subsidiary Cooper Neff. Fortress Investment Group bought the first two hedge funds he founded, FountainHead Capital and Area51, and made Graves a managing director in 2006, where he worked until he left to found Tesseract Capital. He left Tesseract in 2010 to join Cubist.

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NOW WATCH: The founder of the World Economic Forum shares what he sees as the biggest threat to the global economy

• Google and its sister company, Jigsaw, made a quiz that you can use to test your prowess at spotting phishing emails designed to gain access to your personal information.
• The quiz shows you eight fishy email templates to see whether you can tell the legitimate emails from those intended to steal your data.
• The average user receives 16 malicious emails a month, so it's more important than ever to be aware of what to look out for when sorting through your inbox.

Phishing emails aren't always as obvious as Nigerian princes asking for money.

Hackers have advanced in their practices, and it's become a lot harder to tell whether that suspicious-looking email is legit. In fact, more than 75% of organizations surveyed in an annual cybersecurity report from Wombat Security said they had experienced phishing attacks in 2017.

This is why Google and Jigsaw — a security-focused tech incubator owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company — teamed up to create a quiz that measures your ability to determine which emails seem to be phishing attempts. The eight-question quiz takes you through various email examples where you can decide whether the emails are designed to gain access to your passwords and sensitive information.

The examples in the quiz are inspired by real phishing emails, Google says. This includes a phishing attempt in May 2017 from hackers that sent emails with fake Google Doc links.

Here's how the quiz works. 

SEE ALSO: Instagram influencers are so overwhelmed by hackers, they’re hiring hackers of their own to get their accounts back

Before getting started, you'll be asked for a name and email to use for the quiz. Don't worry — they can be fake or decoy inputs, since they're only used to create the email templates for the quiz.

The quiz has eight questions, each with a different email setup based on real-life phishing emails. It's up to you to decide whether each email is a phishing attempt or a legitimate message.

It's possible to determine the legitimacy of each email by digging around its contents a bit first. Hovering over any link in the email will bring up the button's URL, which you can use to determine if the email's the real deal.

The email in the quiz isn't real, so clicking on a link in the body won't bring you anywhere. But remember that doing so on a real phishing email would give hackers access to your information.