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Morning Buzz: 5 things to know for December 15

Posted at 11:03 AM, Dec 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-15 11:02:42-05

1. December 15 is the last day to sign up for health coverage under Obamacare

Just over 4 million people have selected policies for 2017 through the federal exchange, Healthcare.gov, as of December 10th.

More than 700,000 people signed up on Monday and Tuesday, the two biggest days since open enrollment started on November 1.

The Obama Administration is encouraging people to sign up, to show president-elect Trump and other members of the Republican Party how vital Obamacare is to Americans.

2. Yahoo has been hit by a security breach, which may have affected more than one billion accounts.

The breach dates back to August 2013, and is thought to be separate from a massive cybersecurity incident that was announced in September.

Yahoo believes an "unauthorized third party" stole data from more than one billion accounts.

That data may have included names, email addresses, and passwords, but not financial information.

The company will notify people who may be affected, and has started requiring people to change their passwords.

3. We’ve got the final numbers after a local tree farm donated Christmas trees to our troops.

Wahmhoff Farms in Gobles says they sent a total of 706 Christmas trees to military families in Georgia this year.

The farm held its annual loading event in late November.

They also said after the trees arrived at Fort Benning, it took just three hours for them all to be given out.

The trees for troops program started back in 2005. Since then, more than 176,000 trees have been donated.

4. West Michigan is home to two of the best craft beers in America.

That’s according to “Men's Journal” who recently published a story identifying the 101 best beers in America.

Beers from Grand Rapids' Founders Brewing Company and Bell's Brewery were selected to represent the great lakes state, which has become a hot bed for craft beer in recent years.

Founder's limited release "Kentucky Breakfast Stout" or KBS, is one of the selections.

Bell's Two-Hearted ale is Michigan’s other popular brew.

5. Shoppers in Hastings are now getting a new place to load up on groceries.

The new Aldi store opened on December 15.

The first 100 shoppers will receive a golden ticket, each containing Aldi gift certificates of various amounts.

There will also be a sweepstakes to win produce for a year, and sampling of products.

The new Aldi store is located on West State Street in Hastings.