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Morning Buzz: 5 things to know for December 21

Posted at 10:37 AM, Dec 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-21 10:38:03-05

1. Michigan State Police are paying it forward this holiday season, with special deliveries.

The agency teamed up with Ascension Care Management to collect clothes and household supplies for families in need.

All of the donations were picked up on Wednesday in Sterling Heights on the state's east side, and were driven across the state. A pair of homes in Middleville received some of those donations.

Michigan State Police say three patrol cars filled with donations made the trip to West Michigan.

2. A free lunch is always great, but imagine the surprise of an entire school district when a secret Santa paid for everyone!

Officials at Parchment Schools say they just got a $6,000 donation. This is the second year that the anonymous donor has given a gift. Last year, it covered lunch debts at all the elementary schools, but this year's gift covers every single school in the district.

It also helps the schools too, because a new federal law requires districts to charge unpaid debts against their general budgets, which would have menat less money for education.

The only thing known about the donor is that he's a businessman in Portage, who has grandchildren in the district.

3. Bargain shoppers and sports lovers, listen up! If you missed out on the online auction for memorabilia from the Joe Louis Arena, you're in luck.

On Saturday, there will be a clearance sale at the Joe. Tons of stuff will be up for grabs, including signs, framed pictures, autographed pucks, and furniture.

Red Wings season ticket holders will get first pick of the items, two hours before the sale opens to the public at 10 a.m.

4. As we get older we slow down a bit, just like the iPhone.

iPhone users for years have wondered why their phone seems to go slow, compared with newer models. Apple is now reportedly admitting there is something to it.

The lithium-ion battery starts to process information slower the more times it's charged. Usually the slowdown comes after literally hundreds of charge cycles.

Apple insists the reason is not because they want you to buy a newer model. Actually, it's to avoid random, sudden shutdowns.

5. We have passwords to get into our iPhones and computers, and we are warned about which ones not to use. However some aren't listening, so here's the list of this year's worst passwords and the one in the top spot is pretty easy to figure out.

Once again, "1-2-3-4-5-6" made the top of the list, according to Splash Data, a password management provider.

Speaking of "password," that one actually made the number two spot.

"1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8" and "qwerty" came in third and fourth.

Others on the list include "football", "I love you", "admin", "Star Wars", and "login."

Tech experts advise using 12 characters if possible with a mixture of upper and lowercase letters.