On January 4, an account by the name of @world_record_egg posted a picture of an egg with the caption “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram.” Previously, the record belonged to Kylie Jenner, who’s birth announcement picture garnered over 18 million likes. The egg currently has over 50 million likes and 2.5 million comments. The owner of the account, who has decided to remain anonymous, has continued to post pictures of the egg beginning to crack. Serghei Platanov, the man who took the photo of the viral egg, has been taking pictures for shutterstock since 2009. “My goal was to take a simple picture of an egg. For fun. Never ever I could think that it would be a sensation like this,” Platanov said.

Indiana Mayor announces intent to run in 2020 race

The 37 year old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has announced his intent to run in the 2020 presidential race as a democrat. Pete Buttigieg, who attended Harvard College, will be the first openly-gay elected official to run for presidential office. In an essay published in the South Bend Tribune, Buttigieg wrote “Being gay has had no bearing on my job performance in business, in the military, or in my current role as mayor. It makes me no better or worse at handling a spreadsheet, a rifle, a committee meeting, or a hiring decision. It doesn’t change how residents can best judge my effectiveness in serving our city: by the progress of our neighborhoods, our economy, and our city services.”

Government shutdown causes problems for airline safety

The longest government shutdown in history, which started on Saturday, January 22, has caused a multitude of problems for federal workers. Among those are about 50,000 airline security workers, who, due to the government shutdown, are working without pay. According to president Donald Trump, he is not planning on reopening the government unless he is granted funding for a wall along the southern border of the United States, which amounts to around 5.7 billion dollars. In a statement made to the unions representing air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration said that “[They] have not observed any appreciable difference in performance over the last several weeks compared to the same periods during the previous two years.”