We are now less than a month until opening day, and most Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are done making important offseason moves.

So let's take a look at how all 30 teams are shaping up as the season approaches, and some of the decisions they made this winter.

Using two projection systems from Baseball Prospectus (PECOTA) and Fangraphs and over/under win totals from Vegas Insider— think of this as how much confidence the public has in each team — we have our first power ranking of the 2017 season.

No. 30  San Diego Padres (68-94 in 2016)

2017 projected wins (Fangraphs): 65

2017 projected wins (PECOTA): 70

2017 Vegas over/under wins: 67.5

One thing to know: There is not much to be optimistic about for the Padres this season outside of getting to know the young roster and the growth potential of the gloveless wonder, Wil Myers. That gives them plenty of time to experiment with the roster and that's exactly what they will do. According to Bryce Miller, Christian Bethancourt could spend time as a catcher, outfielder, and reliever, defensive shifts might look like "flash mobs," and the Padres have discussed using one pitcher for just the first nine batters of the game before switching to a standard starting pitcher.

No. 29  Cincinnati Reds (68-94 in 2016)

2017 projected wins (Fangraphs): 70

2017 projected wins (PECOTA): 75

2017 Vegas over/under wins: 70.5

One thing to know: With Joey Votto, Billy Hamilton, and Jose Peraza, the Reds could look a lot like the mid-80s St. Louis Cardinals with a lot of speed and just a splash of power. On the pitching side, the Reds are the latest team to eschew the idea of using a one single-inning closer. Instead, the Reds will use Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen in the late innings and both will be called on to pitching multiple innings, according to Zach Buchanan.

No. 28  Philadelphia Phillies (71-91 in 2016)

2017 projected wins (Fangraphs): 71

2017 projected wins (PECOTA): 74

2017 Vegas over/under wins: 72.5

One thing to know: The Phillies have an unexpected ace this season with the return of Jeremy Hellickson. In November, Hellickson surprised many by accepting the Phillies' qualifying offer of a one-year, $17.2 million contract rather test the free agent market. The qualifying offer is typically used by teams just to assure that they will receive compensation for losing a free agent. But Hellickson felt the draft-pick compensation might scare other teams away.

Today President Donald Trump signed a revised travel ban that will temporarily halt entry to the United States for people from six majority-Muslim nations who are seeking new visas.

When the administration announced the original iteration of its ban in January, tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Google took legal action against it. Leaders in the tech industry at large have expressed concerns about potential changes to work visa programs, as many employees at these companies rely on them to work in the US.

Soon after the travel ban was announced in January, San Francisco-based photographer Helena Price made a public call for immigrants working in Silicon Valley to tell their story and to take a formal portrait with her. Below are portions of the six interviews she conducted in her studio.

SEE ALSO: 2 models who worked for Trump's controversial agency tell what it was like for them

Omid Scheybani, formerly Google, currently a graduate student at Stanford

Omid Scheybani is an Iranian citizen who was born and raised in Germany. As a young adult in 2011, Scheybani moved to San Francisco to work in tech. He describes the city as the "place where I grew up."

"I owe the city a lot. I feel very connected to San Francisco and overall to the entire Bay Area," he told Price. 

Though he has lived in the US for nearly seven years, Scheybani didn't fully consider himself an immigrant until President Trump announced the original travel ban in January.

"Until two weeks ago, I never even thought of myself as an immigrant. It was a label that I never used. It wasn't part of my identity," he said. "I know I was not an American because I didn't have the citizenship, but I always saw myself as a fully contributing and highly integrated member of the society, paid my taxes, embraced American values, lived the American dream in many ways, and suddenly you get this stamp on you which says you're an immigrant."

Shahrouz Tavakoli, Product Designer, Pinterest

Tavakoli's family moved from Tehran, Iran, to the Bay Area when he was two years old.

"Immediately after Trump was elected, my first thought was, 'Thank goodness my son looks white,' which is a terrible thought to have. There's something psychologically profound about being labeled an enemy even though I have nothing but love for this country and its potential," Tavakoli told Price.

"In the eyes of so many people who don't know me, who don't know my family, just having a bias against us that we would want to hurt them in some way is troubling at best."

Tarik, UX Researcher, Google

"I was actually born [in the US], but I lived most of my life in Syria. I grew up in Syria, and around middle school, I moved to Egypt. Then, in college, I spent two years in Egypt, then finally made the decision that I want to come here and continue my education here and live my life here as well," Tarik told Price.

 This is Tarik's fifth year in the US, and while he's no longer a practicing Muslim, he's become "disheartened" by the negative rhetoric surrounding Islam.

"It seems like there was sort of hidden hate that's surfacing, and it kind of makes you feel unwanted, undesired, and unwelcome," he said.

If all goes to plan, China will have moved 250 million people— equivalent to the entire population of Indonesia — into its burgeoning megacities by 2026.

The move lies at the heart of the "National New-type Urbanization Plan," a program launched in 2014 that expands existing cities by gobbling up rural farming communities on the fringes.

The goal is to make China better at making and selling its own goods instead of relying on shipping clothes and electronics overseas to make money.

But as photographs of the transition reveal, sometimes the real cost of building highways, bridges, and rail lines threatens people's entire way of life.

Henan province, China, 1867. Already at 363 million people, the country was poised for a boom.

Within a century, China started to export hundreds of billions worth of electronics goods and manufacturing equipment. Shanghai's budding financial district is seen below.

In 1995, the limits of China's expanding infrastructure were revealed during a massive flood. Officials at the time said simple flaws, like leaky pipes, could end up costing the country billions every year. The cause of the flood was traced back to a water main burst.

We now have to take a serious health concern into consideration when planning our next beach getaway.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus ravaged Latin America and the Caribbean over the past year — and is now being locally transmitted in the continental US, as well as Singapore.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel warnings for more than 40 countries that have seen local Zika transmissions, in addition to releasing a map showing just how far the mosquitoes that transmit the virus may spread within the US. 

Here are 15 awesome beach vacation spots where you won't be at risk for Zika, as per the latest projections. 

Lisa Ryan contributed to an earlier version of this post.

Horseshoe Bay Beach in Southampton Parish, Bermuda

Out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda is far enough from the Caribbean to stay out of Zika's way. Known for its namesake shorts, the island packs a wide range of activities into its 21 miles.

Its national bird, the cahow, is one of the rarest in the world, and its famous pink sand beaches make for some stunning scenery.

Navagio Beach in Zakynthos, Greece

Navagio Beach, otherwise known as Shipwreck Bay, is one of the most popular beaches in the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Why? Because there's a literal shipwreck on the island, and to get to it, you have to take a boat.

Tourists stay on the main part of the island, and often travel to the beach for the day.

Gozo Island in Malta

Between Sicily and the North African coast, this Mediterranean island contains both gorgeous beaches and historical sites. Some of its fortresses, temples, and burial chambers date back to 4000 B.C.

By now, I should have a crystal clear picture of my ancestry. 

23andMe and AncestryDNA have done a good job of confirming my Scandinavian origins. 

So when I decided to try out National Geographic's new "Geno 2.0 test," I expected my results to be roughly the same. 

National Geographic's Genographic Project has been around since 2005, making it one of the earliest genetics test. A few months ago, it switched over to Helix's next-generation sequencing platform for its "Geno 2.0" test.

What I got in my inbox looked nothing like I'd seen before.

SEE ALSO: 2 tragedies intersected to give this man a face transplant — and the story that unfolded is powerful

DON'T MISS: I've taken AncestryDNA and 23andMe genetics tests — here's what I tell people when they ask me which one is best

A box containing my Genographic Project Geno 2.0 test arrived at my office in December 2016, and I couldn't wait to check it out.

Inside the sleeve was a booklet and a box from Helix. A company spun out of sequencing giant Illumina, Helix is positioning itself as the app store for your DNA. Once I sent in my tube of spit containing my DNA, Helix could then apply that information to other tests down the line — not just the National Geographic one I was trying now.

Source: Business Insider

The box was unlike other DNA tests I've tried out. The combination of geometric shapes and bright boxes made it fun, and when I lifted up the pink box I found a helpful tip written underneath: " Having trouble salivating? Think about lemons!"

The INSIDER Summary:

• Dallas has the best gluten-free options.
• San Francisco's airport has the best local eateries.
• Denver International Airport has the best food overall.

Airplane food isn't known for its inviting textures or mouthwatering flavors, but that doesn't mean you have to suffer through the same bland meals while you're waiting at the gate.

RewardExpert, a travel site that helps people take full advantage of their points and miles, combed through 75,000 customer reviews and menu data to determine which airports boast the best eats.

Here are the top five, plus a few specialty categories.

1st overall: Denver International Airport (DEN)

Top three restaurants:

1.Crú Food & Wine Bar
2.Root Down
3.Tapas Sky Bar

2nd overall: Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Top three restaurants:

1. Wildflower Bread Company
2. Chelsea’s Kitchen
3. Cowboy Ciao

3rd overall: Hartfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)

Top three restaurants:

1. Georgia Grown
2. One Flew South
3. Paschal's

When Jobscan CEO and founder James Hu was applying for tech jobs a few years ago, he realized there was a wall between his résumé and actual human beings: applicant tracking systems (ATS). This recruitment software often weeds out candidates based on keywords in their applications.

"So I started optimizing my résumé for what recruiters might search for," he told Business Insider in an email. "But it would take me an hour to identify the top keywords and tailor each résumé."

To save other job hunters the drudgery, in 2013, he created Jobscan. The online service scans résumés and compares them with the keywords in specific job description.

Today, Jobscan has a team of ten employees and has scanned 2 million résumés to date. Users get five free scans — or 25, if you're long-term unemployed or in a financially dire situation. The site is also familiar with the top six ATS on the market, which cover 80% of all Fortune 500 companies, including Amazon, Deloitte, Snapchat, and Credit Suisse.

Sounds interesting, but what guidance can it really give? I plugged my résumé into the scanner against my current job here at Business Insider. Recruiters and hiring managers say that job-hunters should customize their résumés to every job they apply for, and after scanning my résumé, I can see why.

SEE ALSO: Using a credit card rewards app for 4 months made a huge difference in how I view my spending

DON'T MISS: I tried productivity 'Hell Week' created by a former Norwegian paratrooper, but all I learned is I'm great at making excuses

First, I tracked down this job description of a Careers reporter at Business Insider.

Next, I uploaded the description text and my résumé into the scanner, pressed scan, and waited for my results...

Well, yikes. My résumé only garnered a 35% match.

To give you a sense, an 80% match tends to indicate a pretty good fit. I guess I basically snuck into Business Insider.

In all honesty, though, I was hired as a Careers intern before I became a reporter. By the time the company decided to make me an offer, it had seen about six months of my work.

So it's important to remember that résumés aren't always king. In fact, a number of CEOs and organizations eschew résumés altogether, preferring to look at work performance over CVs. However, that doesn't help you get through the preliminary sorting of an ATS.

The wild behind-the-scenes process of creating a pop music hit can often involve writers and producers shopping their songs around to different artists. Thanks to Billboard Music and artists themselves dishing to magazines and MTV, we know the backstory for some of the world's biggest pop songs and the artists who almost sang them instead.

From Britney Spears to Rihanna and more, keep reading for a look at 14 chart-topping pop hits that were passed up by other artists.

Amanda Macias contributed to another version of this article.

Britney Spears first ever single "...Baby One More Time" was rejected by TLC first.

In 2015, MTV News asked TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas about their choice to pass on the song.

"I was like, I like the song but do I think it's a hit? Do I think it's TLC? I'm not saying 'hit me baby.' No disrespect to Britney," T-Boz told MTV News. "It's good for her. But was I going to say 'hit me baby one more time'? Hell no!"

Listen to Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" here.

"I'm A Slave 4 U" was almost recorded by Janet Jackson instead of Britney Spears.

Billboard reported that the Neptunes-produced track "I'm A Slave 4 U" was offered to Janet Jackson first. Only after Jackson passed on it did Spears get to record the sex-charged single and dance onstage with a memorable gigantic snake.

Listen to Britney Spears' "I'm A Slave 4 U" here.

Remember Jennifer Lopez's early dance hit "Let's Get Loud"? That song was first written by Gloria Estefan for herself, but she decided to pass it onto Lopez.

Gloria Estefan wrote the dance hit in the late '90s, but reportedly decided it was too similar to her past hits and gave it to Jennifer Lopez instead, who used it on her debut studio album "On the 6." 

You can still hear Estefan's take on the song, which was used as a bonus track for her 2011 album "Little Miss Havana."

Listen to Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" here.

President Donald Trump's first six weeks in office were filled with a flurry of action, and he's just getting started.

The 45th president has signed 34 executive actions so far, with far-reaching effects on Americans' lives.

While many of them have been billed as executive orders in the popular vernacular, most of them were technically presidential memoranda or proclamations.

The three types of executive actions have different authority and effects, with executive orders holding the most prestige:

• Executive orders are assigned numbers and published in the federal register, similar to laws passed by Congress, and typically direct members of the executive branch to follow a new policy or directive. Trump has issued 16 orders.
• Presidential memoranda do not have to be published or numbered (though they can be), and usually delegate tasks that Congress has already assigned the president to members of the executive branch. Trump has issued 13 memoranda.
• Finally, while some proclamations— like President Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation — have carried enormous weight, most are ceremonial observances of federal holidays or awareness months. Trump has issued five proclamations.

Scholars have typically used the number of executive orders per term to measure how much presidents have exercised their power. George Washington only signed eight his entire time in office, according to the American Presidency Project, while FDR penned over 3,700.

In his two terms, President Barack Obama issued 277 executive orders, a total number on par with his modern predecessors, but the lowest per year average in 120 years. Trump, so far, has signed 16 executive orders in 45 days.

Here's a quick guide to the executive actions Trump has made so far, what they do, and how Americans have reacted to them:

SEE ALSO: Here's how Trump's new travel ban compares to his controversial first one

DON'T MISS: Obama deported 3 million immigrants during his presidency — here's how Trump's new immigration order compares

Executive Order, March 6: A new travel ban

Trump's second go at his controversial travel order bans people from Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and Libya from entering the US for 90 days, and bars all refugees from coming into the country for 120 days, starting March 16.

Existing visa holders will not be subjected to the ban, and religious minorities will no longer get preferential treatment — two details critics took particular issue with in the first ban. The new order removed Iraq from the list of countries, and changed excluding just Syrian refugees to preventing all refugees from entering the US.

Democrats denounced the new order, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying the "watered-down ban is still a ban," and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez saying "Trump's obsession with religious discrimination is disgusting, un-American, and outright dangerous."

Read the full text of the order here »

Presidential Memorandum, March 6: Guidance for agencies to implement the new travel ban

This memo instructs the State Department, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security how to implement Trump's new travel ban.

It directs the three department heads to enhance the vetting of visa applicants and other immigrants trying to enter the US as they see fit, to release how many visa applicants there were by country, and to submit a report in 180 days detailing the long-term costs of the United States Refugee Admissions Program.

Read the full text of the memorandum here »

3 Presidential proclamations, March 1: National months for women, the American Red Cross, and Irish-Americans

The president proclaimed March 2017 Women's History Month, American Red Cross Month, and Irish-American Heritage Month.

Read the full text of the women's history proclamation here »

And the Red Cross proclamation here »

And the Irish-American proclamation here »

In a survey by InterNations, the world’s largest network for people who live and work abroad, the company asked 14,300 expats, representing 174 nationalities and living in 191 countries or territories, to rate 43 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of 1-7.

From this, InterNations calculated the scores to get an overall average of the quality of life of people living in foreign countries.

The Quality of Life index took into account factors such as: Leisure Options; Personal Happiness; Travel & Transport; Health & Well-Being; and Safety & Security.

In January, Business Insider looked at the countries where expats have the best quality of life — with Taiwan topping that list. However, for every happy expat there is likely an unhappy one, and as a result, we decided to look at the countries InterNations says offer the worst quality of life. 

Check out the 19 worst places for expat quality of life below:

19. China — Regardless of its growing economic prosperity, China can be a difficult place for Western expats to settle thanks to its vastly different culture and language. It scored particularly poorly in Internations' health and well-being sub-index, ranking 64th out of 67 countries surveyed.

18. Philippines — Ruled by controversial President Rodrigo Duterte, expats in the Philippines struggle most with poor travel and transport links, and a low score in the health and well-being sub index.

17. Uganda — Uganda's capital is home to a large expat population, but the country as a whole does not provide a great experience for expats. It scored poorly in three of Internations' five subindexes.

Switzerland is the best country in the world, according to a new study from U.S. News & World Report.

The media organisation — notable for its influential US university rankings — evaluated 80 countries across a range of criteria, from economic influence to citizenship and quality of life. 

By surveying more than 21,000 business leaders, informed elites, and general citizens, the aim of the "2017 Best Countries" report is to discover how nations are perceived on a global scale.

It's the second year the in-depth study, written in collaboration with Y&R’s BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has been published. 

Political turmoil throughout 2016 has taken its toll on the standing of several major world powers. The US slipped three places, while Germany — last year's number one  — fell to fourth place.  

Scroll down to see the 24 best countries in the world, ranked in ascending order.

24. Portugal — Despite not being the wealthiest or most powerful nation, Portugal is rich in cultural history and is one of the best countries to retire or travel to, according to US News.

Editor and chief content officer Brian Kelly explained: "The Best Countries portal pairs fact-based metrics with storytelling to help citizens, business leaders and governments better evaluate their countries."

23. South Korea — It's home to an impressive 12 UNESCO Heritage Sites, but while South Korea owes a lot to the 18 million tourists who visit each year, most of its success is due to its "high-tech, service-based economy," which contributes to its $1.3 trillion GDP.

22. United Arab Emirates — The UAE's oil-rich surroundings means it has fast become one of the wealthiest nations on Earth and topped US News' rankings of up-and-coming economies.

It was the only Middle Eastern nation to crack the top 25, and was also named one of the best places for students to study abroad.

The ranking of the world's poorest countries is once again dominated by African countries, according to an analysis by Global Finance Magazine.

The ranking was published in February 2017 and based on data from the International Monetary Fund.

The magazine ranked the world's countries according to their gross domestic product (GDP) based on purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita.

The PPP takes into account the relative cost of living and the inflation rates of the countries to compare living standards among the different nations.

Most of the countries populating the top of this ranking are under authoritarian regimes where corruption is rampant. This a big deterrent to foreign investors, even if some of those countries have huge amounts of natural resources. 

The GDP per capita listed represents the amount of wealth produced in 2016 and is expressed in international dollars.

Here are the bottom 25 (and here's the full study):

30. Senegal — GDP per capita: $2,578 (£2,102)

29. Yemen — GDP per capita: $2,521 (£2,056)

28. Nepal — GDP per capita: $2,480 (£2,022)

Self-esteem is a wonderful but delicate thing. Most of us see the value in building ours up, because when it's high, we feel better about ourselves. We feel more resilient, we're less vulnerable to anxiety and rejection, and less cortisol — the stress hormone — is released into our bloodstream. 

The positives are obvious, but actually improving our self-esteem can be challenging, especially if we've experienced setbacks in the past. In a blog post on TED, psychologist Guy Winch explains that the problem is our self-esteem is rather unstable anyway, as it can fluctuate daily, even hourly.

Another complication is how our careers shape our own worth. For example, a chef will more likely be offended if you don't like the meal they cooked for you than someone who doesn't cook for a living. Winch says this is because cooking is a significant aspect of their identity.

He outlined five ways to help improve your self-esteem, and how to better deal with the blows we experience nearly every day.

1. Use positive affirmations in the right way.

Positive affirmations are a method of practising "you are what you think." The idea is you fill your mind with positive thoughts until you start to believe them. 

It's a popular way of going about building your self-esteem because it's simple, but Winch says there's one major problem — positive affirmations tend to make people with low self-worth feel even worse, because anything that's said as an affirmation — such as "I am beautiful," or "I will be successful," can often be too contrary to our own existing beliefs, such as feeling ugly or lazy.

Winch suggests changing "I'm going to be successful" to something more manageable like "I will persevere until I succeed!"

2. Identify what you're good at.

Winch says self-esteem grows when we demonstrate real ability and achievements in the areas of our lives that matter to us. Maybe you're good at running — sign up to some local races and train for them. Keen on cooking? Throw more dinner parties. 

The key, he says, is to figure out your core skills and talents and find opportunities — and even careers — that emphasise them.

3. Learn how to accept compliments.

When we feel bad about ourselves, it's hard for anyone else to drag us out of that rut. Winch says we tend to be more resistant to compliments at these times, even though this is when we need them the most. 

He says instead of shrugging off compliments as lies, you should set yourself the goal of tolerating compliments when you receive them. Even if you feel uncomfortable — and you probably will — it'll be worth it in the long run. 

The best way to stop yourself batting compliments away, he says, is to prepare set responses to certain things, and force yourself to use them until it's automatic. These responses could be simply things like "thank you" or "how kind of you to say." 

The impulse to laugh off compliments will eventually fade, which will be a sign it's working and you're starting to believe the nice things people say about you.

In the world of motorsports, there are few rivalries as intense as Ferrari versus McLaren. Over the years, legendary figures such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, and Mika Hakkinen have waged war on the race tracks of Formula One for the two powerhouse teams.

Now, that battle has spilled over into the world of supercars. On Tuesday, McLaren launched its latest salvo — the 720S. Unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the 720S is the first member of McLaren's new second generation Super Series to hit the market and its duty in life is to beat Ferrari.

The McLaren 720S is a high-tech marvel. Its futuristic looks are backed up by its advanced aerodynamics along with the latest in traction management technology and carbon-fiber materials.

"The 720S is an amazing car. Even though it's our first second generation model, the car actually feels like we skipped the second generation and went straight to the third because it's such a step forward in so many attributes," McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt told Business Insider in a recent interview.

A few weeks before its Geneva unveiling, McLaren gave Business Insider a sneak peek at one of the company's pre-production prototypes in New York. Here's closer look at the new McLaren 720S.

SEE ALSO: 24 hot cars we can't wait to see at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show

Here it is! The new McLaren 720S!

It's the follow-up to McLaren's highly successful first generation Super Series seen here in the form of a 650S Coupe.

The 720S's target is Ferrari's 661 horsepower 488 GTB — a car that was nearly named Business Insider's Car of the Year in 2016. So it needs to be pretty impressive to stand any chance.

One size doesn't fit all when it comes to fast food.

With thousands of restaurants across the globe, the world's largest fast food chains have had to get creative in order to cater to local tastes.

We reviewed a mix of fast food menus from all over the world and compiled a list of the wildest items that are not available in the US. 

From Nutella burgers in Italy to fried chicken and spaghetti in the Philippines, these are some of our favorites. 

Pizza Hut's Chicken Tikka Pizza

Where: India

What it is: A signature dish at Pizza Hut India, the doughy pizza base is topped with chicken tikka spiced pieces, red peppers, and red onions. 

Burger King's Spam and Cheese

Where: Japan

What it is: This breakfast burger comes with canned spiced pork, pickles, cheese, mayo, and lettuce served in a wheat bun. 

KFC's JingGu Double Down Max

Where: Korea

What it is: Forget about the bread. KFC Korea wedges a hash brown, bacon, and cheese, between two fried chicken patties. 

A Japanese couple have gained nearly 90,000 followers on Instagram for wearing matching outfits every day.

The couple, who are over 60, grey-haired, and have been married for 37 years, are known as bonpon511 on the photo sharing platform.

According to The Telegraph, their Instagram handle is a reference to their Christian names as well as their wedding date — they wed in 1980, according to their bio.

Since posting their first photo only 13 weeks ago in December 2016, they have become an internet sensation for snapping photos of their coordinated, stylish outfits, which often feature plaid, patterns, and pretty looks in primary colours.

See some of their most adorable matching looks below.

Meet the Japanese couple who wear matching outfits every day.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BRAho5gjSAX/embed/
Width: 658px

They have been married for 37 years and are over 60.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BQPs3_kDOLV/embed/
Width: 658px

Their looks often involve matching jumpers...

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BRPxMMsjI6-/embed/
Width: 658px

Some people say little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Photographer Kate T. Parker is here to argue otherwise. 

Parker photographed daughters and nearly 200 girls across the country as they dominated sports, practiced the arts, and played freely with their friends. Her portraits — collected in her new book "Strong is the New Pretty"— prove that the old "sugar and spice" bit is just plain reductive. Girls are made of grit, determination, creativity, wildness, and confidence, too — and they look just as gorgeous in mud-covered t-shirts as they do in pretty dresses.

"I wanted to show my [daughters] that beauty isn't about being a certain size or having your hair done [...] or wearing a fancy outfit," Parker wrote in the book's introduction. "I wanted my girls to know that being themselves is beautiful."

Here are some of the book's most powerful images, plus more on Parker's inspiration for the project.

Parker's daughters inspired her to start photographing young girls in a new way.

Parker was always snapping pictures of her 8- and 11-year-old daughters. After a while, she realized that the most powerful images were the ones in which her daughters were messy, loud, wild, and joyful — not the ones in which they were posed with perfect smiles. 

So Parker turned this realization into a conscious project: To show her daughters, through photographs, that being themselves is truly beautiful. 

In time, Parker expanded the project and photographed girls from all over the country. Their portraits are collected in her new book, "Strong is the New Pretty."

Some portraits show girls excelling at sports and the arts. Others show them jumping on the bed, running through sprinklers, and whispering to their friends.

SEE ALSO: Asia could take the lead in artificial intelligence tech this year

What AI can do: Everyday human stuff

👓 Recognize objects in images

🗺 Navigate a map of the London Underground

👂 Transcribe speech better than professional transcribers

🌎 Translate between languages

😮 Speak

❓ Pick out the bit of a paragraph that answers your question

😡 Recognize emotions in images of faces

🙊 Recognise emotions in speech

Travel

🚘 Drive

🚁 Fly a drone

🅿️ Predict parking difficulty by area

Science & medicine

💊 Discover new uses for existing drugs

🚑 Spot cancer in tissue slides better than human epidemiologists

💉 Predict hypoglycemic events in diabetics three hours in advance

👁 Identify diabetic retinopathy (a leading cause of blindness) from retinal photos

🔬 Analyze the genetic code of DNA to detect genomic conditions

🕵 Detect a range of conditions from images

⚛️ Solve the quantum state of many particles at once

Google first announced plans for its futuristic new campus nearly two years ago, and things have come a long way since then. 

The campus, named Google Charleston East, will be located near its current location in Mountain View, California. It marks the first time Google has built offices from scratch, instead of taking over previously existing buildings. 

Google recently submitted updated plans for its campus to the City of Mountain View, the first time its revealed what the new building will look like in nearly a year. 

The proposed building, known as Charleston East, would be two stories tall and about 595,000 square feet. Here's how Google imagines it looking:

SEE ALSO: Google helped build an app that designs you a personalized dress based on your lifestyle

Charleston East would be located near the Googleplex, Google's famed headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Here's the view of the building from the West.

Source: 9to5Google

While Google would have to remove about 160 trees to build the new campus, the plans include replanting trees and offering plenty of other green space.

No Western European city does luxury like London, the ultimate playground for the world’s millionaires and billionaires. Travelers can’t enough of the city’s world-class shopping, cultural attractions and internationally-renowned restaurants and bars.

So where to start? Though the options are endless, here is a suggested itinerary to make the most of a luxurious day in this glamorous British capital.

STAY: Shangri-La Hotel

To make the most of your day, check-in for a night (or more) prior at Shangri-La at the Shard, the city’s first “elevated hotel” based in Western Europe’s tallest building. For London city views, Shangri-La is unmatched, with each room featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that allows guests to witness the enormous urban landscape from on high. The guests-only Sky Pool, located in the 52nd floor, has to be the most spectacularly-placed swimming hole in England; take a dip in the infinity pool with postcard views of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the winding Thames River.

Find out more here.

LUNCH: Barrafina Dean Street

Beat the everlasting dinner queues for this Michelin-starred mecca and head for lunch instead. Originally based on Frith Street, slick counter-only tapas bar from sibling restaurateurs Sam and Eddie Hart recently moved to Dean Street just a block away, but the Barcelona-style cooking and buzzing atmosphere remains the same. Standout tapas include the milk-fed lamb, ham croquetas, tuna tartare and the almighty carabinero, a large fiery-red prawn listed in their specials board -- don’t forget to top it all off with a glass of sherry.

Find out more here.

INDULGE: Sense Spa, Rosewood

Feel away from it all with a treatment at Sense Spa, the sexy, zen inspired retreat at the five-star Rosewood Hotel. Sumptuous seasonal treatments are offered, such as the current ayurvedic-inspired Ode de Repos treatment which serves the upper body with Maison Caulieres products. Do allow ample time to unwind, as the relaxation lounge -- with its gold-brushed ceiling dome and eye-catching circular design -- is among the most stunning spa rooms in London.

Find out more here.