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The best no-bake desserts

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Salted Caramel Coconut Macarons

The dinner party you volunteered to bring dessert to is starting in a few hours and you have nothing to bring.

You don't want to be that guest that brings something store-bought, but you also don't have the time to actually bake something.

Luckily, there are plenty of no-bake desserts out there that your friends will still be impressed by.

Below are the most popular no-bake recipes from Pinterest (listed from most to least pinned) for the next time you find yourself in a time crunch.

Cookie dough dip

Click here to view the full recipe >



White chocolate blueberry truffles

Click here for the full recipe >



No-bake peanut butter pie

Click here for the full recipe >



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

25 of the coolest cars that have been in 'The Fast and the Furious' movies

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dodge charger supra fast and the furious

Family may be at the heart of the "Fast and Furious" movies, but Dom's crew isn't complete without their fast cars.

In honor of the latest "Fast and the Furious" release, "The Fate of the Furious," INSIDER rounded up the most memorable cars of the franchise. As the series has continued, the cars have only continued to get more sleek and more expensive.

Keep reading to see the coolest cars that have appeared in the "Fast and Furious" franchise.

SEE ALSO: Here's The Rock's insane workout and diet he uses to get ripped for 'Fast and Furious'

The 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse was Brian's first street-racing car when he was undercover.

Brian used the Eclipse in his first race against Dominic Toretto. It was shot up soon afterwards by Johnny Tran's crew after Brian and Dom drove onto his turf.



Who could forget Suki's pink 2001 Honda S2000 from the start of "2 Fast 2 Furious"?

Actress Devon Aoki, who played Suki, referred to it as a pink Barbie car but said the paint job shouldn't fool anyone. It was the only other car to finish the race at the start of "2 Fast."

Later in the movie, we see Suki sketching more custom artwork for the rebuild of her car.



After his Eclipse gets totaled, Brian gets a busted up 1994 Toyota Supra MK IV Supra to fix up.

He uses it against Dom at the end of the franchise's first film when the two outrace a train.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Cadillac brought its spectacular new race car to the New York Auto Show (GM)

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Caddy Racer Car 2017 NY Auto Show

Last year, Cadillac announced a return to the top level of endurance racing and rolled out a new car— the DPi-V.R, powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine cranking out 600 horsepower.

Nobody ever expects dominant performances from racing newbies, but that's just what Cadillac has delivered. 

At the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year, the DPi-V.R went 1-2. And at the Sebring 12 Hours in March, the Daytona-winner team of Rickey Taylor and Jordan Taylor, in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac, once again took the win, with the other two Caddy teams finishing 2-3, making for a podium sweep.

Cadillac brought the Sebring-winning DPi-V.R to the New York Auto Show, more or less fresh from the track.

Check it out:

SEE ALSO: Cadillac has a new race car that looks like the Batmobile

The all-conquering (so car) Cadillac DPi-V.R, at the Cadillac booth at the 2017 New York Auto Show.



There's room for exactly one driver at a time in that cockpit.



Motivating the DPi-V.R is 6.2 liter V-8 engine, related to the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V motors, according the Cadillac. In the race car, it will crank out 600 horsepower and send all that oomph to the rear wheels through hardy, raceworthy transmission. If you look closely, you can see bits of the Sebring track still stuck to the wheels.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

More and more people are using VPN services to protect their privacy online — here's how they work

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encryption

Internet privacy was once again thrust into the limelight recently when President Donald Trump signed a bill that would allow internet service providers to sell your browsing history to third parties like advertisers.

As much as the news rekindled concerns around internet privacy, little has actually changed. The signed bill is generally keeping things as they are. The outrage comes from the fact that the bill is rolling back an Obama-era measure to prevent ISPs from tracking and selling your browsing history, which didn't have time to take effect before he left office.

Still, some of you may be looking for ways to browse the web privately, and one of the most prominent solutions is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, which cloaks your online activity.

Here's what VPNs are, what they do, and what to look out for if you're an average person using the internet.

SEE ALSO: Trump just killed Obama's internet-privacy rules — here's what that means for you

A VPN essentially hides your internet activity from your internet service provider, which means it has nothing to sell to third parties.

If the internet is an open highway, VPNs act like a tunnel that hides your internet traffic. The VPN encrypts your internet traffic into a garbled mess of numbers that can't be deciphered by your ISP or a third party. 



Most VPNs also hide identifying details about your computer from ISPs.

Any device that's connected to your ISP's network has an IP address, which looks like a series of numbers. Many Americans have multiple devices, so ISPs use IP addresses to see which device has accessed which websites and where.

Without an IP address, your devices wouldn't be able to communicate with the websites you want to look at, and you wouldn't be able to browse the internet.

VPN services hide the IP addresses on the devices you use with the VPN and replace them with IP addresses from one of their servers, which can be located anywhere in the world. So if you're in the US but are connected to a VPN server in Europe, ISPs will see the VPN's European server's IP address instead of your device's.



Can't ISPs track my browsing history through the VPN's IP address?

They could if you were the only user on that VPN server. But several users are usually using the same VPN IP address, so they can't determine whether a browsing history belongs to you, specifically. It's like searching for a needle in a stack of needles.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Trump and his White House have made some embarrassing spelling mistakes — here are the worst ones

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trump sign

President Donald Trump once said that he has "the best words." 

As it turns out, many of those words are misspelled.

Since Trump won the presidency in November, he and his team have published a surprising number of official communications that contain typos, spelling errors, and word misusages. 

Here are some of the most famous examples:

"Unpresidented"

President Trump's most infamous typo occurred in December, when he described the Chinese seizure of a US Navy drone as an "unpresidented act."

After the spelling miscue was widely mocked online, Trump deleted the tweet and replaced it with a correctly spelled version four hours later.

 



"Honered to serve"

Trump's presidency got off to a rocky start, orthographically speaking. Just a day after assuming the office, the president tweeted that he was "honered to serve you, the great American People, as your 45th President of the United States!"

After Twitter users not-so-kindly pointed out the botched spelling of "honored," Trump deleted the message and reposted it with the correct spelling.



"No challenge is to great"

Trump's official inauguration poster contained a glaring usage mistake, albeit one that plenty of English speakers struggle with.

"No dream is too big, no challenge is to great," the text on the poster read, superimposed over a picture of a beaming Trump.

It should have said "no challenge is too great." The fact that the first part of the sentence contains the correct too suggests this mistake may have been a simple typo. Nevertheless, the blunder was roundly criticized, and reflected poorly on Trump's inexperienced team.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The best time to book hotel rooms in 30 cities around the world

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Cape Town South Africa

The INSIDER Summary:

  • You can save up to 35% on hotels if you book them at the right time.
  • African and Caribbean hotels are best booked within four months of your trip.
  • In North, Central, and South America, within three months is best.
  • In the Middle East and South Pacific, book within two months.


Planning a summer getaway? If you prefer hotels to homestays, you can save up to 35% on your reservation if you make it at just the right time.

TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site, rounded up the best times to book hotels in 30 different cities around the world.

Here's when to book your hotel room to get the lowest price of the season.

Bangkok, Thailand: Book within six months for 19% savings

Average summer hotel rate: $63/night 



Barcelona, Spain: Book three to nine months out for 33% savings

Average summer hotel rate: $199/night



Beijing, China: Book two to three months out for 17% savings

Average summer hotel rate: $102/night 



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20 celebrities who've ran into trouble with the IRS

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Wesley Snipes

It's tax season, and hopefully you're taking the time to do your taxes to get your tax refund and remain in the good graces of the dreaded IRS.

But if you make some mistakes or ignore them altogether you won't be alone. The financial lives of celebrities are complicated, often involving many different streams of income. Here are 21 celebrities who haven't been able to handle that and ran into trouble with the IRS themselves.

Nicolas Cage once owed the IRS $14 million after buying a castle, a pyramid tombstone, and a bunch of reptiles.

The national treasure he is, Nicolas Cage's lavish spending habits are famous. He owns a pyramid tombstone for himself in New Orleans, a castle in England, lots of reptiles, and once beat Leonardo DiCaprio in a bidding war over a $276,000 Tyrannosaurus skull, which he later had to return.

He may have not been able to afford it all. Cage admitted to owing $14 million to the IRS in 2010, but paid off more than $6 million of it at once in 2012. That might explain why he takes on almost any role he sees.



Martha Stewart claimed she didn't have to pay taxes on two homes because they were being renovated.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Martha Stewart went through an array of legal troubles, dodging taxes on New York real estate and being sentenced to five months in prison for involvement in an insider trading scheme (she also was sentenced to five months of house arrest and two years of probation).

"Although she conceded that she owned a large, shingled house and a guest cottage on Lily Pond Lane, in East Hampton, New York, and an apartment in Manhattan, she claimed that neither was a 'permanent place of abode' as defined by the tax law, because both were undergoing extensive renovations and were uninhabitable during the years in question, 1991 and 1992,"wrote James B. Stewart (no relation) in the New Yorker.

The law didn't agree. She ended up paying $220,000 in property taxes and addition penalties to the state of New York.



Charlie Sheen reportedly had to rescue Lindsay Lohan from the IRS.

Lohan has had chronic tax issues; the IRS and the state of California reportedly chased her down for unpaid federal taxes for three years straight. On one occasion, the IRS seized her bank accounts before Charlie Sheen rescued her and paid off $100,000 that she owed.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

5 reasons Nintendo is discontinuing its ridiculously popular $60 game console, the NES Classic

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When Nintendo released a $60 miniaturized version of its beloved Nintendo Entertainment System in November, people went bananas. The console sold out everywhere and quickly became the must-have holiday gift for millions of people around the world.

NES Classic Edition

The NES Classic Edition continues to be an elusive beast nearly half a year later. And as of Thursday afternoon, it's a collector's item — Nintendo officially discontinued the NES.

Here's the wording straight from the horse's mouth, provided to IGN by Nintendo:

"Throughout April, [Nintendo of America] territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that, we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product."

So! Why in the world would Nintendo discontinue one of its most popular products in years? There are a few reasons, and you're probably not going to like any of them.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo has officially discontinued the NES Classic, its wildly popular $60 game console that's sold out everywhere

1. The NES Classic Edition was never intended to be a product — rather, a commercial.

Nintendo has been in the dumps for the past few years:

• Its latest console, the Wii U, had been a flop.

• Its portable console, the 3DS, was fading.

• With few exceptions — "Super Mario Maker," for instance — Nintendo's stable of hit franchises was stagnating.

In so many words, Nintendo, a company that once dominated the video game market internationally, was fading from relevance and losing to its competition. The NES Classic Edition was an amazing way to at once remind people of their love for Nintendo and break back into mainstream attention.

It's a box that looks identical to a miniaturized NES console — Nintendo's most iconic game console — and comes with all your favorite classics ("Super Mario Bros.,""The Legend of Zelda," etc.). More important, it's just $60. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and low cost.

If you get one before production ends this month, you're thinking about Nintendo (and maybe buying that new Nintendo Switch console that you keep hearing good things about?). If you can't find one, you're still thinking about Nintendo (and maybe buying that new Nintendo Switch console that you keep hearing good things about?).

Either way, Nintendo managed to put its brand back in the spotlight. That was the point.



2. Nintendo has a history of creating collector's items. As of now, the NES Classic Edition is a collector's item.

Nintendo has some of the most serious, dedicated fans of any company in entertainment — rivaling the likes of Marvel and Disney. These are the kind of fans who get tattooed, who name their pets and children after Nintendo game characters, who begrudgingly buy their fifth or sixth copy of "Super Mario World" on yet another new piece of Nintendo hardware.

I should know. I'm one of these people.

And the NES Classic Edition, while a commercial for Nintendo itself, is a gushing love letter aimed at Nintendo's most serious fans. It's no surprise it's available only for a limited time — if everyone could get it, it wouldn't be a collector's item.

This is, of course, driving up resale costs and frustrating the hell out of people who can't find the system. But that's how artificial supply constraint works.



3. Nintendo has a new console to sell that costs much more than $60 — that's a much bigger risk — that it wants you to pay attention to: the Nintendo Switch.

If people are busy buying the NES Classic Edition, they're unlikely to rush out to buy another new Nintendo game console anytime soon. At least that's what Nintendo is betting on, and it likely has data to back up the assertion.

It's no mistake that the Switch launched five months after the NES Classic Edition, in early March. If the Switch and the NES Classic Edition had both launched last holiday season, the hype for the mini NES Classic Edition would've surely overshadowed that for the Switch.

That's an especially important point: The Switch is Nintendo's future. It's the console that Nintendo is betting the next five to 10 years on.

The NES Classic Edition is a short-term profit with no extendability — you can't buy games for it, nor can you download them. It's a one-and-done revenue generator for Nintendo. The Switch is an ongoing revenue generator for Nintendo. That's a tremendously important difference.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The best lightning cables you can buy for your iPhone

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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.

TL;DR We've charged our iPhones with dozens of lightning cables over the years to find the best ones. The durable Anker PowerLine lightning cable is a cut above the rest.

Anker lightning cable 4x3

Anyone who has ever owned an iPhone loves to hate Apple's lightning cables. The charging cables that come with your iPhone or iPad don't usually last too long, and you end up needing more than one lightning cable at home anyway. 

Luckily, the internet is full of great lightning charging cables to suit your every need. Whether you need an extra long cord, a super short one, or the most durable one in the world, there's a lightning cable for you out there.

However, there are lots of cheap lightning cables that aren't MFi certified by Apple, and many of them are dangerous or ineffective. You should always buy MFi-certified lightning cords for your own safety, so we've rounded up the very best Apple-approved lightning cables we've tested over the years. 

Although the Anker PowerLine is our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Native Union Night cable, the Ventev ChargeSync cable, the Fuse Chicken Titan cable, and the AmazonBasics cable

SEE ALSO: The 8 iPhone and iPad accessories I use every day

DON'T MISS: These are the 5 cables you should always have spares of

The best lightning cable overall

Why you'll love it: The Anker PowerLine Lightning cable is the best cord for most people with its sturdy design, fast charging speed, and fair price point.

When it comes to lightning cables, you can't beat Anker's PowerLine lightning cables. These cables have it all: They're fast to charge your iPhone or sync data, they're durable, and they're affordable.

The cable is strengthened with Kevlar and the stress points near the lightning charger and the USB connector are reinforced for added durability. They're slightly wider than the connectors on Apple's cable, but the Anker cable should fit most iPhone cases.

In testing, Anker bent the PowerLine cables more than 5,000 times to ensure that they last. The company also offers an 18-month warranty and it has a great reputation for following through when users have problems.

Anker's PowerLine lightning cables come with a Velcro tie to help you wrangle up any extra cord length you don't need. It also makes traveling with your lightning cable easier. You can get the cable in black, white, blue, red, or gray. 

User reviews are very positive, and tech reviewers agree that Anker makes excellent cables for a very reasonable price. Digital Trends, Best Products, and The Wirecutter give Anker high marks.

Anker's lineup of PowerLine lightning cables is so good that The Wirecutter recommends every single length option as the best buy in its guide. PowerLine cables come in 1-foot, 3-foot, 6-foot, and 10-foot lengths to suit everyone's needs. We can't help but agree that Anker makes the best lightning cables you can buy for a great price.

Pros: Made from durable aramid fiber, lots of lengths, 18-month warranty, fast charging, reinforced stress points, and it's MFi certified by Apple

Cons: None

Buy the 1-foot Anker PowerLine Lightning cable on Amazon for $8.99

Buy the 3-foot Anker PowerLine Lightning cable on Amazon for $7.99

Buy the 6-foot Anker PowerLine Lightning cable on Amazon for $10.99

Buy the 10-foot Anker PowerLine Lightning cable on Amazon for $13.99



The best cheap lightning cable

Why you'll love it: The AmazonBasics 3-foot lightning cable is the cheapest cord on our list, but it's still excellent.

Sometimes you just need a cheap lightning cable for your iPhone. If you're not interested in paying a premium for your charging cable, Amazon has you covered with its no-frills AmazonBasics Apple Certified lightning cable.

Amazon offers three different lengths: four inches, three feet, and six feet. The neck next to the lightning cable is relatively thin, so it should fit into the cutout for the charging port for most iPhone cases. The ends are reinforced to improve durability, though, and Amazon says it put the cable through 4,000 95-degree bend tests. The AmazonBasics cable even comes with a one-year limited warranty.

Unlike most cheap lightning cables, you can count on the AmazonBasics cable to work with your iPhone or iPad, because it's MFi certified by Apple. That's rare for cheap cables, and it's incredibly important — uncertified third-party cables can be dangerous and result in charging problems or even damage to your iPhone. If money is a concern, buy this cable instead.

User reviews on Amazon are positive, and sites like Lifewire, Best Products, and Digital Trends all recommend the AmazonBasics cable. It comes in black and white, and you can get 3-foot, 6-foot, or 4-inch lengths. Amazon offers two packs of the 3-and-6-foot cords.

Pros: It's super cheap, extra protection at stress points, passed a 4,000 bend test, it's MFi certified by Apple, and it has a one-year warranty

Cons: It only comes in black or white

Buy the AmazonBasics 3-foot lightning cable on Amazon for $6.49

Buy the AmazonBasics 6-foot lightning cable on Amazon for $7.99

Buy the two-pack AmazonBasics 3-foot lightning cable on Amazon for $11.98

Buy the two-pack AmazonBasics 6-foot lightning cable on Amazon for $15.98

Buy the AmazonBasics 4-inch lightning cable on Amazon for $5.99



The best long lightning cable

Why you'll love it: The 10-foot Native Union Night cable makes charging your iPhone super easy when you need a long, strong, stable lightning cable.

If you've ever struggled with a short cord, you'll absolutely love Native Union's weighted Night cable. Not only is it 10 feet long, it's also durable and has a weighted knot that keeps it from pulling your iPhone off the table while it's charging.

Native Union makes its lightning cables out of braided nylon, which is strong and durable. It also means that the cable doesn't tangle as much. There are four layers of material protecting the cable's wires: braided nylon, a TPE rubber sleeve, a tinned copper braid, and a grounding layer. Inside all those layers are wires that are also protected and reinforced — some of them even have Kevlar fiber inside.

Native Union is so confident in its lightning cables that it put them through a 10,000 bend test to see whether they would break or fray, and the cables survived. The company also offers a limited lifetime warranty, so you know this cable is built to last.

I've used the Native Union Night cable for the past three years as my main charger, and it has never let me down. I've bent it all sorts of ways, and it hasn't frayed at all. I typically use the weight to keep my iPhone on my nightstand while I charge it, but it's easy to adjust when I need the weight anchoring the cord in another place. The cable comes in several fun colors, too, so it looks nice in any home. 

The Night cable is also highly rated by users on Amazon and Native Union's website. Many tech publications also recommend Native Union's Night cable. 

Pros: It's 10-feet long, weighted so it doesn't fall, covered in sturdy woven fabric, 12-month warranty, MFi certified by Apple, and it bends but doesn't break

Cons: Expensive

Buy the black and white 10-foot weighted Native Union Night cable on Amazon for $39.99

Buy the marine blue 10-foot weighted Native Union Night cable on Amazon for $39.99

Buy the taupe 10-foot weighted Native Union Night cable on Amazon for $39.99

Buy the nautical 10-foot weighted Native Union Night cable on Amazon for $39.99



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15 overlay maps that will change the way you see the world

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Mercator Projection Map

Maps are all imperfect because they portray the globe in just two dimensions. Most maps, like the Mercator projection, distort the size or shape of land masses, which skews our perceptions of how big continents and countries are compared to one another.

When you consider square mileage though, a whole new world appears. Inspired by this map of Africa's true size from German graphic designer Kai Krause, we created 15 map overlays to open your eyes to some real geography. 







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These matchmakers charge guys up to $35,000 to be sent on dates — here are their top spots in New York

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The Bevy co-founders at The Lately bar

Over the past three years, matchmakers Greta Tufvesson and Nikki Lewis have set up thousands of dates on both the West and East Coast. They say their matchmaking business, The Bevy, has a 95% success rate thanks to an extensive vetting process and a strong inner drive to connect people.

"We're connectors,"Tufvesson recently told Business Insider. "We're introducing people to others that they wouldn't necessarily meet on their own."

The Bevy charges their male clients from $25,000 to $35,000 to find a match, though women can join for free. With Tufvesson based out of Los Angeles and Lewis in New York City, the two are constantly flying back and forth to meet face to face with potential clients. While their clients' professions vary between doctors, lawyers, hedge fund managers, screenwriters, event planners, and more, they all have one thing in common: they're successful.

"Our clients are really smart, intelligent, and successful," Lewis said. Face-to-face interviews help the two weed out those who aren't seriously ready for a "meaningful relationship" or those who have unrealistic expectations. And the same goes for the women: "It's a rigorous process," Lewis said of the vetting.

So far, The Bevy has been responsible for more than two dozen marriages, but the founders say they don't use that as a measure of success. "It's putting people in meaningful relationships," Tufvesson said. 

The two dished on their favorite spots to send clients out for dates in New York City. 

SEE ALSO: We shadowed a bunch of Wall Streeters during an early-morning training session for the most intense competition out there — here's what it was like

Wallflower, West Village

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"I've never set up a bad date at Wallflower," Lewis said. "It's just perfect — kind of low-key, but a high-end neighborhood establishment." 

 



Flinders Lane, East Village

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"We [suggest] a lot of places where you can have drinks and order dinner if you want to, but it's not necessarily like a formal sit-down dinner," Tufvesson said. With a bar as well as a dinner menu, Flinders Lane fits that bill. 



The Soho Grand Hotel, SoHo

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"The Soho Grand is great because you get those couches if you get there early,"Tufvesson said. "[For a first date] it's about having space and being able to talk to each other, so we don't suggest a lot of crazy busy places." 



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Incredible images of Los Angeles before it was a city

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Los Angeles 1886

Long before Hollywood's stars descended on Los Angeles, the city was a modest farming settlement inhabited by thousands of Native Americans.

Now home to approximately 3.9 million residents and counting, Los Angeles has clearly changed a lot since then.

Here are the maps, illustrations, and old-time photographs that show the journey of the City of Angels.

SEE ALSO: A $40 million mini megacity with landmarks from 50 countries is on display in Times Square

The Chumash people, a seafaring group of Native Americans, were the first to settle in the Los Angeles area around 9,000 BC.

Source: National Park Service



In 1542, Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo journeyed along California's coast. He called the city's present-day San Pedro Bay the “Bay of Smokes,” due to rising smoke from fires made by Native Americans.

Source: Los Angeles Almanac



When the first Spanish missionaries arrived in 1602, there were approximately 22,000 Chumash living there. But it wasn't until over a century later that Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola founded LA's first official settlement in 1769.

Source: Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians



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Here's what life is like in the world's most crowded cities

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dhaka

Urbanization is taking over the world.

By the year 2050, 70% of the world will live in cities, according to the Population Reference Bureau.

One of the most striking ways to see this growth is through the lens of population density, or the statistical measure of a city's congestion.

The most population-dense cities grapple with unique challenges. They fight for resources, like housing and personal space, and they put infrastructure to the test.

Here's just a taste of what life is like.

SEE ALSO: Manila is the most crowded city in the world — here’s what life is like

This is New York City, the densest city in the US. One square mile contains more than 27,000 people. Claustrophobic as it may seem, it barely stacks up against the world's most crowded cities.

Source: NYC Population



Consider Manila. With a population density of 107,000 people per square mile, it's the most crowded city in the world.



Manila's fertility rate is 3.1 children per woman. Experts predict the population will double by 2025, despite fears the city's infrastructure can't sustain the boom.

Source: World Population Review



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Sears' crumbling former headquarters have been transformed into affordable housing — take a look (SHLD)

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old sears building

Two years ago, Sears' former headquarters were a mix of dilapidated and abandoned buildings.  

Today, those buildings are a growing community hub. This 55-acre complex, formerly the main offices of Sears, Roebuck and Co., is now home to a mix of affordable housing units, community centers, and a high school. 

Sears tested its products and printed the famous catalog in this complex in Homan Square, a neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. But in 1974, the company moved to Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), and these buildings were left deserted for 30 years.

In that time, Sears went from being on top of the world to being one of the most distressed American brands.

Since then, developers have been working on transforming the brand's first home. Keep scrolling to see what it looked like then, and what it's looking like now. 

SEE ALSO: Retailers are closing thousands of stores — but there could be a bigger problem hiding in the distance

This photo, taken in 1910, shows the original Sears, Roebuck & Co. complex. At the time, Sears was America's largest mail-order catalog company, and it ran its entire operation from this complex.

Source: Library of Congress



When Sears moved locations in 1974, these buildings were abandoned for the next 30 years.



In 2011, photographer Martin Gonzalez took a series of photos that show the inside of Sears' crumbling former HQ.



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A Belgium chocolate shop makes these stunning sculptures with a robot

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chocolate 3d

Layer by layer, 0.2 millimeters at a time, a specialized printing machine at Belgian chocolate shop Miam Factory applies melted chocolate to shape a three-dimensional object.

Miam Factory — French for "yum"— was spun off three months ago from nearby University of Liege's Smart Gastronomy Lab, which researches technology in the food and beverages sector, and operates four specialized 3D printers.

Check out the company's edible sculptures below.

SEE ALSO: A $40 million mini megacity with landmarks from 50 countries is on display in Times Square

Miam Factory produces 3D-printed chocolate objects and also engraves chocolates and macaroons with messages or logos for clients, such as nearby brewery Bertinchamps.



The brewery wanted a unique prize for the winners of an Easter egg hunt and ordered chocolate beer bottles.



The chocolate is ready to eat straight after printing, which can take from 10 minutes to three hours.



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How the White House Easter Egg Roll became one of the oldest White House traditions in history

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Easter Egg Roll WH

On Easter Monday the hottest ticket in Washington D.C. is the annual Easter Egg Roll. 

Washingtonian families have spent the day on the South Lawn of the White House rolling and playing with their dyed Easter eggs since President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the gates to the Executive Mansion in 1878.

Since then, the affair has become one of the most high-profile events that takes place at the White House each year. In an interview with The New York TimesMelinda Bates, who organized eight years of Clinton-era Easter Egg Rolls said, "The White House and the first lady are judged on how well they put it on." 

While President Trump still has a few days left to put the finishing touches on his first Egg Roll, Americans across the country are wondering how this year's event will stack up against it's predecessors. Here's a look at White House Egg Rolls past.  

President Hayes started the widely successful White House tradition in 1878 after Congress banned children from rolling their eggs on Capitol Hill. The Evening Star reported, “Driven out of the Capitol grounds, the children advanced on the White House grounds to-day and rolled eggs down the terraces back of the Mansion, and played among the shrubbery to their heart’s content.”

Source: The Evening Star



The children loved rolling their eggs and themselves down the “Jefferson Mounds” on the South Lawn originally landscaped by President Thomas Jefferson himself.

Source: National Archives



In 1887 President Grover Cleveland began inviting children into the East Room of the White House, ruining several rugs in the process. In fact, the Washington Post described the White House floors as “ground full of freshly smashed hard-boiled egg and broken egg shells.”

Source: History.com



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Check out all the cool cars we saw at the New York Auto Show

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Cool Stuff 2017 NY Auto Show

The New York Auto Show opens to the public on Friday and runs through April 24.

By and large, New York is a luxury SUV show, because that's what sells well in the Northeast.

But the Big Apple has long had an unlikely love affair with cars of all sorts. So while I strolled around the show floor over two media preview days, I ran into quite a few non-SUV-ish things that were interesting.

Check 'em out:

SEE ALSO: Cadillac brought its spectacular new race car to the New York Auto Show

The show takes place at the Javits Center, on the banks of the Hudson River.



Toyota brought it's Make America Great Again Camry — made greatly by Americans in Kentucky.



But Toyota also brought an M&M stock car ...



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How The Rock went from failed football player to the highest-paid actor in Hollywood

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the fate of the furious the rockDwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been on an incredible run of late, making him one of the most bankable stars ever.

Franchises like "Fast and the Furious" and "San Andreas" are the latest hits that have brought his lifetime worldwide box-office gross to over $5.9 billion, and coming up he's got "Baywatch" and "Jumanji."

He's also stepping into the superhero world in the near future, as he's signed on to be Doc Savage.

That's not even mentioning his other endeavors like a YouTube channel, a production company, and endorsement deals.

Johnson became the highest-paid actor in the world last year, according to Forbes, surpassing Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.

With "The Fate of the Furious" hitting theaters on Friday, and looking to make box-office dollars as over-the-top as its stunts, here we look back on the incredible career of "The Rock" from a failed football run and WWE to bona fide movie star:

Frank Pallotta and Mallory Schlossberg contributed to an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: Here's the most popular music artist in every state, according to Pandora

Before he was "The Rock," Dwayne Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California.

Source: Biography



Wrestling is in Johnson's blood. His father, Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson, was a member of the first African-American tag-team champions, and his grandfather Peter Maivia was one of the first Samoan wrestlers.

Source: YouTube



Johnson didn't go straight to wrestling. His first sport was football. After starring in high school, he played in college for the Miami Hurricanes. Over his tenure at the school, Johnson started just once but appeared in 39 games and had 77 tackles, and he was a part of the 1991 national championship team.

Source: ESPN



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Wedding planners reveal the 13 biggest mistakes couples make when they plan their wedding

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Bride and groomThe INSIDER Summary:

  • Planning a wedding can put a huge amount of pressure on engaged couples.
  • INSIDER spoke to several wedding planners about the biggest mistakes couples make before they get married.
  • Culprits include not setting a budget first, not considering guests enough, and not knowing how much certain things should really be costing you.


There's so much to consider when it comes to planning a wedding that it's easy to mess up at least one thing on your checklist.

To take the pressure off, INSIDER spoke to a number of wedding planners with years of experience to find out the most common mistakes couples make as they plan their big day — and their best advice for how to avoid making them.

Here's everything you're probably doing wrong, and what you should be doing instead.

You're not thinking about the guest list before choosing a venue.

Many couples are so excited to choose their venue that they forget the most important factor when making that decision: their guests.

Amy Shey Jacobs of Chandelier Events told INSIDER that it's crucial to "think of your guest list before you go looking for a venue," and make the effort to "get everyone's name on a guest list." That way, you and your partner know roughly how many people you have to accommodate.

Overestimating how many invited guests will RSVP "no" is another more common mistake wedding planner Amy Katz, of Amy Katz Events, has seen. Make sure you only invite the number of people you can comfortably afford to budget for, or you might end up regretting it later.



You didn't set a budget first.

Many couples make the mistake of "not having a budget in the first place, and trying to figure that out as [they] go," according to Jacobs, who said this only causes "chaos" in the lead-up to the wedding.

"Don't leave the money discussion 'til the end," she said. "You want to understand how much you have before you go shopping... Once you have that structure it allows you to figure out your priorities."

Katz says that it's important not to underestimate the cost of a wedding at this stage, either. Be realistic — think about how much you can spend, and not how much you think you can stretch.



You're letting your budget hold you back.

Jacobs said that many couples feel as though their "budget is holding [them] back from having the wedding that [they] truly want."

But it doesn't have to be this way. "You can have a beautiful wedding on a budget," Jacobs said, "if you prioritize [spending your money on the most important aspects of your wedding] or you think of creative ways to make it happen."

Celebrity wedding planner Andrea Freeman, of Andrea Freeman Events, suggests that couples on a budget with a big guest list should consider having their wedding on a farm. "You could have a wedding during the day on a farm," she said. "You can fit so many people in the space and the food might cost less."



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Here are all the cool cars that appear in 'The Fate of the Furious'

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fate of the furious cars

When "The Fate of the Furious" hits theaters Friday, all eyes will be on Dom's crew and their fast cars. "Fate" introduces plenty of shiny new vehicles for Dom, Letty, Roman, and the rest of the Fast family to destroy. 

While you'll see several flashy cars race through New York City, from a classic Corvette and Lamborghini, many of the cars were modified to accommodate the winter conditions and stunts when the crew filmed in Iceland. 

Universal released a list of several of the cars you'll see in the movie in its production notes, while the duo from auto series Mighty Car Mods went to "Fast and Furious" car coordinator Dennis McCarthy's garage in Southern California to check out a bunch of the cars individually. 

Keep reading to check out the cars you'll see in "The Fate of the Furious."

"The Fate of the Furious" kicks things off with a race in Cuba where Dom's opponent drives a 1956 Ford Fairlane.

Dom's told the car is the fastest on the island, but it's no match for him even as he's driving a rundown bucket of bolts. 



Letty races through New York City in a 1966 Corvette.

A lot of the cars needed to be restructured for the film because they received it rusted.



She switches cars in the movie for the Rally Fighter.

Letty drives along with Ramsay from "Furious 7."



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