LG's newest phone is a giant –– the 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro. 

It has a lot of powerful specs under the hood, plus a really sharp screen that can play full HD video. It's the best device you can buy in the phablet (part phone, part tablet) category and you can get it for $200 from AT&T.

You can read the full review of the Optimus G Pro right here and check out our gallery of hands-on photos below.

The LG Optimus G Pro is a giant Android phone with a 5.5-inch display.

The resolution is very sharp. It even has a higher resolution than the iPhone 5. It can also play full 1080p HD video.

Here's a look at the 13 MP camera.

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Boy was I amazed when I saw the Marine Corps' deadliest division had an instagram account.

(We didn't have no instagram in the old Corps.)

Even more surprising was that not all the photos were of training events. It's easy to miss the forest for the trees in that case — all that shooting and scooting makes for easiest photo-ops.

Instead, here you'll get a chance to see a bit of every day life for America's Marine infantry.

The duty belts indicate that these gents are standing duty, likely 24-hour duty. They've probably been hemmed up by a public affairs Marine and told, "Okay, fellas, look happy for a second."

Sports teams around Camp Pendelton's Southern California region regularly honor the Marines.

This would actually be considered part of earning the paycheck for Marines, who adhere to somewhat strict body composition and fitness standards.

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If you want to learn about "community," you'd do well to pay attention to Reddit.

Sure, the site is news aggregator with thousands of different communities across all types of interests. But there's more to it than that.

When there's a cause that needs to be tackled, Reddit has shown time and time again that it's ready, willing, and able to step up to the plate.

From political and legal issues to the stuff that's just plain fun, here's a look at what Reddit community members have done for each other.

A schoolteacher received $16,000 worth of textbooks.

One user, a schoolteacher, couldn't get enough textbooks for his students. The Reddit community raised over $16,000 to buy 125 books for his classes.

Rob Zerban got campaign donations to run against Paul Ryan in the House of Representatives.

Rob Zerban was running against Paul Ryan for the House of Representatives in 2012 and ran an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit. It got a lot of attention and Redditors ending up donating more than $5,000 to his campaign.

Zerban's bid for the House was ultimately unsuccessful, but he's already putting together an exploratory committee to look into another run.

Redditors fed the Boston police department in the wake of the recent bombing.

It's true – Redditors ponied up the cash to send lots and lots of pizza to law enforcement officials as they investigated the Boston Marathon bombing.

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Apple is currently in a mad dash to get the next version of iOS, the software the powers the iPhone and iPad, ready for developers.

We've put together a wish-list of what we want to see Apple do with iOS. As good as iOS is, it can be much better.

The iPhone's software could be easier to use, and more informative.

iMessage needs to be much more stable.

Apple's iMessage is unreliable. It goes down periodically wreaking havoc with iPhone users' text messaging. So, first step is to stop it from ever going down.

It's also quite wonky. If you turn off iMessage, the iPhone can't really figure it out. So, friends send you iMessages, but you miss them.

Siri needs to be entirely rethought.

Siri just doesn't work. In the rare cases it is useful, it's slow to respond.

If Apple really wants to create a "personal assistant" it should look at what Google does with Google Now. Google Now offers up cards of information before you even ask. It has the scores of your favorite teams, the local weather, estimates of how long it will take you to get home from where you're at, and even information on packages you're expecting.

Google does all this by combing through your data, which is a bit creepy, and very un-Apple-like. The idea is solid though. Apple should think about how to make Siri a highly personalized application that you check first thing every day.

Search stinks.

Apple's search in Mail and in Maps is terrible. It needs to build a better search engine so people can sift through all of their emails that flow through the Mail app. It also needs to make Maps search 100 times better.

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Google Glass isn't even officially out yet, but apps for the Internet-connected eyewear are popping up all over the web. 

Google officially only offers five apps: Google+, Gmail, Google Now, The New York Times, and Path.

But that's not stopping early Glass adopters from creating their own apps. 

"Google hasn't provided an official channel for app discovery (yet - there's a lot of speculation about the role of Google Play)," Chris Maddern, a Google Glass Explorer and creator of AppsForGlass, told Business Insider via email. "And as we've seen in mobile it's one of the big challenges with any new, growing platform and so we want to help with that right from the beginning - who knows if there'll be a need for the platform in a year once Google has a comprehensive distribution and discovery strategy."

So for now, Glass Explorers like Maddern are stepping up to provide easy discovery of apps for early Google Glass users. Other than AppsForGlass, there's a handful of other websites aimed to make it easier to find apps for Glass. 

Official or unofficial, all of the apps are free and don't include any advertisements. Most of the apps are pretty easy to install through Google's Mirror API, though some require a bit more technical expertise.

Fullscreen BEAM app is the first YouTube app for Google Glass.

BEAM is the first app that lets you upload video content directly to YouTube. After it's uploaded, you can obviously either keep it private or auto-share the video to Twitter.

You can see how it works here.

Status: Unofficial

The New York Times app is one of the first official apps for Glass.

The New York Times app for Glass sends breaking news alerts, hourly news updates, and reads article summaries aloud to you.

Status: Official

The Path app provides seamless sharing between Google Glass and the mobile-only social network.

With Path's app for Google Glass, users can share messages, photos, and moments directly to Path. Path, just like The New York Times, is one of the first official Google-approved apps for Glass. 

Status: Official

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Peter Thiel, famous for being Facebook's first investor and the co-founder and former CEO at PayPal, is giving 20 teenagers $100,000 to drop out of college. 

Here's the catch: They have to start a company.

During the two-year program, fellows cannot work or be enrolled in school. Instead, they receive mentorship from the Thiel Foundation's network of tech entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, futurists, and innovators. 

In the last two years, Thiel fellows have launched over 30 companies, and raised more than $34 million from outside investors. 

“When we created the fellowship more than two years ago, our intention was to help a small number of creative people learn and accomplish more than they might have otherwise," Thiel said in a statement. "To their great credit, they have exceeded our expectations, and inspired people of all ages by reminding them that qualities like intellectual curiosity, grit, and determination are more important than a degree in determining success in life.”

For some of these young entrepreneurs, it's not their first company. 

Note: All descriptions are courtesy of the Thiel Foundation. 

Daniel Zulla is working on a secure computing architecture.

Age: 19

Hometown: Regensburg, Germany

Daniel Zulla is a software engineer who is about to introduce a secure computing architecture used for servers and desktop computers alike.

Darren Lim wants to change how we interact with technology.

Age: 19

Hometown: Singapore

Darren Lim came to love scientific innovation while studying in China, and remains a consumer at heart who is obsessed with cutting-edge gadgets. He is currently working on a startup that focuses on how we interact with technology.

Delian Asparaouhov is changing the face of health care.

Age: 19

Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT

Delian Asparaouhov wants to help improve health care. As a Thiel fellow, he will work on leveraging technology to help manage disease and improve patient outcomes. 

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The best advertising can take
a product that's not all that awesome and make it seem extremely appealing, even within the confines of a humble classified listing.

Mashable noted a great example from freelance advertising copywriter, Ryan Kutscher, who wrote this  passionate, 750-word ad for a beaten-up, 12-year-old bicycle that begins, "Grab a paper bag, breathe into it and calm your ass down. You're hyperventilating because you ain't never seen a deal like this before ..."

By the time you arrive at the final line, "Now buy this bitchin' ass bike," you can't imagine doing anything but.

Here are some more awe-inspiring Craigslist ads.

This multi-page collage for a 1999 Toyota Camry rivalled the Bayeux Tapestry in the scale of its ambition. Scroll down ...

Click here >

This sexy father-daughter car ad will turn your stomach.

At first glance, Kim Ridley's pics of model Lexxa, 20, standing legs splayed — with the car on view in the distance between her thighs — look like many CraigsList ads that use sex to sell.

Until you learn that Kim is Lexxa's father. And, as we noted last year, that he's not apologizing for his photos.

This photographer's retouching skills are just $2 per photo.

Click here >

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Brands are finding out if six seconds is enough time to connect with consumers as they forge ahead on Twitter's latest social platform: Vine.

When the video sharing app launched in January, it took marketers less than 24 hours to check it out. Urban Outfitters, for example, declared that it made "the most important Vine you'll ever see," of small dogs.

Since then, Vine has climbed to the top of the U.S. App Store's list of free apps, and brands have gotten better at making more complex, engaging, and relevant content. Even the White House got on Vine.

Playstation reinvented the baseball card; Lowes is teaching awesome lifehacks; Doritos is bringing Mariachi to the next level.

Just like 140 characters forces companies to be concise, six seconds makes advertisers streamline their creative work into engaging bites.

We've collected the most impressive and innovative Vine campaigns to show the platform's potential.

When Vine launched January 25, it took brands less than 24 hours to jump on the platform. Urban Outfitters was the first to put out what it calls "the most important Vine you'll ever see."

There are a couple ways to look at this Vine. The first thing that comes to mind is that showing random videos of small dogs has little to nothing to do with the retailer.

Dogs, however, are an Internet favorite. If Urban wants to gain followers, which will be useful when it does produce more brand-specific Vine content, the fun one-off dog posts could be a good way to reel them in. Furthermore, the randomness of the post speaks to Urban's irreverent voice.

That very first day of Vine, Urban Outfitters also paid tribute to Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

The two companies have had partnerships in the past. Urban has collaborated with Pabst to make clothing and even beer soap.

Sometimes brands try to cram too much into the 6-second time slot.

American Apparel's office tour Vine just doesn't work.

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A new Tumblr that shows the most terrible listings on New York Craigslist's rooms/shares section is going viral.

"This blog is a product of the many months of frustration that comes with searching for decent, affordable housing in New York," explained Ryan, THE WORST ROOM Tumblr creator, in an email to Business Insider.

"I am originally from Kentucky and upon moving here 5 years ago I always wanted to find a comfortable place to call home, a place I could really settle into."

Click here to jump right to the awful apartments >

As a young freelance cinematographer, Ryan's budget is $1,000 a month, and even when he does find decent postings on Craigslist, they are either too expensive or no one responds to his emails, he said.

The rooms featured on the blog range in price from $300 to $1,900 a month, but they are all cramped, dirty, and plain awful-looking.

"I am very fortunate to have a car that was given to me by my grandmother that functions as my mobile closet," he told us. "I am also very grateful to have numerous friends that have let me sleep on their floors, couches, and beds until I find something worthwhile and affordable. I've still got the car as a backup in case I need to spend a night in it. It's more ideal than some of the places I find online."

The most awful listing he's seen so far on his search are a pair of bunk beds in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn. "The only thing more ridiculous than asking someone to pay $500/month to share a bed is asking someone else to pay $600/month to share the same bed," he wrote.

We've selected some of the worst of the worst from Ryan's Tumblr. You can see them all at THE WORST ROOM.

Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn: “Looking for two roommates. Top bunk is $500 per month, bottom bunk is $600 per month.”

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, $850/a month: "Comes furnished with slightly used futon. Sheets included."

Park Slope, Brooklyn, $1,100/a month: “Must be OK with low ceilings.”

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For years, America has been the center of scientific and technological innovation for the entire species. 

When things are discovered, built, or innovated, it's done in America. 

That status could be at risk,  in large part due to the fact that the country is training outstandingly qualified people before promptly throwing them out for the rest of the world to scoop up. 

At the moment, a group of tech firms are trying to get Congress to fix that.

FWD.us — an advocacy group that is the brainchild of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and has the backing of several major players in tech — is advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, and particularly for reforming H-1B visas — temporary permits that allow high-skilled immigrants to work with a company for five years while applying for residency or a green card. 

One thing FWD.us and tech firms involved in advocacy say is that there aren't enough Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors to fill demand. 

That part isn't necessarily true. The issue isn't the shortage per se. The issue is the inefficiency and arbitrariness of the current system of high-tech visas.

We've assembled a series of charts to explain why this is so.

Before we get to the charts, there are four key points to take away from this presentation. First, there isn't really a shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors. We're not seeing the type of STEM wage inflation you'd expect to see in a true shortage.

Second, America is letting the world's best and brightest get an education here, but has failed in getting them to work here.

Third, American businesses have to contend with an unpredictable hiring process for talented international workers.

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Last Friday's surprisingly strong April jobs report and today's unexpected drop in initial unemployment claims were welcome developments in the beleaguered U.S. labor market.

However, the underlying details of the labor market continue to be troubling.

Last week, veteran economist David Rosenberg gave a lengthy 59-slide  presentation on the Federal Reserve's failed efforts to get the economy on track.

Much of the presentation focused on the dynamics of the U.S. workforce.

Rosenberg argued that despite the high unemployment rates, there's actually a shortage of qualified labor, which is resulting in labor hoarding.  Furthermore, there are signs that this is forcing wages to go up, which mean trouble for corporate profit margins.  This is ultimately bearish for stocks.

The unemployed are staying unemployed for much longer than usual.

Tens of millions of people are giving up and dropping out of the labor force.

As a result, we're running out of people to hire.

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This is the Brolly Umbrella.

Why We Love It: The Brolly Umbrella let's you text and email on your phone in the rain by keeping your fingers free. It's an average umbrella, except that the handle has finger holes lined with rubber to maximize comfort.

It comes in blue, black or green, and will stand up to any type of rainy and windy conditions.

Where To Buy: Available through the Brolly website and Target.

Cost: $15.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

SEE ALSO: This Handy Flask Looks Just Like An iPhone

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In the day and age of online swap meets and the ubiquity of reseller sites like Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy, there's hardly anything you can't get secondhand anymore.

But should you?

For some items, saving a few bucks by buying them secondhand isn't worth the potential safety or health risks involved.

We've put together a list of 17 products that you should always buy new.

Bike helmets

When it comes to your safety, you should never shop secondhand. Minor scratches or dings in helmets that you might be unable to spot right away can cause their safety rating to fall. 

Buying tip:According to Bicycling Magazine, some of the best bike helmets include the Giro Atmos, Louis Garneau Quartz and Bontrager Oracle.

Cribs

Cribs can stand a lot of abuse from cranky toddlers, but you want to make sure your children aren't put in danger by a potentially damaged bed. According to The New York Times, issues with unsafe cribs led to 150 deaths between 2007 and 2010.

Buying tip:Squidoo recently put together a list of the top ten baby cribs for 2013.

Laptops

Any small defect in a secondhand laptop will only get exacerbated over time. You also don't have the luxury of a warranty or customer service guarantee if you don't buy it new yourself.

Buying tip: If you are looking to buy something on the cheaper side, most retailers offer refurbished products that are still covered by warranties. And major electronics stores like Best Buy offer steep discounts on display models. Call around to ask beforehand. 

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Every earnings season, companies share the details of their financial performance.  Additionally, many managers will reveal what they are seeing and what they are expecting for the economy.

The view out of Q1 2013? 

Things have turned a corner, but it's still slow going. 

For instance, China is slowing down, but not so much that it will disrupt markets.

North America is looking great, especially in Mexico.

Among regions, it's really just the European Union that's really struggling — but even there, we may have bottomed out.

Consumer sentiment remains solid, even in the face of the sequester. And at least one company believes we'd be able to weather a pullback in dovish monetary policy.

Some companies are seeing scattered softness.

But overall, the snapshots indicate strength.

Swift Transportation says consumers are proving resilient.

"Our customers are much closer to the end consumers and their buying patterns than we are, so we rely pretty heavily on our customer feedback in this regard. They have indicated that customer sentiment is still pretty good in spite of all the macroeconomic noise, elimination of the payroll tax holiday, the sequestration, Europe, weather and et cetera.”

Source: Swift Earnings Call via Bloomberg

Though McDonald's says they're not necessarily eating out.

“The challenging economic environment in which we’re operating impacted our first quarter results. While there are mixed signs of a slow recovery in the U.S., significant headwinds persist, as consumer confidence continues to waver. Persistently high unemployment rates and ongoing austerity measures in Europe and soft macroeconomic conditions in APMEA, are pressuring consumer purchasing power, as well. And the informal eating out industry is either flat or declining in many markets around the world."

Source: McDonald's Earnings Call via Bloomberg

General Dynamics says effects from the sequester seem to be pretty muted.

“In general, we do not see sequester as a significant threat to 2013. Most of our sales are in our backlog." 

Source: General Dynamics Earnings Call via Bloomberg

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Hundreds of people from the Wall Street community gathered with military veterans and active duty service members last night on board the Intrepid on the Hudson River for a fundraiser to help stop soldier suicide.

The "A Night For Life" fundraiser benefitted Stop Soldier Suicide—a civilian not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing soldier suicide by bringing free mental health care to U.S. service members and veterans and raising awareness about soldier suicide.

Click to see photos from the event >

Stop Soldier Suicide was co-founded by Brian Kinsella, a former U.S. Army captain who will be joining Goldman Sachs.  He previously worked as an energy sector specialist at BNP Paribas.   

Every day, one active duty soldier and 22 veterans take their own lives. It's a growing epidemic and Kinsella believes that it's unacceptable.

"And in the active Army, the primary cause of death is not vehicular accidents or combat- it is suicide. In fact, more soldiers on active duty died by their own hand in 2012, than died in combat…Unacceptable," he said in a speech last night. 

The event was hosted by Derek Wallis, who previously worked at Soros Fund Management and now is the head trader at Marlowe LP. Wallis has been hosting these events on the Intrepid to benefit military veteran related non-profits for the last few years.  Sponsors of the event included, Knight Capital, Liquidnet and Brean.  

With tickets costing $150 and all proceeds going to the cause, guests were able to imbibe on cocktails from a four-hour long open bar, listen to music, participate in both live and silent auctions and dance the night away. 

It's estimated that more than 1,500 people were in attendance last night.  You can do the math, but it probably raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a very important cause. 

In case you missed it, we've included some highlights in the slides that follow. 

Here we are at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. The ship is a must-see and it's an excellent venue for a fundraiser.

There was four-hour open bar, live music, a DJ and dancing.

There was a mix of Wall Streeters in suits and ties and Marines in their dress blues.

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Instead of eating lunch at their desks, workers are going clubbing for an hour at daytime dance parties that are springing up in New York City and around the world.

The trend first started in Sweden with Lunch Beat, dreamed up by Molly Range, Forbes reported last year.

Range had envisioned an event reminiscent of "Fight Club" where white collar workers could go crazy in the middle of the day. “You don’t talk about your job at lunch beat,” she told Forbes. “If it’s your first dance at lunch beat, you have to dance.”

Unlike "Fight Club," though, everyone talks about Lunch Beat. The not-for-profit, $15 lunch dance parties have expanded to cities like Boston, Montreal, NYC, Seattle, and Vienna.

Culture website Flavorpill also throws a lunch party in New York City. Called "Lunch Break," and it has been growing in popularity since last summer, according to The New York Times.

The Flavorpill events take place on Fridays from 1-2 PM, and attendees get a drink ticket for a free cocktail of vodka and fruit punch, as well as a paper bag lunch with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple when they leave.

The NYT's Sheila Marikar attended a Lunch Break event in April, and wrote that the 9-to-5 workers danced to DJ-spun hip hop and electronic music as if it were 2 a.m. 

It might as well be. Most of the NYC mid-day parties take place at popular nightclubs, such as Marquee and The Standard's Le Bain. There's usually a live DJ, glow sticks, and wayfarers for guests to wear during the hour-long dance parities.

The only real differences are that no one's drunk, everyone's wearing their work clothes, and you will be back at your desk in an hour.

See Flavorpill's video from their party at Le Bain below.

DON'T MISS: The Design Firm Behind New York's Hottest Nightclubs

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Within hours of joining dating website Match.com, Martha Stewart already had more than 1,000 suitors hoping to meet her. Two of those lucky men got to meet the media mogul on the "Today" show this morning.

Stewart, who created a firestorm when she announced she would give online dating a shot in late April, told Matt Lauer that it was "difficult" to narrow down the field from thousands of men, and that she was "slightly apprehensive, but not nervous," about meeting the final two in person.

Both men are 68, divorced, and work out regularly. The first was Stan, a filmmaker who shoots independent features and commercials (including one of Martha for Kmart in the past) and lives in NYC. He brought her flowers on the show, and told Lauer that he has always liked Stewart.

The second bachelor, Larry, is an executive from New Jersey. He has similar interests to the lifestyle tycoon, like hiking, swimming, and philanthropy. He admitted he was worried contacting Stewart might make him seem like an opportunist, "and that's not me."

"None of these have been set up, none of this is fake," Stewart said to Lauer earlier in the segment. "And I just want everybody to know that, because I want other women in a similar situation to know that it can be done. I hope!"

It may not be "fake," but Stewart is certainly milking the publicity. Her website is asking people to vote on which of the two bachelors is right for her.

Watch the full "Today" show segment below. And scroll down to see "Saturday Night Live's" hilarious take on Stewart's online dating endeavors.

Here's the "Saturday Night Live" parody of Martha Stewart's Match.com profile.

DON'T MISS: Meet The Founder Of Style Me Pretty, A Wedding Blog That Brides Are Obsessed With

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New Orleans is a hugely popular tourist destination for its food, music, history and Mardi Gras.

The city's economy took a big hit after Hurricane Katrina devastated the cityscape in 2005. But since then New Orleans has rebuilt and reinvented itself.

From startups to restaurants and bars, several very cool small businesses have sprouted up in the Big Easy.

adverCar

Web only

What it is: A transit advertising and media company

Why it's cool: adverCar matches brands with regular drivers who are looking to make some extra cash. The brand pays a driver to put a decal on their car. When that person drives through different neighborhoods and regions, the brand is then broadcast to the area in a subtle yet effective way.

It is part of New Orleans Startup Fund's portfolio.

American Sector And National World War II Museum

945 Magazine St.

What it is: A 1940s themed restaurant and museum

Why it's cool:Besides being America's first museum devoted to World War II, this venue features restaurants and bars that are all 1940s themed. Everything from the seating to the cocktails to the styles of the performers oozes 1940s glamour. There are even live musical performances by Big Band orchestras and tributes to 1940s icons like The Rat Pack.

The restaurant, called the American Sector, serves dishes that put a creative spin on traditional American food, like mini cheeseburgers with bacon-onion marmalade and wagyu short ribs.

Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel

739 Canal St. at Bourbon

What it is: A sustainable hotel

Why it's cool: This is a luxury hotel that has a ton of green initiatives. It recycles all cardboard, paper, plastic, and aluminum products. 

About 90% of the hotel's lighting is energy efficient and it has a grease recycle program.

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Closely-followed billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson has put his gorgeous Aspen ranch on the market for $29.9 million, Aspen Business Journal reported citing a listing. [via Curbed]

Paulson, who famously bet against the subprime housing market in 2007, purchased "Aspen Lakes Ranch" for $24.5 million back in 2010.

Last summer, he snapped up Hala Ranch in Aspen from Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan for $49 million.  It was listed for $135 million.

Paulson's Aspen Lake Ranch features a 13,068 square-foot home features 7 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms (3 half baths).  The home sits on two lakes stocked with trout and surrounded with pristine mountain views. 

The home was Aspen-based developer Bob Bowden, who has photos listed on his site.

It's a stunning estate and now we're going to take a photo tour... 

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