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15 cities across the world that should be at the top of your travel bucket-list

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  • These visitor-friendly cities are rich in history, nature, and adventure.
  • Known for its impressive preservation of architecture, the Japanese city of Kyoto ranks at number four. 
  • The authentic and affordable city of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico is number one, with a number of art galleries and creative restaurants to discover. 


Every year, we ask our readers to rate the best cities in the world, and the results continue to surprise us. Not only do newcomers sometimes float to the top, but longtime favorites also continue to reappear — a testament to a destination's enduring popularity. This year's group of winners span the globe, from market-filled Hoi An in Vietnam to Florence, a European culture capital. Of note, however, is what ties these contenders together: Almost all are pedestrian-friendly, possess ample green space, and have a rich history that's being thoughtfully preserved as the city grows.

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Readers rated cities on their sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping, and overall value.

This year's No. 1 winner — for the first time ever in the World's Best Awards' 22-year history — is Mexico's San Miguel de Allende. "San Miguel is one of the most authentic, creative and cost-effective destinations we've visited," says a T+L reader of the colonial city, a part of which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. "Over the years we've discovered more great restaurants and activities, but the town still maintains its Mexican heritage, culture and charm."

The World's Best Cities list also speaks to our readers' growing interest in Asia, as seven of the top 15 urban destinations are in the region. Kyoto, home to some of Japan's most well-preserved traditional architecture, Chiang Mai, Thailand, best known for its walled Old City, and Siem Reap, Cambodia, the jumping-off point for Angkor Wat, all made repeat appearances.

Charleston — our top city in the U.S. for the fifth year running — was the sole American city among the top 10 overall; Florence, another World's Best veteran, was joined by European hubs like Rome and Barcelona; while Oaxaca, another Mexican city with a thriving culinary scene and cultural depth, came into the mix again for the first time since 2010.

SEE ALSO: 13 stunning photos of people racing dogs across Alaska during the Iditarod

15. Barcelona, Spain



14. Udaipur, India



13. Siem Reap, Cambodia



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

America's richest people buy homes in 'power markets' — here are the 17 most expensive and exclusive places

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Malibu beach house

  • Luxury real estate "power markets" are the places where rich people spend the most money, says a new report from Coldwell Banker.
  • Rich people flock to power markets for the best in luxury real estate, lifestyle, and culture.
  • Power markets in the US are places where the top 5% of home sales by price is the highest.

 

Location is paramount when money is no object, whether a home is steps from the beach, tucked in the mountains, or in the heart of a city.

The world's rich people spent $8 billion on luxury real estate in 2016, according to Wealth-X, and they flock to many of the same cities to buy property.

In a new report on luxury real estate by Coldwell Banker, these places are called "power markets," where the "wealthiest and most powerful players" tend to own homes. 

"Typically, these areas are destinations in their own right, offering high-net-worth individuals a range of lifestyle opportunities, cultural experiences, and educational opportunities," the report says. 

The report defines power markets in the US as places where the top 5% of single-family home sales by price is highest. In the top 17 markets, the median list price for the top 5% of sales is at least $3.5 million.

Below, check out which cities are most popular among wealthy homebuyers. For each place, we've included the median list price for the top 5% of homes currently on the market, the highest sold price from 2017, and the median price per square foot for that market.

All data figures are for single-family homes and were provided by Coldwell Banker and The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

SEE ALSO: The world's richest people are abandoning London, Rome, and Paris for an unexpected destination

DON'T MISS: Tour the mysterious members-only island where America's millionaires pay $250,000 just to participate

17. Sarasota, Florida

Median list price: $3.5 million

Highest sold price (2017): $9 million

Median price per square foot: $697



16. Orange County, California

Median list price: $3.76 million

Highest sold price (2017): $39.9 million

Median price per square foot: $867



15. Boston, Massachusetts

Median list price: $3.995 million

Highest sold price (2017): $13 million

Median price per square foot: $1,006



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Silicon Valley is so expensive that people who make $400,000 think they're middle-class — here's what the middle class actually is in the 25 largest US cities

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wealthy dinner

  • The Pew Research Center defines the US middle class as those earning 67% to 200% of the median household income.
  • Middle-class Americans earned about $39,000 to $118,000 in 2016, according to Pew's definition, but middle-class incomes vary at the state and city levels.
  • Some Silicon Valley residents earning $400,000 consider themselves to be in the middle class, a recent survey found.

Some residents of Silicon Valley self-identify as being in the middle class, even though their salaries dwarf those of many Americans.

The Pew Research Center defines the US middle class as those earning two-thirds to twice the median household income, which was $59,039 in 2016, meaning middle-class Americans were earning about $39,000 to $118,000.

But that number shifts as its broken down by state and even by city.

The Palo Alto Weekly, a local paper in Palo Alto, California, asked residents to report their household income and perceived social class. Out of more than 250 respondents, 81 with incomes between $10,000 to $399,999 said they were "middle class."

"Middle class" is a term used broadly — and often incorrectly — even though it can be quantified with US government data. And while the US middle class has been shrinking for decades, most Americans still consider themselves part of it. Many of the high-earning Palo Alto residents noted the high cost of living was one of the reasons they identified as being in the middle class.

But whether you're in the "middle class" varies depending on where you live.

To get a sense of what it looks like in 25 US cities, Business Insider pulled census data from the 2016 American Community Survey for the largest metropolitan statistical areas. For clarity, we listed the largest city in the MSA (some include more than one).

Below, find out how much income you have to earn to be considered in the middle class in 25 metro areas.

SEE ALSO: Silicon Valley is so expensive that people who make $400,000 a year think they are middle-class

DON'T MISS: How much income you have to earn to be considered middle class in every US state

Tampa, Florida: up to $102,230

Middle-class range: $34,076 to $102,230

• Median income: $51,115

• Metro-area population: 3 million



Miami, Florida: up to $102,724

Middle-class range: $34,241 to $102,724

• Median income: $51,362

• Metro-area population: 6.1 million



Orlando, Florida: up to $104,770

Middle-class range: $34,923 to $104,770

• Median income: $52,385

• Metro-area population: 2.4 million



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

14 rooms in the White House you probably never knew existed, including a music room, chocolate shop, and bowling alley

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  • If you're well-versed on White House facts, you probably know the presidential residence has 132 rooms.
  • However, fewer people know about rooms like the chocolate shop and the bowling alley.
  • There are also rooms that have changed purpose over the years, like the Solarium, which did a stint as a kindergarten.


The White House is America's most famous residence — and one of the biggest, too.

The massive complex at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue contains six levels, 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, and 28 fireplaces.

Some of the most famous White House's most famous rooms include the Oval Office, the Situation Room, the Cabinet Room, and the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

But tucked away in the far reaches of the building are some of the more obscure, less heralded rooms of the White House: the Chocolate Shop, the Game Room, and the Solarium, to name a few. 

Read on to learn about 14 of the least-known rooms in the White House.

SEE ALSO: A look inside the White House, which has 132 rooms, a restaurant, and the offices of some of the most powerful people in the world

DON'T MISS: Over 200 years, only 10 people have ever died inside the White House — here's the full list

Music Room

According to the White House Museum, Hillary Clinton turned this sitting room on the third floor of the White House residence into a music room where Bill Clinton could play saxophone.



Workout Room

Next to the Music Room on the third floor is the Workout Room, where presidents and their families can exercise at any time of the day.

Before the 1990s, the room was a guest room and a sitting room.



Chocolate Shop

The Chocolate Shop is one of several kitchens in the White House. Located in the ground floor of the Residence, the Chocolate Shop is where chefs make desserts and centerpieces for White House functions.

It's also where chefs prepare eggs for the annual Easter Egg Roll and assemble the gingerbread replica of the White House that graces the building each holiday season.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The rise of Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, who is taking his $10 billion company public years after Steve Jobs said he would destroy it

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Drew Houston

Drew Houston is on top of the world.

On Friday, his company, Dropbox, filed its S-1, making it Y Combinator's first startup to ever file for an IPO.

The file sharing service that began as a two-person team in 2007 is now a sprawling enterprise with more than a thousand employees and a stock ticker symbol that's soon to be listed on the NASDAQ. The cloud storage giant now provides services to more than 500 million people and generates a billion dollars in annual revenue. 

But things weren't always easy for Houston or his company. He struggled with his initial entrepreneurial venture and faced several obstacles getting Dropbox off the ground. Dropbox has taken 10 years of growth to get to the point it's at now. 

But Houston hung in there. Despite multiple opportunities to sell his company in its early stages — including a bid from Steve Jobs in 2009 — he held on.

Here's a rundown of Houston's journey from a precocious tech-loving kid to the CEO of a billion-dollar enterprise:

Houston had his eye on tech from an early age.

As he confirmed to Business Insider in an interview last year, Houston started programming when he was as young as five years old. He began working on ideas for startups when he was only a teenager.



His first company was an SAT prep company he started while in college.

Before his junior year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Houston took a year off to work with a former high school teacher on a test prep company. The company's goal was to help students get perfect scores on the SAT college admissions test.



After graduating, Houston hoped to get his SAT prep company into a startup accelerator — but was rejected.

Houston applied to get his startup into the first batch of Y Combinator companies in 2005.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

47 documentaries on Netflix right now that will make you smarter

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One of the great things about Netflix is that it has brought thoughtful, compelling documentaries to a much wider audience — something filmmakers could only dream of a decade ago.

And with binge-worthy titles like Netflix original "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond" and Oscar-nominated "Last Men in Aleppo" a click away, you can get a lot of great nonfiction viewing any night of the week.

You'll learn a lot more about the world, but don't worry — you'll also be entertained.

Here are 47 documentaries we think you should stream right away on Netflix.

Note: Numerous Netflix titles drop off the streaming service monthly, so the availability of titles below may change.

SEE ALSO: All the 'Avengers' and Marvel fans who nailed their cosplay at Comic-Con

1. "13th"

Director Ava DuVernay looks at the history of the US prison system and how it relates to the nation's history of racial inequality.



2. "Amanda Knox"

The murder trial in Italy of the American exchange student Amanda Knox, who is now free, captivated the world in the early 2000s. This Netflix original looks back at the case and gets the perspective of Knox and others closely involved.



3. "The Battered Bastards of Baseball"

In a fascinating look at one of the more colorful stories in baseball lore, directors Chapman and Maclain Way follow the Portland Mavericks, an independent baseball team owned by the movie star Bing Russell (Kurt Russell's father) who threw out all the conventions of the national pastime to build a regional sensation in the late 1970s.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

What abandoned Olympic venues from around the world look like today

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abandoned sarajevo olympics venues

Hosting the Olympics can be an economic burden on a country, especially if the host nation has to build venues for the games.

Throughout Olympic history, we've seen that once the games are over, these venues often become abandoned, crumbling as they go unused.

Already, the venues from Rio 2016 are falling apart, and they're not the only ones. Former host cities like Saravejo, Athens, and Beijing have had venues suffer the same fate.

Pyeongchang will avoid such a fate, as they plan to demolish their Olympic stadium when the games are over.

Take a look at some photos below.

Sam Belden and Emmett Knowlton contributed to this report.

In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Olympic Games in Latin America in nearly 40 years.



The city has yet to clear away much of the debris created by the Games. Here's what's left of the Rio Media Center, demolished in September.



The site has become a health hazard. It is located in downtown Rio, close to public facilities like city hall, a convention center and a day care.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The B-2 stealth bomber made its first overseas deployment 20 years ago — here's why it's still one of the most feared aircraft in the sky

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This week marks the 20th anniversary of the deployment to Guam of one of America's most important and expensive weapon systems — the B-2 Spirit.

The B-2 was originally intended to carry nuclear bombs deep into Soviet territory if the Cold War had ever turned hot. Its shape — paired with the plane's stealth systems — would enable it to be undetected by Soviet radars. The B-2's long range meant it could fly deep into enemy territory and return home.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the B-2 has been used as a conventional bomber. It made its combat debut during the Kosovo War in 1999, and has since flown sorties in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. 

More recently, the B-2 has been placed in bases in the Pacific as part of a strategy to deal with potential threats from North Korea.

Here's why it's one of the most feared aircraft in the world:

SEE ALSO: We got an up-close look at an M1 Abrams tank — the king of the battlefield

The B-2 bomber was shown to the public for the first time in 1988, just before the end of the Cold War. Its stealth capabilities were virtually unmatched.



The B-2 can carry sixteen 2,400 lb B83 nuclear bombs, but its official limit of 40,000 lbs of ordinance means it can carry a massive amount of Precision-guided munitions.



The B-2 has a max range of 6,900 miles on a single tank, but aerial refueling can keep the bomber up indefinitely.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

15 things I wish I knew before becoming a dad

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When it comes to children, the only certain things about them is that they’ll cry, they’ll poop and repeat.

Handling that is the easy part. Everything else is a minefield waiting to be stepped on. 

It doesn’t matter how many books you read, videos you watch, classes you take or parents you talk to, raising your own child and the affects it will have on you will only become known once you’re in the trenches.

While it may sometimes sound like war, having a kid is truly incredible. There are a few things, however, I wish I knew before my son arrived. 

SEE ALSO: 10 hard truths no one tells you about buying a house

SEE ALSO: 9 things I wish I knew before I got married

You're on your own

The baby’s born. Family comes to visit you at the hospital, friends send you text messages and your social media blows up with good wishes from the kid you sat next to in third grade. Then after 48 hours, at which point your insurance company strong-arms the hospital to discharge you, you're figuring out how to install a car seat.

No matter how many books you read, other babies you hold, or advice you half-listen to from your in-laws, when you have your first child, it's the first time you're a parent and you're going to have to figure everything our for yourself. 

We wanted to breast feed, but my wife couldn’t. Our son wasn’t eating. We didn’t wait for the first-week checkup. We were at the pediatrician’s office on day 3 to find out what kind of bombshell news we were going to be hit with. It’s scary. You and your partner need to hang on tight like Thelma & Louise because if you’re not in this together, you will drive each other off a cliff.



They really, really, really like sleeping in your bed

Me, my wife and my newborn son all lived in the same bedroom for the first year of his life.  It wasn't always ideal, but it was easy to roll over and pick him up from his crib and bring him into our bed. He'd call for us, and we'd go get him. 

Eventually when he was in a toddler bed, he could simply get out of bed on his own and climb into ours, parting my wife and I like the Red Sea, sometimes not even feeling he was in between us. Well, I would, because he’d kick mercilessly, which may explain my lower back issues and my affinity for sleeping on couches.



It's incredibly hard to break habits

Once you start letting your child do something it becomes a pattern. Some people may object to welcoming their child into their bed, for example, like we did. Sure, doing so sometimes put a damper on personal time with my wife, but all my son ever wanted when climbing into bed with us was to snuggle and feel comfortable. 

Sharing our bed with my son really allowed my wife and I to build our relationship with him, but to this day he still likes to fall asleep in our bed every night before I pick him up and transfer him to his own bedroom. Although it's not necessarily a bad habit, my wife and I are looking forward to upgrading to a king sized mattress. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

10 ways schools, parents, and communities can prevent school shootings now

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florida shooting

After a shooter killed 17 people at a Florida high school, many have expressed frustration at the political hand-wringing over gun control and calls for prayer

As a parent, I understand the desire for practical responses to school shootings. I also absolutely believe the government should do more to prevent such incidents. But the gun control debate has proven so divisiveand ineffective that I am weary of waiting for politicians to act.

I study the kind of aggressive childhood behavior that often predates school shootings. That research suggests what communities and families can start doing today to better protect children. Here are 10 actions we can all take while the federal government drags its heels.

What schools can do

Because educators observe students’ emotional and behavioral development daily, they are best positioned to detect troubled behaviors and intervene. In Los Angeles, for example, schools have successfully used outreach and training to identify potentially violent students before problems occur.

SEE ALSO: It's past time to end the debate on whether video games trigger real-world violence

1. Teach social and emotional skills

Children learn social skills from everyday interactions with each other. Playtime teaches young people how to control their emotions, recognize others’ feelings and to negotiate. Neighborhood "kick the can" games, for example, require cooperation to have fun — all without adult supervision. 

Today, frequent social media use and a decrease in free play time has reduced children’s opportunities to learn these basic social skills.

But social and emotional skills can — and should — be taught in school as a way to prevent student violence. Students with more fluent social skills connect better with others and may be more able to recognize troubled peers who need help.



2. Hire more counselors and school resource officers

Due to budget cuts, many schools have few or no trained school psychologists, social workers or adjustment counselors on staff. These mental health professionals are society’s first line of defense against troubled students — especially with the current increase in adolescent depression and anxiety.

In my opinion, school resource officers — trained police officers who work with children — are also helpful for students. While untrained officers may pose a threat to students, well-trained school resource officers can connect with kids who have few other relationships, acting as a support system. They are also on hand to respond quickly if crime or violence erupts. 

Putting trained school resource officers and counselors in every school will cost money, but I believe it will save lives.



3. Use technology to identify troubled students

Technology may challenge kids' social development, but it can also be harnessed for good. Anonymous reporting systems — perhaps text-message based — can make it easier for parents and students to alert law enforcement and school counselors to kids who seem disconnected or disturbed. That enables early intervention. 

In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, one such tip appeared to prevent extreme violence in May 2017. Police took a young man who'd threatened to harm his peers into protective custody before he could act on his words.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These photos reveal why women are abandoning Victoria's Secret for American Eagle's Aerie underwear brand

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Victoria's Secret

  • Victoria's Secret customers are complaining on Facebook that its ads, which feature scantily dressed models, are targeted more towards men than women.
  • Meanwhile, rival brand Aerie has doubled down on its efforts to promote female empowerment.
  • We visited the two stores to see how their ad campaigns differ. 

 

Victoria's Secret has an advertising problem, and it's putting off customers. 

In January, Business Insider reported that mothers of teenage children who shopped at its teen-centric brand, PINK, were revolting online because of the oversexualized ads in Victoria's Secret's stores. 

"It is basically pornography that everyone (children and teens) are subjected to viewing because there is only one area to check out between PINK and Victoria's Secret, which happens to have the most obscene photos behind the registers," shopper Jessie Shealy wrote on Victoria's Secret's Facebook page.

PINK has become one of the most successful parts of Victoria's Secret, reporting stronger sales than other parts of the store in recent years.

But it's not only PINK customers who are being put off by these racy photos. Some Victoria's Secret customers are also complaining that its ads are targeted more at men than women.

Meanwhile, rivals such as American Eagle's underwear brand, Aerie, are doubling down on their efforts to appeal to their female shoppers, ditching photoshopped images and partnering with women activists to promote female empowerment. 

We visited Aerie and Victoria's Secret to see just how extreme the differences are:

SEE ALSO: These risqué images in Victoria's Secret stores are infuriating moms of teenagers — and it's threatening the best part of the business

We visited two stores in Manhattan's Soho area. The stores were on the same block and therefore in direction competition with each other.



American Eagle's Aerie lingerie brand is known for its body-positive ad campaigns using "real" women.



The brand famously doesn't Photoshop any of the images in its ads. In 2014, it swapped its airbrushed ads for unretouched photos and launched a body-positive campaign known as #AerieReal.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Dollar General is defying the retail apocalypse and opening 900 stores — here's what it's like to shop there

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Dollar General

  • Dollar General is opening 900 stores this year, remodeling 1,000 locations, and relocating 100 stores.
  • In the most recent quarter, the retailer's same-store sales sales grew 4.3%.


Retailers are closing thousands of stores in one of the biggest waves of closures in years.

But there's at least one company bucking that trend: Dollar General. Instead of shutting down stores, Dollar General is opening hundreds of more locations.

The discount chain says it plans to open 900 stores this year, remodel 1,000 locations, and relocate 100 stores.

In the most recent quarter, the retailer's same-store sales sales grew 4.3%, and total sales rose 11% to $5.9 billion. We went to a Dollar General store in Richmond, Virginia, to find out what makes it so successful.

SEE ALSO: Trump's 'Blue Apron-type' food boxes for the poor could slash spending at Walmart and dollar stores

At the entrance of the store, shoppers are greeted with a "last chance" table of discounted goods.



The store feels tiny. Most Dollar General Stores range between 7,000 and 10,000 feet, which is about half the size of a CVS store. It's lit with bright, fluorescent lights and features narrow aisles with basic metal shelving.



To the left of the entrance, there's a large selection of snacks, drinks, and candy similar to what you might find at a gas station or convenience store.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

MEET THE WALTONS: How America's wealthiest family spends its Walmart fortune

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Wal-Mart family Jim Walton, Alice Walton and Rob Walton

  • The Waltons are the richest family in America. 
  • They have a combined wealth of $133 billion, according to Bloomberg.
  • In public, they live a pretty modest life. This is how they spend their fortune.

 

The Waltons are the richest family in America, but they're pretty discreet about it. 

According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, the Walmart heirs have a combined wealth of $133 billion, which is more than Jeff BezosBill Gates and Warren Buffett. In fact, they are worth about $33 billion more than the second richest family in the US, the Kochs. 

Despite their fortune, the Waltons seem to live a pretty modest life, at least in public. 

Here's what we do know about how the wealthy family spends its fortune: 

SEE ALSO: Walmart's Alice Walton is the richest woman in the world — here's how she spends her $43.7 billion fortune

Sam Walton, who died in 1992, opened the first Walmart store in Arkansas in 1962.



He was married to Helen Ronson. Together, they had four children: Rob, John, Jim, and Alice.

The Walton family own 50% of Walmart's total stock between them. 



This is Samuel Robson "Rob" Walton, the oldest Walton son. He served as chairman of Walmart until 2015.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I drove a $63,000 Ford Raptor pickup truck for a week to see if it lived up to the hype — here's the verdict (F)

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Ford Raptor

  • We tested the Ford Raptor, a pickup truck that goes to 11 and then some.
  • While I didn't bust through the wilderness with this high-performance offroader, I did take it on a couple of long drives.
  • The Raptor truly is something special. But it's not for everybody, especially if you don't like to buy gas.


Besides teaming up with Domino's to deliver pizza by driverless cars, Ford has a Performance division that does exactly what you'd expect from a performance decision: create go-fast vehicles, ranging from the Fiesta ST at about $21,000 to the ultra-exclusive $400,000-plus GT supercar.

In the mix, remarkably, is a pickup truck: the Raptor.

Makes sense. Ford Performance also sells stonkingly outfitted Mustangs, so why take a pass on kitting out what is the company's bestselling vehicle, the F-150 pickup? There are customers who want a truck that can go fast.

The Raptor is anything but an F-150 with a few exotics bells and whistles. It's an F-150 that goes to 11 and then goes some more. It's a pickup for adrenaline junkies, and I've always been curious about it, so when Ford said I could borrow a $62,500 test vehicle, I said, "Heck yeah!" 

Mind you, I wasn't going to be tackling sand dunes or rock-strewn trails with this loaner Raptor. So I had to devise different criteria. I already knew the Raptor could handle the worst. But how would it do in the suburbs?

SEE ALSO: FOLLOW US on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

The "Ingot Silver" Raptor landed at our suburban New Jersey test center on a lovely summer day last year.



The Raptor is an amped-up-looking truck. Bold, brash, and ready to bust out. There's a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 engine under the hood, cranking out 450 horsepower with 510 pound-feet of torque. This pickup can tow 8,000 lbs.



This 2017 model had four-wheel-drive and a "Supercab." Ground clearance was impressive.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 20 least corrupt countries on earth

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Transparency International on Wednesday published its latest Corruption Perceptions Index, a global ranking of fairness around the world.

The ranking of 180 countries is based on the level of public sector corruption in 2017, according to businesspeople, journalists, and civic organisations.

Higher-ranked countries tend to have more press freedom, access to information about public spending, and independent judicial systems.

Countries are given a score out of 100, with those scoring highly being the least corrupt. Keep scrolling to see the list, which is ranked in ascending order.

SEE ALSO: These are the most corrupt countries in the Western world

Here's a map of the countries on the index — darker red means more corrupt.



20. Japan — 73



19. Ireland — 74



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's how much the CEOs of Britain's biggest banks got paid in 2017

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UK Bank CEOs

LONDON – This week saw all of Britain's so-called "Big Four" high street banks — HSBC, RBS, Barclays and Lloyds — report their full year results for 2017.

All had fairly solid, if unspectacular, years — with RBS' return to profit after nearly 10 years in the red the standout story.

But buried below the toplines among hundreds of pages of strategic updates and discussions of corporate structures, the banks all disclosed the pay received by their big bosses in 2017. 

Broadly speaking, UK bank CEOs picked up compensation of an average of just under £5 million each, although there was a gap of almost £3 million between the highest and lowest earners.

In general, base salaries tended to be around the £1 million mark, with bonuses, share awards, pension contributions and other remuneration added on.

British CEOs also picked up far less than their counterparts in the USA, with the best-paid UK boss making less than a third of the total compensation of the best-paid US boss, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon. Dimon made $29.5 million in 2017, equivalent to more than £21 million. 

Check out how much Britain's top four bankers made in 2017. The CEOs are ordered by total awarded compensation, from lowest to highest.

Ross McEwan — Royal Bank of Scotland

Basic salary: £1 million

Other compensation (including bonuses and share awards etc): £2.487 million

Total pay: £3.487 million



Jes Staley — Barclays

Basic salary: £1.175 million

Other compensation (including bonuses and share awards etc): £2.698 million

Total pay: £3.873 million



Stuart Gulliver — HSBC

Basic salary: £1.25 million

Other compensation (including bonuses and share awards etc): £4.836 million

Total pay: £6.086 million



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

WINTER OLYMPICS: Here are the biggest moments from the closing ceremony

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Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony

The 2018 Winter Olympics officially ended on Sunday with the closing ceremony held in the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

While NBC will air the ceremony in primetime on Sunday evening in the US, the ceremony was carried live online. The catch is, unlike previous years, the live version comes without commentary. It is what NBC is calling, "the natural sounds," version.

Below we will follow along with the biggest moments from the closing ceremony.

The most recent moments are at the top.



Dancers entered the stadium dressed for various Olympic events, such as cross-country skiing.



Ivanka Trump was a special guest.



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10 photos that capture the chaos of living in a major city

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Tourists can't see everything a city has to offer in just 24 hours. 

But a new set of photos, created by NeoMam Studios for The Big Domain, provides a look into the hectic chaos of cities in a single glimpse. 

Created with multiple exposures and taken in various spots around each city in a single day, the images highlight the people, and places, that make up 10 major cities around the world.

Included with the photos is the city's population and number of tourists that visited during 2017 — data that comes from the United Nation's 2016 city booklet, and from a report by World Travel Market London and Euromonitor International.

See below to take a quick tour around the globe.

SEE ALSO: This photographer captured shots of New Yorkers on their way to work for 10 years — and it shows how repetitive a commute can be

DON'T MISS: A photographer captured these dismal photos of life in North Korea on his phone

New Delhi

Population: 26.5 million

Annual visitors: 10.3 million



Istanbul

Population: 14.4 million

Annual visitors: 8.6 million



London

Population: 10.4 million

Annual visitors: 19.8 million



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6 reasons you should buy a Nintendo Switch instead of a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One in 2018

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Nintendo is on a roll, with no end in sight.

Super Mario Odyssey

The company's latest big game — "Super Mario Odyssey"— received near-universal praise, and the Nintendo Switch is beating the competition month after month in sales.

There's a good reason for that: The Nintendo Switch is the best console to buy. Here's why!

SEE ALSO: With over 70 million sold, the PS4 is the most popular game console in the world — these are its 29 best games

1. The Switch has the best lineup of games ...

Since launching in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch has taken the mantle as the must-have console for playing the best games. This is the number one reason to buy the Switch: It's the only place to play the best games available right now.

Yes, there are excellent exclusives on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. "Horizon Zero Dawn" on PS4 and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" on Xbox One stick out as strong arguments for each, and that's not wrong.

But let's be clear: The Switch is stacked with huge, new games that can be played only on the Switch.



... like "Super Mario Odyssey" ...

The latest hit that can be played only on the Switch is "Super Mario Odyssey." It has an average score of 97/100 on Metacritic, putting it among the 10 highest-rated games.

It's highly rated because it's an outrageously good game, full of delight and surprise around every turn. "Odyssey" is the latest example of Nintendo's approach to major games of late: Take classic franchises and evolve them to new heights.

It's hard to overstate the quality of "Super Mario Odyssey"; it's clever, and massive, and beautiful, and deeply referential, and so much more. It is, frankly put, one of the best Nintendo games of the past decade — perhaps of all time.

Read our review of "Super Mario Odyssey" right here.



... "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" ...

Whether you've been playing "Mario Kart" games for years or you've never touched one, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" is a tremendous delight. 

It's the definitive "Mario Kart" experience, with a ridiculous number of courses and playable characters. Best of all, the Switch becomes a portable "Mario Kart" machine if you take the console in portable mode — each Joy-Con becomes a gamepad, and the Switch is the screen. Being able to casually challenge a friend to "Mario Kart" by simply having the Switch with you is pretty incredible.

Crucially, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" is a perfect game to play alone or with friends. The vast majority of the time I've spent with the game has been sitting next to my wife, playing together online against the world. Since the game came out in late April 2017, it's been a recurring delight in my apartment. 

Read our review of "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" right here.



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21 incredible photos from the figure skating gala exhibition at the Winter Olympics

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Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan

As has become tradition at the Winter Olympics, one of the final events of the games was actually not an event at all, but rather an exhibition — the figure skating gala.

After two weeks of competition in five events, the gala is a chance for the figure skaters to let their hair down, have a little fun, and entertain the fans without the pressure of having to impress the judges.

Thanks to the relaxed atmosphere and edgier lighting, the gala often produces the best figure skating photos of the Olympics and Pyeongchang 2018 did not disappoint.

Below we collected our favorite photos from Getty and Reuters.

The costumes are a little more fun at the gala, such as the tiger stripes worn by Alina Zagitova, an Olympic Athlete from Russia.



You won't see jeans during the medal competitions.



Or these Olympic rings sunglasses worn by Kim Kyu-eun and Alex Kang-chan Kam of South Korea.



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