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Qantas is going to connect Australia and Europe with a non-stop flight — and here's the Boeing jet that's going to do it

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Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner

  • Qantas will launch its first non-stop route that will connect Australia and Europe.
  • The Aussie airline will use a fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to inaugurate its nonstop service from Perth, Western Australia, to London.
  • Qantas took delivery of its first Dreamliner last October.
  • Business Insider went along for a portion of the plane's delivery flight from the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, to Honolulu, Hawaii.

This weekend, Qantas will inaugurate a new route that will finally deliver non-stop scheduled flights between Australia and Europe.

The iconic Aussie airline will use its fleet of brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for its new service between Perth, Western Australia, and London. 

In October, Qantas took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Currently, the airline boasts a fleet of four Dreamliners.

And by the end of 2018, that number will grow to eight aircraft.

The Dreamliner is the first new aircraft type introduced to the Qantas fleet in a decade and is destined to connect Australia and the UK with nonstop flying.

For Qantas, the significance of the new plane cannot be overstated.

"One of the big advantages of the Dreamliner is that it gives us a range of destinations we couldn't have done before," CEO Alan Joyce told Business Insider in an interview last October. "It gives you better economics because it's 20% more fuel efficient and with a lot lower maintenance cost given the new technology. That means there are routes we could have done before with distance, but couldn't do economically that now come onto the radar screen.

"For Qantas, it also starts overcoming the tyranny of distance we have," Joyce added.

Qantas also held a contest that allowed members of the public to submit names for the new plane. In the end, the name Great Southern Land was selected. It was chosen in honor of the '80s rock anthem of the same name by the band Icehouse, which is about the vastness and the beauty of the Australian landscape.

Boeing turned the plane over to Qantas at its Everett Delivery Center outside of Seattle, Washington.

As part of the festivities, Qantas allowed a group of journalists to experience the jet's delivery flight to company headquarters in Sydney alongside executives and dignitaries. Normally, delivery flights are fairly humdrum with only pilots and airline staff involved. However, this was a special occasion for Qantas, so the airline decided to make it a big event.

Business Insider was there. Here's how it went.

SEE ALSO: The best airports in the world have movie theaters, spas, and mini golf — see the full list

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Here it is. The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to enter the Qantas fleet.



As we arrive at the terminal, the Dreamliner is being loaded with food and fuel.



However, this isn't just any airport. It's Boeing's delivery center in Everett, Washington. There is where airlines, governments, and the insanely wealthy pick up the widebody Boeing jets they ordered.



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We drove a $63,000 RAM 1500 pickup truck to see why it's part of America's latest obsession — here's the verdict (FCAU)

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RAM 1500

  • The RAM full-size pickup is the perennial third-best-seller in the US, behind the Ford F-150 and the Chevy Silverado.
  • We spent a week with a well-appointed version of the truck.
  • And we were mighty impressed.

We certainly live in a Golden Age for luxury pickups, which are becoming America's latest obsession. Detroit can't sell enough of them. In the first two months of 2018, Ford has already moved 127,000 F-150s. And everything truly is better. That gas-chugging V8 on a '78 Chevy would give you just about 160 horsepower, while a modern V8-motored pickup will top 400hp with better fuel economy. It's also hooked up to the internet, is far more reliable, and can be had with all manner of luxurious appointments. 

Ford has revamped its segment-leading F-Series pickups, and now both Chevy/GMC and Fiat Chrysler's RAM have followed suit. For old time's sake, however, we jumped at the chance to sample the outgoing RAM 1500 when the carmaker flipped us the keys to a well-optioned $63,870 2018 Limited Crew Car 4x4 version of the third-best selling pickup in the USA (over half a million units in 2017).

Here's how it went.

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The RAM 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4X4 has a base price of $53,595, which is a lot higher than the stripped-down $27,000 no-frills trim level. Our "Maximum Steel Metallic" tester stickered at $63,870.



The RAM 1500 is a full-size pickup — the heart of the pickup market. These trucks have to be able to do it all, from hauling stuff to towing stuff to driving people around.



RAM pickups have a more aggressive, semi-truck-like appearance than the competition. It isn't for everybody — but we thought it make our tester look pretty imposing.

That's a "Tungsten Chrome" grille, by the way. Which means it isn't shiny chrome. And it looks pretty fantastic.



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We visited Russia's opulent UK embassy at the height of a diplomatic crisis — here's what it was like

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russia embassy outside

Britain and Russia are in the middle of their most intense diplomatic crisis since the Cold War over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury earlier this month.

Theresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats from the UK earlier week, prompting a reciprocal action from Moscow. Despite losing about 30% of its staff, though, activity in the embassy still seemed like business as usual.

Business Insider attended a press conference on Thursday with Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, and was given access to most — but not all — of the opulent building.

Scroll down to take a look inside.

The Russian embassy is one of many on Kensington Palace Gardens in west London, known locally as "Embassy Row." It's the personal residence of Russia's ambassador to London, Alexander Yakovenko.



The embassy recently lost about 30% of its staff as Theresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats from the UK over the Skripal case. There used to be 78 Russian officials; now there are 55. Here they are going home:



Kensington Palace Gardens is home to embassies of other countries, including Saudi Arabia, France, and Nepal. Billionaires such as Roman Abramovich, Leonard Blavatnik, and Lakshmi Mittal all had houses here as of 2014. The average house here costs £35.7 million.

Source: The Guardian

Read more: The 9 most expensive streets in the UK, where you need more than £11 million to buy a house



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This is everything boxing champion Anthony Joshua eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

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Anthony Joshua

World heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has proven he can stomach a fight — but this diet plan shows he can stomach a massive amount of food, too.

Joshua is best known for rising off from the canvas to knock Wladimir Klitschko down and out in a heavyweight fight for the ages last year.

The hulking heavyweight puts his WBA, IBF, and IBO titles on the line once again when he returns to the ring on Saturday, March 31 for a fight against WBO champion Joseph Parker in front of 80,000 screaming fans at the Principality Stadium in Wales.

To get teak-tough, Joshua — who is 6-foot-6 and 18 stone (252 pounds) — has to consume an extraordinary amount of calories in order to fuel his body for combat. But that does not mean he denies himself a sweet treat every now and then.

Here's everything Joshua likes to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

SEE ALSO: UFC wants to sign Anthony Joshua on a $500 million contract just a week after the boxer said he wants to fight its biggest stars

DON'T MISS: Heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua wants to fight in UFC one day — and he named two of its biggest fighters as potential opponents

UP NEXT: Here's what time the Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker fight starts where you live — and how you can watch it live online

This is world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua. Since winning a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Joshua has knocked out every single one of his 20 opponents as a professional — including former champion Wladimir Klitschko, in a back-and-forth classic in April, 2017.



Four world heavyweight titles will be on the line when Joshua returns to the ring on March 31 to take on Joseph Parker, an undefeated fighter from New Zealand.



To get fighting fit, Joshua is on a very specific meal plan as he consumes twice the daily calories of a regular man. To start the day right, Joshua has a heavyweight breakfast consisting of a fruit bowl, yoghurt, two slices of toasted brown bread and five eggs (he prefers poached).

Instagram Embed:
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Source:Sky Sports.



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The first must-play game of 2018 is here: 'A Way Out' is an incredible, cinematic experience that you can't miss

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Just three months in to 2018, and we've already got a must-play game: "A Way Out" is here, and it is like nothing I've ever played before.

A Way Out (review tag)

Where to even begin?

"A Way Out" is a two-player co-operative experience — it literally cannot be played without two people. It follows two men, Leo and Vincent, as they escape prison and embark on a quest for revenge.

On paper, "A Way Out" is an ambitious, interesting concept. In reality, "A Way Out" is a remarkably well-told interactive story that's like nothing else on modern game platforms. It's a game that, barring few exceptions, I'd suggest everyone play — video game fan or not. Here's why!

"A Way Out" is the best example yet of how video games can be used for storytelling.

"A Way Out" is essentially a playable action film, tropes and all.

There's a prison break, and a villainous antagonist that the protagonists are out to get, and various twists and turns that complicate the main storyline. There's a realistic, nuanced relationship between the two main characters — Leo and Vincent — that directly plays into the overall narrative. The dialog is believable, and the stakes are grounded in reality.

You're not a superhero. You're just one of the two main characters, trying to escape a prison and get revenge. 

If "A Way Out" were a movie, it'd be slammed as a relatively straightforward, derivative experience. It probably wouldn't be very good, honestly. But it's a game, so the heavily trodden narrative foundation of "A Way Out" works much better. More importantly: You've never played through such a narrative before — not like this, anyway, with two human players depending on each other so directly.



The game is literally divided in half between the two main characters — it's an ambitious design choice that gets more interesting as the game goes on.

Again, to be all the way clear: You seriously can't play "A Way Out" without two humans controlling each of the two player characters.

The game can be played cooperatively over the internet, or on a single game console/PC. Bonus: You only need one copy to play the game, even over the internet on two separate game consoles!

If you're playing locally, like I did, you'll see a screen divided in two: On the left is Vincent, on the right is Leo. I played as Vincent, my buddy as Leo.

Sometimes they're in the same area, doing different things or working together, and sometimes they're in completely different places — no matter what, each character can directly impact the other. Early on in the game, this plays out in obvious ways: Vincent helps Leo climb up to a ledge, for instance. As the game goes on, though, the concept of two different screens and two different characters becomes something far more interesting.

Notably, the controls are never too complex — most of the game's actions come with on-screen prompts, which should help make it a bit more accessible to sporadic game players.



Yes, this is both characters working together to choke a man.

The way that "A Way Out" uses cooperative play is incredibly smart, and it changes a lot as the game goes on.

Take, for instance, the scene above. Here, both Leo and Vincent are furiously scrambling to choke a man. The scenes leading up to this big moment are tense, and break from the game's usual two-screen setup.

Here's what things looked like before the big climax you see above:

A Way Out

You can see the enemy on the left side — he's attempting to break through a barricaded door so that he can shoot Leo and Vincent. On the right side, you can see Leo and Vincent assisting each other in a relatively simple puzzle they needed to solve in order to continue escaping.

The moment was tense, as my buddy and I scrambled to get away from the enemy. I didn't realize how impressive it all was in the moment, but it was a major topic of discussion when we had some downtime soon after. We had both been monitoring the progress of the bad guy on the left, while simultaneously communicating with each other in real life how to help each other in the game. 

That the scene culminated in all three screens coming together for the co-op choking was especially impressive (and gruesome, of course).



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Adidas marked down a bunch of shoes up to half off — these are the coolest styles on sale

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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.

Adidas Samba

As one of the largest sportswear brands, Adidas is deeply rooted in the worlds of athletics and lifestyle.

For footwear and apparel alike, its new designs are state-of-the-art, and many of its past designs are considered fashion staples.

You might think that certain high-performance and classic sneakers never hit the clearance section, but Adidas' sales are often packed with great sneakers at amazing prices. 

Right now, you can save up to 50% on tons of styles. Whether you're looking for a comfortable runner like the Ultra Boost, a soccer classic like the Samba OG, or a modern lifestyle sneaker like Pharrell Williams' HU Tennis, we suggest picking up a pair before your size runs out.

Also, don't limit yourself to just footwear — the sale goes for apparel, too.

Shop men's clearance styles at Adidas here.

Shop women's clearance styles at Adidas here.

Check out some of the best men's and women's sneakers on sale below:

Men's NMD_R2

Adidas NMD_R2, $100 (Originally $130) [You save $30]



Men's Ultra Boost Laceless

Adidas Ultra Boost Laceless, $140 (Originally $200) [You save $60]



Men's Samba OG

Adidas Samba OG, $70 (Originally $100) [You save $30]



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The worst current TV show on each network — from CBS to Fox to Netflix

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The Orville Seth MacFarlane

In today's crowded TV landscape, networks and streaming services have all increased the quantity of their offerings — at times to the detriment of quality. 

While series like Fox's "The Orville" and NBC's "Taken" have been consistently critically panned, many of the shows on this list draw a substantial enough viewership to justify their existence. 

But to figure out which current shows are worth avoiding, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to select the most critically loathed scripted show that each network and service is currently producing.

We excluded children's shows, talk shows, and docuseries, and we only selected from networks with multiple scripted shows that had enough reviews to receive a "Fresh" or "Rotten" designation. We also excluded any network whose lowest-rated show was over 75 on the critic scale, and used audience scores to break any ties within networks.

Here is the worst current TV show on each network, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: The best current TV show on each network — from ABC to FX to Netflix

ABC: "Marvel's Inhumans"

Critic score: 10%

Audience score: 50%

Summary: "An isolated community of superhumans fight to protect themselves."



Amazon: "Lore"

Critic score: 65%

Audience score: 65%

Summary: "Our collective nightmare mythologies are rooted in real-life horror stories."



AMC: "The Son"

Critic score: 50%

Audience score: 85%

Summary: "A multi-generational epic telling of the story of America's birth as a superpower through the bloody rise and fall of one Texas oil empire."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Flight attendants share 5 things you'd have to do to get kicked off your next flight

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Flight attendants

  • Passenger misbehavior is a problem for flight attendants and other airline crew members.
  • Flight attendants are not paid to enforce the rules — but they are empowered to remind passengers about them, and, if necessary, report issues to the captain.
  • The airplane captain will make the final decision on whether to divert the plane, restrain the passenger, or refuse to board the passenger. There are a few things passengers do that all but guarantee this will happen to them.

If social media accounts, YouTube videos, and recent media coverage are any indication, extreme passenger misbehavior is rampant on airplanes.

Whether this behavior is getting worse or if we're simply seeing more of it documented is unclear, but one question remains: What can airline crew do about misbehaving passengers?

During flight attendant training, the importance of safety is drilled home for practically six weeks straight. Flight attendants Business Insider spoke with said if defusing the situation is not an option, crewmembers may refuse to board the passenger, restrain the passenger, and divert the flight. Some flight attendants can even use tasers on passengers in an emergency.

"We all just want to get on the plane and get where we're going," Annette Long, a flight attendant with 16 years of experience, told Business Insider. "We don't need to have any problems."

But she also said that it's the law that passengers comply with the crew members' instructions.

"My job isn't to enforce stuff — it's to let you know that there are certain things that you can't cross the line on — so don't make me pull this plane over," she said.

And once that line is crossed and a flight attendant reports it, often the decision on what to do is in the pilot's hands.

"Most of the pilots say to us, 'If you've got a problem with them, I've got a problem with them,' and they will back us up 100%," Long said.

So what would a passenger have to do for flight attendants to take extreme measures like kicking a passenger off a flight?

SEE ALSO: Inside the intensive, two-month training all Delta flight attendants must attend that's harder to get into than Harvard

DON'T MISS: What to do about a screaming child on board, according to flight attendants

Showing signs of being intoxicated

"If you were to come on the plane drunk — if the agent missed it and we noticed it before we left — you'd be escorted off the plane," Long said. "Because we don't need you to get up to 35,000 feet and get crazy on us. Most of the time people don't do that. But, as a flight attendant, you have to do things with an abundance of caution."



Showing signs of being sick

"In today's day, there's zero tolerance for an obviously sick person — for example, someone who is vomiting — boarding a plane," a flight attendant with 30 years of experience told Business Insider.



Being aggressive with the crew

"Disrespect to a crew member, whether verbal or physical," is a huge no-no, a flight attendant with 30 years of experience told Business Insider.

"If you cuss at a flight attendant, it's immediately considered a threat, and if we're still in the boarding process, there's a good chance you'll be taking the next flight," a flight attendant with three years of experience told Business Insider.

"If you were belligerent with us before we took off, you wouldn't go," Long said.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 20 cool cars we can't wait to see at the 2018 New York Auto Show

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Bugatti Chiron Sport


After the annual supercar festival that was the Geneva Motor Show, the New York International Auto Show is a much more laid-back affair with more of a focus on cars for everyday life. 

But don't you worry. There's still plenty of automotive hotness to go around. 

For over 115 years, the New York Auto Show has been one of the largest car shows in the US and a place for carmakers to see and be seen.

This year, we are expecting major reveals for brands such as Acura, Audi, Cadillac, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

The 2018 New York Auto Show will be open to the public from March 30 to April 8 at the Javits Center.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the coolest and most important cars we expect to see at this year's show:

SEE ALSO: These 35 cars dominated the 2018 Geneva Motor Show

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Usually, the glitz and glamour of supercars and luxury cars soak up all of the attention at auto shows. But this year, the New York Auto Show will be dominated by mainstream, mass-market brands. This includes the introduction of a new five-seat, mid-size crossover SUV from Volkswagen. It's based on the brand's existing seven-seat Atlas SUV.



VW is also set to introduce the sporty R-Line edition of its stylish Arteon four-door coupe.



Ford will introduce an updated mid-size Fusion sedan ...



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The 25 best places to travel in the US this year, according to TripAdvisor reviews

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Molokini crater maui

  • TripAdvisor compiled data for its annual Travelers' Choice Awards to find the best places to travel in 2018.
  • The site factored in reviews for attractions, restaurants, and hotels.
  • The best place to travel in America is New York City, followed by Maui and Las Vegas.

 

Travel site TripAdvisor recently announced the winners of its annual Travelers' Choice Awards, honoring the travel destinations that are at the top of everybody's must-see list.

We've already taken a look at the best international cities to travel to this year, so it's time to see which American cities deserve a visit.

TripAdvisor chose the winners based on an algorithm factoring in reviews for attractions, restaurants, and hotels, as well as traveler booking interest within a 12-month period.

The list of winners for American destinations contains familiar favorites such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and New Orleans, as well as some unexpected gems. Florida, California, and Hawaii each have three entries on the list. If you're traveling on a budget, August is the month you are most likely to save money on booking, with six destinations offering their best prices in the last full month of summer. 

Below are the 25 highest-rated US cities, as well as the average hotel price and cheapest month to travel for each destination. Take a look to see where your next vacation should be:

SEE ALSO: 13 of the best places to visit if you're planning a vacation in April

DON'T MISS: The 25 best places everyone should visit this year, according to travelers who have been there

25. San Antonio, Texas

Average annual hotel rate: $143 per night

Least expensive month to go: May (6% savings, compared to annual average)



24. Austin, Texas

Average annual hotel rate: $206 per night

Least expensive month to go: July (9% savings, compared to annual average)



23. Sedona, Arizona

Average annual hotel rate: $241 per night

Least expensive month to go: July (5% savings, compared to annual average)



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10 everyday things that used to cost a very different price

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jakob owens 99603 unsplash

  • When you compare the price of certain goods over time based on the rate of inflation, the results vary. 
  • A movie ticket today is on average 52 cents cheaper than it would have been in 1977.
  • A midsize car would have been $3,132 cheaper than the same style of car today. 
  • While certain food products have become more expensive over time, an economical solution is to prepare food at home rather than eating out.

With few exceptions, goods and services cost more than they used to. But they don't always have to.

One of the most stereotyped marks of aging is repeated complaints about things costing more than they once did. Unfortunately, it's impossible to stop the march of time and it's similarly difficult to halt inflation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it would take $7.28 to purchase what you could with a dollar in 1968. Meanwhile, it would require more than twice as much money — an extra $22.93 — to buy what you could purchase with just $20 in 1988.

However, even when prices rise over time, there are still ways to avoid the added premium placed on items by cultural trends or the tendency to buy out what we once prepared at home. Here are just 10 items that consumers are paying far more for now than they did a few years ago. If you're willing to do away with those goods in their more opulent forms, that price can be a choice rather than an unavoidable burden.

SEE ALSO: Why I won't be paying for my son's college education

Coffee

The nearest $4 or $5 latte at Starbucks will illustrate just how costly a coffee away from home or the office has become. But even the $1.85 average price of a 12-ounce cup of their basic fresh-brewed coffee exceeds the inflation adjusted cost ($1.65) of the 25-cent coffee on offer at the Maryland Inn in 1970.

However, the 3-cent cost of a ca. 1970 cup of coffee brewed at home — based on the 27 cups that a 93-cent, one-pound container of ground coffee could brew — would add up to 20 cents today, adjusted for inflation. Even with a pound of coffee costing $4.27 on average in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the modern cost of a cup of coffee brewed at home is 16 cents.

Not only can you save money by avoiding the coffee shop and brewing at home, but you can spend less on coffee than your parents or grandparents did if you do.



Movies

In 2017, the average cost of a movie ticket was $8.97  — including the easily-avoidable $20 to $30 3D, IMAX and Dolby Cinema showings. Even going back to 1977, however, the $2.23 average cost of a movie ticket would be $9.49 today,

Movies have never been incredibly cheap, but you have a lot of cheaper options for enjoying them now than you did 40 years ago. We have mentioned both second-run theaters and online rentals as cheaper movie options, but staying home and streaming older movies through services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu (with monthly subscription prices similar to that of one movie in 1977) is yet another option. If you want to avoid the extra $40 to $60 a month (or more in rural areas) required for a high-speed internet connection, RedBox still rents DVD and Blu-ray versions of movies for $1.50 to $2, while most public libraries will let folks with library cards check them out for free.



Drinking Water

Unless you live in an area where the water is tainted beyond drinkability, when you buy bottled water you are paying for a packaged version of something that is already a utility. The International Bottled Water Association puts the cost of a gallon of bottled water at $1.11. Purchasing bottled water in 16.9-ounce single servings drives the cost up to about $7.50 a gallon.

According to the American Water Works Association, the average price of tap water is roughly $0.004 per gallon. Considering the American public didn't start drinking bottled water in singles servings until the late 1970s — 350 million gallons a year during that decade, compared to more than 10 billion now — we've only recently started fooling ourselves into paying for pallets of water bottles when we already pay for countless gallons of water to come into our homes each month.

 



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13 incredible stories of American servicemen who won the Medal of Honor — the military's highest honor

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Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious award that can be given to American servicemen for distinguished service in the field of battle.

Since it was first given in 1863, the medal has been awarded only 3,517 times, 19 of which were double awards.

Today, the medal is given to any soldier who has distinguished themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States."

Many of the medals are awarded posthumously, either because they died in battle, or because so much time has passed before they were recognized for their acts. 

The award is usually given to the individual by the president during a ceremony. Because it is given in the name of Congress, it has often been called the "Congressional Medal of Honor." 

In honor of National Medal of Honor Day on March 25, here are 13 stories of those who received the nation's highest honor:

SEE ALSO: We took a rare tour of one of the US Navy's most dangerous warships — nicknamed the 'Sledgehammer of Freedom'

Jacob Parrott, Civil War

Private Jacob Parrot was the first person ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Parrot, along with six other Union soldiers, we awarded for their actions during the Great Locomotive Chase, also known as Andrews' Raid, during the Civil War.

The raid saw 22 Union volunteers sneak behind enemy lines to Atlanta, steal a train, and ride up North to Chattanooga. Along the way, they cut telegraph lines, destroyed railroad tracks, and attempted to burn bridges.

The objective was to cut off Confederate-held Chattanooga from reinforcements as the Union Army would attack the city. 

The raid ended in failure — some of the raiders were captured and executed, most of the damage was repaired quickly, and Union army postponed their attack on Chattanooga.

Despite the failure, the raiders who survived were hailed as heroes.



William Harvey Carney, Civil War

William Harvey Carney was the first African-American awarded the Medal of Honor. He was born a slave in Virginia, but eventually made his way to freedom in Massachusetts.

When the Union Army began accepting volunteers, he joined the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first African-American unit in organized by the northern states, though it was led by white officers.

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Robert Gould Shaw, was tasked with taking Fort Wagner, a beachhead fortification that guarded the southern approach to Charleston Harbor.

A previous attack on the fort failed, and the 54th was chosen for the next attempt. As the soldiers stormed the fort's walls, the Union flag bearer was killed. Carney grabbed the flag and held it for the duration of the battle.

Carney, along with the rest of the 54th, was forced to retreat. Throughout the battle Carney never lost possession of the flag, despite suffering multiple injuries. "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!"he said after the battle. 

Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1900.



Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the first and only female recipient of the Medal of Honor in US history. She was an abolitionist and medical doctor who tried to join the Union Army as a surgeon, but was unable to because she was a woman. 

She declined to work as a nurse and instead accepted an unpaid volunteer position at military hospitals on the front line.

In 1863 she was finally allowed to work as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon," and wore a modified uniform of her own designed that looked like a man's. 

During her service she "devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded, both in the field and hospitals." She was captured by the Confederates, but released in a prisoner exchange.

Major Generals William T. Sherman and George H. Thomas both commended her for her service, and President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor in 1865.

Her award was temporarily rescinded in 1917 after it was determined that it was "unwarranted" because of her status as a civilian. She refused to give her medal back and wore it every day until her death in 1919.

President Jimmy Carter reinstated Walker's medal in 1977.



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We spent 2 days at the PGA Tour's Dell Match Play event in Austin to see why everybody loves it so much

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Dell Match Play

Every March on the PGA Tour calendar brings the unique Dell Technologies Match Play. It is one of four World Golf Championships events and the only one that is in the head-to-head match play format.

In 2016, the event moved to the Austin Country Club, and since the move, it has quickly become one of the most loved stops on the Tour. Thanks to the course, the field, and the local atmosphere, the golf world almost universally raves about this event.

To get a better sense of why everybody loves this event so much, we spent two days out at this year's Dell Match Play. It was easy to see why it is so popular, one that should be on every sports fan's bucket list.

When I first arrived, Jason Dufner was on the driving range all by himself, with a small crowd watching. But the beauty of the course was already obvious.



It's March and we've got a bracket!



One of the first things you see is the statue of famed coach Harvey Penick and his student, legendary golfer Tom Kite.



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These $20,000 bulletproof shelters for classrooms can withstand shooters and Category 5 hurricanes

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ballistic shelter for school shootings - SecondsToSafetyDrill

On Tuesday, a gunman fired at two students at Great Mills High School in Maryland, injuring both of them.

The event was the latest school shooting in the US, where a nationwide debate on the role of guns— especially automatic weapons — in civic society is ramping up. On February 14, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, made headlines when a gunman killed 17 people.

There most likely won't be only one solution to gun violence in schools. But one Utah-based couple believes they have created a temporary way that could make students safer.

In 2013, a Salt Lake City resident named Jim Haslem founded Shelter in Place, a company that builds custom, military-grade refuges designed to withstand bullets and extreme weather events. The first shelter was installed at an Oklahoma elementary school in 2015, and hundreds of American schools have them today.

Haslem told Business Insider that orders and inquiries from school districts had skyrocketed since the Parkland shooting.

Take a look below.

SEE ALSO: People from countries with strict gun control explain how life is different compared with the US

This 5-by-6-foot shelter was constructed for a classroom at Healdton Elementary in Oklahoma. Featuring 6,000 pounds of steel, it can fit 20 students and costs $20,000.

The company often contracts local veterans to build each shelter. The company says it takes two people four hours to assemble.



In the event of a storm or shooting, students would be expected to file into the shelter in less than 30 seconds.



The structure features a camera on the outside that streams to an interior monitor. Inside, there are also padded benches, a battery backup, carpet flooring, lighting, and a ventilation system.



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GOLDMAN SACHS: Traders think these 15 companies are the most likely to get taken over this year

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  • Wall Street is expecting merger-and-acquisition activity to accelerate in 2018, and there's a way to see which companies options traders think have the highest chance of being taken over.
  • Goldman Sachs has singled out 15 companies whose options reflect high expectations of an acquisition.

Wall Street is expecting a major uptick in merger-and-acquisition activity this year. But that information is worthless for single-stock traders unless they know which companies have the highest chance of being taken over.

That's where Goldman Sachs comes in. Katherine Fogertey and the rest of the firm's derivatives team have crunched the numbers and identified a handful of such firms. And these aren't simply qualitative recommendations — Goldman used an exact, options-based methodology designed to highlight companies for which an M&A premium is already being reflected.

The firm's approach involved calculating the three-month/12-month term structure for a universe of companies. Goldman then ranked them by degree of downward-sloping term structure, while also ensuring the firms met a minimum liquidity threshold.

(Note: Term structure measures volatility expectations in one period relative to another. By comparing the three-month measure to the 12-month, Goldman is assessing investor expectations around how much the stock will move in the short term relative to longer-term volatility potential.)

The ultimate objective was to pinpoint stocks where the "options market appears better positioned for the stock to trade up sharply in the next three months, consistent with a higher potential for M&A."

Without further ado, here are the 15 stocks for which Goldman says options traders are most aggressively positioned for a takeover.

15. TransDigm

Ticker: TDG

Industry: Industrials

Market cap: $16.4 billion

Term structure: 1.04



14. C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Ticker: CHRW

Industry: Industrials

Market cap: $12.7 billion

Term structure: 1.04



13. Kimberly-Clark

Ticker: KMB

Industry: Consumer staples

Market cap: $39.3 billion

Term structure: 1.05



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How 'Isle of Dogs' stacks up against Wes Anderson's 8 other movies

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Wes Anderson Michael Loccisano Getty

For over 20 years, the director Wes Anderson has given us some of the most interesting movies the medium has seen — often doing it with beautifully detailed set designs, playful scores, and scripts that dance between drama and comedy.

Recently Anderson has used stop-motion animation to pull this off. Almost a decade after wowing us with "Fantastic Mr. Fox," he returns to stop-motion with his latest movie, "Isle of Dogs" (opening Friday). This movie follows a Japanese boy's journey to find his dog, with the help of other dogs.

Here we look at Anderson's nine feature-length movies and rank them worst to best:

SEE ALSO: 9 characters who could die in "Avengers: Infinity War," ranked by how likely they are to meet their end

9: "The Darjeeling Limited" (2007)

Family has always been a major theme in Anderson's movies, and this one is no different. But things like story creativity, unique production design, and character development that make his other work shine don't land right in this one. Mainly the characters. There's a certain point in this movie when you just don't care anymore about the three brothers' (played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman) bonding journey through India.



8: "Bottle Rocket" (1996)

Anderson's debut feature is understandably his least ambitious work, but the drive to be one of the most creative storytellers working today is there. You can see it in the entertaining dynamic between the friends Anthony and Dignan (played by the brothers Luke and Owen Wilson) and in the execution of the movie's great robbery scene.



7: "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001)

Anderson kicked up his ambitious vision with regard to costumes and production design in this movie and has pretty much not looked back since. Looking at three gifted kids of a New York City family, and how they all grow up to have lives that never match their potential, the movie is a work that if you don't fully love, at the very least you respect. It also possesses Gene Hackman's last great performance before his retirement.



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Check out the 13 new emojis Apple wants to put on your iPhone (AAPL)

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apple accessible emoji proposed 2018 emojipedia

Apple proposed 13 new emojis last week in a pitch to the Unicode Consortium, the group that officially certifies new emojis for iPhones, Android, and other computers.

If Apple's proposal is well-received, these emojis will become official in 2019, and would become available on iPhones and some Android phones in the second half of that year.

Apple's new emojis have a theme — accessibility. It worked with the American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and the National Association of the Deaf to design these new emojis.

All 13 new emojis can "better represent individuals with disabilities," according to Apple's proposal.

"The current selection of emoji provides a wide array of representations of people, activities, and objects meaningful to the general public, but very few speak to the life experiences of those with disabilities," Apple wrote.

"This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all possible depictions of disabilities, but to provide an initial starting point for greater representation for diversity within the emoji universe," Apple continued.

Check out the emojis below:

SEE ALSO: Tim Cook speaks out on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, says Facebook's collection of user data 'shouldn't exist'

DON'T MISS: The most popular emoji on iPhones in the United States, according to Apple

Guide dog with harness



Person with white cane



Person with white cane



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We put a $43,500 Chevy Colorado ZR2 and a $38,000 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport up against each other — here's the verdict (GM)

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Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport

  • Both the Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport and the Chevy Colorado ZR2 are aimed at people who want to go off-road in their pickups.
  • We sampled these midsize off-road warriors back-to-back.
  • The Chevy Colorado ZR2 is a nicer truck. The Toyota TRD Sport is very capable, though less refined.

Chevy is credited with single-handedly reviving the compact-pickup-truck segment in the US, but the truth is that Toyota has long ruled it with its Tacoma. It was just that the "Taco" stood more or less alone, with only the Nissan Frontier to challenge it in the entry-level-pickup space.

The Chevy Colorado arrived in 2014 to crash the party. By rights, this segment isn't the same as it was back in the day when the Chevy S-10 and the Ford Ranger were in the game. These new pickups are midsize, sitting a notch below the big stuff — Chevy's Silverado and Toyota's Tundra, for example.

I recently had a chance to check out the off-road, high-performance version of the Chevy Colorado, the ZR2. Soon after, I borrowed the Tacoma TRD Sport, the competition from Toyota.

OK, I didn't go rock busting or explore a desert. But I did tool around in both trucks on the daunting winter roads of suburban New Jersey.

Here's what I thought.

Editorial note: I heard from a number of readers about this comparison. Many asked why I hadn't put the ZR2 up against a TRD Pro. The answer is that that the TRD Pro wasn't available, and in any case, the TRD Sport stacked up pretty well. But I'll be testing the TRD Pro in April, so look forward to a rematch.

SEE ALSO: We drove a $63,000 Ford Raptor and a $58,000 Chevy Silverado Z71 to see which pickup truck we liked better — here's the verdict

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Let's start with the fetching 2018 Colorado ZR2, in "Cajun red tintcoat."

Our test truck was $43,475 — the Colorado ZR2 is already a lot pricier than the $20,000 basic Colorado, but our tester came well-optioned out of the box before a few extras added about $700.



Our ZR2 came with a crew cab and a "short box" bed. Some folks don't much like short boxes, but I think that for most owners it's ideal.



The Colorado ZR2 kind of blends aggression with sporty sleekness. But I don't think the various fascia elements — grille, badge, headlights — are in good balance.



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10 reasons why Oasis was the greatest British band since Led Zeppelin

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Oasis

  • Led Zeppelin was the biggest rock band of the 1970s.
  • The only band to come along after with such swagger and ambition was Manchester's Oasis.
  • The group was controversial, but in retrospect, undeniably great.

I grew up in the 1970s, when Led Zeppelin was nearly ubiquitous on the radio. It was rare for an hour to go by without "Stairway to Heaven" or "Whole Lotta Love" getting a spin.

I put Zep behind me when I got older and discovered punk, but two winters ago, I took a deep, deep dive into all things Robert-Jimmy-John Paul-and-Bonzo and refreshed my point of view from the perspective of age.

Zep was at one time extremely outré in my world — bands like The Smiths, New Order, the Replacements, and the Violent Femmes offered a different take on rock n' roll. It probably goes without saying that I was a big Elvis Costello fan at one juncture, and he was not exactly what you'd call a Zep fan.

But time heals all youthful transgressions, and in the 2010s, Zep was ripe to revisit. There's really no way around it: In terms of scope and ambition, musical skill and adventurism, Zep was untouchable during its prime, from 1970 until about 1975, the period of the band's first four albums: I, II, II, IV.

Yes, the Rolling Stones and the Who were also doing their best work at this time, but Zep rose above. (It was truly a band, whereas The Who, for example, was turning into a vehicle for Pete Townshend's grand and influential ideas.)

Obviously, rock became quite fragmented after Zep folded in 1980, following the untimely death of drummer John Bonham. The alternatives gave way to new stuff. Punk to post-punk to New Wave to pop punk to emo, classic rock to metal, R&B to rap and hip-hop. It was quite difficult to find a Really Big Band à la Zep to assume that mantle. U2 came the closest, but the group's monumental seriousness made it less a fun act than a quasi-religious experience, culminating in the deeply spiritual 1987 album "The Joshua Tree."

And then, against all odds, came Oasis. I completely missed Oasis the first time around. The Gallagher brothers of Manchester, Noel and Liam, along with the rest of the band, got too big too fast. It was Oasis-Oasis-Oasis all the time, typically presented sort of grotesquely in the context of some pitched Britpop battle with other groups, like Blur and Suede and the other ones with one-word names.

The overall vibe of the whole lad-rock thing was, to my eyes and ears, even stupider than the many, many swaggering post-Zep experiments that completely missed the dynamic nature of Zep's music.

The problem with this particular line of rock is that the lineage isn't always going to be comfortable. Zep was a departure from the Stones and The Beatles, and the relationship between the four members was much more productive, if less dazzling, than what one witnessed in more volatile bands, such as Cream.

Oasis is going through a bit of a revival at the moment, with both Liam and Noel releasing new individual albums and Liam really bringing it at the "One Love Manchester" concert to mourn the victims of the terrorist attack at an Arianna Grande concert. Noel skipped that event, and the viciously entertaining rivalry between the brothers began anew. Just like the mid-1990s. Prior to all this, I'd decided to give the entire Oasis catalog a re-listen.

This was one heck of a band. Here's why:

SEE ALSO: Everyone thinks 'Coda' is Led Zeppelin's worst album — but it's really surprisingly great

DON'T MISS: Fender has unveiled a lineup of acoustic guitars that electric players will love

1. Oasis was an absolutely electrifying live band.

I give you their 2005 appearance in their home town as proof. I never saw Oasis live, so this was the concert that really pushed me over the edge from having a pretty skeptical if not dismissive stance toward the group to basically getting it.

Everything clicks, from Liam looking improbably cool in a naff white bucket hat to Noel looking about as cool as it's possible for Noel to look, in trim black leather, next to his much cooler younger brother. The band's signature, elevating mass of sound, verging at all times on noise but somehow blissfully melodic and routinely transporting, is at all times in evidence.

Also the crowd is vast and very much into it. The mid-to-late 2000s was the period when the traditional music business, capable of producing juggernauts such as Zep, U2, and Oasis, was being rapidly dismembered by the internet, so in some ways Oasis live was a throwback.

Sure, bands and artist now have to tour incessantly to pay the bills, but with the oddball exceptions of people like Ed Sheeran, big acts like Taylor Swift, and stalwarts like The Who and the Rolling Stones, bands struggle to match the arena expectations of previous generations. 

Oasis always seemed as if it were their destiny.



2. Oasis really knew how to organize an album for maximum impact.

I give you their 1994 debut, "Definitely Maybe," as Exhibit A.

It's a bit hard to imagine, in the midst of mid-1990s music culture, much of which was quite dark, edgy, gloomy, confrontational, and alternative, to encounter the blistering opening track, "Rock 'n' Roll Star." Well, I guess we knew what these guys had in mind.

Declarations are one thing, execution another. And "Definitely Maybe" showed Oasis' incipient talent for crafting a track-list for maximum effect. "Live Forever,""Supersonic," and "Cigarettes & Alcohol" define the propulsive, anthemic nature of the rest of the sequence, which is rarely less than mind-boggling in its ambition.



3. Noel and Liam haven't mellowed.

We have to touch on this aspect of brother love, obviously.

But not that much, except to say that Oasis when it was huge was defined by conflict — endlessly entertaining conflict. True, the never-ending tabloid sniping showed that Noel and Liam were hip to an emerging celebrity-entertainment axis that fans of say, Bob Dylan, would sneer at.

But at least they were good at it, and while the whole thing at times was clearly performance art and a savvy marketing strategy, their mutual hatred has lately seemed entirely genuine and no less hilarious than it was back in the good old days.

Just check out Liam's recent diss of Noel's stature — to schoolchildren.



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'Fortnite' is slowly rolling out on iOS and Android — here are a few ways to dominate the battle royale if you're just joining the craze

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Fortnite

The smartphone launch of "Fortnite Battle Royale" has been slow, but with the first round of invites for the iOS version sent out, things seem to be picking up.

The game should soon make its way to some Android devices as well, so even more people will be able to get in on the craziness that is "Fortnite." Since so many first-time players will be jumping in on the fun, we thought we'd share some beginner tips and tricks that helped us stay alive and win in the world of "Fortnite."

Now, there are pro players out there who can probably write books on how to win in "Fortnite," or give you a two-hour lecture on surviving in Tilted Towers, but when you're just picking up the game, you need to start out simple, get to grips with the touchscreen controls, and learn the ropes of building and harvesting materials.

So, without further ado, here are eight tips to help you survive in Fortnite on your first plays.

SEE ALSO: A beginner's guide to 'Fortnite' on iPhone: How to download the game, and some basic controls

Get familiar with the controls

Even if you've already played "Fortnite" on console or PC, you need to familiarize yourself with the touchscreen controls.

It's not difficult to learn, but if you're used to playing with a controller or mouse and keyboard, and have building down to muscle memory, you may need some time to adjust to the layout.

For example, you need to get used to the fact that changing between weapons or building pieces is done by tapping the individual items at the bottom of the screen, instead of by shuffling between them with buttons.

Aiming down the sights can be done by double tapping the right side of the screen, where the aiming area is, then holding and dragging to aim. Fortunately, you can always get help from the game's settings. It's all about actually getting used to the touchscreen control method.



Be aware of your surroundings

One of the most crucial points for survival in "Fortnite" is being aware of your surroundings. On home consoles and PC, you need to rely on sound to know where enemy players and chests are, but it's a different affair on mobile.

Since many people play mobile games with the sound turned off, the developers of "Fortnite" have added a bunch of visual cues to clue players in on the direction of various sounds in the game.

For example, if an enemy player is moving nearby, you'll see a white indicator — similar to the one that shows the direction of enemy fire when you're being shot at — that will show you where footsteps are coming from. The same goes for chests, which otherwise have a distinct chime to them — once you get near the loot, you'll see an indicator that points you to it.

This mechanic actually changes things up quite a bit. In the other versions of "Fortnite" you're pretty much dead without all the audio cues, but on mobile you can comfortably play without sound. Some players may see this new mechanic as unfair, but it's all about facilitating for a better on-the-go gameplay experience. If you are in a tight environment and you see the footsteps indicator, crouch and proceed slowly. If you're running around, enemy players will also be able to identify your location.

In "Fortnite," you want to always know what's happening around you. If you crash around towns, you'll get jumped. If you recklessly fell giant trees in an open field, you'll get sniped. Always take the time to find cover and just look around and listen (or look for the sound indicators).



Avoid enemy players when landing

There are experienced "Fortnite" players who like jumping headfirst into heated battle zones, but as a beginner you're better off landing in a location with few or no enemy players.

Remember, a head start of only two to three seconds is more than enough for someone more experienced than you to get to a weapon and blow you to pieces the moment you touch the ground. That's why, in the beginning at least, it's better to wait it out in the party bus and jump in a more secluded area.

Don't worry about weapons and loot, as they are randomized. You are just as likely to find a legendary sniper out in the woods as you are in one of the towns.

Once you land, get looting! Finding a weapon is your first order of business. You don't want to be running around with just your pickax, as it is a pretty weak melee weapon. Once you find a weapon, loot everything you can and get moving.



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