• Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market are health food stores with locations all over the US.
• Both grocers sell mostly natural or organic products and have fresh salad and juice bars, sandwich counters, and pre-made foods for purchase.
• They also both have partnerships with Instacart to deliver groceries on demand.
• After shopping at Sprouts for a few months, I've found it's the perfect blend of Trader Joe's prices and Whole Foods quality.

Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market are natural grocery chains with hundreds of locations all over the US.

Both grocers sell mostly natural or organic products and have fresh salad and juice bars, sandwich counters, and pre-made meals for purchase, along with in-store dining areas. They also sell natural health products like vitamins and supplements. 

Ever since Amazon bought Whole Foods last year for $13.7 billion, the company has been working to shed the store's "whole paycheck" image by lowering prices and opening new, no-frills stores called Whole Foods 365.

That's placed Whole Foods in direct competition with health food stores that have long advertised low prices, like Sprouts, which has built a national brand on the motto "healthy food for less."

I've always been loyal to Trader Joe's for its unique and cheap products. Still, there's no salad bar or sandwich counter at Trader Joe's. I started shopping at Sprouts a few months ago out of convenience, and I've decided it's the perfect blend of Trader Joe's prices and Whole Foods quality.

Keep reading to see what it's like inside a Sprouts store in Los Angeles — and why I think it's so great.

SEE ALSO: We shopped at Costco and BJ's Wholesale to see which store had the better deals — and one had a clear edge over the other

DON'T MISS: Here are all the changes Amazon is making to Whole Foods

Sprouts has over 285 stores across the Southern US, the majority of which are in California, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. Sprouts opened 36 stores in 2016 and 32 stores in 2017, and is projecting 30 new locations this year.

Source: Sprouts

The Sprouts location I frequent is in a busy part of West Hollywood on the bottom floor of an apartment building.

There's a huge seating area right at the front of the store.

Panama City has a lot to offer tourists. Gorgeous beaches, historic sites, and a lively downtown area are just a few of the many attractions that bring millions of tourists from all over the world to the Central American city every year. 

But if you're not into any of that outdoorsy stuff, you might enjoy a stay in this crazy hotel room, designed to be a gamer's paradise, at the Panama City Hilton Hotel. The room was created by the Latin American division of PC company Alienware — a subsidiary of Dell — and showcased in a video this week touting the room in all its glory.

The room is decked out with Alienware gaming tech, and it's like nothing you've ever seen:

SEE ALSO: The new 'God of War' is one of the best-looking games ever made — see for yourself

A high-end Alienware PC and VR-gaming setup dominates the room, all centered around a racing-style gamer chair, pointed at a massive 65-inch TV. It reportedly costs $349 a night.

The room also features the usual hotel stuff: Two queen beds, cable access, full bathroom, and so on. 

Source: Xataka

A close up of the battle station shows an Alienware Aurora desktop, a high-end gaming PC that starts at $899.99, and a color-changing backlit gaming keyboard, complimented with two Xbox controllers and an Oculus Rift VR headset.

The equipment in this photo is worth at least $1,500, by even the most modest of estimates.

If you happen to bring a guest with you and want to play a few rounds of "Fortnite: Battle Royale," they can use the Alienware gaming laptop conveniently right behind the main chair.

Beginning on Wednesday, the Tribeca Film Festival kicks off another year of spotlighting fascinating movies, TV shows, and the latest projects from the world of virtual reality.

That isn't even mentioning the anniversary screenings of treasured classics like “Schindler’s List" and “Scarface,” accompanied by talks with the legends behind the works.

But not everyone can make it to New York City to take in all the fun. Here are 14 movies showing at the fest that you should seek out when they are eventually released in theaters and streaming.

SEE ALSO: "Westworld" season 2 is even better than the first and transcends the last sci-fi tropes holding it back

“The American Meme”

This documentary looks at the people who are famous for being famous — Paris Hilton, The Fat Jew, Emily Ratajkowski, among others — and dissects what you really have to do to become a social media brand. [Seeking distribution]

“Disobedience”

Following up his best foreign film Oscar for “A Fantastic Woman,” Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio gives us the story of a taboo romance set in North London’s Orthodox Jewish community, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. [Released by Bleecker Street on April 27]

“The Fourth Estate”

Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus (“What Happened, Miss Simone?”) looks at the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency from inside one of the papers he criticizes the most: The New York Times. [Airing on Showtime May 27]

• The gambling capital of the world is Macau, an autonomous region in China, with gaming revenues more than three times that of Las Vegas.
• The city made its name catering to high-spending VIPs from China, but casino giants have had to change their strategy due to a corruption crackdown and directives from the Chinese government. 
• MGM China opened its new $3.4 billion mega casino-resort earlier this year to appeal to China's rising middle class, with a $100 million theater, priceless art, and a high-end spa, among other features.
• I visited the resort recently. It was clear that gambling was hidden away while MGM was trying to sell a new kind of luxury to its guests.

Americans might be surprised to find out that the gambling capital of the world isn’t Las Vegas.

It's Macau.

Gambling revenue in the former Portugeuse colony topped $33 billion last year, more than three times the revenue generated by Las Vegas casinos. 

It's a stunning turnaround for the city, which became a gambling mecca for the millionaires and billionaires created by China's economic rise. Global gambling giants Steve Wynn, Las Vegas Sands, and MGM all jumped in to feed the demand.

But, starting around 2013, revenue started to dry up as President Xi Jinping led a crackdown on corruption in the Communist Party, scaring off the VIPs who drove casino revenue.

Gaming revenue has come back as the crackdown has eased, but this time around its the crowds driving the revenue, not the VIPs. That, along with the Chinese government's directives that Macau needs to broaden its scope away from gambling, has changed the strategy for casinos.

In February, MGM China opened its $3.4 billion bet on the new face of Macau — the one based around family-oriented tourism and appealing to China's middle class, which is projected to grow from 430 million to over 780 million in the next decade.

The MGM Cotai is a 35-story, 1,390-room casino-resort that takes the focus off gambling and towards features like  a $100 million theater that change into multiple configurations — from fashion show to concert to nightclub — as well as a $12.7 million collection of contemporary and traditional Asian art, nine high-end restaurants, and a world-class spa with “singing bowl” massages.

“Our strategic plan is built on catering to this tremendously emerging more-affluent Chinese customer, a customer that’s looking for more experimental experiences, not just a selfie moment or a gaming table," MGM CEO James Murren said.

I was recently invited to the MGM Cotai for two-day art symposium to show off the resort’s extensive art collection, as well as try out the various features and facilities — here’s what it was like.

SEE ALSO: We partied at the exclusive, sexy Hong Kong party with the art world’s elite on a 62,000-square-foot floating restaurant — here’s what it was like

The MGM Cotai is located in Macau, which I accessed by ferry from Hong Kong. More specifically, the resort is on Cotai, a 2-mile strip of reclaimed land where casino giants have sought to create a new Las Vegas Strip of diversified mega casino-resorts offering everything from amusement parks to a mechanized dragon.

The MGM is surrounded by massive casino-resorts like Steve Wynn's Wynn Palace and City of Dreams Macau. There are more than 10 casino-resorts on "the Strip."

Opulence is the name of the game. The golden lion in front of the MGM Cotai weighs 38 tons, is 33 feet tall, and made from 32,000 sheets of 24-karat gold foil.

• It may be hard to tell whether your job is the right fit for you.
• LinkedIn Career Expert Blair Decembrele spoke to INSIDER about five signs that a position is perfect for you.
• Your job should both teach you new skills while offering you room for growth within the company.
• You should feel inspired by the work you're doing and have a good work-life balance.
• The work you're doing also deserves to be acknowledged and recognized by your employer.

There's a reason work is called work — it's not always fun.

But while it's easy to fixate on the everyday annoyances of your job, you should also be keeping an eye out for the signs that you're on the right career path.

We spoke to LinkedIn career expert Blair Decembrele about the signs that mean your job is right for you, even if it might not always feel like it.

You're learning new skills, not just using the ones you already possess.

"LinkedIn research has found that almost nine in 10 (89%) professionals feel that skills are more important than job titles,"Decembrele told INSIDER. "This data indicates that people are looking to work for a company that will help them further develop as a professional while providing the tools and training necessary to succeed."

To lock down a new job, you'll need to already possess a vast skill set that sets you apart from other applicants. Once you're fully in the position, however, it's important to not only keep using those skills but to also build upon them. Your job should push you to develop your craft.

There's a clear path for growth.

Whether you're working for a large corporate company or smaller employer, look to see if, in the future, there's room for you to grow as your skill set continues to expand.

"LinkedIn research has found that one of the top career goals for professionals in 2018 is getting a promotion or raise.  One factor that helps people to stay driven in their current position is knowing there is opportunity for growth," Decembrele told INSIDER.

"For example, if you work as a marketing associate at a fast growing company, find out if there are opportunities for you to join new company-wide projects on a regular basis and potentially progress into a managerial role."

You have a good work-life balance.

Although not every job falls under the typical 9-5 or 10-6 hour range, it's important to ensure that your work life will not interfere too heavily with your personal life, even if it's a job you truly enjoy.

"Flexibility is one of the most important factors for today's professionals, and LinkedIn research has found that one in three professionalswould take a10% pay cut for the ability to design their own schedule," Decembrele told INSIDER.

"Each company has a different perspective on flexible working opportunities. Some companies allow for one day a week to be worked from home, while others, like Dell, a company that appears on our annual LinkedIn Top Companies list, offers a program that allows employees to work where and when is best for them, focusing on the value of results. Determine what level of flexibility suits your needs and look for a job that meets that criteria," Decembrele advises.

• Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch in history.
• She's ruled over the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarch since her 1953 coronation.
• The queen and her family are frequently in the news — but there are some facts about Queen Elizabeth II that might fly under the radar.

Queen Elizabeth II has had quite a career.

Not only is she the longest-reigning British monarch in history — she's also the longest-reigning current monarch in the world, and the longest-serving current head of state. On Saturday, April 21, she turns 92 years old.

She's the first UK monarch to ever celebrate a sapphire jubilee, which marked her 65-year reign in 2017. CNN reported that, should the queen still be reigning on February 6, 2022, she will be the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee.

Her career was recently fictionalized in the Netflix historical drama series "The Crown," and the royal family is often in the news. But that doesn't mean there aren't a few facts out there about the queen that you might not have heard before.

Here's a look at some surprising facts about Queen Elizabeth II:

SEE ALSO: Queen Elizabeth has a fortune worth over $500 million — here's where the royal family got their riches

Elizabeth was a favorite of her grandfather, King George V.

In"Queen and Country: The Fifty-year Reign of Elizabeth II," biographer William Shawcross wrote that the monarch made for "a surprisingly playful figure" who loved to play games with his first female grandchild. British politician Winston Churchill also reportedly described her as "a character."

The queen has at least two family nicknames — "Lilibet" and "cabbage."

Shawcross wrote in "Queen and Country: The Fifty-year Reign of Elizabeth II" that her grandfather coined "Lilibet." The family nickname also may have arisen from the way Queen Elizabeth II pronounced her own name as a small child.

Town and Country reported that the queen's husband Prince Philip also may affectionately refer to her as "cabbage"— possibly a twist on the popular French pet name "mon petit chou," which means both "my little cabbage" and "my little pastry puff."

Elizabeth II reportedly made the first ever royal transatlantic telephone call in 1939.

The 13-year-old called her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who were touring Canada at the time, according to"I Never Knew That About Royal Britain"

Embarking on a new weight-loss plan can be confusing and overwhelming. But even if you’ve tried—and failed—to lose weight in the past, there’s always a chance to meet your goals and drop the weight for good.

Take it from these 16 people who successfully lost more than 20 pounds and have kept it off. Although each person had his or her own unique journey, they all share on common thread—believing in yourself and never giving up.

Read through their best tips and get inspired to jumpstart your own weight-loss plans. For more inspiration, check out our gallery of what real people look like after losing 30 pounds.

Focus on what you can have instead of what you can't.

"Focus on adding things in rather than cutting them out. Add in the good foods and eventually they will crowd out the bad."

— Suzanne Culberg, 156 pounds lost

Bust out the food scale.

"My number one tip is to weigh and measure your food. It sounds tedious, but in reality it's super quick and easy, and prevents extra calories from sneaking in. I weigh all protein servings and measure all liquids like oils and salad dressings. At this point, it's just a habit for me… When I slip up and stop doing it for awhile, the scale inevitably creeps up."

— Kat Carney, 90 pounds lost

Cut the sugar

"My number one tip is to cut sugar out of your diet. The ketogenic diet, in addition to willpower, helped me lose the weight and keep it off. Also, a diet of delicious meats, cheeses, bacon and other fatty foods is very easy to follow."

— Chase Bowler, 75 pounds lost

For help on kicking your sugar cravings for good, be sure to order a copy of the Zero Sugar Diet. Participants lost up to a pound a day on the program!

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.

Figuring out where online retailers keep their stash of cool and fun products is like one of those analogy exercises we used to do in school. As it turns out, "New & Interesting Finds" is to Amazon as "Hidden Gems" is to Wayfair.

I frequent New & Interesting Finds on Amazon when I need quirky gift ideas or just want to entertain myself browsing the collection of weird products, but only recently did I notice the Hidden Gems banner buried near the bottom of Wayfair's homepage. It's just as interesting to browse and is similarly categorized into curated sections such as Games For All or Kitchen Gadgets. 

Since Wayfair is a home goods shopping site, the offerings tend towards decor, small gadgets and appliances, and storage solutions. Hidden Gems, therefore, offers a more focused product selection than New & Interesting Finds, which can sometimes feel like a never-ending dive into a random department you don't really care for. If you already know you want to hone in on home goods, Wayfair's Hidden Gems might be a better place to start. 

After browsing Hidden Gems ourselves, we rounded up the 15 best things you can buy right now. 

A lamp that plays tricks on your eyes

An oddly specific cookie cutter

Donkey Products iCookie Cutter, $15.99, available at Wayfair

Design your smartphone to your exact specifications with this fun cookie cutter that's perfect for the tech- and sweets-obsessed person in your life. 

A ravioli press

More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday in Houston, Texas, to honor the life of former first lady Barbara Bush who died Tuesday at the age of 92. 

More than 3,000 members of the public also paid their respects at an open viewing Friday after a week of mourning across Houston that included tributes at City Hall, the police headquarters, the elder Mr. Bush’s office, and Barbara Bush Elementary School, the New York Times reported. 

After the funeral, a motorcade took Bush's casket to College Station for a private burial at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University.

Here's how the service unfolded: 

SEE ALSO: Inside the 'storybook' marriage of Barbara and George HW Bush — who were married longer than any first couple, and still said 'I love you' every night

SEE ALSO: 12 quotes that show why Barbara Bush was such a beloved first lady

The afternoon service took place at the Bush's family church, St. Martin's Episcopal Church.

The event drew prominent attendees such as first lady Melania Trump and the Obamas.

Former first lady Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton also attended.

Floyd Mayweather may have announced his retirement from boxing last year, but he could be tempted to transition to mixed martial arts and fight in UFC.

For Mayweather, "It's all about presenting the right numbers." And that means he wants to get paid big bucks for his blood, sweat, and tears.

If he does compete in a UFC octagon, he could go on to fight multiple times — perhaps, even, on a billion dollar deal.

Mayweather may be 41 years old and attempting another sport late on in life, but the American took hardly any damage throughout his 50 professional boxing bouts and is a disciplined athlete.

To maintain his sporting dominance, Mayweather has to eat right. So what sort of food does a former five-weight world champion fighter eat?

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

SEE ALSO: Floyd Mayweather’s Instagram shows him living his best life in the Caribbean just a week after a gunman sprayed bullets at his entourage

DON'T MISS: Rumours suggest Floyd Mayweather will fight Conor McGregor with modified rules — but they'll benefit only one man

UP NEXT: The gunman who sprayed bullets at Floyd Mayweather's motorcade was reportedly targeting the boxer's entourage

This is Floyd Mayweather, a retired boxer renowned for his victories against Oscar de la Hoya, Saúl Álvarez, and Manny Pacquiao (below). Mayweather concluded his boxing career with a win over UFC fighter Conor McGregor last year, and will be remembered for his defensive prowess, extraordinary technique, and dedication to his craft.

To get ring ready, Mayweather employed personal chefs to provide meal plans throughout the day. A typical breakfast includes eggs, grits, and home fries. He also chows down on turkey sausage and turkey kielbasa. For Mayweather, a view might be just as important as the breakfast itself — so here he is enjoying a morning meal in Hawaii.

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Source: Esquire.

Mayweather hardly needs any help staying alert in the ring as he was always one of the best 12-round fighters in the game. Regardless, he is not averse to coffee.

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2/ there's no better place for a quick coffee break than Bogota, Colombia. pic.twitter.com/tGw9nWvgw8

Source: Twitter.

23-year-old Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II is next in line to the Jordanian throne.

A Sandhurst graduate and second lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces, he shares his adventurous lifestyle with an Instagram following of 1.3 million— and also uses the platform to promote his initiatives to support and engage the youth in Jordan. 

From indulging in his passion for extreme sports to meeting Obama, scroll down for a peek inside the life of Jordan's Instagram-famous Crown Prince.

SEE ALSO: The insane life of Brunei's super-rich Prince, who flies choppers, chills with tiger cubs, and plays polo

23-year-old Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II is next in line to the Jordanian throne.

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Source: Instagram 

He officially became Crown Prince in 2009, aged 15.

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Source: alhussein

He has amassed an Instagram following of 1.3 million, and uses the platform to promote his military and political work — and share his adventurous lifestyle.

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Source: Instagram

There's a huge variety of headphones out there, so any company coming into this saturated market should really have something "different" if they want to stand out.

Indeed, nascent audio company Nura did something different with its Nuraphone headphones. It came out with a pair that are both headphones and earphones. They sure look strange, and they feel even weirder when you first try them on.

But they sound phenomenal. Their supreme sound is also thanks to Nura's personalized audio tuning, where the headphones tune themselves to the way you hear sound. If it sounds hokey, that's because you haven't tried them out yet.

Check out the Nuraphone headphones:

SEE ALSO: Bose's $350 noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have if you want to live in a quieter world – and they sound great, too

Let's address the first thing you're all wondering about.

Yep, those are earbuds inside the headphone cups. 

So what's going on with that unusual design?

Unlike most headphones, the Nuraphone headphones deliver sound via the main headphone cup and the in-ear earbud. 

The main headphone cup houses a large bass speaker – or "driver" as they're often called. That's where ultra-low bass frequencies will come from.

Meanwhile, the inner earbud delivers some additional bass, mid, and high audio frequencies. And it makes a lot of sense. It's like having a full sound system in your ears that includes the subwoofer, mid-range speakers, and high-frequency tweeters.

Normal headphones and earphones can deliver all these frequencies with so-called "full range" drivers that deliver bass, mids, and highs. But full-range drivers don't specialize in any one frequency like those in the Nuraphone do. The thinking behind the Nuraphone's hybrid design is that huge amount of bass can be delivered without drowning out the mid and high frequencies. 

I'll get to how they sound in a moment, but there's one more thing you should know about.

The unique design is only part of the Nuraphone experience, and it's not even the most important aspect.

Before you start listening to music for the first time with the Nuraphone, you need to get them tuned specifically for your hearing using the Nura mobile app. 

The Nura app gets you set up to make the most of the Nuraphone. If you don't use the app, you're basically wasting your money, as you don't take advantage of the Nuraphone's defining feature: Personalized sound. 

First, it makes sure you get a good seal with the earbuds and your inner ear. Then, it'll play a variety of sounds while it figures out how to best tune audio based on how your ears hear. It'll measure how sensitive your ears are to audio frequencies and tones and create a hearing profile based on the results. The whole process takes a couple of minutes. 

The Nuraphone headphones then use your hearing profile to adjust the audio that they deliver.

• The Rolls-Royce introduced an all-new eighth generation Phantom for 2018.
• The new Rolls-Royce flagship is powered by a 563 horsepower, twin-turbo V12.
• It starts at $450,000 while our extended wheelbase test car carried a price tag of nearly $644,000.
• The Phantom is fully-customizable and loaded with cool tech and luxury features.

Over the years, Rolls-Royce has become a byword for automotive opulence. As the pinnacle of roadgoing luxury, the Phantom is Rolls-Royce's long-serving flagship. For the first time in 15 years, there's an all-new generation Phantom. In fact, it's the eighth generation in the nameplate that dates back to 1925.

Recently, Business Insider was able to spend an afternoon with the all-new Phantom, including about an hour behind the wheel of the behemoth.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom will be available in two body styles, the stand wheelbase and the extended wheelbase which adds eight extra inches in length. In case you're wondering, the extended wheelbase Phantom is 19.5 feet long.

Under the hood is a new 563 horsepower, 6.75 liter, twin-turbocharged V12 engine. According to Rolls, our extra-long Phantom can hit 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds. The standard Phantom is about 0.2 seconds faster. Both versions have a top speed of 155 mph.

We were impressed by the new Phantom driving dynamics thanks to its new four-wheel-steering system. It's not exactly nimble, but far more fleet of foot than you would expect from a vehicle of its size. However, the real place to be is in the back where you can stretch out and get a feel for the serenity and smoothness of its passenger experience. It's what Rolls-Royce calls the "magic carpet ride."

The standard wheelbase Phantom starts at about $450,000. But our test car is an extended wheelbase model that is eight inches longer than the standard Phantom and starts at $530,000. With bespoke optional extras, our black-and-emerald-green Roller costs nearly $644,000.

Here's a closer look at the coolest tech and luxury features on the Rolls-Royce Phantom:

SEE ALSO: We drove the all-new $630,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom to see the future of automotive opulence — here's what it was like

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

We have the chance to experience the Phantom on the streets of New York City.

Behind the wheel, the first thing you notice is the heads-up display and a digital instrument cluster designed to mimic old-school Rolls-Royce analog gauges. The driver also has access to adaptive cruise control, collision warning, pedestrian warning as well as lane departure and lane change warning.

In the center console is a 10.25-inch high definition display running a version of BMW Group's iDrive infotainment system. It serves as a display for the Phantom's elaborate system of cameras.

Last year, Apple launched its first $1,000 phone.

The iPhone X is not only Apple's most expensive phone, but also its most advanced model. It featured a screen that stretched across the entire device, and advanced front-sensors that lets the phone scan your face to keep it secure. 

But as soon as September, you might not need to pay $999 to get these features. Several reliable sources — including Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Morgan Stanley, and KGI Securities — have said they expect Apple to release a lower-cost iPhone this year.

KGI Securities said in a note seen by Business Insider on Wednesday that it could be priced between $550 and $650. Apple launches new iPhones in September, so that's when it could come out.

Here's what we know about the most important iPhone Apple could launch this year:

The new low-cost iPhone will only be one of three models that are expected to come out this fall. Apple is also expected to launch an updated version of the iPhone X as well as a super-sized iPhone X.

Here's everything Apple's expected to launch this year. 

But the cheapest of the three new phones is expected to be the best-selling, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. It could account for 65% to 75% of iPhones sold this upcoming cycle, he said in a note earlier this week.

It could have an edge-to-edge screen and facial recognition.

• Spending time in forests, hiking in mountains, and just being outside can lead to significant health benefits.
• Studies have shown that walking in the woods can improve blood pressure, boost mental health, and decrease cancer risk.
• So go spend some time "forest-bathing" to improve your health.

Many people spend workdays indoors under fluorescent lights and in front of computers, then return home to bask in the glow of television screens.

But research suggests it's important to make time to get outdoors as well, since doing so is beneficial — maybe essential — for human health. Psychologists and health researchers are finding more and more science-backed reasons we should go outside and enjoy the natural world.

In her book, "The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative," journalist Florence Williams writes that she started investigating the health benefits of nature after moving from the mountainous terrain of Boulder, Colorado, to what she describes as "the anti-Arcadia that is the nation's capital": Washington, DC.

"I felt disoriented, overwhelmed, depressed," she wrote. "My mind had trouble focusing. I couldn't finish thoughts. I couldn't make decisions and I wasn't keen to get out of bed."

We don't all need to move to beautiful places like Boulder — there are good reasons for many of us to live in bigger cities. 

But humans do need to spend time in natural environments if they want to improve their physical and mental health. That could mean taking advantage of hiking trails near your home, playing in the snow, swimming in the ocean, or just spending time every week in a local park.

Here are 12 reasons why it's so important.

SEE ALSO: The amazing ways intermittent fasting affects your body and brain

Walking in nature could improve your short-term memory.

Several studies show that nature walks have memory-promoting effects that other walks don't.

In one study, University of Michigan students were given a brief memory test, then divided into two groups. One group took a walk around an arboretum, and the other took a walk down a city street. When the participants returned and did the test again, those who had walked among trees did almost 20% percent better than they had first time. The people who had taken in city sights instead did not consistently improve.

A similar study on depressed individuals found that walks in nature boosted working memory much more than walks in urban environments.

Being outdoors has a demonstrated de-stressing effect.

Something about being outside changes the physical expression of stress in the body.

One study found that students sent into the forest for two nights had lower levels of cortisol — a hormone often used as a marker for stress — than those who spent that time in a city.

In another study, researchers found a decrease in both the heart rates and levels of cortisol of participants who spent time in the forest compared to those in the city.

"Stressful states can be relieved by forest therapy," the researchers concluded. 

Among office workers, even a view of nature out a window is associated with lower stress and higher job satisfaction.

Spending time outside reduces inflammation.

When inflammation goes into overdrive, it's associated with a wide range of ills, including autoimmune disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cancer. Spending time in nature may be one way to help keep that in check.

In one study, students who spent time in the forest had lower levels of inflammation than those who spent time in the city. In another, elderly patients who had been sent on a weeklong trip into the forest showed reduced signs of inflammation. There were some indications that the woodsy jaunt had a positive effect on those patients' hypertension levels as well.

I got very little use out of my first iPad back in 2011. Even amid all of the excitement of having a brand-new Apple device, I felt no real need for my second-generation iPad, between my iPhone and my MacBook.

I know I'm not alone. I've heard a lot of people agree that it's tough to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a third screen size — and yet, Apple keeps on making tablets. Why?

"Both [The Mac and iPad] are incredible," Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told the Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Wells when he negated rumors that the Mac and iPad might eventually merge. "One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well."

So, I decided to take the new reasonably sized and priced iPad for a spin, along with the not-so-reasonably priced Apple Pencil, to figure out what it was that I hadn't considered. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. 

Here were my takeaways after owning an iPad for the first time in seven years:

The iPad is the perfect weight and size for commuting, at least for me.

I never had a real complaint about the MacBook's portability before, but there was a time when I was traveling frequently and felt the need to switch to the lighter MacBook Air; I eventually had to go back to the MacBook Pro when I needed more storage. 

The iPad solved the weight-versus-storage issue for me by letting me treat my MacBook Pro like I used to treat my desktop, but with more flexibility.

The MacBook Pro moved around my apartment and went with me to coffee shops when I had to get work done, but it stayed at home any time I had a commute and could get away with accessing files or apps from a self-standing screen that's larger than my iPhone. 

Since I have a separate work computer at the BI office, I could opt for the much more portable iPad over my MacBook Pro on a day-to-day basis. In contrast, Tim Cook said a few years ago that he used his iPad around the house and took his laptop to work — the point is, you have options. 

The iPad makes for a much better mobile experience than the iPhone with regard to multitasking.

If you swipe up, you see the dock, which can support 13 apps plus an additional three that automatically populate as your most recently used. Swipe up even further and you get the Control Center and can see all of the apps you have open. 

On an iPhone, shuffling through your open apps when five or six of them are running at a time is frustrating, but with iOS 11, Apple makes use of the iPad's real estate and lays out all of the app cards without overlap, making for a much more pleasant experience when you're multitasking. 

Multitasking didn't always work, though.

Multitasking got slightly unpleasant when I started testing out the different ways in which you can use two apps at once. 

With Split Screen, you can divide the screen into two sections, with the apps taking the screen 50-50, 75-25, or 25-75. It was great for planning a trip, and I used it to look up sights and book tickets while I jotted things down in the Notes app. I was upset that it didn't work with Google Maps or the Gmail app, though (this is not a Google thing because it worked with Google Photos just fine).

For those apps, I resorted to Slide Over, which creates a window that's about one-third the size of the screen and sits on top. You can choose where you want to position it, and slide it in and out of view as it's needed. I decided this would be perfect for a music player, but Spotify didn't allow it. 

Still, I was really happy with picture-in-picture support since I could watch videos or FaceTime while I did other things.

Earth Day is one of the world's largest celebrations of our environment. 

To commemorate the holiday, National Geographic is debuting a "Symphony for our World": a television event that will pair a slideshow of National Geographic's stunning wildlife photography with a five-part symphony.

The music is created by Bleeding Fingers Music and performed by a full orchestra and choir. The symphony-and-photo pairing will air on National Geographic Wild on Sunday, April 22 at 7 p.m. EST.

A touring, 90-minute live symphony event with projections of the photos will also debut in San Francisco, California on April 22 (Earth Day), then tour around the US and Canada.

Below are some of the most spectacular wildlife images from "Symphony for our World," which were previously unreleased from National Geographic's archive.

SEE ALSO: Soak in the beauty and fragility of our dynamic planet with these stunning photos

The live symphony performances will take place in cities around the US and Canada. After starting in San Francisco on Sunday, the event will then travel to Austin, Texas in July.

The music and images are divided into five parts that correspond with different ecosystems: the sea, coastlines, land, mountains, and sky.

Images from each of those environments will be accompanied by a different chapter of music that's tailored to the ecosystem.

When venture capitalist and philanthropist Jillian Manus throws a party, the who's who of Silicon Valley shows up. That's because her parties are legendary. The budget? Exorbitant.

The prolific hostess is known around the Bay for her over-the-top dinner parties and Valentine's Day galas, which have over the years included a live elephant greeting guests at the door, a recreation of Woodstock, and a San Francisco Symphony concert on the lawn of her Atherton estate.

Business Insider recently spoke to Manus to get the inside scoop on how her talk-of-the-Valley parties come together. She shared photos of her last Valentine's Day bash with us. Take a look.

SEE ALSO: The tech elite are abandoning Silicon Valley in droves because of 'groupthink' and out-of-control living costs— here's where they're headed

"I never just throw a party. I am knee-deep. I roll up my sleeves," Manus said.

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It's no wonder that the venture capitalist's parties are "the toast of Silicon Valley."

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

In 2006, Manus and her then-husband Alan Salzman, an early investor in Tesla, started hosting annual gala benefits on Valentine's Day to raise money for a local cancer clinic.

• The Halal Guys is a New York City-based chicken, gyro, and rice chain that's quickly expanding nationally. 
• Mediterranean food is becoming increasingly popular in the US, with chains like Cava and Noon finding success in cities all over. 
• We visited one of its locations and found its good, cheap meals to be a tremendous deal. 

New York City is home to so many iconic cultural institutions, it's difficult to count them all: Central Park, Seinfeld, the Statue of Liberty, the charmingly disintegrating subway system — the list goes on. 

But one revered New York icon is something a little unexpected: The Halal Guys. What started as a hot dog cart on the streets of Midtown Manhattan in 1990 has exploded into a hugely popular nationwide chicken-and-rice chain.

And The Halal Guys is striking while the iron is hot, setting its eyes on further franchising and expansion as America's taste buds become more interested in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Despite having started as a business to feed late-night Muslim cab drivers at the end of their shifts in NYC, Halal Guys executives now say that roughly 95% of the chain's customers don't even follow halal diets, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The chain has 61 US locations — plus a handful more internationally — scattered fairly liberally from coast to coast. But as it aims to further saturate America, one wonders: does it have what it takes to make it in Milwaukee as well as in Miami, in Sioux City as well as in San Francisco? We visited the chain to find out. 

SEE ALSO: We tried Shake Shack's new veggie burger — here's the verdict

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There are a handful of locations in New York City. We swung by the brick-and-mortar spot on 14th Street.

The inside is a no-frills, cafeteria-style atmosphere. Frankly, having seen a thousand iterations of "fast-casual chic"— raw wood, Edison bulbs, and industrial metal — it's a refreshingly simple vibe. One often forgets what authenticity feels like.

The walls have line drawings of New Yorkers at work and play, and the tables and chairs are unfussy red metal affairs.

In 1990, after a record high 2,262 homicides, some called New York City the "murder capital" of the country. But since then, the murder rate has steadily declined.

The Big Apple is on pace this year to record fewer homicides than the record low of 333 set in 2014, the New York Daily News reported in early September.

Some have even dubbed today's NYC "the safest big city" in the US.

To get a better sense of what NYC's streets are like these days, we spent three nights with NY Daily News crime reporter Kerry Burke, considered by many to be the best in the city.

Burke, 55, reported from ground zero on 9/11, helped break the Eric Garner story, and was even on a few episodes of Bravo's "Tabloid Wars" in 2006. He said he had been to roughly four shootings a week since he started the job 16 years ago.

The first night we spent with Kerry passed with few incidents — perhaps a sign of the safer times. But the last two nights told a different story.

Here's what we saw.

SEE ALSO: I spent the weekend with a homeless community in New York to see what it's really like to live on the streets

DON'T MISS: I covered murders during Chicago's deadliest year in decades — here's what I saw

Night 1: I met Burke in the Bronx while he was trying to find a man who had just been acquitted on murder charges.

"How are ya, Mr. Brown?" he said in a Boston accent.

Burke, who grew up in Boston's Dorchester housing projects, was rather formal at first, but switched right away to "bro" or "brotha," like he called almost every other guy I met with him.

He filled me in on the details about the man he was looking for before we walked to the guy's last known address.

Residents in the building told him the man no longer lived there, so Burke asked people in other buildings and nearby stores whether they knew him.

"Bodegas are the best," he said. "They know everything that goes on in the neighborhood, and they know everybody."

He walked into one unlocked neighboring apartment building and knocked on doors.

Burke was adept at talking to and gaining the trust of all different sorts of people, and he stressed the importance of being polite.

"Maybe it's because I'm a troubled Catholic that I always say thank you," Burke said, adding that he "might have to come back" to get more information too.

After about an hour or so, Burke was able to get the man's phone number but was unable to reach him.

He later heard that a murder suspect was being questioned at the 32nd precinct and decided to go wait outside in the hopes of getting a statement when the suspect walked out.

Around 11 p.m., the suspect's cousin walked out of the precinct. Burke asked him a few questions but didn't get much.

Throughout the eight hours I spent with Burke that first night, there were no homicides and only one shooting — a man hit in the buttocks.

The victim was immediately stabilized, and since the incident was not serious and happened more than an hour away from us, we didn't go.

I took the lack of homicides or serious shootings during Burke's shift — especially given it was a Friday night — as a good sign. But it was only the first night.