• In the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, the US infrastructure received a D+ grade, which equates to it being "in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard."
• US airports were highlighted as one of the areas in need. Despite this, when Trump laid out his much-anticipated infrastructure plan in February, airports barely got a mention. 
• Local governors are taking matters into their own hands. In 2017, New York's Governor Cuomo proposed a $10 billion renovation of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. This is currently being negotiated.
• We compared the experience of flying in and out of New York's JFK airport and London's Heathrow airport and found that Heathrow was the clear winner.

The US has an infrastructure problem. 

In the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, which is published every four years, the US infrastructure received a D+ grade, which equates to it being "in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life," according to its guide online.

In the study, the ASCE estimated that the country needs to spend around $4.5 trillion improving the state of its infrastructure, including airports. Despite this, when Trump laid out his much-anticipated infrastructure plan in February, airports barely got a mention. 

As one of the US's most important business hubs, New York's airports frequently come under scrutiny for not cutting it.

In 2017, New York's Governor Cuomo and the Port Authority proposed a $10 billion plan to completely overhaul the city's main airport, John F. Kennedy, this is currently being negotiated. The Port Authority has budgeted $1 billion towards this airport expansion and is banking on the fact that the private sector will provide the remaining $9 billion.

"This is a race, my friends," Cuomo said in 2017, comparing New York to other international cities such as London and Dubai, who have launched major infrastructure developments in the past few years. "We sat on our laurels for too long."

With this in mind, we decided to compare the experience of flying and landing at JFK versus London Heathrow.

Here's how they stack up:

SEE ALSO: An architect who's helped design more than 60 airports around the world explains why America's are so terrible

One of the biggest downsides of flying out of New York on British Airways is having to go to terminal 7 at JFK. On this occasion, we got lucky and flew with one of its partners – American Airlines, which departs from the more glitzy terminal 8 at JFK.

British Airways is currently refurbishing terminal 7 at JFK and has put $65 million towards this. 

We can expect to see a complete overhaul of this terminal with a new food court, seating areas, and a slicker check-in and security area to reduce the amount of queues.

Terminal 8 is the largest passenger terminal in the airport. It is twice the size of Madison Square Garden.

Source: Non-official airport website

The check-in area was massive and there were no queues. Self-check-in machines were there to take the pressure off the main desks at busier times. 

The experience of queuing for security was hassle free, there was a ton of space and lots of staff to help.

The queuing area was large. 

• Trader Joe's has developed a cult following for its wide selection of relatively affordable products.
• The grocery chain has launched a new podcast where executives talk about a number of topics, including why many of its products are private label, how its wines are so cheap, and why it sells bananas individually instead of by the pound.

Fans of Trader Joe's praise the grocery chain for its wide selection of private-label products, cheap wines, and approachable, nautical theme. At peak hours, people often wait in long lines just to get in to the store — and that's before they even do their shopping and then get in line to check out. 

Trader Joe's knows how obsessed people are — in response to questions and comments from fans wanting to know more about the brand, it launched a podcast to give shoppers an inside look at the company. The podcast is hosted by Marketing Director Tara Miller and Vice President of Marketing Product Matt Sloan, who cover topics like Trader Joe's products and values, the history of the chain, why it calls its employees crew members, and its famously cheap wines.

Here are some of the most interesting facts you may not know about the chain:

SEE ALSO: 16 time- and money-saving hacks you should know before your next trip to Trader Joe's

There is an actual Joe behind Trader Joe's. Joe Coulombe launched the Pronto Market convenience stores in the Los Angeles area in 1958, which became Trader Joe's in 1967. The original store is in Pasadena, California.

In its early days, the store had a deli counter-style experience. Trader Joe's made sandwiches, sliced cheese, and prepared food for customers. That evolved into today's Tasting Point.

There's a reason bananas are sold individually instead of by the pound. CEO Dan Bane explained that he once saw an elderly woman walk past the bananas without buying anything. He explain in the podcast, "I asked her, I said, 'Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking, I saw you looking at the bananas but you didn't, you didn't put anything in your cart.' And she says to me, 'Sonny…I may not live to that fourth banana.'"

From western California to eastern Texas, across four US states and 24 counties, the 1,933-mile US-Mexico border criss-crosses arid desert, rugged mountains, and winding rivers.

For 654 of those miles, fencing separates the two countries from each other.

The 7.3 million people who live in the border counties on each side of the line have watched for years as security grew tighter and illegal crossings tapered off.

In just the last 12 years, the US government built the barriers, deployed troops, and started using advanced surveillance technology — all in an effort to tame and control some of the wildest and remotest land in the United States.

Today, making good on campaign promises to "build that wall," President Donald Trump and his administration has cracked down even further, pushing for more fencing, a border wall, and thousands of National Guard troops stationed along the boundary line.

It's worth taking a look at the complexity of the borderlands to understand the daunting task of securing them.

From the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east, here's what the entire US-Mexico border looks like:

SEE ALSO: Tactical units spent weeks trying to breach and climb Trump's border wall prototypes — and they're nearly impossible to scale

DON'T MISS: The Trump administration just released new photos of 'the president's border wall' — and it looks more like a fence

California has stood more defiantly than any other state against Trump's immigration agenda and his long-promised wall. Yet the Golden State's southern boundary is one of the most thoroughly fortified along the entire US-Mexico border.

Skip ahead to Arizona »

Skip ahead to New Mexico »

Skip ahead to west Texas »

Skip ahead to east Texas »

Source: Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and OpenStreetMap contributors

Roughly 105 miles of the 140-mile border California shares with Mexico are walled off by pedestrian fencing or vehicle barriers, beginning on the west coast with a tall, metal fence that juts into the Pacific Ocean.

Source: GAO analysis of Customs and Border Protection data

Though some Trump critics have seized upon his recent attempt to deploy the National Guard in California, the San Diego coastline already hosts around 55 guardsman who assist in "counterdrug missions" and conduct surveillance support.

Source: USA Today

A new lava fissure has opened up on Hawaii's Big Island in the vicinity of a geothermal energy plant.

Just hours after the fissure opened up on Saturday morning, red and black lava had piled up about 40 feet high and more than 150 feet in length, while magma chunks sprayed up to 100 feet in the air, Reuters reported.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has been continuously erupting for years, but an uptick in eruptions and earthquakes in recent days have ramped up the danger for residents of Hawaii's Big Island.

Thousands of people have now been forced to evacuate, and the eruption has already destroyed dozens of structures. Geologists are warning that the volcano's summit crater could soon begin spewing huge boulders and ash.

Here's what the new fissure looks like:

SEE ALSO: Hawaii could see acid rain and boulders falling from the sky, new warnings suggest — here's what the ongoing volcano eruption looks like on the ground

DON'T MISS: A journey along the entire 1,933-mile US-Mexico border shows the monumental task of securing it

The US Geological Survey said lava spatter erupted from the new fissure Saturday morning, which brings the total number of fissures to 16.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports the fissure erupted east of the Puna Geothermal Venture plant and northeast of the Lanipuna Subdivision.

Plant workers this week removed the 50,000 gallons of pentane stored at the site as a precaution.

LONDON — The 30th Sunday Times Rich List, which lists the 1,000 wealthiest individuals and families in the UK, has been published today.

This year's list is a significant one for a number of reasons: It contains a record number of women, and is topped by a British-born industrialist for the first time ever.

It also reveals that only the United States of America and China are home to more billionaires than the UK, while the combined wealth of the list has increased 10% since 2017. 

Take a look at who else made the top 19 spots this year below:

DON'T MISS: The 17 richest young millionaire athletes in Britain

19. John Fredriksen and family

Net worth:£6.703 billion

Sources of wealth: shipping and oil services

Fredriksen, 74, is also Norway's richest man. His fortune is largely down to what happened during the Iran and Iraq war of 1980 to 1988. His tankers managed to defy the fighting and pick up oil from the regions.

He also invests in shipping, fish-farming, and other oil-support operations.

18. Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family

Net worth:£6.747 billion

Sources of wealth: hotels, food and industry

Al Jaber runs the London-based MBI International Holding Group. It invests in property, hotels, food, and energy. 

He is perhaps most famous for accusing Barclays of engaging in corrupt Saudi Arabian deals, which later led to Saudi Arabia claiming $10 billion in damages from the UK lender. 

17. Andy Currie

Net worth:£7 billion

Source of wealth: chemicals

Cambridge University graduate Currie became director of chemicals giant Ineos 1998 having spent 15 years in various technical and managerial roles. The Sunday Times has seen financial documents suggesting Ineos made profits of up to £5.151bn last year under Currie's stewardship. 

• Global Entry is quicker to get than it seems, with most applications processed immediately, and the setting up an in-person interview is easier than ever.
• The benefits of Global Entry include expedited passage through customs in the US, plus TSA Precheck status, which expedites security at many US airports.
• The application fee is $100, and Global Entry is valid for five years at this price. Many credit cards reimburse for the fee.

Enamored by the thought of being a pseudo-VIP at the airport, I decided to apply for Global Entry in late 2014.

Global Entry is the US government’s way of approving "trusted travelers" to gain quicker access through customs after international travel. Global Entry includes TSA Precheck, which provides expedited passage through security at many US airports.

To my surprise, I was “conditionally approved” in only three days, after hearing it used to take weeks. I then was able to schedule an interview in as little as a week.

Global Entry has made traveling much quicker and more seamless for me. Landing from an international trip is a breeze now, with just a few moments on the fast-pass line at customs through the Global Entry kiosks.

I also use the included TSA Precheck benefits frequently, usually when I’m traveling domestically. I really appreciate the time I save not having to wait in long security lines. Also, I don’t have to fill up three bins with personal items, since I can keep my shoes, coat, and belt on and don’t have to remove liquids and my laptop from my bag. In this age of unglamorous flying, it’s nice to know $100 can get you something that can truly improve your air travel experience.

Here’s the step-by-step of the application process:

SEE ALSO: TSA Precheck isn't worth your money — and there's a better alternative few people consider

1. Visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler Program website and create a Login.gov account

Before starting your Global Entry application, you must create a Login.gov account here.

2. Complete your Global Entry application

The application takes about 20 minutes to complete. You’ll need several documents, including your valid passport or U.S. permanent resident card and driver’s license or other ID. You’ll have to fill out a comprehensive history, including your current and previous addresses for the past five years, employment history for the past five years, and international travel history for the past five years.

The travel history part is time-consuming, especially for those who travel internationally often. But trust me, the time you spend here will be well worth the time you save in security lines and at customs!

Once you complete your application and are “conditionally approved,” you will be asked to schedule your in-person interview.

3. Pay the $100 Fee

The fee for applying for Global Entry is $100. When you consider the time you save going through security with TSA Precheck and going through US customs after traveling internationally, it’s well worth the money. You also don’t have to fill out those pesky paper customs declaration forms when you travel home to the U.S.

The application fee for TSA Precheck alone is $85, so considering it’s only $15 more to get the benefits of Global Entry, it’s an obvious choice. Global Entry, like TSA Precheck, is valid for five years for this one-time fee. You can pay by credit card or through an electronic bank transfer.

Some credit cards even offer reimbursement for the Global Entry fee. I was reimbursed from my American Express Platinum Card. You can find a list of cards that reimburse for TSA Precheck (and often also reimburse for Global Entry) on the TSA website.

Apple currently sells four iPad models: the iPad Mini 4, the iPad, and two versions of the iPad Pro.

Unless you're into the "mini" form factor, though, most people will probably choose between the normal 9.7-inch iPad with the two iPad Pro models.

Here are 8 reasons you should buy the most basic iPad instead of an iPad Pro: 

SEE ALSO: 15 mind-blowing announcements Google made at its biggest conference of the year

1. Price is the most important consideration for many people — and the basic iPad looks highly appealing here

The most basic iPad starts at roughly half the price of the most basic iPad Pro.

Here's the full breakdown:

9.7-inch iPad (price range $329 - $559):

10.5-inch iPad Pro (price range $649 - $1,129):

12.9-inch iPad Pro (price range $799 - $1,279)

The higher-end iPad Pro models start getting into laptop territory, at least from a price perspective.

With that in mind, you'll need to consider whether or not the advantages of the iPad Pro make sense for you personally.

2. The iPad Pro has new display technology, but the standard iPad display is still incredibly high quality.

One of the biggest difference between the basic iPad and iPad Pro is the display.

The iPad Pro models have Apple's ProMotion technology, which is basically a 120Hz refresh rate that makes everything generally look smoother, from scrolling webpages to watching videos. When you're using the Apple Pencil, it also makes it feel like you're really writing on paper, thanks to that enhanced refresh rate.

That said, the new 9.7-inch iPad still has the same Apple Pencil support, and everything — from watching videos to browsing the web — looks great on that Retina display, too. You might notice a difference if you're holding the two different iPads side by side, but you're not missing much if your iPad doesn't have ProMotion.

3. The only accessory the 9.7-inch iPad can't connect with is Apple's Smart Keyboard, but you're not missing anything special there.

From an accessories standpoint, the most basic iPad can connect to almost everything the iPad Pro models can, thanks to the same Bluetooth and WiFi tech. It even supports Apple Pencil.

The only notable accessory that only works with the iPad Pro models, and not the basic iPad, is Apple's Smart Keyboard.

The iPad Pro's built-in Smart Connectors let the tablets pair to the Smart Keyboard automatically, which allows for seamless data and power transfer between the devices. Still, the Smart Keyboard costs a whopping $160 to start (it's $170 for the 12.9-inch iPad), and there are plenty of other more affordable keyboard covers for iPad that perform similarly. Personally, I highly recommend Logitech's Slim Folio for iPad.

• This Mother's Day, learn more about which states in the US are the best about supporting working moms.
• Vermont topped WalletHub's 2018 rankings of the best states for working moms.
• The rankings weighed factors like the gender wage gap and childcare costs.

Mother's Day is here, which means that people across the US will be taking some time to celebrate their moms.

Personal finance site WalletHub decided to get in on the act by crunching the numbers to determine which states provide the best environments for working mothers.

Working moms must juggle the responsibilities of both motherhood and the professional world. It's certainly no easy feat, but policies and work norms in some states make it a bit easier.

To find the best states for moms who work outside the home, WalletHub assigned each US state and Washington DC a score based on numerous factors, including women's median annual salary adjusted for the cost of living, daycare quality, the gender pay gap, childcare costs adjusted for the median women's salary, and the female unemployment rate. The rankings also assigned each state a parental leave policy score, based on this 2016 study from the National Partnership for Women and Families.

To read more about the study's methodology, check out the full report here.

Here are the top 15 states for working mothers:

SEE ALSO: The 15 best US states for working mothers

15. Indiana has a high number of nationally accredited childcare centers

Median women's salary (adjusted for the cost of living): $40,070

Childcare costs (adjusted for the median women's salary): 17.37%

Average length of a woman's work week: 35.5 hours

Parental leave ranking: 34

Indiana has the second highest share of nationally accredited childcare centers out of all 50 states and Washington DC.

14. Wisconsin has strong schools

Median women's salary (adjusted for the cost of living): $39,838

Childcare costs (adjusted for the median women's salary): 23.67%

Average length of a woman's work week: 35.3 hours

Parental leave ranking: 16

Wisconsin's high quality day cares and schools launch the Badger State to the 14th spot on the list.

13. California has one of the lowest gender pay gaps

Median women's salary (adjusted for the cost of living): $30,020

Childcare costs (adjusted for the median women's salary): 20.46%

Average length of a woman's work week: 35.5 hours

Parental leave ranking: 1

California has one of the lowest gender pay gaps on the list. The Golden State also has the best parental leave policy in the country, according to WalletHub.

• I tried the Mediterranean Diet, a healthy whole foods meal plan based around vegetables, fish, healthy fats like those from olive oil and avocados.
• The plan has been linked with benefits that range from a reduced risk of disease to a healthier mind.
• I learned a lot while trying the regimen, and I'd like to stick with it for a long time.

You could say I've been around the diet block. I've been vegan, restricted my eating to an 8-hour window as part of an intermittent fast, and given ketogenic and vegetarian meal plans a spin — all in an attempt to give myself more energy, feel healthier, and power through the various activities I enjoy, like yoga, hiking, and rock climbing. The one regimen I've never tried, however, is the one I write about the most: the Mediterranean Diet.

The plan's cornerstones are vegetables, fish, olive oil, beans, nuts, and whole grains; items like processed foods, red meat, poultry, and dairy get slashed.

With studies suggesting that people who eat this way have a reduced risk of diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer, it's no surprise that dietitians and clinicians say the approach is a great way to fuel the body.

Leafy greens provide key vitamins and minerals that are needed for healthy skin, hair, and nails; whole grains support good digestion; fish and nuts provide protein to maintain muscle and keep energy levels steady.

The Mediterranean Diet is also rich in several ingredients that may be critical to a healthy mind.

Two types of healthy fat — monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids — are staples of the plan, as well as several antioxidants found in berries and dark chocolate. Previous studies have found a link between both of these ingredients and a reduced risk of dementia as well as higher cognitive performance. Research has also suggested that two other Mediterranean ingredients — leafy greens and berries — could help protect against a phenomenon called neurodegeneration which often characterizes diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Still, as I'm a sample size of just one person rather than the hundreds or thousands typically required for scientific research, it's worth taking my findings with a grain of salt. That said, I learned a ton on the plan. Here's a glimpse.

SEE ALSO: The best ways to lose weight and keep it off, according to science

When I started the Mediterranean diet, I assumed it wouldn't involve that many dramatic changes to my existing habits. I love crunchy veggies like broccoli and put avocados on basically anything I can. But I also eat a lot of quick, ready-made items full of ingredients shunned on the Mediterranean plan, like white rice.

One of my favorite go-to meals at the end of a busy day is Trader Joe's frozen Chicken Tikka Masala dinners. With a big helping of white rice and chicken as the main ingredients, however, it's not very Mediterranean-friendly.

So I hit the grocery store for some basics. The supermarket near me didn't have much of what I wanted at low prices, so I ended up at Trader Joe's for most of it. I bought olive oil, frozen and fresh fruits and veggies (depending on what was on sale), several kinds of frozen fish (half the price of fresh), canned chickpeas, lemons, Greek yogurt, whole grain bread, brown rice, and roasted nuts.

What I love about the Mediterranean diet is that it includes many full-fat, delicious items that former diet fads have shunned, like avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fatty kinds of fish like salmon. You can eat eggs in moderation on the plan too.

• McDonald's lineup of premium burgers is helping the fast-food giant's sales numbers, it said in April. 
• These premium burgers use select ingredients and are marketed as higher-quality menu options.
• We tried them all and found that they are, on the whole, a higher quality than McDonald's classic burgers, and they have a price to match. 

McDonald's is betting on better burgers. 

In the company's most recent earnings call in April, McDonald's CFO Kevin Ozan said that sales are being buoyed, in part, by sales of the chain's Signature Crafted line of premium burgers, which are about $1-2 more expensive than the rest of McDonald's burger lineup. 

The Signature Crafted line has experienced a rocky history. It started out as a highly customizable, create-your-own burger system called "Create Your Taste," which was rolled out with the ordering kiosks in 2016. It was an ambitious part of the chain's turnaround plan, but it never really ironed out the kinks that came with it — custom burgers slow down kitchens and complicate orders, leading to longer wait times.

McDonald's unceremoniously dumped the program later that year, turning it into the Signature Crafted menu, which kept a handful of the most popular burger builds but nixed the customization. As of this week, all of McDonald's Signature Crafted burgers are made with fresh beef, not frozen. You can also order them with chicken — grilled or fried — instead of beef. 

But here, we're interested in a juicy burger. So how is this premium burger selection? If it's giving a boost to the chain's sales numbers, clearly there's something to it. We decided to try the Signature Crafted burgers to see what the fuss is all about:

SEE ALSO: What the FDA-recommended daily intake of 2,000 calories looks like at every major fast-food chain

There are three burger "flavors" to choose from: sweet BBQ bacon, pico guacamole, and garlic white cheddar.

Let's start with the sweet BBQ bacon burger. The stoic brioche bun is impressive, especially for McDonald's.

The previous custom burger iteration, Create Your Taste, offered brioche buns as an option — and frankly, it was a great move. They're much better than the normal sesame seed bun, especially when they're toasted. 

This burger has bacon, white cheddar, grilled onions, fried onions, and sweet barbecue sauce — which sounds like a lot, but actually isn't all that much in reality.

As you can see, the bun is toasted perfectly. That's a nice touch. 

• After I named the Chevy Colorado ZR2 the winner in a battle of the mid-size pickup trucks against the Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport, some folks said I should have chosen the TRD Pro.
• So I asked Toyota to let me borrow the Pro.
• And the Pro proved itself!

In March, I pitted a 2018 $43,500 Chevy Colorado ZR2 against a Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport in a battle of offroading-oriented mid-size pickup trucks.

The Colorado ZR2 came out on top, but the $38,000 Tacoma TRD Sport commended itself quite well. I heard, however, from numerous readers about why I should have compared the Chevy with the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, a more robust offroader. 

Toyota kindly let me borrow a 2017 TRD Pro for a new matchup, and here's how it went. Bear in mind that at Business Insider we have limited ability to go rock-busting in these vehicles. But in the case of the TRD Pro, I did find some mud.

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

Let's again start this throwdown with the 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.

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.

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 stickers are angular and jazzy.

Whether you're already married, planning a wedding, or have simply attended too many to count, you'll know that a wedding day comes with a mix of emotions, from stress to sadness to utter joy.

Weddings also differ depending on where in the world they're taking place.

In order to "promote and celebrate the art of wedding photography from around the globe," the International Wedding Photographer of the Year (IWP) Awards have released their list of the best wedding photos from 2017.

Professional wedding photographers from around the world entered their best snaps from real weddings days into one of 9 categories — Single Capture, From Above, Black & White, Epic Location, Solo Portrait, Dance Floor, Bridal Party, Album, and Couple Portrait.

Each image was scored by six judges. The scores were then averaged out to determine winners and runners-up within each category, as well as The International Wedding Photographer of the Year — who received $3,000 and a range of camera equipment — and Runner Up.

Scroll down to see a selection of the 26 most beautiful and intimate award-winning photos which show the reality behind weddings around the world.

SEE ALSO: 21 beautifully intimate, award-winning photos from weddings around the world

Grand Prize Winner & Category Winner, Solo Portrait: Erica Mann captured a bride with a double rainbow after a storm along the banks of Cougar Creek in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

Runner Up & Category Winner, Single Capture: Photographer Paul Woo said he was 'secretly bawling behind the camera' as the son of the bride expressed his emotion seeing his mother come down the aisle.

Category Winner, Black & White: The bittersweet father-daughter dance was captured perfectly in this shot by Bruno Sauma at a wedding in Massachusetts, USA.

• Mark Ulriksen is an artist who has been called "maybe the most prolific painter and illustrator in San Francisco."
• He usually works in acryclic and gouache paint, but last October, he started creating art on an iPad Pro. 
• He says he picked up digital art because it "seems like that's what the art buying public is looking for."
• He also walks us through some of the flexibility advantages digital art has for working illustrators. 

Even if you don't know who Mark Ulriksen is, you've probably seen his work.

His "gracefully awkward" art has graced several magazine covers, including a widely praised New Yorker cover featuring Martin Luther King kneeling with Colin Kaepernick from earlier this year. 

But despite his success in the field with pen and paint, recently he's taken up a new challenge: Drawing with an iPad.

"I'm technologically illiterate and I'm still trying to learn how to paint," the San Francisco-based artist joked.

"But I really wanted to eventually work digitally because it seems like that's what the art buying public is looking for in the world of illustration these days, and I like the speed of it," he said. 

Ulriksen is just one of a new batch of professional artists who have embraced tablets like Apple's iPad and its Pencil stylus to make illustrations easier, faster, and more ready for the computers and screens most art is consumed on these days.

There was also a professional reason: the world is going digital. 

"For almost 20 years I did inside work for The New Yorker as well and then Condé Nast got a new creative director and it was out with the old in with the new and the new is all digital art," Ulriksen said. "So almost all the The New Yorker art these days save for a couple of people, it's digital."

So he ended asking some friends what he should get, and last October, he ended up buying an iPad Pro, Apple's $100 Pencil stylus, an app called Procreate, and started playing around. 

As soon as he started experimenting with digital art, he found out that a lot of the techniques he admired from a distance were actually pretty easy to pull off. 

"When I would see digital work in a publication, I go, 'how do they do that, how do they get that that texture, how do they get the splatter? How they get it to look so, you know, rough and tumble, because you know because I don't know how to do that as a painter so well," he said. 

After experimenting with every brush in Procreate, he had his answer. 

"And so all of a sudden it's like, it's the brushes! That's how they do it. There's texture brushes and there's splatter brushes and there's paint roller brushes," Ulriksen said. "Now I've learned that secret."

Victory cards

One of his first projects with digital art is a series of "victory cards." Every time the San Francisco Giants win, he recreates an old-school Topps baseball card in his signature style.

It's the continuation of a series that he stared back in 2014 — only back then, it was on ink and paper. 

"The season's coming up, why don't I redo the Giants baseball card idea but now I can do it in color and I can also use it as an exercise to try to learn this tool," Ulriksen said.

Since he already had some drawings from before, his process was a streamlined. He take a photo of his old work with the iPad, changes the opacity to make it lighter, and then makes a new layer and draws on top of it. "I've already got my black and white drawing and now it's just a matter of rendering it in color," he said. 

He uses the opportunity to experiment with texture, with focus, and with making hyper-flat images. He's also found that adapting work or making changes on the fly is much easier digitally than with paper or paint. "You do a painting you're kind of committed to the painting," he said. 

"I want to make it look like this is in shadow. I'm not really good at that as a painter. But with the iPad it's just like I'll just make it more of a transparent layer," he continued. 

Another advantage to digital art is that it makes follow-up pieces much more economical for working artists. Ulriksen recenly did a full-page piece for Mother Jones, but at the last moment, the art director realized the magazine needed a horizontal version for the website. 

"What might have taken a few days to do (with a smidgen more money and even less desire) instead took a little over an hour. I copied the art, placed it in the requested format and then added to the background," Ulriksen said. 

Check out some of his work below: 

Here's his most recent card. One of the cool things about Procreate is that it lets Ulriksen create time lapse images of his process.

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He draws a card every time the Giants win.

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Most of the cards he draws are players from long ago. Dave Dravecky played for the Giants in the '80s.

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Some victory cards can take over two hours to complete; others can be completed in about 40 minutes. 

• Walmart, Target, and Costco employees— as well as workers at all retail stores — sometimes come up against pretty difficult customers.
• Business Insider spoke with a number of retail workers about some memorable and negative experiences they've had on the job.
• Their stories just go to show that it's always a good idea to be courteous while shopping.

Walmart, Target, and Costco employees have seen some pretty gnarly things on the job. Many retail workers, in fact, can probably think up at least one or two less-than-positive incidents they've experienced while working a shift.

Oftentimes, customers are at the center of these troubling situations. A study from the University of British Columbia found that we tend to treat retail workers worse when we're hunting for bargains.

Business Insider has heard from a number of current and former retail employees who had stories to share about particularly gross, bewildering, or nightmarish scenarios that unfolded during their shifts.

The employees we corresponded with have experience working at Walmart, Target, Costco, McDonald's, Macy's, Home Depot, and other retailers. Their stories just go to show that it's always a good idea to be nice, even if you're not having the greatest shopping experience.

Here's what retail employees had to say about the horror stories they've experienced on the job:

SEE ALSO: Costco employees share 21 things they'd love to tell shoppers but can't

DON'T MISS: Costco employees share the 20 things they wish shoppers would stop doing

SEE ALSO: Target employees share the most ridiculous returns they've seen customers make

A luggage store employee was cursed at over a suspicious return

"It never ceases to amaze me that the stupidest people I've encountered are the ones with university educations," a former retail employee from Ontario told Business Insider. "And the smartest ones have at least five years of retail under their belts."

One day, while working at a small luggage store, a customer came in to return a bag.

"Like any place nowadays, there is a form to fill out, and the purchase must be returned to the credit card used," the former employee said. "Store policy."

The shopper, however, gave the employee a phone number instead of a credit card number. She said the card was at home with her husband.

"I informed the woman that we cannot do a return onto a credit card over the phone, we need the card there to swipe through the machine," the former employee said. " She proceeded to call me a stupid b****."

An A&P employee witnessed a woman getting thrown out of the grocery store

A former employee of A&P, a now-defunct chain of grocery stores, described watching a parent leaving her two children in line at the register for an extended period of time. The cashier ultimately had to skip over her purchases and ring up the people in line behind her.

"She returned and not only demanded to be served immediately — despite the fact that this would mean voiding a large transaction — but also began loudly chastising her kids for not keeping their place in line."

The situation escalated to the point where the store manager intervened and told the woman to leave and not come back, according to the former employee.

A former Victoria's Secret manager had to reject a shopper's ancient return

A former Victoria's Secret manager told Business Insider about a time when a shopper came in to return a bra.

At the time, the former manager said that any Victoria's Secret bra could be returned, as long as the item wasn't excessively worn or defective.

"This customer comes in with a bra in a grocery bag and turns it out on the counter, saying that she wanted to return it," the former manager told Business Insider. "The bra was totally worn. It used to be red and now looked gray. Plus, it had deodorant stains all over it."

The customer explained that the bra was her mother's. The former manager asked the shopper to provide a receipt.

"She looked at me like I was crazy and said she didn’t have her receipt because it had been years since she bought the bra," the former manager said. "I explained to her that we did not even carry that style any more and that I could not take it back."

The customer proceeded to snatch back the bra and storm out of the store.

"I had to run to the bathroom and scrub my hands with hot, soapy water after touching that nasty bra," the ex-manager said.

The horror offerings of spring 2018 were defined by two themes: human-eating monsters, and women seeking blood vengeance. But the upcoming summer horror movies slate is looking like a considerably more mixed bag.

The months-long countdown to the Sundance smash Hereditary will finally end in June. The Green Room team of Jeremy Saulnier and Macon Blair is returning with a look at the savage Alaskan wilderness.

The origins of the Purge will finally be revealed on Independence Day. Nicolas Cage will show up to redefine the limits of his crazy, and — praise be — there’s even a brutal thriller that revolves around a lesbian couple.

Here are Vulture’s most anticipated summer horror movies for 2018.

SEE ALSO: The movies you shouldn't miss this summer — from 'Deadpool 2' to the new 'Mission: Impossible'

"Hereditary"— June 8

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Hereditary has been racking up superlatives since it debuted at Sundance in January. First-time feature director Ari Aster also wrote this script, which focuses on the very troubled Graham family. Annie (Toni Collette), Steve (Gabriel Byrne), Peter (Alex Wolff), and Charlie (Milly Shapiro) are mourning the loss of the family matriarch, Annie’s mother. But that sad development is just the start of their troubles, as grandma’s death catalyzes the unearthing of dark family secrets. It’s been wrecking people in advanced screenings for months, and you can finally get initiated into the Graham family terror this June.

"The First Purge"— July 4

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Purge: Election Year teased the end of the New Founding Fathers regime that instituted the bloodiest fictional holiday in future America — and The First Purge will show you how it all began. Franchise creator James DeMonaco wrote his fourth straight script in the Purge series for the upcoming movie, but he will cede the director’s chair for the first time to Gerard McMurray, who made his debut with black fraternity drama Burning Sands. This time, the setting is Staten Island, where the annual evening of slaughter started as a social experiment designed by a doctor and implemented by the politically powerful in order to “reduce crime” in the United States. But of course, “reduce crime” really means “maintain a rigged system meant to thin out the poor and people of color.” God bless America.

"Unfriended: Dark Web"— July 20

The first Unfriended was a surprisingly effective story that emphasized the importance of “do unto others” by making a group of teens pay the ultimate price for their connection to a fatal act of bullying. Dark Web is a more violent, nihilistic take on the “The Internet Is Here To Kill You” subset of scary movies. The gore in this sequel approaches the torture-tourism era of cinema that’s mostly been left in the aughts, and it’s the most wantonly upsetting entry on this list. But considering the stamina the first movie managed to have, despite containing the entire narrative in a screen share, we’re hopeful that Dark Web can match the novelty of the first Unfriended while still delivering some surprises. The specific release date has not yet been disclosed.

• College tuition varies widely from school to school.
• Using data from the US Education Department, we found the most expensive college in every state.

College tuition and other costs vary widely from school to school.

Using data from the US Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System program, we found the most expensive four-year, primarily baccalaureate and above degree-granting institution with at least 500 students enrolled in Fall 2016, based on reported tuition, board, and other costs for the 2016-2017 school year for out-of-state students.

Here's each of those colleges, along with their 2016-2017 sticker price, location, public/private sector status, enrollment, and the average cost for a student with some form of scholarship or financial aid from the school or government to attend in 2015-2016 (the most recent year for which data are available.)

SEE ALSO: The biggest company in almost every US state

Alabama — Spring Hill College

Tuition, room, board, and other costs, 2016-17: $52,854

Average price paid by a student with aid/scholarship, 2015-2016: $20,441

Location: Mobile, AL

Sector: Private non-profit

Enrollment: 1,476

Alaska — University of Alaska, Anchorage

Tuition, room, board, and other costs, 2016-17: $37,304

Average price paid by a student with aid/scholarship, 2015-2016: $11,860

Location: Anchorage, AK

Sector: Public

Enrollment: 16,318

Arizona — University of Arizona

Tuition, room, board, and other costs, 2016-17: $50,367

Average price paid by a student with aid/scholarship, 2015-2016: $16,466

Location: Tucson, AZ

Sector: Public

Enrollment: 43,161

The newest member of San Francisco's iconic skyline is officially open for use.

The new tower opened on Thursday and is notable because it houses one commercial tenant, Facebook, and 55 multi-million-dollar residences. This includes a five-bedroom $42 million penthouse. And despite the steep price tag, these condos are expected to sell fast. The first slew of residents will be moving in within a matter of weeks. 

Construction on the mixed-use tower at 181 Fremont began in 2013. It can be spotted in the skyline by its striking spire and encasement of beams criss crossing along the exterior, designed to act as shock absorbers in the event of an earthquake.

The developers and designers behind the high rise set out to make the establishment the embodiment of state-of-the-art luxury living and world-class engineering. 

Business Insider toured two of its model residences designed by renowned designers Orlando Diaz-Azcuy and Charles de Lisle and the Sky Lounge exclusive to residents, as well as captured the panoramic views of the sprawling city of San Francisco afforded to the building's occupants. Take a look at what it's like inside.

Say hello to the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi River.

Those zig-zagged beams you see comprise an aluminum exoskeleton that serves as the building's foundation, acting as giant shock absorbers essentially, improving its survival odds in the case of an earthquake. The elevators are actually designed as an emergency evacuation route.

“We joke that if there is a seismic event, people would run into the building," said Matt Dietsch, senior director of developments at The Mark Company, which provided sales and marketing services for the establishment.

The tower stands adjacent to the infamously sinking Millennium Tower and catty corner from the Salesforce Tower. The power trio looms over passerby on the sidewalks below.

• Pet owners spend an average of $126.19 every month on their furry friends, according to a recent survey.
• Dogs are more costly than cats, but canines are not the most expensive pets. 
• Fish are the cheapest pets; fish owners spend $62.53 a month on their aquatic friends.

Pets are often part of the family, and animal lovers certainly have to pay to take care of them.

Americans spend an average of $126.19 every month on their pets, according to a recent survey of over 1,000 pet owners. That's a lot of dog bones and kitty litter. 

But the cost of pet ownership varies depending on the type of animal you have. The American Veterinary Medical Association found that 36.5% of US households own dogs and 30.4% have cats. Dog owners also spend more money than cats, who are apparently low maintenance. 

See how much it costs to take care of a pet every month, ranked from least to most expensive.

SEE ALSO: The 19 best things we've ever bought our pets

DON'T MISS: Here's Jeff Bezos taking a robot dog for a walk

Fish: $62.53 per month

Rabbits: $65 per month

Mice or rats: $80 per month

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

• Meal prep is a simple way to save a lot of money.
• It saves you time in the kitchen and makes it easier to enjoy healthy foods during the week.
• With the right tools (and right apps), it can be simpler and faster than you think.

Whether it’s motivated by saving money, losing weight, or being kinder to your body, meal prep is a simple way to change your life almost immediately.

While you might enjoy the fact that your local sub shop knows you by name, your bank account probably doesn’t. And no matter how rigorously you follow a fitness plan, if you come home and eat the same boxed mac and cheese every night, you won’t be seeing the results you should be — and trust me, I have tried it.

Meal prep can mean different things to different people, but ultimately, it’s preparing your food ahead of time to save yourself time in the kitchen and make it easier to enjoy healthy foods during the week.

If you get the right tools (and download the right apps), it can be simpler and faster than you think. Below, I’ve rounded up 15 of the highest-rated kitchen tools on Amazon that will make some aspect of meal prep easier to do. Once you set up a system, it’s much easier to get into a habit.

These 15 highly rated kitchen tools make meal prep easier:

SEE ALSO: An up-and-coming frozen food startup solved virtually all of my healthy eating obstacles

A rapid egg cooker

Whether you prefer your eggs hard or soft boiled, the Dash cooker makes cooking them easy. Once you've filled the base of the cooker with water — it comes with a measuring cup that tells you how much water you'll need for every type of egg — you can place up to six eggs on the top tray. 

The Dash also includes two additional trays: one for poached eggs, and another for making omelettes.

Egg gadgets don't normally galvanize a cult reaction in people, but this is one beloved kitchen tool.

Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker, $19.99, available at Amazon and Crate & Barrel

A smoothie maker

Smoothies can be one of the healthiest and easiest meals to make. Depending on what ingredients you use, they can also be pretty filling. This top-rated Pro Blender also functions as its own smoothie carrier thanks to the serving-sized cups.

Nutri Ninja Pro Blender, $69.99

An inexpensive, easier way to dice

If you can spare the space, this is a much easier and faster way to chop, blend, or process food that your recipe calls for. 

Sedhoom Manual Food Chopper, 5 Blades, 1000 ml, $14.96

• Organization tips, like color coding and alphabetizing, often come from well organized people because it’s in their nature to code, plan, straighten, and label.
• If your daily routine is on the chaotic side, then tips from the well-organized may not be as useful to you.
• Instead, try these organization tips from Sandy Maynard, a pioneer ADHD coach with 20 years of experience, to bring some order to your life. 

Most organization tips come from the well-organized. Color coding and advanced filing systems work for them because it’s in their nature to code, plan, straighten, and label.

If it’s in your nature to throw every not-quite-clean, not-quite-dirty article of clothing you own onto a chair, those systems are about as easy to stick with as a no-carb diet.

Sandy Maynard knows this all too well. In the past 20 years, she has helped countless people get organized. Though she's a pioneer in the field of ADHD coaching, her simple, effective tips can work for anyone.

Maynard offers great advice on changing our environments, habits, and mindsets to bring order to our lives.

SEE ALSO: 13 home organization purchases that we swear by for our own apartments

1. Simplify your environment

First, set up a launch pad. Find a space near your door where you can always keep items like your keys, jacket, and briefcase or tote bag. Maynard recommends also keeping a small errand list there, reminding you to drop off your dry cleaning or return library books.

“On the way out in the morning you have a visual instead of walking around the house looking for ten different items in ten different places,” said Maynard. “It keeps you from being late or forgetting things.”

Once you have a launch pad established, you can start on the first step: purging.

“I use ‘purge’ because it’s a real harsh word. It’s difficult for us to do,” Maynard said.

As I was purging clutter from my office, I found myself holding up an object and asking, “How could I use this?” Maynard said I should have been asking myself a different question: “How could I live without this?”

Purging doesn’t mean sending everything to a landfill. For the things you can live without, try donating them.

Part of reducing clutter is to stop welcoming it into your home. For me, refusing swag items like branded smartphone cases and using reusable items such as a whiteboard for doodles has helped me organize my desk.

2. Don’t put off tasks

Maynard said that if a task takes two minutes or less to accomplish, do it right away.

Make it a habit of hanging up your coat right when you walk in the door. If someone calls you, save their contact information immediately after they hang up. Self-correct along the way, she said. If you notice your keys are on the coffee table, return them to your launch pad.  

Whenever I got an alert that a password was about to expire, I would decide to do it later. I would inevitably miss the deadline and have to make a trip to IT. Updating them right away, however, has saved me time. And by not procrastinating, I have one less to-do item rattling around in my head.

3. Slow down

Though it may seem counterintuitive, slowing down also saves time in the long run.

“Haste makes waste,” Maynard said. “When we’re rushing is when leave our credit card on the counter. Even if I’m in the express lane at the grocery store, I take my time to put my credit card back where it goes.”