The Trump administration’s stated purpose of “zero tolerance” of illegal immigration on US borders is to lower crime rates, but research shows that the net effect may be the opposite.

The policy is to prosecute all those who cross the border illegally and the Trump administration has taken the unprecedented step of separating children from their parents in order to deter families from making the journey. (Soon after this story was published, President Trump signed an Executive Order taking steps to keep families together while in detention. “It is…the policy of this Administration to maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources,” the order read.)

The so-called zero tolerance approach is supposed to act as a deterrent. Administration officials have also doubled-down on the strategy by shutting off individual’s access to request asylum (at least until after they have been prosecuted for crossing into the country illegally), and by blaming parents for putting their children in danger by taking the risky journey through places like Mexico where they are routinely victimized by criminal organizations and officials alike.

The Trump administration’s policy, however, is shortsighted, in part because research shows that it may, in the long run, strengthen criminal groups.

Here are five ways that happens:

SEE ALSO: Countries in Asia are looking for ways to counter China's growing power — with and without the US's help

1. It Pushes People Into the Illegal Market

As the United States and other countries around the world have worked to stiffen border enforcement, organized crime groups that thrive from it have gotten stronger. Human smuggling — once the purview of small-time, mostly family run organizations — has become one of the most lucrative businesses in the underworld at an estimated $35 billion per year in earnings. Its criminal derivative, human trafficking, is also hugely lucrative, with a market value of $32 billion, according to the United Nations.

In Mexico, large, sophisticated criminal groups like the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have made it a core revenue stream. It can also move in the other direction: several prominent Central American drug trafficking groups had their origins in human smuggling and then transitioned into trafficking other illicit goods because they already had the infrastructure, contacts and control over the routes. More powerful criminal groups means more corruption, more instability and, contrary to the Trump administration’s wishes, more migration.

Guadelupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Washington and the author of a recent book on the Zetas, says stricter borders “help” groups like the Zetas. “It’s just going to magnify what we have already seen,” she told InSight Crime, referring to the steady growth of these criminal groups.

This criminal activity is not limited to places south of the US border. In the United States, people are also victimized by criminal groups who have a clear understanding that going to the authorities is not an option. From the street vender who is extorted by gangs in Long Island to the California day laborer who thought he was going to do some landscaping only to find himself offloading marijuana on the coast, criminal groups take advantage of enforced anonymity.

2. It Raises the Price for Criminal Services

Part of the reason these criminal groups move into markets like human smuggling is that zero tolerance doesn’t just raise the number of clients organized crime groups have, it raises the prices for their criminal services. More enforcement equals more risk, as well as more sophistication and resources needed to succeed in any criminal venture.

Estimates along the Mexico border illustrate this tendency. In a study published by the US Department of Homeland Security in 2010, researchers using four different data sources found that prices for human smuggling rose as enforcement increased.

3. It Sets the Table for Future Criminal Activity

Numerous academic and news responses to the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from parents at the border stated that it leads to trauma, as well as physical and cognitive effects. Researchers in other parts of the world have shown that it could also lead to criminal activity.

Gang researchers on this side of the ocean, such as James Vigil, who wrote the seminal book on Latino gangs in Los Angeles, have also surmised that this is one of a number of factors that often leads to criminal activity. Vigil calls his theory multiple marginality, and it includes other factors inherent in the Trump administration’s policies approach towards migrant communities.

This is something we also noticed while doing our three-year study on the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) in the region. We talked to dozen of past and current gang members. Family upheaval was always part of a gang member’s personal story.

What’s more, deportations along the border also push many into the criminal ranks, says Angelica Durán-Martínez, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and the author of a recent book on the politics of drug violence in Colombia and Mexico.

“While not all deportees end up engaging in criminal activities, a portion of them do, given that they are often released into border areas where OC (organized crime) has a strong presence, and where they have little social networks or possibilities for legal employment,” she told InSight Crime in an email exchange.

After nearly a decade of effort, SpaceX and Boeing are preparing to launch the first NASA astronauts on commercial spaceships.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon may fly their first crews in December and January. The goal of NASA's Commercial Crew program, as it's called, is to taxi astronauts to and from the $150-billion International Space Station. Accomplishing that would close an increasingly expensive gap in the US' space travel capabilities.

In 2015, NASA selected astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams and three other "space pioneers" to test then fly the new spaceships.

"Five years ago, this would have been like, 'No way, what are we doing asking commercial providers to be able to do this?'" Williams told Business Insider. "Now it feels like a natural progression for space travel."

Williams has flown inside three spaceships, served as commander of the International Space Station, lived in orbit for 322 days, and piloted 30 different types of aircraft for the Navy.

This extensive resume has come in handy over the past three years, as Williams has worked closely with Boeing and SpaceX. She and her colleagues have poked and prodded spacecraft mock-ups, tried on new spacesuits, fiddled with control panels, tested out simulators, and provided frank and sometimes critical feedback.

Here's why NASA needs Boeing and SpaceX, what Williams thinks of their new ships and suits, and how she's preparing to blast off into the uncharted territory of a new space race.

SEE ALSO: Every spacesuit NASA astronauts have worn — and the new models that may revolutionize how they explore the solar system

DON'T MISS: SpaceX cargo launches may soon cost 50% more — but it's still an offer NASA can't refuse

Williams said she and the rest of the "Commercial Crew Cadre," as they're called — astronauts Doug Hurley, Eric Boe, and Bob Behnken — have worked "hand-in-hand" with Boeing and SpaceX since being assigned to the program by NASA in 2015.

NASA started the Commercial Crew program to replace its space shuttles. The cost of shuttle launches was high: Each mission cost about $1.5 billion, including development costs, and 14 astronauts died. The 135th and final mission launched in July 2011.

Source: Nature

So when NASA sent Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2012, the agency had to buy her a seat on a Russian Soyuz spaceship. To this day, Soyuz is still the only spacecraft able to journey to and from the ISS.

If 2018 ended today, it would have been a very solid year for cinema.

From “First Reformed” to “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” recent theatrical releases have provided plenty of reasons to celebrate the vitality of movies as an art form and an essential conversation-starter.

Of course, the fall is just a few months away, and it’s dense with a whole bunch of new possibilities sure to complicate any overview of the year’s highlights. December will look very different, and make it all that harder to recall those hidden gems the hidden gems that deserved more attention than they received.

While we continue to gather an ongoing list of the best indie movies of the year so far, we’re taking this opportunity to point out a handful of titles that have yet to land the appropriate exposure.

There were no hard-and-fast rules for qualifications here — festival favorites that have yet to score distribution made the cut, because we’ll take any opportunity to remind the world that they still need to get out there. As for the others: If you haven’t seen them yet, consider this our plea.

SEE ALSO: MoviePass' monthly losses ramped up to $40 million in May, and the company says it might need over $1.2 billion more in capital

“The World Is Yours”

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Romain Gavras’ “The World Is Yours” might take its title from a certain gangster classic — or its blood-soaked Brian De Palma remake, which only made a life of crime seem that much cooler — but this wildly infectious French heist comedy is pretty much the anti-“Scarface.” The story of a criminal who’s trying to break out of the thug life, Gavras’ film evolves into a hyper-stylish and unexpectedly sweet rebuke to the idea that screwing people is a good way to get ahead.

Held together by a killer score by Jamie XX and Sebastian, and topped off with hilarious performances from the likes of Vincent Cassel and Isabelle Adjani, “The World Is Yours” is relevant in every respect, and the rare movie that manages to address the crises of the modern age with a smile on its face. “The World Is Yours” is “Sexy Beast,” “Spring Breakers,” and “Little Miss Sunshine” all blended together and served with a lad-rock swagger; it’s the best movie that Guy Ritchie never made. —David Erlich

“Thoroughbreds”

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If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that not giving a shit about other human beings is the best way to get ahead in life. Empathy is a weakness. It’s a virtue, of course — and hopefully part of our natural condition — but it’s also a weakness. Empathy is one of the few things that money can’t buy, and the only thing that the rich can’t afford. “Thoroughbreds,” Cory Finley’s delightfully vicious and mind-bogglingly confident first feature, is a pitch-black comedy about the danger of being around people of privilege when they first start to figure that out.

Set in the affluent suburbs of Connecticut, the film unfolds like “American Psycho” meets “Heathers” as directed by a young and extremely class-conscious Park Chan-wook. The story begins as a teenage girl named Amanda (Olivia Cooke) returns to society after euthanizing her family’s horse with savage indifference. Amanda’s sociopathic coldness makes her the ideal foil for her estranged childhood friend Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy), a prim and proper type who feels everything a bit too intensely. Together, they decide to murder Lily’s stepfather. What follows is a devious of work, an expertly crafted dark comedy that gets some much-needed sweetness from Anton Yelchin’s final performance. —DE

“Puzzle”

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The Sundance premiere is bound for a mid-summer release, and here’s hoping the charming midlife crisis drama stirs up more attention outside of the crowded festival field, where few took notice. Marc Turtletaub’s film revels in the possibilities of finding something new in a wholly ordinary life. For Agnes (played by the extraordinary Kelly MacDonald) that starts with the literal opening of a birthday gift, one that contains a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that awakens her to her true talent. And Agnes is really, really good at puzzling, a quick worker who takes great pride in the finished product – before she breaks it all up to start again.

Agnes’ world is a tight circle, moving between home, church, errands, and back again. That first puzzle changes everything. Desperate for another large-scale puzzle – and mostly afraid of the possibilities of internet shopping, a subplot that also sees Agnes trying to navigate her very first iPhone – she heads to New York City. At the puzzle store, a small note hangs from the register: a champion puzzler is looking for a partner. Agnes’ entire life blows up. A coming-of-age tale for the older set, “Puzzle” is tender and honest, open-hearted in a way that few films (hell, few people) are willing to strive for these days. —Kate Erbland

In the US, June is Pride month. It's a time when cities show extra support for LGBTQ+ rights, culture, and communities through parades, drag shows, film festivals, talks, rallies, and more.

The tradition that goes back to the early 1970s, when New York and San Francisco began hosting events to commemorate the Stonewall Riots and work toward full equality for LGBTQ+ people.

The US is far from the only country to recognize pride. Queer people in nations around the world face their own unique challenges, and cities aim to highlight them through their Pride celebrations throughout the year.

Here's how 19 cities around the world have celebrated Pride in 2018 so far.

SEE ALSO: June is LGBT Pride Month — here's everything you need to know

Columbus, Indiana, began showing its Pride in April, a few months earlier than most of the nation.

The Pride festival occurred in downtown Columbus, the hometown of Vice President Mike Pence (an outspoken opponent of the LGBT community on many issues).

In New York City, each borough is holding its own Pride events and parades during June, except for Staten Island, which celebrates in May.

The parade in Queens, pictured above, featured plenty of glitter and rainbow iconography.

Mumbai's Pride parade in February stopped traffic.

• TGI Fridays is overhauling its entire menu, with plans to have replaced or improved 100% of items by the end of 2018. 
• A trip to the chain shows that some of the changes are not the improvements that TGI Fridays desperately needs. 
• However, the power of one particular appetizer reveals a reason to hope for the future of Fridays. 

TGI Fridays is making some major changes. 

In February, the chain announced it had reached the halfway point in its efforts to completely revamp its menu — a mission it plans to complete by the end of 2018. At that point, the chain had rolled out 30% new menu items and improved 20% of its existing options. 

According to CMO Stephanie Perdue, Fridays is "stepping away from casual dining."

"I think it's all about returning to the roots of Fridays,"Perdue told Business Insider."We started as the original singles' bar in New York City."

Fridays is eager to escape the sales slump that has forced casual-dining chains like Chili's and Applebee's to close dozens of locations. Many sit-down casual-dining chains have been hit hard in recent years, as millennials have gravitated towards quicker and less expensive options.  

In an effort to see if Fridays had been successful in its mission, Business Insider bravely ventured to a New York City location. Here's what it's like to visit TGI Fridays as the chain struggles to turn business around:

SEE ALSO: We visited Applebee's as the chain tries to claw its way out of a downward spiral. Here's the verdict.

We visited a Fridays nestled within the Financial District in New York City.

Fridays' extensive menu tries to play up the bar-centric aspects of the chain, emphasizing appetizers and a certain trendy aesthetic that the chain hasn't quite earned — but it's within reach.

We started off our meal with a Fridays classic: the Best Fridays Margarita (BFM). It may be the best Fridays has to offer, but the marg is certainly not making any "best margaritas" lists. We still finished our drinks, of course.

Think you can tell a fruit from a vegetable?

Think again.

In the world of food, there are many plants most people consider vegetables that are actually fruits, botanically speaking.

The most famous example is probably the tomato. Its status as a fruit or a vegetable was so contentious that in 1893 the Supreme Court had to weigh in and settle the issue once and for all.

What it comes down to isn't sweetness, but seeds. "Any thing that grows on a plant and is the means by which that plant gets its seeds out into the world is a fruit," Merriam-Webster dictionary wrote.

So fruit isn't part of the plant itself, but a reproductive part growing from the plant. "The thing a tomato plant produces isn't a part of the plant itself, any more than the egg a chicken lays is part of the chicken," the dictionary said. When we eat vegetables, on the other hand, we're eating the plant itself or some of its parts, like roots, stems, or leaves.

Tomatoes are far from the only example of common vegetables that are actually fruits. Read on to see 14 foods you've been misunderstanding this whole time.

SEE ALSO: A tomato is actually a fruit — but it's a vegetable at the same time

DON'T MISS: 7 things the average American has accomplished by age 35

Tomatoes

Even though tomatoes are technically a fruit, it doesn't stop people from treating it and most of the other foods on this list as a vegetable.

It's that logic that prompted the Supreme Court to declare in 1893 that tomatoes should be taxed like other vegetables.

Here's how Justice Horace Gray summed up the argument:

"Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas," Gray wrote in the court's opinion.

"But in the common language of the people … all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert."

Peppers

Every kind of pepper, from the bell pepper to the jalapeño, fits the bill as a fruit and not a vegetable.

Pumpkins

Anyone who's carved a jack-o-lantern for Halloween knows that pumpkins are full of seeds. Pumpkins and all other gourds are technically fruits, not vegetables.

One of the Trump administration's latest immigration policies has come under fire, after Homeland Security figures revealed that ICE is separating families at the US-Mexico border.

Between May 5 and June 9, border officials separated more than 2,300 children from 2,206 parents, the DHS said Tuesday. The policy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in early May, enforces "zero-tolerance" regulations on those who enter the US without documentation. Any migrant who attempts to cross the southern border — even those seeking asylum — is now being prosecuted.

Following mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle, Trump signed an executive order that he said will stop family separation at the border. But the fate of immigrant children already in custody remains unclear, and the order still faces legal obstacles.

The goal of establishing a firm physical boundary to separate the US from Mexico is nothing new. In the country that has the world's largest immigrant population, American presidential administrations have tried tightening security along the border for around a century.

Though the divide was formally established in 1824, the US didn't launch its official Border Patrol until 1924. Inspection and holding stations were created after that, followed by the construction of miles of fences with barbed wire and steel barriers over the next few decades.

Take a look back at the history of the US-Mexico border below.

SEE ALSO: A group of engineers just submitted this incredible proposal for Trump's border 'wall' that's actually a $15 billion hyperloop

The US established an official border patrol in 1924 with the goal of securing the US-Mexico border. In the photo below, American guards are patting down Mexicans who wish to enter the US.

The Mexicali border station (pictured below in 1929) was surrounded by a tall fence. Cars lined up to cross into California.

Much like today, people coming from Mexico were required to open their bags and suitcases at the border. In this 1937 photo, an agent inspects the possessions of shoppers going from Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, Texas.

The people we've come to associate with the most successful technology companies were once relatively unknown names with big dreams. So if they could do it all over again, would they do it any differently?

The answer to this commonly-asked interview question tells us what we want to learn from the people who have, in our eyes, "made it." And leaders in the tech industry are successful because they created something — or saw potential in something — in a way that no one else did. The advice they would give their younger selves, then, is often informative and motivational. 

Digital advertising company AdView compiled quotes from across the internet to create these inspirational posters for a series called "What Would You Tell Your Teenage Self?" We found our favorites and pulled a few others from various interviews over the years.

Here's the advice these 16 leaders in the tech industry told interviewers they would tell their younger selves:

"Smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then."

In Bill Gates' Reddit AMA last year, user UncomfortableChuckle asked "If you could give 19 year old Bill Gates some advice, what would it be?"

The second richest man in the world responded, "I would explain that smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then. I would say you might explore the developing world before you get into your forties. I wasn't very good socially back then but I am not sure there is advice that would fix that - maybe I had to be awkward and just grow up...."

"Find work you love. Believe you can do anything. There is no straight path to where you are going."

The question was posed by a Quora user, and Sandberg took the time to lay out a detailed response, in the form of three pieces of advice instead of the one.

1. Find work you love. When you believe in what you are doing, you can combine passion with contribution – and that is a true gift. Keep trying and you will find what you love to do… and once you do, you will crush it.
2. Believe you can do anything. This is important for everyone and especially for women. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t have both a meaningful professional career and a fulfilling personal life. When you hear someone say you can't do something, know that you can and start figuring out how. Ask yourself, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?”
3. There is no straight path to where you are going. If you try to draw that line you will not just get it wrong, but you will miss big opportunities. As Pattie Sellers of Fortune Magazine says, careers are not ladders but jungle gyms.  You don't have to have it all figured out. I recommend adopting two concurrent goals.

"A healthier lifestyle ultimately makes me more creative and allows me to think more cohesively."

That was Dorsey's simple response when Y Combinator interviewed Jack Dorsey in 2016.

"When I was young I didn’t understand the value of exercise or health and how that affected my intellect," he added. "I think it was useful for me to go to all the extremes to find the balance I have now, but I wish I focused more on being healthier in the past. A healthier lifestyle ultimately makes me more creative and allows me to think more cohesively."

• The Money Wizard, who goes by "Sean," is a 28-year-old blogger and financial analyst saving and investing his way toward early retirement.
• Sean grew his net worth by more than $100,000 in two years, and he tracked the progress on his blog.
• He says he's learned a few shocking lessons about money so far, like the fact that real wealth comes from learning how to save (without a budget), and then investing that money into wealth-building assets.

They say you learn something about yourself when you keep a journal.

If that's true, then I think just graduated to a PhD in Me Studies. Because for the past two years, I've kept a very detailed (and very public) online diary.

It's a unique type of diary though. In it, you won't find any juicy gossip about high school crushes or family drama. Instead, you'll find a topic that might be even more juicy: raw, unfiltered talk about every detail of my personal finances.

You see, for the past two years I've publicly posted all the deets behind every penny I saved and every dollar I spent. And then, every month, I take an (often uncomfortable) look at the impact those decisions had on my net worth.

The end goal? Total financial independence in my 30s. So far, I'm $242,000 of the way there.

Each month of the journal tells a story.

• November 2016: A $6,000 plunge to my net worth. Apparently, buying a new car isn't the best move for your wallet.
• April 2017: A $3,500 boost to my savings, mostly thanks to a long-awaited promotion.
• November 2017: A wild stock market rally, and a $9,000 (!) increase in my wealth.
• April 2018: Buried in the depths of a kitchen remodel, with the $6,000 credit card bill to prove it.

And while it sure is fun to look back on those monthly breakdowns, when I zoom out from the details, some larger lessons enter focus. The whole experiment has left me with four shocking revelations I'd have never expected:

SEE ALSO: I grew my net worth by over $100,000 in 2 years. Here are 4 steps you can take today to do the same.

DON'T MISS: A 20-something who's banked $170,000 shares the simple strategy that helps him save 65% of his income

1. Forget about budgeting — simply tracking your spending will make you richer

Ahh… a budget… doesn't just the sight of the word make you shudder?

I get it. When I first tried budgeting, I felt an immense amount of pressure to build the perfect budget. It's no wonder, especially when every financial planner under the sun jumps out of their seat to share the same advice.

“Step 1 – build a budget!” they'll shout, before putting the squeeze on about how you must determine exactly how much money goes towards each arbitrary bucket.

Want to know a secret?

Since I started tracking my net worth two years ago, I increased my savings by $105,935 — and I never once used a budget.

Instead, I took a much more stress-free approach. I simply tracked my spending. That's it.

By just tracking my spending instead of imprisoning myself with a budget, I felt the pressure relax. A stressful topic turned into casual monitoring, and then, something amazing happened.

I found that tracking my spending put a spotlight on my problem areas. Before I knew it, I was getting into the game. I couldn't help but look for ways to improve my money habits, and soon enough, I found myself looking for ways to spend less and save more at every opportunity. The budgeting took care of itself.

(Today, there's even all sorts of fancy apps which can automatically track your spending for you. Personal capital and Mint are two of my favorites.)

And best of all? Your new budget will have been created naturally over time and based on your own small adjustments, instead of being rushed together in the stuffy office of an adviser, overambitious goals and all.

The result? You'll find that sticking to your naturally created budget is a breeze. And that tailwind will propel your wealth to new heights.

2. Your money can work harder than you can

Let me tell you: You haven't lived until you've come back from vacation, only to realize that despite your best efforts at racking up expensive restaurant tabs and otherwise living the high life, your net worth still increased a few thousand dollars during the month.

How is this possible? It's simple. Your money can work a whole lot harder than you can.

While you're constrained to an eight-hour workday (if you're really ambitious, maybe a little more) your money has no such limitations. Through the miracle of investment and compound interest, your money has no problem working away on your behalf, day and night.

And the money which your money earns, goes on to earn even more money.

Think about this for a moment. We can't even come up with an analogy to describe the effort your dollars are capable of. The closest comparison would be if you never had to sleep, and you could take breaks during your current job by working a second job. And that second job took breaks by working a third job. And so on.

Career-inception aside, this simple fact highlights an important distinction. Bust your chops in the office all you want, but your extra hours are child's play compared to what your money can do, and that big raise and potential promotion are just a distraction. The real needle-moving wealth building comes from learning how to save, and then investing that money into wealth building assets. Even options as simple as Vanguard or Betterment are fantastic starts to putting your money to work.

And that's what we should all be working for. Because no matter how hard saving money might feel, I can promise you it's a whole lot easier than working as hard as your investments do.

3. Investments aren't the only thing that compound

Albert Einstein is mistakenly attributed to calling compound interest "the most powerful force in the universe," and if that doesn't prove the cult-like love for the effect, I don't know what will.

And yes, as we've just discussed, compound interest can make you incredibly rich.  But there's another, far less mentioned, effect of compounding that might be just as powerful.

I call it compound spending. And if I hadn't tracked my spending every month like a crazy person, I'd have never realized its power.

I first noticed it when I spotted an almost cyclical, wave-like trend in my monthly spending reports. Some months I spent almost nothing, and other months, a little bit of spending inevitably compounded into a whole lot of spending.

The peaks and troughs were impossible to ignore, and I realized a fascinating trend. My most successfully frugal months were not the months where I displayed some amazing amount of willpower, or found some incredibly creative way to save.

Instead, the common trend in the months where I spent the least amount of money: I simply avoided tipping that first domino. I avoided that first purchase which would have started a chain of future purchases.

You certainly know this effect, even if you've never given it a name:

• "Just one drink" with friend cascades into four or five. Followed by a midnight taco trip, an expensive Uber home, and a pricey brunch to eat off last night's hangover.

• A "50% off one item" coupon turns into a shopping spree, complete with four new outfits and a lengthy receipt.

• I know I've fallen victim to an AMAZING deal on plane tickets, which compounds into pricey hotels, rental cars, and vacation spending.

So, what's the best way to control your spending?

Realize the sticker price is a lie. The sticker price of any purchase is just the first domino in a chain of spending.

So, stop that spending before it starts. Rip that weed out by the root, before it has a chance to grow out of control.

• Research firm Datafiniti recently released a list of the largest fast-food chains in the United States, based on how many locations each has in the country. 
• The study found that Subway is the largest chain. Its locations account for 18.5% of all fast-food restaurants in the US. 
• McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell are also among the largest fast-food chains in the US.

It's true: there are a lot of Subway restaurants in the United States. 

Research firm Datafiniti recently looked into which fast-food chains have the most locations nationally, and how the size of each fast-food chain compares to the total number of fast-food establishments in the US. To see what percentage of all fast-food restaurants a particular chain makes up, Datafiniti divided the number of restaurants in each chain by the total number of fast-food restaurants in the US. 

As it turns out, Subway restaurants account for 18.5% of all US fast-food restaurants, with McDonald's not too far behind at 11.3%. Together, the two restaurants dominate the fast-food industry — the nearest runner-up is Burger King, which accounts for only 5.7% of all fast-food restaurants in the US. 

See where other fast-food chains fall among the ranks:

SEE ALSO: We tested Shake Shack's new ordering kiosks to see whether they could actually replace cashiers. Here's the verdict.

20. Whataburger

0.6% of fast-food chains

19. Five Guys

0.7% of fast-food chains

18. Carl's Jr.

1% of fast-food chains

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.

Skin care, and treating acne in particular, is an ongoing process that takes time, consistency, and plenty of experimentation.

Though everyone's skin is different, sometimes what works for one person might just actually work for you, too. When there are hundreds to tens of thousands of verified reviews that tout similar success stories, it's a good sign you should try the product. 

The following cleansers, masks, spot treatments, and tools have earned their places at the top of best-selling lists because they're just plain effective. Some are admittedly pricey investments, while others only cost less than $10, so whatever your budget, you'll be able to find a top-rated, best-selling acne product for you. 

These 11 acne products have the support of tons of satisfied users across the Internet: 

An $8 clay mask that promises the 'world's most powerful facial'

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay, $8.30, available at Amazon

Amazon rating: 4.4 stars out of 17,600+ reviews

More than 12,000 five-star Amazon reviews, plus the glowing approval of Insider Picks reporter Mara Leighton, confirm that this affordable clay mask is no ordinary mask. Keep it on for five to 10 minutes and it draws out impurities to make your skin clearer and smoother. 

A plant-based vitamin C serum

TruSkin Naturals Vitamin C Serum, $19.99, available at Amazon

Amazon rating: 4.3 stars out of 9,500+ reviews

Acne sufferers have noticed a marked reduction in the number of breakouts after consistent use of this gentle serum. The great part is that it's not only for acne — it also helps with fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, and sun spots. 

A gentle cream that harnesses the power of tea tree oil

Keeva Tea Tree Oil, $24.97, available at Amazon

Amazon rating: 4.4 stars out of 2,300+ reviews

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As the biggest sporting event in the world, and one that first began in 1930, the World Cup has surely delivered a multitude of iconic moments over the years. But which ones stand out as the very best? Fox Sports, the television host of this year's World Cup in the United States, decided to take on the challenge of figuring that out, and their choices should not be at all surprising. 

10 — 2010 World Cup, South Africa.

Spain had never won a World Cup until 2010. The team built around the generational talents of players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta, utilized the Tiki-taka style of play built around short passing and ball possession to dazzle the soccer world and capture international immortality.

9 — 1998 World Cup, France

Led by Zinedine Zidane, one of the game's true maestros with a ball at his feet, France won its first ever World Cup on home soil, with a team representing a multi-cultural France, such as Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, and the Ghana-born Marcel Desailly.

8 — Tardelli's celebration, 1982 World Cup, Spain

After Marco Tardelli scored the second of Italy's three goals in the final, which Italy went on to win, he ran towards the Italian bench, screaming and pumping his fists in celebration. "After I scored, my whole life passed before me - the same feeling they say you have when you are about to die," he later said. "The joy of scoring in a World Cup final was immense, something I dreamed about as a kid, and my celebration was a release after realising that dream. I was born with that scream inside me, that was just the moment it came out."

Despite a scandal-ridden year in Silicon Valley, there are still some tech workers who love where they work — and who they work for. 

Glassdoor, an employee review site, conducted its annual Employee's Choice Awards, part of which includes a report on the top 100 CEOs to work for, based entirely on voluntary and anonymous employee feedback in the last year. Of those hundred, 26 of the top CEOs are specifically in tech, with 17 based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

One thing to note before we jump into the list: even though last year's list included one woman — Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake — this year's list is all men. That's largely because the tech industry is male-dominated. It may also be related to how studies have shown that employees generally review women leaders more harshly.

Other absences from this year's list include Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Square and Twitter, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who made the list last year as the then-CEO of Expedia.

Out of Glassdoor's report of 100 Top CEOs of 2018, take a look to see where tech CEOs placed.

SEE ALSO: The 27 best tech CEOs, according to employees

26. Workday — Aneel Bhusri

91% approval rating

#97 out of the top 100 CEOs

#26 among tech CEOs

Workday provides software for human resources and financial systems management. 

25. Apple — Tim Cook

91% approval rating

#96 out of the top 100 CEOs

#25 among tech CEOs

Apple produces the iPhone, iPad, and Mac — some of the most successful consumer electronics products in the world. 

Cook actually dropped 43 spots on the top 100 since last year, marking the single biggest drop of a tech CEO. Still, this is Cook's sixth consecutive appearance on the list.

24. VMware — Pat Gelsinger

92% approval rating

#78 out of the top 100 CEOs

#24 among tech CEOs

VMware, owned by Dell, provides cloud computing and virtualization software for developers.

• Air Astana is the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, operating in 60+ destinations primarily in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia.
• Though the airline is only 16 years old, it has won a ton of awards. For the last six years, consumer aviation website Skytrax has given it a 4-star rating and named it the best airline in India/Central Asia.
• I decided to fly Air Astana Economy-class cabin on a flight, from Seoul, South Korea to Almaty, Kazakhstan and Almaty to Moscow, Russia, to see what the experience was like.

Chances are, unless you're an airline junkie, you've probably never heard of Air Astana.

Only launched in 2002, Kazakhstan's flag carrier is relatively unknown to most Americans and Europeans, unless they happen to have taken a trip to Russia. But that may soon change.

In just 16 years, Air Astana has built a reputation for friendly staff, new, well-kept planes, and great service. For the last six years, consumer aviation website Skytrax has given it a 4-star rating and named it the best airline in India/Central Asia. In 2014, Business Insider named it the 12th best airline in the world.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said in 2012 that Air Astana had "performed better in its first decade than just about any other start-up carrier."

Add in the fact that the list of best airlines these days is dominated by flag carriers like Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines, and Etihad Airways, and I was very excited to give Air Astana a try.

I got my chance recently when booking a long-haul trip from Seoul to Moscow for the World Cup. I am pleased to say that Air Astana did not disappoint.

Read on to see what I thought of my flight on Air Astana, departing from Almaty International Airport to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, operated on a 767-300ER.

SEE ALSO: I went to the massive World Cup party in Moscow, where up to 25,000 fans celebrate the games

DON'T MISS: I went to the World Cup for the first time — and it was even better than I imagined

For a recent flight from Seoul to Russia, I decided to book Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan. I was little bit nervous because the flight required a connection in Almaty, the former capital of the country. The first flight went off without a hitch and I landed at Almaty International Airport. It was a bit dinky.

To get on my second flight from Almaty to Moscow, I had to go through the transit desk in Almaty. Everyone on my flight was transferring to Moscow, as we were all heading to the World Cup. Because Almaty requires passengers to pass through security at the transit desk, I had to wait in line for an hour during my layover.

My flight was on time. After checking our passports at a small gate inside the airport, we boarded a bus that drove us to the plane on the tarmac. There's something about boarding a plane from the airstair rather than the gate that makes me feel like a celebrity.

• Relationship expert Andrea Syrtash shared some of the top signs that you and your partner could be ready for marriage.
• Those signs include having shared values and goals and having open conversations about sex.
• Ultimately, you and your partner are the only people who can decide whether you're ready to commit long-term.

Today's young couples aren't making rash decisions when it comes to marriage.

A report by dating site eHarmony reveals that 25- to 34-year-olds across the US (not just eHarmony users) knew their partner for an average of 6.5 years before tying the knot. That's compared to an average of five years for all age groups surveyed.

You could, theoretically, spend all of eternity trying to decide whether your partner is the right partner for you. But who has all of eternity to wait?

We asked Andrea Syrtash, a relationship expert, founder of Pregnantish, and author of "He's Just Not Your Type (And That's a Good Thing)", for the top signs that you and your partner could be ready to make a lifelong commitment to each other.

Here's what she told us:

SEE ALSO: Divorce isn't a failure, therapists say. In fact, it could mean the marriage was a success.

You're the best version of yourself when you're with your partner

"It's amazing how often we put the focus on the other person — what he or she is offering," Syrtash said. "We don't look at who we are with them."

She went on: "You know you're ready to be in a long-term partnership when you can honestly say, 'This person is bringing out my best. I'm a good version of myself with this person.' That's a really good litmus test."

Syrtash's insights recall those of Ellen McCarthy, author of "The Real Thing" and a former weddings reporter for The Washington Post. McCarthy writes that the one word she heard couples use over and over again to describe their relationship was "comfortable."

As McCarthy puts it, a solid partner is like a "good pair of pajamas."

You have shared values and goals

"Hopefully, you're not getting married or thinking about long-term commitment before you've talked about future goals," Syrtash said.

Discussion topics should include kids, religion, and finances.

"If you feel that you've talked through significant future goals together and you're aligned, that's also a good sign."

Karl Pillemer, a professor of human development at Cornell University, spoke with a series of older Americans for his book "30 Lessons for Loving" and learned about the importance of shared values.

One 86-year-old man told Pillemer that it's important to find out from your partner: "What do they care about? How do they think about the world? What matters to them?"

You've talked openly about your finances

Money is a common source of conflict in a marriage, Syrtash said. "So we want to have open conversations before we are legally bound to each other."

For example, is one person coming into the relationship with significant student loans or credit-card debt?

According to Michelle Brownstein, Vice President of Private Client Services at Personal Capital, every couple should have three important money conversations: how they spend and save, how they envision a potential child's future, and whether to rent or buy a home.

• For those who don't have tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup but are in Russia, FIFA's Fan Fest zones provide a fun place to watch matches with fans from all over the world.
• The Fan Fest zones have a ton of games, activities, swag, and giant screens to watch the games.
• I recently visited one of the biggest Fan Fest zones, at Moscow's Vorobyovy Gory, where tons of fans partied all day while watching the World Cup matches.

Every four years, the world comes together for a festival of football (soccer for Americans) that promises to make us forget all about the world's troubles as best we can for a few weeks and unite in our collective humanity.

That spirit of global togetherness has certainly been on display in pubs and city squares around the world during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

But nowhere is it more evident than at events FIFA is putting on in this year's World Cup host country of Russia.

For those who don't have a ticket to the games, Russia's 11 Fan Fest sites, spread across the country, promise to be a place where fans can join together and share in each game's triumphs.

With massive screens, entertainment, and activities, the Fan Fests are like the world's biggest sports bars for the duration of the tournament, which began Thursday and runs through July 15.

One of the biggest Fan Fest sites this year is at Moscow's Vorobyovy Gory, a park overlooking the city and Luzhniki Stadium. It holds a whopping 25,000 people at peak capacity.

I recently went to check out the fun while visiting Russia for this year's World Cup. Here’s what it was like:

SEE ALSO: I stayed at the $6.6 billion mega-hotel Kim Jong Un visited in Singapore, and was honestly kind of disappointed

Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, FIFA has set up official Fan Fest zones for visiting fans and citizens of the host country to watch World Cup games together. To get to the one in Moscow, you have to walk past Luzhniki Stadium, Russia's national stadium and one of the focal points of the tournament.

It's about a 30-minute walk from Luzhniki. You have to cross the Moskva River, which passes through central Moscow. When I went on a Monday afternoon, it was bright, sunny, and warm.

The Fan Fest is technically in Vorobyovy Gory, a park that overlooks Moscow. Literally meaning Sparrow Hills, it's one of the highest points in the city. It seemed to me a bit like Moscow's Central Park.

• The annual New York City LGBT Pride March took place in Manhattan on Sunday.
• Millions of people flocked to Chelsea and Greenwich Village to catch a glimpse of the parade.
• The march featured elaborate costumes and floats, joyous celebrations, and honors for LGBT-rights activists.

The 49th annual New York City LGBT Pride March was held in the streets of Manhattan on Sunday.

The rainbow-colored spectacle to honor members of the LGBT community and celebrate strides in LGBT rights is the culmination of a series of events held by the NYC Pride organization. New York's march, often the most attended Pride parade in the world, is always a sight to behold.

Here's what 2018's Pride March looked like.

SEE ALSO: June is LGBT Pride Month — here's everything you need to know

DON'T MISS: 20 spectacular photos of cities celebrating LGBTQ Pride around the world

Tennis legend and LGBT activist Billie Jean King served as grand marshal of the NYC Pride March.

Source: Getty

Some people came to Pride scantily-clad ...

Source: Getty

... while others wore elaborate outfits that showcased their identities.

Source: Getty

• Costco workers shared their stories about the weirdest and worst things they've seen on the job with Business Insider.

• Some Costco workers reported that colleagues and members can occasionally make life a bit difficult.

• Many Costco employees cited the chain's generous return policy as a source of unexpected situations.

Costco jobs aren't always easy. The retail chain isn't just known for selling some rather unexpected products.

Sometimes, surprising situations crop up as well. The retail chain did make Glassdoor's list of best places to work in 2017, but that doesn't mean it's immune to odd and frustrating scenarios.

Business Insider reached out to Costco employees to find out what strange or bizarre situations they've witnessed on the job.

Many of the stories centered in around what one Iowa-based Costco worker called "abuse of Costco's generous return policy."

"Oh, the stories we could tell," said one Costco employee from San Diego. "Smelly socks, 20-year-old refrigerators, stained mattresses, we've seen it all."

Other anecdotes focused more on bad behavior from members and Costco colleagues. And some stories are just about bad luck or unusual circumstances. A total of 49 employees shared their stories with us.

Here's what Costco workers had to say about the most bizarre things they've seen happen in the store:

SEE ALSO: Costco employees share the 15 things they wish shoppers would stop doing

DON'T MISS: Sneaky ways Costco gets you to buy more

SEE ALSO: 12 Costco food court menu items employees swear by

Dairy-related violence

A worker at a Costco in Ontario once witnessed a "fist fight over a cheese sample."

Bowel movements

"Someone pooped on the floor in the clothing department and tracked it all the way to the bathroom," said one Costco employee based in Chicago.

A shocking fall

"A guy fell through our roof," a Costco employee from Oregon told Business Insider. "He was working on the roof, sat down on the edge and somehow fell backwards. That's why now Costco requires bars on the sun roofs."

• Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers begin their days in different ways.
• Some of the differences in their morning routines can be attributed to age. Baby Boomers are increasingly retiring, so they tend to wake up later than working folks.
• But some of it can be attributed to generational differences. Millennials, for instance, are the most likely to get their news from online. 

Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers are very different — and their differences are apparent from the moment they wake up. 

A poll from MSN surveyed Americans on their morning routines. It then used machine learning and big data, such as the census, to model how a representative sample of the US would have responded. It's as accurate as a traditional scientific survey, MSN said.

Some of the differences in their morning routines can be attributed to age.

Baby Boomers are increasingly retiring, so they tend to wake up later than the working population. Nearly a third of them wake up after 7 a.m., compared to 15% of those aged below 65. 

Older age also correlates with healthier mornings. Those aged 65 and up tend to exercise and eat breakfast — two recommended components of any morning routine. 

Some discrepancies are also unsurprising, considering generational trends. Millennials, for instance, are the most likely to get their news online, while 13% of Baby Boomers read the paper every morning. (Just 1% of 20-somethings say they read the morning paper.)

Here's how the generations differ in their sunrise habits.

SEE ALSO: The dramatically different morning routines of Americans at every income level

DON'T MISS: 7 things not to do when you first wake up

Adults aged 64 and under are more likely to lay out their outfits the night before.

Of those younger than 65, 85% wake up before 7 a.m. That drops to 68% once folks reach retirement age.

The older you are, the more likely you prioritize breakfast. Two-thirds of young adults never or seldom eat breakfast.

In March 1995, artist Bryan Lewis Saunders began creating at least one self-portrait of himself every day.

Born in Washington D.C. but living on and off in Tennessee, in 2000 he set out to look for "experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of self"— and he came up with an experiment titled "Under The Influence" that did just that.

"Every day I took a different drug or intoxicant and drew myself under the influence," he states on his website.

He produced a documentary called "Art of Darkness" about the experience – which, he says, left him lethargic and with "mild brain damage that wasn't irreparable."

Still, he said he is "still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time and presently only take drugs that are prescribed to me by a doctor."

He told Business Insider that his other more recent projects include a drawing experiment where he was totally blind for 30 days straight and, of course, created a daily self portrait.

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