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Amazon predicts these will be the 100 hottest toys every kid wants this holiday season

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vetpet

Summer may have just ended, but it's never too early to start thinking about holiday shopping. While the gift-giving season is months away, if you like to get ahead and do your holiday shopping early, Amazon has you covered. Amazon's 2018 Holiday Toy List showcases 100 of their top picks of toys and games for this holiday season.

On the list, you'll find classic and simple toys, eccentric card games, STEM educational toys, and more. We scoured through it for you, and here's what we found.

Check out Amazon's top 100 toys and games for the 2018 holiday season:

A kit that lets you grow your own crystal

4M Crystal Growing Experiment, $12

This kit is educational, fun, and only costs $12. Kids will love making their own crystals and watching them grow. The set comes with the materials and directions to conduct seven crystal growth experiments, plus a fact sheet so kids can learn a little bit about geology along the way.



A lifelike baby doll

Baby Alive Potty Dance Baby, $48.82

Little kids get to feel like grown-ups when they take care of their own dolls. This one blinks, goes to the bathroom, and can say over 50 phrases — in both English and Spanish. Each doll comes with an outfit, water bottle, mini toilet, soap dispenser, and a rewards chart with stickers so kids can nurture their dolls.



Cute characters that smell like your favorite fruit

Banana's Collectible Toy 3-Pack Bunch, $9.99

Peel open these colorful plastic bananas to reveal cute "Crushie" characters and accessories. Kids can collect and trade them, and they can be placed back in their banana case and sealed up to take on the go. They even smell like real bananas!



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All the Trump officials who have publicly denied writing the anonymous New York Times op-ed

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Pompeo

  • A deluge of White House senior officials have denied writing the bombshell anonymous New York Times op-ed article, whose author the paper described only as "a senior official in the Trump administration."
  • There was speculation that Vice President Mike Pence was the author because of the column's use of the word "lodestar," but he denied having written it.
  • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the op-ed article was written by a "disgruntled deceptive bad actor" and said the author should leave the White House.

As speculation swirls over the identity of the author of the controversial New York Times op-ed article, described by the paper only as "a senior official in the Trump administration," a lineup of White House officials have denied writing it.

The author of the anonymous op-ed article, published on Wednesday, said there was a "quiet resistance" against President Donald Trump within his administration.

The column details an effort to undermine Trump's authority and slams the president on an array of issues.

Since its publication, several senior administration officials have stepped forward to say they're not the author. Here are their statements.

Vice President Mike Pence

Pence's office released a statement on Thursday morning denying that the vice president was the op-ed article's author.

There had been speculation that he was the author because of the column's inclusion of the word "lodestar," which Pence has used in several speeches.

Pence's communications director, Jarrod Agen, said in a tweet: "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds."

Agen continued: "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Pompeo, who is traveling in India, told reporters at an embassy meet-and-greet that he was not the author.

"I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option: that is to leave," Pompeo said.

The secretary of state described the op-ed article's author as a "disgruntled, deceptive bad actor."

"I have to tell you, I find the media's efforts in this regard to undermine this administration incredibly disturbing," he added, according to The Times.



Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats

Coats released a statement on Thursday morning about the op-ed article.

"Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not," he said. "From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire [intelligence community] remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible."



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Every bizarre thing that has happened since Elon Musk sent his 'funding secured' tweet about taking Tesla private (TSLA)

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Elon Musk

  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attracted controversy for his statements about taking Tesla private, made public on August 7.
  • The announcement — which took a lot of people by surprise — started off a wild few weeks of speculation and accusation, with Musk at the center.
  • On August 24, Musk formally abandoned the go-private plan and said Tesla would remain a public company.


Tesla CEO Elon Musk shocked observers when he said on August 7 that he was thinking about taking the company private.

That plan came to an abrupt conclusion on August 24, when Musk and Tesla formally abandoned the idea, having whipped up a whirlwind that got the attention of everyone, including Wall Street regulators.

Here's what you need to know to make sense of the saga:

SEE ALSO: 70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon Musk

November 15, 2017: Elon Musk says in a Rolling Stone interview that he wishes Tesla was a private company.

"I wish we could be private with Tesla,"Musk said in the interview. "It actually makes us less efficient to be a public company."

 



July 31, 2018: Musk claims he met with the managing director of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Musk claimed in a statement published on Tesla's website on Monday that he had a meeting with the managing director of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund on July 31. 

During this meeting, Musk claimed the director "expressed regret that I had not moved forward previously on a going private transaction with them, and he strongly expressed his support for funding a going private transaction for Tesla at this time. I understood from him that no other decision makers were needed and that they were eager to proceed."

"I left the July 31st meeting with no question that a deal with the Saudi sovereign fund could be closed, and that it was just a matter of getting the process moving," Musk said. 

The Saudi sovereign fund did not respond to a request for comment.

 



August 1, 2018: Tesla reports second-quarter earnings amid fear the company is running out of cash.

Tesla reported an adjusted loss per share of $3.06 for the second quarter, which was larger than what analysts had predicted, and revenue of $4 billion, which beat analyst projections. Its cash burn, $739.5 million, was lower than analysts expected. The company said it expected to be profitable during the second half of 2018.

"Going forward, we believe Tesla can achieve sustained quarterly profits, absent a severe force majeure or economic downturn, while continuing to grow at a rapid pace," the company said.

During the company's earnings call, Musk apologized to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Antonio Sacconaghi. During Tesla's first-quarter earnings call in May, Musk had referred to Sacconaghi's questions as "boring" and "boneheaded."

"I'd like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Honestly, I really think there's no excuse for bad manners, and I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard. There are reasons for it in that I had gotten no sleep, had been working 110-hour, 120-hour weeks, but nonetheless, there's still no excuse," Musk said during the second-quarter earnings call.



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15 of the most unlikable movie characters of all time

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Voldemort harry potter.jfifBetween classics from our childhood and new releases, there's always those characters that are so good at making us dislike them. Truly talented actors and actresses can channel the right demeanor, whether evil or just plain annoying, that gets the point across and demonstrates who that character is meant to be. Whether it's a girlfriend passing through or an evil bully, these are some of the most unlikable movie characters of all time.

Miss Trunchbull from "Matilda" was a bully to students.

In case you live under a rock, Agatha Trunchbull was the headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School and made Matilda's life a living nightmare, along with everything around her.

She was a bitter woman who despised children and even turned her back on her own family. There are probably worse things in life than being force-fed chocolate cake, but her personality was as wretched as her messy, top knot bun.



Meredith Blake from "The Parent Trap" was not a great person.

Ah yes, the classic tale of twins separated at a young age that find out about each other later in life. Everything's happy, they create a plan to get their parents to fall in love again, and bam… enter the young, beautiful blonde bombshell here to destroy any hope of that as she seduces the money bags father into marrying her. She crushed the hopes of anyone who watched.  



Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series is notoriously awful.

I really don't think there can be an article written about unlikable movie characters without mention of the dark lord himself, Lord Voldemort. After being the source of Harry's parents' demise, Voldemort uses weak individuals and magic to slither his way back to torture Harry and everyone at Hogwarts everytime we think he's gone for good.

Although the series wouldn't be as impactful without the intense battle between good and evil, I think we all wish at times we can just watch them eat weird candy, cast cool spells, and play some Quidditch without someone trying to kill everyone all the time.



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The full relationship timeline of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy

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jackie kennedy JFKSixty-five years ago this September, John Fitzgerald Kennedy married Ms. Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. This star-studded affair went down as the social event of the season and the wedding of two of the most iconic political figures in American history.

Here's a timeline of their interwoven histories from humble beginnings in Washington DC to living in its most famous residence.

May 29, 1917: John F. Kennedy is born in Brookline, Massachusetts.

He is born to politician Joseph Patrick Kennedy and philanthropist Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy.



July 28, 1929: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier is born in Southampton, New York.

Her parents are the stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III and socialite Janet Norton Lee.



September 1940: John graduates cum laude from Harvard with a B.A. in government and a concentration in international affairs.

He graduated from high school in Connecticut and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed."



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People are talking about this amazing photo of Jack Dorsey and Alex Jones as a funny, dystopian, yet iconic image (TWTR, FB)

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Alex Jones Jack Dorsey hearings skitch

It was a day that will go down in tech history books, as much for its potential significance as for its utter bizarreness. 

For a brief moment on Wednesday, the worlds of Silicon Valley business, partisan politics, conspiracy theorists and the theater of the absurd all collided into one magnificent spectacle, as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey visited Washington DC for back-to-back Congressional hearings. 

In the morning, Dorsey joined Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in the Senate to answer questions about foreign manipulation of social networks. At an afternoon hearing in the House, Dorsey took the hot seat on his own to respond to allegations of anti-conservative bias by social media companies — an idea that has been increasingly propagated by Republicans, including President Trump.

Adding to the day's drama were howling protesters, Dorsey's spiking heartrate and several deflty-timed jump scares by Alex Jones, the infamous conspiracy theorist who seemed to delight in stalking various prey throughout the Capitol, emerging, ghoul-like from various corners.

Amazingly, a photographer was able to get a picture that captures all this, and more. 

This photo was taken by Politico's M. Scott Mahaskey during a break in the hearings and posted to Twitter.

The detail and tension captured in the photo are reminiscent of a canvas by one of the great masters; a Velasquez, or perhaps Hieronimus Bosch.  The more you look at the picture, the more you find.

Let's take a look:

SEE ALSO: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey got grilled by Congress for claims of anti-conservative bias he says just aren't true

SEE ALSO: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's heart rate spiked while he was getting grilled by Congress

Motherboard's Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai got the conversation going by tweeting, "This has to be the most hilariously dystopian picture of the year."

 



A lot of people noticed the Casio watch worn by someone who appears to be a reporter. Such watches were hot techie fashion in the 1980's, made famous by Marty McFly in the 1985 movie "Back to the Future."



Then there was the Congressional staffer in the early '00's version of high-tech chic: wearing Google glass.



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The rich keep getting richer — here are the billionaires who made the most billions in a single year

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Jeff Bezos

  • Billionaires keep growing their billions.
  • With a record number of billionaires around the world, we calculated just how much the world's richest billionaires earned in a single year.
  • According to our calculations, Bill Gates earned $4 billion, making him the lowest-earning billionaire on the list — nothing compared to Jeff Bezos' annual earnings of nearly $40 billion.

The rich keep getting richer. If there's one thing that can be said for billionaires, it's that they know how to grow their wealth.

According to Wealth-X's 2018 Billionaire Census, there are a record number of billionaires around the world, and their wealth has increased by 24% since last year — another record number.

Business Insider looked at how much the world's richest billionaires earned in the past year. To determine each billionaire's annual earnings, we calculated the difference between their 2017 and 2018 net worths for the top 50 richest billionaires, as provided by the Forbes' 2017 and 2018 richest people in the world lists, published every March. We then narrowed the rankings down to the top 30 billionaires who made the most money in the past year.

We didn't include Francois Bettencourt and Giovanni Ferrero because they inherited their billions in the last year.

The lowest-earning billionaire on the list, Bill Gates, earned $4 billion. While that's far from a measly number, it doesn't compare to the nearly $40 billion Jeff Bezos earned in the past year.

Below, see how many billions some of the world's richest billionaires earned in a single year.

SEE ALSO: We did the math to calculate exactly how much money billionaires and celebrities like Jeff Bezos and Kylie Jenner make an hour

DON'T MISS: The richest person at every age

30. Bill Gates, $4 billion

Current Forbes billionaires rank: 2



29. Susanne Klatten, $4.6 billion

Current Forbes billionaires rank: 32



28. Georg Schaeffler, $4.6 billion

Current Forbes billionaires rank: 31



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6 signs your marriage won't last a year

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couple arguing

All relationships take work, and marriage, which can present couples with unforeseen challenges no matter how long they have been together, is no different.

That said, some hurdles are more insurmountable than others — and they require sufficient attention. Here, divorce attorneys explain some telltale signs a marriage won't last a year.

1. There is excessive conflict when planning the wedding

One warning sign of a potentially unstable marriage can appear before the wedding even happens. 

"Even as early as the wedding planning phase, one party might want to have an extravagant celebration and be willing to incur debt for it while the other might be content with a small dinner for family and closest friends," Kelly A. Frawley, a partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP's matrimonial and family law department, told INSIDER.

Planning a wedding can be incredibly stressful for everyone involved, so some arguments are inevitably bound to happen during the lead-up to the event. But if the fights are intense, always about the same thing, and reveal vastly differing opinions on what the wedding should entail and cost, it might be worth taking a step back and giving the relationship some extra consideration.

Read more:How to make planning a wedding stress-free



2. You are getting married just for the thrill of it

A common reason for a quick divorce is when people get married just for the sake of having a wedding.

"The excitement of 'getting married' was the reason they got married and then realize they have no similar interests or different life goals," Nancy Chemtob, founding partner at Chemtob, Moss, Forman & Beyda LLP., told INSIDER. 

So, before you get married, ask yourself you really know your partner and if you really want to spend the rest of your life with them. If the answer to either of those questions is anything less than a resounding "yes," it's probably best to put the brakes on the wedding.



3. You rarely spend time together

One potential sign of an impending divorce? Neither partner is spending all that much time together.

"One of the parties continues to go out with the 'girls' or 'boys' and excludes their new spouse, therein creating conflict and feeling of rejection," Chemtob told INSIDER.

Obviously, this doesn't mean that anyone needs to stop spending time with their friends just because they've gotten married. People generally should spend some time without their partners, whether they're alone or with their friends. But if one partner is spending so much time with other people that it makes their spouse feel isolated, it could be a sign that the relationship isn't going to work.



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28 items you can get online at Costco for cheaper than Amazon

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

costco

Costco is the land of endless free samples and some great deals on bulk items.

Shopping at Costco is truly a unique experience, but with its great prices it can be hard to leave the store without a trunk full of heavy boxes. The convenience of online shopping, and the thought of never having to lug heavy bags of groceries ever again, make services like Amazon's Prime Pantry  and Jet.com's grocery department very tempting. The good news for Costco lovers and bargain hunters alike is that you don't need to count the warehouse giant out of the running if you prefer to do your grocery shopping from a screen. 

Yes, you can order from Costco online — but there are some caveats. Here's what you should know:

Normally, you have to be a member to shop at Costco. The membership options are either a $60 or $120 annual fee. To shop online, you don't have to have a membership card, but there are caveats. For non-members, most online items apply a 5% surcharge at checkout. Depending on how much you plan to spend at Costco every year, the 5% surcharge may cost you less than an annual membership would.

Also important to note, some items on the site have a delivery fee. If you spend over $75 on an order, these separate delivery fees are waived, which is not hard to do given that most of the items are big, bulk buys. Additionally, the prices and availability of items are based on your zip code, so for the purpose of this article we used a Manhattan zip.

Whether or not you're a member, you can still take advantage of the great deals Costco has to offer when you shop on their website. We did the grunt work and scoured Costco, as well as its competitors, to figure out what deals are actually worth it. 

Check out our list of 28 great deals you can find online at Costco:

Scoshe BoomBottle Wireless Speaker

Scosche BoomBottle Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, $69.99

You don't have to buy everything in bulk at Costco. This bluetooth speaker is waterproof, dust-proof and has a built-in bottle opener, plus it's sold for a great price at Costco.

Compare to $101.95 at Amazon.



Charmin Ultra Strong Toilet Paper

Charmin Ultra Strong Toilet Paper, 30 Jumbo rolls, $32.99

Many everyday items, especially ones that never expire (like toilet paper), are worth buying in bulk. If you live with a lot of people, 30 rolls isn't as much as it seems. Even if you live alone and have the space to store the larger packaging, you can save a good deal of money on buying this everyday essential in bulk. 

Compare to $44.95 at Amazon.

 



Crest 3D Whitening Toothpaste

Crest 3D White Advanced Whitening Toothpaste 6-ounce, 5-pack, $13.99

Like toilet paper, you're always going to need toothpaste. When you buy this everyday essential in bulk at Costco you get more bang for your buck. The Costco price is almost fifty cents cheaper per ounce than most competitors, which may seem trivial, but it adds up quickly.

Compare to $5.71 for a 2-pack of 3.5-ounce tubes, at Amazon.



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These are the 20 most expensive cars ever sold at auction

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Ferrari Sotheby's 1

  • Some of the rarest and most exotic cars in the world have come across the auction block in recent years. A handful of those have sold for tens of millions of dollars.
  • In August, two of the world's most prestigious auction houses made a combined $275 million in sales at Monterey Car Week in California.
  • A 1935 Duesenberg SSJ fetched $22 million last month, becoming the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction.
  • The overall record was set that same week when RM Sotheby's sold a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for $48.4 million. 

Vintage car auctions are where the world's wealthy gain access to the exotics of their dreams. Some of these prize vehicles can easily fetch tens of millions of dollars on the auction block.

In August, two of the world's most prestigious auction houses sold a combined $275 million in automotive exotica during Monterey Car Week in California.

Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, presented a particularly impressive fleet of automobiles this year. Over a two-day period, the auction house sold $117 million worth of classics, including a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ once owned by Hollywood legend Gary Cooper that sold for $22 million. It was the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction.

Nearby in Monterey, RM Sotheby's racked up $158 million in sales in its two-day auction period. This total was helped along considerably by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that fetched $48.4 million; making it the most expensive car ever auctioned.

Regardless of who handles the auction, the cars sold at these events are gorgeous, rare, and expensive. Of the 20 most expensive cars ever sold at auction, European exotics, particularly Ferrari, dominate the top of the list. In fact, 14 of the top 20 carry Ferrari's prancing stallion. 

Take a look at the 20 most expensive cars ever sold at auction:

SEE ALSO: The 17 most expensive cars sold at Pebble Beach

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20. 1995 McLaren F1 (Sold for $15.62 million by Bonhams in 2017)



19. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (Sold for $16.3 million by Gooding & Company in 2011)



18. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale (Sold for $16.5 million by Gooding & Company in 2015)



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The best backpacking food you can buy

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

best backpacking food

The Insider Pick:

  • A hot meal of real food can make all the difference when you've been hiking all day and still have miles to go before the trek is through.

  • With the right backpacking food, you can enjoy a real dinner or a hearty breakfast with minimal prep required.

  • Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles is our top pick because this freeze dried food won't weigh you down while you trek but will fill you up once prepared using nothing more than boiling water.

I've climbed many a mountain and hiked hundreds of miles in my day, and in the course of those ascents and traverses, I've eaten my fair share of CLIF BARs, beef jerky, trail mix, and gross high protein goo packet thingies. While those foods have their place when you're out in the hinterlands (and hey, I'll eat a CLIFF BAR or trail mix while I'm running out the door at home, too), they're not what we're talking about today. When I say backpacking food, I mean a real meal — the kind of filling, nourishing, meal that replaces not only calories spent but that revitalizes the spirit as well.

From a thick, hearty stew enjoyed on the summit of Mt. Whitney to rice and chicken scarfed down beside sacred lakes high in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains to mac and cheese enjoyed while car camping with my young son, I know firsthand how beneficial a hot meal can be when you're far afield. Fortunately, enjoying a great "real" meal while you camp, trek, or climb isn't all that hard to do provided you planned ahead. None of the meals on this list require anything fancier than a pot, some water, and a stove (or fire) to prepare, and some don't even require the pot. 

When choosing the right backpacking food for you, consider your foodstuffs as part of your overall gear, and I say that both in terms of sheer gear weight and logistics. Will you need to bring lots of water to reconstitute a freeze-dried meal, for example, or does your route lead past plenty of sources from which you can filter water for cooking? And if there aren't water sources, should you instead consider meals that don't require additional liquid? How much fuel do you need to ensure you have enough to cook the meals you're planning? These and other considerations, including simple calorie count, should inform your thinking about the best backpacking food for you.

Oh, and also make sure you get food you like to eat.

Here is the best backpacking food you can buy:

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.

The best backpacking food overall

Why you'll love it: A packet of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles weighs only around four ounces prior to the addition of water, yet it serves up 520 delicious calories.

I ate the best beef stroganoff of my life while camped out some 12,800 feet high in the stunning Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Granted, I was ravenous at the time after an all-day hike, so shoe leather probably would have tasted passably good, but still I was unduly impressed with the flavor of the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff I enjoyed that late afternoon. And all the more so because, prior to the addition of about 14 ounces of boiling water, the pouch of food added a scant four ounces to my gear weight.

Each pouch of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles serves up 22 grams of protein and 520 calories, so your overworked muscles and generally depleted energy stores will be greatly revitalized after your meal. It's nice to know that this stuff is backed by a stunning 30-year taste guarantee, so don't worry if you have a few pouches left over after your trek, you can always enjoy it in the 2040s. 

With hundreds and hundred’s of reviews logged on Amazon, Mountain House Beef Stroganoff has a commendable 4.5-star average rating on Amazon. One avid outdoorsman speaks for many when says the stuff is "very easy to make" and "actually tastes fantastic."

A writer from Trailspace called the Beef Stroganoff "creamy and smooth" with an "excellent flavor" and noted the ease of prep as well.

Pros: Great taste, lightweight prior to prep, extra long shelf life

Cons: Quite expensive

Buy a packet of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles on Amazon for $11



The best backpacking food for easy prep

Why you'll love it: You can tear open a Western Frontier MRE Meal-Ready-To-Eat any time and anywhere for a major infusion of calories.

These are MREs (AKA Meal Ready to Eat) are sold by Western Frontier, but make no mistake, they are genuine military surplus products made by the Department of Defense and for warfighters. MREs have a multi-year shelf life and, as the word ready implies, they are ready to be consumed at any time and with minimal required.

In fact, many MREs are ready to be eaten without any cooking or prep at all, though if you use the included heater to warm the entree (think chili with beans or chicken, noodles, and vegetables in sauce) it will taste that much better.

Each MRE pouch does indeed contain a meal complete with a main course, crackers, beverage powder, freeze-dried coffee crystals, and even a sweet like a fudge brownie. The taste might not equal the multi-course dinner you get at a Michelin star restaurant, but when you're far afield, enjoying a dinner with multiple components is a genuine treat. And the fact that each MRE delivers approximately 1,250 calories will be welcome after an arduous trek.

With several dozen reviews posted on Amazon, these MREs have a solid 4.1-star average rating. One shopper loved the fact that the MREs came with "a healthy snack and dessert item," and was "pleasantly surprised by the taste" of the meal. Another called them the ideal "emergency food" to keep stocked in the house.

Just note that with all those calories comes a fair amount of weight, so lugging multiple MREs along during an extended trek might not be the best idea.

Pros: Minimal prep required, diverse foodstuffs in each pouch, high calorie count

Cons: Rather heavy for long hikes or climbs

Buy a six pack of Western Frontier MRE Meal-Ready-To-Eat on Amazon for $52



The best backpacking soup

Why you'll love it: Once heated up, a pouch of Fishpeople Alder Smoked Wild Salmon Chowder tastes almost as good as the soup you'd get along with your sandwich at your favorite family diner.

Alright, confession time... I've never eaten Fishpeople Alder Smoked Wild Chowder while camping. But I have had several pouches of this soup at home. I've also had many a serving of the bisques. The reasons I have yet to tuck a pouch of Fishpeople soup into my pack is that I genuinely like the stuff and it's wildly easy to prepare, so I just heat some up for a quick lunch when I'm trying to get work done. If you're at home or at the office, you can microwave this chowder right in its pouch.

While in the backwoods, you can heat the pouch in boiling water and eat it right out of the pouch. The ease of prep is one of the positives here. The long shelf life with no refrigeration required is another. And the taste, courtesy of wild-caught salmon, sweet onions, fennel, garlic, and heavy cream is another.

There are only 310 calories in a pouch of Fishpeople Alder Smoked Wild Chowder, which is on the lower end, but you can always just eat something else as well. Also note that a lot of those calories come from fat, but we're talking about backpacking food here, so you'll burn right through that. Assuming, y'know, you actually eat it while backpacking and not while writing...

One Amazon customer left a review that cuts right to the chase, simply saying: "this chowder is delicious." And while many others echoed that sentiment, a number of people did comment on the rather small portion size. So bring some crackers, or get two pouches per meal.

A writer from DrGourmet called Fishpeople soups "incredibly convenient" thanks to their easy prep and praised the taste and consistency of the chowder.

Pros: Great taste, easy to prepare, great for backpacking or everyday

Cons: Not filling enough

Buy a pouch of Fishpeople Alder Smoked Wild Chowder on Amazon for $9.76



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9 times celebrities took fashion inspiration from former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

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jackie kennedy style

On the night of John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration in 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis attended a celebratory ball in a silk chiffon evening gown and floor-length cape.

The now-famous ensemble landed her on the pages of The Washington Post, which mused that the first lady's "career as a major fashion influence was beginning impressively."

Indeed, Onassis would go on to become an international style icon. During her time in the White House, and in the years after, she popularized some of the most recognizable trends of the '60s and '70s including pillbox hats, tailored coats, and strapless gowns.

Since then, numerous celebrities have channeled the former first lady's chic yet simple style. Take a closer look at some of these memorable fashion moments below.

The late Princess Diana often wore pastel suit dresses that closely resembled some of Onassis' most famous looks.

On May 7, 1995, Princess Diana attended a ceremony for the 50th anniversary of VE Day in a powder blue long-sleeve top and pencil skirt.

Diana's ensemble was nearly identical to the outfit Onassis had worn to an Easter service on April 2, 1961. The royal even paired her look with a pillbox hat and multi-strand pearl necklace — both of which were staples in the former first lady's wardrobe.

Read more: Princess Diana had the most ingenious royal solution to every woman’s most common problem



Like the former first lady, Diana did not shy away from bright colors.

The famous royal donned a pink short-sleeve suit dress during a visit to Argentina in November 1995. More than 30 years earlier, Onassis was photographed at the White House in January 1961 wearing a similar two-piece set.

Both tops featured oversized buttons, and both women accessorized with large statement earrings.



Kate Middleton is another royal who has taken a page out of Onassis' style book.

In May 1961, Onassis was photographed at the Washington National Airport — now known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport — in a collared coat with oversized buttons, gloves, and a structured hat.

Middleton attended an Easter service in April 2017 in a similar collared ensemble, though her coat was a bit more modern with a cinched waist and A-line silhouette. The Duchess of Cambridge also accessorized with a pillbox hat that looked straight out of Onassis' closet.



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I drove a $130,000 BMW M5 and had my life completely transformed by speed and power

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BMW M5

  • The 2018 BMW M5 is the latest V8-powered beast to emerge from the horsepower addicts of Bavaria.
  • We spent a week putting the BMW M5 through its savage paces — and it scared us. A lot!
  • The M5 is a mighty monster of a machine that provides a four-door alternative to some supercars.

Let's face it, people like to hate on BMW. 

This is depressing because for decades, the Bavarian motoring giant has proven again and again that the whole "ultimate driving machine" thing was utterly, totally, completely legit. BMWs are unquestionably among the most thrilling cars a human can drive and have been for ages. 

Blame the yuppified 1980s, when BMWs became status-mobiles. Then throw in some aggressive leasing deals that meant every new Hollywood agent or junior law partner could slip into a 3-Series.

Thankfully, BMW's M Sport performance division doesn't care about young agents or tyro lawyers and continues to focus on taking cars such as the 2018 5-Series, a perfectly brilliant luxury sedan, and turning them into terrifying beast-machines designed to alter the movement of entire planets.

You think that's an overstatement. OK, fine, but you didn't just spend a week driving around in a 2018 BMW M5.

What is this car like? Remember that scene in "Avengers: Infinity War" when Thor arrived in Wakanda via bifrost express and slung his hefty new hammer, Stormbreaker, to devastating effect? BOOM! 

The M5 is about 1,000 times more exciting than that. And you can have the same one I did in your driveway for $130,000. 

Yep, that ain't cheap. But considered in terms of a cost-to-motoring-nirvana ratio, it's a magnificent bargain. Plus, you don't have to unleash hell with the M5 every time you start it up. The car can be dialed back to relative calm — calm enough, sort of, for daily commuting. True, you'll be buying a lot of premium fuel; the M5 gets 15 mpg city/21 highway/17 combined, adding a $1,000 gas-guzzler tax to the sticker price. But pleasure such as this car delivers cannot be entirely quantified.

Let me go into greater detail about why the 2018 M5 is basically the baddest four-door in our realm:

SEE ALSO: The best Buick money can buy is a $44,000 rebuke to European sport sedans — here's what it's like to drive

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The 2018 M5! Our test car came in a Marine Bay Blue Metallic paint job and benefitted from a $4,000 Executive Package, including rear sunshades, wireless-device charging, and a WiFi hotspot.



We checked out the un-M'd 5-Series last year. The 5-Series in now in its seventh generation.

Read the review »



BMW's M cars always up the burliness factor, design-wise. The normal 5-Series looks stately and executive, while the M5 looks bold and aggressive.



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7 important college football games to watch this weekend

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JT Daniels

Week 2 of the college football season is here, and that means another Saturday of non-stop action.

Like most weekends in the fall, there is no shortage of games to choose from. But even though most teams have only played one game, we already have a sense of which teams are in the playoff hunt and which games are the most important.

This week we have two top-25 matchups, three contenders going on the road against good opponents, a big-name coach looking to rebound, and one in-state rivalry with a silly trophy on the line.

Here are the college football games to watch this weekend.

UCLA @ No. 6 Oklahoma

Network and Time: Fox, 1:00 p.m. ET

Records: UCLA (0-1), OU (1-0)

CFB Playoff Power Rankings: Oklahoma (7)

Why it is important: Two things can happen in this game: 1) The Bruins rebound from an embarrassing Week 1 loss at home to Cincinnati in Chip Kelly's first game and show they are on the right track with a competitive performance; or 2) The Sooners prove that their offensive and defensive dominance over FAU — they led 56-0 in the third quarter — was not a fluke or a product of FAU being less than people expected. Either way, we are going to learn a lot about these two teams in this game.



No. 3 Georgia @ No. 24 South Carolina

Network and Time: CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET

Records: Both teams are 1-0

CFB Playoff Power Rankings: Georgia (3)

Why it is important: It seems that experts are split on whether or not Georgia is in the same class as Alabama and Clemson or if they are just the best of the rest. They get their first chance to lay claim to the former this weekend as they go on the road for their SEC opener against an improved Gamecocks team. Last season, South Carolina played Georgia tough in Athens, falling, 24-10, in a game that was close in the second half. It was the fewest points Georgia scored at home all season.



Iowa State @ Iowa

Network and Time:  Fox, 5:00 p.m. ET

Records: Iowa (1-0), Iowa State (0-0)

CFB Playoff Power Rankings: Both teams are unranked.

Why it is important: If you enjoy in-state rivalry games and silly trophies, this is a sneaky good one this weekend as they battle for the CyHawk Trophy. Iowa has won three in a row in the rivalry, including a 44-41 overtime win a year ago. More importantly, from a national perspective, every few years the Hawkeyes sneak into the national picture with a strong season. 2018 could be one of those years, after Iowa woke up in the second half of their Week 1, 33-7 win over Northern Illinois. Meanwhile, Iowa State is not a contender in the Big 12, but they are scrappy enough that they will be a factor in who does win the conference.



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16 of the most badass women in movies, ranked

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shuri black pantherJennifer Garner takes on yet another powerful role in "Peppermint," playing a mother out for revenge after she wakes from a coma to discover her husband and daughter were murdered. It's been a few years, but Garner definitely knows her way around an action movie. The 46-year-old previously took down bad guys as Elektra in two Marvel movies and mastered the art of subterfuge playing double agent Sydney Bristow on "Alias" for five seasons.

With the upcoming release of "Peppermint" on September 7, we rounded up some of the most badass women in movies over the years.

16. Teenage assassin Hanna lives by the motto "adapt or die."

Raised in rural Finland by her father, the titular protagonist (Saoirse Ronan) of "Hanna" trained since the age of two to become a master assassin. Though she may be young, she should never be underestimated.



15. Hermione Granger is the real hero of the "Harry Potter" franchise.

She's as clever as they come and if it weren't for Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron and Harry never would have survived their time at Hogwarts during the "Harry Potter" series. She may not be the "Chosen One," but Hermione's book smarts and quick-thinking saved the day numerous times throughout the franchise's eight movies.



14. Katniss Everdeen inspires a country to start a rebellion.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is just your average teen with superior archery skills living in a post-apocalyptic society until she selflessly volunteers to take her sister's place in the annual "Hunger Games."

Her survival skills and knack for strategy kept her alive through two games, but her compassion and need to do what's right helps spark a country-wide rebellion against the Capitol.



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Here's how Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Universe are different

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miss america 2017

Before any beauty pageant hits the airwaves, some viewers may find themselves wondering: Is this Miss USA, Miss Universe, or Miss America? And what's the difference between them anyway?

Although they're all beauty pageants where the winner dons an extravagant tiara, they are three very different competitions.

We broke down some of the biggest differences between Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss America.

Miss America is a scholarship program as well as a pageant.

When Miss America was founded, it said the goal was to invest in the careers and lives of women. When it started, it only allowed white, unmarried women who had never had an abortion to compete. In 2018, it still has rigid guidelines about who can and can't compete.

As of this year, Miss America is getting rid of its swimsuit competition and will no longer judge contestants based on their "outward physical appearance,"the organization said.

Last year, according to Bustle, the winner received a $50,000 scholarship and a six-figure salary during her 365-day tenure with the title. But it's worth noting that the extent of the scholarships have been called into question



Miss USA is a platform for Miss Universe.

According to the official website for Miss Universe, a former sponsor of Miss America (Catalina Swimsuits) founded Miss Universe and Miss USA in 1952 in Long Beach, California. Many women choose to compete in both Miss USA and Miss America, but the two organizations are completely separate.

Miss USA also has strict requirements for entry just like Miss America, and the show includes a swimsuit portion of the competition. 

The winner of Miss USA advances to compete at Miss Universe against country winners from all over the world.



Miss Universe has no talent competition.

Unlike Miss America, which as of this year focuses 50% of contestant scores on the competition's talent portion, Miss Universe does not host a talent competition.

Instead, according to Miss Universe's website, "three days of preliminary interviews and a swimsuit and evening gown presentation show (streamed live prior to broadcast) help select the semi-finalists who will be named during the final night event and will go on to compete in Swimwear, Evening Gown, Final Question, and Final Look."

85 contestants from countries around the world compete in Miss Universe.



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Nobody wants to buy Warren Buffett's Southern California vacation home, and he just cut the price by $3 million

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warren buffett laguna

  • Warren Buffett first listed his Laguna Beach, California, home for $11 million in early 2017.
  • In August, he reduced the price by more than $3 million to $7.9 million.
  • Buffett purchased the home for just $150,000 in 1971, which is less than $1 million in today's dollars.

 

It's been over a year and a half since Warren Buffett listed his Laguna Beach, California, home for sale — and it still seems to be lacking an interested buyer.

In August, he cut the $11 million asking price by more than $3 million, reports the Orange Country Register.

But Buffett could still see a big return if it sells close to the asking price of $7.9 million. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has owned the home since 1971, when he purchased it for $150,000. That's about $934,000 in today's dollars. He's since renovated the place, which has six bedrooms and more than 3,500 square feet of living space.

The billionaire investor had primarily used it as a beach retreat for his family, but they reportedly hadn't used it much since his first wife, Susan, died in 2004.

Let's take a tour of Buffett's beach-town home.

SEE ALSO: 24 mind-blowing facts about Warren Buffett and his $87 billion fortune

DON'T MISS: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah all use the 5-hour rule — here's how it works

Buffett's longtime vacation home is located in the affluent beachside community of Laguna Beach, in Orange County, California.



It's part of a gated community called Emerald Bay and is just a short walk from the beach.



The beaches here are stunning, with high cliffs.



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20 amazing words that don't exist in English — but really should

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kitten and dog

It seems like there's a word for everything, but as it turns out, there are a lot of terms missing from the English dictionary that perfectly describe many common aspects of everyday life.

From very specific emotions to awkward situations, languages like German and Portuguese can describe certain scenarios we've all experienced perfectly, while the English vocabulary falls short.

Keep scrolling to see which words are popular in other languages that just don't translate to English.

"Kummerspeck"— German

"Kummerspeck,"which translates to "grief bacon," refers to weight gained due to excessive eating that stems from being sad.



"Gigil"— Tagalog

"Gigil" basically refers to a situation of such extreme cuteness it's overwhelming, or the irresistible urge to hug something cute.



"Mencolek"— Indonesian

"Mencolek" is that thing some people do in which they tap someone on the opposite shoulder to get them to look in the wrong direction.



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The incredible history of the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet, which went from airline status symbol to reject in just 10 years

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Airbus A380

  • The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger and most expensive airliner in the world.
  • The superjumbo has now been in service for more than a decade.
  • Airbus has booked 331 orders for the plane but is struggling to find new buyers.
  • The A380 is too big, expensive, and inefficient for most operators.
  • It will stay in production well into the next decade, but its future remains uncertain.

In 2007, the Airbus A380 entered service to great fanfare. The gargantuan jet, dubbed the superjumbo, was designed to take everything that made the Boeing 747 an icon and push it to the limits of modern engineering.

A decade later, things are very different for the A380.

The superjumbo hasn't been the game changer Airbus had hoped it would become when the massive double-decker was conceived two decades ago. This is especially the case on the financial front. 

For much of the plane's life, Airbus has struggled to find airlines willing to put the A380 into service.

With a price tag of $445.6 million, the A380 is one of the most expensive and lavish airplanes ever built. With room for as many as 800 passengers, the double-decker's sheer size means it's an occasion whenever a superjumbo arrives.

But in a cost-conscious market and with fluctuating fuel prices, the very attributes that made the plane stand out may have also doomed it. Some say the A380 came two decades too late, while others say that with increasing airport congestion, the plane is ahead of its time.

Some industry observers, such as the Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, have gone so far as to call it the biggest mistake in the history of Airbus. According to Aboulafia, the A380 is a poorly executed aircraft designed for a market that doesn't really exist. As a result, the $25 billion that Airbus spent on the A380 program could have been better used elsewhere, like on a rival for Boeing's next-generation 777X or on a true replacement for the aging Boeing 757, Aboulafia told Business Insider.

Regardless, no one can deny the engineering marvel of the aircraft. Here's a look at the topsy-turvy history of the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

SEE ALSO: Airlines are using these 5 planes to replace the Boeing 747 jumbo jet

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On April 27, 2005, at 10:30 a.m. local time, the first Airbus A380 prototype opened up the throttles of its four massive turbofan engines.



As the superjumbo took off from Airbus' facility in Toulouse, France, the largest commercial airliner around was actually flying.



But the A380's story starts decades earlier.



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THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'True Blood' 10 years later

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sookie and bill true blood

It's been 10 years since "True Blood" aired on TV and became a smash hit. 

Based on the "Southern Vampire Mysteries" book series by Charlaine Harris, the show followed Sookie, a human with telepathy, in her small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It was set after a time in which synthetic blood was created and allowed for vampires to co-exist with humans. But not everyone welcomed them with open arms, and not every vampire was willing to live peacefully.

The series was dark, violent, and provocative. It aired for seven seasons on HBO before wrapping up in 2014. 

Here's what the cast of the show has been up to in the years since. 

Anna Paquin played Sookie Stackhouse — a human with fairy ancestry, which gave her the power of telepathy.

Sookie was a waitress at Merlotte's Bar and Grill when she met her first vampire, Bill Compton. She had a romantic relationship with Bill throughout the seasons, as well as relationships with the vampire Eric and the werewolf Alcide. She always stood up for her family and friends, and learned more about her powers as the show progressed. 

Paquin became the second-youngest Oscar winner in history when she won for "The Piano" at 11 years old — her first acting role ever. 



Paquin won a Golden Globe for playing Sookie.

Paquin plays Rogue in the "X-Men" movies. She recently starred on Netflix's "Alias Grace" and will next appear in Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman."

She married her "True Blood" co-star Stephen Moyer in 2010. 

 



Stephen Moyer played Bill Compton, who was turned into a vampire at the end of the Civil War.

Bill fell in love with Sookie, and believed in living peacefully with humans. 

Before "True Blood," Moyer was on "Conjugal Rites" and in "Princess of Thieves." 



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