• Retail bankruptcies hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year, according to Moody's Investors Service. 
• Sears, J.Crew, and Neiman Marcus are among the companies that could be next to default, according to S&P Global Ratings.

Retail bankruptcies hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year, soaring past last year's records, according to Moody's Investor's Service. 

The fallout is far from over, however, with many more defaults expected for the remainder of 2018.

"We believe defaults in 2018 could match or exceed last year's record level," S&P Global Ratings analyst Robert Shulz wrote in a report that identified 20 retailers at risk of defaulting. Since publishing the report last month, two of the companies identified — the jewelry retailer Claire's and grocery chainBi-Lo — have filed for bankruptcy.

The pace of retail liquidations could also pick up this year, Shulz wrote.

"Despite store closures amid the turmoil, the US remains significantly oversaturated with retail stores," he wrote. "Some retailers have made progress towards better aligning their physical footprint to the new reality of physical versus virtual sales, but there is still excess capacity."

Toys R Us recently began liquidating its US business. The company has shut down its Toys R Us and Babies R Us websites, and it's now holding going-out-of-business sales at its more than 700 US stores. 

Sears, J.Crew, and Neiman Marcus are among the companies that could be next to default, according to S&P Global Markets.

Here's the full list of the most at-risk retailers:

SEE ALSO: More than 3,800 stores will close in 2018 — here's the full list

99 Cents Only Stores LLC

99 Cents Only is a discount chain with a primary price point of around $1. It has more than 350 locations in California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. 

Bluestem Brands

Bluestem Brands owns 13 e-commerce sites including Appleseed's, Bedford Fair, Fingerhut, Draper's & Damon's, Blair, and Gettington.com.

Everest Holdings

Everest Holdings LLC operates debt-laden Eddie Bauer, which has more than 300 stores in the US and Canada. 

• Visiting these peaceful blue waters whilst traveling can have a calming effect.
• In North America, both Peyto Lake and Crater Lake are home to cool blue water — the latter of which is the deepest lake in the U.S..
• In China's Five-Flower Lake the water is so clear that visitors can see the branches fallen trees on the lake bed.

Sometimes all it takes to re-center and refresh your mind and body is a good day (or week — who are we to limit you) staring off into a tranquil blue sea.

To help you find your inner peace, and catch a few waves and rays while you're at it,  we've put together a list of some of the bluest waters in the world. These lakes, seas, beaches, and bays have vistas that range from brilliant navy blues to the lightest, clearest turquoises imaginable. Needless to say, they are the perfect places to re-connect with nature, family, and yourself.

SEE ALSO: 8 underrated U.S. cities perfect for a passport-free vacation

Egremnoi, Greece

Crater Lake, Oregon

Con Son, Vietnam

Granite cliffs outline the crystalline water on Con Son, the only inhabited island in the barely populated 16-island archipelago of Con Dao, one of the best secret islands on Earth. Located 110 miles off Vietnam's southeastern coast, the unspoiled island's beaches are lined with golden sand and gorgeous blue water. For the most breathtaking views of the turquoise sea, head to the remote Dam Tre Bay lagoon.

The FBI recently released crime statistics that the agency compiled from US cities with a population over 100,000 between January 2017 to June 2017. 

Among the data was the number of violent crimes committed in these cities, including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. 

We then took these violent crime rates per 10,000 people to rank the most violent city in each state. Since there are 10 states in the US without a city over 100,000 people, the rankings below do not include every state. 

One of the most surprising findings was that, despite its reputation, Chicago was not the most violent city in Illinois based on the FBI's violent crime rate. 

Check out the rankings below:

SEE ALSO: We spent 3 nights in the NYC underbelly with a crime reporter to see how safe the 'safest big city' in the US really is

40. Honolulu, Hawaii, had 12.1 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

39. Fargo, North Dakota, had 17.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

38. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had 22.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

• Ritz-Carlton cruise ships are designed like yachts and come with 149 suites — each with their own private terrace — accommodating up to 298 guests.
• The Ritz-Carlton cruise line will begin sailing in 2020. 
• This May, reservations will be open to Ritz-Carlton reward members, and all others in June.

Last year the Ritz-Carlton Hotel revealed plans for a luxury cruise line, with three cruise ships set to begin sailing in 2020. This May, reservations will be open to Ritz-Carlton reward members, and all others in June 2018. 

Somewhere between a private super yacht and a small ocean liner, the Ritz-Carlton cruise ships will accommodate the "the 1% of global travelers," according to Bloomberg.

The new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is designed to defy all cruise ship stereotypes, with larger rooms, relaxing common spaces, and an on-board spa. The cruise ships boast 149 suites — each with their own private terrace — accommodating up to 298 guests. There will also be high-end dining options, including a restaurant from Sven Elverfeld of Aqua— the three Michelin-starred restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg.

"This unique combination of yachting and cruising will usher in a new way of luxury travel for guests seeking to discover the world," said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in the press release.

Ahead, a look at one of the designs for the Ritz-Carlton cruise ship, created by the firm Tillberg Design of Sweden.

SEE ALSO: Forget the Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton: The most luxurious hotel brands in the world are ones you've likely never heard of

The Ritz-Carlton cruise ships will explore the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and New England. Trip itineraries will offer less time at sea, and more time to explore the smaller ports.

Unlike most cruises, rooms will not be called staterooms, but rather, suites. Each will have its own private terrace.

There will be 149 suites onboard, accommodating up to 298 passengers — as well as two 138 square-meter duplex penthouse suites.

• Facial expressions and body movements can reveal the true intentions of a speaker's words. 
• During his Congressional hearing on April 10, Mark Zuckerberg's facial displays were slight and subtle.
• He showed unenthusiastic frowning, amused smiling, and uncertain lip-pursing. 
• According to experts, these expressions indicated he wasn't pleased to be there and was perhaps uncertain about Facebook's accountability. 

Facial expressions and body movements, whether we make them knowingly or not, can persuade people.

As experts in political discourse and facial displays — how scientists often refer to facial expressions — we have analyzed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's five-hour Senate hearing on April 10. We looked at what kinds of questions senators asked and how Zuckerberg answered them. 

What matters most in this kind of analysis is determining whether a person's facial expressions are appropriate for what is being stated and whether their muscular movements reliably reflect their intentions.

While an individual may be smiling, that expression doesn't always mean they are happy. They could be expressing sarcasm or politeness, depending on the context.

These facial clues can help viewers figure out whether a speaker — Zuckerberg in this case — is saying what he means. Zuckerberg was reserved but not impenetrable. His facial displays, while slight and subtle, were revealing.

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg's 2nd day of congressional grilling over user data and Facebook bias didn't go quite as smoothly as his first

Unenthusiastic frowning

Zuckerberg began his hearing with the senators by indicating he was not excited to be there.

Sen. Chuck Grassley opened the joint session by welcoming the CEO. During Grassley's statements, Zuckerberg pulled the corners of his lips downward, a muscular movement associated with an encounter with something unpleasant. Even without a verbal response, we can already see Zuckerberg's displeasure at sitting in front of the committee.

Amused smiling

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, complimented Zuckerberg by calling attention to his success, rhetorically asking if it could happen "only in America." When Zuckerberg tried to tell the senator that there are successful Chinese tech companies, Sullivan jokingly told Zuckerberg that he is "supposed to answer yes to this question."

In response, Zuckerberg gave an amused smile and laughed. Sullivan and much of the joint committee and the audience laughed too.

When laughing, the corners of Zuckerberg's lips were pulled up and at an angle, the muscles around his eyes were contracted, and his jaw dropped.

The combination of these facial muscular movements show that a person is likely feeling amused. Between the jovial laughter shared between Zuckerberg and Sullivan, and Zuckerberg's seemingly happy facial expression, he appears glad to be laughing at a comment at his own expense rather than taking hard questioning.

Some of Zuckerberg's smiles were quite subtle throughout the hearing, but this smile indicated an exchange of humor.

Uncertain lip-pursing

Throughout the hearing, Zuckerberg is seen pursing and pulling his lips into his mouth, particularly when senators posed negatively framed questions.

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, asked about Zuckerberg's accountability to the 87 million people whose information was breached by Cambridge Analytica, the incident which led to Zuckerberg's appearance before Congress. The senator began with confrontational statements about Facebook's "pattern of lax data practices" and asked Zuckerberg why Facebook hadn't informed users about the breach when it happened.

Zuckerberg pushed his lower lip upward and both lips together. This suggests he was feeling vexed about Nelson's statement that "the recent scandal is frustrating not only because it affected 87 million, but because it seems to be part of a pattern of lax data practices by the company going back years." This indicated a degree of anger — either at the question, the breach or both.

Zuckerberg did not provide a complete reply to Nelson's question. By not completely answering the question, Zuckerberg's tells us he doesn't want to supply Nelson with a straightforward answer. Instead, he described the process Facebook went through to punish the developer who sold users' personal information to Cambridge Analytica.

This moment revealed how the question of accountability is still a touchy point for him.

The USS John Warner, a Virginia-class attack submarine commissioned in 2015, was involved in the US' missile strike into Syria on Friday night, the Pentagon confirmed.

The Warner fired six Tomahawk missiles.

We got the chance to tour the Warner as it was docked at Naval Station Norfolk in November 2017.

Named after the former US senator John Warner — but nicknamed the "Sledgehammer of Freedom" by the crew — the Warner can perform a variety of missions for the US Navy, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and search and rescue, as well as launch land-attack missiles, torpedoes, and mines.

US submarines, including the Warner, are highly classified and rarely seen by the public.

But we got to take a tour of it — here's what we saw.

SEE ALSO: We asked an F-22 Raptor fighter-wing commander if he's worried about Russia's Su-57 stealth fighter

DON'T MISS: 13 photos of the Su-57, Russia's first stealth fighter that can outmaneuver the F-22 Raptor

We walked onto to the submarine pier at Naval Station Norfolk as the sun was setting and the crew members were loading a special-operations force box onto the Warner.

The Warner is 377 feet long, 34 feet wide, and about 50 feet tall. We weren't allowed to photograph the antennas atop the tower, as they are classified.

The ship also has a displacement of 7,800 tons and can hit depths of 800 feet or more.

We then met our tour guide, Senior Chief Mark Eichenlaub, who began by telling us about the cruise-missile-payload tubes on the front of the sub.

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Overall, the Warner has a payload of 38 weapons along with special operating forces.

• McDonald's and Starbucks are making major investments in mobile ordering apps. 
• As foot traffic falls, chains are growing sales by convincing customers to order on their smartphones. 
• We tried both McDonald's and Starbucks' mobile apps — and discovered McDonald's is catching up to Starbucks' digital domination. 

As foot traffic falls flat, chains are turning to mobile ordering in an attempt to boost sales. 

The number of orders being placed via mobile apps skyrocketed by 50% in US restaurants in 2017, according to data from the NPD Group. And, Business Insider Intelligence predicts that by 2020, mobile order-ahead will account for 10.7% of all quick-service restaurant (QSR) sales.

So far, Starbucks has led the way in mobile order and pay. Mobile and other digital payments make up nearly a third of all of the coffee chain's sales, and they account for even more of the company's sales growth. 

"Almost all of our same-store sales growth is from those customers that we have digital relationships with and those that are in our Starbucks Rewards program," Starbucks CFO Scott Maw said at a JPMorgan forum in March. 

Seeing Starbucks' success, other chains are trying to cash in on mobile ordering. In 2017, McDonald's announced plans to roll out mobile ordering at all US locations. 

However, while mobile orders are intended to make ordering more convenient for customers, they can also create new issues. Starbucks has faced problems with overcrowding and bottlenecks in the past, though these seem to have been resolved with some behind-the-scenes changes. 

With McDonald's building out its more gourmet coffee offerings and Starbucks working to improve its food selection, the two biggest chains in the US by sales are competing more and more. So, we decided to see how their mobile-ordering apps measure up. 

Here's how the Starbucks and McDonald's mobile ordering experiences compare:

SEE ALSO: Starbucks just quietly made a change that reveals the future of the company — here's how it works

Starbucks has spent the last few years perfecting its mobile order-and-pay system.

Starbucks' most recent app update made it possible for all customers to order using its mobile apps. Previously, only Starbucks Rewards members with money preloaded into their accounts could use the chain's mobile order-and-pay system.

The app interface is sleek and easy to use.

With most sales growth coming from its app, Starbucks needs to make it an enjoyable experience. The company's current CEO, Kevin Johnson, actually came from the tech industry and spent 16 years at Microsoft.

One of the major perks of mobile ordering is customization.

Fewer pumps of flavored syrup? Soy milk instead of two-percent? Extra sugar that you'd be embarrassed to order out loud? Starbucks' app makes it easy to customize, and it helps customers avoid yelling out nitpicky clarifications in a crowded coffee shop. 

You are not ready for "God of War" on PlayStation 4. I certainly wasn't. 

Maybe you've seen the trailers, or read our review? Or maybe you're only vaguely aware of a PlayStation 4 reboot to the long-running "God of War" franchise? Maybe you've never played a "God of War" game! Maybe you're a veteran video game journalist who was expecting a 10-to-12 hour hack-and-slash game?

Turns out, we're all in the same wobbly boat as Kratos and his son Atreus, the game's heroes. It's hard to imagine someone being adequately prepared for the sweeping epic that is the new "God of War." It's not just a really good game —  it's an absolutely massive blockbuster that's full of surprises for even seasoned, cynical video game nerds like myself.

Allow me to explain:

SEE ALSO: The new 'God of War' on PS4 is the first must-play game of 2018

DON'T MISS: The new 'God of War' is one of the best-looking games ever made — see for yourself

1. It's incredibly fun to play.

At its basest level, "God of War" is a fun game.

I don't mean that to sound reductive — the minute-to-minute gameplay of "God of War" is thoroughly enjoyable. Whether Kratos is taking on groups of enemies, toppling massive mythological creatures, solving puzzles, or just exploring, the simple act of playing "God of War" is a delight.

Best of all: "God of War" has that "just one more" quality shared by the best games. Maybe that's "just one more" fight, or "just one more" objective you want to complete — I found myself constantly playing "God of War" past when I'd planned to stop. 

In the same way that 2017's incredible "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" was constantly pushing players to seek out a new adventure just over the horizon, "God of War" encourages players to keep going. What's that shiny thing in the distance? What's down that canal? How do I get to that treasure chest?!

It's a somewhat dangerous quality for a game to have when you're playing it well past midnight in the middle of the week, but that's a testament to how much pure fun it is to play "God of War."

2. There's mystery and adventure around every corner.

As hinted at above, the world of "God of War"— the mythological Norse realm of Midgard — is rife with mystery.

While exploring the vast expanse of Midgard, you're extremely likely to stumble on one of the dozens of mysteries hiding around every corner. You might find a hulking dragon being held captive, or a massive, abandoned fortress full of treasures (and traps).

Most likely, you'll find hours of your time being filled with entirely optional (yet fulfilling) exploration. For instance: What's through this crack in the wall?! You better believe I found out.

For every new area I found, another half dozen paths teased me with as yet unexplored regions. Up to and including when I finished the game, after over 50 hours of play time, I was still finding new areas. Having now completed the game, there are loads of places I've never been — entire storylines I've never completed, or even begun.

It's incredibly impressive, honestly. The level of detail is what makes Midgard feel alive, despite it's clearly fantastical trappings.

3. The main characters are actually good, as is their banter.

Video game characters attempting sincerity tends to not work out. Frankly speaking: Most games that make an attempt at sincerity fail.

There are exceptions of course — Joel and Ellie from "The Last of Us" come to mind — but those are exceptions, not the rule. "God of War," unbelievably," nails it.

The game's main characters, Kratos and Atreus, are entirely believable as a father-son duo. As the duo grieve the death of the family matriarch — Kratos' wife / Atreus' mother — they have to reckon with each other.

Kratos, as he's known to be, is a relentless dour, embittered man. He hates the Gods, expects nothing from life, and is always serious. He offers life lessons like, "If you never expect anything, you'll never be disappointed." 

This is his resting facial expression:

That tone is delightfully contrasted by Atreus, who's excited to explore a world he's never seen before.

He's fascinated by history, impressed by the amazing things he's seeing, and excited to talk about it all (much to the chagrin of his angry dad). In this way, Atreus stands in for the player — impressed and excited rather than over it— while Kratos is putting on his usual stiff upper lip. 

He's also a realistic depiction of an adolescent boy. He asks his father for reassurance often, overplays his own abilities, and is generally excited for adventure. He's clearly trying to find himself while asserting his own maturity. He's awkward, just like so many pre-teen boys, and grumpy, and isolated, all on top of the fact that he's grieving the death of his mother. Atreus' growth throughout the game is a joy to watch.

And that's before we start talking about the game's other central characters, each of which is surprisingly fleshed out and integral to the story. But you should discover them yourself rather than have me spoil them.

• Costco products are famous for being bulk-sized and cost-effective.
• Business Insider reached out to Costco employees to find out what items they would never buy at the store.
• Most workers cited the chain's bulk sizes as the reason they'd skip over certain products — especially perishables.

Costco products are known primarily for their bulk sizes.

The retail chain is also famous for selling just about everything, from giant teddy bears to enough pizza slices to qualify as the 14th largest pizza chain in the US. There are always a few surprises thrown in with the staples, too.

But Costco employees themselves know firsthand which deals are worth it — and which are best to skip.

That's why Business Insider spoke with 27 Costco employees to learn what products they never buy at the store. Eight of those employees — who hailed from California, Kentucky, Nebraska, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, and Florida — didn't have a response for us. They all said that they buy everything at the chain.

"I can honestly say I can't think of anything I wouldn't buy," a worker from Ohio told Business Insider. "Some items are out of my price range. But, if I had disposable income, I would buy everything from Costco."

Here's a look at which products other employees tend to skip:

SEE ALSO: Costco employees reveal the worst, grossest, and most bizarre things they've seen on the job

DON'T MISS: The best deals you can find at Costco, according to employees

DON'T FORGET: Why Costco food courts have charged $1.50 for hot dogs since 1985, according to employees

Protein powder, bars, or supplements

Produce

— a Costco worker from Idaho, an employee from Hawaii, and a worker from Minnesota, who added, "While our produce department is one of the best in the business, I personally don't eat veggies fast enough to buy in bulk."

Tires

— a Costco worker who just said they'd been working for the chain "too long"

The things we look for in an airline are usually comfort, good service, and good value — but a recent travel ranking also put the attractiveness of the crew at the top of the list.

Monocle's Travel Top 50 — an annual list selected by the magazine's editors — awarded Portugal's TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) airline the accolade of "most handsome crew."

In the December/January edition of the magazine, Monocle wrote: "It feels a bit 1950s to be talking about attractive flight crew but let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy being served by a handsome fella with a nice smile and a twinkle in his eye?"

Scroll down for a look at what it's like to fly on TAP, which apparently has the most handsome crew in the world.

SEE ALSO: 10 easy ways to make a standard hotel room feel like a suite

This is TAP Air Portugal, the airline that was recently given the accolade of "most handsome crew" by Monocle.

Monocle's Travel Top 50 — an annual list selected by the magazine's editors of their "favourite fifty finds from the fast-moving world of travel" across 50 categories — awarded Portugal's TAP airline the accolade in the December/January edition of the magazine.

Founded in 1945, TAP — which has its hub in Lisbon — is Portugal's national airline, and it flies to numerous European and international destinations.

It's the only airline to connect London City Airport and Lisbon.

According to Monocle, the airline employs more than 2,800 people across its routes.

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Back in 2015, I decided to send my spit to 23andMe, the company that sells direct-to-consumer genetics tests.

The test gave me information as varied as how much DNA I share with our Neanderthal ancestors, how much caffeine I most likely consume, and whether I may have a unibrow. It also let me know whether I'm carrying certain genetic variations related to diseases that could be passed on to kids.

In April of last year, the US Food and Drug Administration told 23andMe it could start providing reports revealing whether you have certain risk factors for developing diseases including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

A year later, the FDA gave 23andMe clearance to tell consumers about their risk of cancer — specifically about three BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations that are associated with an increased risk in breast and ovarian cancer. The test has genetic counselors and scientists concerned, because there are thousands of mutations associated with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and this test screens for only three of them most commonly found in people of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent.

The version of the test that includes the health reports costs $199, while the ancestry test alone is $99. Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: Angelina Jolie shed light on a genetic mutation tied to breast-cancer risk — now 23andMe will test you for it, but scientists are worried

NEXT: I shipped my spit to a genetics company to have it tested, 23andMe style — here's what I found out

I first received my 23andMe test in 2015. Because I had already submitted my sample, I didn't have to repeat the process to get my reports on health risks in 2017 or on BRCA mutations in 2018.

That meant I didn't have to resubmit a sample of my saliva, which was convenient. Spitting into the tube had taken me about five minutes the first time around.

Before I shipped my spit, I registered online. I also got to decide whether I wanted to have my DNA used to research treatments for diseases. In the spirit of science, I decided to consent and sign the form.

At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a lot of characters. Some might even say too many.

A lot of its heroes are pretty similar: men who are full of themselves, get superpowers (or great technology), become heroes, and go through a lot of personal growth (or not).

In anticipation of "Avengers: Infinity War," we ranked all the superheroes who have been main characters in their own movies, and significant side characters who have fought with the Avengers. 

In February, we ranked the MCU villains, and since they were all bad, the ranking wasn't as fraught. But this one was a little more tricky because the majority of the MCU heroes are compelling characters with many layers to unpack, who leave a lot to look forward to in every scene. But that doesn't mean that all of these MCU heroes are great. Some, like Hawkeye and Black Widow, are forgettable despite appearing in several films over nearly a decade. 

Here's our ranking of the MCU heroes, from worst to best:

SEE ALSO: The top 20 Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, ranked from worst to best

18. Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff — played by Aaron Taylor Johnson

Who? Quicksilver was Scarlet Witch's annoying brother, who Ultron killed during the Battle of Sokovia. He didn't even last an entire movie, and that's a good thing. He wasn't a fully fleshed-out character, and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014) used this character in a much more clever way the same year. 

17. Tony Stark/Iron Man — played by Robert Downey Jr.

Flaws are good for any character, especially a superhero — and a lack of them is one of the reasons Superman is so hard to translate to the big screen. Tony Stark is probably the most flawed hero in the MCU, which was fun for a few movies, along with his one-liners. But over time, he became relentlessly arrogant, ignoring the needs of others unless they related to his need to feel glorified.

16. Hawkeye/Clint Barton — played by Jeremy Renner

The only thing that makes Hawkeye any different from arrow-slinging heroes like Legolas or Katniss Everdeen is that he has a secret family, which is not even a secret anymore because he introduced them to the Avengers in “Age of Ultron.” The most personality we’ve seen from Hawkeye was in “Captain America: Civil War” when he shows up out of retirement to help fight on team Cap. Why? We don’t know and probably never will.

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.

• Now through April 23, you can save up to 30% on shoes, clothes, and accessories at Allen Edmonds.
• With discounts up to $175, this is Allen Edmonds' biggest sale of the year.
• There's no promo code necessary, so saving is quick and easy.

Allen Edmonds was founded in April 1922 by Elbert Allen in a small town north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the better part of a century, the brand has been handcrafting dress shoes on the shores of Lake Michigan and is one of the last American shoe manufacturers in existence. By using premium materials and artisanal craftsmanship, the brand makes some of the highest quality shoes you can buy.

This month, the brand is celebrating 96 years of business with an amazing anniversary sale— and it includes much more than shoes. Now through April 23, you can save up to 30% on men's shoes, clothes, and accessories. You'll find classic oxfords for the office, boat shoes for spring, dress shirts, belts, briefcases, wallets, and much more. Discounts are taken off automatically, so saving is super easy.

With discounts coming out to as much as $175, this is Allen Edmonds' biggest sale of the year. If you're looking for premium, made-in-USA menswear at affordable prices, there isn't a better time to shop.

Shop the Allen Edmonds Anniversary Sale now.

To help you navigate the sale, we rounded up the best deals available. Check out some of our picks for the top deals on shoes, apparel, and accessories, below:

Fifth Avenue Cap-Toe Oxford

$249 (Originally $425), available in six colors[You save $176]

St. John's Double Monk Strap

$275 (Originally $425), available in three colors[You save $150]

Eastport Boat Shoe

$157.50 (Originally $225), available in three colors[You save $67.50]

Sloths are notoriously slow. Living in rainforests in Central and South America, sloths spend most of their time hanging upside down in the trees, rarely coming down to the ground.

There are two main families of sloths, two-toed sloths, and three-toed sloths, and they all share something in common: They've been around for millions of years – 64 million, to be exact. 

For comparison, modern humans have only been around for about 200,000 years. 

Sloths slowness, as it turns out, is the key to their survival. Far from being lazy, sloths are actually really efficient at conserving energy, and it all has to do with their diet. 

SEE ALSO: How eating meat creates a 'dead zone' the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico every year

There are four main types of three-toed sloths (pictured below) living everywhere from Mexico to coastal Brazil. They're some of the slowest mammals in the world

Spending most of their lives hanging upside in trees, sloths move no further than 125 feet per day. When they make it to the ground, they crawl at a pace of about 1 foot per minute, according to the World Wildlife Federation. 

Sloths are slow because of their diet. They mostly eat leaves, twigs, and flowers they can easily reach from where they are hanging.

Their herbivorous diet is low in energy and lacks much of the nutrients needed — like fats and protein — for a balanced meal. 

But sloths have a secret up their sleeve: Their slow metabolic rate means they can survive off of very little food, which is especially useful during droughts.

They also take days to digest a meal, meaning they only leave their perches to defecate around once a week, reports Scientific American. 

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.

Sometimes I find myself abandoning my digital shopping cart before purchasing just because I don't want to pay the extra shipping fee. It's a hurdle I think plenty of people have trouble with — it can be hard to stomach an extra $10 for shipping when we're so used to the "free" two-day perk from Amazon's Prime membership. 

Despite the fact that you technically pay for that shipping from Amazon in the form of a $99 annual fee, having a Prime membership makes it difficult to justify the shipping cost from sites that were once our go-tos. 

It turns out, however, that Prime's free two-day shipping perk isn't just limited to Amazon.com. 

As Amazon continues to acquire more and more online retailers, it's also started spreading the benefits of its membership program to customers of those websites. This has mostly applied to the fashion brands they own, but recently expanded out to others as well. Though the list is pretty short right now, we have a feeling that the more companies Amazon buys, the more websites they'll end up adding Prime perks to.  

Below, you'll find a quick list of sites that currently offer free two-day shipping with your Amazon Prime membership:

SEE ALSO: These 15 little-known perks show why Amazon Prime is so much more than free shipping

Shopbop

Check out everything Shopbop has to offer

Shopbop is an online destination for luxury and designer clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories. Though they carry plenty of relatively affordable staples like Levi's, Soludos, and Jeffrey Campbell, you'll also find high-end names like alice + olivia, Cinq a Sept, Ganni, and Oscar de la Renta on the site. 

When you place your order, you can sign into your Amazon account to access free Prime shipping on nearly everything.

East Dane

Check out everything East Dane has to offer

East Dane is the brother of Shopbop, selling luxe menswear from both mid-range and high-end labels like Golden Goose, Ted Baker, Kenneth Cole, and Ferragamo. 

Just like Shopbop, all you have to do is enter your Amazon account info at checkout to get Prime shipping. 

Woot!

Check out everything Woot! has to offer

Woot! is an Amazon-owned startup that hosts daily flash deals on discounted products — from sports and outdoor gear to tech gadgets and electronics. The site feels somewhere in between Amazon's Deal of the Day section and Groupon, but a little cheekier. 

To take advantage of your Prime shipping perk, just log in with your Amazon account before checking out. 

This might come as a shock for those in the Northeast, but summer is just around the corner.

That means we're coming up on the multiplexes being filled with Hollywood's big blockbusters. 

In the coming months that includes titles like "Deadpool 2,""Solo: A Star Wars Story," and "Incredibles 2."

And we can't leave out the movie a decade in the making: "Avengers: Infinity War."

Here are 32 movies we think you should go out and see this summer:

SEE ALSO: 12 of the worst TV reboots of all time, ranked from bad to unbearable

April 27 - “Avengers: Infinity War”

You might have heard about this little movie. It has a few superheroes in it and they finally battle a big purple guy. Yes, it’s going to make a couple of dollars at the movie theaters. Get ready for the most ambitious crossover event in history.

May 4 - “Overboard”

The classic Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell 1987 romantic comedy gets a gender swap for its reboot, as Anna Faris plays the overworked employee of a spoiled Mexican playboy (Eugenio Derbez) who gets some payback when he gets amnesia after falling off his yacht.

May 4 - “Tully”

Jason Reitman reteams with "Young Adult" screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) and star Charlize Theron for his latest movie about a mother (Theron) who forms a unique bond with her nanny (played by Mackenzie Davis).

The director Jason Hehir spent over a year doing the ultimate deep dive into the life of the legendary professional wrestler Andre the Giant to separate the man from the myth for his HBO documentary, "Andre the Giant."

The journey took Hehir all over the globe and face-to-face with some of the biggest names in wrestling.

Business Insider talked to Hehir to break down some of the biggest revelations, talk  about his emotional encounter with Vince McMahon, and ask why the Samuel Beckett story isn't in the movie.

SEE ALSO: The 32 movies coming out this summer you can't miss

Finding Andre's real hometown.

Until the day "Andre the Giant" aired on HBO, the wrestler's Wikipedia page stated that he was born and raised in Grenoble, France. Like most of the world, whoever contributed that piece to his Wikipedia page thought the hometown given during his introduction to the ring was the truth. But that was just one of many inaccuracies about Andre Roussimoff.

Hehir discovered that Andre was born in Moliens, a small village of 40 people 6 miles outside Paris. The wrestling backstory of Andre's coming from Grenoble was created early in his wrestling career when he was touted by promoters as a friendly lumberjack found in the mountains.

"The most recognizable town in the Alps to a North American audience was Grenoble because they hosted the Olympics," Hehir said.

Once Andre's real hometown was discovered, Hehir and his crew traveled to Moliens with a few pictures of Andre with family friends.

"We literally went door-to-door and just walked the streets of that village showing these photos to people via a translator, because the people there spoke zero English," Hehir said.


They also found Andre's two brothers. One let Hehir and his crew into the family's home where Andre grew up, and there they found a treasure trove of old photos and wrestling memorabilia of Andre's that had never been seen by the public. They also filmed the giant chair for Andre in the kitchen, which is featured in the documentary. Andre's mother had it specifically made for him.

"Andre the Giant is a mythical character, but Andre Roussimoff is a mother's son, and she wanted him to be comfortable when he came home," Hehir said. "She had that made for him. He was still her baby though he could barely fit through the door."

Vince McMahon's emotional recollection of Andre.

One of the most shocking moments of the documentary is toward the end when the WWE owner Vince McMahon begins to choke up and hold back tears during an interview in which he discusses how much Andre meant to him and his company (despite the two having a falling out at the end of Andre's career).

Hehir said that wasn't the first time McMahon, known for his tough-guy swagger, showed a softer side in front of him.


"He got emotional when no cameras were there," Hehir said. "The first meeting I had with him I mentioned that Andre had a really close relationship with his daughter, and he got pretty emotional there."

Hehir said McMahon agreed to a 45-minute interview for the movie, with Hehir allowed to come back later in production to shoot any follow-ups. The 45-minute shoot turned into a three-hour interview.

McMahon getting emotional on camera was hard to film, Hehir said.

"Vince seemed to be trying to keep it together, and as an interviewer it's excruciating because your instinct is to turn the camera off," he said. "But you have a responsibility to the viewer to let them experience this feeling vicariously through the person who knows the subject well, so we included that in the film."

That was really Hulk Hogan's handwriting on the choreographed outline of his WrestleMania III match with Andre.

For wrestling die-hards, the recollections by Hulk Hogan of the lead-up to his match with Andre at WrestleMania III are something special. One great detail is his explaining how he wrote out the entire match on a yellow legal pad McMahon gave him when McMahon asked the wrestler how he thought the match should go down. Hogan scripted the entire match — but left how it would end empty for Andre to decide. Andre didn't reveal the ending until during the match, according to Hogan.


In the movie, while Hogan is telling the story, there are shots of yellow legal-pad sheets with handwriting on them. Hehir said that was really Hogan's handwriting of the match.


"That yellow legal pad is crucial to the telling of that story," he said. "But that has been long crumbled and thrown into the trash. Probably the night of the event. So for months I tried to get Hogan to re-create to the best of his recollection what he wrote down."

Hehir interviewed Hogan for the movie in April of last year. He said he finally got the pages from Hogan in the middle of December on the final day they could possibly get it in the movie before handing a finished version over to HBO.

"When we got it you could feel your heart beat opening the envelope," Hehir said. "I told Hogan even if he could write a few lines, we could shoot them really tight. He ended up writing all those pages you see in the shot — two single-spaced pages. And he wrote it as if he was in the moment, so if you freeze-frame it, you can see it says something like, 'Don't let Andre see this.'"

"Any of us could have written those pages and no one would know whose handwriting it was," Hehir continued. "But I just thought it would be a cool wink to people who do know this world that they would recognize Hogan's handwriting."

The US, UK, and France hit Syria with air and sea launched missile strikes on Friday night and they seem to have struck the capital city, Damascus.

Observers on the ground reported hearing loud explosions and feeling the impact of missiles. "The city and the hills are surrounded by military facilities, and it appeared that these were among the first targets," The New York Times reports.

The US confirmed at a press conference led by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Joseph Dunford that one of the intended targets was a scientific research center in Damascus.

Photographers on the ground captured stark images of missiles over the historic city:

SEE ALSO: A look at the region's firepower shows who would win if the US and allies fought Russia and Syria today

Missiles streaked across the sky above Damascus.

The strikes were in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack the Syrian government carried out.

These strikes seem to have hit the heart of the city.

• Most billionaires needed a lifetime of work to amass their fortunes, but others were able to earn $1 billion in a relatively short amount of time.
• The list includes online commerce pioneers like Jeff Bezos and tech innovators like Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel, who all became billionaires with less than six years of work.
• Some of the billionaires who got rich quick are among the most influential business players in the world.

Making a billion dollars sounds like it would take a lifetime of hard work.

But some people managed to pull it off in just a year.

We compiled a list of self-made billionaires who made their fortunes the fastest. The list includes pioneers of online commerce to early execs of the biggest social media site on the planet, and many of them are among the wealthiest and most influential players in the business world.

Read on to see who became a billionaire within the shortest time frames. But be warned — their results aren't easy to replicate.

SEE ALSO: Meet John Collison, the 27-year-old Harvard dropout whose tech startup turned him into the youngest self-made billionaire in the world

SEE ALSO: How many years it took the 23 richest people in the world to go from millionaire to billionaire

Eduardo Saverin — 1 year

Eduardo Saverin's saga, from co-founding Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 to getting squeezed out of the company a year later, was dramatized in the movie "The Social Network."

Despite working at Facebook for less than a year, Saverin retained a minority stake in the company, which translated into more than $1 billion by 2010. Today, Saverin is worth more than $9 billion.

Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy — 3 years

Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy founded Snapchat in 2011 after they came with the idea of a photo-sharing app in which the pictures disappear.

By 2014, their sizable stock holdings put their net worths over $1 billion, and the 20-somethings appeared on the Forbes billionaires list one year later.

Sean Parker — 1.5 years

Sean Parker may have co-founded the pioneering music-sharing site Napster, but it was his brief stint as president of Facebook that earned him billionaire status.

Parker served as Facebook's first president for a little over a year starting in 2004. He left the company in early 2006, but retained nearly 70 million Facebook shares, according to Bloomberg. He sold about 3.5 million of them ahead of Facebook's 2012 initial public offering, putting him firmly in billionaire territory.

• H&R Block offers a free online tax filing service for eligible taxpayers.
• Tax season officially begins January 29, with a final deadline of April 17 this year.
• The IRS recommends e-filing your taxes and requesting your refund via direct deposit.
• Business Insider decided to try the free version of H&R Block's service.

The end of tax season is right around the corner. 

Americans have until April 17 to file their 2017 taxes. While the new GOP tax plan signed by President Trump in December is the law of the land, the changes won't affect your tax return this year. The new tax brackets will only affect income earned starting January 1, 2018. 

If your income was less than $66,000 in 2017, many online tax services offer the option to file for your federal taxes — and sometimes state taxes — for free. You can check your options using the IRS Free File Lookup tool.

The IRS also says the fastest way to get your tax refund is the method already used by most taxpayers: filing electronically and selecting direct deposit as the method for receiving your refund. Your refund should hit your bank account within three weeks of filing online. Often, you'll get your money even faster.

H&R Block is one such tax company offering free services to eligible taxpayers. Its website estimates its clients "prepared more than 7.4 million tax returns" using its digital services in 2016.

I decided to check it out to see how it works and report.

Keep in mind, I didn't actually file my taxes. I just went through the motions, to get a better feel for H&R Block.

Here's how it works:

SEE ALSO: Here's a look at what the new income tax brackets mean for every type of taxpayer

DON'T MISS: H&R Block's tax calculator will estimate your refund for this year and next year — and it takes less than 5 minutes

When you get to H&R Block's homepage, you're presented with a few different options. I went for the online-only service that allows you to file for free.

H&R Block won't make you set up an account right away, if you don't want to.

I chose not to, for the purposes of this article. Plus, I'm not quite ready to file my taxes for real, just yet.